"Condemned to Premature Death by Hunger and Thirst more than 3 Billion People of the World"

Say what you want about communists, they write the best headlines.

State Department clueless on Cuba

Going by what U.S. officials have said about Castro, it's clear that they have no idea what the status of his health is, or they made public what they hoped it would be. It's also clear they don't know to what extent Castro is in control. They're now being a little bit more cautious, and not writing him off completely.

Stepping back from previous assertions that Fidel Castro was near death, U.S. officials say that the image of an increasingly revitalized Castro is impeding the island's day-to-day leadership from making major changes.

Thomas Shannon, the top U.S. diplomat for Latin America and the Caribbean, told The Miami Herald in an interview Wednesday that Cuba was in a period of ''suspended animation'' as Castro exerted a ''controlling political presence'' on the island.

While Shannon did not directly contradict previous statements from U.S. officials that suggested Castro was close to death, he suggested that the Bush administration is more cautious in its assessment of whether Castro will return, and in what capacity.

Castro is going to be a defining figure in Cuban politics until he dies. Like Franco, he could be on a deathbed for months, not making any sense, and shitting himself through an artificial anus, and he will still be in control. The State Dept. has apparently reached this realization not very long ago.

As a Cuban-American--nay, as a human being--I wish him a terrible, yet prompt death, so I can take my nonexistent tumbadora down to Eighth St. and dance it up Ricky Ricardo style, but that's too easy, and by now, I've learned not to underestimate Castro. Even on his deathbed, he's not going to make things easy.

More from The Herald.

Plains, trains, and automobiles

I know there's nothing original about this, but I have a serious travel fetish. So, sitting at the provincial Fort Lauderdale airport bar waiting for my flight to Toronto to board and listening to Steely Dan, I figured I would rhapsodize about this for a while. (Actually, it's going to be shorter than that, 'cause I need to do a good deal of work on the plane and I have to find an outlet to charge my laptop.)

Anyway, an Albanian friend of mine is convinced that I have gypsy--yes, gypsy--in my blood. A conclusion derived purely from my "gypsy eyes"--whatever that means. But hey, I'm guessing an Albanian could pick out a gypsy from a mile away.

My family has, in three short generations, taken on two major migrations--one across a continent. While, they'll tell you that they were for political reasons, I'd like to think it has something to do with a genetic wanderlust.

Shit. This is getting way more self-absorbed than I intended, so let's sum up. Travel, good; Fort Lauderdale airport, bad.


So let's move on to actual substantive stuff. Ricardo Alarcon says Castro--not Raul--is seeking reelection in 2008. I'm not even going to discuss the ridiculousness of calling what happens in Cuba an election, I just want to tell Ricky--a sedulous AGI reader, I'm sure--that I'll give him whatever odds he wants on that bet. I'll even give him a one-to-one exchange rate on dollars to pesos. C'mon, Ricky, what do you have to lose.

Updated to add: Fort Lauderdale airport has very slow WiFi and four power outlets in the whole airport. Grrr.