Eddy's gift to Castro [Archive] - The Paceline Forum

LegendRider

02-20-2006, 07:36 PM

What was Eddy thinking? As a rule, I don't give gifts to murdering dictators.

Havana - Cuba's longserving president Fidel Castro won't be able to excuse himself from physical exercise after he was given a bike by Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx on Monday.

Castro, who will be 80 in August, was given the bike by the five-time Tour de France winner for his promotion of the sport in the country.

Merckx, known as the 'Cannibal' during his bicycling days and who was anointed best cyclist of the 20th century by the sport's governing body the UCI, presented the blue Merckx, adorned with two small Cuban flags, to the President of the Cuban Olympic Committee Jose Ramon Fernandez.

"I hope he (Fidel Castro) will use it," said Merckx.

Fernandez said it would be delivered to the president as soon as possible.

"We will get it to the president today," said Fernandez

"We all know how much he has done to boost the sport on the island," he added.

On Saturday Merckx had given the Cuban authorities 1000 bicycles - donated by the Belgian Lottery - for sportsmen and doctors in the eastern province of Guantanamo.

"I am very proud to be the godfather of this mission. I think that sport serves to unite people," said Merckx.

Fixed

02-20-2006, 07:42 PM

bro there are some great cyclist from cuba and the cuban people are great i.m.h.o. cheers :beer:

jerk

02-20-2006, 07:42 PM

yeah, and all this time the jerk thought eddy was an agent of zionest imperialism; who would have thunk it?

jerk

jerk

02-20-2006, 07:44 PM

bro there are some great cyclist from cuba and the cuban people are great i.m.h.o. cheers :beer:

so are cubano sandwiches imho bro. and as for cuban people being great, they are. except that guy "scarface". he wasn't so great. el duque was pretty great this year though.

jerk

LegendRider

02-20-2006, 07:50 PM

bro there are some great cyclist from cuba and the cuban people are great i.m.h.o. cheers :beer:

Of course. I have a great deal of sympathy for Cuban people having to live under the tyrannical rule of that jackass.

ergott

02-20-2006, 07:51 PM

so are cubano sandwiches imho bro. and as for cuban people being great, they are. except that guy "scarface". he wasn't so great. el duque was pretty great this year though.

jerk

That's gotta be the greatest sandwitch known to man.

Ginger

02-20-2006, 07:54 PM

Castro gets on the bike, pedals a bit, has a heart attack, kicks off...

Then where does Cuba go?

jerk

02-20-2006, 07:56 PM

into the revolutionary hands of his gay brother raoul of course!

93legendti

02-20-2006, 07:58 PM

yeah, and all this time the jerk thought eddy was an agent of zionest imperialism; who would have thunk it?

jerk

"Zionist". The photo was of a bottle with Arabic writing, not Hebrew. You don't want to start riots in our country, do ya? :D

jerk

02-20-2006, 08:01 PM

"Zionist". The photo was of a bottle with Arabic writing, not Hebrew. You don't want to start riots in our country, do ya? :D

hey 93,
that's mecca cola! the answer to enjoying a refreshing softdrink without the guilt of supporting the zionest homesexual imperialists who own coca-cola!

have a mecca and smile!

jerk

dbrk

02-20-2006, 08:03 PM

Of course. I have a great deal of sympathy for Cuban people having to live under the tyrannical rule of that jackass.

Just how I feel living in America. Mutatis mutandis.

When I was a kid we'd go to the Upper West side at 125th St. and have Cubanas y China, Cuban-Chinese food. Menus in three languages and some strange lookin' dudes behind the counter.

dbrk

Fixed

02-20-2006, 08:08 PM

bro come here we have that food .cheers :beer:
there was a big china town in havana best of both worlds
now did we talk music?

GoJavs

02-20-2006, 08:14 PM

But I go back to my parents' homeland to reclaim my little piece of....oh, never mind. I don't think my parents had much over there anyway.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Castro gets on the bike, pedals a bit, has a heart attack, kicks off...

Then where does Cuba go?

jerk

02-20-2006, 08:16 PM

Just how I feel living in America. Mutatis mutandis.

When I was a kid we'd go to the Upper West side at 125th St. and have Cubanas y China, Cuban-Chinese food. Menus in three languages and some strange lookin' dudes behind the counter.

dbrk

what dbrk said. except the jerk never went to the uws to have a cubano-suey.... suppose it could be worse, had cheney gone hunting with bush, we could be living under the jack *** rule of a tyranasaur.

Dr. Doofus

02-20-2006, 08:19 PM

PT boat on the way to havana

used to make a living off picking the banana

now I'm a spy for the CIA

etc., etc.,

Brian Smith

02-20-2006, 08:34 PM

...what's that I hear in the background?

SHUT 'EM DOWN; SHUT 'EM SHUT 'EM DOWN...

dbrk

02-20-2006, 08:38 PM

...what's that I hear in the background?

SHUT 'EM DOWN; SHUT 'EM SHUT 'EM DOWN...

Nunc est bibendum.
"Now let us drink..."

dbrk

p.s. You'll forgive me, I've been reading Horace these past few days. Winter entertainment. Beats the Internet...except here, of course. :-)

Bill Bove

02-20-2006, 08:49 PM

Son of a beecth :eek: :mad: I just picked up the Merckx line, now the local Cuban-American population won't buy. I'm going to get stuck with a shop full of bikes :(

inthegutter

02-20-2006, 09:26 PM

I wonder which model it was...blue so maybe the premium.

93legendti

02-20-2006, 09:32 PM

hey 93,
that's mecca cola! the answer to enjoying a refreshing softdrink without the guilt of supporting the zionest homesexual imperialists who own coca-cola!

have a mecca and smile!

jerk

Stick to wrenching...

jerk

02-20-2006, 09:44 PM

Stick to wrenching...

the jerk doesn't wrench. come on, that's some funny material, poking fun at
jihadist soda barons is fun.

Sandy

02-20-2006, 09:51 PM

...what's that I hear in the background?

SHUT 'EM DOWN; SHUT 'EM SHUT 'EM DOWN...

The sooner the better.

Sandy

manet

02-20-2006, 09:55 PM

darylb

02-20-2006, 09:59 PM

Son of a beecth :eek: :mad: I just picked up the Merckx line, now the local Cuban-American population won't buy. I'm going to get stuck with a shop full of bikes :(

Sounds like I need to get down to FatCat and check out the new gear.

And my wife is Cuban, does she qualify for a bike ............... in my size?

flydhest

02-20-2006, 10:36 PM

But I go back to my parents' homeland to reclaim my little piece of....oh, never mind. I don't think my parents had much over there anyway.

---------------------------------------------------------------

I'll bring up this line of reasoning at the next family reunion where the Cherokee bits come in . . .

William

02-21-2006, 04:45 AM

Eddie's on the watch list now! What's that crackling on the phone line there Ed?? :confused:

William

GoJavs

02-21-2006, 06:05 AM

I'll bring up this line of reasoning at the next family reunion where the Cherokee bits come in . . .

-

Nice. I'll take the bait.

My parents left Cuba in 1960 just months after being married. They left behind a rented one-bedroom apartment full of wedding gifts that my father's family sold over time in order to eat.

Too Tall

02-21-2006, 06:34 AM

Nice Fly, keep your Cherokee bit out of plain sight thanks ;)
Cycling has a deep tradition in Cuba and I'm thinkin' Eddie does not have a political bone in his modern body. Why rain on his parade? It just might be about sport...that's all. Well, maybe he needed a good smoke.

TimB

02-21-2006, 06:50 AM

Grant McLean

02-21-2006, 07:14 AM

that the majority of the world has more normal relations with Cuba than we do. The US seems to be the only country that just can't quite get over the fact that our dictator lost to another, better dictator. Eddy isn't looking through the same prism.

I agree with Tim.

Doesn't it go without saying that the majority of the world has more normal relations
with EVERYONE than the US does? But wasn't the point that Eddy gave 1,000 bikes to some kids?

No politics in that, is there? Cuba takes that whole 'one less car' thing to a new level ! Canada gets some grief from
the American gov't for our "relationship" with Cuba. I say: Bikes not bombs.
-g

nick0137

02-21-2006, 07:39 AM

Yep, Eddy's got a Euro-centric view of Cuba. It's just a hot place like any other to us - we go there on holidays and marvel at the cars and the health system, we buy their stuff (particularly their music and cigars), and we try to sell them our stuff (OK, not the Eurofighter but you get the point). It's not a big deal. Now Zimbabwe, that's another story.....

Bill Bove

02-21-2006, 08:19 AM

Not a big deal? Whoa Nelly!!! Now I may very well be the most left wing guy on this board but Castro is NOT no big thing. I know several people who were either lucky enough to get out at the beginning or came over in the boat lift. Castro is only a slight bit "nicer" than Saddam or Idi Amin. And while Eddy is giving these bikes to some kids who really do need them and will put them to good use what he said about Fidel has worn a little of the sheen of his image in my eye.

nick0137

02-21-2006, 08:26 AM

You misunderstood. Or I explained it badly. Or both. Castro is not a big deal to Europeans - assume the worst about him, he's a Communist dictator who used to have (or has?) nukes very close by. Something that Europeans of my parent's generation (and Eddy's I suppose) got used to living with. Hence Eddy's bikes. Castro is, however, clearly a very big deal to Cubans, Cuban exiles and Americans. Hence this thread.

zeroking17

02-21-2006, 08:58 AM

Castro is not a big deal to Europeans - assume the worst about him, he's a Communist dictator who used to have (or has?) nukes very close by. Something that Europeans of my parent's generation (and Eddy's I suppose) got used to living with. Hence Eddy's bikes. Castro is, however, clearly a very big deal to Cubans, Cuban exiles and Americans. Hence this thread.

Well said. The whole world does not hate Fidel, nor have they hung a trade boycott over his country. Most non-USAmericans care as much about Castro as USAmericans cared about Enver Hoxa.

...

Too Tall

02-21-2006, 09:08 AM

nick0137

02-21-2006, 09:13 AM

Although to be fair, not many of us Europeans worried too much about old Enver either. In fact, my old University lecturer (in jurisprudence, naturally) used to go to Albania regularly when Enver was in charge. Since they got democracy, he's not been allowed back. Funny old world.

Tony Edwards

02-21-2006, 09:13 AM

WTH? To the best of my knowledge, Cuba does not have, and never has had, nuclear weapons. Remember that whole Cuban Missile Crisis thing?

zeroking17

02-21-2006, 09:19 AM

Since they got democracy, he's not been allowed back. Funny old world.

Which "democracy" did they end up getting? Imported, or home-grown ;)

darylb

02-21-2006, 09:25 AM

that the majority of the world has more normal relations with Cuba than we do. The US seems to be the only country that just can't quite get over the fact that our dictator lost to another, better dictator. Eddy isn't looking through the same prism.

You obviously dont have any idea what it is like to live in an oppressed society. I would also question your definition of normal. There is nothing normal about Castro. A better dictator? Do you think people die on rafts trying to escape that place because he is a better dictator? You should get your prism checked. Yours appears to have been fogged up by rhetoric.

I could be reading your comments wrong and I dont mean anything personal but it sure appears that you are trivializing something that is far from trivial.

I am quite a bit further to the right than Mr. Bove but I agree 100% what he says.

champlemon

02-21-2006, 09:37 AM

I just can't stop thinking about getting my hands on a Fidel Castro autographed Eddy Merckx and how much it would fetch on EBay... since I don't think that I could convince people that I'm selling a Che Guevara autographed Merckx... that I'm selling for cheap... in the Che's size... a 46... :D

coylifut

02-21-2006, 10:04 AM

WTH? To the best of my knowledge, Cuba does not have, and never has had, nuclear weapons. Remember that whole Cuban Missile Crisis thing?

Cuba did not have nuclear weapons in Cuba, but Russia did. They were removed in exchange for the US removing nuclear weapons from Turkey and safeguards that Cuba would not be invaded by the US.

zeroking17

02-21-2006, 10:04 AM

...

Fixed

02-21-2006, 10:11 AM

[QUOTE=darylb]You obviously dont have any idea what it is like to live in an oppressed society. bro I do , let's stop the political rant none of us see the world the same .was that a mt. bike he gave him? cheers :beer:

TimB

02-21-2006, 10:36 AM

I meant better in the sense of more efficient (whatever that means for a dictator), not more benevolent.

flydhest

02-21-2006, 11:14 AM

The meaning behind TimB's comments got a bit lost. He wasn't, in my view, trivializing anything. He was pointing out the hypocrisy of people who fail to recall that US policy basically helped put Castro in power by supporting a different oppressive regime. US foreign policy helps all sorts of oppressive dictators. Castro seems to have got an anti-constituency here is all.

jerk

02-21-2006, 11:17 AM

Two steps left and once back.
Sometimes folks with the means and motivation make a difference where the environment is not aligned with their ideology: Doc. without borders yada yada. Eddie is just doin' what comes naturally...and cobbin' a few smokes along the way. It's about bikes.

enver was a true albanian president and ended the tyrannical rule of king zog.
he also liberated his country from "the yoke of the kremlin".

93legendti

02-21-2006, 11:38 AM

enver was a true albanian president and ended the tyrannical rule of king zog.
he also liberated his country from "the yoke of the kremlin".

The Albanians with whom I have discussed King Zog actually preferred him to his successor.

champlemon

02-21-2006, 11:42 AM

I know someone in this forum, who owns a Merckx, whose parents are from Cuba and if they found out about this dirty little secret... that Eddy wanted to fraternize with Fidel... they would blow a gasket... :rolleyes: But... I won't black-mail this person... :cool: No, I won't... :no:

TimB

02-21-2006, 11:44 AM

Right on, Fly, that was exactly my point. The problem the US gov't has had with Castro is not so much that he's a dictator as it is that he's not OUR dictator.

flydhest

02-21-2006, 11:45 AM

TimB, out of curiosity, where did Hussein get the tech help to start up his chemical weapons programs?

zeroking17

02-21-2006, 12:03 PM

...

Too Tall

02-21-2006, 12:07 PM

Me and Bobbie McGee....sing it Janis.

Catulle

02-21-2006, 12:18 PM

Castro is almost as bad as the Saudi royal family, and that�s pretty darn bad.

93legendti

02-21-2006, 12:54 PM

Castro is almost as bad as the Saudi royal family, and that�s pretty darn bad.

They are bad. Can you believe Pres. Clinton let the Saudis pay for half of his
Presidential Library?

flydhest

02-21-2006, 12:57 PM

They are bad. Can you believe Pres. Clinton let the Saudis pay for half of his
Presidential Library?

Indeed, there is a long history of US presidents disgracing the ideals of the country by being cozy with this set of oil producers. Both sides of the aisle are guilty. I don't think it is a partisan thing--just a sad thing for US ideals.

Catulle

02-21-2006, 01:03 PM

Cozy...

93legendti

02-21-2006, 01:14 PM

Indeed, there is a long history of US presidents disgracing the ideals of the country by being cozy with this set of oil producers. Both sides of the aisle are guilty. I don't think it is a partisan thing--just a sad thing for US ideals.

I agree. Sadly, very few people realize/admit it.

Grant McLean

02-21-2006, 01:29 PM

I agree. Sadly, very few people realize/admit it.

Every bicycle can be an opportunity for one less car.....
Realize/Admit that.

-g

andy mac

02-21-2006, 03:16 PM

the bikes were for doctors and to encourage local cyclists. big eddie just went up a notch further in my stakes. :beer:

be nice if people could get off their soapboxes and join in.

(it'd be cool to go to cuba and see some doctor smoke past on an AXM.)

champlemon

02-21-2006, 03:33 PM

One of my dreams is to visit Cuba and ride all around the island... For now, I would just be happy if Castro hopped on the Merckx and broke his crown down one of the hills in Habana... :p All of a sudden... Merckx bikes would become the official bicycle brand of Cubans in exile... :banana:

93legendti

02-21-2006, 03:41 PM

Every bicycle can be an opportunity for one less car.....
Realize/Admit that.

-g

I have 10 bikes, I am doing my part. IMHO.

cpg

02-21-2006, 03:43 PM

alancw3

02-21-2006, 04:35 PM

Right on, Fly, that was exactly my point. The problem the US gov't has had with Castro is not so much that he's a dictator as it is that he's not OUR dictator.
absolutely! i think the people on this forum need to get there facts straight about cuba. batista was the american dictator of choice prior to castro. batista ran the county like the marcos' ran the phillapines, receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid right to his personal bank accounts. he basically sold the country out to the mafia who controlled all the hotels, prostitution and whatever else turned a profit for them in the "jewel of the carribbean". basically you had two classes of people. the elite aristocrasy and the poor and distitute (the majority of the poeple). did the usa care about the people of cuba? hell no all they cared about was that there dictator of choice was in power. IT"S because of the usa that castro came to be in power and actually he has done a lot of good for the country even though he has not had any aid from the usa. i think it is an absolute disgrace that this country can have an embargo against tiny cuba but can grant full trading status to vietnam. why? thirty plus million potential consumers for usa goods and services. embargo? i'll tell you why we still have an embargo against cuba. the ex cuba sugar plantation farmers that flead to florida and now get hundreds of millions of usa dollar subsidies to grow sugar cane in florida are the single largest politcal contributors to presidential elections of both canidates for the past forty years. they are still hoping to get the country back to usurp their power and control over the people again. i for one certainly do not believe that castro has millions of dollars in personal bank accounts and i also believe he has a genuine love for his country. people flee cuba to escape the poverty that the usa has forced on cuba with it's embargo.
now as far as eddie giving bikes to cubas well good for eddie. and yes i still think he is and was the greatest cyclist ever. and from what i understand quite a humble man without a politcial bone in his body.

BBB

02-21-2006, 05:35 PM

When it comes to trade and money, countries have very selective ideals.

Take Iraq and China.

One was rumoured to have some nasty weapons, while it was run by a tyrant with a poor human rights record.

The other does have some nasty weapons, a poor human rights record and has a tendency towards exapansionism.

History will show one of these countries was invaded and occupied by our respective governments, while the very same governments are bending over backwards to trade with the other because of the actual and potential billions to be made.

A cycling icon giving bikes to Cubans is nothing compared to the shameful double standards practised by our respective governments.

Sorry to get all political.

jerk

02-21-2006, 05:44 PM

The Albanians with whom I have discussed King Zog actually preferred him to his successor.

hence the sarcasm of the jerk's post. imho bro.

LegendRider

02-21-2006, 06:40 PM

i also believe he [Castro] has a genuine love for his country..

You mean like this individual killed by Castro's death squads? It's remarkable that people like you make excuses for him. American foreign policy - no matter how flawed - does not justify Castro's evil regime.

manet

02-21-2006, 07:01 PM

Fixed

02-21-2006, 07:21 PM

bro I don't want to talk politics but bro have seen our prison system? and our death row? even the pope can't stop the death march .why do we have such a high % of our population in prison ? most are poor and of color bro that is in the good old u.s.a. not some 3 rd world country . we don't see the same world bro oh yeah today is 41 years since Malcolm X was murdered 02/21/65

GoJavs

02-21-2006, 07:30 PM

Wow...Al...unless you are an exiled cuban or a Latin American History Professor there's stuff in there that we could argue for days or weeks or years. I won't try except to tell you that there WAS a middle class in Cuba and there was LARGE opposition to Batista as well. My grandfather was mayor of his town in the 1940's and quit when Batista came in and refused to come back when Fidel came in. My grandfather spent over 40 years in exile hoping to make it back one day. So have other 100,000s who were not poor or aristocratic.

He's done a lot of good for the country? Yeah! Right! Is that why people drive around in American cars from the 50s down there?

Moderators, close this thread please.

...basically you had two classes of people. the elite aristocrasy and the poor and distitute (the majority of the poeple). did the usa care about the people of cuba? hell no all they cared about was that there dictator of choice was in power. It's because of the usa that castro came to be in power and actually he has done a lot of good for the country even though he has not had any aid from the usa...i for one certainly do not believe that castro has millions of dollars in personal bank accounts and i also believe he has a genuine love for his country. people flee cuba to escape the poverty that the usa has forced on cuba with it's embargo...

Fixed

02-21-2006, 07:34 PM

Moderators, close this thread please.[/QUOTE]
bro agreed this is a bike forums for bros cheers :beer:

93legendti

02-21-2006, 07:43 PM

hence the sarcasm of the jerk's post. imho bro.

OK, phew, sorry I missed that sarcasm -- your post had me scratchin' my head!
imho. atmo.

champlemon

02-21-2006, 10:44 PM

Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl
With yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there
She would merengue and do the cha-cha
And while she tried to be a star, Tony always tended bar
Across a crowded floor, they worked from 8 till 4
They were young and they had each other
Who could ask for more?

At the Copa (CO!), Copacabana (Copacabana)
The hottest spot north of Havana (here)
At the Copa (CO!), Copacabana
Music and passion were always the fashion
At the Copa....they fell in love

(Copa Copacabana)

His name was Rico, he wore a diamond
He was escorted to his chair, he saw Lola dancin' there
And when she finished, he called her over
But Rico went a bit too far, Tony sailed across the bar
And then the punches flew and chairs were smashed in two
There was blood and a single gun shot
But just who shot who?

At the Copa (CO!), Copacabana (Copacabana)
The hottest spot north of Havana (here)
At the Copa (CO!), Copacabana
Music and passion were always the fashion
At the Copa....she lost her love

(Copa. . Copacabana)
(Copa Copacabana) (Copacabana, ahh ahh ahh ahh)
(Ahh ahh ahh ahh Copa Copacabana)
(Talking Havana have a banana)
(Music and passion...always the fash--shun)

<Latin percussion interlude>

Her name is Lola, she was a showgirl
But that was 30 years ago, when they used to have a show
Now it's a disco, but not for Lola
Still in the dress she used to wear, faded feathers in her hair
She sits there so refined, and drinks herself half-blind
She lost her youth and she lost her Tony
Now she's lost her mind!

At the Copa (CO!), Copacabana (Copacabana)
The hottest spot north of Havana (here)
At the Copa (CO!), Copacabana
Music and passion were always the fashion
At the Copa....don't fall in love

(Copa) don't fall in love
Copacabana
Copacabana