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Fidel: Philosopher Extreme

Filed under: Americas ~ Cuba

Did you know that Fidel Castro, as much as being a thug and a tyrant, is also a writer and philosopher? He had suggested it at his online dating profile on MillionaireMatch.com, but I didn't believe it until now. In an article published in Granma, "Castro" ponders the implications of the America use of converted ethanol from corn and sugar as fuel. After concentrating so hard that the universe (as well as those tender intestines of his) almost exploded, he came to the conclusion that should have only been obvious had we underlings had the brain capacity that he does: "Condemned to premature death by hunger and thirst more than 3bn people of the world!"
Cuban President Fidel Castro has strongly criticised the use of biofuels by the US, in his first article since undergoing surgery last year.

He said George W Bush's support for the use of food crops in fuel production would cause 3bn deaths from hunger.
[...]
In it, he says he has been "meditating quite a bit since President Bush's meeting with North American automobile makers".

During that meeting on Monday, Mr Castro writes, "the sinister idea of converting food into combustibles was definitively established as the economic line of foreign policy of the United States".
Yet the Darth Vader outfit keeping him alive now must be more of an echo chamber than an amplifier, because his intense meditations are entirely false. Fausta seems to know the deal, though, and I wonder if Granma would be willing to take a counter-editorial?
As more and more corn grain is diverted to make ethanol, there have been public concerns about food shortages. However, ethanol made from cellulosic materials instead of corn grain, renders the food vs. fuel debate moot, according to research by a Michigan State University ethanol expert.
Personally, I don't even eat corn all that often, so I guess in Castro's theoretical situation I'm safe. But what if, in fact, he's somehow correct about this and real science is wrong? What if three billion people are going to die from hunger? What will the poor and oppressed people of Cuba do, already living on the brink of existence due to the imperialist swine? The Northern invaders have a cunning plan indeed. From an article via Babalu blog:
Washington's sanctions choke off most trade with Cuba, but a law passed by Congress in 2000 authorized cash-only purchases of U.S. food and agricultural products and was cheered by major U.S. farm firms like Archer Daniels Midland Co. interested in the untapped Cuban market.

Cuba refused to import one grain of rice for more than a year because of a dispute over financing, but finally agreed to take advantage of the law after Hurricane Michelle in 2001 cut into food stocks.

Since then, Cuba has paid more than $1.5 billion for American food and agricultural products, said John Kavulich, senior policy adviser at the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council of New York.
Is there really anything to say after this? The only reason that the Cuban people aren't completely starving is because the United States is allowing the communist government to import food. The hilarity with which we can now reread his "article" is enormous. If anything, though, Fidel Castro is no philosopher. He is a fool.
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Comments



Manuela says:

Reading about Fidel I have remembered something very smart I heard about Cuba. It is not the socialism to blame, but rather the isolation Cuba went through since it decided to join the revolution. Surely, socialism per se cannnot be implemented and as pure capitalism is an utopia. But, instead of capitalism where few have all the resources and the rest of us are...well, I hate saying it, but we are like slaves. And capitalism in the end is equally to local, national, regional and global monopoly. There are always some corporations that have the exclusive control on economy. Where is my liberty and right to prosperity as an individual? It does not exist. As slaves we have to work to pay our monthly expenses, fee tuitions, healthcare, etc. while the benefits are few, if any. That really depends on the country. If, I want to abandon my job tomorrow and explore my own country, not to mention, the world, can I? Nope. Its a long story, but really I'd favor a hybrid of socialism and a bit of capitalism - basically the free movement of goods, ppl, and the control should be shared by government and civil society. In a documentary the ideas of Fidelito were good, some even brilliant, but the implementation was poor and that led to destruction. Bottom line, socialism is not that bad.


La Russophobe says:

MANUELA:

When you say you favor a "hybrid of socialism and a bit of capitalism" what you're really saying is that you want the best of both while excluding the worst of both. That's certainly one possibility under a "hybrid" approach, but you ignore the other possibility -- that you'll get the worst of both while excluding the best. It seems to me that your "hybrid" might be just as fanciful and utopian as you suggest the pure forms of capitalism and socialism are.

Both socialism and capitalism mean putting wealth into the hands of a small group. Oddly, socialism chooses the group with no experience in creating wealth, while capitalism chooses the experts. Socialism also imagines that people will generate wealth without a personal financial incentive, about as utopian a notion as has ever been conceived.

It's true that in a capitalist state you can face oppression from robber barons. But say what you like about J.P. Morgan, he didn't have direct control over the police and the army the way Fidel does. Whatever his vices, Bill Gates isn't going to build an actual gulag. It's nice to think that we might find a utopian "hybrid" but in the end, if you don't, who would you rather take your chances against in the struggle for existence -- Fidel or J.P.? I'd take J.P., because he's further removed from the instrumentalities of physical oppression.


John Hussey says:

La Russophobe has hit this discussion right on the head. While good government has always helped those who are unable to help them selfs socialism and communism offer no reward for hard work. Freedom of speech, freedom of the press,...and etc. Freedoms are just that freedoms. If you are not free you do not have freedoms. The death of the Castros and all of their thugs will allow Cuba (at long last) to start the process of becoming free. Miami was built on the backs of free and hard working Cubans. What a great example to follow and a vision of what we all have to look forward to in Cuba in the coming years. May it happen sooner than later.


Manuela says:

La Russophobe


Democracy, communism, capitalism, fascism, etc. are all ideals. We don’t discuss here if they are good or bad. What we implement on the ground depends on the history, socio structure, political awareness, and so on, of a respective people. I’ll admit that what I want might not work in practice. Still we have to think it further and perhaps try it on a small scale and see what changes occurs.

US prides itself with democracy, human rights, etc. and all these issues are excellent in theory. However, when US wanted to implement it on the ground it received some new features (Europe) and in other cases (Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam to enumerate a few) it just did not work.

With the US going down the tube (and I’m sorry for that), the Europe being as impotent as ever (and soon to be transformed into Eurabia – and that’s a fact and not propaganda) the rising of Russia, India, China, Latin America and Iran (?) the next 10 to 50 years (and longer) will look very different. Democracy may still exist (I hope) but in other forms, authoritarianism will stick with us for as long as there will be humans on earth. I think that new political forms will emerge, so why dismiss the hybrid I talked about?

You talked about specific individuals – Gates might not build a gulag. But there are others who may do it. Why not? There are Saudis princes (just to give you an example) who support “Jihad” against the “corrupt” Occident. Today a weapon, tomorrow a bomb, and next the sky is the limit. I happen to think that our nature is inherently evil and our education, family, social interaction, etc. shapes us as human beings. Just to be sure you get my point – we are not monogamous by nature, we choose and/or force ourselves to be like that. Given the chance to acquire power, wealth and money most would do horrendous crimes to get to such privileges and to keep them. My ideas, as democracy, capitalism (so on so forth) are all imperfect because volens nolens a minority will have control over the majority.


Manu says:

PS either way, we're doomed.


John says:

I would like to comment about the making ethanol from sugar cane. Castro, Chavez and Ortega are against it. Ortega has rejected an investment of $150 million for an ethanol plant in Nicaragua. Sugar cane would be the feed stock. This project would have given jobs to 20,000. The investors elected to put the plant in Honduras. The investors are Nicaraguans.

To me this just points out the problem the USA has with illegal immigration. People want jobs.

A link to this info is at http://www.american-in-nicaragua.blogspot.com


boz says:

Be sure to check out President Lula's op-ed in today's Washington Post on the subject.


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jeremias says:

um, i'd like to see you argue against castro, he's a better lawyer then you could ever be, fool

read 'history will absolve me' and then get back to me about philosophy.


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