Fausta's got the story; she'll be talking about Castro's resignation on her podcast in a bit over an hour (8:00 Pacific; 11:00 Eastern).

My only question is, "is this real?" Or will Fidel still hold the puppet strings? Will his brother have any real power?

Fausta (with Sean of The American Mind, at CPAC—whose Castro resignation post is also good). I decided I'd rather run a picture of these two, rather than the old dictator. They're a lot more photogenic.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 06:54 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 84 words, total size 1 kb.

Hackbarth has a bite-size snippet from Kyle Smith's brutal review of the Michael Moore fantasy Sicko. Can't wait to read the whole thing.

Is it me, or is Moore becoming slightly more insane with each book he writes, and with each faux-documentary he makes? Or was his mind always this much of a mess?

Posted by: Attila Girl at 12:33 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 58 words, total size 1 kb.

At least, not very well. Bella Thomas gives us a window into the post-Fidel future, and concludes that it does not look very different:

There were a few signs of change. I heard of some market experiments in certain villages, and that Raúl Castro was quieter and more pragmatic than his brother. I noted the sophisticated restoration of old Havana under the dedicated eye of the official historian, Eusebio Leal, making use of international funds and hotel developments. (The architectural legacy of the enemies of the revolution—the Spanish empire and the high days of the capitalist era—are now, more than ever, keeping Cuba's revolution afloat.)

But there was no real sense of a transition. And I was told that levels of control were, if anything, stronger. Fewer journalists were being allowed into the country, only a few of the 75 political prisoners who had been jailed in 2003 had been released, and at least another 200 were still in prison. Some private restaurants were still open, but two thirds of those in Havana had been closed in recent years because the government did not want to see too much competition with the state-run restaurants and hotels.

Read the whole thing.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 10:07 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 208 words, total size 1 kb.

Via Insty, a fascinating look at the Cuban health-care system from The New York Times. The Times maintains that Cuban authorities may look the other way if copies of Sicko are smuggled onto the island: I'm not so sure. After all, the average person may find it distasteful to see the level of care available to the elite. We've all seen the pictures of the clinics that are for regular people, right?

Glenn has the money quote:

Having practiced medicine in both Cuba and the United States, Dr. Cordova has an unusual perspective for comparison.

“Actually there are three systems,” Dr. Cordova said, because Cuba has two: one is for party officials and foreigners like those Mr. Moore brought to Havana. “It is as good as this one here, with all the resources, the best doctors, the best medicines, and nobody pays a cent,” he said.

But for the 11 million ordinary Cubans, hospitals are often ill equipped and patients “have to bring their own food, soap, sheets — they have to bring everything.” And up to 20,000 Cuban doctors may be working in Venezuela, creating a shortage in Cuba.

[. . .]

Until he had to have emergency surgery last year, Fidel Castro — who turned 80 this year — was considered a model of vibrant long life in Cuba. But it was only last week that he acknowledged in an open letter that his initial surgery by Cuban doctors had been botched. He did not confirm, however, that a specialist had been flown in from Spain last December to help set things right.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 02:12 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 270 words, total size 2 kb.