the mild-mannered Canadians are girding for conflict
 

the mild-mannered Canadians are girding for conflict, reports the BBC:

Canada is sending its navy back to the far northern Arctic port of Churchill after a 30-year absence._._._.

The move follows a spat between Canada and Denmark, over an uninhabited rock called Hans Island in the eastern Arctic region.

A visit there by Canada's defence minister last month angered the Danes.

We're totally on the side of Denmark, which is such a loyal U.S. ally that--unlike Canada--it actually celebrates the Fourth of July. The Canadians may be outmatched here anyway; remember that Denmark already has a vast Arctic empire, including the world's biggest island.

- Opinion Journal

Hey we kick the US ass back in 1812... and now we have a tank :D;):D

We all know how this will be settled... in a classic game of which ship can drink more...

Okey Okey Dokey Coop!:)

I've heard of the War of 1812, but the US History texts don't say Canada won.

My impression is that we fought the British in the War of 1812.

For your reading enjoyment:

In 1814, we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson
Down the mighty Mississip
We took a little bacon
And we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British
In the town of New Orleans

(CHORUS)
We fired our guns
And the British kept a coming
There wasn`t nigh as many
As there was a while ago
We fired once more
And they began to running
On down the Mississippi
To the Gulf of Mexico

We looked down the river
And we seed the British come
And there must have been a
Hundred of em beating on the drum
They stepped so high
And they made their bugles ring
We stood behind our cotton bales
And didn`t say a thing

(CHORUS)

Old Hickory said we
Could take em by surprise
If we didn`t fire our musket
Til we looked em in the eyes
We held our fire til
Ee seed their faces well
Then we opened up our
Squirrel guns and gave em, well

(CHORUS)

Yeah, they ran through the briars
And they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes
Where a rabbit couldn`t go
They ran so fast that the
Hounds couldn`t catch em
On down the Mississippi
To the Gulf of Mexico

We fired our cannon
Til the barrel melted down
So we grabbed an alligator
And we fought another round
We filled his head with cannonballs
And powdered his behind
And when we touched the powder off
The gator lost his mind

(CHORUS)

Yeah, they ran through the briars
And they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes
Where a rabbit couldn`t go
They ran so fast that the
Hounds couldn`t catch em
On down the Mississippi
To the Gulf of Mexico

Hut, hut, three, four
Sound off, three, four
Hut, hut, three, four
Sound off, three, four
Hut, hut, three, four

Hey DA, I had to learn that song in second grade. My second grade teacher was into patriotic songs and we learned a bunch of them. I think that was the last time I thought about or heard that song...lol.

Native Canadians (more often called First Nations up here) fought on the side of the British/Canadian forces... under the leadership of Techumseh - the Native Canadians were praised for their actions and promised numerous consessions from the British Crown... but these were ignored by the Canadian government and much of the land granted to the defenders taken by settlers. It is one of the major legal issues regarding land-claims in that area of Southern Ontario that has been brought to courts during the last 2 decades... including some "hostile" confrontations over "Native Lands" that led to the death of Dudley George over the occupation of a Canadian Forces Training Base.

Hoosier - of course your textbooks don't say you lost ;) but I know that they can't say the US won - after all the US declared war on Britain and it's North American colonies and invaded what is now Canada in order to annex it... however the US forces were repusled in battles that served to unite the English and French, and while York (now Toronto) was breifly captured and burnt - it was Canadian and British forces that captured Detriot and burnt Washington DC.

DeltAlum - Canada didn't exist as a nation or dominion then, just the colonies of Upper and Lower Canada (Ontario and Quebec)... and while obstensively the US was fighting British troops, however more than half of the British forces were Canadian militia.

Take a gander at this site listing the forces of each side
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_1812
I consider it a victory for Canada and Britian simply because they sucessfully defended British North America from a force roughly 6 times there size and strength - and even launched successful counter-attacks

.... and of course for your reading pleasure ;)
The Bold Canadian

Come all ye bold Canadians,
I'd have you lend an ear
Unto a short ditty
Which will your spirits cheer,
Concerning an engagement
We had at Detroit town,
The pride of those Yankee boys
So bravely we took down.

The Yankees did invade us,
To kill and to destroy,
And to distress our country,
Our peace for to annoy,
Our countrymen were filled
With sorrow, grief and woe,
To think that they should fall
By such an unnatural foe.

Come all ye bold Canadians,
Enlisted in the cause,
To defend your country,
And to maintain your laws;
Being all united,
This is the song we'll sing:
Success onto Great Britain
And God save the King.

written in 1813

Perhaps Canada could do us another favor, and burn Washington, DC, again. Ditto, Detroit.

As far as the US wanting Canadian territory, we continue the policy of not seeking foreign territory, while defending the weak, poor, and desperate around the world, only needing enough foreign land to bury our dead.

They try it every "Devil's Night." The masquerade as gang members and juvenile delinquents can only go so far.

:D :D :D

Funny guy.

-Rudey

The War of 1812 did give us two of our shortest-lived Presidents, Taylor and William Henry Harrison.

To be fair, it also gave us Andrew Jackson, one of our better early Presidents.

If I remember correctly, my history textbook in high school mentioned it as a loss, in that the U.S. didn't acquire the territory it set out to annex.

Really though, the Native Americans were the real losers; the U.S. came out of the war pretty well.