Why did Fidel Castro miss May Day this year?
New poll for May: Why did Fidel Castro miss May Day this year?
Castro Is Dead, Politics, Poll
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May 012007
May 012007
Like an airplane about to crash, looks as though Castro missed the proverbial runway on May Day this year:
There was no sign of a convalescing Fidel Castro as hundreds of thousands of Cubans marched through Havana’s Revolution Plaza to celebrate May Day, casting new doubts on his recovery and whether he will return to power.
This is the first time in 40 years that Castro hasn’t made it to the May Day parade, a celebration that would have been unthinkable without him a year ago, reports CBS News senior foreign correspondent Lara Logan.
While recent images of Castro meeting with Chinese leaders indicated he had improved considerably since undergoing emergency surgery nine months ago, his absence at the parade through the Revolution Plaza raised questions about whether he is strong enough to run the country.
I guess it’s hard to give eight-hour speeches through an artificial anus.
Who do YOU believe?
Anti-Communism, Castro Is Dead, Human Rights, Media, Politics
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May 012007
An article in USA Today about Raul Castro’s rule over Cuba is laughingly titled “Many find reassuring continuity under brother Raul.” Read the article carefully and you’ll find the so-called “many” who find continuity “reassuring” are those who benefit the most from said continuity: Castro’s lackeys:
To those close to the government, there’s been a reassuring continuity.
(Jorge Mario Sanchez, an economist at the Center for the Study of the United States, a government think tank in Havana), says Raul Castro is using the party constructively.
Meanwhile, what does the average Cuban Jose have to say about this? How does this affect his life? Does he, too, find this continuity “reassuring?”
Ordinary Cubans, including many who won’t allow their full names to be published for fear of retribution, say they’ve noticed little change.
Abdel, a former wrestling coach, says a heavier police presence is the only difference he’s seen since Fidel Castro underwent emergency surgery for intestinal bleeding in July.
Rene, a carpenter, says food and other routine purchases cost more today.
The U.S. government says Raul Castro has brought hard-liners back into prominent positions and given the Communist Party more authority.
Miguel, a carpenter and electrician in Havana, is wary of the party’s new assertiveness. “This is how they intimidate us,” he says.
I think that last quote sums it up quite well.
Way to go, Conchita!
Anti-Communism, Chavez - Venezuela, Politics
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May 012007
Cuban-born actress Maria Conchita Alonso, who grew up in Venezuela and is a staunch opponent of President Hugo Chavez, plans to play a die-hard Chavez supporter in a film that takes a critical view of Latin America’s most outspoken leader.
Alonso, a Hollywood veteran who has appeared in films including “Moscow on the Hudson” and “The House of the Spirits,” said Monday that she will enjoy switching roles to play a passionate admirer of the president she deplores.
“It is not going to be very difficult to play a Chavista,” she told The Associated Press in a phone interview from Washington. “You know, love and hate are very close to each other.”
The film, “Two Minutes of Hate,” is to include real footage of Chavez’s speeches and his supporters firing guns from a bridge when chaos erupted at a large opposition march that led up to a short-lived 2002 coup.
Producer Edward Bass said he plans to begin shooting the film – written by a Venezuelan who remains anonymous – in Miami within three months. Bass said the concept is that “Venezuela is the Titanic, Chavez is the captain,” and Alonso’s character is in love with an anti-Chavez professor who in the semi-fictional account is among those shot and killed in 2002.
Bravo, Conchita! I can’t wait till the film comes out.
Breaking: 13 Cubans make landfall in Miami
Anti-Communism, Defection, Friends of Cuban Freedom, Human Rights, Wet Foot Dry Foot
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May 012007
According to Channel 7 in Miami (WSVN TV), 11 adults and two children have made it to shore safely from Cuba in the Miami area. The 13 are reported in good health as they made landfall near Key Biscayne in Miami. The news coming on the High Holy Day of communism, May Day. Ha!
