Say Goodnight, Fidel

The kickoff of Fidel Castro's delayed 80th birthday was accomplished without his presence. There seems to be a general consensus that rather than a birthday party, the event is actually a wake.

Cuban Culture Minister Abel Prieto said at the art exhibit that he still does not know what Castro's plans are. "I do not know if he will show up. He is aware of the event and has been asking how it is going," Prieto told reporters.

After the release on October 28 of a video that showed a gaunt, shuffling Castro, many Cubans believe he is too old and too ill to resume governing.

"More than a birthday celebration, what we will see on December 2 will be a farewell," Ramon, a 55-year-old retired soldier, said in the eastern Cuban city of Santiago.

So maybe the Western hemisphere will finally lose one old monster. Castro's understudy is waiting in the wings, however. (T)Hugo Chavez won't make it to the party/wake because of the election in Venezuela this weekend.