Saudi Arabia expells Canadian ambassador

[Zeitgeist]

Freeland's tweets were no different from pre-Twitter communications from democracies regarding human rights concerns in Saudi Arabia.  The truth is that the Kingdom feels empowered after Trump's major anti-Shia move to continue to apply barbaric policies towards protesters.  Anyway, it all gets resolved when Trump gets to touch the orb.  He's so mesmerized by its warm glow that he doesn't see the daggers behinds the backs of his hosts.  There will be repercussions for the current pro-Sunni swing, as there were for Obama's pro Shia swing.  We're seeing an emboldened Saudi Arabia.  The State Department should be calling it out, but they're too scared of more purges from their fascist president.

[SpankyMcFarland]

One of the few countries that can say what it likes about anybody, including China, is Norway. For that you need the per capita equivalent of their trillion dollar sovereign wealth fund. The rest of us have to trim our sails and tell lies or deceive by not telling the truth. However, where we draw the line on such squalid compromises is our business. 

Edited August 8, 2018 by SpankyMcFarland

[Argus]

2 hours ago, betsy said:

A Saudi minister says Canada knows what to do to rectify this.  Big apology?

That isn't going to happen. There is no way the Liberals, given their virtue signalling and sanctimonious puffery about gender equaltity, could possibly apologize for protesting against the unwarranted arrest of female rights advocates.

And the Saudis are vermin anyway, and certainly deserve no apology.

[DogOnPorch]

3 minutes ago, Argus said:

That isn't going to happen. There is no way the Liberals, given their virtue signalling and sanctimonious puffery about gender equaltity, could possibly apologize for protesting against the unwarranted arrest of female rights advocates.

And the Saudis are vermin anyway, and certainly deserve no apology.

 

Vermin that won't be pushed around by virtue signalers with an obvious agenda.

[bush_cheney2004]

Deliberate actions have deliberate consequences....Freeland and her flunkies put Canada's tits in this wringer and now they have to figure a way out.

I am confident that Canada is seeking back channel negotiations to try and fix another Trudeau/Freeland mistake.

[SpankyMcFarland]

7 hours ago, betsy said:

Bottomline:  You don't make demands by tweeting......especially when you've got no leverage.  

 

Not only do you embarrass a nation publicly...... but it is an open challenge that will make a country dig in all the more.  face it.  Tweeting that demand and rebuke was a costly, stupid move.   Kinda like the stupid open-invitation tweet by Trudeau.

 

Lol.  Unconfirmed rumours (mentioned by CBC) says  the Trudeau admin is begging UK to intervene to make a dialogue between Canada and KSA to happen.   Canada sounds  panicky desperate.  Talk about between a hard rock and hard place.  Which will you wanna lose?  Face?  Or, billions?

 

Don't start something you can't finish.  Trudeau is our downfall.

I hope there’s no compromise. The British have humiliated themselves on numerous occasions by dealing with KSA so let’s not be cowards like they are. The family in question in here have substantial Canadian links and are thus different from many other similar situations around the world. It’s always an eye-opener to see how lightly many people hold principles when money is at stake. 

Edited August 8, 2018 by SpankyMcFarland

[bush_cheney2004]

3 minutes ago, SpankyMcFarland said:

I hope there’s no compromise. The British have humiliated themselves on numerous occasions by dealing with KSA so let’s not be cowards like they are. The family in question in here have substantial Canadian links and are thus different from many other similar situations around the world. It’s always an eye-opener to see how lightly many people hold principles when money is at stake. 

 

Great, so will Trudeau cancel the $15 billion LAV contract with the Saudis ?    Stop importing Saudi oil ?   Stop exporting ag products to the KSA ?

Principles vs. money indeed.

[Zeitgeist]

I'm neither a Trudeau fan nor a Liberal, but thank your lucky stars that we have political figures in a free and democratic country standing up for human rights.  Neither the U.S. nor the U.K. are doing it.  You're right, principles will win you greater rewards in the long run.  Besides, Canada has tons of oil and a trade deficit with the Saudis.  Yes, some universities will miss out on some international fees, but there's a very high demand for those international placements.  We certainly shouldn't be fawning over a society that treats women like possessions and still uses lashings and amputations as punishments.  Saudi Arabia imports most of its high-skilled workers.  Low skilled workers often come from places like Palestinian territories and are treated as second class citizens.  The Saudis are constantly placated and have lived a gold plated existence because they happened to have been born in a country with oil beneath it, and that's without getting into the turmoil of Al Qaeda, Yemen, and its continuous double dealing.

Wikipedia on the Saudi intervention in Yemen:

UN's Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen and Human Rights Watch said that air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition on Saada city in Yemen were in breach of international law.^[138][139] On 1 July UN declared for Yemen a "level-three" emergency – the highest UN emergency level – for a period of six months.^[140][141] Human rights groups repeatedly blamed the Saudi-led military coalition for killing civilians and destroying health centers and other infrastructure with airstrikes.^[142] The de facto blockade left 78% (20 million) of the Yemeni population in urgent need of food, water and medical aid. Aid ships are allowed, but the bulk of commercial shipping, on which the country relies, is blocked.^[143] In one incident, coalition jets prevented an Iranian Red Crescent plane from landing by bombing Sana'a International Airport's runway, which blocked aid delivery by air.^[144] As of 10 December, more than 2,500,000 people had been internally displaced by the fighting.^[145] Many countries evacuated more than 23,000 foreign citizens from Yemen.^{[146][147][148]} More than 1,000,000 people fled Yemen for Saudi Arabia,^[149]Djibouti, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan and Oman.^[148] The war has caused a humanitarian crisis, including a famine which has threatened over 17 million people, as well as an outbreak of cholera which has infected hundreds of thousands.

Edited August 8, 2018 by Zeitgeist

[DogOnPorch]

19 minutes ago, bush_cheney2004 said:

Deliberate actions have deliberate consequences....Freeland and her flunkies put Canada's tits in this wringer and now they have to figure a way out.

I am confident that Canada is seeking back channel negotiations to try and fix another Trudeau/Freeland mistake.

 

Perhaps they can get Alex Jones and a few others banned that might complain...

 

[bush_cheney2004]

13 minutes ago, Zeitgeist said:

I'm neither a Trudeau fan nor a Liberal, but thank your lucky stars that we have political figures in a free and democratic country standing up for human rights.  Neither the U.S. nor the U.K. are doing it.  You're right, principles will win you greater rewards in the long run.

 

But a $15 billion defence contract to export very lethal LAVs to the Saudis for domestic and external use (e.g. Yemen)  is just fine in the short term, right ?

Gotta keep those Liberal votes in Ontariario !

[Zeitgeist]

Don't fix it because it's not a mistake.  If anything, much more criticism needs to be leveled towards the Saudis by more democracies.   Canada shouldn't have sold them LAV's, though those contracts were signed before many of these events unfolded in Yemen.

Edited August 8, 2018 by Zeitgeist

[bush_cheney2004]

1 minute ago, Zeitgeist said:

Don't fix it because it's not a mistake.  If anything, much more criticism needs to be leveled towards the Saudis by more democracies.   

 

Then why haven't the Saudi defence contracts been canceled by the Trudeau government ?

This was an issue before Freeland screwed up on Twitter.

[DogOnPorch]

2 minutes ago, bush_cheney2004 said:

 

But a $15 billion defence contract to export very lethal LAVs to the Saudis for domestic and external use (e.g. Yemen)  is just fine in the short term, right ?

Gotta keep those Liberal votes in Ontariario !

 

I'm sure all these folks are heretics in need of a Canadian LAV giving them the smack-down any unbeliever deserves.  

[Zeitgeist]

Those contracts were signed before we knew how the equipment might be deployed.  They should be canceled.

[DogOnPorch]

Just now, Zeitgeist said:

Those contracts were signed before we knew how the equipment might be deployed.  They should be canceled.

 

How did you figure they'd be employed?

[bush_cheney2004]

1 minute ago, Zeitgeist said:

Those contracts were signed before we knew how the equipment might be deployed.  They should be canceled.

 

So why aren't Trudeau and Freeland saying so....on Twitter !?

This is the same kind of half-assed, virtue signaling that they are famous for, and why the "world" is not coming to their defence.

[Zeitgeist]

1 minute ago, DogOnPorch said:

 

How did you figure they'd be employed?

You do realize that for a while the U.S. and U.K. were supplying the Saudis and their coalition partners involved in the anti-Shia action in Yemen?

[DogOnPorch]

Just now, Zeitgeist said:

You do realize that for a while the U.S. and U.K. were supplying the Saudis and their coalition partners involved in the anti-Shia action in Yemen?

 

I really don't care if Islamic Schisms lead to centuries of bloody war. When it starts affecting Canada and the US...then I care.

But let's not pretend these LAVs were envisioned to be clearing snow from Saudi runways or something else they weren't designed for.

[Zeitgeist]

8 minutes ago, bush_cheney2004 said:

 

So why aren't Trudeau and Freeland saying so....on Twitter !?

This is the same kind of half-assed, virtue signaling that they are famous for, and why the "world" is not coming to their defence.

bush_cheney2004, you know as well as I do that you will criticize Trudeau/Freeland no matter how great or how little the Twitter messaging because you are ideologically opposed to them and refuse to see anything of value.  It's the same attitude that has polarized the U.S. into two tribes that simply oppose and cancel anything the other side does, right or wrong.  Also, this isn't about Trudeau/Freeland; it's about Canada.  Recognize when Canada is in the right, or do you hate Canada?  Believe it or not, standing up against Wahhabism and other forms of extremism and oppression is in U.S.'s interest. 

Edited August 8, 2018 by Zeitgeist

[DogOnPorch]

1 minute ago, Zeitgeist said:

standing up against Wahhabism and other forms of extremism and oppression. 

 

Oh please...the Liberals kiss so much Islamic rear-end that they're getting a bad rash.

[bush_cheney2004]

1 minute ago, Zeitgeist said:

bush_cheney2004, you know as well as I do that you will criticize Trudeau/Freeland no matter how great or how little the Twitter messaging because you are ideologically opposed to them and refuse to see anything of value.  It's the same attitude that has polarized the U.S. into two tribes that simply oppose and cancel anything the other side does, right or wrong.  Also, this isn't about Trudeau/Freeland; it's about Canada.  Recognize when Canada is in the right, or do you hate Canada?  Believe it or not, standing up against Wahhabism and other forms of extremism and oppression. 

 

Trudeau and Freeland are getting plenty of criticism for this and many other screw ups regardless of what I think....from other Canadians !

Canada is not in the right when it has a Saudi national locked up in Laval and separating his family...that's only bad when Trump does it.

Wanna stand up to extremism ?   Close the U.S. border and stop all trade with the evil 'muricans.   Be brave !!!

[Zeitgeist]

Right, so this is where you reveal your Islamophobia.  The issue is not mainstream Muslims.  No, that is really the issue for you, isn't it?  The Muslim ban showed the same racist attitude.

[DogOnPorch]

1 minute ago, bush_cheney2004 said:

 

Trudeau and Freeland are getting plenty of criticism for this and many other screw ups regardless of what I think....from other Canadians !

Canada is not in the right when it has a Saudi national locked up in Laval and separating his family...that's only bad when Trump does it.

Wanna stand up to extremism ?   Close the U.S. border and stop all trade with the evil 'muricans.   Be brave !!!

 

As I mentioned before...right after Daddy fills the gas tank in Bellingham.

 

[DogOnPorch]

1 minute ago, Zeitgeist said:

Right, so this is where you reveal your Islamophobia.  The issue is not mainstream Muslims.  No, that is really the issue for you, isn't it?  The Muslim ban showed the same racist attitude.

 

Islam is an ideology religion...not a race. Even white folks can be Muslim.

[bush_cheney2004]

Looks like Freeland's tweet debacle has knocked Trump from the top of Canadian headlines.....good job Chrystia !   

Did she learn to do this at Harvard ?

Edited August 8, 2018 by bush_cheney2004