Three botched surgeries, a foreign specialist and imported medications later, Fidel says he's "better"

Updated with a sneak preview of Sicko
Obi's Sister sent me the link to the AP story: Castro Says He's Better, Weight Stable

Fidel Castro's recovery from intestinal surgery 10 months ago was delayed because the first of several operations he had went badly, the communist leader said in a statement that gave the most detailed account of his health since August.

Castro, 80, said in the Wednesday statement that he is now eating solid food and improving after "many months" of intravenous feeding. It was the most information released about Castro's condition since his Aug. 13 birthday, when he asked Cubans to be optimistic but not rule out possible "adverse news."

Notice how it's a statement, not a personal appearance, a press conference, a phone call, or anything such.

The WaPo has a picture of Fidel reading the newspaper, which, as they notice, is undated.

Michael Moore, who's at the Cannes Film Festival and

praises the Socialized healthcare system that let 15,000 die from heat in 2003 (many waiting for ice water in hospital hallways).

(and who has a vested interest in not having to pay for his lifestyle choices) would be shocked to hear that El Comandante was at death's door because the excellent Cuban healthcare system (the same excellent Cuban healthcare system that could not treat Gabriel Garcia Marquez's cancer so he had to go to LA for chemo and radiation) botched up not once, or twice, but three times, or maybe more,

A January story in the Spanish newspaper El Pais described Castro as being in "very grave" condition after at least three failed operations for diverticular disease. The Cuban government denied that report.

After which, the excellent Cuban healthcare system had to be set aside and they called cancer specialist Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido, and Castro required medications that were paid by the Spanish taxpayers.

But hey, it's free healthcare!

Obvoiously all of this stress is getting to him - the previously uniformed Fidel's letting himself go, perhaps inspired by Michael,

"I don't have time now for films and photos that require me to constantly cut my hair, beard and mustache, and get spruced up every day," he said, evidently referring to the preparation required for some of the official images.

Here's a picture of Michael. Apparently Fidel can't let go of the newspaper.

Meanwhile, Fidel Castro Appeals for Investment in Health Rather Than in Arms, or more specifically, invest in his tripe.

Update: Via Manuel, LiveLeak has a segment from Sicko, where Michael More is in an NHS hospital and says, "In British hospitals, instead of money going in to the cashier's window, money comes out!"


Update, Friday 25 May


--------------------------------------------------
In other, more relevant Latin American news, Congress should approve a free trade agreement with Colombia, and Investor's Business Daily explains why:
Colombia Warning

Americans might not realize it, but Colombia has shown great friendship with the U.S, at a high cost to itself.

- It's lost 2,658 of its own troops in the drug war since 2002, but cut coca cultivation 9%, the United Nations found. Next door, the Venezuela that Rep. Bill Delahunt, D-Mass., praises is doing little about soaring trafficking.

- Colombia also has doubled oil production on the year, moving to become a top-15 U.S. supplier at a time when Venezuela is destroying its own energy industry.

- It has provided rare know-how to the U.S. in Afghanistan. Sending its own security forces into harm's way, Colombia's taken a top role in helping Afghanistan defeat the illegal drug cultivation that is a new threat to its stability.

- Do any Democrats remember that Colombia was first on the scene to offer swamp and jungle rescue teams, to help to the victims of the New Orleans disaster?

If Colombia is denied a free trade pact by Congress, its future will be severely hurt. To treat any ally in this way is unconscionable. But in the case of Colombia, it also is self-defeating.