snapped shot

now in ap-approved text mode

 

What happened to the pictures? Exhibit A, Exhibit B
Will they ever come back? Yes and no

Daily Dictator, "It Lives" Edition

Could it be? Is Fidel Castro really still alive?

According to his ardent followers in the press, he made a "live" appearance over the weekend, which is definitely spoken with the intent of fooling all of we unbelievers. The government newspaper, Juventud Rebelde, follows up with photographic evidence of this momentous occasion, which was repeated unquestionably by the Associated Press:

In this photo released by Cuba's Juventud Rebelde newspaper, Cuba's President Fidel Castro, right, reads a book accompanied by Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez during a meeting in Havana, Saturday, Oct. 13, 2007. Chavez met for more than four hours with Castro and state media on Sunday published two new official photos of the men together, but provided no new details about the ailing Cuban leader's health. (AP Photo/Juventud Rebelde)


Of course, what do we really know about "Weekend At" Fidel's latest appearance?

Well, for starters, this photograph is not the appearance itself—Castro "appeared" via telephone on Thuggo Chavez's weekly radio program, which was broadcast from Che "Dead Commie" Guevara's monument in Cuba. Seriously: Chavez went through all of the effort to fly over there, and his hero doesn't even have the courtesy to actually appear in public (notice how Thuggo's broadcasting from a stage?) on the show?

This whole scenario reeks to high heaven.

Personally, I think the photograph above is a complete fraud:—Check out the difference in lighting between Castro's whole body (not just his skin, which could be explained as his frailty), and that of Thuggo Chavez. What do you suppose the odds are that the communist archipelago still can't figure out what to do post-Castro, and as a result, keeps having to prop up the legend of Castro to keep their dictatorial ways afloat?
 

Daily Dictator

No sign of our dancing duet yet. It seems that Chavez is stuck playing second fiddle at the moment.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, in red shirt, and Cuba's acting President Raul Castro, right, attend a ceremony at the monument of Venezuelan independence hero Francisco de Miranda in Havana, Wednesday, June 13, 2007. Chavez made a surprise visit to Cuba at the invitation of his friend and ally convalescing leader Fidel Castro, state television reported. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)



¿Cómo interesando, no?
 

Daily "Weekend at Fidel's"

Here's some more wackiness from the Kooky Kommie Isle. While I don't see any obvious signs of photoshopping, the pictures by themselves are worth their weight in gold!

A tender moment, which would've been so appropriately MOAB'ed.

Orig: Cuba's President Fidel Castro (R) and Vietnamese Communist Party chief Nong Duc Manh hug during a meeting in Havana June 2, 2007. Castro appeared more vigorous on Sunday in the first images of the Cuban leader to be broadcast on state television in four months, backing up reports that he has put his health crisis behind him. Picture taken June 2, 2007. (Juventud Rebelde/Handout/Reuters)


More kooky fun can be found following the break, and more Cuban speculation can be found over at La Contra Revolucíon. Continue reading »
 

Daily Dictator

Oh, the possibilities which could be wrought by a strategically-placed daisy cutter...

Raul Castro (R), head of Cuba's armed forces and brother of Cuba's President Fidel Castro, and Nong Duc Manh, general secretary of Vietnam's Communist Party Central Committee, stand together during a meeting at the Revolution Palace in Havana June 1, 2007. REUTERS/Javier Galeano/Pool (CUBA)


Cuba libre! Free Vietnam! (Duc, if you're still lurking here, I'd love to hear the translation for the second one!)
 

Daily "Blogging" Dictator

Weekend at Fidel's.
La Contra Revolucíon has been documenting the rather hilarious transformation of brutally-beloved dictator Fidel Castro into a blogger-of-sorts. Unlike we "real" bloggers, when Fidel says something, the worldwide press repeats it ipso facto. Most comical is the Miami Sun-Sentinel's attempt to get, as El Gusano puts it, "John Q. Cuban's" opinion on Castro's death hospital stay:

The Sun-Sentinel, trying to make a story out of a pile of bull crap, went out to interview the man on the street, Juan Q. Cuban , as it where. And bless them, they found a 33 year old construction worker named, get this ….., Ho Chi Ming Alvarez, (his brother Mao Tse Tung Alvarez wasn’t available)
...
Ho Chi Ming Alvarez…hahahahahahahaha


Thanks for the chuckle, Gusano!
 

Fidel Castro, ¡Viva Muerte!

Uhh, "Long Live Death?"

While it doesn't exactly make sense, it's the best way I can describe Fidel Castro's demise. After all, the island archipelago is currently playing the biggest game of "Weekend at Fidel's" I've ever seen. It does look like ol' Tracksuit seems to have "missed" today's festivities after all.

I dunno... maybe that's because he's still pushing up daisies?

The clock's ticking, Cuba. Your liberation is coming soon.


Update: It looks like Fidel was healthy enough to "hop on" and write an article for Granma the day before May Day. Of course, without accompanying photographs, who's to say who really wrote the article. After all, there is no telling one dictatorial screed from another, is there?
 

Unhappy May Day

Guess who was a no-show at Cuba's annual May Day parade this year? From REUTERS' chief propagandist-on-site, Claudia Daut:

Raul Castro (R), head of Cuba's armed forces and brother of Cuba's President Fidel Castro, and minister of communications Ramiro Valdez wave to the crowd during the May Day parade in Revolution Square in Havana, May 1, 2007. REUTERS/Claudia Daut (CUBA)


Of course, Fidel's got a good 12 hours before the day's up, so who knows what might happen. Until he does show, though, you just know that there's a fresh, plus-sized waterfall of tears over in Caracas right about now...

As a bonus, I'll be doing my best to archive all of the Unhappy May Day celebrations beyond the fold! If Castro is a no-show, as I suspect he'll be, does that mean we can count him once again amongst the dead? Continue reading »