Truckah said:
OK I can't let this one slide. First of all, America has been a rogue state since it spat in the face of the UN upon invading Afghanistan.
How can you label us a "rogue state" for a military campaign where your *own* troops
fought side-by-side with ours? The NATO military committee voted unanimously to support the US in Afghanistan, under Article V (mutual defense). All of NATO must therefore be considered "rogue states," including Canada.
Hamid Karzai is the most legitimate leader in Afghan history, his government universally recognized by the international community. By contrast, Taliban rule over Afghanistan drew recognition from only three countries: Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emrites. After 9/11, all three cut diplomatic ties with the Taliban. The Taliban and Al Qaeda were joined at the hip, two faces of the same movement. Even the Iranian theocracy saw the Taliban as extremist! When Ayatollah Khamenei condemns you for taking Islamic militancy too far, your train has long since departed for Crazy Town.
UN mandate has never been the standard by which the United States, or any other nation, entered into war. There have been over 200 armed conflicts since the founding of the UN, only a handful officially blessed by the UN. President Clinton never took the Kosovo action to the UN, because he knew that Russia would veto any military action against Serbia. Instead, he went through NATO, and on the basis of that authorization bombed the Serbs. At any rate,
UN Security Council Resolution 1368 contradicts your claim.
Secondly, don't talk about us benefiting from America when you owe us billions of dollars for our fresh water and electricity, not to mention raping us in the ass over softwood lumber and the Free Trade bullshit. The only benefit we currently get from having the US below us is a few dollars in tourism... oh oops and my job. (I work in the film industry...)
Ok... Just your job, anyone who works for a company which exports to America, uses electric lights rather than candles at night, surfs the Internet for news, porn and hookers...
In 2000, exports contributed 46% of Canada's GDP. Even six years ago, that amounted to over $2 Billion a day! 85% of Canadian exports go to the United States. 59% of Canadian imports came from the United States. Your blase attitude towards the better part of a trillion dollars in annual trade, reminds me of Geiko's talking gecko, "No thanks. I'm so rich, I think I'll keep my seat."
You'll never need allies, just as you don't need trade, because Canada can stand alone.
Perhaps I sound anti American... I am not against the US citizenry - they are being led around by the nose and are not aware that they are slaves.
How could *that* be considered anti-American? Narcissistic and delusional, but anti-American, never.
But what the neo-con government is doing is nothing short of being greedy robber barons. Why can't they send proper armour for the troops? Why can't they properly handle emergency situations in their own country, and for their own people? (Katrina).
Well, that's a complicated question. Bad luck? A mixture of greed, apathy, and incompetence? Let's stay focused on the topic at hand.
And most importantly, why is the most well fed, well educated nation on earth squandering its power in the middle east, a place that has been a religious and social powder keg for 3000 years?
That's an important question. It's why we're talking about it in the first place, if we could get past the name calling and straw man arguments. Set aside the idea that the most powerful nation in human history is a legion of mindless zombies, enthralled to Princes of Darkness. You're fucked, because you can't talk zombies and Dark Princesses out of doing evil. As a zombie, I can know no fear, but I hate to see the living suffer needless anxiety. Constant worry wilts the brain, leaving it insipid and unappetizing. Brains...brains...
Canadian super-brains are nature's tastiest. There's nothing as satisfying as munching on a pineal gland which can peer into alternate, ideal universes. Bursting with distinct flavor, they never follow a herd mentality or parrot empty stereotypes ("Americans are so ignorant, always led by the nose and incapable of analyzing facts. If only they were smart like us. They're so smug, I hate that!")
Speaking for Canadians, just let me remind you all one thing. We are bigger and we are on top... if this was prison, America would be our bitch.
Don't think you can sweet talk me with all that prison sex talk. I ain't that kind of zombie! The cheap kind that is.