All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!

[Lucette]

The type of gun used has yet to be identified, but from the reading I've been doing on a facebook page it is some sort of semi-auto hunting gun. There is no reason to assume they are not legal.

Canada doesn't have a history of revolution, civil strife, or large scale Indian wars so ownership of a gun has always been directed at leisure and personal defense than military conflict and this is primarily the differance between the American and Canadian mindsets. The notion that the Canadian government is on the verge of becoming a tyranny is...uncommon to say.

It turn out that these guns may be legal - that one is either an original or copy of a Vietnam gun and the other is a normal hunting gun. Harper pissed off more than a few women, especially in Quebec, when he scrapped the long gun registry. The Opposition bring that up every once in a while where he was so concerned with the privacy of duck hunters and yet he wants to spy on Canadians' internet and phone activity.

Most hand guns in Canada are smuggled from the States. Was speculating in this case.

But note that they brought the guy in alive - with a bit of help from the weather.

Canadian Louis Riel was a school teacher in the United States between Riel Rebellions. So Canada does have some violent history.

Sir John A came up with the slogan "Law, Order and Good Government" to distinguish us from the American slogan of "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" and then left office due to a corruption scandal involving railroad kickbacks. There is image and then there is the truth.

In this case the only color that mattered was the color of his Uniform. Not everything is about race.

Well one American for five Middle Easterners - still seems like they are saying that one is worth five.

Did anyone hear about Harper's monitoring of peaceful protest groups. He even spied on an Idle No More taco and jam fund-raiser.

[7thangel]

Well one American for five Middle Easterners - still seems like they are saying that one is worth five.

it was the taliban that wanted at least 5 released before the u.s. made the release of Bergdahl , the only u.s. armed service member being held, a non-negotiable prerequisite.

[Mark]

He is in jail awaiting trail for major felonies, not a traffic violation

He took a wrong turn. The fact that he had legally licensed guns in the pickup was un-intentional and would not have mattered if they had marked the road correctly.

[Mark]

It is good PR for the President, but makes it harder for the Mexicans to release him becasue of internal Mexican issues. My Brother worked at the US Consulate and days the Mexicans automatic react adversely to perceived bullying from the US.

Again we have to be sooooo careful in how other countries perceive us. I wonder do they do the same? Does any country in the world -before it makes a decision- ask itself 'Will this upset the Americans?'

It's a sad and frustrating thing to be living in a decaying country.

[7thangel]

He took a wrong turn. The fact that he had legally licensed guns in the pickup was un-intentional and would not have mattered if they had marked the road correctly.

he's not legally licensed to carry guns into mexico. hey i know, fox and them say he's innocent and like bergdahl, they don't need no stinkin' trial to figure out the truth. shockingly, mexico doesn't want to listen to them.

Again we have to be sooooo careful in how other countries perceive us. I wonder do they do the same? Does any country in the world -before it makes a decision- ask itself 'Will this upset the Americans?'

It's a sad and frustrating thing to be living in a decaying country

i know, can you imagine, how dare the u.s. recognize a sovereign nation and it's own laws. damn, i miss the good old days. maybe this is a job for seal team six

[thespianphryne]

He took a wrong turn. The fact that he had legally licensed guns in the pickup was un-intentional and would not have mattered if they had marked the road correctly.

No, he *says* he took a wrong turn. And then he tried to escape custody. And then he (arguably) tried to off himself. Reverse the situation - with a Mexican subject across the border, with guns in the US who *says* he's here accidentally, and then tries to escape from custody; and calculate probable outcomes.

The sergeant is awaiting legal adjudication. To make a diplomatic fuss before that makes no sense. There's nothing remarkable about his case except for the fact that he's been seized on as a cog in a political machination.

Of course, the US government should do it's utmost to make sure that his process and outcome is fair. But the US government cannot interfere with the legal process of a sovereign nation.

[Spike-X]

Again we have to be sooooo careful in how other countries perceive us. I wonder do they do the same? Does any country in the world -before it makes a decision- ask itself 'Will this upset the Americans?'

Are you kidding me? You're the snarling dog in the corner we have to constantly tiptoe around.

[Pinsir]

Canadian Louis Riel was a school teacher in the United States between Riel Rebellions. So Canada does have some violent history.

Certainly, obviously the Red River Rebellion, the North West Rebellion, Fenian Raids and so on, all of which had ethnic undertones to them which are never good. But there never were the large scale Indian Wars or outright conquests like their war with Mexico.

Did anyone hear about Harper's monitoring of peaceful protest groups. He even spied on an Idle No More taco and jam fund-raiser.

Harper is a bad guy

[Pinsir]

No, he *says* he took a wrong turn. And then he tried to escape custody. And then he (arguably) tried to off himself. Reverse the situation - with a Mexican subject across the border, with guns in the US who *says* he's here accidentally, and then tries to escape from custody; and calculate probable outcomes.

The sergeant is awaiting legal adjudication. To make a diplomatic fuss before that makes no sense. There's nothing remarkable about his case except for the fact that he's been seized on as a cog in a political machination.

Of course, the US government should do it's utmost to make sure that his process and outcome is fair. But the US government cannot interfere with the legal process of a sovereign nation.

It's not unusual for a government to try and interfere with the legal government of another nation. That Sudanese woman was released by government pressure for instance. The Canadian government regularly lobbys for the release or lighter sentence for Canadian citizens in Gitmo.

[7thangel]

It's not unusual for a government to try and interfere with the legal government of another nation. That Sudanese woman was released by government pressure for instance. The Canadian government regularly lobbys for the release or lighter sentence for Canadian citizens in Gitmo.

this case is not unique, except for the escape attempt and the self-harm. he's not the first vet/soldier to face the same charges. the others spent no more than a month or less before a judge decided to let them go after their hearing.

[Ship]

It's not unusual for a government to try and interfere with the legal government of another nation. That Sudanese woman was released by government pressure for instance. The Canadian government regularly lobbys for the release or lighter sentence for Canadian citizens in Gitmo.

Omar Khadr is the only Canadian ever held at Gitmo and the government most definitely did not lobby on his behalf for a lighter sentence.

[Puppetmaker Grae]

Again we have to be sooooo careful in how other countries perceive us. I wonder do they do the same? Does any country in the world -before it makes a decision- ask itself 'Will this upset the Americans?'

It's been one if the core tenets of British foreign policy since the Suez Crisis in 1956.

[Mark]

It's been one if the core tenets of British foreign policy since the Suez Crisis in 1956.

I don't see much evidence of it. As far as I can tell according to news reports I've seen from abroad (and for that matter many at home) any time the US makes a move in any direction it's usually the wrong move based on a purely selfish motive and the rest of the world would just as soon the US vanish from the face of the Earth.

[Lucette]

Harper is a bad guy

I am sure that you can turn that statement into a paragraph or two. Please do. Different people hate him for different reasons.

Again we have to be sooooo careful in how other countries perceive us. I wonder do they do the same? Does any country in the world -before it makes a decision- ask itself 'Will this upset the Americans?'

Of course we do. Though the same politicians who cater to the American the most have to make a show of pretending to stand up to the Americans. It is true that Americans tend to think less about how others perceive them than we think about how we are perceived by them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02_nC9B0vvU

[Pinsir]

I am sure that you can turn that statement into a paragraph or two. Please do. Different people hate him for different reasons.

I usually just use this a a point of referance:

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Stephen...ns_to_hate_him