Fidel Castro makes rare public appearance

[webfact]

Fidel Castro makes rare public appearance

HAVANA: Former Cuban president Fidel Castro has appeared in public for the first time in nine months, attending an art gallery opening near his home.

Photographs show a hunched Mr Castro, 87, using a walking stick as he attended the inauguration of a gallery by Cuban artist Alexis Leyva.

"He greeted artists and residents who applauded the new arrival with emotion," the official Communist Party newspaper Granma reported, describing Mr Castro's outing on Wednesday evening to the Kcho Estudio Romerillo.

Mr Castro, wearing a black jacket and trousers and an olive scarf, rather than his iconic combat fatigues, appeared fit in some photos of the visit but other photos, not published by Cuban media, showed him walking with difficulty, leaning on a cane, assisted by escorts.

Full story: http://www.smh.com.au/world/fidel-castro-makes-rare-public-appearance-20140110-hv81p.html

-- The Sydney Morning Herald 2014-01-10

[circusman]

How can he show his face anywhere? He replaced a dictator with his own dictator - himself.

[PattayaPhom]

How can he show his face anywhere? He replaced a dictator with his own dictator - himself.

And still the only country in the world that offers free healh care, free education throughout university, houising etc. Plus the fact being able to stick two up at the US for over 50 years and defeat them at the Bay of Pigs says a lot really. A true hero and the greatest leader of the past two centuries.

[Credo]

If it's so great, I wonder why many, many thousands of them head for Florida?

[SNGLIFE]

Castro has seen every one of his cold war era nemises buried. 'Nuff said...

[Credo]

No, there are a few from the era left alive.

My grandmother once said she had lived long enough to see all her enemies die. Unfortunately, she had lived long enough to see most of her family and friends die as well.

Double edged sword.

'Nuff said.

[Somnambulist]

How can he show his face anywhere? He replaced a dictator with his own dictator - himself.

And still the only country in the world that offers free healh care, free education throughout university, houising etc. Plus the fact being able to stick two up at the US for over 50 years and defeat them at the Bay of Pigs says a lot really. A true hero and the greatest leader of the past two centuries.

You couldn't pay me enough to avail myself of Cuba's free "health care".

http://www.therealcuba.com/Page10.htm

Free education? Maybe, but not the freedom to choose what to read.

[deepcell]

In Cuba only Cigars and Rum are good! LOL

[F430murci]

How can he show his face anywhere? He replaced a dictator with his own dictator - himself.

And still the only country in the world that offers free healh care, free education throughout university, houising etc. Plus the fact being able to stick two up at the US for over 50 years and defeat them at the Bay of Pigs says a lot really. A true hero and the greatest leader of the past two centuries.

You couldn't pay me enough to avail myself of Cuba's free "health care".

http://www.therealcuba.com/Page10.htm

Free education? Maybe, but not the freedom to choose what to read.

So true. Not sure I would go to a doctor in Cuba for anything more than a cold and they are not exactly known for their high educational standards. I guess you get what you pay for. How many Americans try to migrate to Cuba versus Cubans trying to get into America? Would seem only those Americans trying to beat extradition or doing mission work try to go to Cuba for any lengthy period of time.

But for Castro, Cuba could have been more prosperous than Cayman or any other Caribbean Island. Now they live in shanties and can barely afford to eat.

Edited January 10, 2014 by F430murci

[Briandajew]

How can he show his face anywhere? He replaced a dictator with his own dictator - himself.

And still the only country in the world that offers free healh care, free education throughout university, houising etc. Plus the fact being able to stick two up at the US for over 50 years and defeat them at the Bay of Pigs says a lot really. A true hero and the greatest leader of the past two centuries.

Ha ha! you will probably be writing the very same drivel about Suthep in 10 years time! Yes, Both great men!

[hellodolly]

How can he show his face anywhere? He replaced a dictator with his own dictator - himself.

And still the only country in the world that offers free healh care, free education throughout university, houising etc. Plus the fact being able to stick two up at the US for over 50 years and defeat them at the Bay of Pigs says a lot really. A true hero and the greatest leader of the past two centuries.

Yes I have heard about the good medical care in Cuba. Unfortunately they didn't have a lot of medicine to give to the people. That situation has eased a bit now with Obama allowing more medication to go to Cuba.

As for the win at the bay of pigs. The US made such a mess of it a gang of juveniles- off the streets of L A could have beat them.

Yes he was a dictator. But he did step down and not try to stop improvements in the government. To the best of my knowledge he could have been a great Pro golfer.To his credit he can live in his home country.

[khaowong1]

How can he show his face anywhere? He replaced a dictator with his own dictator - himself.

And still the only country in the world that offers free healh care, free education throughout university, houising etc. Plus the fact being able to stick two up at the US for over 50 years and defeat them at the Bay of Pigs says a lot really. A true hero and the greatest leader of the past two centuries.

Yes I have heard about the good medical care in Cuba. Unfortunately they didn't have a lot of medicine to give to the people. That situation has eased a bit now with Obama allowing more medication to go to Cuba.

As for the win at the bay of pigs. The US made such a mess of it a gang of juveniles- off the streets of L A could have beat them.

Yes he was a dictator. But he did step down and not try to stop improvements in the government. To the best of my knowledge he could have been a great Pro golfer.To his credit he can live in his home country.

Actually, he considered himself a great baseball player.

[saakura]

If it's so great, I wonder why many, many thousands of them head for Florida?

And why do so many thousands of Americans head to Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Phillipines etc? Just a joke, i do not support the Cuban system at all.

[SeaVisionBurma]

Troll post removed.

Let's all tone down on the slurs and derogatory comments.

Have a mature discussion or head elsewhere thanks.

This thread is close to being locked.

[simon43]

<deleted>?

I thought he was dead!

Must be some other chap I was thinking of.....

Oh yea - Chavez

Edited January 10, 2014 by simon43

[Scott]

Off-topic posts and replies removed.

[Daniel Boon]

First off ... housing is not free

Second .. Michael Moore did a documentary called Sicko; he took several very ill 911 workers there for treatment; the medicine was less then one tenth charged in the US

Third ... Castro avoided the USA; however, Haiti was not so lucky (research their support of French government who made Haiti buy its freedom from French government) and look at it today ... rice farmers gone (because the USA flooded the market with heavily subsidized rice) ... (as aside, look at New Orleans 'recovery) ...

[zydeco]

How can he show his face anywhere? He replaced a dictator with his own dictator - himself.

And still the only country in the world that offers free healh care, free education throughout university, houising etc. Plus the fact being able to stick two up at the US for over 50 years and defeat them at the Bay of Pigs says a lot really. A true hero and the greatest leader of the past two centuries.

Yes I have heard about the good medical care in Cuba. Unfortunately they didn't have a lot of medicine to give to the people. That situation has eased a bit now with Obama allowing more medication to go to Cuba.

As for the win at the bay of pigs. The US made such a mess of it a gang of juveniles- off the streets of L A could have beat them.

Yes he was a dictator. But he did step down and not try to stop improvements in the government. To the best of my knowledge he could have been a great Pro golfer.To his credit he can live in his home country.

Actually, he considered himself a great baseball player.

Fidel on the mound in 1959. Strange delivery, almost an inside out sidearmer. The motion from Fidel's appointed president looks a lot better than Fidel's. Anyway, can see it here: http://ia700208.us.archive.org/17/items/1959-07-27_Havana_Rally/1959-07-27_Havana_Rally.ogv

[PattayaPhom]

Cuba still has "Particulares" for its citezens. Its understanble Fidels politics are not to everyones likeing but listen to his speeches, even you you dont understand Spanish, the feeling and passion can be seen. I have seen his New Year speeches in Havana 97/98/99 and the effect he has on Cubans.

[F430murci]

Cuba still has "Particulares" for its citezens. Its understanble Fidels politics are not to everyones likeing but listen to his speeches, even you you dont understand Spanish, the feeling and passion can be seen. I have seen his New Year speeches in Havana 97/98/99 and the effect he has on Cubans.

Just like a black minister in a southern baptist church on a sunday morning? Blind and greedy leading the blind and desperate. People hang on to anything when the are down and out.

[NeverSure]

Cuba could be one of the richest tourist locations in the world. It is only 90 miles from the US and has gorgeous weather, land and beaches. All it would take would be a regime that would lease land to major hotel chains, make tourist visas easy, allow Western investments, and it could compete with any place as a tourist destination.

[PattayaPhom]

Cuba could be one of the richest tourist locations in the world. It is only 90 miles from the US and has gorgeous weather, land and beaches. All it would take would be a regime that would lease land to major hotel chains, make tourist visas easy, allow Western investments, and it could compete with any place as a tourist destination.

It is a tourist destination! Many Canadians especially. Doing what you suggest would reverse all the good work the revolution has brought. Cuba does not want to be the 53rd state of the US

Sent from my ST27a using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[tim armstrong]

How can he show his face anywhere? He replaced a dictator with his own dictator - himself.

And still the only country in the world that offers free healh care, free education throughout university, houising etc. Plus the fact being able to stick two up at the US for over 50 years and defeat them at the Bay of Pigs says a lot really. A true hero and the greatest leader of the past two centuries.

You couldn't pay me enough to avail myself of Cuba's free "health care".

http://www.therealcuba.com/Page10.htm

Free education? Maybe, but not the freedom to choose what to read.

Actually, Cuba's health care is good by comparison to many 'first world' countries. They also send more doctors to international emergencies than just about anyone else.

[F430murci]

How can he show his face anywhere? He replaced a dictator with his own dictator - himself.

And still the only country in the world that offers free healh care, free education throughout university, houising etc. Plus the fact being able to stick two up at the US for over 50 years and defeat them at the Bay of Pigs says a lot really. A true hero and the greatest leader of the past two centuries.

You couldn't pay me enough to avail myself of Cuba's free "health care".

http://www.therealcuba.com/Page10.htm

Free education? Maybe, but not the freedom to choose what to read.

Actually, Cuba's health care is good by comparison to many 'first world' countries. They also send more doctors to international emergencies than just about anyone else.

Rhetoric. The mortality and health care rates are government controlled and world organizations have been denied access to records for independent confirmation.

Cuba is short doctors, teachers and supplies. People bring their own blankets and food to hospitals. The conditions are extremely dirty and they are short on anesthesia and antibiotics. Nothing like surgery with little anesthesia and no antibiotics afterward to control infection.

------

There were no blankets. My hands were swollen and I needed ice. The hospital had no ice. After enduring a 20-minute electrical blackout, my head and right hand were X-rayed. One of the doctors stitched my head up as I lay on a metal gurney. On the next gurney other doctors were stitching up someone who had been knifed in the stomach. There was no curtain to separate us.

The hospital didn't have any antibiotics. To get them, I was driven to the apartment of someone whose job was to distribute them. I returned to my hotel in my blood-soaked clothes.

The doctors and nurses were very nice to me, and they tried to make me comfortable with whatever they had. But their hands were tied because they lack modern equipment and ordinary hospital supplies.

http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704518904575365501385426946?mobile=y

-----

Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet uncovers the truth about Cuban health care

http://marcmasferrer.typepad.com/uncommon_sense/2013/02/dr-oscar-elias-biscet-uncovers-the-truth-about-cuban-health-care.html

------

Dr. Julio Cesar Alfonso, 39, who practiced medicine in Cuba for four years before coming to Miami in 1999, describes the Cuban healthcare system as ''a disaster,'' from doctors reusing needles to draw blood from patients (and keeping a sharpening stone for the needles ) to the X-ray machine at Cardenas Regional Hospital, which hasn't been replaced since 1959.

''The treatment Moore and the rescue workers receive in the film was done specifically for them, because they knew it would make great propaganda,'' says Alfonso, a general practitioner in Little Havana. ``The medical centers in Cuba that treat tourists and government officials and VIPs are very different than the ones that treat the general population. If you're a Cuban citizen and need a prescription drug, most doctors either tell you to ask your relatives in the U.S. to ship it to you or recommend alternative herbal remedies. That's the degree of scarcity on the island.''

http://www.miamiherald.com/2007/06/23/148897/cuban-healthcare-is-painted-rosy.html#storylink=cpy

[RickBradford]

I have seen his New Year speeches in Havana 97/98/99 and the effect he has on Cubans.

The effect he has on a great many Cubans is creating the desire to be elsewhere in a hurry, even if that means travelling 90 miles over the ocean on a flimsy homemade raft...

Edited January 14, 2014 by RickBradford

[PattayaPhom]

I have seen his New Year speeches in Havana 97/98/99 and the effect he has on Cubans.

The effect he has on a great many Cubans is creating the desire to be elsewhere in a hurry, even if that means travelling 90 miles over the ocean on a flimsy homemade raft...

Many of those were the rubbish and Xcons Cuba didnt want...not so now.

[PattayaPhom]

I have seen his New Year speeches in Havana 97/98/99 and the effect he has on Cubans.

The effect he has on a great many Cubans is creating the desire to be elsewhere in a hurry, even if that means travelling 90 miles over the ocean on a flimsy homemade raft...

Read the history of Cuba and South/Central Americas in the 40s/50s....The US was imperialising the continent. Fidel, Che and others for obvious reasons didnt want this. For one man to lead and provoke a revolutiion against capatolism from a foreign "enemy" in his own country deserves the utmost respect. Call it communism if you like, its not...its socialism, and Fidel made Cuba far greater than what it was befor the revolution. If a playboy beach at Varreadero full of casinos for get away Americans and all industries owned by the US makes Cuba better than what it has been since 59 then the Western world has been brainwashed. Hasta La Vitoria Siempre

[PattayaPhom]

Cuba still has "Particulares" for its citezens. Its understanble Fidels politics are not to everyones likeing but listen to his speeches, even you you dont understand Spanish, the feeling and passion can be seen. I have seen his New Year speeches in Havana 97/98/99 and the effect he has on Cubans.

Just like a black minister in a southern baptist church on a sunday morning? Blind and greedy leading the blind and desperate. People hang on to anything when the are down and out.

Never a true statement. In the real days of desperation when Cubans were in poverty, they held onto something that may make their life better. Followed their inspiration and the leader that lead them to a far better life.

[PattayaPhom]

And the only country in the world wher Latinos, Blacks, Whites, Chinesse live in harmony.......diversity is a born child of Fidel

[Credo]

So, PattayaPhom why are you living here rather than in Cuba.