QuoteCastro is exactly they way Fianna Fail would love to be in this country
I have a feeling that Raul Castro will preside over a period of gradual normalisation before the old system begins unravel itself.
Castro is exactly they way Fianna Fail would love to be in this country
In Trap we trust
AP dated Feb. 19thOriginally Posted by Saint MacDara
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationwo...,6670109.story
According to them the next current leader is President Omar Bongo of Gabon.
"Omar Bongo ascended to Gabon's presidency Dec. 2, 1967, after his predecessor's death. In his 70s, Bongo faces little political opposition in oil-rich West African nation of 1.5 million".
Thank God, Colonel Moammar Gadhafi of Libya is next. Still only a Colonel though, loser. Him and a group of lower ranked army officers who nobody (West or East Secret Services) had heard of "..took power through a Sept. 1, 1969, military coup in the oil-producing North African nation of 6 million people. In his 60s." There was a presumption they were Ba'ath Party members. Similiar to Political Parties in Syria and Iraq. The Americans courted him for about a year, until he kicked them out of Wheelus Air Force base. http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/facility/wheelus.htm The Bay of Tripoli is a historic area for the marines/military forces. A low key cold war was established and Colonel Gaddhafi's (var. sp.) rejection of traditional Capitalism or Communism didn't help his entry into Cold War polictics.
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/wh...bya/3063017014
In Europe President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...0/ai_n16208568
There's some nonsense about him being a dictator or something and polls that don't reflect the wishes of the community....
....but you don't get in that position without some help
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-164183483.html
" I'll go right up to here,
it can't possibly hurt.
All they will find is my
beer and my shirt."
Castro was recently interviewed by Naomi Campell for GQ magazine I heard. Same series where she interviewed Chavez.
I think the yanks would be making a huge mistake by invading Cuba and it would probably lead to a huge outpouring of solidarity towards Cuba from accrosss Latin America leading to even more Chavez types in power - or worse for the US - real workers governments!
TO TELL THE TRUTH IS REVOLUTIONARY
The ONLY foot.ie user with a type of logic named after them!
All of this has happened before. All of it will happen again.
Cuba has only held together under current "socialist" system due to Fidel Castro popularity. If it was the system that was popular it would continue without any problems but we all now that has slim if any chance.
Castro was popular for a reason and it wasn't because he could sing or was fantastically good looking.
TO TELL THE TRUTH IS REVOLUTIONARY
The ONLY foot.ie user with a type of logic named after them!
All of this has happened before. All of it will happen again.
BohsPartisan and Castro sitting in a tree......
Anyway I agree with you, people underestimate exactly why Castro is so popular, possibly because they believe the 'Cubans have no choice' media line, a bit too much. His achievements in education and healthcare are rarely given a mention, and most people don't realise how much he pushed equality in Cuba (fair enough, homesexuals weren't given full equality, but there are very few countrys that have even broached that subject, let alone given it)
Now this is nonsense. Sky News, a Murdock-owned TV tabloid, mentioned his record in education and healthcare when discussing his retirement the other day, and gave it equal weight to his dictatorship. No one is unaware of these things.
You can't spell failure without FAI
But yet still people come out with simplistic drivel like:
The mind, she boggles at times.Cuba has only held together under current "socialist" system due to Fidel Castro popularity.
Don't watch Sky News so didn't see that, but any reports I've read have given a brief mention to his reforms (bar the Guardian, but you'd expect that) and left it at that, whilst implying that Cuba was held under his iron thumb from breaking free into democracy
Random sampling:
BBC:
Reuters has the bias you alluded to.Mixed legacy
It is not clear whether Mr Castro's retirement was prompted by a further decline in his health - the state of which is an official secret.
Though Fidel Castro has not been seen in public for 19 months, the government occasionally releases photographs and pre-edited video of him meeting visiting leaders from around the world.
The retiring leader will be remembered as one of the most distinctive and enduring icons from the second half of the 20th Century, the BBC's Paul Keller writes.
With his olive green fatigues, beard and Cuban cigars, Fidel Castro was the original Cold Warrior.
Under his leadership Cuba established the first Marxist-Leninist state in the Western hemisphere, almost within sight of the US coastline.
Embracing communism and the patronage of the Soviet Union, Fidel Castro transformed Cuba economically and socially but had to struggle when it collapsed.
He leaves his country with universal free healthcare and a much-admired education system, which has produced doctors for the developing world, but also a failing economy.
The Irish Times:
In general, US outlets seems to have focussed on sound bytes from immigrants, which betrays the bias you mentioned.President Castro's legacy is a mixed one. His revolution swept to power deposing the ruthless American-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. He used his power to bring sweeping social changes and instituted widely admired healthcare and education systems. But he never brought back democracy, and economic mismanagement, coupled with sanctions, has left Cuba desperately poor.
The Sun, in a remarkably vacant piece of journalism, makes no judgement of the man - no mention of positives or negatives of his reign.
The Mirror borrowed a lot of their text from Reuters.
Overall, I'm struck by how many times I've seen the same phrases reused again and again - so much lazy journalism.
Anyway, to sum up, I don't think either of us is entirely right here Jebus, but you're certainly right that there's some bias out there, mainly fed from US outlets. Some reports this side of the Atlantic are balanced, some are not, particularly those using a lot of material from wire services.
You can't spell failure without FAI
"Eventually this transition ought to lead to free and fair elections. And I mean free, and I mean fair -- not these kinds of staged elections that the Castro brothers tried to foist off as being true democracy" George Bush
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080219...h_080219141432
Anybody see the above press conferance?
Has the man no sense of irony? I couldnt help but think replace Castro brothers with Bush brothers and the statement still would have rang true......
Like every government in the world Castro had his supporters and opposers.
All I have met respect him for what he has done for his country.
His education system in particular should be an example to all other countries.
People say the Cuban people can't complain about Castro and the government - this may have been the way in the past but I have personally heard many Cubans complain about their government. They are now free to express their opinions about their government and are getting more say in who governs the country.
People say the media in Cuba is censored - this is not true I watched both CNN and BBC news while staying in houses in Cuba, I even got to see an episode of One Tree Hill in one Casa. ( I personally think the American Media is more censored)
There is a new generation of highly educated Cubans who are getting frustrated with the limitations imposed on them, in particular the restrictions on travel and work.
With such an increase in tourism to the country they get annoyed that they can't visit other countries, or even earn enough money to visit other countries.
The above is just what I found when travelling around Cuba. There are good and bad sides to the Cuban Government as with every other government in the world.
I can see changes will come as the leaders of the country changes, but Cuba is a country which has been changing for many years, its just happening much slower that the rest of the world.
The trade embargo America has imposed is partially to blame for this slow process, as they 'threaten' other countries who do trade with Cuba.
For a country with no real natural resources I think Castro has done a good job
think cuba is safe enough for now from american military intervention, the fact that their military resources are severley overstretched as it is in iraq and afghanistan gives the cubans a bit of breathing space. If they are in a position in the future to launch another invasion i think they have their eye on other targets- notably Iran.
To illustrate my last post, the first paragraph in this article sums up exactly why Fidel is popular:
The rest of the article
TO TELL THE TRUTH IS REVOLUTIONARY
The ONLY foot.ie user with a type of logic named after them!
All of this has happened before. All of it will happen again.
Frank Murphy with the Cork County Board
Actually he's taking over from Castro when he officially steps down
LESS OF THE BULL NOW!
You're missing Queen Elizabeth, crowned in 1953. The Thai leader who died recently held the record before Castro, I think.
Leader, not figurehead.
Your Chairperson,
Gavin
Membership Advisory Board
"Ex Bardus , Vicis"
I think you are both right. (I'm only glad I put "according to them..." in my original post)
Longest serving leader measures control/management and date of beginning of control. I believe its not an exact science (maths).
Actually I totally forgot about QEII EUR. Never crossed my mind that what I was posting didn't include that sweet old lady.
" I'll go right up to here,
it can't possibly hurt.
All they will find is my
beer and my shirt."
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks