Around the world with Adam Reilly
By ADAM REILLY | September 6, 2006
Castro slims down, rules out FidelCam
On Tuesday, the Cuban dictator announced his recuperation on Cuba’s state-run news Web site. “One can say that the most critical moment is behind us,” Castro wrote. “Today, I am recovering at a satisfactory pace.” Some intriguing facts about said recovery: 1) Castro lost 40 pounds after undergoing intestinal surgery in July. Talk about results!; 2) He’ll be actively involved in the Non-Aligned Movement summit coming up in Havana; and 3) Despite the accompanying photos of Fidel in his pjs (which look to be made of a natty red-and-black silk print), we won’t be watching him eat, sleep, or make love any time soon. “This doesn’t mean that every activity [of mine] will be immediately covered by film and photos,” he explained, “although news coverage will always be provided.” Mexican judges: presidential election stands; telenovela did no wrong
Following a closely contested presidential election in which both sides claimed victory, Mexico’s highest electoral court ratified the victory of conservative Felipe Calderón by a 233,831 vote margin, a skosh less than the original 240,000. (Nearly 42 million votes were cast in the election last July.) Among the complaints rejected by the court was a charge that the soap opera La Fea Mas Bella — “The Prettiest Ugly Girl” — had indirectly supported Calderón over his opponent, Mexico City mayor Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Best of times/worst of times for the Taliban
First the good news, for readers who dislike totalitarian-fundamentalist regimes: a NATO offensive in Afghanistan killed an estimated 200 Taliban fighters. And now the bad: a report by the international think tank the Senlis Council — titled “Five Years Later: The Return of the Taliban” — suggested that Mullah Omar & Co. may find themselves back in power before too long. Maybe next time.
No pressure, Kiko
As the Phoenix went to press, all Japan waited breathlessly to learn the sex of the newest child of Princess Kiko and Prince Akishino, who was slated to be delivered by Cesarean section Wednesday morning. Kiko and Akishino currently have two daughters; a son could inherit the Chrysanthemum Throne, but a daughter would just get a bunch of Hello Kitty crap.
Classy
In a statement posted on the Web, the Mujahedeen Shura Council in Iraq praised Nabil Ahmed, the gunman who killed a British man and wounded six other foreign tourists visiting a Roman ruin in Amman, Jordan. Which raises the question: if this is a battle for hearts and minds, how are we losing to these guys, exactly?
Related:
Suicide Attacks Target Kabul Peacekeepers, Afghanistan: Just say no!, On the ground, More 
- Suicide Attacks Target Kabul Peacekeepers
KABUL, Afghanistan - Two separate suicide attackers rammed car bombs into vehicles belonging to
NATO-led peacekeepers Monday in Kabul, killing at least one German soldier and wounding at least 13 people in the first major attack on foreign troops in the capital in more than a year.
- Afghanistan: Just say no!
The idea that the war in Afghanistan has reached a critical junction, a “now-or-never” moment that requires an additional 40,000 troops to win, is rubbish.
- On the ground
Through journalistic instincts, hunches, and sheer luck, Dexter Filkins has, for the past ten years, managed to frequently be in the wrong place at the right time.
- The JonBenet factor
Five summers ago, in the weeks before terrorists slammed fully loaded passenger planes into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, national television was obsessed with what? The Taliban? Osama bin Laden? Nope. Sharks.
- What smell?
It’s always summer to George W. Bush, our lazy, hazy, crazy commander in chief who puts in shorter presidential work weeks than Woodrow Wilson did after he was paralyzed by a stroke.
- March to war
During the course of two weeks in May, America’s top-ranking military officer went from warning that war with Iran could cripple the US military to rattling his saber at Tehran.
- Trading barbs
I expect more skepticism from my newspapers.
- Innocent abroad
Last week, political humor Web site Wonkette.com urged Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to kidnap an American journalist.
- Harvard ‘ACT UP’ show gets rise from right-wingers
Taking a detour from directly bashing President Obama, right-wingers are now hot and bothered by a Harvard art exhibit. And they have an Obama administration foil toward whom they can channel their bile.
- Africa's invisible slaves
This article originally appeared in the June 30, 1995 issue of the Boston Phoenix.
- Bollinger’s rebuke to Ahmadinejad blows up in his face
Stinging, emotional insults aimed at a guest — who was invited by Bollinger — teach students nothing of intellectual or social value.
- Less
Topics:
This Just In
, Elections and Voting, Politics, Internet, More
, Elections and Voting, Politics, Internet, Science and Technology, Technology, War and Conflict, Websites, The Taliban, World Politics, Afghanistan War, Less
