Fidel Castro is 80 years & kicking fit.

by iosaf Mon Aug 14, 2006 11:49

dont just take my word for it.

birthday boy with his young pal. note the little dolls on the bed side locker.

by shoot Mon Aug 14, 2006 12:10

He should be put up against a wall and shot for decimating his country and forcing millions to leave since he came to power

by banaltra iosaf Mon Aug 14, 2006 14:58

all you really need to do is remember his pensioners get the monthly labour wage in cash with a supplement of food weighing over 35 kilograms. They get free housing, free medical care (Cuba boasts one of the highest ratios of medically trained professionals to ordinary people) & their kids got free school complete with free school books and food.

Remember that.

Irish pensioners do not get 6kg of rice, 5kg of Beans, 4kg of fresh fruit a month off their state. Instead they have one of the highest rates of heart disease in the world.

Irish pensioners endure on the longest waiting lists in the EU for medical treatment which relies on an overworked and delapidated system.

Irish pensioners grandchildren like them in their own day do not get free school books, nor free school food.

& finally as many Irish people left Ireland during the economic sanctions which accompanied the birth of our state as left Cuba- one important difference being the percentage of Irish who left was higher.

Fidel (bearded in bed) Hugo (big man easy to spot) Raul Castro & a get well card sent from Europe.

by shoot Mon Aug 14, 2006 15:19

Spout that to all the people he has thrown in Jail and curtailed their basic human rights aka Prisoners of conscience . tell that to the people that are scared to speak to tourists, hard to have bad press when u control it all wouldnt ya say?

Those who attempt to express views or organize meetings or form organizations that conflict with government policy and/or the aims of the socialist state are likely to be subjected to punitive measures including short term detentions, interrogations, harassment, loss of employment, eviction, restrictions on travel, house searches, threats, intimidation, phone bugging and sometimes imprisonment.

as far as your health spin goes, the % of spending per gdp is apalling, great to have free health care but not much use if you have an ulcer and you get the equivilant of a glass of water now is it?

by iosaf Mon Aug 14, 2006 15:27

Perhaps you didn't realise that "shoot" whoever you are.

here's a back link to an article I wrote on my neighbour's release, the campaign I joined in to see him released, and the subsequent ending of the EU trade embargos.
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/67753

The thing is, if you're really interested in political affairs and social development in ireland or the world "shoot" you will most probably have been arrested and detained.
Even someone with a passing interest in Irish political, community or social affairs will have noticed the amount of people who have served prison sentances or gone to court as defendents. & the further away from The shores of Mayo or Dublin you go..... the restrictions on political expression or the scope available for political action against corporative interests changes. In the third world a Rossport 5 get shot and buried in the dark.

My neighbour went to jail, he still walks with me in most demostrations & he didn't want Fidel to die. So there you go "Shoot" once you're in the loop things are a bit more complicated than just when you're watching telly or going on a cheap holiday. I suppose that's why the Roman Catholic church joined in the list of people wanting fidel better. I suppose its why spanish tv newscasters have a little smile as they introduce the story.

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/67753

by shoot Mon Aug 14, 2006 16:01

So there you go "Shoot" once you're in the loop things are a bit more complicated than just when you're watching telly or going on a cheap holiday. I suppose that's why the Roman Catholic church joined in the list of people wanting fidel better. I suppose its why spanish tv newscasters have a little smile as they introduce the story

I suppose thats why you refute nothing i say, ohh yes the people detained in Cuba, shure it happens everywhere tis allright now a nod and a wink and a pat on the back and a condecending comment to wrap it up, ahh shure if you were in the know, wink,nod , ahh shure didnt the catholic church give hitler his dues as well shure , aww jasus, did Spain control cuba as well like, nod, wink ahh jasus

by Mary Kelly Mon Aug 14, 2006 17:31

of two great men!

Long live Fidel! Solidarity to all who struggle with him for Cuba.

by Mary Kelly Mon Aug 14, 2006 18:05

Al arribar a sus 80 años de edad, el Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro
envía mensaje alentador sobre su estado de salud, que ha mejorado
considerablemente. Asegura que el país marcha perfectamente bien

Texto completo del mensaje.
http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/cuba/2006-08-13/me-siento...eliz/

_________________________________________________________

13 de agosto de 2006 00:18:57 GMT

Queridos compatriotas y amigos de Cuba y del resto del mundo:

Ya hoy día 13 he arribado a los 80 años de edad.

Decir que la estabilidad objetiva ha mejorado considerablemente no es
inventar una mentira. Afirmar que el período de recuperación durará poco y
que no existe ya riesgo alguno, sería absolutamente incorrecto.

Les sugiero a todos ser optimistas, y a la vez estar siempre listos para
enfrentar cualquier noticia adversa.

Al pueblo de Cuba, infinita gratitud por su cariñoso apoyo. El país marcha y
seguirá marchando perfectamente bien.

A mis compañeros de lucha, eterna gloria por resistir y vencer al imperio,
demostrando que un mundo mejor es posible.

Hoy, 13 de agosto, me siento muy feliz.

A todos los que desearon mi salud, les prometo que lucharé por ella.

Fidel Castro Ruz

__________________________________________________________

MESSAGE FROM FIDEL ON HIS BIRTHDAY

"I feel very happy"

On his 80th birthday, President Fidel Castro has sent out an encouraging
message on his state of health, which has considerably improved. He
confirms that the country is running perfectly well. "I promise everyone who
has wished me good health that I will fight for it."

http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID={D57168A3-9F43-4EDF-9E9A-74
FE4C728F12})&language=EN
_________________________________________________________

Dear compatriots and friends of Cuba and the rest of the world:

Today, August 13, I have reached 80 years of age.

To say that my objective stability has considerably improved is not to invent
a lie.

To affirm that my recuperation will not take long and that there is no risk
whatsoever would be absolutely incorrect.

I suggest to everyone to be optimistic and, at the same time, always be
prepared to face up to adverse news.

To my comrades in struggle, eternal glory for resisting and overcoming the
empire, thus demonstrating that a better world is possible.

Today, August 13, I feel very happy.

I promise everyone who has wished me good health that I will fight for it.

Fidel Castro Ruz

by iosaf Mon Aug 14, 2006 18:18

with local details I even sourced some of my opinion by explaining proximity to a noted & respected Cuban dissident and linked to a previous article in which I called for the release of political prisoners. Sadly, I've called for the release of a lot of political prisoners in my career as an activist, translator and writer. I've called for the release of political prisoners in Ireland, the UK, the USA, Cuba, Spain, France etc. & I've contacted each one of them & learnt about the circumstances which brought them to prison.

so...

Let's talk about your "local area of expertise" :-

Are you refuting the poverty & income disparity in Ireland?
[here's a little map to put it in perspective http://indymedia.ie/article/71672 :- ]
* are you saying "shure its ok" that Ireland alone in the EU doesn't provide free school books?
* Are you forgetting the level of political opression in Ireland in the past and some seem to think by writing articles on this space at present?
* Have you even read the Amnesty international annual report which damns our psychiatric care?
* have you ever spent time with a Cuban political dissident?
* is it ok that in Ireland there are children who are malnourished whilst the average Irish child is quickly moving to the top ten of obesity statistics?
* Is it ok that in both the USA and Ireland senior citizens are left without the most basic welfare allowances because they're free to say or write what they want against the regime as long as it is not framed in any Islamic context?
* The USA is the state which occupies last year's number 2nd ranking for executions (first is Iran). The USA is the only state that executes minors. The USA is the only state that has executed the mentally handicapped. The USA is the state that crippled Cuba through the economic embargo and threatened it through military action.
* "Shoot", its quite simple - the USA is the state that operates a gulag called guantanamo bay on the southern corner of the island.
the USA is indeed one of the most repressive regimes on earth.
* Are you so enamoured with the anglo-saxon model that before you b blame the USA for the hardship in Cuba you ask for Fidel to be shot?

At end I believe you are refuting freely available factual based comparisons between the average abuse of human rights and repression. I suppose you like Gloria Estafan.

My point "simply put" is that the suffering of the Cuban people was caused & still is caused by USA foreign policy. And a now anachronistic hostility to at once a soviet alligned state just off the coast of Florida. An island whose loss to capitalism saw several billion dollars of assets destroyed, assets which were administered by US based organised crime networks. (would you like the link to the Grand Jury and Congressional comitee which oversaw the investigation of that???)................. it wasn't Fidel fault. But if I call for a the president of the USA to be shot, "shoot" let's see how my freedom of speech goes next time I visit the land of the free.


( Hi Mary it's been a while since we saw you online here)

JFK & Kruschev. Together they shared the responsibility for the poverty of the Cuban people & the repression of its dissidents. In ireland we had pictures of JFK. In cuba they did Che.

by An Teach Ban Tue Aug 15, 2006 13:10

Media reports that the White House is questioning the validity of the footage/
stills of Castro in the company of Chavez and Raul.

it brings back the whole Russian -are they dead or not theorising and the
prolonged dying of the pope, as well as Arafat. The fact that the White House
is interested...

In fact the public dying of a public leader can be invaded nowadays from all
angles , unless you just missile the car they happen to be travelling in, or
the meeting hall that a group of leaders meet in.

by yippeeeeee! Wed Mar 14, 2007 14:43

Gabriel García Márquez the writer (who no longer writes) met Fidel Castro on Monday. There were no strings attached to Fidel and no sign of battery powered animation. Nor was there any yogurt or orange juice drunk. Just 2 octogenerians ( that means 80 years old not a secret society) having a chat. Gabriel joined the octogenerian club last week. If you haven't got round to reading any Gabriel García Márquez you must ! Instead of starting with fiction - I'd recommend ( I would ) a short journalistic work which prompted the man to leave his native Colombia - "naufragio" or "ship wreck" which told the story of a sailor who survived an incredibly long time at sea to be washed up on the coast. At first he was feted as a national hero - and then through good questioning Gabriel García Márquez learnt that in fact he had not been washed overboard in a storm - but the naval boat on which he was serving was smuggling fridges in from the USA and was overloaded. A scandal at point of revealing the corruption of the then regime ( as any regime in Colombia) ended with the exile of Gabriel García Márquez and the "removal" of the national hero that poor young sailor.

anyway - I trust Gabriel García Márquez more than I trust Hugo Chavez.
Fidel Castro is alive ! rarara olé!
http://lta.today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type...L.XML