Back in November, I posted the following:

"Rumor has it that Castro died a few weeks ago...on 10/22 or 10/23. They keep showing video clips of him trying to establish that he's alive, but they cut to 'someone' holding a current newspaper, dressed as would Castro, then they cut to Castro reading 'a' newspaper, but there is no continuity, no matter how good the editing. Yet, the people eat it up."

"There is a huge celebration going to happen on December 2, involving military parades and whatnot...it is my opinion that they will at that time announce the passing of Castro. But more important is the impression they want to create to the effect that, no matter what happens to Fidel, it's business as usual, without interruption or interference from the US...no matter what is really happening."

Well, Castro not only missed his big postponed birthday bash in December, he missed May Day!! That is unheard of...Castro is known for huge May Day speeches. Mini-Me (Chavez) and Mini-Mini-Me (Morales) say how Fidel has recovered to the point he has taken control of the country again. Some believe him; not me!

Castro would NEVER miss out on a chance for a public appearance.

I saw him in the news a couple of weeks ago. In a public act... could be a false image?

I agree. I think he died long ago and the government has kept it quiet in order to maintain some semblance of power. Who knows what they are assembling behind the scenes . . . .

All of the images of Fidel that they show are stock footage, taken back in September. They also use some trick photography...they'll show the hands of SOMEONE holding a current newspaper; then they'll show Castro holding SOME newspaper; but the don't show CASTRO holding a CURRENT newspaper, and instead, leave that to the viewer to make a quantum leap of faith that it is him. There has been absolutely nothing since September, and if he had one breath left in him, he would have been at the MayDay festivities...

Turns out Isla de Juventad is NOT a genetics lab but a robotics lab. The robotic "old Castro" is back in the shop for a few tweaks then he will re-appear soon. But seriously, I think that fragile Castro kissing all over mini-me 1 in that footage from a few months back settled the dead thing, at least for me, sadly, but missing Mayday was HUGE, I have to agree. Hell, even railing on for hours from a wheelchair would have been tempting for the old dog...er, horse.

LOL!!! That's good...Robotics Lab...

You do realize, of course, that the place used to be called, Isla de los Pinos (Isle of Pines), and was the site of the MODEL PRISON where Castro and others were jailed following the July 26, 1952, rebel insurrection in the form of the attack on the Moncada Army Barracks in Santiago de Cuba...and where Castro wrote the famous speech, "History Will Absolve Me". Castro was eventually pardoned after heavy pressure on Batista...he went to Mexico in exile, hooked up with Che Guevara, and returned a few years later to mount the revolution from the hills of the Sierra Maestra. He renamed the place, Isle of Youth...

quote:

Originally posted by ryj7x47:
LOL!!! That's good...Robotics Lab...

You do realize, of course, that the place used to be called, Isla de los Pinos (Isle of Pines), and was the site of the MODEL PRISON where Castro and others were jailed following the July 26, 1952, rebel insurrection in the form of the attack on the Moncada Army Barracks in Santiago de Cuba...and where Castro wrote the famous speech, "History Will Absolve Me". Castro was eventually pardoned after heavy pressure on Batista...he went to Mexico in exile, hooked up with Che Guevara, and returned a few years later to mount the revolution from the hills of the Sierra Maestra. He renamed the place, Isle of Youth...

Let me guess, you did not attend a US government school. That much is clear..

Fidel isn't dead. He's living in an apartment in Florida with Elvis. Everybody knows that!

quote:

Let me guess, you did not attend a US government school. That much is clear..

No. China.

History is what it is, Forrest. There's a place called Cuba; in 1952, Batista was the dictator in charge; on July 26, of that year, there was a rebel insurrection at the Moncada military barracks situated in Santiago de Cuba; many of the rebels were killed, but Castro and others survived; they were eventually captured and jailed at the Model Prison located in Isle of Pines; it was there Castro wrote what was the lynchpin to his defense in a speech that ended, "Condemn me now, it's not imporant...history will absolve me..."; Castro was convicted of treason, but was not executed and stayed in jail in Isla de los Pinos; there was intense political pressure on Batista to release Castro, and Castro took off to Mexico; along with others similarly situated (including brother Raul), Castro hooked up with Che, and they returned to Cuba where they mounted the revolution in the Sierra Maestra; Batista eventually fled and Castro has been in power ever since.

Anything missing?

Some clarifications: Batista came to power in 1952; the Moncada raid was in 1953 (July 26); somehow, even though Castro grew up in Santiago, he conveniently became lost en route and missed out on most of the brutal fighting. Over 1/3 of the force was killed; over half of the remaining were tortured to death; despite his moving 4 hour speech that became known as "History Will Absolve Me", Castro was initially sentenced to death, however, the sentence was changed to 15 years at Model because Batista abolished the death penalty right at about that time; to appease rising opposition to his regime, Batista granted amnesty to political prisoners, and Castro and others were released in 1955; that was when Castro went to Mexico in exile, and within a year, returned on the yacht, GRANMA. Quite an interesting story - intrigue, revolution, valor, greed, death, literature, idealism, courage, overcoming adversity - this is a modern revolution that happened in very recent history.

Rob- I too am one of the nuts who has studied Cuban history, since around the mid 1980's. It is refreshing to see that someone else can recite the events which took place early in the Revolution. I have read several times that his History Will Absolve Me speech was very similar to and possibly plagiarized from a speech written by Hitler.

I just wanted to mention one slight change- the Moncada Barracks attack was on July 26, 1953 rather than 1952. This date is burned in my mind since I was in Santiago de Cuba and toured the Moncada Barracks, among other things, in early July 1993. They were preparing for the 40th anniversary of the event which was to occur later that month. I can also recommend to stay out of Santiago de Cuba during the summer months as it was the equivalent of 101 F there.

Correct - I made that correction but the post had not yet surfaced as of the time you made yours. Thanks for the clarification!!

FWIW...I wouldn't go near Santiago in the summer. It's bad enough in Havana. But it's a special sort of heat that goes on down there...!

To Castro: "Oye viejo, a donde tu esta?"
When I was a small child we went to Cuba twice. I live in Puerto Rico so nothing there came as a shock to me. It's like home...on crack. I got to see the non-tourist areas were the "real" people live. And amidst all the chaos you could see the families clinging on to each other for survival. Hustlers on the street, prostitutes on the corners, and tabaco on the mountain sides. The people are used to it. It's what they call home. The generation coming up now doesn't even remember a Castro-less Cuba. I don't know whether he's alive or not, but I do know things are still the same. Only time will tell but my bet is: Cuba libre = mas de lo mismo. They are the unwanted children of "La Revolucion". They are a repressed people, you can smell it in the air. It's like a dog that was caged up for all his life. When you open the door and let him be free all he knows how to do is get back in the cage. Don't get me wrong, I wish nothing but the best for them. They are my neighbors after all. We share the same freakin flag. Anyhow, Fidel is probably alive.

Very insightful...mas de lo mismo, seguro. What is left in Cuba now? You have those who supported the revolution, and their progeny who know nothing else. That IS all they know. But I would not abandon hope just yet. One might compare slavery in the US...that the slaves knew only slavery. But the people overcame their previous condition, as will the very resourceful Cuban people. Ojala!

Yes, it was 1953, not 1952. Also, Castro did not write the speech in Modelo prison, he uttered those words at his trial.

History is only history if you get it right!

Anything missing?[/QUOTE]

Yes, thousands upon thousands upon thousands people murdered by Castro, Che and their cronies.

The whole nation enslaved for 50+ years.

Other then that, nothing missing.

For the second or third time, I corrected and stand corrected about the year, and it was while he was in prison awaiting trial that he wrote his defense that included a 4 hour closing argument that later became known as "History Will Absolve Me". There is no court record or transcript, and there are different variations of the speech, but the concluding lines and sentiment are consistent.

History is what it is.

Without beating this horse that's already dead, let's get this right: The 4-hour speech in Castro's famous defense was supposedly spoken at his sentencing hearing, and included the much heralded sentiment, "Condenadme no importa; la historia me absolvera" (condemn me, it is not important; history will absolve me). Some say that it was captured by a court reporter; others say that Castro wrote it out later. Castro was eventually sentenced with others to 15 years at Modelo. Some report that it was at that time that Castro wrote out what he supposedly said, and smuggled it out of the prison to be published for others to read.

Somewhere in there lies history...the history that supposedly will eventually absolve Fidel Castro.

surprise surprise

While Batista officially came to power in 1952, he had been controlling things through various puppet regimes starting with the coup of 1933. A second coup took place in 1952 just a few months before general elections were supposed to be held in which Fidel Castro was a candidate.