HAVANA — Fidel Castro thanked Cubans for their well-wishes on his 90th birthday on Saturday and criticized President Obama in a lengthy letter published in state media.
“I want to express my deepest gratitude for the shows of respect, greetings and praise that I’ve received in recent days, which give me strength to reciprocate with ideas that I will send to party militants and relevant organizations,” he wrote.
“Modern medical techniques have allowed me to scrutinize the universe,” wrote Castro, who stepped down as Cuba’s president 10 years ago after suffering a severe gastrointestinal illness.
Castro accompanied his thanks with reminiscences about his childhood and youth in eastern Cuba, describing the geology and plant life of the region where he grew up. He touched on his father’s death shortly before his own victory in overthrowing U.S-backed strongman Fulgencio Batista in 1959.
Castro returns at the end to criticize Obama, who appeared to anger the revolutionary leader with a March trip to Cuba in which he called for Cubans to look toward the future. A week after the trip, Castro wrote a sternly worded letter admonishing Obama to read up on Cuban history, and declaring that “we don’t need the empire to give us anything.”
In Saturday’s letter, he criticizes Obama for not apologizing to the Japanese people during a May trip to Hiroshima, describing Obama’s speech there as “lacking stature.”
The Cuban government has taken a relatively low-key approach to Castro’s birthday, in comparison with the large-scale gatherings that had been planned for his 80th. Government ministries have held small musical performances and photo exhibitions that pay tribute to the former head of state. On Saturday morning, state media showed images of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arriving in Havana and a tribute is planned at a Havana theater Sunday evening.
Castro last appeared in public in April, closing the twice-a-decade congress of the Cuban Communist Party with a call for Cuba to stick to its socialist ideals amid ongoing normalization with the U.S.
I Never thought The Old B@stard Would Live this Long
I Never thought The Old B@stard Would Live this Long
Your collective inability to acknowledge this obvious truth makes you all look like fools.
yrs,
rubato
Re: I Never thought The Old B@stard Would Live this Long
More proof of the old saying that the good die young...
I Never Thought The Old Bastard Would Live This Long
Ain't it the truth. My father lived to be 94. He stuck it up all our asses as long as he possibly could and died with a smile on his face.Lord Jim wrote:More proof of the old saying that the good die young...
Old bastard!
“In a world whose absurdity appears to be so impenetrable, we simply must reach a greater degree of understanding among us, a greater sincerity.”
Re: I Never thought The Old B@stard Would Live this Long
Ah yes, another foreign leader demonstrating his enormous respect for Barack Obama...In Saturday’s letter, he criticizes Obama for not apologizing to the Japanese people during a May trip to Hiroshima, describing Obama’s speech there as “lacking stature.”
Of course Fidel no longer runs the day-to-day affairs of the Cuban dictatorship...
His brother Raul displayed his enormous respect for our President Dangerfield by not being bothered to greet him at the airport when he became the first US President to visit Cuba since 1928, and when he dictated to Obama how many questions the President would be allowed to answer at their joint news conference. (A condition which Obama dociley accepted).
Re: I Never thought The Old B@stard Would Live this Long
Cigars and six-hour speeches are the new keys to longevity.
yrs,
rubato
yrs,
rubato
Re: I Never thought The Old B@stard Would Live this Long
Lord Jim wrote:Ah yes, another foreign leader demonstrating his enormous respect for Barack Obama...In Saturday’s letter, he criticizes Obama for not apologizing to the Japanese people during a May trip to Hiroshima, describing Obama’s speech there as “lacking stature.”
... "
You really think that Castro's opinion means anything other than, its opposite?
Putin doesn't like him much either, its the fear thing. Pouty Puty loves the US GOP though. His bag man Paul Manafort runs them.
yrs,
rubato
Re: I Never thought The Old B@stard Would Live this Long
LMFAO !!!!Putin doesn't like him much either, its the fear thing.
You think Vladimir Putin fears Barack Obama?
Oh come on, not even you can be THAT stupid...
Re: I Never thought The Old B@stard Would Live this Long
He fears the American military and arsenal, though. He knows we influence the world.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
~ Carl Sagan
Re: I Never thought The Old B@stard Would Live this Long
Your collective inability to acknowledge this obvious truth makes you all look like fools.
yrs,
rubato
Re: I Never thought The Old B@stard Would Live this Long
Lord Jim wrote:LMFAO !!!!Putin doesn't like him much either, its the fear thing.
You think Vladimir Putin fears Barack Obama?
Oh come on, not even you can be THAT stupid...
More than any Republican candidate, all of whom are too addled, too corrupt, and too weak to know how, when and why to oppose Putin or Communist China (who Bush I ushered into the WTO AFTER they knocked down our plane and kidnapped the crew. Way to be forceful there, GOP. ).
The only time Obama has not acted forcefully enough it was because he asked the (Republican) congress for approval. Other than that he has done well.
yrs,
rubato
I Never Thought The Old Bastard Would Live This Long
"Speak big and carry a soft stick."
“In a world whose absurdity appears to be so impenetrable, we simply must reach a greater degree of understanding among us, a greater sincerity.”