Canadian 9-11 Detainee Released After 5-Year Imprisonment

Says a lot for the rule of law, due process and Democratic justice in the United States of America if you are not a citizen?

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Perception is two thirds of what we perceive reality to be.

Difficult decisions are a privilege of rank.

The comments so far have amazed me.

I have spent a lot of time on this website and other than hand wringing, do Canadians really stand for anything?

Does anyone even know what a stand is? No wonder Canada is a non-player in international events-its citizenry will not allow it. It is easy to criticize and take the easy path and contribute nothing positive.

Are world events scaring everyone? What happened to the country that made a stand in WWII?

Blaming everthing wrong on the US has become a tired routine that only the simple minded continue to fall prey to.

I personally do not feel threatened by others living in this world.

At the same time I do not believe in incarcerating anyone for months or years without due process and that I can not prove without a reasonable doubt that they have committed a crime in my country or that they have not been caught in the commission of a crime.

The citizens of a society must know and feel that they are equal to each other through the mechanisms of their nation’s constitutions and juridical process. Otherwise democracy will exist only in name and governments will have opportunities to develop authoritarian strains. If we look to our laws, they must afford equal justice to all in their private and many differences.

The right to a fair trial is a basic human right. When this right is violated, people innocent of any crime face conviction, imprisonment and even execution. The justice system itself loses credibility. The Right to a fair trial is an essential right in all countries respecting the rule of law. If we believe in the Rule of Law, Human Rights, Freedom, Liberty, Justice and Democracy then we should be able to stand by it with the knowledge that it must be applied equally to all whether they are proceived by society as good or bad.

"For so many of these cases, there seems to be much less substance to them than we first assume or have first been told," said Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert who heads the Washington office of Rand Corp., a think tank that conducts national-security research. "There's an inherent deterrent effect in cracking down on any illicit activity. But the challenge is not exaggerating what they were up to — not portraying them as super-terrorists when they're really the low end of the food chain."

My problem with this terrorist situation is that it is not new; and what about our individual rights? It seems to me that they are being trampled on and overlooked as fast as the lawmakers can write and pass laws to undermine them.

Civil Liberties Lawyer Alan Dershowitz says torture by US law enforcement is "inevitable," and might as well be legalized.

Under this justification, torture is appropriate not because of what people have done but because of what they will, might, or can do. Certain citizens may be seen as internal threats, putting at risk the safety and stability of the state. One of the most common rationales for engaging in torture is to obtain information that supposedly could not be gathered by other means. One of the bluntest ways that people can accommodate torture in their midst is to deny that it exists, usually by dismissing any signs, reports, or evidence of torture as lies, exaggerations, or mistakes.

Terrorists?

What do they look like?
What race, culture, religion, nationally are they?
Who do we consider a terrorist?
Is your niece, nephew, neighbour one; or maybe your employer?
It depends on their thinking, opinions and political beliefs. Or does it?
Are you or one of your family to be considered a terrorist if you happen to be seen near, around, with, talking to or doing business with someone suspected of being a terrorist?

As far as Canada is concerned Canada has stood up to be counted on the international stage, in the Political arena, at the United Nations, Peace Keeping and yes in the sacrifice of lives in all these arena’s as well as in past wars. There is no shame to hang on Canada by anyone in this world for inaction when call upon to act and we as a nation and Government believe it requires action on our part.



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Perception is two thirds of what we perceive reality to be.

Difficult decisions are a privilege of rank.

"Blaming everthing wrong on the US has become a tired routine that only the simple minded continue to fall prey to."

Elements within the US government were behind 9/11. Israel was involved as well. I must be a simple minded man, because I prefer to take the simple path instead of the convoluted one about 19 invisible hijackers that hundreds of security cameras were unable to record as they made their way through airports and boarded planes. I don't think that terrorist passports are indestructable either or that FBI agents can find a tiny piece of paper among billions of similar sized debris, or that the "terrorists hate us for our freedoms" as our own governments attempt to take what little freedoms we have left away from us in the name of fighting a "war on terror".

All you have to do, is do the math. 1 + 1 = 2.

'The comments so far have amazed me.'

I come here to meet others like myself who feel the same way, that things are screwed up, BIG TIME, and just as screwed up in Canada as anywhere. The comments here frequently amaze me too...when they have something Intelligent to say.

'I have spent a lot of time on this website and other than hand wringing, do Canadians really stand for anything?'

I take it you are an American, looking at your name.

Tell me, what exactly do Americans stand for?
- Democracy from the barrel of a gun?
- Free rifles with your new bank account?
- Drive your SUV to work every day, by yourself, while oil continues to run out and the planet continues to warm?
- Greed is a virtue? The pursuit of money is inspiring?
- Christians and Jews are a superior race that should dominate the globe?

That's the impression I get from most American posters. You however are a special category the kind that falls into the:

- Canadians are mamby-pamby whimpy hand-wringer commie gay dope-smokin' LIBERALS!

category.

Well, this is one mamby-pamby straight hockey lovin' beer drinkin' Timmie lovin' Canuck you just pissed off.

'Does anyone even know what a stand is?'

I'm wondering if you do. I assume you think it goes under your stereo.

Just where exactly is America taking a stand, anyway? The War on Terror? Otherwise known as the Big Lie, primarily intended to terrorize and subjugate your own people? You really don't think anyone Intelligent believes Fox News, do you? It's intended for internal propaganda, but believe me, the rest of us are standing back and laughing like shit at you. We don't actually watch your 'news', it is so painfully laughable we are forced to surf over it in seconds.

You actually LIKE that satanic fuck Cheney? Going around shooting his friends in the face, blowing the cover on CIA wives who have naughty husbands? Making billions for his company Haliburton in Iraq on the blood of American soldiers?

And BUSH??? My god, You follow this idiot monkey-brain alchoholic failed loser oil exec for a president? The guy can't even hold a sentence! He spends most of his time on vacation! 'Rummie and Connie and the guys'l run it fer me, I got some bush to trim!'. Let me give you a word of advice. Your supposted to vote for INTELLIGENT people. People who could find Beruit or Athens or Damascus or Kandahar on a map. People who know something about each country and could form a sentence when they met them. People who want to move your country FORWARD, and improve it, and make it more efficient and more prosperous FOR EVERYBODY, not just his buddies in the oil club! How could so many of you be such IDIOTS! Such blind unthinking sheep? You gave the keys to a bunch of drunken frat boys, and now their going to drive your big shiny cadillac into the ditch! Hollerin' and Whoopin' as they go!

You had a Great president, Clinton, and you kicked him out because some chick gave him a blowjob??? You somehow despise that, yet have no problem with a guy that LIES ABOUT WAR??? And gets thousands of Americans killed??? That's ok, right? So blow job BAD, phony illegal war OKAY.

' No wonder Canada is a non-player in international events-its citizenry will not allow it.'

Actually, we are a major player in international events, probably due to our influence in the UN over the years and our close relationship with both Great Britain AND the United States. This is out of proportion to our tiny population base, so all things considered, I'd say that we are doing ok internationally. Or did you mean, we don't sail around in giant aircraft carriers and order people around? Yeah, I guess you got us there.

'It is easy to criticize and take the easy path and contribute nothing positive.'

It is easier to lay over and accept your life and believe everything on tv.

It is HARD to dig deeper, research, READ (do you do that?) and learn just how screwed up we are. Just how stupid we have been environmentally. Just how corrupt we are when we get near money or politics.

'Are world events scaring everyone? What happened to the country that made a stand in WWII?'

Uh yeah, that's why we are COMPLAINING and HAND-WRINGING. As for making a stand in WWII, we were really still The Dominion back then, ie, former slaves and willing battle thralls of the British Empire. Not that wiping out a major power of evil like Nazi Germany wasn't a BAD thing, but it's not like we gave it much thought after we got the marching orders call from 10 Downing.

'Blaming everthing wrong on the US has become a tired routine that only the simple minded continue to fall prey to.'

I hate to break it to you, but your country apparently WON the Cold War (which it didn't, the Soviet Union collapsed in on itself with no outside help), so that leaves you as the SOLE SUPER POWER. With such power comes great and very grave responsibility. You can actually make a difference, get the rest of the world to follow you, pave the way for the rest of us. You used to be a real hero to a lot of countries, you won your own independence, and you had a lot of great ideas for the future, and you didn't support IMPERIALISM, you actually fought against it! Gee, what a golden opportunity you had when that Berlin Wall fell.

But instead of actually DOING something POSITIVE, your country instead said, 'WOW! We could like, GET RICH AND RULE THE WORLD!' And proceeded to further increase defense spending! And invade other countries! And slash and destroy environmental law! And begin transforming into some kind of horrific Christian Military Police State! Did you think the rest of us would actually LIKE that?

But no, I do not exclusively complain about the US. I also save tons of complaining for my OWN government, which is now following after you like a lovesick puppy, and Israel, which gladly takes huge sums of money from you each year and then creates all sorts of problems that will only result in more terrorist attacks against you. Nice friend.

This post was by no means a personal attack. By YOU I mean every arrogant, ignorant, gun-totin' flag-wavin' yank that comes in here.

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“The war is not meant to be won, it is meant to be continuous, the essential act of warfare is the destruction of the produce of human labour”

Yeah... what he said!

Good and meaningful rant Sgt.