Castro falls and breaks his knee-cap but is "All in One Piece"

[Wes]

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=185099

"The Associated Press

HAVANA Oct 21, 2004 — Cuban President Fidel Castro tripped and fell after leaving the stage at a graduation ceremony, fracturing a knee and arm but later returning to say that he was "all in one piece." "

He is really starting to show his age and as the article says I'm beginning to wonder what will happen to the country after he dies.

[Peyote]

Well his name IS CASTro.

[rickvanr]

hope he has a good recovery... as much as the american press tries to make it seem like he's a bad ruler... the cuban people love him, atleast all of the ones I met when I was down last winter did. and for some reason, they hate american tourists...

[Macmaniac]

It looks like the slippery board that the CIA planted on stage almost worked;)
Cigars, slippery boards, whats next? A bananna?

[pinto32]

I hope he makes a speedy recovery. I agree with rickvanr, despite what we have been taught to beleive, he has done a lot to help the Cuban people. The only thing that has hurt his country has been America's embargo against it.

[California]

Huh?

Castro has DECIMATED Cuba's economy with his hare-brained farming schemes and over-ambitious sugarcane socialism. Once Castro forsook democracy for totalitarianism and his firing squads took out all of the best and free thinkers in the aftermath, he began the slow but steady work of destroying the economy. (A 1999 French study elaborates that Castro is responsible for the murder of 100,000 Cubans who refused to submit to communist rule.) Castro, like other dictators of "socialist" ilk before him, utilizes labor camps -- but the problem is that one cannot force an economy to run -- one cannot force farmers to be smart about their crops or cattlemen to be smart about their herds -- by the threat of violence by the State. I'm not sure if Party members are required to work the fields, but Castro once claimed that he would never have prostitution again in his country. Now, that is a way of life for a lot of the women there. "Sexual Tourism" is now a big part of the Cuban 'economy" and normal Cubans are held in "Tourist Apartheid" they cannot use the hotels or resorts or beaches reserved for Party members or tourists.

And don't blame the U.S.'s embargo for Cuba's woes. The USSR pumped billions into Cuba's failing ecomony to no avail --because socialism does NOT work. Canada, Germany, Mexico, Europe all do business with Cuba, plus the millions of US dollars fed into the gaping maw of Cuba's self inflicted third world status by Cuban exiles is a HUGE component of their ecomomy.

Yet, Castro the "beloved" tyrant disallows internet usage and has recently allowed Chinese military to take over the abandoned (for lack of funds) Lourdes spy complex of the FSB (Russian military espionage). This, combined with the fact that China runs both sides of the Panama Canal now and is firmly entrenched in their shipping port at Freeport Bahamas puts China in a nice military situation strategically against our Navy.

This is what the "nice" Castro is selling now because he has ruined his ecomomy -- military strategic advantage to the highest bidder against the U.S. (Same thing he sold to the Russians in the Cuban Missile Crisis.) He's a crazy nut with a seared conscience who rants and raves, staying up all night giving FIVE hour speeches to his dazed but loyal Party sycophants.

All this, and I'm not even a Cuban and hate Florida. Castro needs to do what he said he'd do back in the fifties, allow a truly democractic government to take hold and PAY BACK and GIVE BACK all the lands and industries and properties his government stole from the Cuban exiles. But he won't. His weird brother, Raul Castro, head of the Cuban military, is slated to take over if Castro dies.

[rickvanr]

California, you are over the top pro-american to start off with. Your other posts show that. Have you been to Cuba before? Cubans are a happy, humble people. They are very happy with Castro... If he wasn't there, or suddenly died (as the CIA has attempted to cause many times) Cuba would be in disarray. He's certainly doing a better job then BUSH. If he was such a bad leader for the country, there would have been a revolution, and an overthrowing of his government in the past 45 years.

[Wes]

This is current events, not politics. I will admit that politics play a role here but let's try to keep America vs. Cuba out of this.

From what I gathered in my history class about Castro's rule:

Positives: Very good standard of living
Long life expectancy
Good education
Negatives: Police state
High drug use (applies to most countries now I suppose)
High suicide rate

[wdlove]

This is current events, not politics. I will admit that politics play a role here let's try to keep America vs. Cuba out of this.

From what I gathered in my history class about Castro's rule:
Negatives: Police state
High drug use (applies to most countries now I suppose)
High suicide rate

The very reason that the people say they love him. Any dissension would be severely punished.

He is a human being and so I wish him well in his recovery. Accidents happen. Sounds as though he still has a good sense of humor

[Dont Hurt Me]

Communism doesnt work and is a failure, look at Cuba, North Korea and Russia a few years ago. Lets hope Castro kicks the bucket soon so those people can do something about a wrecked country. Maybe even discover democracy? On a side note where the heck does Wes get Cuba has a high standard of living in cuba? Sorry pall you are wrong.

[Wes]

On a side note where the heck does Wes get Cuba has a high standard of living in cuba? Sorry pall you are wrong.

It's all a matter of historiography.

If the sources you believe are all American, which I presume they are, you will receive a totally negative image of Cuba.

[Dont Hurt Me]

Standard of living????? come on those people have been hurting for many things under castro. Heck i bet you cant even get a Mac in Cuba. Im sure they have a real high standard of living in Cuba :rolleyes: 1 step away from the high standard of living in North Korea. :rolleyes:

[question fear]

It looks like the slippery board that the CIA planted on stage almost worked;)
Cigars, slippery boards, whats next? A bananna?


actually, a flower that squirts water in your eye.

castro is inspired by one marx, the cia another.

[Apple Hobo]

It's all a matter of historiography.

If the sources you believe are all American, which I presume they are, you will receive a totally negative image of Cuba.

All negative images of Cuba that I've heard have come from real Cubans. The Cubans here in Miami are always complaining about Castro. Remember, people "loved" Saddam, but he wasn't a good leader, and Iraq wasn't a paradise.

I think the ******'s going to hit the fan when Castro dies; there will be people out in the streets going crazy with joy.

[takao]

*cough* segway *cough* ;)

[Dont Hurt Me]

Things must be so great in Cuba that people make their own boats and try to make it to the Keys just to tell everyone................

[Wes]

Of course there will always be people who are persecuted under the regime and they will leave and try to get their message out. Cuba's health service is nothing to be ashamed of.

I'm not saying these people in Cuba have a standard of living better than yours, just that in some cases it could be much worse.

"In 2000, British doctors and health officials visited Cuba and invited their Cuban counterparts to visit Great Britain -- all to gain insight into Cuba's high-quality, low-cost health system. Cuba boasts life-expectancy and infant-mortality figures similar to Great Britain's, The Guardian notes, at a cost per patient of less than 1%."

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2548/is_2001_Jan/ai_70396237

[rickvanr]

All of you people bashing Cuba... have you even been there? I'm just curious. Have you talked to Cuban's who do live there?

[zimv20]

i've not been there, but would like to visit. when my great grandmother turned 100, we held a party for her. someone put together a slide show about her, and one of the photos, from the 1920s, showed her standing on the deck of a ship, w/ a stole around her neck. turns out, the ship was docked in Havana.

it made me proud.

[pseudobrit]

A very close friend's father went there a part of a business envoy this summer. He loved it, and brought back three boxes of fabulous cigars (he got them while touring the factory for ~$40 a box!) of which I've sampled a few.

An unemployment rate of 2.6% and a GDP/per capita ratio equal to that of of India's at $2,900.

The government continues to balance the need for economic loosening against a desire for firm political control. It has undertaken limited reforms to increase enterprise efficiency and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services. A major feature of the economy is the dichotomy between relatively efficient export enclaves and inefficient domestic sectors. The average Cuban's standard of living remains at a lower level than before the depression of the 1990s, which was caused by the loss of Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. The government reluctantly allows a large dollar market sector, fueled by tourism and remittances from Cubans abroad.

Source: cia.gov

[Apple Hobo]

Today I was greeted with the following images on the front page of the Miami Herald:

http://bellsouthpwp.net/g/s/gserv2/gifs/lol.gif http://bellsouthpwp.net/g/s/gserv2/gifs/lol.gif

[pinto32]

Standard of living????? come on those people have been hurting for many things under castro. Heck i bet you cant even get a Mac in Cuba. Im sure they have a real high standard of living in Cuba :rolleyes: 1 step away from the high standard of living in North Korea. :rolleyes:

You are correct, you cannot get a Mac in Cuba....you know, because of America's trade embargo....

[Dont Hurt Me]

Nice pictures Apple hobo, :eek: :D this may sound mean but i couldnt but laugh at his communist butt! Must been one of our invisible men tripping his a...!

[skunk]

Nice pictures Apple hobo, :eek: :D this may sound mean but i couldnt but laugh at his communist butt! Must been one of our invisible men tripping his a...!
What on earth is funny about an old bloke breaking his leg? His speeches may be boring, but his tiny country has withstood the constant bullying of your huge one for nearly fifty years. Now there's something to smile about.

[Wes]

What on earth is funny about an old bloke breaking his leg? His speeches may be boring, but his tiny country has withstood the constant bullying of your huge one for nearly fifty years. Now there's something to smile about.

**Gives a nod of agreement and a wave from Kingston, Surrey. **

[skunk]

**Waves back from the top deck of a 65 Bus**

Glad you agree, Kingston! :)