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August 01, 2006
Party At Fidel's ~ Castro Steps Down Temporarily
......at the Copa ... Copacabana ..... hottest spot north of Havana .... music and passion are always in fashion at the Copa ................ Dan Rather fell in love ... copa ... copacabana.......
Castro has surgery, relinquishes power
HAVANA - Fidel Castro announced Monday night in a letter read by his secretary live on state television that due to illness he was temporarily relinquishing the presidency to his brother and successor Raul, the defense minister.
In the letter read by his secretary Carlos Valenciaga, Castro said he had suffered gastrointestinal bleeding, apparently due to stress from recent public appearances in Argentina and Cuba, and had to undergo an operation.
The operation obligates me to undertake several weeks of rest," said the letter. Extreme stress "had provoked in me a sharp intestinal crisis with sustained bleeding that obligated me to undergo a complicated surgical procedure."
Castro said he was temporarily relinquishing the presidency to his younger brother and successor Raul, the defense minister, but said the move was of "a provisional character." There was no immediate appearance or statement by Raul Castro.
It was the first time in his decades-long tenure that Castro has given up power, though he has been sidelined briefly in the recent past with occasional health problems.
The elder Castro asked that celebrations scheduled for his 80th birthday on Aug. 13 be postponed until Dec. 2, the 50th anniversary of Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces.
Castro said he would also temporarily delegate his duties as first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba to Raul, who turned 75 in June and who has been taking on a more public profile in recent weeks.
From Bablau blog
"There are thousands of Cuban-Americans out on the streets of Miami right now, all of them celebrating the possible demise of fidel castro. All of them cheering and carrying Cuban flags alongside Old Glory. You can here the shouts of "Libertad! Libertad! Libertad!' in the background on the news reports. It is, indeed, a joyous occassion. But I'd like all of you to know that behind each celebratory scream, behind every smile, behind every feeling of unbridled joy and desperate happiness, there are 47 years of tears. Forty seven years of frustration. Of anger. Of pain. Of loss. Of separated families and drowned brothers and sisters. These celebrations have been paid for in blood. And they are more than well deserved."
From Kill Castro blog
"The population is coming out to the streets in Havana, the Brigadas de Respuesta Rapida have been patrolling with the police, but in La Vibora, Centro Habana, and El Cerro the residents are out on the streets and there are screams of ABAJO FIDEL.
Many people went down la Rampa from Coppelia towards el Malecon. There are police presence in the area of Coppelia and the Havana Hilton, and near other hotels in the Capital."
And what about this Raul Castro??
Castro's Younger Brother More Radical
Cuban Defense Minister Raul Castro is President Fidel Castro's staunchly loyal younger brother and his designated successor. At 75 and five years younger than Fidel, Raul is far less charismatic than his brother though far more radical.Three weeks after taking power in January 1959, Castro named Raul his successor, telling supporters: "Behind me are others more radical than I."
He officially designated Raul as his successor at a Communist Party congress in October 1997, saying "Raul is younger than I, more energetic than I. He can count on much more time."
As head of Cuba's armed forces, Raul has been deeply involved in Cuba's military involvement in Angola and Ethiopia during the 1970s _ as well as with the military's successful peacetime efforts to help rescue Cuba's economy following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
I am among those who believe that it would be in imperialism's interest to try, with our irreconcilable differences, to normalize relations as much as possible during Fidel's life," Raul said in the interview with state television. Later, he said, "it will be more difficult," implying he would be harder to deal with.
Raul, a political hardliner, belonged to a Communist youth group even before the revolution. The elder Castro didn't publicly embrace socialism until 1961.
Like his brother, Raul has been suspicious of the United States and at a September 1960 rally denounced the U.S. Embassy as "a cave of spies."
In a July 1962 visit to the Soviet Union, Raul was given a promise of Soviet missiles _ a development that led to the U.S.-Soviet missile crisis of October 1962 which brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.
Wild Thing's comment.......
May his surgeon be a relative of one of his victims. The Devil is now on alert for a possible VIP arrival. I'm sure the liberal media is going to all be crying when their hero Castro dies and printing lots of articles with rewritten history where they claim all the good castro did. Dan Rather is probably drinking himself into a stupor at some bar right now over this news, his hero might be dying.
If Castro actually finally does assume room temperature here is the funeral guest list:
Jimmah Carter
Dan Rather
Barbara Walters
John Kerry
Steven Spielberg
Chevy Chase
Oliver Stone
Danny Glover
Whoopi Goldberg
Harry Belafonte
Ted Turner
Susan Sarandon
Robert Redford
Cindy Sheehan
Michael Moore
Posted by Wild Thing at August 1, 2006 01:55 AM
Comments
Sadly if Fidel kicks the bucket the Cuban people will not be any better off with Raul at the helm, unless they have a coup and revolt, unlikely. That looks like the Hollywood short list there WT, d'ya reckon Jimmah is already at his bedside?
Posted by: Jack at August 1, 2006 01:05 PM
Jack haha I bet he is, right there at his side weeping. hahahaha
Posted by: Wild Thing at August 1, 2006 05:46 PM
I've heard that Raul is not as strong and will be overthrown within months. Although, I've also heard that he's actually more radical than Fidel.
I do think it might be an opportunity for a coup. Although the people are so indoctrinated at this point, who knows how they might react.
Love your list though! lol
Posted by: beth at August 1, 2006 11:16 PM
Beth that would be great.
Posted by: Wild Thing at August 2, 2006 02:23 AM
