Sometimes We Agree

Poor Sasha seems to take after his mother. She was once smitten by an older man as well.

There are certain things regarding humans' rights that are beyond partisanship. It saddens me when there are very basic ideals that get argued over because they are left-leaning or right-leaning or upside-down and backwards leaning.

Ted is able to see through that kind of idiocy and I enjoy his Blog.

Guarding hell, just got trickier.
I uh , uhm-ma , I agree with Ted.

I've never read anything from Sasha but....

"It was a mutual admiration between two men who put their unmatched intellects at the servce of their country."

"unmatched" ?

More, you say.

"We thus have to conceive of the departure of the last patriarch in psychoanalytical terms. The death of the father doesn't signal our liberation from him - Quite the contrary. The death of a father so grand and present as Castro will, rather, immortalize him in the minds of his children."

Someones mind sounds childlike.

"Cubans will always feel privileged that they, and they alone had Fidel."

Well perhaps the ones, NOT bayonetted to death.

Thanks Sasha !
Chip off the old block.

Thank you Ted, I never thought I'd say it, I was wrong about you.

I agree with you, I have grown accustomed to utter drivel from the MSM, but I was actually starting to doubt my good sense because nobody had slapped Sasha around with this crap.I was almost shocked at the level of depravity the Toronto Redstar sunk to over the weekend.

The, "There was Fidel 60 feet underwater prying sea urchins off the rocks while Daddy used a scuba tank", story sounds as genuine as his old mans famous lie/story of finding the same frying pan hung within reach, twenty years before and forgotten, now hanging 30 ft up the tree".

Maggie says Castro was the sexiest man she ever met, from the Rolling Stones concert stills I've seen,... I'll take her word for it.

Ted aka Cerberus, I'm sorry that you're "truly surprised by the reaction [you've] received to this post." It might be part of a wake up call for you as a Liberal.

Sadly, I'm not surprised at all. Pierre Elliott Trudeau wasn't the progressive intellectual superman far too many Canadians have made him out to be, and you've got a lot of duped, starry-eyed Libs/libs responding to your post.

He was, basically, a Mount Royal socialist: He lived a totally priviledged life in a mansion in Mount Royal, all the while building up his own personal bank account aided and abetted by capitalists (I have nothing against capitalists, but apparently he did) and at the same time, giving taxpayers' hard-earned wages to welfare bums and special interest groups. He robbed us, ordinary Canadians working hard to make ends meet, to pay for votes and to promote his Utopian, leftist propaganda.

What's truly surprising is how many Canadians, aided and abetted, of course, by the useful and gullible idiots in the MSM, took the bait hook, line, and sinker. I smelled a rat the minute I saw him pirouetting in his oversized black hat and cape, with a rose between his teeth. Give me a break. I was only 22 but I could smell a phoney.

Alexandre is obviously a chip off the old block: a rich socialist dazzled by the socialist lights.

The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree.

Oh yeah, and from my experience having lived on the Caribbean coast of Latin America, those socialist lights that Sacha was dazzled by are 40 watt bulbs.

You can't look away.

"A few years later, when Michel was around 8 years old, I remember him complaining to my mother that my older brother and I both had more friends than he did. My mother told him that unlike us, he had the greatest friend of all: he had fidel."

Does Micha-Miche know which way the DeSotto/rafts point?

"Indeed, like my father, in private, Fidel is not a politician. He is more in the vein of a great adventurer or a great scientific mind. Fidel doesn't really do politics. He is a revolutionary.
He lives to learn and to put his knowledge in the service of the revolution.
For Fidel, revolution is really a work of reason. In his view, revolution, when rigorously adopted, cannot fail to lead humanity towards ever greater justice, towards an ever more perfect social order."

Or wheel KEEElll them!
With our "unmatched intellects".

Good for Ted. I also like his comment:

“Can we group all of our terrorist-supporting marchers with your anti-Muslim/anti-immigrant marchers and ship them all off to defend Hans Island for us?”

A great idea.

If we had this kind of attitude on debate between Liberals and Conservatives in Parliament we’d have diversity of thought and a more healthy country.

Alexandre had to know full well how this would be received . He's calling out for attention and he's getting it. He must be one lonely fellow.

sigh.......

people, its TUUUUUUUURDeau.

try to remember.

One of the commenters at Cerberus suggested that PET would "Take (Alexandre) out to the woodshed", but nothing Alexandre said in any way repudiates papa's demonstrated attitude towards Castro. A's statement is just a more guileless disclosure of the sort of attitudes that exist within closeted-communist-lite power families and the broad left.

The majority of Alexandre's fellow travellers manage over the course of their lives to obscure their unrequited affection for communism by making a career -- or a political party -- out of attacking those countries and leaders in the West -- Thatcher, Reagan -- who most forcefully oppose it.

When Alexandre lauds Castro for his (according to Alexandre) view that "revolution when rigorously adopted cannot fail to lead humanity towards ever greater justice, towards an ever more perfect social order" he is simply being more forthcoming, showing a less watered-down version of the views of left-Liberals (it's pretty apparent that Ted ain't one of them) and NDP supporters.

How come leftys want Canada to stop trading with the U.S. but are mad at the U.S. for not trading with Cuba? The funny thing is that the U.S. is the largest exporter of food to Cuba. And as far as Ted not thinking that young Trudeau has a place in the Liberal party, I think he'd fit right in with Hedy Fry and Bob Rae.

A. Trudeau actually put his name to that tripe, almost unbelievable that an adult in a free country could write such garbage. Rich kids seem to be the most ignorant group of people around.

Amnesty International has been refused entry into Cuba since 1988. Oliver Stone's contribution to the stupidity is linked at Front Page Mag below. He's another "documentary" maker in the Sasha mold:

http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=13216

Ashbrook has an interesting synopsis of the decrepit state of Cuba's economy from 1999 and the condescension of those who defend it:

http://www.ashbrook.org/publicat/onprin/v7n5/sheller.html

"In fact, the cheefulness Cubans display toward foreigners can have a curious effect. It’s easy to begin to think that perhaps things aren’t all that bad on the island. It can seem that despite the poverty and the political repression, that maybe the Cubans really do have something special, a way of life that emphasizes human connections, interdependence and egalitarianism. And if that’s the case, why fuss about the lack of basic freedoms?

But this attitude is condescending. It is the height of elitism for those who enjoy the freedom and affluence provided by liberal democracy and free markets to suggest that the people of Cuba or any other backward, repressive place are content with their lot and therefore have no need of the institutions of liberty. "

Loved the Great Satan link. Thanks, Kate.

From the BBC HYS forum on Castro, other random readings, and the apparent Che-vogue movement, my impression is that Trudeau's affection for Castro is pretty mainstream among Socialists and Communists. Is that just a European opinion? Not so universally popular among the Canadian Left? I'm a little confused.

I remember the early Pierre Idiot Trudeau years well. I, and many others, could not believe how Canadians were letting this spoilt brat ruin our country. With the help of the Internet and blogs we can now all see the sickening folly of how the "Just Society" was hoisted on us. All, that is, except the MSM. They are still blinded by the Jornalism "Schools" propaganda.

Ah yes, the Just Society that brought us;

The right to Medicare, a system that is so opened to abuse it is horrendously expensive and probably beyond repair.

"The State has no business in the bedrooms of the Nation". Pedophiles have a right to privacy. AIDS loves promiscuity.

Stimulitive deficit, another word for going into debt. When PET came to power, Canada was debt free. Generations will/are being hampered by his Socialistic experiment.

Multi-Culturalism. Breeding ground for Terrorits ?? Air India ??

Billigualism ?? Quebec now feels less part of Canada. Even Charest says Quebec is a country.

Parrallel self government ?? Caledonia.

Cosy up to that great Island country Dictator ?? Good idea ? Ask the Cubans.

Lax drug laws ? Fry the kid's brains.

To hell with the Military, we are peace-keepers ? Now we rely on the Americans for our defences.

Petro-Canada
CBC
United Nations
NEP

"I met a young man in the small provincial town of Remedios who worked there as a cigar roller. We shared a great love for the works of Dostoyevsky. When I expressed to him my excitement at meeting a fellow aficionado of Russian literature, he flatly told me: "Yes, Fidel has taught me to read and to think, but look what work he sets me out to do with this education: I roll cigars!"

"Yeah sucks to be you, now finish rolling up that case of cohibas, like uhndalay dude ,I'm due to meet the Desmaris personal jet, me and Micha-Miche are heading to Palm Springs."

Ted's a bit too much of a soft leftist, but he's a morally decent fellow.

If only there were such a leftist party that he could join!

The Liberal Party, I'm sad to admit, is closer to that combination philosophically than the Dippers, where Israel hating appears to be just A'OK.

At least you have men such as – gasp – Volpe making a good stand on Israel's right to exist.

I support Egypt's right to exist, Jordan's right to exist, etc. and etc. I'm not especially "pro" Jewish although Jewish people are fine.

I am very much pro free and Democratic people being allowed to live with secure borders. Particularly when half of them were murdered on the basis of their religion within relatively recent historical times.
 
 
As far as Castro goes... well, I get tired of seeing young and not so young idiots walking around my city with his T-shirts and the T-shirts of his young compadre.

I have never knowingly bought a T-shirt favourably featuring a murderer and violator of fundamental human rights and freedom. I will continue to refrain.

Re: Cal's comment

Poor Sasha seems to take after his mother. She was once smitten by an older man as well.

I do believe Maggie was 'smitten' by quite a few older men.

During her younger years, before she met mr asshole, she was the best "smitee" at Whistler.

Horny Toad

Being born in 1984, I'm proud to say that I never lived in the Communist Canada that you all remember so fondly (Trudeau years).

Oh wait, Ontario is still run by Dalton McSquinty.

At least my vomit doesn't look red. Yet.

May God Bless a Free Canada once again.

¡Ay Caramba!

Too many Cuba libres for Sacha?

Fag city or what?

Not that there's anything wrong with that!!!

Tom Penn writes: "my impression is that Trudeau's affection for Castro is pretty mainstream among Socialists and Communists."

No doubt, but among a wide spectrum in the Maritimes the old butcher gets a pretty generous response. Certainly since the days former N.S. premier John Savage (father of current MP Michael Savage) was a vocal and active supporter of the Cuban Revolution, there has been a vocal and active pro-Cuban lobby in the region.

Chances are that Ted already gets enough hate mail from the far left anyway, but this piece will guarrantee him a few more nastygrams.

Ted was right on in his article, Trudeau and his ilk have managed to pull the proverbial wool over Canadian's eyes for a while but it is time that all Canadian's, even Liberals, see the truth.

For a liberal type, Cerberus (Ted) is actually one of the few who can debate and comment with some facts and not have to resort to ad homien attacks. I may not agree but his opinions I can respect.

Texas,

Pray tell us all what that 'truth' is. Please avoid all the extreme rightist cliches. You know, the old and tired welfare state infantilism commie socialist nonsense.

Maybe start with Diefenbacher's mishandling of all things Quebec that led to the FLQ crisis.

ALERT: Don't go the Diefenbaker route; we're taking the Trudeau Trail here and the many ways that it's led nowhere...or into a massive swamp.

And, a thanks to Cerebus for his open and honest questioning of his fellow-Lib/lib travellers, who are defending the indefensible. A thinking Liberal you've got to respect, even if you don't always agree.

When you live a country where a party like the NDP can win 43 seats, an article like this should be of no surprise.

Look how many people came out in defence Trudeau; calling Cerberus' critique "right-wing lies"!

Full blown SOCIALISM is mainstream in Canada now, has been for a while. For a lot of Canadians the wool that was over there eyes for so many years has been, for the most part pulled back, and they don't seem to be objecting too hard to what they see around them. I'm not sure there are enough people who still kow how to think.

The Toronto Star newspaper was the only paper available where I was on the weekend and I saw the article. I read part of it but it was so badly overwritten i couldn't in good conscience spend additional time reading it. The piece seemed homo-erotic to me. Is Castro a known pedophile?

B. HOAX AWARE: "Multi-Culturalism. Breeding ground for Terrorists ??"

Trudeau was described by R. Gwyn, an early acolyte/adulator of Trudeau, as a northern magus*.

The end result of the magus's policies was "multiculturalism" - another "ism".

Notice the word "empowerment"; a vulgar-Marxist term.

Here is the end result of this heinous "ism" in Britain: state-sponsored, funded multiculturalism. Canada is next? ...-

Bangladeshis in east London: from secular politics to Islam
Delwar Hussain
7 - 7 - 2006
Who speaks for the mostly poor Bangladeshi community in east London? Delwar Hussain charts a long-term shift from secular leftism to Islamism – one in which British state policy has played a significant role

Bangladeshis in east London: from secular politics to Islam
Delwar Hussain
7 - 7 - 2006

Who speaks for the mostly poor Bangladeshi community in east London? Delwar Hussain charts a long-term shift from secular leftism to Islamism – one in which British state policy has played a significant role.
------------------------------------------

The connection between events in Bangladesh and the large Bangladeshi community in east London is intimate but not static. The influence of economic, political and generational change on the transformation of personal and public identities is profound. In particular, there has been a significant movement in recent years from alignment with secular politics as a vehicle of representation and empowerment towards Islamic-based organisation. An important element in this is that the British state has helped create and support this process through its funding policies and its application of a "multicultural" model of relating to and supporting community organisations in the area. ...-
http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-protest/bangladeshi_3715.jsp
* wizard, magician, mesmerizer = Confidence Man.

.........
Beware of left liberals: They speak in tongues; some have three heads and 3 tongues. ...-

I'll drop the Deifenbaker route but only under protest. He and Trudeau are interwoven much in the same way that Chretien and Harper are...One thing leads to another.

Since socialism is full blown in Canada now, it is good to see thinking liberals, especially ones along the lines of the Euston Manifesto.

maz2,

Is that 3 heads with 3 tongues each meaning 9 tongues in total or just 3 heads with 1 tongue in each?

Wow, Maz2. I'm speaking in tongues am I? I don't think anyone has put me in the good company of the Pat Robertson's of the world before. Strange.

Ted
Cerberus

Keep your links on topic.

for the western perspective look at:
3w dot freealberta dot com/trudeau dot html

pretty much covers it all

I never liked the man and after the 'magus' croaked and more truths came out I now despise him.

On-topic question:

How many of the commenters slagging Trudeau were old enough to pay taxes and vote while he was in power? How many know the prevailing circumstances of the time (post-Vietnam inflation, OPEC crisis, etc.?) What information are they basing their opinions on, except the current right-wing practice to bash anything that can be labelled "socialism" or "left?"

Interesting how those who DO NOT live under Castro's regime can muster 'admiration', including the left in the US- the MSM in general, Barbara Walters in particular who interviewed the man.( a haunting co-relation to Mike Wallace's senile and outrageous interview of Iran's Maniacal Madman)
Most of those who took to boats to make a perilous journey for freedom do not share such enthusiasm for the architect of their misery.
They wait with baited breath in the millions in Miami and eleswhere in the US for freedom to be restored to their beloved country held hostage these many years to that 'intellect' so admired by Sasha.
Those who can take Sasha to task for his comments and 'philosophical ramblings', juvenile as they are, fail completely to understand that he has no real knowledge. His insulated life has protected him from living in the real world. He is an elite in every sense and can afford to pontificate.
Unless he has political aspirations. In which case, I think his chances are about the same as a snowballs chance in hell. This is not 1968 and Trudeaumania will not occur again.
We have many 'manias' in this country but Trudeaumania cannot be sold to a population that enjoys such access to information. We would know right away that the candidate was an anti-semite, a draft dodger and a coward who refused to serve and sat out the greatest struggle of the 20th century in comfort and ease.
Wonder if those in Cuba who hope and pray by the light of those 40 watt bulbs for freedom even know what Sasha has said about their 'great patriarch' and share his opinion.
It is hard to know what is going on from one's cell in solitary. I am sure they would like Sasha to explain it to them.
As for 'moral equivalence' regarding "political prisoners" and "human rights abuses" by the US government at Guantanamo..here again ignorance of both English and circumstances blurs understanding.
Those held at Guantanamo are not either 'political prisoner' or 'human rights abused'. They are killers held for the sole reason of safety and security of the innocent.
In other times, such as WWll, they would all now be dead and not a burden to the US taxpayer or alive to abuse their jailers!
In this day of danger it is imperative we understand what this struggle is, who it is with and how we can survive it.
Defending the likes of Castro, reminiscing fondly of Canada under Trudeau, allowing as how it is "ok" to be seen marching under the Hezbollah flag , excusing the likes of Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, (actually lionizing them in certain circles while demonizing President Bush)are all fantasies we cannot afford.
Any more than we can afford the ramblings of an elite idiot who speaks whereof he knows not.

agitfact,

You make a very good point. As a long time Liberal and supporter of the party I was barely old enough to vote for him and do remember events of that era.

I know PET had his peculiarities but he really did handle most difficult issues of his day with effective leadership as well as style and grace.

He was also a major breath of fresh air after all the old stogy Consertvative PM farts that preceeded him.

He placed Canada firmly on the world stage and made it the world class country it is today.

Agitfact, I was there at that time and being a young lad with lots of idealism, I was impressed by PET and his "fresh" approach to the stuffy nature of politics at that time. Fortunately, this phase passed quickly and I saw the real wolf in sheep's clothing. For the record I never was too enamoured by "Dief the Chief" and the more I learned about the Arrow fiasco while serving in the airforce it turned into a genuine hate for Saskatchewan's second favorite son.

As an aside, why is it when discussing the shortfalls in PET, Cretien, Martin and the like, some people always drag up the "Oh yeah, what about Dief, Mulrooney, etc", as if that justifies the mess those Liberal PMs brought onto the nation? Kind of like "My dad can beat your dad" on a more pathetic level.

David Brown said:
"He was also a major breath of fresh air after all the old stogy Consertvative PM farts that preceeded him.

He placed Canada firmly on the world stage and made it the world class country it is today"

I agree totally with the first comment. He was exactly that. A breath of fresh air compared to the old stogy 'Conservative PM farts'.
AND he had the audacity to tell people off.
He may not have been right but he sure had the balls. And he was admired for that even by those who opposed him politically and there was a lot of room for that opposition.

As for the second, Trudeau had nothing whatsoever to do with making Canada a 'world class country'. She was already that , garnering worldwide admiration and gratitude earned by our armed forces who fought bravely and efficiently alongside their allies to crush the Nazi's and our other enemies in WWll.
Canada's armed forces are admired to this day the world over for their dedication and expertise.
Their equipment is quite another matter, so outdated and dangerously unreliable as to cause death when it might have meant life in the various theatres of war around the world.
Quite the contrary to our supposed reputation as 'peacekeepers' , our soldiers have distinguished themselves in fields of battle and held their own with their allies EARNING that admiration and Canada's place as a 'world class country'
Trudeau, on the other hand had a lot to do with the decline of our military and his policies were crippling to the Canadian economy and the economic health of Canadians which led to the enormous tax burden we still labour under today. Added to and piled upon by Trudeaus student and rival, Chretien...aided and abetted by that moron Martin.

"style and grace" ??... guess 'fuddleduddle' gets lost in translation.

Texas Canuck,

your question about digging up Dief etc. is easy to answer. It is known as the "tu quoque" defence, or "so's your old man!" Fling dirt at one party's politicians if you must, but be prepared to have your party's tarred with the same brush.

Full disclosure: I was a voter and taxpayer at the time, found trudeaumania ridiculous, saw reason to believe Trudeau to be the smartest man on Parliament Hill, thought he had taken leave of his senses when he married a 21 year-old, considered that he governed courageously and well under difficult circumstances, saw him only once and only long enough to despise his dyed hair, and thought that it was time for him to go when he left. Multiculturalism was an obvious vote-getting ploy, and bilingualism seemed designed to entrench "the French" in power.

The "socialism" of the Liberal Party was not an issue since that terrain was covered by David Lewis and the NDP.

Texas,

"Saskatchewan's second favorite son"?

Deifenbaker was born in Neustatd Ontario. Making him Ontario's son!

As for the pathos of drawing him into this...I don't see that at all. It's difficult to praise one person and not justifiably denigrate another when the dots have to be connected to get a complete picture.

RE: "How many of the commenters slagging PMPT were old enough to pay taxes and vote while he was in power?"

I am. And that has little or nothing to do with the fact that many of PMPTs policies were expensive, undemocratic disasters that we are still paying for. Where to begin. Lets see.

1)Bilingualism.

2)Metric

3)NEP

4)Taking in and encouraging thousands of American draft dodgers.

5)Proclaiming that the future of progress was in Siberia. (no joke)

6)He married Maggie./s

7)He literally gave the finger to the Western Provinces.

8)He treated Castro like a king.

9)A Charter of Rights which has given us judicial activism and could pave the way to the break up of the country.

9)Somebody stop me. I am just getting warmed up.

Hey, they named a slough... errr lake in Saskatchewan after him and he did represent Prince Albert (I believe). If Ontario want to claim him then be my guest.

As to the flinging dirt scenario, I've never said that any of the political parties are immune from a critical eye, and I'll be glad to point that out but the reign of Lieberal corruption and ruin started with PET. Can you imagine what Canada would be like if Trudeau hadn't put Canada in debt? All the tax dollars now and in the future being used to service that half-trillion dollar debt could go back into your pocket. As it is now, your grandchildren's children will be paying off the fuddle duddle spending spree.

I have to admit after reading this T.O. Star tirbute to Castro, I thought I must be dreaming and not being familiar with Alexandre, I googled him. That's when I got a clue and also a fresh reminder of Sacha's moon-battery. One of the Links was to the Proud To Be Canadian Blog and the reminder that it was Sacha who came to the defense of an accused terrorist last year, Hassan Almrei, a Syrian national, held in solitary confinement since Oct. 2001.

I can't shake the feeling after reading his tribute to Castro that he thinks he and his family are the answer to this Country's, if not the World's, problems. Is he interested in reviving the Trudeau vision?

As for his mother's taste in men...ICK!

Isn't freedom of speech and the press great? Helps identify the enemy so much faster.

"I'm glad Alex wrote this excellent article on Fidel, who is indeed a Papa figure to progressives around the world - including myself." - Thomas

This 'person' then goes on to say that he is a Liberal.

A message to Liberals: Don't you think it's time to do a purge? Unless of course you like rubbing shoulders with people who worship mass-murdering despots. Who obviously think that citizens are stupid (adolescents). Who, given the right circumstances, (if not helping to create them), would more than likely love to have glorious revolution in Canada.

This type of Ideology and stupidity, if not outright support of opression and mass murder, must be rejected and it's proponents sent packing.

"The piece seemed homo-erotic to me. Is Castro a known pedophile?"

Or, is Sacha gay?

au...the turdeau days..i remember them well..young corporal, life full of promise....the sky was the limit..wait...what's that sound i hear....my career screaching to a halt..for some reason(even though the language of NATO was english)...i had to learn french b4 any promotion....wtf???.in an anglo regiment..no one told me this at the recruiting center

"i had to learn french b4 any promotion....wtf???."
You don't HAVE to be french to get promoted, although you do get an extra point on your per (personal evaluation report)for being french (which I never agreed with).

ya, and the net effect was no promotion

I agree that if you are bilingual you have a .01% on your per. If you have a bilingual soldier with the same per as yours, then yes, he'll get promoted over you.
I am not bilingual and it did't really effect my promotions, although I always had a problem with the .01%.