Castro and the EUlite are having a little spat. Apparently the EU, for reasons unknown, has been supporting the US in efforts to create more democracy and freedom in Cuba. This, of course, infuriated Castro who is now organizing marches against European embassies in Cuba. Castro's theory is that President Bush has intimidated the EUlite into slavishly following Bush's foreign policy.

"He [Bush] just realized that Europe exists, and that it exists to obey," said Castro. "He does not understand any other concept of Europe."

Now that's funny.

The EU supplies 80% of Cuba's imports and half of its tourists. Castro must really be feeling some heat if he's willing to play the "with me or against me" card on the EU. Quite a hopeful sign and I must acknowledge that the EU is in fact doing something right by pressing Cuba in this case. The putative sore point was the recent trial and sentencing of Cuba dissidents. Castro may finally have overplayed his hand by doing that at the same time the Left was crying "oppression!". Making the leftists look small and petty, that's just not done. Castro has always survived on style and if he loses that, he's got nothing.

UPDATE: Orrin Judd has a good clipping:

In a three-hour speech, which was followed a day later by a government-ordered protest march in front of European embassies in the Cuban capital, Mr. Castro said the EU's policy "must have been written in a drunken state, if not with alcohol, in a state of Euro-centric drunkenness." He also called the Spanish and Italian prime ministers, Jose Maria Aznar and Silvio Berlusconi "fascists" and "bandits."