After 49 years as leader of the "Republic" of Cuba, Fidel Castro finally announced his resignation today:

"I will not aspire to, nor will I accept the position of president of the council of state and commander in chief ... I wish only to fight as a soldier of ideas ... Perhaps my voice will be heard."

Fidel's brother and current Cuban defense minister, Raul Castro, has been publicly named as his successor, although Cuba's leaders have not formally selected a replacement. The State Department reiterated that the Bush Administration's policy of economic embargo on Cuba would remain. "I can't imagine that happening in the near future", said U.S State Department Deputy Secretary John Negroponte in response to the possibility of the and end to the decades long embargo.

The Barack Obama campaign reacted to the news with this statement:

"If the Cuban leadership begins opening Cuba to meaningful democratic change, the United States must be prepared to begin taking steps to normalize relations and to ease the embargo of the last five decades. The freedom of the Cuban people is a cause that should bring the Americans together."

Don Cheadle, actor and star in the incredible film Hotel Rwanda, speaks about the current genocide in Western Sudan's Darfur region:

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I have to admit that I know very little about French politics. But, what I do know is that unseasonably high voter indecision (42% undecided) and record breaking voter registration (over 44.5 million) promise to make this month's first round election a lively affair. On April 22nd the people of France will vote on which of the 12 declared candidates will replace outgoing center-right President Jacques Chirac. If no candidate receives more than %50 of the popular vote, the election moves into a second round on May 6th between the top two candidates. The French two round voting system makes a lot of sense to me, considering it would instantly solve the problem of terrible "Nader 2000" scenarios in which the enemy of your enemy is your enemy. I guess you could also say that your enemy's greatest enemy is unwillingly your enemy's greatest ally. I know, it's confusing as hell, but that's American politics. We need electoral reform.