To the Nth Degree

At half past nine on the ninth day of the ninth month.


Fidel Castro admits what everyone with a brain stem knew all along- communism doesn't work:

Jeffrey Goldberg, a writer for the Atlantic Monthly magazine, wrote in a blog that he asked Castro, 84, if Cuba's model -- Soviet-style communism -- was still worth exporting to other countries and he replied, "The Cuban model doesn't even work for us anymore."

How many lives did it take for that bloodthirsty monster to figure that out? Or was it the shocking lack of money and opportunity a free market brings?


Go to hell, Fidel, is my point.


A lackey with a famous name cries at this pronouncement.

Related: How right!

Re: Photos accompanying front-page story, Health Care: What Would Jack Bauer Do?, Sept. 8.

I was amused by the side-by-side photos of "Canadian political icon Tommy Douglas" and his grandson, Keefer Sutherland, who, as Jack Bauer on the TV show 24, was an "icon" of another kind, though not a Canadian one. In fact, I'm amused by the disparity in the type of individual whom Canadians and Americans choose to venerate.

Americans tend to reach further back into their history for icons: George Washington, father of the country, who cut down that proverbial cherry tree; Betsy Ross, who sewed the American flag; Davey Crockett, frontiersman, symbol of rugged individualism; "Honest" Abe Lincoln; born in a humble log cabin, fought the scourge of slavery so all Americans could be free. Of course, we here in Canada have our own "heroes," but compared to the American ones they're a rather bloodless, uninspiring bunch. Off the top of my head, I can think of three: Tommy Douglas, rugged, er, collectivist father of socialized medicine; Dr. Norman Bethune, an early champion of socialized medicine and army surgeon to Mao Tse Tung, the leader who starved millions of his people and is perhaps the biggest mass-murderer in history; and Pierre E. Trudeau, father of the fatuous social doctrine of multiculturalism which manages the neat feat of viewing immigrants in both a self-loathing and a condescending manner (traits which, not co-incidentally, could also describe Trudeau himself ). Sheesh. Where can a country go to buy a new set of icons?

Kim Jong-Il is on his last flabby legs and he knows it:

North Korea has never been known for the spellbinding quality of its propaganda. So it is not surprising the latest catch-phrase employed to bolster support for the world's only communist monarchy is "Computer Numerical Control" or "CNC."

The phrase, which has been popping up in official news broadcasts and on propaganda posters and factory bulletin boards for more than a year, is a peculiar code for Kim Jong-un, dictator Kim Jong-il's youngest son and supposed heir.

"CNC" is supposed to be the key to North Korea's future greatness.

It is meant to convey concepts of youth, modernity and the implementation of cutting-edge technology to transform the Stalinist state's moribund economy.

It is also supposed to be a reassuring reference to sophisticated duplication and reproduction techniques that use computer-aided design to allow a few workers to mass-produce standardized goods.

The idea is that a new generation of workers can faithfully replicate North Korea's home-grown Juche ideology of self-reliance by following the dictates of "computer numerical control" under the nearly divine guidance of Kim Jongun, the country's new "Young General."

Today, the phrase will likely be employed to signal a crucial transfer of power as Kim Jong-il is expected to officially designate Kim Jong-un as his successor when he opens the largest political gathering in North Korea in nearly 44 years.

Obama cries foul whenever Republicans point out his total failure as a president:

With his approval ratings dropping and Democrats at risk of losing control of Congress this November, President Barack Obama yesterday launched a campaign-style attack on Republicans he accused of putting politics before the country's best interest.

Casting the upcoming midterm elections as another contest of "fear versus hope," Mr. Obama told an Ohio audience the GOP wants his economic-revival efforts to fail because it believes that will return the party to power.

In closing, happy birthday, GV.