Fidel Castro, dead at 90

[the-pi-guy]

Cuba's Fidel Castro, former president, dies aged 90 - BBC News

Fidel Castro, Cuba's former president and leader of the Communist revolution, has died aged 90, state TV has announced.
It provided no further details.
Fidel Castro ruled Cuba as a one-party state for almost half a century before handing over the powers to his brother Raul in 2008.
His supporters praised him as a man who had given Cuba back to the people. But his opponents accused him of brutally suppressing opposition.

[Legend]

Oh

[the-pi-guy]

Oh

For real this time!

[darkknightkryta]

Guess he finally had one of those CIA exploding cigars

[Cute Pikachu]

Terrible humam being
Shame on gaf for allowing his actions against in Cuba and human rights acceptable.

[Aura7541]

Terrible humam being
Shame on gaf for allowing his actions against in Cuba and human rights acceptable.

Wait, GAF is condoning his humans rights violations?

[the-pi-guy]

Wait, GAF is condoning his humans rights violations?

No GAF is basically saying he did awful things but he also did some pretty good things.  

[DD_Bwest]

while castro and his regime are certainly guilty of oppression and human rights violations,  he led his country out of what was an even more opressive regime.  the fact that hes a commie is what led to the dark perception of him within america and western culture.  people are easy to forget some of the shame batista did before castro led his uprising.

nothing is black and white.

[Cute Pikachu]

No GAF is basically saying he did awful things but he also did some pretty good things.  

The bad outway thr good though.

Some on gaf are saying he is great for saying f you to the US but does not condemn him on all the human rights violations he admitted upon his people.
Please...

[the-pi-guy]

The bad outway thr good though.

Some on gaf are saying he is great for saying f you to the US but does not condemn him on all the human rights violations he admitted upon his people.
Please...

You can't always quantify things.  Doesn't make someone a bad person if they feel that the bad equals the good, or whatever.  

while castro and his regime are certainly guilty of oppression and human rights violations,  he led his country out of what was an even more opressive regime.  the fact that hes a commie is what led to the dark perception of him within america and western culture.  people are easy to forget some of the shame batista did before castro led his uprising.

nothing is black and white.

[Mmm_fish_tacos]

GAF can eat a sucker. everything Castro did was bad for his country. including telling the US to fudge off. probably the number one reason Cuba is in the shape it's in.

[Raven]

while castro and his regime are certainly guilty of oppression and human rights violations,  he led his country out of what was an even more opressive regime.  the fact that hes a commie is what led to the dark perception of him within america and western culture.  people are easy to forget some of the shame batista did before castro led his uprising.

nothing is black and white.

The problem is Castro really didn't improve things for Cubans as a whole. There were some who agreed with his methods and many who didn't. He was a very divisive figure among Cubans. My ex-girlfriend's dad, a Cuban himself, probably said it best. Cuba simply traded one tyrant for a different kind. Many people had their land taken from them and had to hide from the government having anything more than they were allowed. Some older Cubans would try to argue that Castro was awesome because "he got rid of prostitution". Because apparently to them, getting rid of whores who pleasure people for money is worth it in exchange for having your land taken if the government thinks you have too much. In 1991, Cuba had a food shortage because the Soviet Union was collapsing and could no longer send them the billions of dollars worth of aid they had been. Awesome little country you're running there when you don't even have the means to feed your own people without another country essentially handing you bail-out money every year. People try to blame the US for helping to freeze loans going into the country but, surprise surprise, that was because they had failed to pay many past debts long before the food shortage happened. Even the Soviet Union had grown tired of Cuba and Castro's shame before it died. Even they criticized Castro's strict adherence to Marxist economics. Cuba's economy was already slipping before he took power but he's credited with presiding over its downfall. Along with, you know, turning the country into a one-party government ruled by the Communist Party and refusing to leave his position of power until he was physically incapable. Castro wasn't a better era for Cubans. It was just different from Batista.

[the-pi-guy]

GAF can eat a sucker. everything Castro did was bad for his country. including telling the US to fudge off. probably the number one reason Cuba is in the shape it's in.

I bet there's a few in GAF that like him for that very reason.  

[DD_Bwest]

The problem is Castro really didn't improve things for Cubans as a whole. There were some who agreed with his methods and many who didn't. He was a very divisive figure among Cubans. My ex-girlfriend's dad, a Cuban himself, probably said it best. Cuba simply traded one tyrant for a different kind. Many people had their land taken from them and had to hide from the government having anything more than they were allowed. Some older Cubans would try to argue that Castro was awesome because "he got rid of prostitution". Because apparently to them, getting rid of whores who pleasure people for money is worth it in exchange for having your land taken if the government thinks you have too much. In 1991, Cuba had a food shortage because the Soviet Union was collapsing and could no longer send them the billions of dollars worth of aid they had been. Awesome little country you're running there when you don't even have the means to feed your own people without another country essentially handing you bail-out money every year. People try to blame the US for helping to freeze loans going into the country but, surprise surprise, that was because they had failed to pay many past debts long before the food shortage happened. Even the Soviet Union had grown tired of Cuba and Castro's shame before it died. Even they criticized Castro's strict adherence to Marxist economics. Cuba's economy was already slipping before he took power but he's credited with presiding over its downfall. Along with, you know, turning the country into a one-party government ruled by the Communist Party and refusing to leave his position of power until he was physically incapable. Castro wasn't a better era for Cubans. It was just different from Batista.

i wasnt really getting into the politics of which works better,  and more into how the batistas were guilty of executions and the like before he came in.  he did atleast make good on his promise for health care for all,  so thats atleast something lol

[Raven]

i wasnt really getting into the politics of which works better,  and more into how the batistas were guilty of executions and the like before he came in.  he did atleast make good on his promise for health care for all,  so thats atleast something lol

Yeah, it's something alright. Dilapidated facilities, frequent lack of pharmaceuticals, chronic patient neglect, no right to privacy or refusal of treatment, and Cuban citizens are not allowed to speak out against the system without facing possible criminal punishment. Boy oh boy. What a great thing!