Video:Bernie in 1985. He's had a longstanding and passionate interest in Latin America and US policy

[Armstead]

Burlington Mayor Bernie Sanders inaugurates a sister-city program with Puerto Cabezas, Nicargua.

The politics and international situation have obviously changed since this, but this shows that Sanders has more than a passing interest in Latin America and social and economic justice....and US foreign policy.

[itsrobert]

1. Is that the interview where he also praises Fidel Castro?

n/t

[Armstead]

3. I wont bother to answer your shallow and Red Baiting and McCarthyite qurstion

[Ken Burch]

7. He didn't "praise Fidel" and you know it.

He said there had been great achievements in healthcare and education in Cuba. There have been. You don't have to treat everything the Cuban Revolution has done as evil to be for human rights. Cuba needs free speech, not austerity and stock exchanges and McDonald's.

[Bonobo]

13. Pffft. Like coming up with a cure for lung cancer is a big deal all of a sudden!?

I bet you're going to talk about how their infant mortality rate is far lower than the US too now, huh!?

[beam me up scottie]

2. They already incorporated red baiting into today's talking point.

I really feel sorry for these people, they are so out of their depth.

[Armstead]

4. W hat the Pope is a commie now?

[beam me up scottie]

6. Yep, and the other attendees, and of course Bernie.

THEYRE ALL SOCIALIZZZZTS!

[PowerToThePeople]

5. Love this man!

edit - seems Hillary supporters are all pro-Reagan now, earlier my OP on crack into inner cities to finance the contras and Bill's prosecution of those inner city victims was pushed to second page faster than lightning.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511677767

[Luminous Animal]

8. Lovely. Thank you.

[Vattel]

9. I wish Clinton had less of an interest in Latin America and in Latinos.

As SOS She supported Calderon's drug war in Mexico, which was a disaster.

Obama had to walk back her remarks about a Mexican "narco-insurgency" and the possibility of US troops being sent to Mexico to help control it. Clinton hadn't done her homework and so didn't understand the basics about how not to create an international incident with Mexico.

She embraced the coup in Honduras.

She has many times supported and voted for a barrier between Mexico and the US.

She has said that she is "against illegal immigrants" and she still supports punishing those who illegally cross borders.

She endorsed deporting Honduran children back to the violence they fled even though she conceded that they would be safer here.

To help her own presidential campaign, she asked Spitzer to drop his support for drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants.

[Armstead]

19. It would be interesting how the Clintons would have lined on Nicaragua...

if they'd been on the national scene in the 80's.

Would they have lined up with those who held Bernie's view, or supported Ray Gun's war on the Sandinistas?

Probably best not to wonder.

[2banon]

21. I agree it would be very interesting

wonder if there's anything buried in someone's forgotten box of materials, documents, audio video recordings stashed in the basement, or perhaps even at his presidential library might include stuff from his public life in Arkansas days...

hmm. any researchers in the vicinity?

[Armstead]

22. Well here's an amusing tidbit

http://www.alternet.org/rss/breaking_news/70654/despite_clinton's_claims,_iran_is_not_building_mega-embassy_in_nicaragua

2009

The United States may have overestimated Iran's influence in Latin America, described for months as worrisome by Obama administration officials, lawmakers and experts, the State Department said.

"The Iranians are building a huge embassy in Managua," Secretary of State Clinton said in May. "And you can only imagine what that's for," she added, calling the effort "quite disturbing."

But on Monday, Kelly recognized that "right now, there is no major Iranian presence in Nicaragua."

Not only does the worksite not exist, but Iran's promised investment in the impoverished Central American nation, declared during heavily publicized meetings between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Nicaraguan counterpart Daniel Ortega, also never materialized.

One U.S. diplomat in Managua went so far as to tell the Post that "there is no huge Iranian Embassy being built, as far as we can tell."

Kelly said he was unaware of the source behind Clinton's statements.

But another State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said her assertions came from an unidentified "foreign counterpart."

[2banon]

23. "her assertions came from an unidentified "foreign counterpart."

LOL! Let's see, maybe one of Sid Blumenthal's Saudi Arabian assets..

Is there no bs she won't promulgate for whatever agenda she's about? sheesh.

[TheBlackAdder]

10. Because whatever the US does is always 100% B&W correct--common link: Corporate Power

.


http://www.salon.com/2014/03/08/35_countries_the_u_s_has_backed_international_crime_partner/


http://foreignpolicy.com/2013/08/20/mapped-the-7-governments-the-u-s-has-overthrown/



.

[DianaForRussFeingold]

11. 'We need a president with a proven record of fighting for peace.'

"We can not continue on the path of wars for profit. Millions of lives are at stake.":

[Peace Patriot]

12. Why hasn't this been shown on MSNBC, the "liberal" network?

It is brilliant. It is noteworthy. It is extraordinarily impressive to see a city mayor, who reportedly was very involved in the nitty-gritty of garbage collection and open space issues--a hands on mayor--exhibit such strength and compassion in discussing the poverty of third world countries like Nicaragua, and taking out after the darling of the uber-rich, Ronald Reagan, for Reagan's brutal, ugly, illegal 'contra' war on Nicaragua. And as usual with Sanders, he offers a SOLUTION, that Reagan should sit down with Daniel Ortega and the other Nicaraguans, give them respect as human beings and work out their differences.

Of course I know the answer to my question. As newsworthy as this video is--the man is now running a hot campaign for president--they will never show this or anything else that puts Reagan in a bad light, nor anything that puts Sanders in a good light.

One other thing that strikes me about the vid: Sanders, AS USUAL, is right on so many issues so far ahead of anyone else! The Iran/'contra' scandal later led to a full House investigation that could have resulted in Reagan's impeachment (Congress had passed a law specifically forbidding the President to engage in covert wars). As it turned out, Reagan's henchman, Ollie North, fell on his sword and our Democratic Party leadership was making its turn toward Reaganism, and were not about to impeach the "golden goose" of "trickle-down" economics (the predecessor of "neo-liberalism&quot .

Nevertheless, what was going on in Nicaragua was a big deal, at the time. And Sanders gets it exactly right. And I can't think of any other U.S. public officials who actually travelled to Nicaragua to see things with their own eyes (though there may have been others). It was an impressive thing to do, as a mayor--creating a sister city program and all. Courageous, far thinking and humanitarian.

[2banon]

14. WOW.WOW.WOW.!!!!!

I haven't seen, heard, or read a single politician speak on this subject at the time or not since this period.

His passion regarding our foreign policy in South and Central America for over a century and half is so overwhelming to me, it's actually bringing me to tears. I'm totally blown away. Thank you for finding this and posting.

Gonna share this on my fb.

[myrna minx]

15. Something of substance, on DU? Wow! K&R thanks for posting.

[Armstead]

17. The thing about Bernie is that outside of the current campaign he discusses in depth

He has a breadth of knowledge, and a passion, that doesn't come across in the shallow environment of the presidential primary, where everything has to be boiled down into soundbites.

IMO he is much more comprehensive in his ability to discuss and analyze the nitty gritty as well as the big picture. I wish there were more opportunities for him to demonstrate that.

[myrna minx]

18. Precisely. It's a pity that we aren't treated to deep intellectual discussions about

Policy rather than people freaking out about an invitation to speak at the Vatican.

I think if more people saw these videos and if he was allowed to speak on the real issues, the more people would feel at ease to vote for him. For example my Mom likes Bernie, but isn't sure of his foreign policy experience etc - but these videos will be helpful should he win the nomination.

Thanks again for posting.

[Lodestar]

16. Wow! The more I learn about Bernie Sanders the greater my admiration

and respect. He is a brave soul! The Pope himself speaks out about these
things but probably would be treated just like Bernie if he tried to run for
president of the USA.

[2banon]

20. Kickin' & a Recken'

Armstead, I want to thank you once more.

I shared this on my fb page, way late last night..

I don't know how many of my friends actually will see it on their home page, but as of this morning I see almost a dozen shares.

It's the weekend and a significant number of my friends are musicians hailing from all over this continent, and across the big pond, they're busy touring, recording, rehearsing and playing gigs. But in between they check their feeds and do "likes" or share.

It's so heartening to see the support and passion being expressed for this amazing candidate.

I think this particular talk Bernie gave in 1985, which I've never heard until last night, goes straight to the heart of Bernie's thinking as regards foreign policy matters.

His disgust for U.S. Latin American policies, which he articulates so beautifully and passionately here, is visceral and encapsulates his world view to a stunning degree.

So many quotables in this! Going through the laundry list of the usual propaganda smears against the enemy of the times, in this case Ortega, "Communists, Marxists, Socialist, and now (he says) they've come up with a new one terrorists". His remarks then, can be applied today.

Everyone, including Hillary supporters ought to listen and watch this video. I think it's an excellent example as responder/rejoinder to those who naively assert Bernie has not given thought to foreign policy matters.

I think I've listened to this now about four or five times including twice last night.

A real treasure.

[Armstead]

27. Thanks.....If you have time watch this one fully.

This is the FULL "Fidel Castro" interview that they took a short sentence out of in the Florida debate to smear Bernie.

This interview is after he visited Nicaragua. He elaborates on the themes of the speech in more detail.

It's worth watching the whole interview. It is very different from the snippet that circulated in the media.

[2banon]

28. This is fantastic find!

Thanks! gonna post this to fb.. <3

[Cheese Sandwich]

24. This is awesome. I would vote Bernie for president on this video alone practically.

[Jitter65]

25. Only for socialist, Marxist dictators. nt

[bjo59]

26. Bernie's ethics are incredibly stable, consistent, and deep seated. I think

that this angers a particular type of person, a type that has multiplied in recent years. The type of person who finds another person's refusal to abandon his or ethics to be an insult to him or herself. We live in an era when ethical commitment is seen as weak and naive. Whether it is in world politics or reality television, we're exposed to almost nothing but evidence that betrayal and deceit are the way one wins and the foundation of contemporary reality. When someone comes along who hasn't abandoned their original sense of ethics, they're seen as old fashioned, pie-in-the-sky, believers in unicorns. And I'd wager that the people who have thrown their own sense of the ethical into the dustbin of history find a person who hasn't done so to be somehow personally attacking them and thus worthy of condemnation.