Fidel Castro; Elian Gonzalez; Barack Obama

Parade magazine, a supplement to many of the nation's Sunday newspapers, claims to have over 72 million readers.  Today in the magazine's "Personality Parade" section, readers saw this question and answer:

Q Can you give us an update on Elian Gonzalez, the boy rescued off the coast of Florida in 1999, then returned to Cuba over the protests of his U.S. relatives?--Mark Larsen, Calhoun, Ga.

A Elian, 15, has been well taken care of by Fidel Castro. His dad was rewarded with a seat in Cuba's national assembly, and the family was given a spacious home. Says Ann Louise Bardach, whose Without Fidel will be published next spring: "Fidel has been known to forget the birthdays of his own children, but never Elian's."

Heartwarming, isn't it?  That Fidel is such a sweetheart.  So massive is his affection for the young man that he, with the complicity of the U.S. government, forced the terrified boy back to Cuba.  Just yesterday, the Associated Press reported that Cubans:

are preoccupied with staying afloat in a sclerotic economy where basics like toilet paper often disappear from store shelves and most people eat meat only a few times each month.