Cuban Doctors Heal Cataracts for Che's Killer

Cuban doctors volunteering in Bolivia performed a free cataract surgery for Mario Teran, the Bolivian army sergeant who killed the legendary guerilla leader Ernesto "Che" Guevara in captivity, the daily Granma newspaper reported.

The Cuban medical system is obviously horribly deficient - any American insurance company would have found a way to deny him coverage . . .

Evo Morales on the Daily Show

Evo Morales is the President of Bolivia. He grew up poor, and wound up President of his country in a land which has been controlled by wealthy foreign interests since the time of Spain.

Last night, he was on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The interview, handled through an interpreter, was odd and fascinating. Stewart's quick humor doesn't really play all that well through an interpreter, but his sincere interest does.



At around 2:00, Evo responds to Stewart's claim (having apparently forgotten Bill "God I Wish He Were Still in Office" Clinton's biography) that the presidency in the United States is rigged to favor those born into the upper class. With unironic simpliciy, Evo says, "So if it's rigged, then something needs to be done to change that."

There's something about the way he says it that skewers me. Part of it is the lack of humor - he doesn't find it funny to joke about elections being rigged. If you don't like it, fix it. And part of it is the eloquent simplicity of the man. There's a world of difference between simplicity and simpleness, and Bolivia's president has the former . . .

FIFA - Soccer is for Wimps

FIFA, the world governing body for soccer (football for the rest of the world), has recently decided that games should not be played at altitudes over 2500 meters - 8200 feet for those of us who call it soccer. This ban will prevent Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Colombia from hosting home games where they would normally be played.

Next up, I expect FIFA to ban games played in warm weather, or in areas with pollen, or in stadiums where the crowds are loud.

This decision does not reflect a concern for competitiveness or the integrity of the sport. Soccer's strength has always been that it is the international sport, played everywhere under a variety of conditions. When I was in Bolivia a couple years ago, I got into a pickup game with the local kids. According to FIFA, I should have whined about the altitude when they ran past me, and refused to allow them to celebrate their victory.

FIFA is dominated by the traditional power-houses of soccer, and they want to see their favored teams play in comfort. That's understandable, but they owe a higher duty to the international spirit of the sport, and their decision to restrict the international sport to European conditions is a farce. They need to rescind their decision, or cancel the next World Cup tournament. Perhaps they can substitute a "Sea Level Cup" tournament.