Fidel Castro passes.

[nailer]

Originally Posted by Tom Joad

https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2...e-decades.html



I am convinced that Fidel Castro will go down in history as one of the greatest humanitarians that ever lived, while the United States of America will go down as one of the most evil empires ever.

Darth Trump works for me.

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by Tom Joad

https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2...e-decades.html

I am convinced that Fidel Castro will go down in history as one of the greatest humanitarians that ever lived, while the United States of America will go down as one of the most evil empires ever.

I guess it depends upon who writes the history. I suspect your opinion is already shared by many in Russia and North Korea.

[Tom Joad]

Originally Posted by finnbow

I guess it depends upon who writes the history. I suspect your opinion is already shared by many in Russia and North Korea.

My opinion is shared by a majority of people thoughout the world.

The only place where your opinion prevails is here is the US where the public has been fed a steady stream of anti-Castro lies and propaganda for over 50 years.

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by Tom Joad

My opinion is shared by a majority of people thoughout the world.

The only place where your opinion prevails is here is the US where the public has been fed a steady stream of anti-Castro lies and propaganda for over 50 years.

Believe it or not, I don't have a universally negative view of Castro. My nephew did post-doctoral work in Cuba and brought back a Cuban wife whose parents are both communist party members from the countryside outside of Santiago de Cuba. I'd very much like to go there (which my brother and his wife have) and experience rural Cuban life firsthand.

OTOH, unlike you, I'm unwilling to gloss over the number of people he killed and imprisoned for political reasons alone as the necessary cost of a decent health care and education system. FWIW, my nephew's wife, Yindra (born, raised and educated in Cuba), feels much the same way. Personally, I much prefer the Costa Rican model of governance in Latin America to Castro's, Chavez's or Morales'.

[Tom Joad]

Originally Posted by finnbow

Believe it or not, I don't have a universally negative view of Castro. My nephew did post-doctoral work in Cuba and brought back a Cuban wife whose parents are both communist party members from the countryside outside of Santiago de Cuba.

I have a daughter in law who is Cuban.

Her family is Tampa Cuban which tends to be different from Miami Cuban. For one thing they have been in the US since the late 1800's.

I have no idea how she feels about Castro so I'm keeping my mouth shut.

Gotta keep peace in the family.

Unlike an internet forum where it doesn't matter who you offend.

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by Tom Joad

I have a daughter in law who is Cuban.

Her family is Tampa Cuban which tends to be different from Miami Cuban. For one thing they have been in the US since the late 1800's.

I have no idea how she feels about Castro so I'm keeping my mouth shut.

Yindra, who didn't leave Cuba until she was 24 years old is quite interesting to talk to about Cuba (as is Johnny, my nephew, who has spent considerable time there and visits often). Neither are big fans of Castro, though both like many aspects of Cuban culture, particularly the music and food (he's a great cook, photographer and an excellent percussionist who trained and jammed with some of the fellows on the Buena Vista Social Club album). FWIW, his PhD is in cultural geography and his dissertation was on the influence of music on political movements in Latin America.

If you want to take a look inside Cuba through his eyes, here's some of his work:
http://www.johnnyfinn.net/cuba-a-portrait

[Dondilion]

I have great respect for Castro for the great, unselfish work he did in Africa.

When Neto Of The MPLA sent out an SOS to Castro for assistance against the South Africans and their surrogates, Castro, despite the opposition of the USSR, sent his best troops. The Cubans fought the South Africans to a stalemate.

Cuban doctors were on front line recently fighting Ebola in Africa.

All over the third world are many doctors who were trained in Cuba.

[Tom Joad]

Originally Posted by finnbow

both like many aspects of Cuban culture, particularly the music and food

Yeah, there was plenty of Cuban music and chow at their wedding in October. It was awesome.

Originally Posted by finnbow

his PhD is in cultural geography

Geography!?

That's for people who want to skate through college with the minimum amount of effort possible. I have a degree in Geography.

Then I went on for More of the Same (M.S.) in Urban and Regional Planning.

But I stopped short of Piled Higher and Deeper (PHD)

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by Tom Joad

Geography!?

That's for people who want to skate through college with the minimum amount of effort possible. I have a degree in Geography.

Then I went on for More of the Same (M.S.) in Urban and Regional Planning.

But I stopped short of Piled Higher and Deeper (PHD)

He started out in journalism, but got side-tracked into this cultural geography thing. He's now a tenured professor at Christopher Newport College in Newport News, VA. When he explains what he does/teaches, it doesn't seem like geography as I conceive of it. More of a mix of anthropology, sociology, political science and geography.

[nailer]

Originally Posted by finnbow

He started out in journalism, but got side-tracked into this cultural geography thing. He's now a tenured professor at Christopher Newport College in Newport News, VA. When he explains what he does/teaches, it doesn't seem like geography as I conceive of it. More of a mix of anthropology, sociology, political science and geography.

Visited your nephew's site yesterday, surfed awhile and I'm thinking the ASP mix are all influenced by geography. His classes are probably fun. I also enjoyed his comment about Steven Pinker's view of music.