From this morning's CBC comments section (all further emphasis eye-rollingly added):
The taxpayers owe this lady nothing. She should have taken reasonable precautions when travelling...like: having a passport photo that actually looks like her, having a secondary piece of government photo ID like a drivers license ...
Oh, look:
On May 21, after a Kenyan airport official suggested that Mohamud's lips and eyeglasses were different from her four-year-old passport photo, the hapless traveller laid out all her ID at the Canadian high commission.
She displayed her Ontario driver's licence, OHIP card, social insurance card and Canadian citizenship certificate.
I propose that, from now on, all mainstream media outlets support two comments sections for all of their stories -- one for sane people, and one for unspeakable idiots. They could call that second one, "Thoughts from the Right." Or maybe just, "Holy Crap, the Burning Stupid!"
Either one works for me.
THERE ARE SANE PEOPLE, AND THEN THERE ARE CONSERVATIVES: That comments section is truly the gift that gives on giving, furnishing ample evidence of the true intellectual bankruptcy of the Right. Here's "CalmCalm," channelling every Blogging Tory you've ever read:
The Canadian government has no "Legal" responsibility to assist any citizen outside Canada.
It is a "Perogative" [sic] of the government and not a legal requirement.
And then there's commenter "katedoe" who, unlike every conservative you've ever met, appears to know stuff:
CalmCalm wrote:
Posted 2009/08/12 - at 10:59 PM ET
"The Canadian government has no "Legal" responsibility to assist any citizen outside Canada. It is a "Perogative" of the government and not a legal requirement."
-----------
Assuming you're not a lawyer - or even familiar with basic international law.
Every passport is a legal document. It is bound in International laws long enough to fill a library shelf. It is a document that compels every government in the world to recognize the bearer as a citizen of the issuing country and even states that in the front page.
The very purpose of a passport is to bind all other countries to any and all agreements and diplomatic treaties they have with the bearers country in any and all dealings with the person holding the passport.
So yes, it is a legal requirement - not a naffy little option. No one would travel otherwise.
and follows that up with:
Just for the record -
Outdated passport photos, bad hair days and head coverings do not negate the legitimacy of a passport - only the issuing government can do that.
Germany issues "kinderpasses" to minors under the age of 16. A kinderpass has a stapled on baby photo of the minor - right up until they are 16!
Many other countries issue passports for periods of 10 - 12 years - with the option of extending them for an additional 5, without updating the photo.
Canada only changed their passport photo rules a few years ago - with a whole set of very weird guidelines not used in other countries.
People - get honest here - the High Commission in Kenya lied and no member of our government has - to date - asked why!
Isn't it awesome to read the musings of someone who, you know, actually knows stuff? Now if you'll excuse me, I have to pop over to the Blogging Tories and check out what the mouth-breathing retards are saying this morning. It's going to be such a comedown.
10 comments:
Well she should of had her own dna test ready, come one CC these rightwingers only care about non-christians, non whites when it is election time or when they can exploit their dead bodies for political gain.
I use to believe that rightwingers were just douchebags, but after reading these comments, Wierdo Patel's, Shiadle, Kate, and the general GOP supporter, I can only concluded that it is racisms.
I really think that the only function of comment sections on news stories has been to add to the world's ambient stupidity.
*Uhg* Don't get me started on CBC's (or any MSM's) non-blog commentary. It's still a mystery to me what journalistic purpose is being served by it. All it ever proves to me is that I'm obviously not the target market for these news products and that apparently, no rational person or anyone with an IQ above the median, is.
while there is certainly wingnuts on the right, there are also looney tunes on the left as the above comments show.
the stupidity of the comments referred to in the post are stupid. Rather than assume racism on the part of those posters, i would just assume ignorance.
as to the situation of Ms Mohamud, the story is now in the MSM ... it'll be interesting to see how the government responds to the screaching cries of racism etc.
Hopefully the issue of what the fuck actually went wrong here will not be lost in all the hot air.
Rather than assume racism on the part of those posters, i would just assume ignorance.
Why do you think these two things are unrelated?
It was sometime in my early adolescence that I realised the reason racism and bigotry set my teeth on edge was because it was a manifestation of profound ignorance.
I've said this before but it bears repeating: "Conservatives" always claim they're not racists or bigots; they're fine with everyone as long as they think and believe the same things they do. And they never see the irony...
perhaps i should have written that the posters were 'ignorant of the facts at hand'
I'm with Ti-Guy. The comment sections of Canadian news outlets have become cesspools of ignorant, yet arrogant bile.
I've long since given up on the comments section of the CBC - blogging about it is too easy, and trying to be the voice of reason is an exercise in futility. I just vote down all the stupid comments whenever I'm browsing an article and leave it at that.
perhaps i should have written that the posters were 'ignorant of the facts at hand'
Speaking of the facts at hand, I still want to know why you were kicked off The Blogging Tories.
C'mon..dish.
Ouch. Kicked off the Blogging Tories? Omigawd. So, are you all like, "I wouldn't want to belong to any club that would have me as a member, anyways" now?
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