Pope, archbishop express condolences over Fidel Castro's death

[rug]

Pope Francis and former Cuban President Fidel Castro grasp each other's hands at Castro's residence in Havana Sept. 20, 2015. Castro, who seized power in a 1959 revolution and governed Cuba until 2006, died Nov. 25 at the age of 90. (CNS photo/Alex Castro, AIN handout via Reuters)

Catholic News Service | Nov. 28, 2016

WASHINGTON In a video message, Cuban President Raul Castro announced the Nov. 25 death of his 90-year-old brother and longtime Cuban leader and Communist icon whom many in Latin America know by just one name: Fidel.

"It is with great sorrow that I come before you to inform our people, friends of our America and the world, that today, November 25, 2016, at 10:29 p.m., the commander in chief of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro Ruz passed away," said his brother Raul, who took over control of the island in 2006, after Fidel Castro, became too sick to govern.

Until that year, Fidel Castro had ruled Cuba in some form since 1959, the year he led a revolution that toppled the government of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. Over the years, he survived attempts to be toppled by others, including the United States. He gained fame throughout Latin America, where many saw him as a David-against-Goliath figure each time he denounced the commercial, "imperialist" interests of the U.S. as attempts to rob the region of its riches.

But for others Castro was a menace and a dictator, particularly those whose properties were seized when his regime nationalized homes and businesses on the island nation without compensation. Over the decades, he was accused of a range of wrongdoings, from unjust imprisonment to executions to religious persecution. Others lauded him and pointed to Cuba as a model for other Latin American countries to emulate in the areas of education, medicine, and gender and racial equality. Many also blamed the U.S. embargo against Cuba, not Castro's governance, for the island's financial woes.

https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/pope-archbishop-express-condolences-over-fidel-castros-death

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/11/26/telegram_for_the_death_of_fidel_castro/1275046

[AtheistCrusader]

1. I always get a chuckle at this.

"Many also blamed the U.S. embargo against Cuba, not Castro's governance, for the island's financial woes."

There's a level of cognitive dissonance in this sort of statement that is difficult for me to simulate, and then analyze.
To on the one hand, denounce capitalism as a system, and then on the other hand, lament the capitalist entity's refusal to engage with you in trade...

hang on. I need to reset some circuit breakers.

[rug]

2. Do you celebrate capitalism?

[AtheistCrusader]

3. Properly regulated in a mixed-market economy, you bet.

We have much to do, to properly regulate it in the US, but overall yes, celebrate is a good word.

[rug]

4. So did Ayn Rand, another atheist crusader.

Capitalism is the most dehumanizing economic system to date.

[AtheistCrusader]

5. Oh please. Get out of here with that bullshit. The only regulation Ayn Rand supported was

'buyer beware'.

The ONLY regulation she supported. Missed me by a mile, dude. Try again.

[rug]

6. You reap the bullshit you sow.

"Properly regulated in a mixed-market economy, you bet."



Talk about disconnect from reality.

Wait, I remember. You enjoy your guns too, right?

[AtheistCrusader]

7. As do tens of millions of other Democrats.

Not sure the 'disconnect'. I can point to better-regulated mixed market economies than the US. Nowhere did I suggest ours was perfect or the best or even in the top ten.