smryan@garth.UUCP (Steven Ryan) (11/13/88)
My, my, my.
Aren't we just so full of `I'm so international' posturings.
Mayhaps one day all the borders will dissappear and we will live under a
single unitary government.
'Tain't so today.
And I hope it never comes to that extreme. Do I really care about the Brawley
case? Does New York care about the periphial canal? Our system has a nice
property of making the decision makers most responsible to the people who are
most affected by their decisions rather than anybody who wanders by and will
not have live with the consequences of a decision.
Of course, before I get so many hundreds of nasty little notes about how this
doesn't have anything do with either shuttle program, mayhaps we should
remember how they are being financed. In American politics, money is the grease
that moves all wheels.
- If an invited guest said my sister was ugly, I would consider it uncommonly
rude. Whether my sister would make the elephant man look handsome is beside
the point. Once upon time, it was considerred common courtesy for a guest
not to insult the host. And vice versa, the host was not suppose to insult
the guest.
- Does Canada still have an Official Secrets Act? I don't keep track of these
things. I do think it is rather tacky for any country which does have such
legislation to critise another which does protect freedom of speech, at
least in principle.
- Should foreign citizens living outside the US be permitted to critise
our internal affairs? Of course, everybody knows how I go around just
censorring everybody. And the network is just chockful of Americans saying
all sorts of nasty things about Canada and the free trade pact and all those
questions about what exactly is a subsidy.
It is quite one thing offer an insight, a completely different view, of
our affairs, and constructive criticism is always welcomed. US permits,
and invites, an unusual amount of foreign comment on our affairs. Given our
current status in the world, which I am fully aware is transistory, I can
understand the concern of others. However many of the comments are of the
level of taunts and snide or slanderous remarks. It is usually just a low
noise level which we have learned to tolerate, but even low level noise is
tiresome and can cause anger and violence.
- Some foreign nationals have suggested if I don't like their country
interfering in mine, then I shouldn't like my country interfering in yet
others. A logical conclusion which is invariably followed by an illogical
conclusion that I like interfering in other countries's internal affairs.
I'd rather you not tell me what I think. You could try asking.
- But Canada made the shuttle arm. That, of course, gives Canadians total
control of the shuttles. Get real. How much have we sold or donated to
Canada? Now, if DoC negotiated an agreement or treaty in exchange for the
shuttle arms, and if we are violating such an agreement, then that is an
international affair.
- Some Canadians live in this country and have taxes levied against them.
Obviously that is so unfair. I mean, after all, our soldiers just snuck
right over the border and kidnapped all those poor people and are now
forcing them to work at higher wages than they could earn at home. Of
course, we all know about the Canadian Exclusion Acts which prevent
them from being naturalised. Our Bill of Rights applies to everybody
within our borders, regardless of citizenship. How often does that occur?
In fact, how many countries even have a Bill of Rights?
- Given our relative status, Canada feels that is in danger of being swamped
by our culture. I understand. Still, if they want our sympathy, they should
be sympathetic to our fears.
- Money is very important. I'd like to say flowerly things about providing
for all and making everyone happy, but the reality is our resources are
finite. So who should decide to spend that money? Oh, I can just hear all
those internationalists mutterring. However, the US is a democracy, more
or less, and we are rather stuck on the idea that we who pay get to decide
what it is used for.
- Now, more to the point, what direct action can Canadians take if they don't
like Nasa? (besides using bumper stickers)
- Move to the US, establish residency, naturalise, register, and vote or
run for office.
- Have their government negotiate with our government to give their
country some voice in how Nasa is run. This will probably require
some kind of payment.
- Start their own damn shuttle program.
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begin disclaimers
{note: standard disclaimer which shows the author is sympathetic.}
Hey! Some of my best geese are Canadians.
{note: standard disclaimer which shows the author is politically correct.}
Hey! I voted the straight Neoluddite ticket.
end disclaimers
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--
-- s m ryan
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Of old was the age when Ymir lived;
sea nor cool waves nor sand there were;
Unhewn was earth or heaven above,
but a yawning gap and yard was barren.henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) (11/15/88)
In article <1879@garth.UUCP> smryan@garth.UUCP (Steven Ryan) writes: >My, my, my. [110 lines of verbiage deleted] I think that's a new record for "how much fuss can one two-line signature cause". :-) -- Sendmail is a bug, | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology not a feature. | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu
kazim@Apple.COM (Alex Kazim) (11/15/88)
The suugestion that Canada ought to start it's own "damned" space program: Having lived in Canada for six years I can give some input. Canada tried to build a fighter, the Avro Arrow. It really was ahead of its time, but it got shut down by Deifenbaker so he could place Bomarc missiles in the Arctic to prevent against the Soviet Menace. The US, which sold the Bomarcs to Canada, also make Canada sign an agreement where Canada couldn't build fighter aircraft until 1999. It's been awhile, so I'm sure my details are a little rusty. Maybe Spencer could help me out. So is it the US's fault for stuffing the treaty down the PM's throat the same way it did the Columbia River Treaty, or the Auto Pact? I think it was really stupid for the PM to sign that agreement; but then again he was under a lot of pressure, from the Soviets and the Americans. I think Canada's current role in NASA is smart from an economic and political standpoint. But everyone has the right to criticize NASA, especially when it's warranted. Or is freedom of speech a solely Citizen of America thing? People criticize because they care. And the sooner this jingoistic, what's mine is mine and you can die attitude ends, the better. --------------------------------------------------------------- Alex Kazim, Apple Computer These are my opinions, but I bet a few people here would back me up. ----------------------------------------------------------------