[NYTr] AP on Fidel's Hour-long TV Interview:

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

[There are several different edits circulating of the AP story on 
Fidel's TV interview on Friday night. None of them go into many details
on what he actually said: that the global economy is collapsing and
that a major depression is looming. Instead AP (probably Anita Snow)
prattles on about what he wore, how he is looking healthier, how the
paranoid and disappointed Miami gusanos are trying to explain away his
appearance on TV and talking about the skyrocketng price of oil and the
plummeting value of the dollar, Greenspan's book, etc etc.  The
shorter version published in the "Guardian" is scrambled at the end but
has slightly more substance and somewhat less silly gossip than the
Google copy. Google, however, offers four tiny photos showing Fidel is
obviously good spirits speaking animatedly during the interview. Both
copies from Google and AP follow. So far, only Cuba's AIN seems to
be reporting what he actually talked about. -NY Transfer]


AP via Google - Sep 22, 2007
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jy28oND3HqxhdkJNawMbwugObYDw

Cuba's Castro Looks Healthy in New Video

HAVANA (AP) — Fidel Castro looked alert and healthier during an
hour-long interview taped and aired on Cuban television Friday,
responding to rumors of his death with a defiant "here I am."

In the first video of the ailing 81-year-old revolutionary seen in more
than three months, a pale Castro stayed seated the entire time, spoke
slowly and softly and didn't always look the interviewer in the eye.
But he appeared to be thinking clearly.

The Cuban leader said he thought the Bush administration could go to
war with Iran and bemoaned the high cost of the war in Iraq, but
provided no new details about his health, except to say, "Well, here I
am."

Mocking rumors of his death that have circulated in Miami and elsewhere
in the United States, he said "they say 'I was dying' and 'if I die'
and 'I will die the day after tomorrow' or something."

"Nobody knows the day they are going to die," said Castro, who was
forced to cede power to his younger brother Raul in July 2006 following
emergency intestinal surgery. He has not appeared in public since.

Early in the interview, Castro often trailed off mid-sentence, and
needed some prompting by the interviewer. He had bags under his eyes,
sunken cheeks and his thin gray beard looked as wispy as ever. But he
appeared to get stronger and more comfortable as time passed.

The video's release came as a surprise. Cuban officials broke into
regularly scheduled programming only minutes before the video was
broadcast to announce that a "conversation" with Castro would be shown.
They said the interview was taped Friday.

Backing up the assertion, Castro mentioned recent prices of oil and the
value of the euro against the dollar. He also discussed an essay he
signed that was published in state media on Wednesday.

"Yesterday the euro was at US$1.41. Oil I think about US$84 a barrel,"
Castro said.

He also held up a copy of the new book by former U.S. Federal Reserve
chairman Alan Greenspan, "The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New
World." At one point he quoted from it, reading excerpted passages in
very large type instead of using the book itself.

The Cuban leader wore a red, blue and white jumpsuit with "F. Castro"
in small block letters.

"They criticize me" for wearing the tracksuit, Castro joked. But he
said he was "not looking for anything elegant."

Castro's condition and exact ailment are state secrets, though he wrote
in one of his many essays that he had undergone multiple surgeries, at
least one of which went poorly. He is recovering in an undisclosed
location.

For months, official photographs and videos were released to show
Castro's recovery, but no new images had surfaced since he appeared in
an interview on Cuban television June 5.

Arnaldo Fuster, who watched the Castro interview with his wife and
children in his old Havana home, said he thought the Cuban leader
looked better in the latest video.

"He's whole. He's better, I think, than ever," Fuster said. "He's old,
but he's whole. His memory is normal, he looks normal."

But in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood, people greeted the Castro
video with a mixture of skepticism and disappointment. Some doubted the
tape was made on Friday.

"Could be six months ago. Could be one year ago," said Cuban-born
Victoria Martinez, 76, of Hollywood, Fla., who called the leader's talk
"incoherent."

Although there are frequent rumors of Castro's demise, they had reached
a fever pitch in Miami last month after the leader's 81st birthday came
without any news.

Marivi Garces, 47, who left Cuba when she was 8-years-old, said of the
Cuban government, "Everything they do is manipulated."

"It could be six months ago, but they still keep it fresh," she said.
"We can't trust him."

Earlier Friday, Vice President Carlos Lage told reporters that the
essays Castro has signed every few days since late March are evidence
that his health is strong.

"Fidel continues to recuperate. It's a productive recuperation as we
can see in the press," said Lage, apparently referring to the
publication in state newspapers of Castro's "Reflections of the
Commander in Chief."

Also Friday, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said that "Fidel is
recovering with discipline and I think that he's having a productive
work period — reading, studying, writing and keeping up with and
participating in the country's principal decisions."

In Venezuela, ally President Hugo Chavez started a speech with an
announcement that Castro was speaking on Cuban state television. "A
long life to Fidel and the Cuban revolution," he shouted.

Earlier while traveling in Brazil, Chavez said Castro was "close to
death" but underwent several operations and has regained weight.

Castro had "three operations, and he's 81, imagine that. They changed
almost all the blood with transfusions. Fidel is alive because he is
Fidel," Chavez said. 

Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. 

                       ***

AP via The Guardian - Sep 22, 2007 2:01 am ET
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6940147,00.html

Cuba's Castro Looks Healthy in New Video

HAVANA (AP) - Fidel Castro looked alert and healthier during an
hour-long interview taped and aired on Cuban television Friday,
responding to rumors of his death with a defiant ``here I am.'' In the
first video of the ailing 81-year-old seen in more than three months, a
pale but upbeat Castro wore a red, blue and white jumpsuit with ``F.
Castro'' in small block letters.

The Cuban leader stayed seated the entire time, spoke slowly and softly
and didn't always look the interviewer in the eye. But he appeared to
be thinking clearly.

He warned that the Bush administration could go to war with Iran, and
bemoaned the high cost of the war in Iraq, but provided no new details
about his health, except to say, ``Well, here I am.''

Mocking persistent rumors of his death that have circulated in Miami
and elsewhere in the United States, he said ``they say 'I was dying'
and 'if I die' and 'I will die the day after tomorrow' or something.''

``Nobody knows the day they are going to die,'' he said.

Early on, Castro often trailed off mid-sentence, and needed some
prompting by the interviewer. He had bags under his eyes, sunken cheeks
and his thin gray beard looked as wispy as ever. But he appeared to get
stronger and more comfortable as time passed.

Officials broke into regularly scheduled programming only minutes
earlier to announce that a ``conversation'' with Castro would be shown.

Castro mentioned the price of oil and the value of the euro against the
dollar, evidence that the video was recorded Friday, as Cuban officials
said.

``Yesterday the euro was at $1.41. Oil I think about $84 a barrel,''
Castro said.

He also held up a copy of the new book by former U.S. Federal Reserve
chairman Alan Greenspan. At one point he quoted it, reading excerpted
passages in very large type instead of using the book itself.

He also spoke about a wandering essay he wrote that was published in
state media on Wednesday.

Castro has not been since in public since July 31, 2006, when he
announced that emergency intestinal surgery was forcing him to step
down in favor of a provisional government headed by his younger brother
Raul.

As he recovers in an undisclosed location, Castro's condition and exact
ailment are state secrets, though he wrote in one of his essays that he
had undergone multiple surgeries, at least one of which went poorly.

For months, official photographs and videos showed Castro's recovery,
but no new images had surfaced since he appeared in an interview on
Cuban television June 5.

Earlier Friday, Vice President Carlos Lage told reporters that the
essays Castro has signed every few days since late March are evidence
that his health is strong.

``Fidel continues to recuperate. It's a productive recuperation as we
can see in the press,'' said Lage, apparently referring to the
publication in state newspapers of Castro's ``Reflections of the
Commander in Chief.''

Also Friday, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said that ``Fidel is
recovering with discipline and I think that he's having a productive
work period - reading, studying, writing and keeping up with and
participating in the country's principal decisions.''

Castro had suggested he can't be bothered to trim ined weight. [as
published... obviously text is missing]

Castro had ``three operations, and he's 81, imagine that. They changed
almost all the blood with transfusions. Fidel is alive because he is
Fidel,'' Chavez said.