Below The Beltway

Congresswoman Diane Watson called Fidel Castro “one of the brightest leaders I have ever met,” and she  thinks his health care system is just great:

Lenin had a phrase for people like the Congresswoman, useful idiot

Russia is looking to use Cuban airfields to refuel its bombers:
MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) — Russia expressed interest in using Cuban airfields during patrol missions of its strategic bombers, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported
“There are four or five airfields in Cuba with 4,000-meter-long runways, which absolutely suit us,” Maj. Gen. Anatoly Zhikharev told Interfax.
Zhikharev, who is [...]

Christopher Hitchens attempts to answer the question:
Fidel Castro has devoted the last 50 years to two causes: first, his own enshrinement as an immortal icon, and second, the unbending allegiance of Cuba to the Moscow line. Now, black-cowled Orthodox “metropolitans” line up to shake his hand, and the Putin-Medvedev regime brandishes its missile threats against [...]

A group of Cuban soccer players have defected to the United States:
At first, Loanni Cartaya Prieto called his grandfather to say hello.
Prieto, a defender for the Cuban under-23 national soccer team, was in Tampa, Fla., competing in the regional Olympic qualifying tournament. His grandfather lives in West Palm Beach.
But after Prieto hung up, he had [...]

Raul Castro has been elected selected as Cuba’s new President dictator.

A discussion over at The Liberty Papers.

Fidel Castro has resigned as President of Cuba:
MEXICO CITY, Feb. 19 — Fidel Castro announced early Tuesday morning that he is stepping down as Cuba’s president, ending his half-century rule of the island nation.
“I am saying that I will neither aspire to nor accept, I repeat, I will neither aspire to nor accept the positions [...]

Apparently, some people think Fidel Castro is sending signals that he’s about to give up power:
MEXICO CITY — Fidel Castro indicated Monday in a statement read on state television that he was willing to hand over the reins of Cuba’s government to a younger generation of leaders. But his statement remained silent on whether he [...]

Drudge and other sources are reporting rumors that Fidel Castro has died.
The Cuban Government is, of course, denying these rumors.
Since I have other activities planned for Saturday, his immediate death would be inconvenient.
Unless, of course, I could locate a ready supply of champagne and cigars.

We’ve heard these rumors before, but, quite honestly, it’s just too good not to write about.
Fidel Castro dead ?
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday Fidel Castro is “writing, and producing,” denying rumors circulating on the Internet that the Cuban leader had died.
Chavez, a close ally of Castro, has frequently provided information [...]