The Great Society
BY HARRY RING
Simple, they made a revolution--The United Kingdom's National Health Service sent a team of health officials and 100 doctors to study Cuba's health-care program. Officials said they want to find out how Cuba achieves "similar" health care results at 1 percent of the UK's per capita cost.
P.S.--The UK already has one clue: They have one doctor for every 2,000 patients. The Cubans have one for every 500.
'Similar'?--"Doctors say they have to beg charities for essential equipment to keep sick or newborn babies alive.... Pediatricians complain they are also having to ask charities for everyday items of equipment," reports London's Daily Mail. Cuba, target of a U.S. organized blockade, does have medical and other shortages. But their health care has won international praise--and Cuba's doctors don't beg for charity.
Plus those driving while Black?--The Vermont legislature authorized la migra and other U.S. border cops to grab and hold "suspected" drunken drivers or those with other asserted traffic violations and turn them over to state cops.
Wire, mire, not to hurry--An aviation committee is "months away" from bringing in recommendations for dealing with wiring problems in old planes. The industry/government committee was established more than two years ago. And if the feds approve its proposals it could take more months, or even years, before they're applied.
Incorrigible cynics--A keen USA Today report on the slated merger of oil giants Chevron and Texaco was headlined: "Oil merger not likely to lower gasoline prices."
'Just saving soles, your honor'--In the township of Mexico, New York, a federal judge was slated to decide if bricks carrying messages about Jesus can be part of a public school's walkway. Money for the bricks was donated as a fund-raiser, but it drew the anger of residents. The school board reversed itself and then a minister went to court to get the bricks back.
Not only the doctors--"Force asks firms for funds for 20 police"--Headline, the Times, London.
How about Rasputin?--After years of debate, the Russian Orthodox Church conferred sainthood on czar Nicholas II, whose bloody reign was ended by workers and farmers in the 1917 Russian Revolution.
Virtual diversity--To suggest a diverse student body, the University of Wisconsin at Madison inserted a photo of a Black student in an otherwise white football crowd shot. Less than 10 percent of the student body is nonwhite and 2.1 percent are Black. School officials saw the doctored photo as "an error of judgment."
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