"Fidel Castro, Strength to Win Battles"

That's the lead top story on Google's news feed. The report is taken directly from a Prensa Latina, a fully controlled by the state organ of the Cuban dictatorship.

Given the tone of the piece, I suspect that the "Maximum Leader" will expire before the Ides of March (though lacking any stab wounds like a previous dictator who died on the Ides, unfortunately).

The more the Cuban propaganda machine reminds their people of how glorious their revolution has been, the more you can be sure that things are falling apart even more rapidly than before.

My prediction and suspicion for this mess is that Hugo Chavez is negotiating a deal that would put him in charge of Cuba as well as Venezuela, thus legitimizing in his own sick twisted mind his belief in himself that he's a neo-Bolivar.

Raul Castro is weak, Venezuela has oil wealth (even though they mismanage it terribly, Chavez still has access to cash, which the various generalisimos and would be Castro, Jrs. in Cuba don't), and Cuba needs a patron to survive given their half century destruction at the hands of their dictator.

Of course, all they have to do is overthrow this dictator, and any dictator that might want to replace them, and embrace the United States, the Cuban exile community and corporate development and they'll be the most prosperous country in the region.

But that would make too much sense.

And I seriously doubt that Google would ever foist a press release from the Bush Administration as a 'news story', I am beyond disgusted that they think nothing of doing such a service for a vile, murderous and evil dictator like Fidel.