OK, is Castro close to death or already dead?

[RB TexLa]

Sounds like a leak to get people ready, to me.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070116/ts_nm/cuba_castro_monday_dc_4

Earlier on Monday, a Latin American diplomat close to Havana said Castro was having problems with the healing of his stitches after stomach surgery.

The diplomat, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, was among one of the presidential delegations in Quito for the swearing in of leftist Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa. "Fidel has problems with his stitches healing," the diplomat said to Reuters.

[citygal]

1. If he is, will the embargo finally be lifted?

I was in the Caribbean a few years ago. We had been snorkeling on some British Virgin Islands through a charter before returning to the U.S. Virgin Islands. (To get back to the US Virgin Islands now you have to go through customs on St. Croix.) A family (parents with their children) were ordered back to the US mainland immediately because while on the BVI, the father purchased a Cuban cigar and declared it to customs. They were sent back to the States and their vacation ended all because he purchased the cigar. He probably did not even know it was not permitted. Our captain told us to either remove all labeling or refrain from speaking to the customs people. We just abstained from buying anything.

[RB TexLa]

2. There will have to be some type of payments for property seized

in the revolution, but I'm sure there will be an agreement reached on that. Maybe not actual payments but something.

[killbotfactory]

9. Cuba has offered payment before

But, US companies rejected their offer.

[mentalsolstice]

3. Best reason to vacation in Canada...the Cuban cigars!

on edit, I've vacationed in Canada several times, including this past Christmas in Banff, and there's a lot more besides the cigars. But it is pretty cool that you can get them there!

[RagingInMiami]

4. I hope he can hold on until we get a democratic president in office

Or else the Cuban right-wingers will give Bush all the credit.

[NEOBuckeye]

5. Talk about a poor association for them to make n/t

[bananarepublican]

10. Like Malaki? I wonder how much of Castro's bad press was based on fact?

Don't forget that the story about Saddam ripping pre-mature Kuwaiti babies from their incubators was proven to be total bullsh*t!

Also, anything coming from a right-wing-Cuban-exile's mouth should be 'trusted but verified', (as Ronald Reagan was so fond of saying).

[GreenZoneLT]

11. Ask Amnesty International

Castro is certainly not the worst dictator ever, but he did steal an awful lot of middle-class Cubans' property, and his troops killed a lot of people in Africa at Soviet behest.

[bananarepublican]

14. How does Cuban policy under Castro compare to Uncle Sam's?

According to Amnesty International of course! I wonder... which of the two nations is responsible for the most deaths? (You can even exclude the Iraqi 'adventure' if you'd like.)

P.S. I'm not trying to be a smart-butt, but this country's race to the bottom isn't over yet.

[seriousstan]

6. I have a Cohiba waitng for news of his death.

[MonkeyFunk]

7. I hope

he lives another 20 years, just to piss off the nutjobs in Florida.

[RB TexLa]

13. That's a lot of oppression just to upset nutjobs n/t

[Warpy]

8. Problems with his stitches healing

in a man his age are nothing unusual. It could mean anything from localized infection to the incision coming partially apart to just slow healing.

It happens more often than you think. Diabetics and the elderly are most at risk, and we know he's got at least one of those against him.

They're going to have to do better than that if they want me to believe he's trying to peg out.

[Radio_Lady]

12. AP is running this story from 9 PM Pacific Time:

From: http://www.comcast.net/news/index.jsp?cat=GENERAL&fn=/2007/01/16/563080.html

Castro Reportedly in Grave Condition
By Associated Press

MADRID, Spain - Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro is in "very grave" condition after three failed operations and complications from an intestinal infection, a Spanish newspaper said Tuesday.

The newspaper El Pais cited two unnamed sources from the Gregorio Maranon hospital in the Spanish capital of Madrid. The facility employs surgeon Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido, who flew to Cuba in December to treat the 80-year-old Castro.

In a report published on its Web site, El Pais said: "A grave infection in the large intestine, at least three failed operations and various complications have left the Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro, laid up with a very grave prognosis."

Cuba has released little information on Castro's condition since he temporarily ceded power in July to his brother, Defense Minister Raul Castro, until he could recover from emergency intestinal surgery, prompting much speculation and rumor in the country and around the world.

El Pais' report, which could not immediately be confirmed, was a rare detailed description from a major media outlet about Castro's condition.

The U.S. government had speculated that Castro could suffer from cancer _ a supposition denied by Sabrido. Some U.S. doctors believed Castro was suffering from diverticular disease, which can cause bleeding in the lower intestine, especially in people over 60. In severe cases, emergency surgery may be required.

That idea was supported by El Pais, which reported that its sources said Castro had suffered a bout of the disease.

MORE AT LINK ABOVE.