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And I think Trudeau was very reasonable in his remarks and most of those who ridicule him are Americans who have been dazzled by the footwork of the emigres. If you want to see the handiwork of that Cuban expat community, look to Miami. The highest incidence of medicare fraud in the US is centred in one community....Miami-Dade. The reports of corruption are rife but you have to live there to actually appreciate the collective disrespect for the "unconnected". If you want something....anything....you have to know someone. You must have an "in". Are all Cubans of that ilk? Of course not but they have infiltrated every level of the community and to be honest, I think it not unreasonable to describe the Cuban community as " mafia-like". I am suggesting that cultural character did not spring up only with the arrival of the emigres in Florida nor did it originate with the Mariel exodus. It is very much a part of Cuban culture that ensures some thrive while many others simply survive. Batista was a dictator whose control depended upon the support of the "haves" in Cuba and upon the US. He was disposed of by Castro with the support of a majority of Cubans...the "have nots". The Castro years ensured health care to all; housing; food and education. You were expected to repay your country by providing service and Cuba exported medical care throughout South America and the Caribbean basin. If you were of the former "ruling class"...life as you knew it came to an end and many fled with their assets "nationalized". Those people and their children and grandchildren revile Castro. Think for a moment about Iraq and the misjudgment of the importance of a "strong hand" controlling the disparate factions. I don't know that the analogy is complete but I suggest that Cuba had and may still have a need for such strong hands at the helm. I think of the ball players who were nurtured on community ball fields only to take the first opportunity to defect when the lure of money was waved before them. Meanwhile, doctors and nurses were tending to the sick for the same wages as were paid to teachers and laborers alike. I'm not a socialist by any stretch but I do understand the ideology behind the tenet "give as you are able; take as you need". And I also understand why those who support the philosophy " take what you can when and while you can and keep as much as you can" might have less than positive thoughts and remarks about Fidel. Whatever you may think of him, Fidel Castro truly believed in his cause and lived his "faith" in relative humility. He died as he lived...a true revolutionary dedicated to the "cause" and that holy grail was the betterment of the Cuban people.....not just a few but all. He can be faulted for many things but not for lack of sincerity. I apologize that I ramble and that I have over-generalized and over-simplified but it bothers me that people do not understand the sadness of those in Cuba now mourning his death and the joy of those in the emigre community celebrating his demise.

Trudeau deserves the mocking he is getting, comes across as a lightweight. Old Cuban joke, Name 3 successes of the revolution: Arts, Education, Medicine, Name 3 failures of the Revolution; Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

Two solitudes....North America will never be the same. Fiction from Trudeau: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has extended his condolences following the death of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, calling him a “legendary revolutionary and orator.” “It is with deep sorrow that I learned today of the death of Cuba’s longest serving president,” Trudeau said in a statement issued later in the day, offering his “deepest condolences” on behalf of all Canadians. Reality from Trump: The world marks the passing of a brutal dictator who oppressed his own people for nearly six decades, Trump said in a statement issued hours after Castro's death. "Fidel Castro’s legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights." Trudeau continues to be an embarrassment to every Canadian. Every time he opens his mouth more stupid falls out. http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/fidel-castro-dies-justin-trudeau-issues-statement-much-hilarity-ensues-trudeaueulogies

Or you could contribute to the discussion. Point was that many Cubans could have been serving their fellow citizens rather than taking the money like the ball player who was being criticited.

Kip The cop I was speaking of was the one that was taken by surprise and slapped in the head with a skateboard; early reports claimed he had died. Apparently he'll live, but not well. Malcolm The article you posted tells us white guys shoot more cops than blacks. Not to get into a statistical debate, but suffice it to say, there's a big difference between getting shot by a puke that's involved in the commission of a hold up for instance than being shot by a cowardly sneak when you're not looking. Deicer What are you doing to yourself? 'Hilary and Jill Stein conceded the election' to Trump, which means, it's over. Regardless, it's time for the current President to get in touch with the mess his followers are making instead of leaving them all in a stirred up state in January as he goes off to plan his library.

Just a thought. A news article yesterday stated that there was a new BILLIONAIRE in the US every 6 days. People crossing the millionaire threshhold (excluding the value of housing and luxury use items) were much more numerous and frequent. What does that mean? I suspect that "a billion just isn't what it used to be" but there is more to this story since there is such a huge number of people in North America who could not meet current liabilities if unpaid for a week!! Remember a kazillion years ago when riding the club car on CN was a mark of affluence and a significant step up from the bus? And then jacket and tie on the airplane...in economy!! And now? Most in "J" appear to be on their way to a leisure wear convention. I am developing a nagging suspicion I am being left behind and that the explanation for the informality of business class is the migration of the "jacket and dress slacks" crowd to private carriage. Someone is filling all of those private jets I see departing and arriving overhead with amazing frequency. What does this have to do with a "corrupt ideology"? Every once in awhile...lying in bed waiting for the sleep fairy.....don't you ever find yourself pondering your good fortune.....the fortuitous coincidence of both parentage and place of birth? And as a corollary, asking why can't that be you luxuriating in your "old" G5 passing overhead en route to a dinner date in Paris? Happy Sunday!!

http://www.chonday.com/Videos/pilotstechfu4

Trying to decipher the new Chinese geography is as bad as trying to determine if YGW is Great Whale or Poste de Baleine or Kuujjuarapik.

It is always a pleasure to read Conrad Black.

So much wrong with both of those pushbacks. Wing walker out of position, shouldn't be behind the driver. Approaching the nose gear before brakes set signal by operator or guy on head set. Throwing by-pass pin. Throwing communication cord. Not sitting in seat on tug when pulling tow bar.

"There was almost nothing to support the avalanche of defamation against Trump, apart from an 11-year-old tape of adolescent jock-talk and a few bombastic flourishes that did not greatly exceed low-brow political name-calling. From this thin gruel, the entire portrayal of Trump as lurid animal was extracted and propagated to the ends of the earth. It was not that the country admires the sort of ogre the media and Democratic propagandists (generally interchangeable groups) were selling, the reasoning goes, it was that the electorate itself had sunk to such a paleolithic level." http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/conrad-black-more-delusions-of-canadian-grandeur-follow-trump-election