Writing this I feel my inner Chinese greasy uncle coming out after he spent an afternoon at the footbath.....nonetheless there is some truth woven in.....I did a bit of the Trump weave......
When I was a cadet 99 years ago, we used to put six of us in a rented car and drive to Montreal, to St. Catherine Street, for entertainment and strong beer — legal at age 18 back then. Relations between our two countries seemed almost brotherly. Yet RMC and CMR never impressed me. They were nothing like the French Foreign Legion — fighters of exceptional quality. They seemed more like National Guard in calibre.
It is indisputable that Canada has underpaid its NATO commitment by a full percentage point for many years — amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars. Like any family, this relationship is complex and multifaceted.
The U.S. Gini coefficient is 33% higher. In Rust Belt cities like Buffalo, people see that inequality, and resentment is human and inevitable.
But the real difference is this: 89% of Canada is Crown land. Let us not hide from history — neither Canada nor the United States was founded with the slightest respect for its original inhabitants......unless you call genocide respect. What came easily can depart just as easily, I suppose.
Since Canada cannot meaningfully defend its Crown land, I would propose this: set aside all non-Crown land as a reservation for its people — and place the vast Crown territories under the control of a shared continental defence arrangement. If Canada wishes to keep its sovereignty over lands it cannot defend, then let them pay tribute, in the old Chinese manner — fairly, fully, and without discount — for the protection they receive.
The First Nations of Canada will tell you that the land was taken anyway. The law of the jungle remains: you hold what you can defend. The Canadians have grown arrogant. Let them pay their share of the NATO bill, and let brotherhood be restored through fairness rather than free protection.
If Canada rejects the proposal......send the 82nd........Crown Land is now US territory 100%.......If we feel charitable we might respect their non Crown Land boundaries as well as they did to First Nations Reservations in history. Any US citizen that wants a homestead of 160 acres on Crown land should be allowed to apply free of charge. Give a bit of that enormous crown land back to the Inuit, First Nations and the Metis. Restore them as first class citizens in their own society and let the remaining Canadians cluster inside of the non Crown land like an Indian reservation. As the saying goes....Hung by their own petard......
A lifetime supply of maple syrup in lieu of my Doge and tariff checks isn't the worst outcome.....
For the record I really wish someone would revive that hoochie GreatSatansGirlfriend. Bibi has certainly has been effective at playing pin the tail on the donkey with the title LittleSatan.
If you think Trump, Stephen Miller, Kegsbreath and Little Marco have the slightest respect for international borders....I have some ice cream you can sell to eskimos. They are probably thinking Madura 2.0 if Carney doesn't sign a one sided agreement.
I heard Reverend Barber speak tonight about march to the polls. He invoked John Lewis from my home state who I met on several occasions. Over the years I have been inspired by many others including Gore Vidal, James Baldwin, Ed Koch, Arundhadi Roy, Shantaram, Papillon, Tagore, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. These are the people who have captured my spirit and loyalty. I hope to live a life true to their courage.
Writing this I feel my inner Chinese greasy uncle coming out after he spent an afternoon at the footbath.....nonetheless there is some truth woven in.....I did a bit of the Trump weave......
When I was a cadet 99 years ago, we used to put six of us in a rented car and drive to Montreal, to St. Catherine Street, for entertainment and strong beer — legal at age 18 back then. Relations between our two countries seemed almost brotherly. Yet RMC and CMR never impressed me. They were nothing like the French Foreign Legion — fighters of exceptional quality. They seemed more like National Guard in calibre.
It is indisputable that Canada has underpaid its NATO commitment by a full percentage point for many years — amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars. Like any family, this relationship is complex and multifaceted.
The U.S. Gini coefficient is 33% higher. In Rust Belt cities like Buffalo, people see that inequality, and resentment is human and inevitable.
But the real difference is this: 89% of Canada is Crown land. Let us not hide from history — neither Canada nor the United States was founded with the slightest respect for its original inhabitants......unless you call genocide respect. What came easily can depart just as easily, I suppose.
Since Canada cannot meaningfully defend its Crown land, I would propose this: set aside all non-Crown land as a reservation for its people — and place the vast Crown territories under the control of a shared continental defence arrangement. If Canada wishes to keep its sovereignty over lands it cannot defend, then let them pay tribute, in the old Chinese manner — fairly, fully, and without discount — for the protection they receive.
The First Nations of Canada will tell you that the land was taken anyway. The law of the jungle remains: you hold what you can defend. The Canadians have grown arrogant. Let them pay their share of the NATO bill, and let brotherhood be restored through fairness rather than free protection.
If Canada rejects the proposal......send the 82nd........Crown Land is now US territory 100%.......If we feel charitable we might respect their non Crown Land boundaries as well as they did to First Nations Reservations in history. Any US citizen that wants a homestead of 160 acres on Crown land should be allowed to apply free of charge. Give a bit of that enormous crown land back to the Inuit, First Nations and the Metis. Restore them as first class citizens in their own society and let the remaining Canadians cluster inside of the non Crown land like an Indian reservation. As the saying goes....Hung by their own petard......
A lifetime supply of maple syrup in lieu of my Doge and tariff checks isn't the worst outcome.....
For the record I really wish someone would revive that hoochie GreatSatansGirlfriend. Bibi has certainly has been effective at playing pin the tail on the donkey with the title LittleSatan.
If you think Trump, Stephen Miller, Kegsbreath and Little Marco have the slightest respect for international borders....I have some ice cream you can sell to eskimos. They are probably thinking Madura 2.0 if Carney doesn't sign a one sided agreement.
I heard Reverend Barber speak tonight about march to the polls. He invoked John Lewis from my home state who I met on several occasions. Over the years I have been inspired by many others including Gore Vidal, James Baldwin, Ed Koch, Arundhadi Roy, Shantaram, Papillon, Tagore, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. These are the people who have captured my spirit and loyalty. I hope to live a life true to their courage.