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bebe: Does simply planting a flag wipe out any previous land rights? smallc: No, but it does bring (in this case) the land under the sovereignty of the Crown. bebe: According to whom? So ... according to the [british] Crown, when the Crown planted a flag on Canada, it wiped out aboriginal claim to the land. So ... according to me, when I plant a flag on your lawn, it wipes out your claim to the land.

I don't really agree. I think most of us just want to 'live and let live'. However, the greedy do manage to grab the power along with the money. Can we change that by changing our view of wealth? Perhaps seeing hoarding of wealth as the anti-social disease it is? Then the Forbes 500 list becomes tainted. I'd love to see that!

So you are suggesting we not recognize the "treaties signed 300 years ago" that established the boundaries of Canada? The present border originated with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which ended the war between Great Britain and the separating colonies which would form the United States. The Jay Treaty of 1794 created the International Boundary Commission, which was charged with surveying and mapping the boundary. Westward expansion of both British North America and the United States saw the boundary extended west along the 49th parallel from the Northwest Angle at Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains under the Convention of 1818. We can't have it both ways.

I agree with that. According to one who was there, the police formed a line at Spadina to direct the march north, away from the 'fence'. However, once 'certain protesters dressed in black' approached, the police moved their line south on Spadina to let the protesters go south toward the fence, then they blocked them. It sure sounded weird to me ... like entrapment. Then the whole march kind of fell apart. I do think a full and independent inquiry is needed.

Good point! But isn't the issue not greed itself, but what we value? Do we value excess wealth or disdain it? If we disdain excess wealth ... can we make it obsolete?

In theory, I agree with taking issues directly to the people. In reality, though, how many people are well-informed enough to make an educated decision? And how do we carry out educational processes without having them biased in one way or another? Direct democracy is an attractive concept ... but how do you make it work well?

Unfortunately, the passports from their sovereign nation, issued by Haudenosaunee, the native word for the Iroquois Confederacy, do not contain the proper radio-frequency identification chips. The passports, in fact, are just made of paper, if you can imagine that. Read more: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/bob_ford/20100716_Bob_Ford__The_tangled_story_of_the_Iroquois_lacrosse_team.html#ixzz0u47ASqie In a statement, the U.K. Borders Agency said: "Like all those seeking entry into the U.K., they must present a document that we recognize as valid to enable us to complete our immigration and other checks." The British government's decision was announced hours after the U.S. cleared the team for travel on a one-time waiver at the behest of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. U.S. authorities initially had refused to accept the passports issued by the Iroquois Confederacy, which lack new security features now required for border crossings because of post-Sept. 11 crackdowns on document fraud and illegal immigration. ... New U.S. passports contain embedded radio-frequency identification chips, similar to the ones inside highway toll transponders. The Iroquois documents look similar to U.S. passports but are emblazoned with a Haudenosaunee insignia featuring a tree and animal emblems. The simple blue booklet is made with thinner paper than U.S. passports, has no high-tech chips and some information is handwritten. At least four Indian nations, including the Kootenai, of Idaho; the Pasqua Yaqui, of Arizona; the Tohono O'odham Nation, of Arizona and Mexico; and the Seneca, of New York, have been working with federal officials to develop ID cards that meet new security guidelines, but would be good only for arrivals in the U.S. by land or sea, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Frichner, who also is the North American Regional Representative to the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, said the Iroquois have almost completed a transition to higher security passports. The process has cost the six-nation confederacy more than $1.5 million, she said. http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/Update-Iroquois-Nationals-Lacrosse-Team-returns/rrAG8HtNx0i4HWLs7-KWKw.cspx The Iroquois have used their own passports in the past, but State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the new dispute can be traced to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which went into effect last year. The new rules require, among other things, that Americans carry passports or high-tech documents to cross the country's borders. http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/Update-Iroquois-Nationals-Lacrosse-Team-returns/rrAG8HtNx0i4HWLs7-KWKw.cspx Sure sounds to me that the issue is the lack of "new security features", since they've been used for international travel before. I wonder how the Canadian team slipped through ..? Maybe a match between the tournament winners and the Iroquois Nationals, on their own turf, is in order.

According to whom?

Does anyone mind if I return to the topic? The form of "government" I would like to see would serve interests and needs of the people, not the corporations. I'm not anti-capitalist as capitalism is essentially free enterprise and I'm all for that. However, I'm opposed to megacorporations swallowing up everything in their paths including our governments. Anybody have any idea how to reverse the process?

According to whom? (The 'Crown'?) Isn't that only one side of the story? Does simply planting a flag wipe out any previous land rights? If so, then I'll plant my flag in your front yard! jk

According to wiki, Canada's passports aren't the updated computer-chip variety yet either: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biometric_passport "In the 2008 Federal Budget, Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance announced the electronic passport will be introduced in 2011. Passport Canada began a pilot project in 2009 for special and diplomatic passport applicants." BUT THE CANADIAN TEAM IS OVER THERE PLAYING LACROSSE! http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_south/victorianews/sports/98704794.html "Canada is 2-0 in elite pool, round robin play at the 2010 World Lacrosse Championships in Manchester, England. "Canada plays Australia today (July 19) and Germany on Monday. Germany has been promoted due to the unfortunate absence of the Iroquois Nationals (http://bit.ly/bw9g2M)."

It's very mysterious that they weren't arrested when donning masks, or before. The police and CSIS have been badmouthing and harassing anarchists for months ... but they didn't arrest them ... ??? Very strange. Of course, it is possible that the ones donning masks were all police agentes provocateurs. Let's not forget ... the ONLY 'protester' at the Quebec summit (2001?) who threatened and tried to instigate trouble was ... wait for it ... a black clad undercover RCMP. Yes, it will be a very 'mysterious' thing if none of the troublemakers, the so-called Black Bloc Anarchists were arrested and charged. Very 'mysterious' indeed!! (NOT!)