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Funny you should mention Winston Churchill because it was Winston Churchill that first used gas against the Iraqis in the 1920’s () long before Saddam Hussein first came to power in 1968 and we should not forget that it was the CIA that helped bring him to power ()
Talking about the CIA, wasn’t Ernesto “Che” Guevara murdered by “Bolivian soldiers, trained, equipped and guided by U.S. Green Beret and CIA operatives.” ()
When people have dreams of a slightly different type of democracy, the US and/or the UK will decide that this is in conflict with theirs – which is always superior of course – then they end up like “Che”.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comThat is not only an ignorant take on El Che, but an insult to at least ten million Cubans and who knows how many others. Many of my countrymen say the same thing about G.W. Bush and, except for the assassination part, I agree with them. Bush IS a murderer, a liar, a coward and a hypocrit in descending order of relevance to our current messes.
Edited on Aug 08, 2007 05:49
Edited on Aug 08, 2007 05:53
Scott, I did not know that. I did read also that Churchill was not entirely thrilled with the present form of government during his time. This is why his statement did not say democracy was the “Best” form of government. He thought it would hold up until another came along.
In the biography by Jon Lee Anderson, who happens to be British, and spent four years in Cuba researching Guevara’s life, he has a somewhat different take on the killing of Che. There was a CIA operative present, I believe his name was Rodriguez, and told the Bolivians the US wanted to take Che to Panama alive. The Bolivians sent down the order to kill Che. Rodriguez waited for the CIA to talk the Bolivians out of it, but word did not come. The Bolivians wanted him dead to kill off any hopes of revolution. That is why they buried him in an unmarked grave and it was decades before his body was found and returned to Cuba.Roark, I disagree with your assessment of Guevara on some points. His life started out as one of privilege, and he lived an upper middle class life in Argentina, and became an MD. In his travels as a young person he saw injustice towards poor indigenous people of South America, and Central America. Some of this was perpetrated by the USA Anaconda mining company and the United Fruit company. There were definitely injustices. He became a revolutionary after witnessing the USA’s involvement in setting up governments in Latin America.
I don’t think he was a coward. On the contrary he was in the front lines of Cuba’s revolution more than most of the soldiers. You could call him a murderer, as most will, but this business of war and nation building we are involved in can give us the same stain.
As far as his deserving assassination is concerned, a martyr was created by his assassination and the mystique of Che lives on all over the globe. A couple of years ago a friend of mine was in England on vacation. There was an exhibit of Che’s life and many of his artifacts, and he decided to stop in to take a look. The placed was packed with people. In Europe there seems to be a great amount of interest and admiration for Che.
In the USA we have all seen the image of Che on T-shirts, sported about by our youth. In fact I saw one just the other day.
So, by assassination, an icon was created. It endures in the minds of those who are not satisfied with the status quo, and his memory will endure for generations to come.
I personally did not agree with his methods of a violent revolution, or the system of government he tried to install around the world. He too after all, did not especially like what Cuba had finally turned out to become. Still, he saw things that were wrong in the world and chose to do something about it, albeit a flawed attempt.
Man has tried for thousands of years to bring change to societies all over the world. Some do good, some are despotic, and some, despite being well intentioned, screw it up. This will probably continue as long as man is on the face of the earth.
Remember, “One man’s terrorist, is another man’s freedom fighter.” It is all a matter of perspective.Sprite, you and many of our countrymen are wrong and morally confused. You also probably think Mugabe is a great man right up there with Stalin, Mao and Fidel.
Funny enough, as I walked into Libreria Internacional (bookstore) yesterday there was a stack of ‘The Che Handbook’ by Hilda Barrio (Cubana) & Gareth Jenkins (Brit) on sale (in English) so even after all these years his presence is still very much here.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comPS. And yes! I’m a voracious reader and bought a copy …
Scott, being a voracious reader, pick up a copy of “Exposing the Real Che Guevara” by Humberto Fontova.
Gentlemen,
There is an old saying, “if you can’t dazzle them with brilliance then baffle them with B.S.” There is only one reason CAFTA is written so it’s confusing, it is so they (the States legal system) can interpret it anyway they want to. CAFTA will help the common Tico till inflation catches up then the poverty level will increase. If CAFTA was good for Costa Rica then it would be in plain understandable language. Costa Rica has done well for itself up to now, why would Costa Rica need CAFTA? Costa Rica will be controlled by outside money which controls the States government which will control the Costa Rican government. I don’t necessarily care for legalized prostitution but look what is causing the people of Costa Rica to consider changing that, “outside tourist money” and it ain’t the men that is doing it. That is the way it will go with CAFTA, money given or money taken away, either in the form of cash or through lawsuits.Scott, If you haven’t already, get a copy of “Che Guevara, a revolutionary life” by Jon Lee Anderson. It is an exhaustive work of almost 800 pages and really gives you an insight to the man, while not being a politicized biography. It also covers most of the “Motorcycle diary” period as well. “Motorcycle diaries” is another great book, written by Che, which shows his amazing literary side.
in spite of what my compatriots might say of Che, he is a figure of history that has carved out his place in the world.Roark, Have you read the book by Humberto Fontova? I know it has been recently published and I was curious about anyone’s thoughts on it.
I see you neglected to give us the full title of the book which is: ‘Exposing the Real Che Guevara: And the Useful Idiots Who Idolize Him (Hardcover)’
Ha! This should be interesting …
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comI pretty much agree with artedwards and others, including many Costa Ricans, who feel that Costa Rica has done just fine for itself without the strings attached to CAFTA. What is disturbing, however, is that the European Union seems to be saying that Costa Rica will suffer in its trade relations with that entire continent if it does not join CAFTA. The U.S. and the European Union, taken together, constitute a huge portion of the international economic opportunities open to this small player.
The salvation may lie in Costa Rica’s future trade relations with the rest of the world. Certainly China looms as a dominant figure on the world economic stage, but so do the economies of India, Indonesia, Japan, Australia, Russia and others. Maybe for a country this small having a few trading partners other than the U.S. and Europe will suffice.
I dunno . . .
Alfred, yes I read Humberto Fontova’s “Exposing the Real Che Guevara.” It is a good read. He reveals the reality from the myth that all leftist love about this man. Fontova refers to Jon Lee Anderson quite a bit about where Anderson compiled his volume from, straight from Fidel himself. I have not read Anderson’s book through, just scimmed. I don’t trust the source of the information. Although you were quite right about the CIA not wanting to assassinate Che. The Bolivians wanted him dead, being in Bolivia they killed him. Fontova and Anderson agree on that, but that is probably about it.
If you do get a copy I would love to know what you think.
Scott,
You probably did what I did and googled Humberto Fontova. I also googled Hilda Barrio. She had 350,000 results tied to her name, although after a while the sites were about some woman named Hilda who lived in a barrio and similar non-results. All of the websites that were specifically about her, however, were respectable sites with no axe to grind. On the other hand, it seemed as though the websites that contained Humberto Fontova’s name were pretty much all right-wing rags or blogs written by rabid anti-socialists.
The Fontova family was among the Cubans who fled when Castro came to power. Like all these dispossessed Cubans, Humberto despises anything to do with the Cuban Revolution. It isn’t surprising that he would author a screed denouncing Che.
There are so many books and there is so little time, even for voracious readers. It is important to discern what is valuable and what is garbage. Scott, I’d bet hundred dollars that you won’t read “Exposing the Real Che Guevara: And the Useful Idiots Who Idolize Him.”
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