Friday digest

- After Cindy Sheehan's visit to Canada where she asked our government to pull troops out of Afghanistan and bequeath that country to the Taliban once again, Jack Layton has said that Iraq war deserters from the US army should be welcomed in Canada because they share our values.

Apparently for the leader of the fourth party, if you don't meet the traditional definition of a refugee (among other things, being in danger of facing torture or persecution in your country of origin - hardly so with army deserters), if you meet an ideological litmus test, you deserve to be welcomed with open arms here in the Great White North.

I thought a primary Canadian value was freedom of thought, opinion and expressionm but for the Party of F, it's clear that having a certain political point of view is all you need to get on the fast track to citizenship.

I'd say that pretty un-Canadian, wouldn't you?

- Socialism seems to be making a comback in some parts of Latin America. And despite the fact that it has never worked anywhere it has been tried, it's still not dead. This author asks why, but I think his conclusions are too high-minded.

The primary reason I think socialism is still alive is this: When things go wrong for people, they like to assign blame. Assigning blame and stoking the fires of resentment are the lifeblood of socialism. It appeals to the darker side of human nature, and that will never go away because it's a lot easier to lash out at "the system" than acknowlege the imperfectibility of life.

Meanwhile, champion of the dispossessed and downtrodden, Fidel Castro, is worth almost a billion.

- My predictions for the second round of the playoffs:

Sharks in 6
Ducks in 7
Devils in 6
Sens in 7