Coming late into this but ...
Does anyone here actually know anyone who had the misfortune to be living in Cuba when Castro
took over ?
I do , and her family was basically stripped of what they had.
And got out when they could.
Can you imagine what that would be like, as we tap away on the net ?
My x loves her country but would never go back.
Not at all to excuse wot the US politicorp has been doing all these years, mind you ...
According to Rudolph J. Rommel, Batista was repsonsible for 1,000 deaths, whereas Castro is responsible for 70,000 to date.
You post this hackneyed tripe from the National Review, then call other people out on their sources?
This is absolutely absurd. Meyer Lansky and Murder Inc. alone probably killed at least 1,000 people on contract for Batista or in order to keep him in power. Where did this guy get his info? I'd love to see his criteria for compiling this data set.
When he's not thumping reports published by the Heritage Foundation, Vim likes to check out a wide variety of politically divergent data sources with no political affiliation or obvious agenda.
Sorry for letting you hang on this Vimothy, I'm very busy right now and am avoiding forums unless I happen to get sucked into and argument...
I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Did your uncle Frankie tell you that?
Post some alternative data, then. And in any case, the difference in magnitude is what is important. Maybe Batista killed two thousand. Maybe Castro killed 50 thousand. What did Castro's killings cost and what did they buy? I've put forward my argument upthread. If you have a criticism beyond disagreements with approximate totals of deaths, please make it.
World Atlas:
Batista regime (1952-59)
Mario Lazo, Dagger in the Heart : American Policy Failures in Cuba (1968), calls Castro's charge that 20,000 were killed by Batista a "cynical falsehood". He says "total deaths ... not more than 900 on both [sides]"
Mid-Century World, Newsweek (1970) believes the accusation: 20,000 executions in 2 years. (This is probably the only mainstream American source that does. Most simply ignore it.)
Hugh Thomas, Cuba, or, the pursuit of freedom (1971, 1988): 1,500-2,000 deaths as a direct consequence of the political crisis, 1952-58, including war.
Gilbert: 2,000 deaths in 6 years of war and punitive actions.
For the record, I didn't post "data" from the NRO, I posted a quote from an op-ed piece.
Hmm, I wonder which option the Cuban cigar shop will go for."A Somerset health shop selling Cuban sugar and a London tobacconist dealing in Habanos cigars are among British businesses told by a bank to cut their ties with the island or move their accounts."