Centuries of support. But what have you done for me lately. Carney and Trudeau could not be more anti American. Which is especially odd for Carney considering where his money is. Where his money comes from. And where he spends his money.
RCMP protect Canada’s Prime Minister from gift given at NATO summit.
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May I respectfully disagree? Having grown up in our "socialist" country, I would say there is a considerable difference between socialism and communism. I associate "comunism" with hard-line communism, is Stalin etc. (and effectively modern Russia under Putin) where the state tells you what to believe, what to say and minutely controls your life in a way that is certainly a far cry from what we have here. We have a lot of freedom here in Canada, although the state does provide a lot of services, social and otherwise. Sometimes for the better (healthcare, for example, IMHO, but we can disagree on that) and sometimes for the worseIt's not simply a right-wrong thing, but a matter of balance.
I often read member S&WShooteFIN's posts and find them very interesting. Mostly on the military, of course, but it seems that although they have some restictions on firearms, they are much better off in that respect than we are. I recall one post where he said that "the only thing we don't have is CCW." (I'm not sure about full-auto or suppressors.) And other articles I've read n Finland indicate that despiute being a strongly socialist society where nearly everything is provided by the government c/o high taxes, it is a country where there is a very high standard of satisfaction from the average citizen. One person interviewed even said that one reason people enjoyed life there was because "people generally trust the government"
This of course is from a Finnish national's POV, just as mine is from Canada, although we have had an obvious association with the US for so long that we inevitably also have a colo(u)red view of things.
This doesn't mean that I'd prefer to live in Finland or that "socialism" is ideal, but I think it does indicate that it can work, ie that people can have a high standard of living, personal freedom and general satisfaction without the gub'mnt oppressivey breathing down their back every second. Every system has its faults, mostly because we all do (i.e. human nature.)
Our two countries have had a remarkably friendly and cooperative associaton for a very long time despite our differences. (Yeah, OK, we burned down the White House once...our bad.) I'd like to see that continue.
Anyway, as I posted earlier, I'm on here because of common interests, not division.
It's drizzly here today, so if you'll excuse me, I'm going to spend some time reloading more 9mm for my next range trip. (And BTW I do have some "duty ammo" loaded up for my 9mm & .45 ACP in the rare case that I ever had to use it. I'd probably be in deeper doo-doo than the "real" criminal I'd be defending myself against, but that's my choice. I actually have a special insurance policy for such an occasion.)
Hopefully that drizzle will help with all the wildfires. I can’t breathe down here
Is it bashing Canada to flaunt our gold medals in men’s and women’s hockey ?
. I’m kidding of course. I can only speak for myself. For 57 yrs Canada has simply been the other side of the Niagara River to me. Any of three bridges and I’m there in 20 min. I think people on this forum dislikes Canada’s government. Nothing to do with the citizens or your culture. I know many people in Ontario that are not happy with a lot of things. I think members here rant thinking that they’re sticking up for Canadian citizens. Not bashing them
I don't because anyone that literally identifies as a socialist is not a friend of gun owners.
Oldsalt66
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Interestingly, but not unexpectedly, the discussion has taken a decided turn from "admiration" of Canada into admiration of the benefits of Canadian style socialism; a system that's incompatible with the innate rights of the individual as enumerated (but not granted) in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of The United States of America, and in their stead, substitutes the creation of the socialists' mandated category of "new replacement rights" such as "the right to subsidized affordable housing", "the right to taxpayer funded medical care", "the right to not be offended by others", "the right to the subsidized provision of inexpensive food", "The right to a free college education", "The right to open borders", "the right to taxpayer funded abortion, gender reassignment surgery, and euthanasia"......eventually building right up to "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs".
Among the first of the true innate human rights to fall out of favor, are the right to freedom of speech, and the right upon which all others stand; the right of the people to keep and bear arms; individual rights that stand in the way of the government's forceful taking and redistribution of anything it chooses from the individuals who've actually earned it.
Some in here see the overly government managed Canadian society as an admirable blueprint for what they want to see forced on us here in The United States.
I am not among them.
Among the first of the true innate human rights to fall out of favor, are the right to freedom of speech, and the right upon which all others stand; the right of the people to keep and bear arms; individual rights that stand in the way of the government's forceful taking and redistribution of anything it chooses from the individuals who've actually earned it.
Some in here see the overly government managed Canadian society as an admirable blueprint for what they want to see forced on us here in The United States.
I am not among them.
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Naaah... sports is another thing entirely! Have at itIs it bashing Canada to flaunt our gold medals in men’s and women’s hockey ?
..I often read member S&WShooteFIN's posts and find them very interesting. Mostly on the military, of course, but it seems that although they have some restictions on firearms, they are much better off in that respect than we are. I recall one post where he said that "the only thing we don't have is CCW." (I'm not sure about full-auto or suppressors.) And other articles I've read n Finland indicate that despiute being a strongly socialist society where nearly everything is provided by the government c/o high taxes, it is a country where there is a very high standard of satisfaction from the average citizen. One person interviewed even said that one reason people enjoyed life there was because "people generally trust the government"
I, too, find Finland an intriguing place. Not knowing much about it, one has the impression of a cold and dreary place, yet, paradixically,it always seems to place number one in world happiness surveys.
Some years ago I read an article in the NYT about an American couple from Brooklyn who moved to Finland and thought it was great. Reflecting on its pertinence to our conversation here, I looked up the article, found and reread it. It is from 2019:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/07/...ytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
The article paints a very rosy picture of life there, so I superficially looked into how the country has fared since. While the economy is not as strong as it was seven years ago, it is still doing quite well. And, as noted above, the people remain happy with their lives. (Or at least happier than any other country surveyed.)
The other context in which I recently came across Finland was in an interview with a Heritage Foundation, IIRC, expert on the war in Ukraine, Europe’s reaction to it, and the relative strength of the Europeans vs Russia. The expert opined that she believed the Finns could defeat the Russians on their own.
I am not sure if she was serious or not, but I do have the impression that the Finns are not to be trifled with militarily. Great allies to have.
Fear not, I'm not among them, either. You do your thing and we'll do ours. But I do believe that our two countries have to get back on track and work together, and this has nada to do with "who has the best system." Every system - yours, ours and everyone else's has its flaws and we have to deal with them as best we can.
Oy - genug already!
Yes, I think I read that NYT article as well, and more recent ones either there on other websites. A professional singer friend of mine with the Vancouver Chamber Choir was there 3 years ago when the choir (whose conductor is Finnish but who moved to Vanc.) took the choir there and he was pretty impressed.
Despite not having the level of freedom you (and to a large extent we) enjoy, they gotta be doing something right. Different strokes for different folks. I rather doubt that the average Russian citizen is that happy, although of course they aren't really allowed to talk about it
I think SWShooterFIN's posts make it pretty certain that they are NOT to be trifled with! (And I think I read recently that American troops are over there on joint training sessions.) Another of his comments was a quote where someone asked "How many Russians are in Finland?", to which the answer was "about 80 thousand (??) - buried six feet down along the border." "Don't mess with Texas?" Don't mess with Finland!
Oldsalt66
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That's an excellent idea but, in practice, socialist Canadians can't help but stick their noses into America's business by protesting on Canadian soil against the results of an American Presidential Election.
The upside down American Flags are a nice touch......just kidding; it's baloney.
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Kinda like a mandatory COVID vaccine?...
Or as Hillary said in her book, "It takes a village to raise a child"
OK, let’s have some fun!
If you haven’t seen it, I recommend watching the comedy film, “Canadian Bacon”! It’s hilarious!
Trailer:
The infamous “Hockey Game” scene:
If you haven’t seen it, I recommend watching the comedy film, “Canadian Bacon”! It’s hilarious!
Trailer:
The infamous “Hockey Game” scene:
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Man, that was a CLOSE CALL!!!
I don’t put much stock in anything the NYT publishes. That said, I also don’t care to much about quality of life surveys. I mean, compared to what ?
Were all the Finnish respondents world travelers? Have they lived abroad? I doubt it. I think as humans we tend to be happy and content. We make the most of our situations. Visiting and reading about someplace is not the same as living there. Vacations are not everyday living. Having an opinion about a place based on what you’ve heard is also absurd. There’s a lot of European college kids and young adults online saying they could never live in the US. But they’ve never been here. If you grew up in a socialist country with high taxes and the government way to involved in your life , it’s all you know. It’s normal for you. And you’re probably happy.
Were all the Finnish respondents world travelers? Have they lived abroad? I doubt it. I think as humans we tend to be happy and content. We make the most of our situations. Visiting and reading about someplace is not the same as living there. Vacations are not everyday living. Having an opinion about a place based on what you’ve heard is also absurd. There’s a lot of European college kids and young adults online saying they could never live in the US. But they’ve never been here. If you grew up in a socialist country with high taxes and the government way to involved in your life , it’s all you know. It’s normal for you. And you’re probably happy.
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