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Reply #3: Absolutely love those responses! There's one who brings up one of the points you have made: [View All]

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Judi Lynn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-11-09 10:38 AM
Response to Reply #2
3. Absolutely love those responses! There's one who brings up one of the points you have made:
Bolivarian Scot,BorisTown 04/01/2009 11:30:03
Gerald Warner's wholly predictable diatribe against Fidel Castro has been comprehensively answered by many excellent postings, notably # 3 Retiarius, therefore I would only add the following comments.

For rightwingers like GW, Pinochet's Chile acts as a "Genesis myth" of supposed salvation from Marxism, with national rebirth courtesy of Chicago School monetarist policies, notably privatisation. However, Pinochet retained 100% state ownership and control of Codelco, the copper company that produces more than 50% of Chile's export revenues (ie the main engine of the economy). In other words, Pinochet himself wasn't fully convinced by rightwing economic orthodoxy, so why should anyone else be?

Regarding Cuba: GW wants us to believe that the Revolution will fade and die with Fidel Castro. That clearly isn't the case. Suppose Fidel is as incapacitated as GW suggests. Who's been running the country since July 2006? The fact is, Fidel - like a good businessman - already had in place a smooth succession plan, and it's working, much to the right's dismay. It's also a travesty to suggest that Raul has total control. Cuba is run by an entire government, including able figures such as Carlos Lage and Felipe Perez Roque (the latter born as recently as 1965). Life isn't perfect - the US embargo and lingering USSR-style bureaucracy has seen to that - but compared to other Third World countries that are nominally free (eg Haiti), Cubans enjoy the most basic and important of human rights - food, shelter, healthcare, education and job security.

By the way, GW, what's this nonsense about "a specially imported medical vehicle for his transportation and a custom-built abdominal brace to enable (Fidel Castro) to stand"? Where is the proof? Or is it just another bit of unsubstantiated gossip?

Re: Castro's supposed USD900m fortune. Again, rubbish. This originates from the US magazine Forbes' annual "Rich List", which is a piece of guesswork at best. The methodology for estimating Fidel's "wealth" has changed at least twice over the last three years, with wildly varying results. The fact is: in all these years, a whole army of Castro's enemies has failed to uncover a single piece of hard evidence that Fidel has plundered Cuba's wealth in the same way that Batista did.

Re: the US Embargo. It's ridiculous, anachronistic and cruel. Cuba isn't a "state sponsor of terrorism". On the contrary, it sends thousands of doctors overseas to places like Pakistan and Bolivia. Hence the UN recently voted again (by 185 to 3) for the USA to lift the Embargo. Will Barack Obama heed the call? Doubtful - rightwing Cuban-Americans still carry enormous clout in the Land of the Free.

It suits the right to describe Cuba as one giant prison camp. However, few have actually visited Cuba and I doubt whether GW is an exception. He says that 30,000 died fleeing Cuba (some rightwing sources say 100,000, others 500,000; they seem to make up figures to suit their case). But interviews with survivors are clear on the one point: the vast majority flee for economic reasons, not political, same as Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and others trying to get into the USA (the difference being that the USA literally guarantees automatic citizenship only to Cubans).

Rightwingers should therefore support the lifting the US Embargo (Blockade) if they truly believe that "This is the last guttering of the candle flame before eternal night closes in on a failed ideology". They won't. They are obsessed by tiny Cuba (pop. 11m) because it provides an alternative model of economic and social development - and one which, especially in these uncertain times, is not without its attractions. Quelle horreur!

Worst still for conservatives - Cuba's economy has some great strengths. Biotechnology set to overtake tourism as the main export earner; joint-ventures with China re nickel production; forthcoming JVs with non-US corporations to exploit Cuba's newly-found massive oil reserves.

In short: rumours of the death of the Cuban Revolution are greatly exaggerated. Apologies for this lengthy contribution but the truth about the Cuban Revolution isn't as black-and-white an affair as GW's article suggests.

~~~~~~~~

Also, another. You note they follow a similar pattern to messages boards everywhere where right-wing gumballs attempt to gibber at human beings. Intelligent, informed comments from people who know what they're talking about, and pathetic scrawling from anal, ignorant right-wingers:

3 Retiarius,Batavadorum 04/01/2009 02:45:46
"This is the last guttering of the candle flame before eternal night closes in on a failed ideology"

Maybe - lets hope the candle has finished guttering on the failed ideology Gerald appears to so admire, first in the Spanish fascist dictator Franco (the second rate Nazi); then the mass murderer (and third rate Nazi) Pinochet.

I hold no brief for Castro, who has (Gerald doesn't mention this) nevertheless achieved miracles, not least in health care, despite everything CIA murder squads have thrown at him; you'll recall these attempts have included such "Tam Shepherd" japes as exploding cigars ... all a bit "Woody Allen", but not funny if you're the intended murder victim. He regales us with Cuban poverty, but curiously omits to mention this may have just a teensy weensy bit to do with Cuba being under siege by the world's main superpower for half a century. Funny, that!

Was Cuba better off under the Franco/Pinochet-style regime of Batista, a classic Latin dictator steeped in Mafia corruption, murder and venality; I don't think so. Nice try, Gerald, but your tinpot Latino fascisti were the utter scum of the earth, and the great tragedy - and Britain's shame - is that the wicked old harridan Thatcher lent Pinochet actual support when he should have been answering for his crimes before a court of law.

It isn't "the Left" or leftie journalists who hold this view - it's the massive and overwhelming body of decent public opinion.

Gerald's arguments have some comedic weight, certainly, but when he rolls in the gutter with Nazis he deserves every atom of ridicule and opprobrium he receives.

~~~~~~~~~

They just keep coming!

5 Mikey,04/01/2009 09:47:23
The problem with the right is that they don't want a slice of the pie, they want ALL of it!

At least Cuba has given the poor literacy, free health care and work. What did Pinochet do for the poor of Chile? Apart from turn them into 'desaparacidos,' of course....

Newton_Invented_Gravity,04/01/2009 10:29:57
Another point-If you're going to compare Castro and Pinochet, remember that Castro deposed a dictator. Pinochet on the other hand overthrew a democratically elected government.

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