Shots Fired - Canadian Parliament In Lock Down

Because there were no angry young Muslims endeavoring to kill Westerners prior to Bush's presidency?

No, it's just that he managed to prove that most of their hate preachers were telling the truth.
Now we have to undo that mindset, somehow.

Izzy is as duplicitously ignorant as you are, Finn. Considering the bloodthirsty nature of USA revenge, if all countries had equal military might, there's hardly a country in the world that wouldn't have attacked the USA.

You just aren't willing to face the facts.

Tells us all we need to know about Lordy.

Yes, Lordy, you do have to undo that mindset of people believing in the truth. Their "hate preachers" were telling the truth while your hate preachers, Blair, Bush et al were lying their asses off.

What a twisted piece of humanity you are!

What government spokespeople have consistently said is that in a dmocracy, you cannot exclude or even raise the barriers to people coming to visit the seat of their government.

Bush announced a crusade, included Iran, (who had their own concerns about the Taliban, their diplomats had been murdered by the Taliban,) in his "axis of evil" speech, and invaded a Moslem country that had nothing to do with 9/11, thus proving Al Qaida right.

Now we're living with the consequences.

NB, in the same way that the House of Commons could not have been compromised due to adequate security, European airports could not have suffered a 9/11 type attack. Bush had been warned of the threat of Al Qaida by the departing Clinton administration, he chose to ignore that warning, and 9/11 was the result. Spoiling the ship for a ha'porth of tar, and all that.

His actions post 9/11 alienated all Moslems and galvanised a generation of disaffected young men. And now we're all living with the consequences of what is clearly the most disastrous presidency of all time. His legacy, his mess, and it will take a least a generation to clean it up if not longer.

I've never been to Canada, I was talking of the House of Commons in Westminster. I got through security fine, had a good look around and had tea in the stranger's gallery. I don't think the extra security measures harmed democracy in any way.

Rather thsn barriers, I tend to view them as checkpoints. People are not turned away, merely delayed slightly.

Go Canada.

It's lovely that massive security has not hitherto been needed. I hope little changes. Life is risk. (Hugs to all canajuns)

I agree. There was not much that could have been done--nothing, really--to protect the honor guard, standing outside at the National War Memorial. The shooter managed to force his way into the Centre Block through an entrance for MPs. He killed no one else, and was dead himself within minutes. I can't say i buy into paranoid fantasies about what could have been done.

Yep. It's a waste of energy and life crossing every t regarding these things. The lone honour guard was, is and probably always will be an easy target.
The slight surprise was that the gunman could then enter such a place of prominence seemingly with ease, but there y'go. All very well in hindsight.

It just shows how nice a place Canada is that this sort of security presence is so low on their list of requirements as to be almost non existent.
Security will no doubt be a bit higher profile from now on, but I do hope they keep a sensible balance, when all is said and done.

Keep Canadian and Carry on.

I've been following this and contrasting the way it would be handled here. I'm gratified to see they are not paranoid there.

Oh, I realize that, Lordy. But he made the comment that he was surprised that the gunman could get into the building at all. Not that difficult.

I think that all three of us knew what we meant at that time, and it was probably a case of me getting a wake up coffee down my throat before thinking about posting.

Oh well.

Just been hearing about the Canadian Sergeant at Arms getting a standing ovation.
Bit of a quiet hero, by the looks. I hope he never has to pay for a drink again.

Only because I was comparing it to the security I'd only just experienced. A lot of people over here were amazed that the parliamentary building in Ottowa was attacked. Amazed that there's a parliamentary building in Ottowa, so Toronto's not the capital then?

Toronto is the capital of the province of Ontario.

Ottawa is the capital of Canada. Lovely little city.

Security for the legislative buildings has been under discussion for a while, but the feeling has been that they should be fully accessible to everyone. Trying to balance feeling and reality is tough.

Why these events occur.

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U.S. State Department Policy Planning Study #23, 1948:

Our real task... is to devise a pattern of relationships which will permit us to maintain this position of disparity [U.S. military- economic supremacy]... To do so, we will have to dispense with all sentimentality and day-dreaming... We should cease to talk about vague and...unreal objectives such as human rights, the raising of the living standards, and democratization... we are going to have to deal in straight power concepts. The less we are then hampered by idealistic slogans, the better. George Kennan, Director of Policy Planning. U.S. State Department. 1948

Do try to post something relevant once in a while, JTT.

US State Dept. 1948???
We're discussing Canada 2014.

Been reading through and staying on top of the news on this - best thoughts to you ehBeth and your fellow Canadians. It is tough to balance freedom of access and safety. But letting you know we are thinking of our neighbors to the north.

Look at the White House. Several people penetrated the fence.