Re:Bobby Fischer dead at 64
by kirubakaran on Friday January 18, 2008 @02:36PM
(#100462)
No, he had to be in exile in the first place because the played "The Soviets" when the bearucrats prohibited it.
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No. He played A soviet in a Serbia in violation of an embargo.
If you're going to argue that embargos are wrong, please start with the one against South Africa under apartheid.
Re:Bobby Fischer dead at 64
by kirubakaran on Friday January 18, 2008 @04:11PM
(#100514)
I am not saying that embargoes are bad in all situations. Trade embargoes against certain countries make sense.
But I hope you will agree with me that branding someone a traitor just because he played with another dude is kinda extreme.
It's not a question of "branding someone a traitor". There was an embargo against Serbia at the time, and the 1992 Fischer-Spassky chess match constituted a major commercial transaction (considering the press coverage and the $5 million prize money at stake). The State Department told Fischer about the consequences of playing the game well before it happened -- not only did he play the game anyway, he spat upon the letter from the State Department. IMHO he got pretty much what he deserved for that sort of behavior -- why not just play the match somewhere else, anyway?
Re:Bobby Fischer dead at 64
by kirubakaran on Friday January 18, 2008 @06:05PM
(#100580)
Did anyone die when he spat on the letter? I don't care for his political views either. But I don't think anyone should be chased around the world like that because of the views they hold.
He wasn't chased around the world for spitting, or for the views he held -- he was accused of violating the trade embargo, which is a serious allegation.