Viva Fidel Castro Ruz

Click to watch the video, recorded yesterday in Havana.

Confounding all the "experts" who have for months taken it as a given that the Cuban Government and Hugo Chavez were lying, video has been released showing a much improved Fidel - standing, talking, drinking (I thought he was on IVs?) and laughing with Hugo. He appears to have gained much of his original weight back, though still appears to be a bit worse off and aged - as would be expected.

I could go on about the journalists, editorial boards, bloggers, even normally respectable analysts, who have discredited themselves by making their own medical judgements without facts, but that would take all day.

From a USA Today report:

Castro's medical condition is a state secret, but Cuban authorities deny he suffers from terminal cancer, as U.S. intelligence officials have claimed.

The images seemed to be aimed at knocking down the most recent round of reports about Castro's health, including a report in the Spanish newspaper El Pais earlier this month that described his health as "grave."

In the video, Chavez said he found his friend to be "of good humor, with a good face and in good spirits." He said the pair discussed a variety of issues, including the world's energy crisis and that Castro showed "much clarity, as always in his ideas and analysis."