As a Canadian I remain troubled by the admiration of long-time Prime Minister Trudeau for both Castro and Mugabe. I also remember educated North Africans in Montreal with their admiration of Gaddafi.
It is also troubling to see that public outrage about Mugabe only becomes international and widespread when reports emerge of baby elephants being sent to North Korea's dictator, Kim.
I say "baby elephants" and not "elephant calves" because we now know more of the extent of elephant self-awareness and the relationships among elephants. The elephant is now known to pass the "mirror" self-recognition test.
The plight of these two little pachyderms is very sad, but pales beyond any comparison with the plight of the populations of both peoples living under these dictators.
The great irony may be the recent reports that tigers are doing well in the Korean DMZ: perhaps this can be a model for many "thick" or "thicker" borders between some nations and states.
An downside to the increase in human life-expectancy is that any tyrant who gets an early start can now look forward to 50 years or more of power. We appear to have nothing more to hope for than the demise of both Mugabe and Kim. There likely will be no "velvet revolution" for North Korea.
The last time I listened to a Canadian admirer of Mugabe was also in Montreal - an educated and well-travelled Québecoise sang his praises.
Puzzle: the disgraced opposition leader in Turkey had been in his role for more than 20 years.
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