Castro praises Obama on climate

[IndianaGreen]

Page last updated at 22:44 GMT, Wednesday, 23 September 2009 23:44 UK

Castro praises Obama on climate

By Michael Voss
BBC News, Havana

The former Cuban President Fidel Castro has praised US President Barack Obama's speech before the UN General Assembly for its words on climate change.

Mr Castro described President Obama's admission that the US had been too slow to act on climate change as a brave gesture.

But he added that the American capitalist system was incompatible with a clean planet.

Mr Castro has long been a fierce critic of US presidents.

In his latest editorial, published in all the state media, Mr Castro quoted widely from Mr Obama's address to the UN.

'Aggressive foreign policy'

He praised the American president for saying that the US had been slow to act on climate change and that richer countries had to take the lead since they had caused much of the damage.

No other US president, he said, would have had the courage to make such remarks.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8272013.stm

[Sebastian Doyle]

1. The teabaggers are gonna go apeshit

First he gets props from Khadaffy, then Castro.

"WE TOLD YOU HE WAS A MUSLIN COMMIESOSHALIST !!11!!!"

[IndianaGreen]

7. And today Chavez lauded Obama at the UN

Chavez said that it no longer smelled like sulphur!

RW heads are exploding!

[Forkboy]

2. "But he added that the American capitalist system was incompatible with a clean planet. "

I'm afraid this may indeed be the case. If it is we're doomed, because we aren't changing anytime soon.

[boppers]

3. China, OTOH, has no problems?

I'm pretty sure this isn't a matter of which economic system is in play, but rather, whether that system has measures to deal with pollutants.

[Forkboy]

5. Did anyone say they have no problems?

Actually, a regime like China's can probably do more in a shorter time than we could, which isn't an endorsement of their government, just pointing out that they don't need to go through multiple layers of PR and debate that a democracy will have to before even the smallest measures get enacted.

[boppers]

11. Yes, China has figured out a way to short circuit that messy democracy problem.

Unfortunately, it often involves a bullet.

Sure, they still have paperwork, to pay for the bullet, but they don't have to bother with the "will of the people" or other such things.

[IndianaGreen]

8. China is communist in name only

China ditched Maoism decades ago. They can best be described as red capitalists.

[Beacool]

4. Castro, Khadaffy..............

Chavez wasn't available?

:7

[gateley]

6. .....

:rofl:

[IndianaGreen]

9. Funny you mentioned Hugo. He said he liked Obama today at the UN

:9

[Beacool]

10. Figures.........

:eyes:

[jenmito]

13. Would you prefer we continue to be hated?

[Beacool]

14. By the likes of Chavez and the other cadre of dictators and dictator wannabes?

I wouldn't have a problem with that.

:shrug:

[jenmito]

15. So you'd LIKE to be hated...

so we have MORE things to worry about? I wonder how Hillary feels about working with a president who's so well liked around the world. :shrug:

[mscuedawg]

16. Thank you!

This is what I was told the other day:


You dont see the repeating pattern. Why are Gaddafi, Chavez, Castro, and Ahmadinejad in love with Obama? Seriously...It's pretty sad that this TotUS (Teleprompter of the US) is running our reputation into the ground. We run fro...m the Russians (see: removal of missile defense from czech republic) and are now kissing the asses of those who would gladly slit our throats.


I would love to respond with, oh so its better to be hated and to have your leader called "The Devil"...but this is all I would get..

:banghead:

[jenmito]

17. Isn't it funny how

there are some here at DU who seem to always agree with the Repubs. no matter the topic?

[mscuedawg]

18. You find that too...

I always seem to look at their # of posts when I question that... :hug:

[IndianaGreen]

19. Chavez is not a dictator, he was democratically elected, unlike Obama

In case you all forgot, the popular vote in the US is meaningless. Presidents are elected by the Electoral College. None of our Presidents have ever been elected democratically, and one was appointed to office by the Supreme Court.

After the election 2000 debacle there were many calls to repeal the Electoral College, or to at least get rid of the undemocratic winner-take-all and apportion the electoral votes based on the popular vote in each state. What became of all of that? Is it possible that the bird of prey that comprises our two major parties has no interest in election reform?

[ensho]

12. kick

nt