Trudeau defends comments after the death of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro

[mentalfloss]

Trudeau defends comments after the death of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the former Cuban president Fidel Castro was a dictator, but that does not mean it was inappropriate to acknowledge his achievements at the time of his death.

Trudeau says it was a statement meant to mark the death of a former head of a country with which Canada has had a long relationship.

Speaking in Antananarivo, Madagascar, where he is attending the summit of la Francophonie, Trudeau says he understands that some people who had been affected by the Castro regime would view things differently.

He says he never shies away from raising human rights, and that included doing it during his visit to Cuba.

The Liberal prime minister is facing criticism at home and abroad for his statement expressing "deep sorrow" about the death Castro, without mentioning his human rights violations.

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard says that while historians will debate his influence in his home country, including his record on human rights, there is no denying the Cuban leader was a giant of the 20th century.

Trudeau defends comments after the death of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro | National Newswatch

 

[Cannuck]

Hitler was a giant in the 20th century as well

 

[JamesBondo]

Hmmm, this reminds me of other comments that JT has made....is Justin Trudeau still wanting to have a I-want-to-understand-you style of conversation with terrorists?

 

[Curious Cdn]

Hmmm, this reminds me of other comments that JT has made....is Justin Trudeau still wanting to have a I-want-to-understand-you style of conversation with terrorists?

They would have his head before any "dialog" started.

 

[mentalfloss]

Hitler was a giant in the 20th century as well

True.

I think, to be fair, this is good discussion to have about authority in general because we inherently treat dictatorship as a bad word though there is the possibility of some good outcomes in every form of government.

In this respect, I think it would be fair to recognise the nuance in Trudeau's comments in that he clearly shares our view that we should have a sustainable democracy even though you can acknowledge the merits of controversial figures like Castro.

 

[JamesBondo]

They would have his head before any "dialog" started.

I bet you that there would be some selfies taken.

 

[tay]

To all those Calling out Trudeau on Castro here's Steven Harper on the death of another really swell guy......And they are both wrong......


Ottawa, Ontario - 22 January 2015

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement on the death of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia:

“On behalf of all Canadians, Laureen and I offer our sincere condolences to the family of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and the people of Saudi Arabia.

“King Abdullah was recognized as a strong proponent of peace in the Middle East. He also undertook a range of important economic, social, education, health, and infrastructure initiatives in his country.

“I had the pleasure of meeting King Abdullah in Toronto when Canada hosted the G-20 and found him to be passionate about his country, development and the global economy.

“We join the people of Saudi Arabia in mourning his passing.”

Archived - Statement by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the death of King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz - Canada News Centre


http://forums.canadiancontent.net/n...st-sentenced-300-lashes.html?highlight=lashes

 

[Curious Cdn]

To all those Calling out Trudeau on Castro here's Steven Harper on the death of another really swell guy......And they are both wrong......


Ottawa, Ontario - 22 January 2015

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement on the death of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia:

“On behalf of all Canadians, Laureen and I offer our sincere condolences to the family of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and the people of Saudi Arabia.

“King Abdullah was recognized as a strong proponent of peace in the Middle East. He also undertook a range of important economic, social, education, health, and infrastructure initiatives in his country.

“I had the pleasure of meeting King Abdullah in Toronto when Canada hosted the G-20 and found him to be passionate about his country, development and the global economy.

“We join the people of Saudi Arabia in mourning his passing.”

Archived - Statement by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the death of King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz - Canada News Centre


http://forums.canadiancontent.net/n...st-sentenced-300-lashes.html?highlight=lashes

Oil trumps everything else out there.

 

[Locutus]

shiny pony is being mocked worldwide...he's a turnip.

 

[mentalfloss]

Oh sad you.

Nobody's being mocked worldwide except Donald J. Trump.

 

[tay]

Helpfully, the soon-to-be digitized National Post was eager to curate these 140-character jeremiads into a single story for the convenience of its dwindling readership. “A despicable dictator,” huffed Maxime Bernier. “Apologize and retract,” demanded Lisa Raitt.

“Disgraceful,” barked Ted Cruz, the junior senator for Texas, pitching in, I guess, because he was born in Calgary and is therefore a Canadian citizen … Oh, wait!

A Queen’s University student named Ben S. Harper – apparently Harper fils – Tweeted “Castro was a monsterous leader, and the world is better off now hes dead.” The younger Harper’s monstrous spelling and punctuation, one hopes, were understandable byproducts of his passion, not the quality of his education.

King Abdullah, who was the hereditary leader of by almost any measure as repugnant a regime as can be found on the surface of this planet died.

At any rate, what is striking about that event is the reaction – or, rather, the almost complete lack of any reaction – to the statement of condolences issued by the prime minister of Canada, who at the time, of course, was the aforementioned elder Mr. Harper.

“On behalf of all Canadians, Laureen and I offer our sincere condolences to the family of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and the people of Saudi Arabia,” said Mr. Harper, going farther than Mr. Trudeau’s statement, since the latter prime minister never claimed everyone in Cuba, let alone its Miami suburbs, loved Mr. Castro.

Well, in fairness, there may have been some grumbling at the time by the usual left-wing malcontents – perennially disposed to disapprove of dictatorial monarchies that torture and murder their own citizens, persecute many on religious grounds, not to mention for driving while female, drive down the price of oil to the detriment of Alberta and, what’s more, discreetly finance terrorism over here in the democratic West.

But, what the hey! We were selling the peace-making king’s security apparatus that $15-billion dollars’ worth of armoured cars, a sale that Mr. Trudeau, it turns out, was as anxious to complete as his predecessor.

This may account for why Mr. Harper’s government was prepared to spend $175,000 to send Gov. Gen. David Johnston on a 40-hour trip to the desert kingdom to offer Canada’s condolences on all of our collective behalf. The governor general was accompanied by a spokeswoman, an official photographer, a bodyguard, and two government “program officers,” whatever they may be. These expenses did not, mind, include hotels or meals.

Well, you can’t expect the Governor General of Canada to sleep under the stars! I suppose Canadian taxpayers of the Harper era could count themselves lucky. Our neighbours to the south in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, whence comes a lot of the current outrage about Mr. Trudeau’s condolences, sent a 29-member delegation to bid farewell to King Abdullah that included President Barack Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, CIA Director John Brennan and numerous factotums!

After all, one person’s murderous sponsor of terrorism is another’s noble peace-making king!

We must certainly acknowledge that not everything was rosy in Mr. Castro’s Cuba, which incarcerates 510 prisoners per 100,000 in population, according to the imperfect list of 221 nations, leaving it only seven steps from the bottom.

Only such jurisdictions as the United States – 693 per 100,000, not counting in the case of the U.S., inmates in U.S. territories, military jails, immigration jails, jails on First Nations reserves or inmates held in juvenile facilities – do worse. Indeed, only the lowly Seychelles has more people per capita behind bars than do our next-door neighbours.

By other measures, however, Cuba does better – for example, infant mortality. Perhaps thanks to the significant improvements to health care during Mr. Castro’s rule that were cited by Mr. Trudeau, Cuba has a respectable infant mortality rate of 4.63 per 1,000 live births, very close to Canada’s rate of 4.65 and much better than the rates of 5.87 in the United States and 14.09 in Saudi Arabia.

Could the unhappiness of the U.S. Government with Mr. Castro’s and Cuba’s defiance have anything to do with this outpouring of outrage on the right in Canada? D’ya think

Alberta PoliticsI come to bury Castro, not to praise him: unpacking conservative fury at PM Justin Trudeau’s condolences - Alberta Politics

 

[mentalfloss]

It seems like Trudeau has set up a trap and some people took the bait.

 

[Remington1]

His words were extremely ill chosen. He could easily have sent his condolences and express his appreciation for the long standing relationship between the two countries, but to expand beyond that to a creep who had thousands murdered and forced an entire populace to live in extreme poverty without prospect shows his lack of realism. His speech was shocking and he is indeed being laugh at by the rest of the world, and most Canadians.

'God doesn't want him and Satan is scarred of him', so where will Castro go?

 

[mentalfloss]

Nah.

I think you overstate the beliefs of Canada with those of Albertans.


Most Canadians remember not just the bad, but the good as well.


And that's kind of what makes this country great.


It recognises compromise.

 

[Curious Cdn]

It seems like Trudeau has set up a trap and some people took the bait.

Yeah. He's a wiley one, alright.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

It seems like Trudeau has set up a trap and some people took the bait.

LOL Don't you get dizzy from all that spinning?

 

[mentalfloss]

I mean just look at all the people he just revealed who take a narrow, one sided view of Castro's death.

If it wasn't intentional, it certainly was a happy accident that benefits him politically and makes the others look ignorant.

 

[Dixie Cup]

I agree with Remington; but both Trudeau and Harper were wrong in going as far as they did. They don't deserve anything other than our condolences to the families.

 

[tay]

I agree with Remington; but both Trudeau and Harper were wrong in going as far as they did. They don't deserve anything other than our condolences to the families.

I don't see where Rem said that.....

To all those Calling out Trudeau on Castro here's Steven Harper on the death of another really swell guy......And they are both wrong......

 

[davesmom]

I agree with @Dixie Cup, it is only right to express condolences to family. But to further praise Castro was a 'foot-in-mouth' thing to do.
Trudeau should know about dictators - his father was one.
Trudeau Sr. didn't imprison or kill those who opposed him. He just threatened to kick them out of his caucus and ruin their political careers if they didn't get in line with his policies.