Posted on 08/13/2006 10:04:33 AM PDT by paltz
HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban President Fidel Castro is walking, talking and being briefed, according to a cryptic statement published Saturday in the Communist Party daily, Granma, a day before the "Maximum Leader's" 80th birthday.
"Someone who visited the comandante a few hours ago to brief him on certain matters ... said he witnessed how the head of the revolution, after receiving a little physical therapy, walked in the room and later, sitting in a chair, engaged in an animated conversation," Granma said.
Castro has not been seen publicly since he temporarily ceded power to his younger brother on July 31 because of complicated abdominal surgery. His last public appearance was on July 26.
His health is being treated as a state secret and there has been no information as to where he is being treated, who is visiting him or any detail on his health.
"Our friend saw the comandante up and about, like someone anticipating new victories," Granma said.
More likely he's up and about because he can't watch Andy Griffith 24/7 from his bed, not even with the best meds available to the Absolute Dictator.
HAHAHHAHAHAHAH!!! Yeah...right.
Is he being briefed with Depends undergarments?
And here we thought he put his pants on just like the rest of us.
Crappy Birthday, Fidel!
Brief him with a major wedgie...
Cubans Reflect on Life Under/After Castro
Aug. 12, 2006
The recent health woes of long time dictator Fidel Castro has Cubans thinking about the future—and the past. Castro has ruled the country since 1959. Most of the population has known no other government.
“We are poor, but we are happy,” said Ernesto, a cane field worker. “We have free health care.”
Ernesto says he was grateful for the free health care the time the police cracked his skull and knocked out most of his teeth. “I was wearing a ‘vote for Pedro’ t-shirt,” Ernesto said with a nearly toothless smile. “You know, the one from that ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ movie. The police thought I was a counterrevolutionary. They beat me with sticks. ‘Who is Pedro?’ they kept asking. I was in the hospital for six-weeks. If it weren’t for Fidel I wouldn’t have had medical care. I’m too poor to pay for a hospital.”
The low crime rate was cited by Chiquita, a prostitute, as a great achievement of the regime. “Who would rob me?” she asked. “I am poor. I have nothing to steal. It also helps me keep my weight down, which is important for my job.”
Chiquita also praised the police. “Since I started paying them part of my earnings they look out for me,” Chiquita said. “One time, there was this guy wearing this stupid ‘Vote for Pedro’ shirt who was bothering me. He couldn’t pay and he wouldn’t go away. He was scaring away my customers. The police took him away. Why would anyone need to vote for Pedro anyway? Voting is just a way for capitalists to exploit the workers.”
Jorge, recently released after completing a prison sentence for trying to leave the country expressed anxiety for the future. “I was barely saved from the biggest mistake of my life when they sank my boat and brought me back,” he said. “My head was filled with imperialist lies. I thought I wanted freedom and prosperity. Now I understand these are just lures to ensnare the working class. Who will protect us from these lures if Fidel dies? I fear no one could meet the challenge.”
A government statement attributed to Raul Castro tried to reassure the Cuban people by reminding them that his brother was not officially dead yet. Meanwhile, the Cuban army has been mobilized to deter the U.S. from using Castro’s illness as an opportunity to invade the island.
Meanwhile, National Assembly speaker Ricardo Alarcon returned from visiting a recuperating Fidel Castro describing the 79 year-old Cuban leader as “amazingly lifelike.”
http://www.azconservative.org/Semmens1.htm
Does Castro have a blog?
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