if i had to worry about what every impotant, pathetic, whiney, little girlyman third world economy like canaDUH had to say about the USA... i'd prolly fart more!!!
Posted on 03/23/2005 5:50:49 PM PST by quidnunc
Every Canadian student of foreign policy knows the story, but few Americans remember. In 1965, at the height of the Vietnam War buildup, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson suggested to a college audience in Philadelphia that the United States stop bombing North Vietnam in the pursuit of a negotiated settlement.
President Lyndon B. Johnson was not amused. When the courtly Canadian leader stopped by for a visit to Camp David, Mr. Johnson grabbed him by the lapels and accused him, in so many words, of soiling his rug.
Emotions are a bit lower now, and President Bush is likely to be a lot more polite on Wednesday when he greets Prime Minister Paul Martin, along with President Vicente Fox of Mexico, at his ranch in Crawford, Tex. But things could be tense nonetheless, with differences over trade and Mr. Bush's planned missile defense system adding to past strains over Iraq.
There is nothing really new about that. With the possible exception of France, no traditional ally has been more consistently at odds with the United States than has Canada.
Canada refused to take part in President Truman's Berlin airlift, withheld full support from President Kennedy during the Cuban missile crisis and retains diplomatic and trade relations with Fidel Castro to this day. Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau made a distancing from Washington a centerpiece of his foreign policy, going so far as to welcome draft dodgers during the Vietnam War. Ottawa criticized President Ronald Reagan's interventions in Central America and more recently split with the United States by pushing vigorously for the International Court of Justice, an international land-mine treaty and the Kyoto climate control accord.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Hey America. I know there’s been some friction between you and the rest of the world lately and I think that’s too bad. Given that this is the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, I’d like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind.
1) How come so many of your citizens thought that Saddam Hussein had something to do with 9/11?
2) How come so many of your citizens know so little about other places? I’ve met a lot of Americans and only three of them knew that Ottawa was the capital of Canada, and most of them had college degrees.
3) How come so many of your citizens know nothing about the history of US foreign and covert policy? Why aren’t they taught about American involvement in places like El Salvador, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Iraq, Iran, and a very long list of other places around the world?
4) How come most of your citizens supported the invasion of Iraq? Is it because they didn’t have all the facts or because they just wanted to see someone pay for 9/11 and were open to suggestions?
5) After the world found out that there weren’t any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and President Bush announced that he was calling off the search for them, why didn’t your citizens demand that President Bush be impeached? After all, they tried to impeach Bill Clinton for lying about getting a blow job — and no one was even killed because of that.
6) How come some Americans think these sorts of questions are bad?
7) How come your citizens don’t care that the CIA and the Department of Defense don’t have to disclose information to them, even though the Constitution says that they do?
8) You make more weapons than anyone else in the world. How come America?
9) How come it’s legal to own an assault rifle but two men or two women can’t get married?
10) Why do you spend more money on defense than education and healthcare?
Thanks for your time America.
(Matthew Good in Mblog, Marchn 19, 2005)
To Read This Article Click Here
A Canadian guy, Matthew Good, has some questions for America. Well, I've got some answers:
1) How come so many of your citizens thought that Saddam Hussein had something to do with 9/11?
That would be because he did. By invading two countries during his reign, he forced a situation where the US would need to maintain a presence in the region. Our presence, in Saudi Arabia, is one of the key problems that bin Laden had with us. But you knew that. I mean, you're Canadian and therefore intellectually superior to Americans. I don't need to explain to you that war is complicated. 9/11 was an event in a series of events that led to war with Iraq. Just like the killing of the Archduke Ferdinand launched World War I without being the only reason for that war. See?
2) How come so many of your citizens know so little about other places? I’ve met a lot of Americans and only three of them knew that Ottawa was the capital of Canada, and most of them had college degrees.
How come people can only get away with making these kinds of ignorant observations about America and nowhere else? Do people in Mexico know more about Ottawa than Americans? Have you met people from Europe with an abundance of Ottawa knowledge? Maybe you just meet stupid Americans. They do exist, I bet with the same frequency as stupid Canadians. It might be time to switch up your social circle.
3) How come so many of your citizens know nothing about the history of US foreign and covert policy? Why aren’t they taught about American involvement in places like El Salvador, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Iraq, Iran, and a very long list of other places around the world?
Again with the idiotic generalizations. I'm starting to feel insulted, Matthew, like you don't like us or something. I know plenty about American involvement in all of those places. Some of the involvement I cheer, some I do not. Did America side with bad people sometimes? Sure. Would I rather Communism was the dominant world philosophy right now? Yeah, not so much. Am I happy America kicked a little ass to proxy fight the Russians? You betcha. But hey, a question for you: why is it that in depth knowledge of covert American operations, particularly in central America, seems to be the signature education of America-haters?
4) How come most of your citizens supported the invasion of Iraq? Is it because they didn’t have all the facts or because they just wanted to see someone pay for 9/11 and were open to suggestions?
See, it's the way you're asking the questions that is the problem. It makes you come off as really full of yourself and kind of hateful and it makes me want to be mean to you. I'm guessing you and your friends get a big kick out of the 'stupid America' shtick but someone needs to tell you: your obsession with us gets a little old. We supported the Iraq war for many, many reasons. If you haven't heard of them, it's because you've chosen not to hear them.
5) After the world found out that there weren’t any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and President Bush announced that he was calling off the search for them, why didn’t your citizens demand that President Bush be impeached? After all, they tried to impeach Bill Clinton for lying about getting a blow job — and no one was even killed because of that.
See, it's nice that you give us a glimpse into your ignorance of us. Clinton was impeached for lying in a sexual harrassment suit. As for the weapons, personally I am concerned about their absence because I fear they will find us before we find them. I understand calling off the search. Our purpose is bigger than the weapons.
6) How come some Americans think these sorts of questions are bad?
It's not that the questions are bad, just that you come off as a pompous … well, it's a family blog, so let's just leave it at 'pompous'. You like feeling some kind of superiority and it shows in your questions. Again, I understand your jealousy and inferiority complex. If I had ended up in Ottawa instead of New York, I might've felt the same.
7) How come your citizens don’t care that the CIA and the Department of Defense don’t have to disclose information to them, even though the Constitution says that they do?
Dude, does Canada even have a constitution? Why are you so crazed with us, our laws and our traditions? What information should I be seeking from the CIA or DOD? We have representative governement so that I don't have to request information or keep up with various governmental agencies. Most people have lives, kids, car payments, responsibilities. Sorry we don't have the leisure time to wonder what the CIA is doing today.
8) You make more weapons than anyone else in the world. How come America?
Oh Canada. My father used to say to me 'I do things for you that you don't even know I'm doing'. It's exactly like that here. You guys want to exist as if there is no evil in the world, as if even in our lifetime we didn't see the ideology of evil (that would be Communism for those that aren't sure) spread and take over. You want to live like no one will ever hurt you. And you're lucky. You do get to live that way. But you shouldn't forget that your protection is something you never need to think about because your neighbor to the south has got your back.
9) How come it’s legal to own an assault rifle but two men or two women can’t get married?
Does that pass for intelligent thinking in Canada? In America we call that a non sequitur (look it up!). What does one thing have to do with another? It's like my asking 'How come Canada has gay marriage but no real economy?' I mean, both are legitimate questions but one has nothing to do with the other.
10) Why do you spend more money on defense than education and healthcare?
Because defense is nearly entirely paid for by the federal government while state governments pay into healthcare and education.
If you need to know anything else, feel free to ask. We Americans are just friendly like that.
(Karol in Alarming News, March 23, 2005)
To Read This Article Click Here
Increase the distance.
--Boot Hill
Good responses.
Canada is morally, politically and economically corrupt.
I live there.
Concan stands for conservative canadian.
Our only hope is that the US widens their influence (by media, industry, policies) into Canada and stops the b.s. that's called Canuckistan.
The pioneers that ventured out into this great nation of Canada would turn in their graves, seeing what their kids turned this country into.
One snotty and insignificant lieberals opinion ...move on, we have bigger fish to fry. Keep up the pressure though, it is working, slow but sure.
Are you suggesting a DMZ?:)
N time Bloc Quebecois (or whoever the heck it is) puts Quebec independence up for a vote, you guys should gladly fund their efforts.
"Canada refused to take part in President Truman's Berlin airlift, withheld full support from President Kennedy during the Cuban missile crisis and retains diplomatic and trade relations with Fidel Castro to this day. "
Canada also stole American's property by dealing with Cuba.
No elected official would press this theft.
Canada is only 32 million people.
Guess what? We have plenty of trees and too many cattle here in the USA.
Thusly, the PM pounds sand next week and beyond.
I know some people who should immigrate there. I think we should have a Canada and USA exchange program. They can send us their conservatives, and we can send them our liberals. And we'll see how long it takes for their system to collapse and after that we can point and laugh.
Hasnt' worked so far :)))
They want to go but not take their deficit with them.
You guys want another state? Quebec is worse than Florida though..
Excellent response.
Oh Lyndon B. Johnson? You mean, the president who started the Vietnam war? Really? Wasn't he a Democrat? I thought it was alll Dicks fault.
Which city is the capital of Canada? That's a lot more important to Canadians than it is to most other people who don't play trivia games.
Dear Matthew,
Are all Canadian socialists so invincibly stupid and ignorant? Your questions are so tendentious, prejudiced, and idiotic that they are not worth my time, except to note that this one is based upon total ignorance of US history and the US Constitution:
"How come your citizens don’t care that the CIA and the Department of Defense don’t have to disclose information to them, even though the Constitution says that they do?"
Since the CIA and the Department of Defense did not even exist before the post-WWII period, it's more than a little bit difficult to find them mentioned in the US Constitution. There are certainly legitimate issues to debate about classification policies, Congressional oversight, and public disclosure, but the wording of your silly questions show that you would not be sufficiently knowledgeable or thoughtful to understand or contribute to such a debate.
"you guys should gladly fund their efforts"
I want to see Bush go to Montreal and proclaim "Vive le Quebec Libre!"
I've seen some statesmanlike comments about official decisions made by the Canadian government, but that's routine and proper.
I won't go so far as to suggest it's official Canadian policy, but it's certainly routine procedure for the liberals in Canadian government to not only be insulting to America, but to go out of their way to do it.
We've noticed, and it doesn't reflect well on elected officials in your country. Our President doesn't even insult North Korea, for cripes sakes, except in one reference which is unquestionably true to the rest of the world. That government is evil and it's not wrong to designate it as such.
That Canadian politicians have an even worse opinion of us, at least judged by their language, is not a good thing.
What, only ten questions?!
--Boot Hill
We don't want Quebec, but we'll take Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and BC.
if i had to worry about what every impotant, pathetic, whiney, little girlyman third world economy like canaDUH had to say about the USA... i'd prolly fart more!!!
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