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Fidel Castro Resigns
Smordnys s'regrepsA writes "Fidel Castro, the leader of the island nation of Cuba has declined the possibility of keeping his seat as President, after the February 24th National Assembly election. "I neither will aspire to nor will I accept — I repeat — I neither will aspire to nor will I accept, the position of president of the council of state and commander in chief," Castro wrote almost 19 months after a severe illness caused him to hand power temporarily to his brother Raul."
Now maybe I can get good cigars legally.
The Bay of Pigs Invasion finally draws to a successful conclusion, a mere 47 years behind schedule.
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
Does this mean the expat's in Miami will finally shut up and I can visit Havana soon (legally).
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
"I neither will aspire to nor will I accept -- I repeat -- I neither will aspire to nor will I accept, the position of president of the council of state and commander in chief"
Funny... he said something very similar when he and his revolutionaries kicked out Batista in the first place.
You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
Free the political prisoners. Free the press. Allow criticism of the state. Allow the existance of other political parties. Hold free elections. Until these acts happen, Cuba is just another repressive government we don't want to read about on slashdot.
Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
It means the return if the Cuban Bride business. We no longer have to suffer with the long shipping delays of the Russian bride business and now can get women to marry us sight un-seen in a few hours instead of a few months.
Nerds everywhere are that much closer to being possibly able to touch a boobie.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
The U.S. should make aggressive postures towards Cuba so that they are too scared to open their society and will look to a strong man for defense. Great idea, huh?
Democracy Now! - your daily, uncensored, corporate-free
...we can finally end this sad old Cold War charade and finally end the damn embargo?
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Fidel Castro is already dead. He's just resigning because his political duties get in the way of his lust for brains. BRAAAAAAAINS!!
I write sci-fi for metalheads
Before corporate America invades, and it's Wendys, Burger King, McDonalds and Starbucks on every street in Habana.
For those of you that have never been to Cuba, it really is a unique place.
Not for much longer, I fear.
he can spend more time on /. - searching for the "stuff that matters" perspective ;-)
this is news, but not really BIG news - Fidel has been sick for a long time and his brother ("Raul") is going to "take over" (although there will be an "election")
"ah come on, we all knew this socialism thing wasn't going to work"
Fidel Castro via the Simpsons
It ain't what they call you. It's what you answer to. http://mylyceum.us/
is that the symbol for this story is a crown. or would that be goldy?
If there is a democratic election the Us will send them money and support. Think of all the work for Geeks that will open up....
You must be the only person that wasn't getting them all along. ;-)
If you go now you will still be mostly confined to the "staged" Cuba, the Cuba presented to foreigners where the government needs to keep up appearances. If you want to see the real Cuba your going to either have to take risks or wait till the government collapses.
Castro and his ilk did far more damage to Cuba than any corporate entity could manage, let alone get away with. His country started falling apart once it was no longer propped up by the Soviets. He is a study in the strength of personality and use of tactics similar to East Germany to maintain power
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
It looks as though Father Time will finally accomplish what exploding cigars, poison pills, and even a skin disease-causing fungus could not.
We have a hard enough time competing already. Once Americans can go to Cuba legally, How will we Manage?
Perhaps we can convince them to replace him with someone America doesn't like any better? With his experience in international finance and Aviation, Bin-Laden would be a perfect replacement.
--= Isn't it surprising how badly I spell ?
It's often used as an argument as to why the USA shouldn't be bound to international laws that they agree to, or international organizations that they belong to. Seems only fair it should apply to Cuba as well.
"Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
From the article: "Castro...turned tiny Cuba into a thorn in the paw of the mighty capitalist United States."
Bay of Pigs was really the fault of Kennedy. So other than the Cuban Missile Crisis, I don't recall Cuba doing anything significantly irritating. I don't think one incident qualifies Cuba for "thorn in paw" status. Perhaps someone more historically enlightened could explain this to me?
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not entirely sure about the universe - Einstein
It's a story that involves zombies, so it's kinda news for nerds I suppose.
You can't be elected by Florida without the Cuban-American vote. You won't get that vote by dropping the embargo on the nation those people fled.
As someone who has actually lived in Cuba for more than a year, I thought I should inform some of you that, while it is of some historical importance, this news changes very little politically. His brother Raul is as much of a communist as Fidel. It is highly unlikely that any Cuban policies will change due to this development. I think what we are all waiting for is for both Fidel and Raul to actually die. When that happens there is at least some possibility of real change. And since Bush didn't change his position wrt cuba when Fidel 'temporarily' stepped down due to illness I doubt if he will do so now that the change has been made permanent.
Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.
... that I found out about this on /. when I have CNN on right now? Half expected them to announce a new Firefox 'sploit.
The eternal struggle of good vs. evil begins within one's self.
Nerds are interested in many a subject. I am an education/tech nerd. I'm pretty damn sure there's quite a few politics and history nerds in here, too.
Beyond that, why complain when genuine news hits the front page? Did you complain when Slashdot was holding up the internets when the towers fell?
Link please.
No really, please.
Ohh god...I want to know a woman before I die....
*whipmer*
Virginia is for lovers. EVE is for griefers.
For all his faults, in some ways Castro valued human life more than you'd expect from all the propaganda in the U.S. about "communism." He kept his people from starving in the 1990's after the collapse of the Soviet Union cut off a lot of Cuba's oil supply (unlike North Korea's Kim, who clearly doesn't give a crap about the starving people under his heel); at least Cubans don't have to eat dirt, literally, like their neighbors on Haiti. He's kept up a basic healthcare system and invested his country's meager resources into finding treatments for tropical poor people's diseases ignored by Western pharmaceutical companies. He had moved his country's population out of harm's way when the inevitable hurricanes rake across the island. And he even offered to send medical help to the U.S. for Hurricane Katrina's victims. So in some nontrivial respects he wasn't a totally bad guy.
Although I agree with your point that US relations with Cuba isn't exactly news for nerds, news about Brad and Angelina isn't news for ANYBODY. They're just actors. Nothing thay doe will affect the world, let alone MY world. Castro resigning does, in fact, affect me.
mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
Ironically, the end of the embargo will probably make it harder for Americans to get genuine Habanos, at least for a while. As of now, it isn't difficult to have Cubans cigars delivered to the USA from an authorized Habanos SA retailer. However, the demand for Cuban cigars already exceeds the supply (unless you're interested in the infamous Glass Top Cohibas), so the influx of Americans interested in trying these forbidden cigars will result in shortages around the world. The newly-legal cigars will also be met by large numbers of fakes, making it even more difficult to get the real thing.
What international entreprise should have long written off can become an incentive for revolution, and an opportunity for trade on the part of the Cubans and the US.
What would be an utter failure would be for Cubans to feel as the Russians do, that state oppression has been replaced with private sector oppression. Cubans deserve the property that their government has taken from then, as well as international entreprises, which would otherwise have created the opportunity for mutual benefit.
If a write-off is politically untenable, then compensation is called for, but the Cubans should not pay for it.
Wikileaks, no DNS
I do not defend Castro's dictatorship, but for many he seems to have been a 'benevolent' dictator. This is something of an oxymoron, so what I mean is this: For many working class Cubans, Castro's government has established a strong safety net and an egalitarian society. There is no question that Castro was also ruthless in dealing with political adversaries and I would not have liked to live in such a closed society. But like any other government, his was neither purely good nor purely evil. What did he do well and what did he do poorly? He did work hard to address the needs of 'his' people. A controlled economy with a strong safety net does result in an economy with a lower average income, but how strongly does is affect the median income? Is it better to be an average Cuban or an average Mexican? Both seem to be willing to take great risks to get out. GDP per capita, the standard measure of a nation's economy, doesn't address income distribution: The average income of Bill Gates and 9 Slashdotters is simply 10% of Bill Gates income + round off error. I would like to see economic analysis of developing nations that is measured by percent of population living below a locally adjusted poverty line. Does anyone know of such a study?
Think global, act loco
1. ask a cuban to go on the internet
2. ask them to write something critical of castro
what happens next to said cuban?
this is a superior place? because they don't have starbucks?
so you prefer autocracy and censorship and police state over starbucks and mcdonalds?
dude: your priorities stink
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
People like that--the faux-intellectuals who engage in slashdot groupthink as a means of addressing their own intellectual insecurities--are the reasons I usually don't even get down into the comments. This one had too much potential to pass up... cognitive dissonance is always a good potential source of humor with these people.
What to do? Make silly, baseless, incredibly ignorant claims that the US is pretty much the same as Cuba? Praise Castro, and maybe tie the Che Guevara poster hanging in my cubicle into the conversation? Talk about how Hugo Chavez is the best thing since Castro? Or maybe just act like a normal, intelligent, rational human being? Of course, the latter is to be avoided at all costs on slashdot, so that's unlikely.
I bet candid beach photos of Angelina get a LOT more downloads than candid beach photos of Castro...
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
for a country, with a large poor population, going radically socialist, at the detriment to some freedoms, in order to force a large part of the population out of poverty. for example venezuela's hugo chavez is using petrodollar-funded socialism to aid venezuela's poor (those petrodollars, ironically, considering chavez's hot air about evil america, are coming from american soccer moms refilling their suvs)
however, also consider the recent vote a few months back in venezuela. chavez, to his credit, asked the venezuelan people if they would let him alter the constitution to dramatically extend his powers. rather than just take those powers by force, like we hear about time and time again in the world. the venezuelan people rejected his power grab, even in the poor parts of venezuela that enthusiastically support chavez otherwise. and chavez, again to his credit, accepted their decision
however, in cuba, you have those authoritarian despotic powers that castro weild. does he have that right? no, he certainly does not. and i think if you asked the average cuban, who benefitted the most from the enforced socialist policies that castro enacted, why they couldn't also have more democratic freedoms, i think that cuban would probably have the same opinion of castro as those poor venezuelans do about chavez: yes to castro's policy, no to castro's absolute power
so socialism for the poor: yes. despotic autocracy: no. in such a way, you can criticize castro without rejecting the policies that benefitted the cuban poor
and btw, frankly, as an american, hugo chavez can talk about constant phantom cia threats on his life, how the evil imperialistic america is about to invade caracas at any moment, etc., blah blah blah. zzz. be as big a fearmongering demagogue gas bag as he wants, i don't care. as long as he uses petrodollars to aid venezuelan poor, and he doesn't abuse his powers and destroy venezuelan democracy, chavez has my support 100%
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
You are passed the denial, and entered the anger phase.
We understand it. But, please, understand too that we do not believe you anymore when you talk about "democracy", "change", etc. In our eyes you are not a carrier of democratic ideas anymore. You are just an angry traumatized country.
Allow for tourism and trade, let the economic ramifications encourage a change of policy.
(ie: people enjoying $$$ influx, will demand that it continues)
I don't think the U.S. could do it if they tried. The old money in the U.S. has too much political clout and personal interest in carving up Cuba for themselves. Cubans would be worse off than the Florida ghettos if the U.S. touched them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Revolution
Cuba needs communism. They should probably follow China's lead and open up the borders culturally and keep a tight stranglehold on passports, but the land is the property of the people, managed by the government.
Poor Cuba. I hope they get a good leader. Else they're screwed.
some of us like Cuban cigars.
some of us want to visit Cuba, like everyone else in the world can.
some of us would love an opportunity to live in a Caribbean island nation while working to bring their network infrastructure up to international standards.
MOD THE CHILD UP!
No evidence of limb chopping to a casual search.
... it is legitimate to raise questions about possible crimes against humanity in Cuba."[141]
.[142]
Lots of executions but mainly during the first 15 years of his rule. Since then it seems to mostly be arbitrary prison terms and allowing the prisoners to be abused (physically and sexually). However, this also happens in American Prisons and America incarcerates its own citizens at a higher rate- we just make everything illegal so we do not have to use bogus crimes like "insulting the president" to put someone away for seven years. OTH, you better not say anything mildly threatening or your fate will be similar. Of course, America has become a lot more of a fascist dictatorship than it was in 1960. And, of course, any good discussion needs to point out that Cuba was a dictatorship and 3/4 of it's property was not owned by its own citizens (conditions ripe for revolution by *someone* and a lot of revolutions were occuring- castro was just the successful one).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_Castro#Human_rights_record
Human rights record
Main article: Human rights in Cuba
Thousands of political opponents to the Castro regime have been killed, primarily during the first decade of his leadership.[135][136] Some Cubans labeled "counterrevolutionaries", "fascists", or "CIA operatives" were also imprisoned in poor conditions without trial.[137][138] Military Units to Aid Production, or UMAPs, were labor camps established in 1965 to confine "social deviants" including homosexuals, Jehovah Witnesses to work "counter-revolutionary" influences out of certain segments of the population.[139] The camps were closed in 1967 in response to international outcries.[140] Professor Marifeli Pérez Stable, a Cuban immigrant and former Castro supporter has said that "There were thousands of executions, forty, fifty thousand political prisoners. The treatment of political prisoners, with what we today know about human rights and the international norms governing human rights
Castro acknowledges that Cuba holds political prisoners, but argues that Cuba is justified because these prisoners are not jailed because of their political beliefs, but have been convicted of "counter-revolutionary" crimes, including bombings. Castro portrays opposition to the Cuban government as illegitimate, and the result of an ongoing conspiracy fostered by Cuban exiles with ties to the United States or the CIA.
http://www.hrw.org/wr2k2/americas5.html
She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
Do not be Gorbachev, be Den Xiao Ping.
Do not start with political freedoms, start with economic ones...
I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
No, I don't think the left argues that Cuba is some kind of paragon of liberty. They argue that the policy towards Cuba should be something like that towards China, one of engagement that will encourage them to move towards free market reforms, which will lead to individual freedoms.
Stating that "the left" has some rosy idea about Cuba makes people say, well, nobody has the right answer, both sides are equally bad. That isn't the case.
The original embargo was based on the privatization of primarily American business interests. The Cuban Government effectively stole billions from American investors. Obviously the affiliation with the Soviets did not help. So since the Soviet Union has dissolved, why does it prevail? The simple reason, that there are many anti-Castro ex-Cubans residing in Florida, and Florida as we all know is a swing state. It would be political suicide for anyone in power to suggest removing the embargo and pissing of a(significant enough) chunk of the Sunshine State. The idea being, to leave well enough alone. And then there is obviously political rhetoric involved, not wanting to appear soft on Communism/Socialism. There just isn't enough incentive there for the right or left, to stir the pot.
And don't forget that before Castro's revolution, Cuba was ruled by Batista - a dictator propped up by the US government. Batista killed up to 20000 people, mostly political prisoners and many were tortured.
Batista staged a military coup when it was clear he was going to lose an election. Casto was leader of one of the opposition parties and was jailed as a result. So gee - I wonder why Castro was a bit pissed at the US?
Tesla was a genius. Edison however was a overrated hack who liked to torture puppies.
*whipmer*
That costs extra...
can't sleep slashdot will eat me
You mean the kind where the government is awash in petrodollers yet pisses most of it all away on foreign political projects without maintaining the means of production & where it crashes down around their ears? Call us back in a few years & we'll judge how successful really Chavez was...
Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
Presented: a contra-view to your assertion that because no US citizens are being held at Guantanamo, there are no political prisoners there.
Can you please provide a reference for "As political prisoners are invariably citizens of the detaining state" ?
Because I can't find anything, in dictionaries or Wikipedia. Political prisoners are those who (someone claims) are imprisoned for their political views. The term was used a lot to refer to Soviet dissidents (meeting your definition). However, it is often currently used to refer to those who are imprisoned for violence against a government that they were fighting against. In that case, they are usually NOT citizens of the detaining state. Their view that is that they were legitimately resisting a foreign government, and are thus are prisoners of politics, not of crime.
Another description of Political prisoner from Wikipedia: "A political prisoner can also be someone that has been denied bail unfairly, denied parole when it would reasonably have been given to a prisoner charged with a comparable crime, or special powers may be invoked by the judiciary. Particularly in this latter situation, whether an individual is regarded as a political prisoner may depend upon subjective political perspective or interpretation of the evidence."
I would think that for a significant number of observers, the people in Guantanamo meet this definition. Disregarding the ultimate factual actions of the detainees, a lot of people believe that the people in Guantanamo are being held without due process of law, outside of an independent review by a court of competent jurisdiction. Based on decisions made by a government for seemingly political ends, as opposed to judicial or criminal needs.
Not that they didn't commit some real crime. But they are currently prisoners 7 years later because of politics, not because they've been convicted of anything. How many enemy combatants have been tried by a reasonably independent tribunal 7 years after being detained? (CSRTs don't count) Convicted?
How long can a state keep a non-citizen locked up without a conviction, or even a trial, before they are considered political prisoners?
I should reply with the exact counter-argument, but then I'd be back in law school arguing both sides.
Visiting Cuba?
Tesla was a genius. Edison however was a overrated hack who liked to torture puppies.
You need to widen your view.
The ONLY reason US did ANYTHING was because Cuba was going to institute a communist system. This happened during the cold war era (late 1940's - 1991), where America's foreign policy was THE CONTAINMENT OF COMMUNISM FROM SOVIET RUSSIA. Any spread of communism around the world was seen as the expansion (or aid) of Soviet Russia.
Part of the containment strategy is stopping the spread of communism anywhere else that it surfaced. That is why the US fought in Korea (1950-1953), Guatamala (1954), Lebanon (1958), and Vietnam (1965-1974). Cuba just fell in the line of fire.
"They nationalized property without compensating international business" is just the reason they lay out to explain why they embargoed Cuba. The actual motive was something else.
-Chippy
As the recent independence of Kosovo (a few years following the 1999 US-led bombing campaign) shows, the U.S. is still the world's policeman.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
Can you direct me to some statements/postings/blogs by someone who could be considered "left" and who wants the US to be more like Cuba (in terms of individual liberties, free market, and all that; and not more like Cuba in terms of health care)?
Wouldn't that be, as stated in this thread, more of a fringe opinion?
Another important difference is that it is much easier to get from Mexico to the USA than it is from Cuba to the USA. Every Cuban I've ever talked to about Castro and the communist government of Cuba is filled with hatred. These people are not happy with anything about their country's government. Mexicans don't have such hatred in their speech about their president. They admit the Mexican government is corrupt, but they don't talk like Cubans do about government. I figure if it were just economic 'pull' from the US that brought Cubans here then we wouldn't have this huge disparity.
(Let me acknowledge here that my poll is far from scientific. In fact since every Cuban I've spoken to has been living in the USA voluntarily, I'd guess we wouldn't find too many that want to be in Cuba)
I cried real tears when Li Mu Bai died.