Fidel Castro had a stroke and is near vegetative state

[ryanman]

Serious question Lyle, not trying to yank your chain - to you is my avatar the equivilent of having Pol Pot or something? Is Castro demonised to that level in the United States?

People don't like him...the Cubans here HATE him (mainly because they've lost loved ones or can't see their families because of him). I'm not Cuban, I have a mixed heritage but that's another topic. Castro is not Hitler, he's just one of many bad dudes that just happen to be the leader of a nearby nation.

I don't care for him because you don't threaten the US like he did and not pay any consequences for it. The embargo has made Cuba a shithole and rightfully so. Now when Cuba "gets it's mind right" then I will travel there. I have nothing against the people of Cuba or their culture, just their dickhead leader.

Yeah I hear that in bold.
I would say they have had a fair amount of consequences for the missile crisis though.
Also, from my reading I don't think that Castro was as willing a participant in that as is thought and as he was happy to portray. At that time he is highly vulnerable and reliant on Soviet support. I think the way Castro and his people saw it was that without Soviet support the country would be annexed by the U.S anyway (or U.S supported forces) and Batista or another puppet brought back in. Agreeing to the missle placement was a way to keep Soviet backing and thus ward off American interference in any forthcoming civil wars. Obviously it wasn't the smartest move though.
I'm not saying I agree or even that this is definately the way things were but its just what I understand from my reading.

[El Kabong]

The commies said Batista was just a puppet for the United States, well with that play on the Missle Crisis Castro showed he was just a puppet for the commies and no different than what people may have thought about Batista although you'd never hear the followers of Castro say such things to them he's smart and a hero.

The deal is this and maybe people think it's Imperialist of me but the United States has a huge economy and we can make (or break) a country. You don't have to offer us sacrifices or anything, just know what side your bread is buttered on. Guys like Chavez could make things so much easier for himself just by easing off hateful comments about the United States. There's enough positives for everyone to end up happy....but don't point missles at us, not cool brah....not cool