There were US firefighters in BC just a week or so ago, from Montana or Idaho, i'm fairly sure i heard a news report to that effect ... happens all the time, both ways, if it gets lopsided one way that's because the fires are tending to be on that side for the period ... and it was, BC crews were down south a lot recently, that's just the way it goes .... this is perfectly normal, i have no problem with it, quite the contrary, that's what neighbours do, is help each other out in emergencies
But neighbours don't bring weapons on a visit ... firefighters are not militarists controlled by Washington either, they're just normal folks that do a hard job that needs doing
Same thing happens Méx-US, crews cross the border both ways to fight fire ... usually the US crews crossing south are aircrews, flying tankers and spot planes, while mexicanos will supply firefighters during heavy fire times north of the border ... it's a question of available equipment, as much as manpower, who's got what available when something breaks out
NORAD was about the cold war, threat of the big bad ruskis flying their big bad planes or whatever on us ... well, as it turns out, their main concern was that the US was going to do that to them ... pretty stupid a lot of this stuff was, eh ... could there be a credible threat one day from China - possibly, i guess ... North Korea maybe, but where would they get the resources to pose one, the populace there is starving ... war as we knew it may be passé
It's policing we need more, as canadians .... EC makes the point that the mounties are thin on the ground, not enough of them for special duty like airport security, well then we must fix that, fund them adequately, train them well, build a force that can do the job ..... what we absolutely must not do, is abdicate our right to freedom by permitting US troops to operate in this land, ever .... not the thinnest edge of the smallest wedge, not once, not ever
If such an action is being considered, then for sure there must be thorough public debate, yes ... but it saddens me that we have lost our sense of freedom, of the glorious independence we enjoy here, to the extent that any of us would even consider such a thing ... and for a general to suggest it, that should be grounds for court-martial imho, we pay them to defend us, not hand us over on a platter |
