Cuba's Fidel Castro, has died

Interestingly, he is one of those figures who's both loved and hated. I've never read much about him but I was hearing this morning that Cuba did a great deal to help end apartheid and that Cuban doctors and nurses are working all around the world among the poor.

I was thinking (in view of all the Cuban's celebrating in Miami) that maybe there are always going to be people who despise a government and they will always bad mouth that government no matter what they do. My mom absolutely despises our new PM and complains about everything he is doing or saying even though so many around the world and in Canada are giving him 'good grades'. I'd like to hear residents of Cuba talking about him. See what they have to say.
 

IMO he is loved by those who had nothing to lose and hated by those that lost it all, pretty normal I would say.

It will be interesting to see what happens when his brother passes away.
 
Yes I know he was a "bad guy" and I can't really put my finger on it but there was just something I always kinda liked about him.........*flame away if you wish.*

I can remember being in school back in Oct. 1962 and the teachers having drills and teaching us kids to duck under our desks if the SHTF......I guess desks must have been made one heck of a lot better back then. :)
 
I was born in Cuba(well before la Revolucion), and because of that, always was curious about Castro, how the country changed, and what a post Castro Cuba would be like.

I believe that his brother Raul, who has been in power since 2008, will continue to be more moderate toward change, but we shall see.
 
Aunt Bea said:
IMO he is loved by those who had nothing to lose and hated by those that lost it all, pretty normal I would say.

It will be interesting to see what happens when his brother passes away.
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That's an interesting perspective. So what you're suggesting is that Cuban 1%'ers are the ones who are PO'd and now celebrating?
 
Debby said:
That's an interesting perspective. So what you're suggesting is that Cuban 1%'ers are the ones who are PO'd and now celebrating?
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That's what the celebrating in Florida is all about. Cuban exiles:

The term "Cuban exile" refers to the many Cubans who fled from or left the island of Cuba. These peoples consist of two primary groups loosely defined by the period of time occurring before and after the Mariel boat lift of the 1980s. The pre-Mariel group consisted of the mostly middle and upper classes of the island who fled due to fear of widespread reprisals after the communist takeover led by Fidel Castro in the late 1950s-1970s. The people in this group were mainly seeking political asylum.
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source
 
He overthrew the government and had them murdered. Those who were able, fled the country. Many risked their lives traveling in small boats landing in Florida. I remember the Cuban Missile Crisis and how frightening that was. The fact they celebrate his death should come as no surprise. It's not for me to forgive him or forget what he has done, but at the same time, I will not glorify the man either.
 
I know nothing about the situation in Cuba before and after the revolution but I suspect that the media reports we were fed back then were full of anti communist propaganda. I do remember the Cold War very clearly and with hindsight, I have learned to question whether we were fed the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

This article in the Spokane Daily Chronicle, written in February 1959, my last year in high school, paints a vivid picture of the regime that Castro overthrew.It would appear that it was oppressive and behaved illegally.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?...P1XAAAAIBAJ&sjid=O_cDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2501,4729775
 
Before Castro Batista was nothing more than a thug that the US supported, the Mafia ran rampant and US companies also pretty well used and abused the people. So you bet when Castro nationalized those companies the US was unhappy. The US then embargoed Cuba, and in spite of that Cuba has survived, and in some ways surpasses the US. They have free medical care, one doctor for every 120ish people, free education through a doctorate. When they suffer a hurricane the government goes in takes the people, their furnishings and their animals to safety and after the storm they are returned to their homes also free.

Oh and by the way, the last person executed in Cuba was something like 2003.
 
mrstime said:
Before Castro Batista was nothing more than a thug that the US supported, the Mafia ran rampant and US companies also pretty well used and abused the people. So you bet when Castro nationalized those companies the US was unhappy. The US then embargoed Cuba, and in spite of that Cuba has survived, and in some ways surpasses the US. They have free medical care, one doctor for every 120ish people, free education through a doctorate. When they suffer a hurricane the government goes in takes the people, their furnishings and their animals to safety and after the storm they are returned to their homes also free.

Oh and by the way, the last person executed in Cuba was something like 2003.
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And that is what causes revolutions to happen in the first place. We Australians and you Canadians are very lucky never to have experienced one, nor the conditions that precipitate them.
 
I refer to the Cuban Missile Crisis when missiles were being placed in Cuba pointed towards the US. I remember being so scared at that time, I was still in grade school. I wouldn't call that the Cold War, though it was Russia bringing in the equipment. You are right regarding the propaganda, we only know what we are being told, but that's with everything. It was less than fifteen years since the end of WWII and a lot of things were still fresh in the minds. I do know that many of the Cuban people live in poverty. Hopefully, things will continue to change for them. I think Obama has made some effort, it's at least a start. I know one thing, I would have hated to have lived in Cuba during that turmoil. There were many years of friction between Castro and the US, but then things got quiet. More so after the Soviet Union fell apart.
 
I was cleaning up some bookmarks last night and came across the following and thought folks here might like to look at this beautiful photo essay that was in Huffington Post a while back.
It is about the Cuban ballet dancers who are reputed to be the best in the world. According to the article, the Cuban government not only funded the ballet but also subsidizes the cost of a ticket so that anyone can go to enjoy the ballet! The dancers are amazing.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ballet-in-cuba-photos_us_571f95f1e4b01a5ebde36cde
(I've tried to bring a photo over here but they are Instagram photos and don't seem movable)
 
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