BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada

Subject: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: gnu
Date: 20 Mar 09 - 04:46 PM

Ummmmmm....

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: Jim Lad
Date: 20 Mar 09 - 05:08 PM

Tough day for Canadians.
R.I.P.

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: meself
Date: 20 Mar 09 - 05:15 PM

Here's the thing: if you look past all the rhetoric, it seems to have been a straightforward bureaucratic decision: the law says that anyone who provides "material support" to a recognized terrorist organization is to be denied entry; Galloway has apparently contributed money to Hamas; Hamas is recognized in the legal sense, rightly or wrongly, as a terrorist organization; ergo, Galloway is denied entry. If other people are subjected to the same policy, then this does not seem a matter of "censorship". If, on the other hand, he has been singled out and subjected to rules that are not being applied to others, then a case could be made that it IS censorship.

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 20 Mar 09 - 05:23 PM

George Galloway is a perrennial PITA

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 20 Mar 09 - 06:14 PM

I suppose with Bush out of the picture there has to be some buffoon in power to embarrass North Americans...

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 20 Mar 09 - 08:41 PM

I don't wholly trust Galloway, his suits are too expensive, but the USA thought they could tame him, and he chewed them up and spat them out. As the USA denied that the IRA were terrorists and dubbed them freedom fighters and patriots, I imagine Galloway will say that those extremists (but are they really the extremists) he defends are the freedom fighters and patriots.

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: Folkiedave
Date: 20 Mar 09 - 09:01 PM

George Galloway is a perrennial PITA

Excellent - we need more of them...

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: Janie
Date: 20 Mar 09 - 10:06 PM

What is a PITA?

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 20 Mar 09 - 10:21 PM

Pain In The...

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: Ythanside
Date: 21 Mar 09 - 12:00 AM

George Galloway a pain in the arse? You're taking him the wrong way, surely?

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: katlaughing
Date: 21 Mar 09 - 12:24 AM

And they let bush in? *shakes head*

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: greg stephens
Date: 21 Mar 09 - 05:49 AM

Very sensible decision. Anyone with suits that shiny is going to cause trouble.

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: ard mhacha
Date: 21 Mar 09 - 08:11 AM

I heard Galloway on BBC Radio this morning saying he will be visiting the US soon on a lecture tour.

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: Leadfingers
Date: 21 Mar 09 - 09:11 AM

Wasnt Gorgeous George an Apologist for Saddam Hussein as well ?

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: bankley
Date: 21 Mar 09 - 02:34 PM

not as much as Rumsfeld under Reagan....   Canada doesn't want him to be poking holes in her 'good cop' image.... meanwhile here comes 'smoking gun/mushroom cloud' Condi....on the heels of her former boss Bush... letting suspected war criminals in the country doesn't help..
Power doesn't like Truth giving it lip.... period.

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: Musket
Date: 21 Mar 09 - 02:59 PM

Easy to forgive him for roughing up American politicians.

Remember when they asked him how many times he visited Sadam Hussain? The same number as Rumsfeldt, he said. The difference being "I wasn't selling him arms."

That said, he is a contrary character. I haven't decided if he is over sincere, meaning it all, or whether he has skeletons in the closet. Whichever, he is an enigma, not a mainstream politician and he either purposely or inadvertently exposes world leaders as hypocrites.

I just got back from Canada. I love going, but was not aware they were so picky about who is allowed in. One thing I did love was once seeing a T shirt with the following:

Canadian (noun) unarmed American with healthcare

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: Little Hawk
Date: 21 Mar 09 - 04:42 PM

Silly. Big yawn here.

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: Megan L
Date: 21 Mar 09 - 04:55 PM

dammit Little Hawk we were countin on you tae get him up tae Yellowknife so he could walk the iceroad. Whit dae ye mean theres nae ice there its summer did I say onything aboot him walking on ice :)

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: Jack Campin
Date: 21 Mar 09 - 05:19 PM

I met him once, many years ago, trying to get his support for a campaign. Didn't get it, but what I did get was a straight answer about why not. Which was something I could respect.

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: bankley
Date: 22 Mar 09 - 08:25 AM

thousands of people signed a petition to the Fed Gov't asking that Bush be denied entry... how many signed a petition to keep Mr. Galloway out?

threat to security my ass..... he's against the war in Afghanistan,
so am I

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: goatfell
Date: 23 Mar 09 - 07:09 AM

George Galloway I like, I vote for the SNP and the resaon is that he speaks in a straight forward way unlike other MP's and MSP's

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 23 Mar 09 - 07:39 AM

"Meself" seems to be arguing: "As long as the same rules apply to everyone, it's not censorship, by definition"—which implies a rather strange definition of censorship.

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: Amergin
Date: 23 Mar 09 - 09:05 AM

Well...in regards to Bush and Condi...Canada has been known to let in war criminals before.....

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: meself
Date: 23 Mar 09 - 11:12 AM

'"Meself" seems to be arguing: "As long as the same rules apply to everyone, it's not censorship, by definition"—'

And you seem not to have understood my point, which is that apparently there is a policy that those who supply "material support" to terrorists are not allowed into the country, and Galloway apparently falls into that category. Note: "material" support, not "rhetorical" support; therefore, apparently, it is not a "freedom of speech" issue; it is, apparently, a security issue.

Whether that policy should be scrapped or changed is another question, but while it stands, yes, it should be applied equally. If the policy itself is wrong-headed, then the policy should be changed; there should not be an exception made, either way, for one person because he's a public figure.

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: Teribus
Date: 23 Mar 09 - 12:22 PM

"Easy to forgive him for roughing up American politicians.

Remember when they asked him how many times he visited Sadam Hussain? The same number as Rumsfeldt, he said. The difference being "I wasn't selling him arms." - Ian Mather

All depends how easy you swallow lies, Gorgeous George tells them glibly enough - Rumsfeld wasn't selling arms either - doubt that then read the minutes of the meeting between Saddam and Rumsfeld arms not mentioned at all.

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: Stu
Date: 23 Mar 09 - 12:39 PM

". . .doubt that then read the minutes of the meeting between Saddam and Rumsfeld arms not mentioned at all."

Good point Tez. I mean, the CIA are really going to jot down "Sold insane Middle-Eastern Dictator loads of helicopters for his military" in the minutes of the meeting and then sending them out for all the world to see.

The whole sorry tale is related in detail here.

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: DougR
Date: 23 Mar 09 - 01:35 PM

Big yawn #2.

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: Teribus
Date: 23 Mar 09 - 02:28 PM

No SF the whole story about the meeting between Saddam Hussein and Donald Rumsfeld is contained in the minutes of the meeting. No arms deals were mentioned, the USA's concerns regarding the use of of Chemical weapons by iraq was raised with Tariq Aziz both in December in the preliminary meeting and again in March

"The meeting in late December 1983 paved the way for an official restoration of relations between Iraq and the US, which had been severed since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war." - Jeremy Scahill

Hey Sugarfoot does that kill the old left wingers myth about Saddam being the USA's man, who "they" put in place in 1979.

"Rumsfeld's December 19-20, 1983 visit to Baghdad made him the highest-ranking US official to visit Iraq in 6 years." - Jeremy Scahill

Mr. Scahill is a little off base here, Donald Rumsfeld at the time was a private US citizen, he was not part of the Administration, therefore he can hardly be described as a "high-ranking US official" - TRUE??

Not being a "high-ranking US official" he had no authority to speak on behalf of the Government of the United States of America or even on behalf of the President of the United States of America - his job Sugarfoot was to hand deliver a letter.

5th March 1984 US strongly condemned Iraqi use of CW weapons.

Main topics of conversation between Rumsfeld and the Iraqis was a pipeline to Aqueba. Nothing to do with weapons - so basically Gorgeous georgw was lying to that Senate committee - criminal offence isn't it?

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: goatfell
Date: 24 Mar 09 - 01:43 PM

proove that Galloway is a war crimanal then

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: Teribus
Date: 24 Mar 09 - 01:48 PM

Anybody saying that he is a "war criminal"??

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: Sandy Mc Lean
Date: 24 Mar 09 - 02:57 PM

We kept out Martha Stewart because of her criminal record. She was to participate in a (I kid you not) giant pumpkin paddling contest. It horrifies us to think about the destruction that she could have caused with a paddle! About the same time we allowed in a piece of shit with a long New York street gang record calling him a singing (rap) star. It is unfortunate but true that our government is run by fools!

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 24 Mar 09 - 02:59 PM

Meself: You're right, I misunderstood you. However, in cases like this, you have to ask, do officials really enforce the law uniformly, or only when it suits them because the person in question has opinions that the current government doesn't like?

Also, although lower-level officials are constrained by myriad laws and rules, I believe higher-level politicians can overrule them for political reasons. I believe it was Jimmy Carter who personally decided to issue a visa to the Shah of Iran, thus touching off the famous Iranian hostage affair. I assume this kind of thing can happen in Canada as well as the US.

I recall a similar case in which Farley Mowat, a Canadian, was barred from entering the US. I think the official reason was that he had threatened to shoot at aircraft that he believed were flying too low over his land, but some people thought it was really because he was speaking out about acid rain. I don't know how that issue was resolved, or if it was.

Subject: RE: BS: Brit/Scot MP banned from visiting Canada
From: Willie-O
Date: 25 Mar 09 - 12:15 PM

Farley can go to the US if he wants to. He doesn't.

Rest assured, the government is not applying the rules evenly. Cause in this case, they didn't make the initial ruling--the Canadian Border Services Agency did. Declared him a "security threat". Give me a break.

Where the government came into play is that minister Jason Kenney has agreed that he could overrule the CBSA, but he doesn't want to. Apparently because he doesn't like Galloway or his politics. "Security threat?" So's my mom--a Raging Grannie. Oh, she's 92. Maybe she and Galloway have been plotting together. Giveth me a break.

If "material support to terrorists" is the same as delivering medical supplies and other essentials to civilians caught in a war zone, then I guess I aspire to commit just as heinous an act.

The Harper government makes me embarrassed to be Canadian. Now I know how the Americans felt the past eight years.

W-O