Castro

[Smart]

Dead or Alive? Havana says his condition is 'stable'... Pardon me for getting into semantics but; with the possible exception of Jesus Christ, I would characterize death as the condition of ultimate stability.

 

I still think he's alive though. Raul would/will make a BIG deal over the change of power and Castro's elevation revolutionary God.

[the.crooked]

i just saw an article on the US statement about this.

 

 

just a sec

 

edit- here it is:

 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/08/01/national/w104557D93.DTL&type=politics

 

 

U.S. Ready to Aid Transition in Cuba

By GEORGE GEDDA, Associated Press Writer

 

 

With Cuban President Fidel Castro ailing, the State Department raised the possibility Tuesday of a democratic transition on the island and said the United States is prepared to support such a step.

 

 

Castro, who underwent surgery for an intestinal problem, surrendered power temporarily to his brother, Raul, No. 2 in the chain of command.

 

 

Spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States has no doubt that the Cuban people are weary of communist rule after 47 years and are eager to choose their leaders rather than having them imposed on the country.

 

 

"We believe that the Cuban people aspire and thirst for democracy and that given the choice they would choose a democratic government," he said.

 

 

The White House said it is monitoring the health crisis of the Cuban leader.

 

 

"In the event that Cuba does start to make a transition to a democracy, the United States and the American people will do everything that we can to stand by the Cuban people in their aspirations for democracy," McCormack said.

 

 

Three weeks before the official announcement in Havana of Castro's deteriorating health, a U.S. presidential commission called for an $80 million program to bolster non-governmental groups in Cuba for the purpose of hastening an end to the country's communist system.

 

 

The report also proposed "assistance in preparing the Cuban military forces to adjust to an appropriate role in a democracy." It provided no details on this point.

 

 

Cuba's National Information Agency called the report a "new plan of aggression" that violated the island's national sovereignty.

 

 

"We can't speculate on Castro's health, but we continue to work for the day of Cuba's freedom," White House spokesman Peter Watkins said Tuesday. .

 

 

The official announcement in Havana said Castro, who will be 80 in two weeks, underwent intestinal surgery.

 

 

On Monday, before Castro's illness was announced, President Bush was in Miami and spoke of the island's future.

 

 

"If Fidel Castro were to move on because of natural causes, we've got a plan in place to help the people of Cuba understand there's a better way than the system in which they've been living under," he told WAQI-AM Radio Mambi, a Spanish-language radio station. "No one knows when Fidel Castro will move on. In my judgment, that's the work of the Almighty."

 

 

At the time the 95-page commission report was released, Bush said, "We are actively working for change in Cuba, not simply waiting for change."

 

 

The United States and Cuba have been unbending adversaries since Castro entered into an alliance with the Soviet Union and converted his country into a Marxist-Leninist state in the early 1960s.

 

 

Hostilities reached a peak during that period, marked by the failed Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban missile crisis.

 

 

There have been no high-level political contacts between the two countries since 1982. The collapse of European communism almost two decades ago was a severe blow to Castro, both politically and economically.

 

 

Lately, his fortunes have improved somewhat with the emergence of left-of-center and leftist government in Latin America, most notably in Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez has used his oil wealth to back policies long espoused by Castro.

 

 

For years, successive administrations have tailored their Cuba policies with an eye toward winning support from the vote-rich Cuban-American community in South Florida, which is predominantly anti-Castro. The U.S. trade embargo has been the centerpiece of American policy toward Cuba for more than 40 years.

 

 

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., a member of the House International Relations Committee who has long opposed Castro, said even a temporary relinquishment of power by Castro is "a great day for the Cuban people and for their brothers and sisters in exile."

 

 

"Fidel Castro has only brought ruin and misery to Cuba, so if he is incapacitated, even for a short period of time, it is a marvelous moment for the millions of Cubans who live under his iron-fisted rule and oppressive state machinery," she said. "I hope this is the beginning of the end for his despised regime."

 

 

Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., who like Ros-Lehtinen was born in Cuba, joined with her in saying they expect U.S. action for now will be limited to transmitting radio messages of hope to the Cuban people and preventing an influx of illegal immigrants from the island.

 

 

Martinez said he is confident the Navy and Coast Guard have the necessary resources to prevent refugees from trying to flood U.S. borders.

 

 

He also said he would not support lifting the U.S. embargo on Cuba until reform was under way. Instead, the United States should lend its ear to political dissidents and pressure outside forces, such as Venezuela, to limit support of the communist regime, the senator said.

[Guest spectr]

I am pretty sure fidel is still alive in whatever state he might be in. personally i think he has been a evil robot clone for at least the last ten years. I think this was just a normal upgrade to his operating system

[the.crooked]

Naw I think homeboy is just a grizzled motherfucker. He should be posted all over that thread. In fact I think I'm gonna do that.

[The Man with the Answers]

as bad as Fidel is, I dread what Cuba will lok like once economic and social inequality and neo-colonialism is re-introduced back into Cuba, as well as casinos, American tourists and drug production...

[HydrogenPeroxide]

for sure, if cuba goes democratic fast like in the former soviet union, that place will be so corrupt it will be stupid. but it won't, fidel's brother will probably crack down right away to check any renewed hope dissidents have.

[TheOh]

Three weeks before the official announcement in Havana of Castro's deteriorating health, a U.S. presidential commission called for an $80 million program to bolster non-governmental groups in Cuba for the purpose of hastening an end to the country's communist system.

 

 

The report also proposed "assistance in preparing the Cuban military forces to adjust to an appropriate role in a democracy." It provided no details on this point.

 

 

Cuba's National Information Agency called the report a "new plan of aggression" that violated the island's national sovereignty.

 

 

and

 

 

On Monday, before Castro's illness was announced, President Bush was in Miami and spoke of the island's future.

 

 

"If Fidel Castro were to move on because of natural causes, we've got a plan in place to help the people of Cuba understand there's a better way than the system in which they've been living under," he told WAQI-AM Radio Mambi, a Spanish-language radio station. "No one knows when Fidel Castro will move on. In my judgment, that's the work of the Almighty."

 

 

At the time the 95-page commission report was released, Bush said, "We are actively working for change in Cuba, not simply waiting for change."

 

 

the parts that worry me the most, what with our tradition of building democracies around the world and whatnot.

[angelofdeath]

now is the time for fighters in cuba to free thier people.

[Qawee]

Yeah, you gotta hate guaranteed health care, and higher education

 

:rolleyes:

[angelofdeath]

yup. i oppose all state sponsored tyranny. how in the hell can support communists?

[CALIgula]

i think fidel is fine too....he is just old....

 

but seriously though...dude is like a cat....hes got hella more than 9 lives though....

 

i read somewhere the CIA tried assassinating him like 28 different times!

[the.crooked]

i think fidel is fine too....he is just old....

 

but seriously though...dude is like a cat....hes got hella more than 9 lives though....

 

i read somewhere the CIA tried assassinating him like 28 different times!

 

 

 

exactly why he's a grizzled motherfucker.

[Guest spectr]

i think fidel is fine too....he is just old....

 

but seriously though...dude is like a cat....hes got hella more than 9 lives though....

 

i read somewhere the CIA tried assassinating him like 28 different times!

 

yeah man the c.i.a. sucks at killing people though, they tried to kill bob marley at one point and failed.

[Hashassian]

fidel will out live us all....probally.

[ERIZENO]

how in the hell can support communists?

 

Communism looks so good on paper ... its almost too bad it cant work in the real world.

 

Two things ingrained in the human condition that kill it from ever being able to work, Greed and Insecurity.

 

With that said its a pipe dream of a balanced world.

 

In the real world its a horrible thing that oppresses the masses and rewards poor leaders. Wait isnt that what the neo-con are trying to do in our democratic country ???

 

hhhmmmm ....

[angelofdeath]

"In the real world its a horrible thing that oppresses the masses and rewards poor leaders. Wait isnt that what the neo-con are trying to do in our democratic country ??? "

 

yeah that is already what the neo cons and socialists have already done.

[prison coleslaw]

i wish i lived in a democratic country.

[Guest spectr]

i wish i lived in a democratic country.

I would like to thank you for one of the following then, i don't know what country your in but i am sure you have provided one.

beautiful women who are willing to do anything to come to america

cheap child labor, how many fingers do you have?

illegal drugs

cheap electronic products

cheap cars

internet porn

yet another country to mock on a constant basis

or something of that nature.

if i failed to list what your country provides us please call our goverment mention something about weapons of mass destruction, lots of oil and you kicking it with osama. don't worry we will be there shortly to exploit you and your fellow countrymen

[prison coleslaw]

there are no democratic countries

[Guest spectr]

no america is democratic, i vote but i am not rich and white so my vote doesn't count.

[ERIZENO]

no america is democratic' date=' i vote but i am not rich and white so my vote doesn't count.[/quote']

 

Hey I'm white but not rich and my vote still dosent count ... what does race have to do with it unless you want to make it part of the problem?

[angelofdeath]

america isnt a democracy. its a constitutional republic.

[the.crooked]

AOD is right. Representative Republic with democratic structure. Pure democracies rarely if ever exist.

[angelofdeath]

and pure democracy is mob rule, is anti individual rights, and are 'violent in thier deaths.'

[ASER1NE]

Alot of fuss over nothing

[--->]

Yeah, you gotta hate guaranteed health care, and higher education

 

:rolleyes:

 

 

yup. i oppose all state sponsored tyranny.

 

 

Are you retarded?

[--->]

america isnt a democracy. its a constitutional republic.

 

 

and pure democracy is mob rule' date=' is anti individual rights, and are 'violent in thier deaths.'[/quote']

 

Yeah, you're deffinately retarded.:haha:

 

 

.

[Dawood]

I could care less whether it is a democracy or a constitutional republic. It's all going down the toilet in this country anyway, I'm getting out, man, I'm serious, This is no place for my family and I anymore. I'm moving to a countryside waaaaaaaay across the water somewhere where I can focus on important things and put the demons and

politrickians way out of my mind. I want to kick it on a persian rug eating biryani chicken and baba ganouj, drinking chai and talking about the mysteries of the soul with simple people who know nothing about America and could care less.

Indonesian silat mixed with brazilian Ju Jitsu and an african wife who knows how to make penut butter curry, yup.

[angelofdeath]

Yeah, you're deffinately retarded.:haha:

 

 

.

 

you just have absolutely no understanding of anything. if we were a democracy... we would have mob rule. to not understand the difference between a pure democracy and a republic, YOU my friend are the retarded one. constitutional republic: america. democracy: 51 people voting for the death of the other 49. there is no protection of individual rights. the founders of this country despised pure democracy. with our system of decentralized, representative self government, we have the will of the people, but individual rights protected.

 

'democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on whats for dinner. liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.' ben franklin.

[fermentor666]

no america is democratic' date=' i vote but i am not rich and white so my vote doesn't count.[/quote']

 

 

 

You could be white and rich and your vote still won't count if 51% of the population votes for the other guy.