I don't see that being a question Rizzler.

I don't follow you. It is indeed a complaint I am making ;)

Troubling indeed. Search the web for the phrase "New maritime security law will deputize U.S. officers". You'll get many legitimate responses. Here's one such source: http://www.canadians.org/tradeblog/?p=586

Notice the words in the article saying "would transform designated U.S. police and security agents into peace officers equal to the RCMP “in every part of Canada” during joint maritime border operations." The Olympics is one such "joint maritime border operation".

Hey, in a world where terrorism and Olympics are used as excuse to suspend out civil rights and freedoms, anything can happen. And it happens because we, the people let it.

I think we may be reading a bit too much into this one. while there may be a good debate to be had about the number of security personnel needed and the money spent on them, the reality is we simply don't have enough of our own personnel to pull off their day jobs to assign to this. Vancouver metro police or the RCMP, or even the Canadian military, cannot allocate that many temporary personnel without comprimising themselves in other areas. and hiring for just this 1-2 month period is not realistic either.

Of course it depends on your point of view. Read up on SPP (Security & Prosperity Partnership) to know more of the integration between Canada & United States. This joint military 'exercises' is one of the aspects of SPP.

Bottom line is that the powers to be want to integrate both countries. And that is very worrisome. For instance, SPP seeks to 'harmonize' flow of goods. That means anything that can be seen as an obstacle is eliminated. Often to the detriment of Canadians. One glaring example is in the area of safety regulations. Already there is talk of lowering standards on pesticide levels allowed on food. From what I understand Canada overall has higher standards (lower levels of pesticides permitted). That doesn't appeal to US businesses exporting to Canada, so under SPP, our laws would be amalgamated to accept higher level of pesticides as 'safe'.

Us has special interests heavily lobbying governments to make sure things like universal health care don't happen. As Canadians, having our laws being eroded to make business prosper would result in Canada resembling more what US looks like. And I think it is safe to say Canadians like Canada for what it is, not for what US is (not to say there aren't some things better in US then here. But I think my point is clear).

Bottom line is, when governments start to do stuff behind close doors and not answer our call to accountability, be worried.

I see stuffed marmots every day. If I had a nickle for every stuffed marmot I've seen since last Thursday, I'd be a rich man. Enough with the stuffed marmots already.

I see stuffed marmots every day. If I had a nickle for every stuffed marmot I've seen since last Thursday, I'd be a rich man. Enough with the stuffed marmots already.

I see stuffed marmots every day. If I had a nickle for every stuffed marmot I've seen since last Thursday, I'd be a rich man. Enough with the stuffed marmots already.

I see stuffed marmots every day. If I had a nickle for every stuffed marmot I've seen since last Thursday, I'd be a rich man. Enough with the stuffed marmots already.

What I find sad is that VANOC either didn't bother or did not do a good enough job of actually informing people of the history behind the mascots. The marmot is actually one of the most endangered species in the world - only 25 left in the wild - and in BC is found only on Vancouver island. It would be great to see some education and pledge by VANOC to jump start preservation on this species at risk, since feds once again failed to protect it under the Species at risk act, thereby violating a Canadian law.

http://www.marmots.org/