I don’t know who Ann Coulter is so I didn’t read this thread until now. The Canadian people were very much against the war. For the most part we accepted your draft dodgers with open arms. No Canadian troops fought in Vietnam although a number of Canadians fought with the US armed services and 56 died there. Most of these people were apparently Canadian citizens who were residents of the US. As usual, Canada tried to play peacemaker and intermediary. More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_and_the_Vietnam_War Here’s an interesting bit. As the war escalated, relations between the two nations deteriorated. The lowest point was in April 2, 1965 when Pearson gave a speech at Temple University in the United States which called for a reduction in the bombing of North Vietnam. When a furious President Lyndon B. Johnson met with Pearson, he grabbed the much smaller Canadian by the shirt collar, lifted him off the rug, and yelled, "You pissed on my rug!" After this incident, the two men somehow found ways to resolve their differences over the war--the fact that they both met together in Canada two times afterward--one of them being Expo '67 during LBJ's whirlwind visit to the country. Lester Person was a great man, a Nobel Peace Prise winner in fact. To be assaulted by a dim boor like Johnson must have been hard to take, but he didn’t win the Nobel prise for nothing. Steering Presidents like Johnson has been an important skill that a number of Prime Ministers have been masters at (Chrétien was not one of them, though). Regarding the supplies, Canadian companies sold supplies to the Americans who turned around and used them in the war. The government did not supply materials for the war effort, as I understand it.
The transcript appears to be gone, but I doubt that what you are implying was the real question. I’m sure in context the question referred to combat soldiers. McKeown is a very very bright guy. I’m sure he would know all his facts before any interview. The show is like 60 Minutes, so it’s very well researched and prepared ahead of time. Frankly I’d never heard that there were any Canadian troops involved in any way. I wonder at what stage of the war that was? It may have been in the early part but I very much doubt that it was true from the mid 60’s on.
Most Canadians would not be your ally Hayes, but they would consider themselves allies with a large number of American posters on this board. It’s time start to look past the boarders and to start supporting like minded people everywhere. Issues are now global, and a global vision with global connections and alliances will be needed to enact a positive change.
And I guess you are expecting perfection? It's almost a triviality. Yeah, you didn't choose the headline, but the meateatingleftist did!
Neither side implied in support of U.S. war effort? What do the words 'loyal friend' mean to you? What to they mean in regards to one nation's relationship to another nation when that nation is at war? Maybe I'm really stretching to say that when talking about a war effort 'loyal friend' means someone who supports that effort, but I wouldn't say I was the one stretching. I think the stretch comes when people try to claim that Coulter never said anything about those troops being support of the American war effort, when in this context 'loyal friend' means exactly that. I've copied and pasted what was on the transcript you can read it again if you like. I also bet that by today it will be up on MSNBC's site, since they also covered Ann's error on Countdown with Keith Olberman. I'm not the one that needs to come to turms with losing in this instance. Ann Coulter said she was talking on Hannity and Colmes about Iraq and she asked, "Canada used to be one of our most loyal friends and vice-versa. I mean Canada sent troops to Vietnam - was Vietnam less containable and more of a threat than Saddam Hussein?" Please look at that quote and tell me she isn't suggesting that Canada sent troops to help the war effort in Viet Nam. If she knew that Canada did send troops buy not as a national force and not to help the U.S. war effort, why would she be talking about how easy it was to achieve U.S. war goals such as containing threats? Somebody might need to get over this one, but it isn't me.
It seems a lot of "news" these days is just barely even infotainment. The personalities and formats are designed to get visceral reponses not inform or illuminate. Thank you Rush Limbaugh , godfather of news for the simple minded, thank you Fox Broadcasting for making Huxley's nightmare a reality. Who do you think would get bigger ratings? "Intellectuals are stupid" or " "This...is London
Coulter is an ignorant hack and here's more proof from various sources... Oh what I meant to say was... Coulter says her line about "convert them to Christianity" has been misconstrued and was aimed at those celebrating the attacks. "I wasn't talking about Muslims generally," she says. "I was talking about the crazed homicidal maniacs dancing in the streets." [The Washington Post, October 2, 2001] No, Ann. It's pretty clear what you meant was: More gems from the she-beast. "[Clinton] masturbates in the sinks."---Rivera Live 8/2/99 "God gave us the earth. We have dominion over the plants, the animals, the trees. God said, 'Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It's yours.'"---Hannity & Colmes, 6/20/01 The "backbone of the Democratic Party" is a "typical fat, implacable welfare recipient"---syndicated column 10/29/99 To a disabled Vietnam vet: "People like you caused us to lose that war."---MSNBC "Women like Pamela Harriman and Patricia Duff are basically Anna Nicole Smith from the waist down. Let's just call it for what it is. They're whores."---Salon.com 11/16/00 Juan Gonzales is "Cuba's answer to Joey Buttafuoco," a "miscreant," "sperm-donor," and a "poor man's Hugh Hefner."---Rivera Live 5/1/00 On Princess Diana's death: "Her children knew she's sleeping with all these men. That just seems to me, it's the definition of 'not a good mother.' ... Is everyone just saying here that it's okay to ostentatiously have premarital sex in front of your children?"..."[Diana is] an ordinary and pathetic and confessional - I've never had bulimia! I've never had an affair! I've never had a divorce! So I don't think she's better than I am."---MSNBC 9/12/97 "I think there should be a literacy test and a poll tax for people to vote."---Hannity & Colmes, 8/17/99 "I think [women] should be armed but should not [be allowed to] vote."---Politically Incorrect, 2/26/01 "If you don't hate Clinton and the people who labored to keep him in office, you don't love your country."---George, 7/99 "We're now at the point that it's beyond whether or not this guy is a horny hick. I really think it's a question of his mental stability. He really could be a lunatic. I think it is a rational question for Americans to ask whether their president is insane."---Equal Time "It's enough [to be impeached] for the president to be a pervert."---The Case Against Bill Clinton, Coulter's 1998 book. "Clinton is in love with the erect penis."---This Evening with Judith Regan, Fox News Channel 2/6/00 "I think we had enough laws about the turn-of-the-century. We don't need any more." Asked how far back would she go to repeal laws, she replied, "Well, before the New Deal...[The Emancipation Proclamation] would be a good start."---Politically Incorrect 5/7/97 "If they have the one innocent person who has ever to be put to death this century out of over 7,000, you probably will get a good movie deal out of it."---MSNBC 7/27/97 "If those kids had been carrying guns they would have gunned down this one [child] gunman. ... Don't pray. Learn to use guns."---Politically Incorrect, 12/18/97 "The presumption of innocence only means you don't go right to jail."---Hannity & Colmes 8/24/01 "I have to say I'm all for public flogging. One type of criminal that a public humiliation might work particularly well with are the juvenile delinquents, a lot of whom consider it a badge of honor to be sent to juvenile detention. And it might not be such a cool thing in the 'hood to be flogged publicly."---MSNBC 3/22/97 "Originally, I was the only female with long blonde hair. Now, they all have long blonde hair."---CapitolHillBlue.com 6/6/00 "I am emboldened by my looks to say things Republican men wouldn't."---TV Guide 8/97 "Let's say I go out every night, I meet a guy and have sex with him. Good for me. I'm not married."---Rivera Live 6/7/00 "Anorexics never have boyfriends. ... That's one way to know you don't have anorexia, if you have a boyfriend."---Politically Incorrect 7/21/97 "I think [Whitewater]'s going to prevent the First Lady from running for Senate."---Rivera Live 3/12/99 "My track record is pretty good on predictions."---Rivera Live 12/8/98 "The thing I like about Bush is I think he hates liberals."---Washington Post 8/1/00 On Rep. Christopher Shays (d-CT) in deciding whether to run against him as a Libertarian candidate: "I really want to hurt him. I want him to feel pain."---Hartford Courant 6/25/99 "The swing voters---I like to refer to them as the idiot voters because they don't have set philosophical principles. You're either a liberal or you're a conservative if you have an IQ above a toaster. "---Beyond the News, Fox News Channel, 6/4/00 "My libertarian friends are probably getting a little upset now but I think that's because they never appreciate the benefits of local fascism."---MSNBC 2/8/97 "You want to be careful not to become just a blowhard."---Washington Post 10/16/98
Here’s the clip on the CBC page. I think the fact that she never got back to him shows that there was no misunderstanding about what she was taking about. She was just wrong. http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/sticksandstones.html
I’m not getting all heavy on you. I’m just taking about the new nature of alliances, and politically, although you may be a great guy personally, your views (not you personally, perhaps it sounded too personal the way I worded it before) would not make you an ally of most of the Canadian people.
I'm pretty sure you'd be suprised on that note. For example, I'm multilateralist, pro-environment, pro-worker (although not to the extent Canadians are - but few americans are), anti-Bush, pro-healthcare, anti-WoD, and pro-Montreal strip clubs.
Pro Montreal strip clubs, eh? You know I’ve never been to one, but I do know of their reputation. I’ve been to Montreal enough times. I drove through Montreal this Christmas, in fact, and stopped for a Ben’s smoked meat sandwich, but I’ve never been there with the right company to allow the checking out of the famous Montreal strip clubs. Back to the point, your stance on the war, then, is a little unusual in light of your other beliefs. Is this just a position you’re taking for the sake of argument?
I am sure he does not speak for ALL Canadians, but I am pretty sure he represents the majority of Canadians. Not that it matters to Bush or his supporters anyway.
And apparently doesn't matter to the "majority" of Canadians what many Americans think. But I guess that's ok.
No, not just for the sake of argument. I don't think there is anything wrong with removing a dictator. There are cases where multilateral institutions will fail to act precisely because they need consensus (for example look at Bosnia where Russia impeded UN action because of their close cultural ties with Serbia). Bush is incompetant, but that doesn't mean Saddam should have been left in power.
There is a range of opinions in Canada like anywhere else. My opinion would be close to the centre of the spectrum in Canada, I would say. I’d likely be a little to the left of centre on some issues and a little to the right on others. Here's an example for you. Recently in Canada we had a national poll/competition hosted by CBC radio and television to find out who people thought was the greatest Canadian. It wasn’t strictly scientific, but it was undoubtedly roughly accurate. The winner was a man named Tommy Douglas, a democratic socialist who was considered by most to be the father of public healthcare in Canada. "My friends, watch out for the little fellow with an idea." - Tommy Douglas 1961. For more than 50 years, his staunch devotion to social causes, rousing powers of speech and pugnacious charm made Tommy C. Douglas an unstoppable political force. From his first foray into public office politics in 1934 to his post-retirement years in the 1970s, Canada's 'father of Medicare' stayed true to his socialist beliefs -- often at the cost of his own political fortune -- and earned himself the respect of millions of Canadians in the process. http://www.cbc.ca/greatest/top_ten/nominee/douglas-tommy.html http://www.cbc.ca/greatest/ This is the person the people of Canada chose as our greatest Canadian, and a great, great man he was. And btw, he was a Christian, a Baptist minister, in fact, from the Social Gospel tradition.
