Quote:Both Castro and Chavez are enormously popular around the world, not only as champions (supposed or otherwise) of the "little guy," but as the leading celebrities in the opposition to American power.
They gain at home, they gain abroad, they gain everywhere from making Bush look as bad as possible, and making themselves out as his opponents.
Anyone wondering why they would be making these offensive statements need only look to the fact that Dubya is the most loathed American president abroad of all time.
-Jester
I don't wonder why they make these statements. This is what communist leaders or other types of tyrants are all about. Loud speeches and boasts, especially when they know that they will not be hit upside the head. Typical schoolbully mentality, btw. What I wonder about is that there's too many people in the world that really should have tasted the other side, the Castro side for example. If they did, they would be quiet. The grass is always greener, that is until you lie in it and see it up close. There were so many naive western reporters that were given tours of the USSR in the late 20s/30s, who came back wideeyed with wonder about how this new society is such a great alternative to what they have at home. There were so many Americans who joined the communist party at that time. So many people duped. Now that we've found out about all that, you'd think that people learned about the "other" side. Guess not. The ones who found out and learned were never in doubt anyway. The other ones - they don't want to learn. Makes their life easier that way.
Edit: The reason I often bring up the old USSR in these types of discussions is that all the modern tyrannical regimes are basically based on the russian communist model. From Cuba to China (with some changes these days), it's all the same garbage. Brainwashing the young and the not so young, in communist countries or radical Islamic countries - all the same crap. All very effective. And as far as the naivete in the so called "free" countries, well... the number of idiots always significantly outweighs all the rest of humanity.
-A