Whistling Past the Graveyard

Has Castro died and preparations for Cuba's state funeral of the dictator awaiting public annoucement? We've been down this road before, and unless the lifeless corpse is displayed, I'm not going to believe it.

Various sources have surmised that the dictator who has ruled with an iron fist has been suffering from stomach cancer, but Otto J. Reich believes that he's now spending time alongside Bernie (that would be a movie reference folks).

This time the rumors are real: Castro is dying of stomach cancer. He may have already died, even before the funeral preparations were finished, so the news is not out. Confirmation of the terminal illness comes from the usual sources but in a non-conventional manner. The Cuban government has been summoning to Havana representatives of the major international media to negotiate the best seats, camera angles, and interviews with the despot’s political survivors, and to inform them of the ground rules for coverage of the state funeral.

The foreign media are being told that the model for Castro’s funeral is that of Pope John Paul II a year ago. The Cubans actually believe — or pretend — that the death of a tyrant deserves the same attention as that of the world’s great men of peace.

This is one of Castro’s lasting legacies to his countrymen: moral disorientation. The Cuban ruling class has been so isolated from reality for so long by fear and Castro’s airtight press control that they equate the burial of a mass murderer with that of a prince of the Church. No doubt there will be “dignitaries” at the funeral: fellow revolutionary leaders from the last repressive regimes on Earth: Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Sudan, for example; and leaders of failed states like Zimbabwe and Bolivia; and representatives of the world’s resentful Left and the Hollywood Left (pardon the redundancy).

Keep an eye on Real Cuba.

Others noting the possibility of Castro's long awaited demise: Val Prieto, Publius Blog, and Daily Pundit.

I surely imagine that a who's who of despots and dictators will be headed to Havana to pay their respects and worship at the feet of the dictator who managed to stick around for 47 years. They will revel in the way Castro thumbed his nose at the US to spite the Cuban people for decades. They will honor his life, even though the Cuban prisons were filled with dissidents and political prisoners.

Technorati: Fidel Castro, Castro, Fidel, Raul, Cuba.