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This implies to me that you think Cuba is pretty good.
Trillion is a big number.............
No thankyou. Your posts are a wonder as well.
Stalinist is a turn of phrase, it wasn't a specific comparison as was quite obvious.......
Though could say I consider a healthy, fair and socially conscious democracy two trillion times better than a fascist dictatorship, and one trillion times better than Castro's dictatorship. I hope that clears things up as to what form of governments I like or dislike.
I should? Well I’m actually working in the US for a Democrat on the November elections during my gap yr.
Whatever. And Chavez is a real angel isn't he? Oh no, wait he's a sponsor of terrorism.
Wait a sec, didn’t your beloved Chavez attempt to launch a coup in 1992? He must respect democracy mustn’t he? So much so actually that he’s guilty of electoral fraud and imprisoning political opponents. Then there’s the censorship and torture.
You can attack Bush and Republicans all you once but I’d much rather be an obsessive opponent of Bush in the United States than an anti-Chavez protestor in Venezuela. I’d imagine you agree with me there – in which case your earlier comments make little sense.
But why is Castro's Cuba better than a fascist dictatorship?
It has all the hallmarks
http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/cuba/Cuba996-01.htm#P348_12349
I find it hilarious that you post a claim about supporting terrorism (and in particular Al Qaida). Care to guess who was a proud sponsor and financer of Al Qaida for many, many years?
He was democraticallly elected the last time around. That is all you need to know.
I find your readiness to call for democracies to be overthrown by coups d'etat rather disturbing...
And as for the torture... LOL x 1,000,000,000. If you had the common decency to denounce the US government and G.W. Bush as the disgusting torturing scumbags they are your protestations would have some merit. But you have never done so, have you? Why, you keep saying what a great president Bush is.
Truly unbelievable!
Care to explain how an anti-Chavez protestor would be worse off than an anti-Bush protestor?
Wow that's actually a real word. I still don't like it though.
For starters is far less bloodier than every last single fascist dictatorship in the history of mankind.
Secondly, misguided and fucked up as it is, at least Castro's dictatorship attempts to make things fairer for the population at large, instead of only for a selected upper class minorty as right wing fascist dictatorships invariably do.
And lastly, make no mistake that if the US hadn't subjected Cuba to the longest, most disgusting and appalling embargo in human history, the Cubans would have a standard of living that would piss on the record of fascist dictatorships anywhere. Why, even in the appalling conditions the embargo have brought them, Cuban enjoys better healthcare than the US itself!
Before anyone says anything, no, this is not a defence of Castro's dictatorship. But even though it is completely unnaceptable, it is still preferable to the many fascist dictatorships the democracy and freedom loving USA has supported over the years.
i pointed out what happened to him and his country for taking back what was rightfully theirs in the first place.
by the way ...none of the thingsyou mention happened till after he had upset the west ...who then did everything possible to unseat him ...grab back what they wanted ...they failed.
is it any wonder he hated and fought the west?
I haven’t called for any regime to be overthrown. I’ve said that if Chavez was the victim of a coup I wouldn’t consider it a bad thing, I don’t think the US should actively incite a coup against Chavez – but hey if it happens then it might not be a bad thing.
From Amnesty International:
Then there's political prisoners - also see:
http://www.vcrisis.com/index.php?content=letters/200403020624
http://proveo.org/political_prisoners_venezuela.pdf
So would you rather be an anti-Chavez protester in Venezuela than an anti-Bush protester in the States? If that is the case I'm frankly amazed. When the FBI round up anti-war protesters, put them on trial in a kangaroo court, shoot a few of them, torture a couple and imprison the rest you might have a point. Until then have the decency to recognise the unpleasantness of Chavez’s regime.
Fair enough. To be fair to Gaddafi while he’s not exactly ideal I’m far more comfortable with him than the regimes in Syria and Iran. Tbh I wouldn’t have major qualms about Gaddafi getting his hands on a nuke, the man isn’t a Muslim fundamentalist like the nutter in Iran and isn’t really a great danger to anyone outside Libya. (Not really surprising I guess that Gaddafi who is at least rational and sane has renounced his nuclear weapons programme and would rather help develop Libya than acquire weapons he doesn't need - while Iran, led by a Muslim fundamentalist determined to destroy countries wants them).
I suppose the old hypocrite doesn't want to go to hell where he belongs .... Whatever happened to Marxism?
he also stated that the arab world is no longer for him and is now looking to africa.
Did Blagsta get himself a new job or something?
Hmmmm...totally unbiased source there. :rolleyes:
Or do you actually think it makes it alright if you commit atrocities outside your national borders?
That post doesn’t even merit a comprehensive response. Tbh I’m disappointed and slightly disgusted that a seemingly educated person is so ignorant to make the wholly inappropriate Nazi jibe at the US. I can only presume you have no understanding of the history of Nazi Germany which is pretty worrying, perhaps a read of Martin Gilbert’s The Holocaust might help you understand how inaccurate as well as offensive your pathetic insult is.
Btw, out of interest why is it that whether it’s the US or Israel you’re writing a hate-post about you always draw comparisons with Nazi Germany? Never Stalin, are you unfamiliar with the Russian gulags? Or South Africa during the Boer War? Or North Korea? NK still has concentration camps, a few hundred thousand people are in them – chemical weapons have been tested on prisoners, children are held for having ‘class enemies’ as relatives and famine, extreme violence and torture is all widespread.
Back to the point I’ll happily debate the rights and wrongs of the US and Gitmo itself but when you trivialise the horrors of Nazi Germany by casually dishing out the ‘nazi’ label I really can’t be bothered.
Stalinist is QUITE different from any system implemented anywhere in the world EXCEPT North Korea, which seems to been getting steadily worse than under the USSR Stalin.
Obvious? For obvious reasons you don't chuck phrases like "Stalinist". One doesn't chuck "Nazi" around... we aren't the Mass Media. Castro doesn't opperate a Stalinist system. So the whip out a word like Stalinist seems foolish. Neither does Chavez. Sure, they are left wing. But they are hardly as Totalitarian as Stalin.
You don't go calling Bush Hitler. Don't call Castro or Chavez Stalin.
I think most of us realised that AGES ago. Most of the right wing are.
I started ignoring his post unless I need a laugh.
yes/no?
Nice 'get out clause' eh?
So if I'm now to say that Gitmo isn't as bad as a nazi concentration camp, can we put that behind us now and can we get you to admit that the US is a far worse torturer than Chavez could ever be?
yes/no?
Would you be happy if the US government was overthrown by a coup d'etat, like you would be in the case of Venezuela? And if not, why not?
But in principle I agree. If you don't want foreign fatcats controlling your oil, you shouldn't be forced to and I think it's a really important step.
As for the dictators debate, I think I should keep well out, you're scaring me!
What are the factual differences between the actions of any of those named ?
This again. :rolleyes: Nowhere have I expressed ‘approval’ for the excesses and wrongdoings of Pinochet’s regime. However I will acknowledge that Allende wasn’t the saint he’s made out to be. Also, Chile is a stable and prosperous country today, I think Pinochet deserves much of the credit for that. And the alternative to Pinochet – communism, something Pinochet fought off and the radical terrorism of the MIR would have I believe resulted in even greater human rights abuses in Chile. The human rights abuses under Pinochet are indefensible – I acknowledge them and condemn them (shame the left can’t bring itself to condemn Castro’s regime despite abuses in Cuba equalling if not exceeding what happened in Chile).
I won’t expect to any response from you other than ‘you’re talking shit’ or ‘read some history.' Maybe if you read some history though you could think up of better responses to those you disagree with?
Go on. Fair is fair. Credit where it's due.
What are you on about?
I look forward to you doing the same since you were extolling certain aspects of Castro’s regime were you not?
The two are very different and the alternative to Hitler was not even worse than Nazism.
I guess unless you’re hostile to every single government like klintock or embrace them all it’s impossible to remain entirely consistent.
But despite your claims to the contrary I must say you do come across as constantly attempting to justify Pinochet's regime- if not some of the actions committed by the regime. You keep going on about how Chile was going to end up being a communist regime (completely untrue) and how Pinochet managed to bring down unemployment and inflation. And of course, only yesterday you were saying how you wouldn't mind at all if the (left of centre) democratically elected government of Venezuela was overthrown in a coup d'etat.
Sorry to say it all reads as a series of apologist rants for right wing, US-friendly dictatorships.
Are you stupid... or just very unkowledgeable?