Castro Resigns

Yamu

Yamu

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As an AP newswhore, I felt it my obligation to put up a thread on this since no one else had beaten me to the punch:

Associated Press said:
Fidel Castro, ailing and 81, announced Tuesday he was resigning as Cuba's president, ending a half-century of autocratic rule which made him a communist icon and a relentless opponent of U.S. policy around the globe.

The end of Castro's rule — the longest in the world for a head of government — frees his 76-year-old brother Raul Castro to implement reforms he has hinted at since taking over as acting president when Fidel fell ill in July 2006.

President Bush said he hopes the resignation signals the beginning of a democratic transition, though he doubts that would come about under the rule of another Castro. The State Department denigrated the change as a "transfer of authority and power from dictator to dictator light."
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Link

Heh... between this, China, North Korea, and rising (if largely uninformed) concerns about "the ever-looming threat of Russia's new KGB regime," Joe McCarthy must be tap-dancing in his grave.

Personally, I'm just glad that we finally have a chance to see the end of this ridiculous, and at this point largely arbitrary, embargo. Ever since I hit ten years old and realized how little sense it made, it's been kind of a peeve of mine.

That's just me, though. Castro's out of office. Discuss.
 
I don't necessarily see this as a sad thing (though I think Yamu is being kind of sarcastic) I'm just going to be very curious as to whether this leads to any changes and if so what they'll be. Who knows maybe the loss of Fidel will lead to a sudden chance for a revolution (I highly doubt this since a lifetime of oppressive rule has probably made the people totally incapable of wanting or doing a revolt) or maybe the son will implement Democracy maybe all at once or maybe a little bit at a time.

I just hope and pray my country doesn't get involved.

I'm also very curious what alot of my Cuban relatives here in the USA think.

Sincerely,
The Vault Dweller
 
No posts on Kosovo, but a post on someone who's been de facto resigned for some time now finally making it official?

Tsssk

You guys are so devolving.
 
Truth be told, I'm still kind of reading up on Kosovo... I've got the basic outline, but I don't like treading where I don't have a solid background in the facts. I find that refraining from doing so puts one on a sounder and more respectable (if less expansive) intellectual footing than most of his compatriots. Can't fault me for that, can you? :P

At any rate, this post is about Castro, you verdammt rabble rouser. I believe I said discuss.
 
Hey, couldn't we just move any Kosovo-related topics and posts here, and declare the thread as our own, just like the Albanians did?
 
Iknew it!
Drinking all those Cuba Libres for all those years worked! I'd like to thank Captain Morgan and Don Q Crystal for all their help.
 
This definitely sounds like it'll be interesting. Giving his brother control won't last for too long... considering he's 76 already. Hopefully whoever's next in line won't be so dictorial ;)

Then again, it's completely possible that a new leader would just do everything Fidel did... but modernly. Modern Cuban Missile Crisis? Historically inaccurate I know (the Russians would hardly put missiles there again)... but I'm just waiting for something to blow up. That's the only time we ever get excitement.
 
The whole Western history writing of the Cuba missile crisis tends to be rather inaccurate and one-sided. Hell, you'd almost think the US wasn't the aggressor there, from reading an average history book

Cimmerian Nights said:
Cuba Libres
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That's a girl's drink.
 
Brother None said:
The whole Western history writing of the Cuba missile crisis tends to be rather inaccurate and one-sided. Hell, you'd almost think the US wasn't the aggressor there, from reading an average history book
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I have no doubt. Then again, wasn't everyone the aggressor during the cold war ? ;)
 
Well - yes, obviously. But it's really usually the case in any war that both sides are guilty to some level. "Evil empire attacks innocents" is pretty rare. WW II was a case of that, I s'pose, but no other 20th century war I could think of otherwise was.
 
While I doubt the embargo will end before Bush leaves office, what I wonder is how this will impact US elections. Florida is big into the anti-Castro crowd and those folks vote.
 
The Vault Dweller said:
Who knows maybe the loss of Fidel will lead to a sudden chance for a revolution (I highly doubt this since a lifetime of oppressive rule has probably made the people totally incapable of wanting or doing a revolt) or maybe the son will implement Democracy maybe all at once or maybe a little bit at a time...
...I'm also very curious what alot of my Cuban relatives here in the USA think.
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What makes people think that the majority of Cubans are anti-Castro? I don't understand why we love to paint Castro as a freedom-hatin', evil-doer. Since when is he the bearded Saddam of the west?
I'm doubly confounded by how Castro = Sith Lord of Central\South America, and yet Che Guevara is a beautiful revolutionary icon of the people.

As for Cubans in the US, that's an unbalanced survey. Most US\Florida Cubans = white, where as something like 4/5 Cubans are dark, for starters. (Cultural/class differences implied.) Plus you'd be asking people who've have fled the country what they think of it. This kind of logic might make one think that most Russians are Jews, according to the US demographics.


Ehh, now that I've vented, I want to apologize if I've read too much into your post. :|
 
I remember a lot of dancing in the streets of Havana when Castro went in for surgery. You know, when everyone was thinking he was going to die.

ErrantSaint said:
What makes people think that the majority of Cubans are anti-Castro? I don't understand why we love to paint Castro as a freedom-hatin', evil-doer. Since when is he the bearded Saddam of the west?
I'm doubly confounded by how Castro = Sith Lord of Central\South America, and yet Che Guevara is a beautiful revolutionary icon of the people.
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Well first off ^

But yeah, Che getting the beautiful revolutionary thing is kind of annoying. He was a fucking nut job with a gun.

I'd totally take Castro over che.
 
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