blogging it real

Anyone happen to catch the news last night in Havana? Probably not, huh? Well, jeeze, if there wasn’t El Comandante en Jefe, Fidel Castro Ruz sitting, standing and chatting with his good pal Hugo Chavez. Castro has put on a bit of weight. He’s smiling and joking about. It’s a very nice image. But you know what he’s not doing? Governing the country!

Over the last month there has been at least one report per week coming out of Washington, or friends of Washington saying that Castro is dead or dying…change imminent. Yeah. And there’s freedom in Iraq, kind of thing.

When the State Department said that it had information that Castro was on deaths door, the press ran with it world wide. The Cuban government who employ Fidel’s doctors said nothing, and still the world kept running.

When Hugo Chavez said that el Jefe was sick, the world not only ran with it, but made it sound like he was on life support.

When someone asked how the hell the U.S. State Department knew more about Castro’s health than the Cuban State, suddenly an article appeared quoting the Spanish GI specialist, saying that Fidel was on deaths door.

Later the Spanish GI specialist himself said, “I didn’t say that.”

Even John "I'm the only remaining social commentary in the U.S." Steward bought into it and said that Castro would recieve a plastic bum.

I don’t get it. I seriously can’t figure out the strategy on this one. The media, the State Department, the CIA, los gusanos de Miami are all so quick to yell out any news, either completely false or grossly exaggerated, on Castro’s health. Yet, when there is proof of improvement on the man’s health, the media takes its sweet time sending out the message. Why? Why convince the world that the man is barely breathing?

I really don’t know. I mean has anyone stopped to notice that the man is not the head of state? Is it such a stretch of the imagination to think that Cuba is in fact continuing to govern itself, continue with trade, and continue with foreign health campaigns abroad under a new head of state?

I mean, in his pajamas, Castro is not a governor. So how the hell media has managed to convince people that A) he’s still in charge, and B) massive change will occur after he has gone is beyond me.

In any case the CNN gaze does well to fabricate reality. Many, many, many people are convinced that there will be broad-sweeping magical change to come the minute that the man’s pulse drops off. Oh yeah? Tell me exactly how that would unfold.

From watching the bullshit media circus over the last month, I think that it’s safe to say that Cuba, and not Washington, has a better hand on the life and reality of the post Castro era. Cuba’s living it…..Washington continues to remain delusional.

And for living proof, words of wisdom from the Baltimore Sun:

"Castro's ill health has even complicated security preparations for the Super Bowl, because police must account for the possibility that Castro's death could be announced at a time when security resources already will be stretched to the limit.

The issue came up at a news conference yesterday with the local and federal agencies that are coordinating security for the game, and Miami-Dade police officials indicated that they are prepared for that contingency.S

Somebody even asked what might happen if the news broke at halftime."