Fidel Castro passes.

[cj121]

RIP

[lestabantam]

Just woke up to this news. May he rest in peace.

[Simon Bolivar]

My first thought was, died again? But http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/26/wo...ollection&_r=0
So I hope like I wish with el Che, people will remember the good & the bad things they did, & in their characters. They certainly made their mark but one could seriously agree whether they improved the lives of their people more in the long run, than if they hadn't had their revolution & insisted (in the Castro brother's vision) of keeping the people locked in to their 60's communism. If they had relaxed more & created a more open society, perhaps America would have opened the borders a long time ago & life for the avge Cuban would be far better than it is today & maybe only a fraction would have been lost trying to cross to America illegally & great cost to themselves & their families.
All the same R.I.P. And let's hope this will allow America to continue opening up relations now he's gone.

[jerryr]

The last of the great revolutionaries has passed, whether his legacy was good for Cuba or not is debatable.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

[ValeTudoGuy]

RIP, weather I agreed with his legacy or not.... At least he never had to live and see the day his beloved Cuba fell to globalization.

[cj121]

Yes, Along with resisting emperialism, and directly supporting the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.

[TJCoro]

Gone.

According to don TJ's journal, he has a personal relationship with one of Fidel's personal torcedors, Jesus Lara Perez. Jesus's brother, Avelino Lara, AKA, the "Godfather of the Cohiba," managed the famous El Laguito factor and later went to the Bahamas with Jesus to create the Graycliff line. A few of Jesus's cuban creations rest confortable in don TJ's himidor.

Rest it peace, Fidel and Avelino.

Ricky Bobby

[the pondering moose]

Broadly, I agree with Simon Bolivar on this (as I think there was a thread on el Che). Fidel was a complex character who on the one side took Cuba out of the Batista stranglehold and was instrumental in the making the Cuban people the best educated, with the best healthcare, in the Caribbean by a ways. On the other hand, an old school Marxist communist planned economic system was less successful (as was the human rights record). And, standing up to the USA very nearly caused nuclear war (possibly, ironically, averted by a Soviet submarine skipper).

All this said, I'm a bit of a lefty and I'm sad he passed. RIP Comanante.

[Shaun]

More villain than hero in my eyes. Interesting times ahead for Cuba certainly.

[TJCoro]

Backward to America!

All the same R.I.P. And let's hope this will allow America to continue opening up relations now he's gone.

Well, according to me yankee amigos, that's all very much in jeopardy now. The recent advancements between Cuba and the US were done by the current president via executive order and, therefore, can be reversed with the stroke of a pen by the new US leader. Something he has and still promises to do.

Amazing times!

image.pngBelieve Me! You're Head Will Spin!


Ricky Bobby

[james.uk]

I'm not going to talk politics but an icon has passed and I will certainly have a cigar in his honour this weekend.

[smokey joe]

Fidel Castro passes.

Fidel Castro has to be one of the all time most significant BOTL

Fidel Castro: Dodging exploding seashells, poison pens and ex-lovers

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-38121583

"Castro's beard was also the subject of an elaborate failed plot"