CASTRO has fallen (news)

only a matter of time until he dies.

Any video links?

"Castro had made it clear he did not want to leave the area in an ambulance and was later seen speeding away in his black Mercedes-Benz. "

Not bad for a 78 year old

Interesting.

long live castro

castro is a gangsta

"Help I've fallen and can't get up!"

Holla back, youngen, holla back!

He is one tough HOMBRE

A friend of mine who is a shriner turned down a chance to meet him on his last trip to cuba. He has a passport to fly there for medical supply drops and humanitarian aid purposes. I dont much blame him for not wanting to meet the man, that would be almost like meeting saddam, pre-war. One off color comment and bye bye you go.

Wow. A mercedes in a supposed CLASSLESS (Marxist Leninist) society. No wonder communism crapped out pretty much everywhere else (except China and N. Korea)

you know he gets a bad rap. but we really made cuba into the country it is. if we had been more diplomatic way back when he wouldn't have had to go to the soviet union for economic relief.

he's not really a bad guy.

shit, every cuban has healthcare.

I keep hearing that.

I guess those prisons for political prisoners have top of the line doctors.

Have you ever been there? If you go, take alot of polo shirts with you, they are rare, some people save years just for the chance to buy one...you think im joking..but it's very true.

The man is hard as a fucking rock. He'll still be ruling Cuba for at least ten years after he dies.

SpaceAce

I assume this is a joke. Head on down to Miami and announce that you think Castro isn't really so bad; you'll never make it out alive. There are six zillion Cubans in Florida and practically every single one of them hates Castro with a passion that goes beyond almost anything else you'll ever see.

SpaceAce

whoa crazy

he's long overdue.... faceplanting on live TV is definitely a bad bad sign

Every world leader is hated by many.

I'd wager more people hate Bush than Castro.

Castro has seen nine US Presidents come and go. He's a legend.

I hope he keeps telling the USA to get fucked for many years to come!

Castro is Hero

The Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the few times that the 'rules' of the Cold War were nearly forgotten. Berlin, Korea, Hungary and Suez - the 'rules' had been followed. But in Cuba this broke down and the Cuban Missile Crisis was the only time when 'hot war' could have broken out.

In the 1950?s Cuba was lead by a right-wing dictator called Fulgencio Batista. He dealt with opponents with extreme harshness and while a few prospered under his regime, many Cubans were very poor. He was not tolerant of communists and received the support of the Americans. Batista?s sole support within Cuba came from the army which was equipped by the Americans.

For some years, Havana, the capital of Cuba, had been the play ground of the rich from America. They would come to the island at the weekend to gamble - illegal in all parts of America except for Las Vegas at this time. Havana was considered more convenient for those living in the southern states of America. Large sums of money were spent but most was creamed off by Batista and his henchmen. Over $200 million was actually invested in Cuba itself. For all the money coming into Cuba, the poor remained very poor.

Some young Cubans, who had read about socialism and what it offered the poor, reacted against Batista?s corruption and oppression. Their first attempt to overthrow the government was a failure and the small group of rebels fled to the Sierra Mastra - a remote area of Cuba. Here they sharpened their tactics and used the most valuable weapon they had; educating the poor in their ways. They used the tactics of Mao Tse Tung by actually helping out the poverty stricken peasants on their land. These people had been used to abuse for years and here were young educated people actually helping them for free.

It was only a matter of time before the ?message? spread to other areas of Cuba and by 1959, the rebels lead by Fidel Castro felt strong enough to overthrow the government of Batista. This they easily achieved as they were aided by popular support.

Castro?s first task was to punish those who had abused the poor. Those found guilty were executed. He then nationalised all American firms in Cuba so that their wealth would be invested in Cuba itself rather than leave the island and go to multi-nationals in America. The money made from this measure was primarily spent on a national health system so that all medical treatment was free and on education. Castro also introduced major land reforms.

Some Cubans fled and went to live in Florida. These Cuban exiles were treated by some Americans as heroes and brought with them stories that outraged the American press. Most were false or exaggerated but this was ignored. America reacted by refusing to do any trade with Cuba whatsoever. This trade embargo would have bankrupted the island as her biggest money earner was exporting sugar to America. Up to this time, there is little evidence that Castro or Cuba had any real intention of teaming up with communist Russia. In 1960, Castro referred to himself as a socialist - not a communist.

However, the trade embargo brought the two together as Russia stepped in to buy Cuba?s sugar and other exports. The actions of America appear to have driven Castro into the support offered by Russia.

Now with a supporter of communism only 50 miles from Florida, the new American president - J F Kennedy - decided to give support to the anti-Castro Cubans who had gone to Florida. With CIA funding, a group of armed Cuban exiles tried to land in Cuba at the Bay of Pigs in 1961 with the sole intention of overthrowing the Castro government. It proved a fiasco - jeeps landed without fuel; no maps of the island being issued; Cuban exiles firing on Cuban exiles. But to Castro, this episode showed him where America stood in relations to Cuba. Kennedy did not apologise for America?s involvement in this event

After the fiasco of the Bay of Pigs episode, Cuba obviously felt threatened by her massively powerful neighbour. Castro started to look for a closer relationship with Russia who could offer her protection.

In Sept 1962, anti-Castro Cuban refugees reported to the CIA that there was a build-up of Russian bases in Cuba.

On October 16th 1962, a U2 spy plane took high level photographs over Cuba and the resulting photographic prints revealed what was obviously a base for missiles. These were later identified as being inter-mediate range missiles capable of carrying a nuclear payload.

On October 17th 1962 the CIA reported to the president that the 16 to 32 missiles identified could kill 80 million Americans as they had a range of 2000 miles with a flight time of just 17 minutes. While this was happening USA Intelligence reported that over 20 Russian ships were heading for Cuba with crates on board that obviously contained more missiles. They were not difficult to detect as they were being carried on deck in full view of US observer planes.

On October 25th 1962 more U2 photographs showed that the bases would be fully operational in a few days - at the latest by the end of October.

The threat to USA was very obvious. On October 27th the matter was made worse when a U2 was shot down by a Russian missile and the pilot killed.

In total, the Russians sent to Cuba 42 medium range missiles and 24 intermediate range missiles - which had a capability of 3500 miles. 22,000 Russian troops and technicians accompanied the missiles.

What should Kennedy do ?

He had already made a major mistake with the Bay of Pigs affair - now he could afford no such errors as the consequences would be disastrous for everyone.

He had essentially five choices............



1 He could do nothing and ignore the missiles. This would have been political suicide and if the Russians had seen this as weakness on his part, they could have taken advantage of it.
2 He could order a full scale military invasion of Cuba. This could lead to heavy US casualties and that would be politically damaging. It would almost certainly involve Russian casualties which could escalate the problem. The American chiefs-of-staff were not convinced that it would be successful either especially as the offending missile bases were in remote areas and most were well inland.
3 He could order an air strike against the missile bases only. The problem again would be Russian casualties and the Air Force was not sure it could deliver pin-point bombing raids on what were relatively small targets.
4 He could call on the Russians to remove the missiles explaining the damage their presence was doing to Russian/American relations. However, the Russians were highly unlikely to listen to a ?polite? request especially as they even refused to recognise the existence of the missiles at the United Nations emergency meeting on the matter.
5 He could put a naval blockade around the island - quarantine it - and not allow any more Russian ships to enter Cuba. This would still leave missiles on Cuba but the negotiations would continue in the background while publically Kennedy would be seen to be doing something specific.

Following American protests, Khruschev, the Russian leader, sent Kennedy two letters both of which sent conflicting messages.

One letter said that the missiles would be withdrawn if Kennedy promised not to invade Cuba.

The other was more threatening claiming that as USA had bases actually in Turkey, why should not the USSR have bases in Cuba especially as the people of Cuba wanted them ? Khruschev said that if USA removed her missiles from Turkey then USSR would remove them from Cuba. These messages left Kennedy confused.

Kennedy decided to act on Khruschev`s first letter and offered the following :

USSR was to remove its missiles from Cuba and USA was to end Cuba`s quarantine and to give out a promise not to invade Cuba.

If the USSR did not respond by October 29th, USA would launch a military invasion of Cuba. On October 28th, Khruschev replied that the USSR would remove the missiles. Within 2 months they were gone. The Cuban Missile Crisis was over but it had taken the world to the brink of nuclear war.

The end result of the crisis was seen as a huge success for Kennedy but contributed to the downfall of Khrushchev in Russia. The one positive thing to come out of the crisis was the creation of a hot-line between Moscow and Washington to allow for easier communication between the two nations leaders at a time of crisis.

This is one of the few examples of the Cold War where the two principle countries actually got involved themselves against the other. Up to 1962, other nations fought out the Cold War on their behalf (USA + China in Korea; USA + North Vietnamese in the Vietnam War etc.) as each knew that a conflict between the two would have the potential to be horrific. The lessons learned from Cuba ensured that neither would push each to the brink again and that the ?rules? of the Cold War would be adhered to.

Just one year later in 1963, both nations signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. This treaty stated that neither would explode nuclear bombs during testing in the atmosphere. This was a popular treaty in America and a sign that something positive had come out of the Cuban Crisis - that of a greater respect for each other.

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/cuba.htm

If he dies, will we be able to get Cuban cigars?

Let me tell you, if both the CIA and the Mafia can't manage to kill you, forget about it you'll live long and prosper.

LOL. Those exploding Cigars.... damn CIA should not have bought them from the ACME company. Now, they're gonna join Wiley E Coyote in that massive products liability Class action suit

So, a leader that imprisons his people and forces them to subscribe to an economic system that leaves them impoverished is a legend?

If you strip Castro of his socialized healthcare and his Marxist Leninist slogans, you're left with just your run of the mill Banana Republic tin pot dictator.

Where exactly is this legend that you are lionizing?

You're full of shit. Cuba has always been a poor country. Castro liberated his people, not enslaved them. Get over your blinkered, one-eyed American view of the world.

For moe info, read VeriSexy's post above.

Like I said, may Castro live a long life and continue to tell the USA to go and fuck themselves!

oh nooo he hasnt caused the cubans any suffering. he is a man of the people, they all have benz's down there.

You and 12clicks are the same. Someone calls you out on your bullshit and you readily resort to that handy bottle of AD HOMINEM.

Slow down, Wittgenstein

Saddam is not a good comparison..

Saddam was a brutal dictator who personally killed and tortured hundreds of innocent people.

Castro never die

Damn I almost thought he was out of cuba ... lol

The only bullshit here is spewing from your pathetic prepubescent piehole.

Take a history lesson and get back to me.

Thanks for the bump

Anything for a lowly sigwhore.

HOW LONG ?

You may wanna read about your profile at the blog I get paid to sport on my sig. Explains you to a T. The sad part is ... you don't even know about it. LOL


From: http://justtraffic.blogspot.com/2004...c_archive.html
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Type 11: Mr. Right/Mr. Left If you are up on your current events, you may want to try this persona type. This persona completely reduces the nuances of the opposing argument and attempts to shut down the other side with trite, intellectually dishonest, and unoriginal put downs. Mr. Right (extreme conservative) always loves to say LIBERAL. This is Key. A Mr. Right persona must bleat out the word with as much scorn as he can muster in his being. To Mr. Right, LIBERAL is the apotheosis of what is wrong with America. (Unfortunately, if the world was populated solely of people with such rigid thinking, LIBERAL ideas such as The Enlightenment, The Emancipation Proclamation, Universal Suffrage, Mass Education, The abolition of Gladiator games, Human rights, and Free Markets/Laissez Faire would not see the light of day. Of course, such facts are extremely disconcerting to BOTH Mr. Left and Mr. Right so NEVER try to be nuanced or let facts get in the way when you are playing these roles.) Mr. Right also loves to say the word TERRORIST. He does it with the same purpose and relish as Mr. Left loves to use the name HITLER to describe those who disagree with him. Mr. Left shows an extreme disregard for symbols and institutions of the past--organized religion, commercial morality, etc. To him, they represent institutions and devices meant to enslave humanity to the dictates of a selfish few with ulterior motives. In Mr. Left's eyes, it is only people like him who, through sheer Darwinian chance, develop a prophet-like cognition to divine TRUTH from bullshit. Regardless, it is obvious that both reduce the opposition to straw men that are very easy to bash down.

Note: Both these board personas really are differing flavors of the same type of ice cream. NEVER ever read the reasoning of the other guy. Just zero in on a phrase and (if you're Right) compare him to Bin Laden or (if you're Left) Hitler or Stalin and leave it at that. Facts, nuance, empathy, and compassion are the ENEMIES of these persona, so if you are fairly intelligent person, you'd have to hold your nose when posting under the Mr. Left/ Mr. Right persona because they often involve putting your brain (and sometimes your soul) next to your mouse when you are posting.

Tips: For Mr. Right--post a flag as your sig for a long time prior to popping out a sig promoting your site. For Mr. Left -- post anti-religious or anti-western images on your sig to get that rebel thing going.

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And what's your profile?

Sigwhore: Posts stupid shit on adult webmaster messageboards because masturbation is more fun than working at Wendy's.

Castro is hated nearly universally by his people. The situations don't even begin to compare.

I never said Castro wasn't a legend and I don't care if he lives to be 600 years old.

SpaceAce

Horseshit.

Castro is very popular with the Cuban people... and no, I'm not talking about those in Florida.

Back that shit up... or is that just what they taught you in school?

Im just waiting for Deadfidel to wake up and post in this thread.......

You think Sanctions will make them rich? They were always poor and the people didn't even have healthcare and education. He won the hearts of the poor and fought with them to exile all the corrupt government that was running Cuba.

They then depended on the Sovs but that didn't last too long. As least he didn't pocket all the money like Fulgencio Batista.

Ah yes, that's why they filled THOUSANDS of boats to flee Cuba. Ever hear of the MARIEL BOATLIFT? How about the people that try to flee every damn year?

Oh, I forgot, you're Mr. Left. Reason and Facts don't apply to you.

Keep bumping, buddy!

78 years old !! I really thought he was younger (or at least, a couple years younger )

Hundreds of thousands of people try to flee their countries to get in to USA, Canada, Australia and the EU every year. It's called wanting a better life. You think everyone flees for fear of loosing their lives? They flee cause they are tired of living poor.

Many Cubans noticed that America was taking them in and lot's took the opportunity. You ever watch the movie "Scar Face"?

Yes that's when Castro got rid of the scum from his prisons and sent them to the USA.

Of course there are always people wanting to flee developing countries to first world countries. This happens every day all over the world, not just in the 90 miles of water between Cuba and Key West. I know it's convenient to ignore that Cuba is virtually devoid of natural resources and that as a result their economy is largely agricultural, but hey whay let facts and reason get in the way, right? You also seem to be forgetting about the impact the US trade embargo has on the Cuband economy... but hey that would be facing more facts and reason, wouldn't it?

You Americans should get out of your country every once in a while and see things the way they really are, not just the way they seem on the television.

Keep sigwhoring!

dude, don't take my name in vain unless you can stay home from school to argue during the day.