[Bonglord]

In case you didnt read all of his post, hes not even from Canada. LOL

[RUEZ]

Canada_is_pointless Canada_is_pointless:

I am a big loudmouth American

Yes you are, your point has been made, thanks for stopping by Troll.

[xerxes]

Just to elaborate on Bonglord's post, another reason to not listen to him is the fact that he's a Mets fan... Who travelled to Montreal to see them suck there.

And since were dealing in generalizations in this thread...American: country originally settled by religious zealots who managed to piss off even the mild-mannered English.

[cablemade]

let me start by saying that i like canada........but to compare canada to the united states is what is pointless. the US is a world power and frankly canada is not. what i dont like about canada are canadian people who act as though they are better than americans......or that america is bad. it angers me and most americans that canadians dont recognize that we americans are the ones footing the bill for there security also. your social programs are only able to be afforded because your military spending is so small. because canada doesnt really need a military.....we wouldnt let anything happen to our friends to the north.

[dgthe3]

First of, Canada is know as the Great White North for several reasons. One, it is about as far north as a Nation can get. Two, it snows here and we like it that way. And Three, this counrty is great. Hence, Great White North.

By the way, while visiting the Canada Kicks Ass forums, feel free to post stuff like this in the 'Rants and Raves', and while in that area, look up my thread on 'Loud Mouthed Americans'.

I wish there were more inteligent Americans on here that come for dicsussions rather than fights. Ca la vie (Thats Life, en Francais (in French))

[RUEZ]

cablemade cablemade:

what i dont like about canada are canadian people who act as though they are better than americans......or that america is bad. it angers me and most americans that canadians dont recognize that we americans are the ones footing the bill for there security also.

That's odd, I'm sure the Canadian Forces are funded by the Canadian taxpayer. As are the RCMP, and any other police force in Canada. So exactly how much would the u.s. stop paying in military and security if Canada was not on your border? Not one red cent I can assure you. Why is it we don't hear you whiners complaining about Mexico and having to protect them, as they spend a little more than half as much on defence as Canada does.

[sk1d]

...

[Bonglord]

cablemade cablemade:

let me start by saying that i like canada........but to compare canada to the united states is what is pointless. the US is a world power and frankly canada is not. what i dont like about canada are canadian people who act as though they are better than americans......or that america is bad. it angers me and most americans that canadians dont recognize that we americans are the ones footing the bill for there security also. your social programs are only able to be afforded because your military spending is so small. because canada doesnt really need a military.....we wouldnt let anything happen to our friends to the north.

Nodody needs a military but you because you elect paranoid warmongers that touches himself at night. What threat? What security threat? To us? you? Nobody is asking you to "foot the bill" as you call it. Everyone wants to blow you up, not us. Instead of pumping enormous amounts of dough into military, you should pump it waaaaaaaay up into education because frankly its scary. Want to know why we live longer on average then Americans...Psss Ill tell you a secret. We spend all that money on social programs instead of military resulting in deaths at your expense.. Also it prevents people from getting pissed off at us by which we dont need a powerful military. I keep reading the same old crap from Americans and I can tell you that they always, ALWAYS recycle the same old arguement of military power and "ahem, footing the bill" for our security.

[canadian1971]

MY Grandmother taught me a saying....."When I do something good, no one remembers....When I do something bad, no one forgets."

Thats the truth....So "Canada is pointless"...remember that you, your rude comments, your pety pety pety mind, and complete arrogance will be in the subconscous(?) part of our brain the next time we meet an American, which will affect our reaction towards them, which is really not fair, cause most are pretty good ppl.

I fear the best part of you ran down your mothers leg! 500 billion of the little bastards and thats the one that got through(just so you dont forget)! Now go back to pulling your goalie!

dgthe3...there are inteligent Americans out there..belive it or not I've meet some, sadly they are the one's we dont remember

cablemade.....If Canada wasnt up here....do you think that your government would let the border remain "unprotected"? So from my vantage point....Canada is SAVING you money! LOL Ok thats up for debate...my sanity that is!

As for our Military.....well....that would swell considerably if the NEED arose...as it has before.

Thats my 2 cents worth....about 1.3 for mon American ami! lol

[CamCKA]

Canada_is_pointless Canada_is_pointless:

Canada = cold empty country that has some clumsy cities where people speak an ugly dialect of French.
...
Bottom line: Canada does not kick ass, it is a barren land mass with a layer of snow and clumsiness. It should simply be part of America and join the ranks of the other boring states like Montana and North Dakota.

Hmm, Ok Pointless, let's just look at the question you've asked objectively.

IS Canada pointless? Why would you think we are unimportant? Let's break it down:

- Is it because we have a smaller population than the U.S.? Well, we have about 30 million people. That ranks us as 35th out of 227 countries measured by your own U.S Census Bureau. I'm OK with 35th. Seems just fine to me. Far from pointless. Pretty good actually. Plenty of well known countries out there that are way below this. Of course, population isn't the only measure of how "important" a country is. Otherwise, China would be by far the most "important" country on earth, and will soon be overtaken by India. source: http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idbrank.html

- Is it because we are economically unimportant? No, that can't be it. After all, our 2003 GDP, at 834 Billion USD ranks us as the 9th most economically productive nation in the world. 9th is hardly pointless.
source: online encyclopedia: "wikipedia"

- Some people equate "importance" with military force, so maybe you mean that Canada is pointless because we don't spend enough resources on our military. Wrong again. The IISS and the U.S. Department of state rank Canada in 16th position globally in gross military spending (8.2 Billion in 2002). That's GROSS spending, NOT per capita. source: http://www.fas.org/man/crs/RL32209.pdf

- How about quality of life? I think that having a good quality of life is probably pretty important when it comes to determining whether a country is "pointless" or not. Unfortunately, there is no perfect way to measure this. But since we have to choose something, the U.N. must be one of the most objective bodies trying to rank countries on this factor. The U.N. Human Development Index tries to rate nations according to per capita income, educational levels, health care, life expectancy, women’s equality, consumption and poverty, among others, to measure “quality of life.” The 2003 HDI Index (which is the most current one freely available on the UN site) ranks Canada as the 4th best place in the world to live. I personally don't think that makes us very pointless. The U.S. is 8th by the way, which is quite good too.

So anyway, I am sure there are a million ways to look at how "important" a country is, and I'm pretty sure that Canada doesn't rank as "pointless" in any of them.

So that's all. I'm not going to call you a "stupid American", or start jabbering on about how Americans supposedly think they're better than everyone else. Because in most cases, I have found that those stereotypes simply aren't true. It's just too bad for the rest of them that there is a minority of people who seem intent on perpetuating those stereotypes by saying things like "your country is pointless". But I'm not going to tell you to keep your assinine, ignorant, and frankly childish opinions to yourself. Go ahead and express them. The stark contrast makes it easier to identify the intelligent, open-minded people.

[RUEZ]

Hey nice first post CamCKA.

[dgthe3]

A very good post, and it just so happens that it was a first one, even better. It sums up just about all of it.

oh, and Canadian 1971, sorry if i wasn't clear with what i wrote. I realize that there are inteligent Americans out there, likely lots of them. And i realize that there are some here. However, there are others that are of the type 'Loud Mouthed' Americans. I have found several of them that i have encountered here and it is them that i do not like. I merely wish that there were less of the 'Loud Mouthed' Americans out there.

[Welsh]

"right now, i'm in England on an international exchange program. I've met people from all over the world the past couple of days. When they learn i'm from canada, the people who have been to both canada and the u.s. all tell me how they like canada so much better. Canadian people are so much nicer, while americans are rude, obnoxious and ignorant. its not just canadians who think that."

Alot of Canadians believe that about themselves. Isn't that a kind of arrogance to constantly tell everyone that, though?

Is it even true?

Read this: (see paragraph 11)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2137729.stm

Seems people around the world like Americans the best and consider Canadians to be the rudest tourists in the world.

Also, did you know that the UN's International Crime Victim Survey year-after-year report violent crime in Canada is higher than in the US? (Yea, the same people who put out that report that makes canadians cream their pants when they make the top 5)

According to the MOST RECENT United Nations Development Report 2004:

In the table entitled “Victims of Crime” on page 215 of the report or page 229 (including Forward, etc..) Canadians have higher rates of crime than Americans in EVERY category.

The numbers are for % of total population that are victims.

Total Crime: Canada 23.8% US 21.1%

Property Crime: Canada 10.4% US 10.0%

Robbery: Canada 0.9% US 0.6%

Sexual Assault: Canada 0.8% US 0.4%

Assault: Canada 2.3% US 1.2%

Bribery (of government officials) Canada 0.4% US 0.2%

[Canadaka]

I totaly do not agree with that article. I spent 2 months last summer backpacking europe, so thats from my own experience. As well the people i met on my travels agree with me. Even some Americans i met.

[dknychic]

Welsh Welsh:

"Is it even true?

Read this: (see paragraph 11)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2137729.stm

According to the MOST RECENT United Nations Development Report 2004:

In the table entitled “Victims of Crime” on page 215 of the report or page 229 (including Forward, etc..) Canadians have higher rates of crime than Americans in EVERY category.

The numbers are for % of total population that are victims.

Total Crime: Canada 23.8% US 21.1%

Property Crime: Canada 10.4% US 10.0%

Robbery: Canada 0.9% US 0.6%

Sexual Assault: Canada 0.8% US 0.4%

Assault: Canada 2.3% US 1.2%

Bribery (of government officials) Canada 0.4% US 0.2%

Ok. Firstly, your article is dated July 19, 2002. In 2002, I thought America was the s***, now I'm not so sure. My point is unfortunately, a lot has happened between 2002 and 2005 to change some Americans' views on America, not to talk of foreigners. If you're going to cite an article (which is totally subjective anyway) to support your claim, shoot for something current.

Secondly, I noticed that in your crime stats, you didn't include violent crimes/ homicides. I think the US would blow Canada out of the water on that one...but if you could supply the link to the "United Nations Development Report 2004" that shows the crime stats, I'll take their word for it ...Thank you kindly.