William Alexander Morgan: The improbable story of how a high school dropout, ex-con, ranch hand, gambling enforcer, mafia gunrunner and circus fire eater from Ohio, became one of the top leaders in Castro’s revolutionary army (pops), only to be executed as a traitor after the revolution.
posted by mrducts on Dec 8, 2008 - 4 comments

The coddled "terrorists" of South Florida. Examining our governments double standard with regard to providing a safe haven for terrorists. Alpha 66 continues to carry out attacks.
posted by skjønn on Jan 14, 2008 - 33 comments

The NY Times looks at the decline of gay meccas. The GLBT Historical Society of San Francisco has held several discussions about the Castro district. A shift in values, gentrification, and violence are named as factors in the "de-gaying" of the Castro. The area's famed Halloween party has been canceled and revelers told to stay out. What will happen to this gay destination?
posted by desjardins on Oct 30, 2007 - 41 comments

Premature , prepared, and alternative obituaries for Cuba's Fidel Castro. Time to get ready for the real thing? Conjecture and hope about Life After Fidel: Time to get to know Fidel's brother Raul.
posted by spock on Jan 16, 2007 - 80 comments

NewsFilter: Castro Alive and kickin' it old school. The Cuban media has released some pictures of Castro alive and well. This is actually the first time I've ever seen him not wearing military garb.
posted by delmoi on Aug 14, 2006 - 32 comments

Snakes on a Base! In the wake of today's announcement that Raul Castro will be 'temporarily' taking power in Cuba while Big Brother (did I say that?) has an operation for some GI bleeding, The Smoking Gun has published some declassified Spec Ops planning cover sheets from the 60s and 70, listing plans to destabilize Cuba. Operation Bingo, on page 3, is especially amusing.
posted by baylink on Aug 1, 2006 - 15 comments

Fidel Castro temporarily relinquishes power before under going surgery. His brother, Raul is acting as president and first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba. Is this the beginning of the end?
posted by hex1848 on Jul 31, 2006 - 149 comments

World Leaders Were Kids Once Too
Photos of a whole bunch of world leaders as kids up through adulthood. Hey, Reagan was Teh Buff! And proof that Joe Stalin was NOT born with that mustache!
posted by fenriq on Jul 22, 2006 - 83 comments

JFK assassination 'was Cuba plot' says a new German documentary Rendezvous with death: Kennedy and Castro (Google translation). New facts have come to light.
posted by stbalbach on Jan 4, 2006 - 39 comments

Viva la Biotech Revolution! Embargo or no, Castro's socialist paradise has quietly become a pharmaceutical powerhouse.
posted by dov3 on Jan 18, 2005 - 16 comments

"If you like, give me a ten dollars bill green american, in the letter, because never, I have not seen a ten dollars bill green American and I would like to have one of them"
Your friend, Fidel Castro
[via Mahalanobis]
posted by MzB on Jun 24, 2004 - 17 comments

A View From The Bridge: Or Death Of A Salesman, perhaps? Hey, even The Crucible, at a stretch! Arthur Miller on Cuba, Castro and the U.S. embargo. Honesty and clarity refreshingly transcend the usual socialist/liberal/conservative divide. Or, at the very least, a damn good read from one of our (i.e. the world's) greatest dramatists. [Via Arts & Letters Daily. Click here for the text-only version. ]
posted by MiguelCardoso on Jan 5, 2004 - 25 comments

Media Hybrid: Prank Phone Calls meet Right-Wing Talk Radio as Miami Spanish-language DJ's Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero make an on-air call to their least favorite world leader and (allegedly) get through to him. Hilarity and Profanity Ensue. Prank or hoax? Political statement or political vandalism? Get me Bush on the phone!
Also: Overview of radio paranking including statement of disapproval from veteran radio hoaxter Phil Hendrie.
posted by wendell on Jun 19, 2003 - 5 comments

HBO has decided to "shelf" Oliver Stone's documentary on Fidel Castro on the basis that the documentary depicts Castro without judgement. Should documentary filmmaking be a "true journalistic endeavor" as the article suggests?
posted by ericrolph on Apr 17, 2003 - 26 comments

Robert McNamara and Fidel Castro met in Cuba last October at a conference on the anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Interesting article about this meeting and the professor who arranged it.
posted by staggernation on Jan 23, 2003 - 7 comments

The Chairman Smiles ......Mao......Fidel.....Stalin .....Che........Nostalgia for the evil ones of our past. I wonder how many of us would trade today's War on Terrorism for the Cold War.
posted by Voyageman on Nov 4, 2001 - 91 comments

What's that you're wearing, Fidel? Nike's?
posted by dagny on Jul 27, 2001 - 22 comments

Sensible policy toward Cuba developing, or the beginning of the end for Colin Powell? "He's done good things for his people," Powell told Rep. Jose E. Serrano, D-N.Y., who called the embargo of Cuba senseless. For most of his 42 years in power Castro has fomented revolutions and insurgencies, "but he is no longer the threat he was," Powell said.

This certainly breaks with what appears to be a fairly hawkish international stance by the administration, but maybe it's punishment aimed at Florida for not delivering a decisive victory? Poor Jeb.
posted by shagoth on Apr 27, 2001 - 22 comments

I had a nightmare once that Fidel Castro hacked into my PC. Is this nightmare now a reality? Or is this just more goofy and dangerous cyberwar hype?
posted by tranquileye on Feb 9, 2001 - 5 comments

From the latest chapter in "Don't Make a Clinton Mad" comes this 1998 photo released by the White House that shows Rick Lazio firmly shaking hands of Yasser Arafat with a bright smile on his face. Lazio had earlier criticized Bill Clinton for shaking the hand of Fidel Castro and Hillary for pecking on the cheek of Shuha Arafat in 1999. Lazio also accused Hillary to be supporting with her silence Shuha Arafat's factual charges of environmental pollutions in the occupied territories by the Israeli authorities. Unlike Lazio, Hillary at least has claimed Jewish ancestry. Lazio has no clue what he is up against.
posted by tamim on Sep 10, 2000 - 6 comments

Castro: Bush and Gore the two most 'boring and insipid' candidates possible. Finally, a political commentator who doesn't mince words.
posted by chaz on Aug 6, 2000 - 9 comments

It's good to know that Castro is still a nutcase. "War crimes tribunal," my tailfeathers.
posted by Steven Den Beste on Apr 13, 2000 - 6 comments