Castro 'feels fine' after surgery

[wakeme2008]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5236702.stm

Castro 'feels fine' after surgery
Cuban leader Fidel Castro says he is in a stable condition and good spirits following surgery, according a statement read on Cuban TV.

"I feel perfectly fine," Mr Castro was quoted as saying.

On Monday he handed power temporarily to his brother Raul, to recover from his treatment for internal bleeding.


..more at link....

FUCK YOU BUSH.....

[Virginia Dare]

1. Well, that's a buzzkill for those street partiers in Miami...n/t

[Algorem]

4. Miamidiots

[geomon666]

16. It was fun watching them dance and sell their little flags.

If Castro drops dead tonight not a single one of them would go back to stay.

[StClone]

19. Why won't they go back?

I thought this was all about them going back once Castro was gone. :crazy:

[SoCalDem]

25. Because most of the adults who left are dead

their children were RAISED HERE.. they are too spoiled to spend their lives rebuilding Cuba to be the place they never experienced in the first place.. Cuba to them is... a bunch of faded black & white pictures that Mom & Dad or Abuela showed them when they were small..

Cuba is a myth they were raised with.. They have no real connection to the place.,. the people they "would have grown up with there"...they still grew up with...onlyy in Miami.. :)

[BlueManDude]

29. this is more about US politics than anything

those folks are never going back. they will stay here and bitch and moan and then ask congress for billions to "rebuil" Cuba.

[BlueManDude]

28. Right on the money dude.

They'll stay and continue to intimidate US politicians than ask for billions of US taxpayer dollars to "rebuild their country.

[demosincebirth]

2. Hope he lives another 25 years, just to irritate

those RW cubans in Fla.

[Raine]

17. I do too

they looked like half wits. I would be interested to see how many go back to Cuba if and when Castro dies, I'll bet hardly a fraction. I wish they would take their RW repug asses back there so that the Democrats could take Florida.

[Judi Lynn]

18. The violent right-wing faction wore out its welcome a very long time ago.

They would never be missed.

A truly obnoxious quote from their little godfather, Jorge Mas Canosa, who died several years ago:

7/1/94 7/31/94 The Miami Herald reprints an interview with Jorge Mas Canosa from the Spanish newspaper El Pais. Mas Canosa was asked by El Pais whether he believed Americans would take over Cuba if Fidel Castro fell. The Herald quoted Mas Canosa as saying, in part, "They haven't even been able to take over Miami! If we have kicked them out of here, how could they possibly take over our own country?" (MH, 7/28/94; WP, 7/28/94)
(snip)

http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:xQqmOHDYWkoJ:cuban-exile.com/doc_126-150/doc0146b.html+Jorge+Mas+Canosa+%22El+Pais%22+%22They+haven%27t+even+been+able+to+take+over+Miami%22&hl=en

[demosincebirth]

20. If and when Castro dies, his successor might loosen up

the Government's grip a little, but not enough for those cuban wingers to want to go back and start some shit.

[goddess40]

3. Like the reports would be any different if things didn't go well

They might not even tell if he died on the table, until his brother was better situated.

[Minstrel Boy]

5. Good news n/t

[VegasWolf]

6. He'll be around longer than the retard Bush. nt

[Judi Lynn]

7. If he says he feels fine, he probably does.

When he fell and broke his leg last year, and it required an operation on his knee or something, he remained conscious throughout, and they merely gave him a local anesthetic.

He does seem durable.

[Judi Lynn]

8. This is hilarious. Look at the Miami Herald's front page:

Tuesday, Aug 01, 2006 Castro says he is stable, recovering
A statement issued Tuesday night in Fidel Castro's name said his recovery from intestinal bleeding and a serious operation was underway, his health was "stable" and "my spirit is perfectly fine."

Sen. Martinez says moment of transition could be near, cautions against migration
Experts doubt stress caused Castro's bleeding
Castro's temporary hand-over reveals deep involvement in government details
Daily charter flights to Cuba still on schedule
Crisis could transform island, exiles
Miami streets burst with spontaneous joy
Local leaders skeptical of Raúl's strength
Forum | Cuban Issues - Post your opinion
Message from Fidel Castro read on Havana radio-TV program

South Florida TV, radio stations kick into overdrive

Castro: A recent chronology

Secretary of commerce: U.S. ready to provide aid

Ways to tell how grave Castro's condition may be

» More

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Jeanette in FL]

11. One of the cable shows today had the headline

"Castro's last Battle". And I laughed, yeah, I have been hearing about Castro last battle since I was a kid.

[ngant17]

9. It's a ritual that the losers in Miami have to perform

Everytime the President of the Republic of Cuba has a cold, or hiccups, or pauses too long between his marathon speeches (which he can deliver unaided in the middle of a burning hot Cuban summer in July), those old losers in Miami jump for joy and begin a noisy campaign which essentially makes a mountain out of a molehill. And the rightwing press begins the fabrications and rumor-spreading.

The probability of Fidel Castro living to be 100 years or more, that is very much a possibility as he has a few members in his immediate family who have lived into their 90's.

[mom cat]

10. And he takes very good care of his health ... as well as the health of the

country.

[Vidar]

12. Thanks for the great news.

[High Plains]

13. Tough luck, ghoulish gusanos.

[bvar22]

14. The CorpoVampires in Washington.....

....were sharpening their fangs in hungry expectation of feasting on Cuba. The Bush Administration announced that they would help impose a Democracy on Cuba after Castro's death.

[seafan]

15. BBC: Cuba considers life after Castro-- Monday, 13 August, 2001

Cuba considers life after Castro


August 13, 2001


The president and designated successor, his brother Raul



August 1, 2006


Cuban President Fidel Castro, left, and his brother, Minister of Defense Raul Castro. (AP)

Another Cuban-born U.S. politician, Sen. Mel Martinez, was almost giddy over the report of Castro's surgery.

Cuban-American Sen. Mel Martinez emigrated 48 years ago as part of Operation Peter Pan.

"My hope is that there will be an opportunity for voices of freedom to be heard in Cuba, that this could begin a moment of transformation and transition to a better life and a better day," the Republican from Florida told reporters.

Martinez described his reaction to Monday's report that Castro is ill as "intensely emotional."

[Phrogman]

21. I'd rather have a beer with Fidel than George

He's an interesting bird.

[wakeme2008]

22. LOL you probably could understand Fidel's spanish than

George's English.

[Phrogman]

32. Is that English that George speaks?

Cause I can't understand him.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

23. You know what I like?

All of those "culture of life" Republicans dancing in the street when they thought Castro was dead.

That's what I like...

[ConcernedCanuk]

24. Cuba will grieve Castro's death - America, and the World - will CELEBRATE

.
.
.

GeeDub's passing

count on it . . .

[Judi Lynn]

26. You can by god say that again!

High five!

[ConcernedCanuk]

27. So I will!!

.
.
.

Cuba will grieve Castro's death
- America, and the World - will CELEBRATE

GeeDub's passing

count on it . . .

[heliarc]

36. Ahhh...

Gee Dub moving on... 2008, I can't wait.

[Judi Lynn]

30. MSNBC: ............Washington fine-tunes its plans for a post-Fidel Cuba

On Standby
With Castro's condition uncertain, Washington fine-tunes its plans for a post-Fidel Cuba

WEB-EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY
By Richard Wolffe and Holly Bailey
Newsweek
Updated: 16 minutes ago

Aug. 2, 2006 -

Page 2.....

~snip~
The mutual loathing between Bush and Castro is nothing new, dating back to before the 43rd president was inaugurated for the first time.

The GOP presidential primaries in 2000 were dominated by a single foreign news story—not about terrorism or the Middle East but about a young Cuban boy whose mother died at sea while trying to enter the United States. The Elián González story ran through the election year until his forced return to Cuba in June 2000. That summer, the GOP wrote its 2000 party platform promising to maintain the trade embargo even as the Clinton administration and the GOP-controlled House were trying to ease some sanctions. Sanctions would only be lifted, according to the party platform, with the release of all political prisoners and a commitment to free elections.

Castro’s reaction was to blame what he called the “terrorist and annexationist mafia of Miami.” For good measure, he also called Bush (and his opponent Al Gore) “boring and insipid.”
(snip/...)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14155158/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They're trying to lend a sense of importance to _Bush he surely hasn't earned! The old Cuban President surely couldn't find this jerk worthy enough to hone a deep abiding hatred of him. _Bush is a joke world-wide.

[Anakin Skywalker]

31. So Sorry, Miami Cubans

Bwahahahahah!

[Judi Lynn]

33. Hatred of Fidel Castro shaped South Fla.

Aug. 2, 2006, 7:57PM
Hatred of Fidel Castro shaped South Fla.


By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

MIAMI — Miami's Cubans loathe Fidel Castro with such passion that the mere suggestion he was near death this week had them dancing in the streets. But for all their hatred of the Cuban dictator, perhaps no other figure has shaped their lives _ and South Florida's culture and politics _ more than he has.
(snip)

And those who were driven into exile by Castro make up, along with their children and grandchildren, a political force to be reckoned with.

Four members of Florida's congressional delegation are Cuban-American, and politicians who take the "wrong" side on issues related to Cuba, such as encouraging an end to the U.S. embargo against the communist island, risk their careers. Many experts believe Cuban-Americans helped deliver Florida _ and thus the White House _ to George W. Bush during the 2000 election.

"Cuban-Americans are viewed as the swing vote in a swing state," said Dario Moreno, director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University in Miami. "The Cuban-American community has played a rather unusual role for its size, in a way that is different from most other immigrant groups."
(snip/...)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4090743.html

[heliarc]

40. Gotta say.

That's why I left. See ya gusanos. Had enough. Nos Vemos. Ciao. Hasta Luego.

People tend to think that "terrorism" started in this country with 9/11. Avoiding a discussion of the obvious insult that is to events like the car-bombing of Orlando Letelier in Washington DC, or even the Weathermen (if there can be "good terrorists" those are the cats)... but I seem to remember the terror of living in that sea of Miami Hatred. I used to work at a theater there and we would get Death threats for producing Beckett plays (Never mind that he was an anti-communist)... Or I remember when a local art gallery was bombed because it featured a retrospective on an artist from the Island. A local democratic candidate for representative met with Fidel and a mob made their way to her house with baseball bats and vandalized her car while threatening her from outside. Terror on occasion and intimidation the rest of the time is how things get done in Miami. When Nelson Mandela was released from jail and he came to Miami while on tour the Cuban American Foundation organized a demonstration at the airport yelling angrily at him and carrying offensive signs. They forced the local leaders to send Mandela packing. The shame of it. They couldn't even see the similarity of some of their experiences to the repression he had faced. And forget it if you were a refugee from another country. All of those people were freeloaders. Hatians, Hondurans... Chileans-Americans like me The Cuban-American machine had no place for those people in its policy work, and they were labeled as illegals while their own Cuban refugees were applauded by the Cuban-American Owned media system in Miami. Miami is a pit. Too bad. I hope Fidel lives forever. Every time Fidel gets a brush with the inevitable these guys dance in the street (and shoot guns in the air too... gotta love that) and every time Fidel doesn't die, cause it happens pretty often now... I chuckle to myself. May they grow old and bitter.

[Judi Lynn]

41. A mob with bats at her house? Figures! I've read one of the mayors

from before Crazy Joe Carollo once read a letter to the editor in the Herald which criticized him, and he showed up at her house late in the evening to chew her out. She called the cops.

Also have heard that the Cuban hate radio jockeys will actually read the addresses, phone numbers, and other personal information of people they're mad at so they will harrass them.

So they hate Becket! Good grief. Everyone's a critic. In Miami, that can be a "violent critic," apparently.

Were you there when the Cuban band, Los Van Van was scheduled to appear, and the crowd appeared hours in advance, and threw rocks, D-cell batteries, bottles, and baggies filled with excrement at the concert goers? Someone was badly injured, too. A reporter.

Letellier, the Chilean diplomat was actually bombed by Cuban "exiles," of course, in broad daylight in Washington D.C. _{George W. Bush} got them either a pardon, or a sentence reduction so they only served around 7 years or less for murdering that man and his assistant, and injuring her husband. Damned filthy business.

Welcome to D.U., heliarc. Very glad to see your comments.

[heliarc]

42. I often wonder...

about those cuban exiles you mention. The pardon among other things makes me believe that Townley wasn't just in allegiance with the DINA since after all he was... wait for it ... former CIA. (could it be more obvious he's NOC???). I imagine Letelier was too sore a thorn in the US's side after just having laid to waste a proud democracy in his and my parents' country.

Thanks for the welcome Judi Lyn. I'm happy to have found the DU community. Lot's of stand up great people here.

And no, I wasn't around when Los Van Van came to town. I missed that whole episode. Elian too... Gotta love the Elian story. My favorite is that people in Miami really believe he is a resurrection of Hey-soos...Jesus Christ. His mother is often pictured next to Mary. I have long since departed Miami. Left in 93. Went North and then West... In California now.

[Eugene]

34. CNN: Sister says Castro getting better

Sister says Castro getting better
Younger sister sees good and bad sides of ailing dictator

Thursday, August 3, 2006 Posted: 0203 GMT (1003 HKT)

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Fidel Castro is still "very sick" but no longer
in intensive care, and he is expected to recover and take back the reins
of Cuba, his sister Juanita said in Florida on Wednesday.

-snip-

Cuban television reported Tuesday that the Cuban leader was in "good
spirits." But his hospitalization has nonetheless spurred a deluge
of speculation, some saying that Castro is on his deathbed, others saying
he's already dead.

But Juanita Castro says her brother is "doing better" and she expects that
Raul's executive appointment will be temporary.

"He's very sick, but he's not dead," she said. "He is very sick, but he has
left the ICU."

-snip-

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/08/02/castro.sister

Also from Reuters...

No sign of Castro brothers
Thu Aug 3, 2006 6:15 AM BST

By Anthony Boadle

HAVANA (Reuters) - Nearly three days after Cuba's historic handover of power,
neither ailing President Fidel Castro nor his brother Raul, to whom he temporarily
ceded control, has been seen by an anxious Cuban public.

Close aide Ricardo Alarcon told a U.S. radio program on Wednesday that Castro,
who had had a stomach operation, was "very alert" and resting after giving up
power on the communist-ruled island for the first time in 47 years.

No photographs or television pictures of Castro, 79, have been released since his
operation for intestinal bleeding and there was also no sign of defence minister
Raul, 75, Castro's designated successor.

-snip-

http://today.reuters.co.uk/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-08-03T051249Z_01_N01446283_RTRUKOC_0_UK-CUBA.xml

[Judi Lynn]

35. I've seen references to the fact there haven't been any photos or

video of the patient in other articles, too!

Who can think of anyone who has had major surgery who wants someone to come in and snap a bunch of photos immediately afterward? Yeow!

[heliarc]

37. I'd be surprised if Fidel...

Wasn't already shooting hoops. That guy's a force of nature. He's like the Energizer Bunny, except less pink and wearing fatigues!

[Judi Lynn]

38. You're right. When he fell down and wrecked his leg, and required

surgery on it, he only allowed a local anthesia, and remained fully conscious. How many people could stand to stay conscious during surgery, anyway?

I heard his best sport was basketball when he attended a Jesuit school.

Cuba, however is craziest for baseball, as it seems!

[heliarc]

39. Certainly a Baseball country...

But they went pretty nuts about all sorts of athletics and sports (Soviet influence)... Ballet is very strong... (Not Fidel though). The fall kinda says he's no Baryshnikov. But yes. Hoops is his game. The guy is also rumored never to sleep. More likely is that he sleeps very little.