I don't know how to tell you this, paradox, but we stupid, ice-bound Kanukistanis voted in a winger prime minister. A genuine, gawd-fearing, homo-hating (tho he is one), live by the Book psycho-biblical babbler. And he is taking 'How to Be W' classes from Stephen Hadley.
We is so fucked. Please nuke us. Please.
Posted by tempus at January 27, 2007 07:12 AMI've just been informed by Canadians at The Daily Kos that indeed your PM is a winger, and it was a minor miracle he went this far with Arar.
[sigh] I should have known better than to speak for Canadians, more wishful thinking on my part for a world as it should be, not as it is.
Well, if the PM really wanted to get Arar off the no-fly list it could happen. It'd be ugly, but it would happen.
Posted by paradox at January 27, 2007 07:49 AMStory edited, now much more accurate. Thanks!
Posted by paradox at January 27, 2007 07:53 AMParadox, as a Canadian immigrant to the U.S., I appreciate your statements very much. I've been here a long time and I know that there are tens of millions of your co-citizens who are very well-intentioned people, are ashamed and disgusted with this president, and are working very hard to hold him accountable. I think your depiction of Bush is accurate and perspicacious.
Posted by Lexie at January 27, 2007 07:56 AMParadox, Given the Alice in Wonderland qualities of this administration this is no surprise. I love the government's reponse to the Canadians" "He's on the fucking list because we say he's on the fucking list. Thanks for writing."
A genuine, gawd-fearing, homo-hating (tho he is one), live by the Book psycho-biblical babbler.
Have you started to catch us in national debt? Noooo. Do you have over 2/3rds of your citizens without health care or so underinsured that a health catastrophe will bankrupt them? Noooo. Do you have more people per capita incarcerated than any other nation? Nooooo. Have you banned gay marriage? Noooo.
The above are just a few of the reasons why Canada can never really be a great nation. Unless you Canadian Back Bacon-o-fascists start paying $6000. per person per year on healthcare you can always expect to be a 3rd world country with dirt roads and oxen-powered farm implements. And another problem is that getting stoned thing...so.....uhhh, well...if I were going to visit to see some of your quaint native crafts...uhhh, how are the waits at the border crossings this time of year? And what areas should I stay away from so I don't have to smell the Devil's weed? You know, specific locations and areas I should stay away from. Really specific.
Posted by phidipides at January 27, 2007 08:09 AMP-dip, don't go anywhere near Vancouver, BC. I mean it. The shit's really, really bad there.
Posted by iamcoyote at January 27, 2007 08:41 AMAnd the sanctimonious U.S. Ambassador, David Wilkins, had the nerve to lecture Stockwell Day and tell our government to butt out of the case.
Christ, the man is a friend of Bush, had never travelled to Canada except once about 30 years ago (to Niagara Falls, I think), so he's got a really good pulse on how we think and function.
Give us strength.
Paradox, I think Arar got $10-million and $1-million for legals. Harper's apology was long overdue and reports are it was feeble at best. He's a control-freak, like Bush. Lowered the flags in Ottawa for Gerald Ford, but won't do it for our soldiers who die in Afghanistan - go figure. As I've stated before, we are in BIG TROUBLE if we Canadians ever give Harper a majority, as tempus above stated.
Posted by jra at January 27, 2007 09:30 AMP-dip, don't go anywhere near Vancouver, BC. I mean it. The shit's really, really bad there.
God bless you coyote. You saved me from the evil siren song of the Devil's weed. I will certainly plan my trip to Vancou...away from Vancouver, accordingly.
Posted by phidipides at January 27, 2007 10:37 AMWell, if I can save just one person a bad trip, it'll be worth it, p-dip.
Posted by iamcoyote at January 27, 2007 11:01 AMI can't recall the last time I read an American apology to Canadians for anything. Graciously accepted for sure. Let us not forget that Mr. Arar was speciously ratted out by cold war relics in the RCMP. Now the RCMP is an object of humor for most Americans (Dudley Dooright, Nelson Eddy, Sgt. Preston, Yukon King, etc.) but in fact they are a menace to all Canadians in some respects. Even as local police, they have charm problems. Botoxed smile muscles, a penchant to mindless order following, starched minds in other words. But that's our problem. Your problems are much worse: full blown fascism on the horizon. I wish you all every success in pulling off a giant purge. Nothing else will do. War crimes trials, public hangings, the whole works. All your institutions are infected with vulgar brutalism.
PM Harper is an embarrassment to all Canadians. He was elected simply because he was the standing alternative of the day. But notwithstanding his toadying to Bush, at the end of the day even he can't stomach what was done to Arar and countless others by the US torture contracted out scheme. When lowlife poseurs like Harper leave you in the ditch with your lies, things are getting desperate for the Empire of Irrationality.
Posted by anon at January 27, 2007 11:36 AMTravel Poster: Visit Canada. We were smart enough to stay out of Iraq. It might just rub off.
Posted by TIKI AL at January 27, 2007 11:58 AMI think the word you want is "prerogatives," not "perjoratives."
Posted by wasg at January 27, 2007 12:06 PMExplaining Harper's behavior is simple. He would like to survive the next election, and he can spot a sinking ship as fast as any other rat. Don't be surprised if he does a few other things to get in Bush's face. His head would explode if he did all that the diarist suggested, but before exploding it would tell him that he'd improved his chances a great deal with the Canadian electorate, who by and large would like to see George Bush stripped, covered with honey, and tied to the top of the largest available anthill.
Posted by sagesource at January 27, 2007 02:33 PMParadox,
Stop apolgizing for Bush.
The people that deserve the blame are the ones that voted for him. Y'know the endangered white christian males known as Republicans (the ones with the white hoods and sheets in their closets who are still smarting from the South's loss in the Civil War).
He's a symptom of the problem. They're the ones that need to be apologized for. They're the failures. And it's reflected in their choice of candidate. Remember. If you thought education was expensive, one only need look as far as these people and their choice of representatives to see how expensive ignorance is.
Besides. If Boy George resigned, he could acknowledge the mess he's made and be considered less of a failure.
Posted by Alex at January 27, 2007 04:12 PM....as a Canuck I was a bit perturbed to see a smiling Arar in the Globe and Mail this am....like he'd won the lottery....as for Harper.....Dion will mop the floor with this guy....and we will return to well....being Canucks..eh?...jmho
Posted by Goyo at January 27, 2007 05:55 PMWell hand it to the Canadians that if they have a form of government that could force new elections if they decided they didn't like their PM instead of riding it out over 2 terms of ineptitude and disaster.
Posted by Alex at January 27, 2007 09:05 PM