Guest BlackJesus Posted August 14, 2005 Report Share Posted August 14, 2005 [color="blue"][i][b]Regardless if you hate him or not (to somes surpise I am not actually a big fan - He betrayed Che and the ideals they both initially agreed upon), there is something to be said for someone who stays in power for 50 years, 90 miles off of Americas shores, all the while where the Worlds Lone Superpower can't oust him like they have so many leaders they did not approve of.[/b][/i][/color] [img]http://biografieonline.it/img/bio/Fidel_Castro.jpg[/img][img]http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/WORLD/americas/08/13/castro.birthday.ap/story.castro.cake.ap.jpg[/img] [u]Cuba marks Castro's 79th birthday August 13, 2005 CNN [/u] HAVANA, Cuba (AP) -- Cuba honored President Fidel Castro's 79th birthday Saturday, revisiting the nearly five decades he's been in power in state-run newspapers and documentaries. Dozens of Cuban children danced and cut an enormous blue-and-white cake for Castro, one of the world's longest ruling heads of government, while front pages bore his photo and loving words. "We celebrate as your own, with the affection and immense admiration that children feel for the most noble, wise and brave father," a letter to the "Comandante" said on the front page of the Communist Party daily Granma. Signed by "your people," the letter called the president the "dearly loved Fidel" and highlighted his "special sensitivity for others" and "guerrilla spirit of just ideals." At midnight, those attending a youth congress in Caracas, Venezuela sang "Happy Birthday" to Castro, who sent a message of thanks and said he was watching the gathering. The Cuban leader is an active 79. He maintains a busy schedule -- including frequent speeches that can stretch to six or seven hours -- and has shown no interest in retiring. A documentary shown in an Old Havana theater Saturday displayed some of Castro's most impassioned public speeches, from his assumption of power in early 1959, through the Cuban Missile Crisis and fall of the Berlin Wall, to more recent remarks justifying socialism against the threats of capitalist superpowers like the United States. Though the leader clearly ages throughout Rebeca Chavez's "Momentos con Fidel," or "Moments with Fidel," he also maintains his characteristic intensity throughout the decades, walking briskly and pounding tables and wagging his finger when speaking. "This revolution will leave indelible footprints in the history of the world," Castro said on May Day of 2004. Earlier, a younger Castro, perhaps a bit less reflective, says, "They can hate us, but they also must admire us. We never bow down." Castro's battles have been many, and with the arrival of his 79th birthday came yet another victory, this time in the form of a U.S. appeals court decision that ordered a new trial in the high-profile case of five alleged Cuban spies. Citing prejudicial publicity, the ruling last Tuesday threw out the men's convictions and ordered they be tried outside Miami, where Cuban emigres abound and anti-Castro sentiment runs high. The newspaper Granma pointed out that one of the men, Rene Gonzalez, shares Castro's birthday. The ruling gave Castro a boost as Cubans face tough domestic problems, including a housing crisis and an antiquated electrical grid that had frequent and stifling power outages earlier this summer. While Cubans complained about the blackouts, there is little doubt Castro remains firmly in control of the last communist state in the Americas and one of only five in the world. The others are China, Vietnam, North Korea and Laos. Born in eastern Cuba's sugar country where his Spanish immigrant father ran a prosperous plantation, Fidel Castro Ruz's official birthday is August 13, 1926, although some say he was born a year later. His designated successor has always been his brother, Defense Secretary Raul Castro, who is five years his junior. Castro appears to maintain good health despite occasional rumors about illness and a fall last year that shattered a kneecap and broke his right arm. He used a wheelchair for several months before he began walking again in December. His tenacity and strength have amazed many. Nonetheless, next year Castro becomes an octogenarian, and video footage from "Moments with Fidel" showing the leader scrambling up mountains and playing vigorous games of basketball and volleyball with Cuban teenagers appear to be images of the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BengalBacker Posted August 14, 2005 Report Share Posted August 14, 2005 Happy Birthday Fidel. Hope it's your last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BlackJesus Posted August 14, 2005 Report Share Posted August 14, 2005 [color="red"][i][b]Also since he has been in Power so long... he def has met with the Who's Who ..... and is probably one of the 3 most famous men in the world (infamy is also still fame)[/b][/i][/color] [img]http://www.brothermalcolm.net/2002/mx_1990/images/mx_fidel.jpg[/img] [b]w/ Malcolm X [img]http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/pope/bio/papal/link.pope.castro.jpg[/img] w/ Head of the Molesters (Pope) [img]http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38296000/jpg/_38296259_cartercastro.jpg[/img] w/ Jimmy Carter [img]http://www.paxety.com/Archive/Fidel-Arafat.jpg[/img] w/ Arafat [img]http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20000910/0908a.gif[/img] w/ Kofi[/b] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted August 14, 2005 Report Share Posted August 14, 2005 Wasn't it a few years ago that he was in some sort of plane wreck and we came to help him? I vaguely remember that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oldschooler Posted August 14, 2005 Report Share Posted August 14, 2005 Break a leg Fidel !! Oh wait...you already did that. [img]http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Video/041021/n_castro_fall_041021.300w.jpg[/img] [url="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6294511"]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6294511[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest #22 Posted August 15, 2005 Report Share Posted August 15, 2005 He's like Lance Armstong. I don't [i]Like[/i] the guy, but I respect him. He has really been "Stupid like a fox" his whole career. Even the Cuban revolution was a thing of genius. Escaped 11 CIA assassination attempts, and probably a few from the USSR. He has been his own dude the whole time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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