Yeah, right.
Granma, the official organ of the Cuban dictatorship, has nothing new, but MSNBC makes it sound like Monday’s statement was news: Castro says in statement he’s ‘stable’. Cuban leader insists spirits are ‘perfectly fine’ after intestinal surgery, while
It was unknown when or where the surgery took place or where Castro was recovering.
The folks at AP are doing the same thing. Babalu has this to say,
And let’s talk about that headline, shall we? Which one of those seven AP “writers” actually sat down with fidel at his hospital bed and had that chat? The headline does, after all, state unequivocably “fidel says” doesnt it?
Seven AP “writers” who couldnt come up with a real story about fidel castro’s condition unless it was rammed down their throats in the form of a press release.
How pathetic is that?
Alvaro Vargas Llosa, in today’s WSJ (by subscription, but also here) considers whether a power struggle between the politicians (the Council of State), the ideologues (the Communist Party), and the soldiers, is in the cards
I tend to think the more likely scenario is a power struggle in which Raul Castro will try to prevent change. The outcome of that struggle is uncertain but it will make even a partial opening up of the system too risky for Raul and others. The struggle will probably pit traditionalists against a faction clever enough to see that only a transition to democracy and a market economy makes any sense for them and everybody else.
The troops are readying:
Government opponents in the eastern city of Guantánamo said armed forces units were seen rounding up reservists as state security agents paid unfriendly visits to dissidents.
Additionally,
Raúl Castro, to whom Fidel Castro delegated power, was nowhere to be seen.
On a lighter note, El Nuevo Herald has Raul trying on Fidel’s beard (connotations noted):
Update
Gateway Pundit is right.
(technorati tags Fidel Castro, Castro, Cuba)
