Yes indeed - time is involved in this timely story.
Was it less than 24 hours between the breaking of the "threat" from Canada and the "finding" of a "terrorist" corssing the Canadian border with explosives.

As a Canadian, I can attest first-hand to the laxity of the Canadian immigration system. Refugee claimants are immediately accorded full Charter of Rights protections, which include unlimited appeal rights of Immigration and Refugee Board decisions (up to and including representation before the Canadian Supreme Court- all at taxpayers' expense). Refugee claims are routinely accepted from Mexico, Ghana, even the Czech Republic (no, I'm not making this up!)

Also, any amount of drugs, handguns and illegal immigration smuggling is occurring across Canada's porous border with the US. Of special concern should be the indian (err, I mean, "First Nations") reserves at Akwasasne and Khanesatake, near Cornwall, ON/Oswego, NY. Indians are using the special privileges accorded them under their "treaty rights" to run a virtually-unimpeded flow of illicit goods, including humans, between the two countries. This, quite apart from the blatant attempts to gain entry to the States at regular border crossings (remember Ahmed Ressam in Washington state?)

Tom Ridge should simply swallow his longstanding friendship with Canada, and give Canada an ultimatum- clean up these border issues and tighten down on your immigration and refugee policies- OR ELSE the US is prepared to close off its border to its largest trading partner. Security trumps good neighbourliness- as a Canadian, I am just amazed at how lenient the US has been to date with Canada.

Earl
Proud of my country, ashamed of its government

With respect, Nathan, you are wrong wrt the smuggling of Islamicists through Canadian indian reserves. Both CSIS and the RCMP have documented such activity. It is a fact.

"They don't particularly like Islamic people." I cannot comment on this claim, but it IS certain that natives DO like money. A greenback from a brown man is still a greenback...

As for "sneaking in" to the US, read a post yesterday on jihadwatch.org, which suggests plausibly that Islamicist-smuggling initiates now in the SA Tri-Border area, then on through Mexico. Canada is only one (albeit highly important) conduit into the States for Islamic terrorism.

Well....regarding the immigrants eating their papers on the plane, I agree with Nathan, they somehow "lose their homework". Maybe we could go to a house arrest type bracelet when they arrive to track them....it beats branding their rear ends ot tattooing.

I also agree, we have to step up border patrols everywhere......are we trying to let these illegals in....?????

I know it's probably not the case, but it just seems too lax on the edges of our nation...

Remind me again how many of the 19 terrorists came into the US through Canada? If you said ZERO, give yourself a big gold star.

I for one am tired of my country being blamed for the current lack of security in America. You have more civilization-hating islamists in Dearborn Michigan then there are in our entire country.

Fix your own problems before you start pointing fingers...

Oh sheesh Flanstein, your not going to start the "Canada is picked on, we are great and America sucks" truck are you?

I would love nothing more then for us to secure our boarders, and yes that means slamming it shut to Canada as well. I don’t see how trading good has anything to do with letting people walk across the boarder uncheck because they come from the ever so friendly north.

And for the record it is documented that the 19 "Making our own airline" crew traveled freely between the US and Canada so to say they were not there does not fall under I didn't see it so it didn't happen mantra...

I think it is safe to say we realize we have issues, but we realize others have issues as well. We can be the most secure place on Earth but if our neighbors stick to the fix your problem first then we will work on ours, it's like throwing handfuls of sand at a rushing river.

You have not had a problem with Islam because Canada follows the line of appeasement strategy like so many Euro countries when it comes to dealing with them. As long as you go along to your countries death quietly nobody gets her. Well I call bullsh^t on that. And if you deny Canada has a problem with immigration then I call bullsh^t on that too….

There you have it, Flanstein. WH's comments are not atypical of our neighbour to the south. And in politics, perception is reality. If you think that His Excellency Ambassador Cellucci is not sensitized to this attitude, you are naive.

Further, your claim "of my country being blamed for the current lack of security in America" is unsophistcated, and shows a lack of understanding. Had you bothered to actually read the Feb/04 LOC report, you will see that Canada is NOT being solely blamed for the American security problems- rather, Canada is highlighted (along with such luminaries as Columbia) as a significant, Northern Hemispherical threat to American security. THAT IS FACT. No amount of your gainsaying is going to change this.

Until the federal government exercises the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian Constitution, and revokes the SCC decision in Singh, as well as massively cracking down on immigration abuses and otherwise tightening border controls, then the US is going to be ever less willing to permit us a soft approach on immigration and security policy.

Parenthetically, I commend anyone to the LOC's report. It can be easily downloaded in pdf from www.loc.gov

Ah so, let us begin the rock wall. We can start on the Canidian border, then wall up the Mexican border, place a rock ring around dearborn,Michigan. Rock wall out the east coast and the west coast where all the hot blooded liberals live. We could call it the Bailing Wall. But will it bail US out of all responsibility for the 50 million deaths that are expected, yearly, from simply starving?

"Oh sheesh Flanstein, your not going to start the "Canada is picked on, we are great and America sucks" truck are you?"

Where did I say that? I am simply tired of the guy in the glass house complaining that our borders are brittle.

"I would love nothing more then for us to secure our boarders, and yes that means slamming it shut to Canada as well."

Stupid is as stupid does. I take it you realise that action would bankrupt both countries economy within a month? You do understand we are each others largest trading partner - do you not?

"And for the record it is documented that the 19 "Making our own airline" crew traveled freely between the US and Canada"

Please cite your source.

Will have to pic this up tomorrow my friend. Im heading to take the kids to piano practice...

I hope to see an investigative report on the doings of the Rafsanjani and other clans of the Islamic Republic in Canada, particularly Toronto.

"I for one am tired of my country being blamed for the current lack of security in America. You have more civilization-hating islamists in Dearborn Michigan then there are in our entire country."

Can you prove this, or is it another blanket statement? Please cite your source.

"Can you prove this, or is it another blanket statement? Please cite your source."

Read the story near the top of this page entitled: Witness: Defendant in Virginia jihad trial trained with terror group

Need I say more WH, er, ANON?

I have no idea what you're talking about, Flanstein. Yet another stupid assumption because I have no idea who or what "WH" is.

By the way, I'm Canadian and I'm tired of ignorant Canadians like you denying that there's a problem with terrorism in our borders. You sound like Jean Chretien.

"Read the story near the top of this page entitled: Witness: Defendant in Virginia jihad trial trained with terror group"

What does that have to do the Detroit area? I asked for you to prove that there are more terrorists in Dearborn than in Canada. This has nothing to do with it. Nobody is denying that the US has a problem with jihadists, but you know what? Canada does too. It's about time we did something about it on our own initiative. Wishing it will go away won't solve the problem. And whining about Americans calling us to task won't do anything either.

We clearly ARE doing something about it. I'm simply tired of being lectured to on our own inadaquacies by those who are similarily inadaquate.

p.s. Have you ever BEEN to Dearborn?

"We clearly ARE doing something about it. I'm simply tired of being lectured to on our own inadaquacies by those who are similarily inadaquate."

Get over it! Canadians love to dish out shit against Americans, but when we get a little back, we whin, bitch and complain, like you're doing right now.

Yes, I have been to Dearborn, but that still doesn't answer my question on your source (why do you avoid it?) to your sweeping accusation. Or was this just another stupid assumption?

And Toronto and Montreal are not better anymore. Some of those Somali cabbies are nuts!

I believe both governments are trying to do something about this. Can you imagine how hard it is for both governments. I believe the founders of America's constitution never expected this kind of war. Civilian jihadists are hard enough to find but the American government has the ACLU jumping and screaming at every turn. A new kind of enemy and unfortunately to catch this enemy we Americans must give up some freedoms unlike any other war. All other wars since the civil war were off our shores so the American people never had to relinguish any privacy freedoms. But the truth be known what the government looks for was never secure to begin with. For example: Internet, cell phones, medical information, financial reports, IRS, job, residence, all this was open to many eyes prior to 9/11. You ever wonder how you got so many unwanted calls from sales people. Does the operation manual of the cell phone not tell you it is not a secure line. I could go on but why bother. The truth is if I go a libary and take out a book I expect that book to be recorded, how else would they know who had it. And anything recorded is available to many eyes, has been and will always be. The truth is I don't think were doing to bad, why, because at least our eyes are wide open now and we are looking.

"Get over it! Canadians love to dish out shit against Americans, but when we get a little back, we whin, bitch and complain, like you're doing right now."

All we ever get from America is "a little back". From BSE, to softwood lumber to blaming us for 911 (for months afterwards American politicians were telling folks many of the 19 came through Canada) it's all about "Blame Canada"

I for one am sick of it. I'm also sick of self-hating Canadians like yourself prostrating themselves in front of Americans. Have you no dignity? Get off your knees you spineless jellyfish...