Castro steps down temporarily

[Psycho4Bud]

Castro said in a statement read out on television that he overexerted himself this month on a trip to a summit of South American leaders in Argentina and celebrations of his 1953 assault on a military garrison.

"This caused an acute intestinal crisis with sustained bleeding that obliged me to face a complicated surgical operation," he said in the "proclamation" read out on Monday night by his personal aide, Carlos Valenciaga.

"The operation obliges me to remain for several weeks resting, away from my responsibilities and duties," it said.

Castro gave the reins of the ruling Communist Party, the post of commander in chief of the armed forces and president of the executive council of state to Raul Castro, 75, his brother and constitutional successor.
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-08-01T121700Z_01_N31365302_RTRUKOC_0_UK-CUBA-CASTRO.xml

[dopesmoker]

He'll be back pretty damn soon. Just like when he broke his kneecap last year and everyone said he wouldnt walk for a few months but he was back in a few weeks. He heals quickly for an old guy

[birdgirl73]

I think he may come back briefly, but frankly it sounds an awful lot like he's got a bad case of colon cancer. And for an 79-year-old, that's going to be an uphill road if it's true.

[dopesmoker]

I think he may come back briefly, but frankly it sounds an awful lot like he's got a bad case of colon cancer. And for an 79-year-old, that's going to be an uphill road if it's true.

i dont think so http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastrointestinal_bleeding

Theres two links on that page that go to the causes of it and none are very serious.

[birdgirl73]

Unfortunately, Wikipedia can't tell us with the same accuracy what gastroenterologists and GI surgeons who see GI bleeding every day in 80-year-old people (particularly rather fat, male ones in countries with less-than-superior medical care) usually find in that particular population. It's generally very serious.

[dopesmoker]

Castro isnt all that fat. Maybe a little overweight yes. And their healthcare isnt that bad, compared to many, many, many, many countries.

[dopesmoker]

my guess is that its diverticulosis a fairly common occurence in people over 60

[birdgirl73]

This is rather fun.

He's not a morbidly obese whale, no. But he's plenty overweight enough that he's at increased risk for colon cancer. Add to that his Y chromosome, his age, his tobacco history, the pork-heavy Cuban diet . . .

Indeed, Cuba has better health care than some places, but then again so does Mexico. It's quite relative. Routine colonoscopies and cancer screenings aren't a part of Cuba's standard age-related care, although I do expect Fidelito has had better care overall than most average Cubanos.

The thing that persuades most of the medical people I've talked to is the last three words in his letter. Castro said extreme stress "had provoked in me a sharp intestinal crisis with sustained bleeding that obligated me to undergo a complicated surgical procedure." Non-serious matters generally don't require complicated surgical procedures.

[dopesmoker]

I consider anything involving going into, poking, prodding or dealing with anything, in my colon a complicated surgical procedure. lol

[birdgirl73]

LOL! Me, too! Frankly, just the thought of that whole procedure makes me want to squeeze my rear-end muscles tight enough that the area is permanently shut. I have six more years before anyone comes at me with a scope, fortunately.

[Its a Plant]

"I just got my colon cleansed thoroughly!" - The Nutty Professor (the one w/ Eddie Murphy)

I saw a picture of Castro the other day, and from that alone, my guess is the old fella is on the downswing and fast. He just doesn't look good. Everyone has to go sometime, though, and his time might be soon.

[dopesmoker]

It would definetly be a little uncomfortable

[BizzyStick]

And if he does pass im glad :D. Not to be harsh or anything but the bastard deserves to die. And me being a cuban living in Miami,FL i have alot of friends and families that would wish the same thing :D


Sorry i just had to register and post :O

[slowthestone]

So Castro is dead and they're just not releasing it officially yet eh.

I'll put a dollar on the budding scuttlebutt saying he be dead.

[Bong30]

I hear they are partying like he is dead............

50/50 if he is dead allready........

[Psycho4Bud]

The seriousness of Mr. Castroâ??s condition was still unclear, but news he had relinquished power set off celebrations among Cuban exiles in Miami and prompted expressions of concern from leftist leaders in Latin America. A couple hundred demonstrators also rallied in Havana to show support for their president, calling him â??the father of the peopleâ?� and â??the soul of the country,â?� according to televised reports.

There were unconfirmed reports the military had been placed on high alert today and civil-defense militias had been warned to brace themselves for any attempts to cause civil unrest and to keep an eye out for a United States invasion, residents said in telephone interviews.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/01/world/americas/01cnd-cuba.html?ref=world

A U.S. invasion??? Kinda being drama queens.:smokin:

[dopesmoker]

the U.S. has attempted to invade before why not again? Not drama at all

[graymatter]

He's not dead until they sing a folk song about him and make cool tee shirts...

[Psycho4Bud]

the U.S. has attempted to invade before why not again? Not drama at all

1) We're not really Mr. Popularity right now....Cuba's done nothing to us so why invade.....better be a good reason.

2) If we did that I'm sure agreements would have to be worked out with Russia and China which would mean bye, bye Taiwan. They would consider it the same situation.

Just my thoughts..........:twocents:

Have a good one!:thumbsup:

[birdgirl73]

Yeah, like Che Guevara! I'd give my right coronary artery for one of those shirts. I wear it and watch "The Motorcycle Diaries" again. And cry and strum the Spanish guitar. . . .

I heard a long piece on NPR about Castro and the dynamics of change in Cuba on my way back from my pottery class this evening. Apparently the U.S. has and (and has long had) $80 million earmarked for strategic and diplomatic moves toward democracy there when Fidel crosses the finish line. There's a huge, detailed plan for how to move forward, which of course hasn't been publicized but seems fairly easy to speculate about.

The BBC reporter from the Cuban hospital was saying that Fidel's alive on the night of his surgery but seriously ill, and they played several sound bytes of Fidel talking about his mortality at various times in the past when everyone's said he's headed for the end. He derives great strength and amusement, he said three years ago, when others are certain he's dying. The reporter said the most interesting thing was how fired up Cuban Americans and Cuban exiles in America are about the whole situation, demonstrating in the streets for Castro's demise, whereas the folks in Cuba itself are very calm and unfazed about the whole story. The report mentioned that Raul Castro is much more of a hard-line Communist than his brother. And they talked about the fact that Cubans themselves have been better off under the Castro regime than they were under Batista and the previous dictators but explained why exiles and their progeny are so mad at Castro and his "reign" because so many of those folks lost vast amounts of money and livelihoods and parts of their families on the other side of the Cuban iron curtain after it closed in 1959.

The whole situation makes me want to go to Cuba immediately and just look around and see it all. The prohibition against American tourists visiting there has always made me more eager to see the place. I'd sport my Guevara t-shirt there, too, and drink mojitos while doing so. . . .

[dopesmoker]

I might be going to Cuba next summer. I sure hope so, just to be able to see the massive portraits of Ernesto that are the height of the entire building. It would be an incredible experience.