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[PatM]

CFR plan to integrate US, Canada and Mexico

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) has just let the cat out of the bag about what's really behind our trade agreements and security partnerships with the other North American countries. A 59-page CFR document spells out a five-year plan for the "establishment by 2010 of a North American economic and security community" with a common "outer security perimeter."

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Interesting that even the right wingers are starting to understand just how BAD "Free" trade is for everyone except multinational corporations.

[crazymf]

It's about time. I'm not opposed to that at all. One large country, common currency. Better for most, worse for some. I believe it's a step ahead.

[Guest eureka]

Isn't it somewaht ironic that this is now being said. Some of us have been saying it for 15 years or more. I have posted on the Agreements in a few discusisons here, and have pointed to the memos at the time of the negotiations that were clear that the purpose of the Agreements was to integrate the Canadian economy into the American.

Mulroney wanted it.

[Hawk]

LoL well all I can say is, I WILL ALWAYS DRINK MOLSEN CANADIAN

Damn Coors, damn them all

But on a serious note, I really don't have a problem with the USA... I mean, less taxes, better political system, military that can actually defend me (wait, it already has to hahahaa), and a culture of national pride and unity (aaahh, the beauty of the boiling pot)

Frankly, I would love to be Albertan for the rest of my life, without the Feds of course. But if it comes down to it I will merely laugh my @$$ off at the shock of the rest of Canada if we get annexed, and laugh even harder at all the Dems that border jumped after the last US election waking to find themselves in the States again

Its ironic, Eastern Canadians are so anti-American but refuse to have a military capable of even putting up a slight resistance =p Ah well, as I said I wouldn't fight the USA. Its pointless and I have too many friends on both sides of the border

[Melanie_]

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What a nasty article! "The corruption, socialism, poverty" of Canada and Mexico... "massive US foreign aid" to Canada and Mexico... international trade decisions from (gasp) "non American judges"... formerly illegal aliens now able to work in the US legally for a fraction of what Americans would expect to be paid...this is exactly why people don't trust American right wingers. Not a comment on the content, just the negativity and ethnocentricism of the writer.

[cybercoma]

"why do we need a military, we have the United States to protect us."

thanks a lot to anyone who has ever said this.

[canuckcat]

But on a serious note, I really don't have a problem with the USA... I mean, less taxes, better political system, military that can actually defend me (wait, it already has to hahahaa), and a culture of national pride and unity (aaahh, the beauty of the boiling pot)

Their taxes are lower but their services are low as well. It's OK if you are better off in the States, but if you are poor you will suffer the same as in any third world country: unnecessary disease because of lack of treatment; poor nutrition; lack of educational opportunities; fear of violence and violent death and unjust incarceration and prison torture. There is no upward mobility in the US anymore.

Regarding the military, the only country that poses a real threat to Canada is the United States. I'm happy to hear that we are boosting our military - mainly because we will be safer from any hostile actions from the US (in the north, for example). A stronger Canadian military will be a deterent - although even though they spend so much on their forces, they seem exceptionally incompetent in getting anything done - Iraq for example... although they did have a big victory in Grenada a few years back ... There seems to be some special sexual attraction that some the US fighting men have toward Iraqi men - the S&M element probably derives from American culture... and because Iraqi's tend to be darker in skin colour... it fits in well with US history. <br>

As far as them having a culture of national pride, it's little more than brainwashing... from kindergarten on up... they'd salute a red-white-blue table cloth... just like a dog... or a trained pig... Canadians have their moments of national pride, but we seem to have the ability to filtre out fake nationalism... we are good and we know it.

[Toro]

Phyllis Schlafly? C'mon...

[Hawk]

Their taxes are lower but their services are low as well. It's OK if you are better off in the States, but if you are poor you will suffer the same as in any third world country:  unnecessary disease because of lack of treatment; poor nutrition; lack of educational opportunities;  fear of violence and violent death and unjust incarceration and prison torture. There is no upward mobility in the US anymore.

Wha? I hate to break this to you but those conditions also exist in Canada, its just that the CBC doesn't get paid to show you the truth

But hey, I guess your right about the prisons, I mean heck we have criminals that intentionally commit crimes to get thrown back into prison... simply because it is warm and they get treated better than if they were out in the real world... only in Canada do we treat our prisoners better than our law-abiding citizens.

Regarding the military, the only country that poses a real threat to Canada is the United States. I'm happy to hear that we are boosting our military - mainly because we will be safer from any hostile actions from the US (in the north, for example). A stronger Canadian military will be a deterent - although even though they spend so much on their forces, they seem exceptionally incompetent in getting anything done - Iraq for example... although they did have a big victory in Grenada a few years back ... There seems to be some special sexual attraction that some the US fighting men have toward Iraqi men - the S&M element probably derives from American culture... and because Iraqi's tend to be darker in skin colour... it fits in well  with US history.

LoL by 'boosting our military' do you mean the promises of the Liberal government to increase funding? You do know the two are different right? I mean, I still remember Chretien promising the same thing, just before he bought us useless submarines from the Brits =p

You have no comprehension of how destroyed our military is, read up on it. Currently it is estimated that with a full military budget the Canadian Armed Forces would not be fully repaired to post-WW2 status within 60 years.

Read 'Who killed the Canadian Military?' by J.L. Granatstein for some interesting facts and figures. What will also surprise (and probably please) you is that not all the blame is placed on the Liberals Oh but how he bashes Trudeau, makes my heart skip a beat. But he bashes Mulroney as well so its all good.

As far as them having a culture of national pride, it's little more than brainwashing... from kindergarten on up... they'd salute a red-white-blue table cloth... just like a dog... or a trained pig... Canadians have their moments of national pride, but we seem to have the ability to filtre out fake nationalism... we are good and we know it.

We have no national anything, I mean heck our country's name is even a casualty of our mixed society. There is no unity, we are a flimsy coalition of different cultures all beating against each other for supremacy while an ignorant government tries to best one over the other under the pretense of 'protection'.

That is not unity, and that is not nationalism. Our immigrants retain their loyalties to their respective mother/fatherlands and even most of our second+ generation Canadians do the same.

Americans salute the same flag, they have loyalty for the same country, and they don't care what nation you came from because once you are American you are American.

We were good once, long ago. Now, after decades of Liberal rule, we are nothing more than a shell of a country well on our way to complete collapse of the Confederation or Communist revolution (think about it, and look up Marx's 10 Planks of Communism). Neither of which helps Canada in any way.

[PocketRocket]

Some people will kick me for this, and some will pat me on the back.

I don't really care either way.

But I went to Ms Schlafly's website and looked around a bit more, and decided that a reply was needed to her off-the-cuff remarks about Canada, and about our corruption, our poverty, our "population" (whatever THAT was supposed to mean) etc etc etc.

I am simply tired of some of these redneck horses' asses making dispraging comments about MY country whenever it suits their fancy, but completely bouncing off the walls if anyone so much as hints at criticizing the USA or any of it's policies.

So, I wrote a letter to Ms Schlafly via her e-mail address posted at her website.

I thought some of you may enjoy it, so, with no further ado......

Dear Ms Schlafly (If you do indeed read your mail):

I read a recent one of your articles in which you made this statement;

" "Community" means integrating the United States with the corruption, socialism, poverty and population of Mexico and Canada."

I am a Canadian, born and raised, and I take umbrage to this off-the-cuff remark.

Please educate me in regards to exactly how Canada is more "corrupt" that your beloved USA.

Or, for that matter, how we are more poverty-stricken.

I can't recall seeing anyone out begging in the streets here recently, although I did have several people approach me for handouts on my last visit to Detroit.

I feel perfectly safe walking the streets here, even late at night.

How do you feel about taking a midnight stroll through downtown Ney York, or Detroit, or Chicago???

Corrupt??? Look to your own government.

You also mention "socialism" and "population".

Even though Canada may be somewhat more open-minded about many issues than America, we are hardly a "socialist" state.

Perhaps it's because we feel grown-up as individuals, so we don't need Big Brother to tell us who we can marry, or what we can smoke.

"Population"??? Not exactly sure what you meant by that as you seem to have just stuck the word in out of nowhere, so I'll have to surmise.

This may be a crack about the over-population of Mexico, but it is ill-directed against Canada where we still have one of the lowest population rates per square mile of any country in the world.

Not to mention one of the most polite populations. Although what I am about to say will certainly not be a good example of that politeness, but then again, my father always taught me to speak my mind, but only after weighing well the circumstances.

These circumstances do not merit much politeness.

I understand your 80th birthday passed recently. Congratulations, and happy birthday.

I would never be able to tell your age from looking at the pictures on your website.

Perhaps the reason for that youthful appearance is related to your inaccurate assessment of Canada.

What I'm thinking is that perhaps your last face-lift pulled a little too hard on your scalp and cut off the blood circulation to your brain, and so you forgot anything you knew about Canada, or your mind was simply too oxygen-starved to bother to learn about the country that you just slandered.

I normally would not write that kind of remark, but I believe you should know how it feels to have a completely ignorant and rude statement made about you which has no basis in fact.

I suppose in your quest to increase your own popularity you don't care what you say about countries other than your own, but then again that seems to be symptomatic of the Republican ideology of late.

Unfortunately this type of attitude is exactly the sort of blind arrogance which has caused world opinion regarding America to plummet in the past five years or so.

But then this selfsame arrogance is precisely what causes you not to give a damn about what anyone else thinks of you.

At least until you go to vacation in another country and wonder why the locals aren't willing to give you the time of day unless they think you're going to cough up some of those wonderful American dollars.

With any luck, for Canada at least, your little paranoid fantasy will not come to be.

No offense, but I rather enjoy the freedom of thought, speech, and movement Canada affords me far more than I would like being force-fed such close-minded tripe as that being shoveled out in liberal doses in this article, or, for that matter, the propaganda that bamboozled the American people into endorsing Mr Bush's foray into Iraq.

Canada??? Part of the USA???

Thank you for the offer, but no thanks.

Given the choice between living under the governance of people like Bush and the entire Republican party, or living with yoru fictional "corruption, socialism and poverty", I'll take the latter, thank you very much.

Sincerely yours....

    Pocket Rocket

      Sudbury, Ontario (that's a province, not a state), Canada 

(NOTE: I did use my real name in the letter, but for sake of internet anonymity, I will not disclose that here)

So, for those of you who want to spank me, go ahead and get it off your chest.

I'm a big boy and I can take it.

Hell, I might even like it

I suppose also that I should have given it a closer check for typos, of which I now see I made a few, but what the hell, we can't let them think that we're all COMPLETELY perfect up here

[Toro]

Guys, its Phyllis Schlafly!

[PocketRocket]

Guys, its Phyllis Schlafly!

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And your point is????

[Toro]

Guys, its Phyllis Schlafly!

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And your point is????

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It's Phyllis Schlafly!!

C'mon...

[Guest eureka]

Very nicely done, PR. It has been a pastime of mine for some time to send such commentary - and some to certain Canadian barbarians.

[for_liberty]

I liked the comment that someone in this thread said about "free" trade. I do think free trade is a good thing, but not the way it was set up. How can it be free trade if you have beaurorats controling it. I think the whole thing is set up for a world government (i know, i know get out the tin hats). The same thing is being set up in Europe, it started off with "free" trade and on to a common currency and then to a constitution. In my opinion all but a small group International bankers and politicians lose. What we need is smaller government and more control handed back to local governments from the federalies. The federal government should be there as a mediator for provincial disputes and to represnt and defens us Internationaly. Anyways that is my 2 cents. Hope some people agree with me.

[PocketRocket]

Very nicely done, PR. It has been a pastime of mine for some time to send such commentary - and some to certain Canadian barbarians.

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Thanks 'REKA. I don't make a habit of it, but it seemed like the thing to do at the time.

[Yaro]

I liked the comment that someone in this thread said about "free" trade. I do think free trade is a good thing, but not the way it was set up. How can it be free trade if you have beaurorats controling it. I think the whole thing is set up for a world government (i know, i know get out the tin hats). The same thing is being set up in Europe, it started off with "free" trade and on to a common currency and then to a constitution. In my opinion all but a small group International bankers and politicians lose. What we need is smaller government and more control handed back to local governments from the federalies. The federal government should be there as a mediator for provincial disputes and to represnt and defens us Internationaly. Anyways that is my 2 cents. Hope some people agree with me.

The question of course becomes what level becomes the primary level of government? The provincial level? The municipal level? I think there is real value in the notion of the modern city state, with micro manufacturing costs coming more and more inline with macro costs and the rising costs of logistics it may become a defacto reality at some point.

[shoop]

Guys, its Phyllis Schlafly!

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And your point is????

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The point is that Phyllyis Schlafly is a right-wing nut job. Always has been, always will be.

No need to worry though. The U.S. would NEVER open its borders to the free flow of labour from Canada and Mexico.

Maybe read the source before freaking out...

[PocketRocket]

The point is that Phyllyis Schlafly is a right-wing nut job. Always has been, always will be.

You mean like most of the people running the USA???

I could care less who or what she is. She made rude, uninformed comments about Canada.

I felt it behooved me to respond in a similar manner.

I rather enjoyed it. I think I'll continue to do so when it seems appropriate.