Hey Canadian Friends

Yeah. I heard that some of your golf courses in the US sometimes have problems with the geese pooping on the greens. They use dogs and horns to chase the geese off the greens, and even turn on the sprinklers to scare the geese away, but they always come back to poop on the greens. It's a problem cuz if you can't make a 20 foot putt cuz of all the poop the ball runs into on it's way to the cup, it can be frustrating, and it raises your score.

(Don't tell anyone that Canadians train the geese to do that before sending them south every winter.)

Everyone knew that you crafty Canadians.

Curses! Now they suspect us.

We'll have to tie them to the railway track.

But what do whe doo abowut Moose and sqquerell.....

These are no doubt the moose and squirrel you're referring to.

Bullwinkle: Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat.
Rocky: Again?
Bullwinkle: Presto!
Lion: ROAR!!!
Bullwinkle: Oops, wrong hat.

(Boris points the cannon at Rocky and lights the fuse.)
(Cannon fails to fire.)
Natasha: Vhere is "BANG" in large font?

Nestor, how far is Winnipeg from Frost Bite Falls, Mn? Do you ever run into Natasha any where? I use to think she was pretty hot. Time probably hasn't been kind I would suspect....

Gotta miss some of those old cartoon's from childhood. Guess it was a different day back then.

I too dig Russian chicks. I always wondered what she did to get stuck with Boris. It never worked out! You think at some point they would be reassigned to taking out a rhino/rat team. Why were the Russian's against Rocky and Bullwinkle anyhow?

Oldog/Newtrick:
I did a little bit of digging, and apparantly the fictional town of Frostbite Falls is located in Koochiching County in Minnesota.

Frostbite Falls, Minnesota - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Welcome to Koochiching County, Minnesota

Koochiching County is also where the real town of International Falls, Minnesota is located. International Falls, Minnesota holds the dubious honour of being the coldest town/city in the lower 48 states with an average annual temperature of 36.4 deg. F.

US Extremes and Records - EnchantedLearning.com

Because of this, the nicknames for International Falls, Minnesota is "Icebox to the Nation" and "FROSTBITE FALLS, Minnesota".

International Falls, Minnesota - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So, the fictional town of Frostbite Falls is believed by Rocky and Bullwinkle affectionados to be the real town of International Falls, Minnesota.

International Falls, Minnesota, with it's population of 6,700 lies directly across the Rainy River from Fort Frances, Ontario with it's population of 8,000. The Rainy River is the border between the US and Canada, and the International Falls International Bridge connects the two towns.

Fort Frances ? International Falls International Bridge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So, the distance from Winnipeg to Frostbite Falls, would be very close to the distance from Winnipeg to Fort Frances, Ontario, which is 245 miles.

Fort Frances, Ontario, Canada

TxBuilder:
Why were the Russians after Rocky and Bullwinkle? I think that aspect of the comic was just a reflection of the cold war that was going on at the time. Rocky and Bullwinkle, coming from Minnesota were American, and Boris and Natasha were Russian. So, given the state of world politics at the time, they would have been expected to be adversaries. It's interesting that the comic showed Boris and Natasha always trying to attack Rocky and Bullwinkle, without ever giving a reason, but it never portrayed Rocky and Bullwinkle as the aggressors against Boris and Natasha.

O.k. tell me what is Tim Hortons?

Tim Hortons is a chain of over 3000 coffee/donut shops across Canada. There are only about 100 Tim Hortons locations in the US, so you may not be aware of them. They're kinda like you're Dunkin Donuts in that they specialize in both coffee and donuts.

Tim Horton was originally a Canadian professional hockey player who went into the fast food restaurant business. He subsequently died in a car crash, but the restaurant chain that bears his name lives on, and is now focused on serving coffee and donuts; not hamburgers or pizza or ice cream or anything else.

Tim Hortons - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Canada was never part of the US coalition in Iraq (cuz we weren't convinced it was really necessary to go to war in that case). Instead, we sent our troops to Afghanistan (where they are under UN command) so the US could concentrate on Iraq. To show support for the Canadian mission in Afghanistan, Tim Hortons opened up a location inside the Canadian military base at Kandehar. The coffee and donuts at that location are the same as any Tim Hortons in Canada, but the employees there are civilians hired by the Canadian Military to work at that location.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=8f567fe7-fb94-4b91-a261-69b4236c6566

I don't know how many Canadian soldiers there are in Afghanistan now, but I know that there has been just over 100 of them killed over there so far, mostly by road bombs. I think the Canadian mission to Afghanistan is scheduled to end in 2011. There's an awful lot of frustration in the Canadian military with the Afghan mission. What exactly the problems are, I dunno. I just know that there's reported to be a lot of tension between the government and the top brass of the Canadian military. In the past coupla years, the head of the Canadian Defense Staff, (General Rick Hillier) has been replaced, and there's talk that it was because he wasn't telling our government what they wanted to hear. General Rick Hillier was very popular with the troops, and basically put them before his own career ambitions. So, they replaced him with a more "politically sensitive" puppet. I don't know a lot about what happened there, but it kinda smells, if you know what I mean.

The problems with democracies is that they don't make good fighters. Once there are casualties on the battle field, then the public sentiment changes and the democratically elected government in charge of the military is more concerned about it's popularity with the voters than it is with what it's generals think. So, we keep getting ourselves into these political quagmires where the generals say they need more troops, equipment and resources to win the war, and yet there's growing opposition to continuing the war on the home front. And, as we all know, the politicians ultimately in charge of the military care more about their political careers than anything else, including the young kids they send into harms way. A country has to REALLY have it's back to the wall and know that there is no option but to go to war for it's own survival before you can get the public resolve to fight to the end. So, the situation in Canada regarding Afghanistan is about the same as it is in the US regarding Iraq. There's some for staying the course, there's some against staying the course, and they're all against having had so many young people killed without having anything to show for it at the end of the day. But, can't say we haven't been in this situation before, and we shoulda learned from it.

Nestor, well we have learned about Canadian Bacon, Boxing Day, Halloween Traditions, Tim Horton's, but the burning question I'm sure is on everyones mind is do Eskimos( uh I mean) Inuits kiss by rubbing noses? Or is this just another myth still to be debunked...

I don't know if they still do that, but, yes. It's called a "Kunik" in Inuit, but it's wrong to call it a "kiss". It would be more appropriate to call it an "eskimo hug" because it's done by both men and women with both men and women. It's simply an affectionate exchange with someone you feel close to, and doesn't have any sexual connotations at all.

Eskimo kissing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You see, lifestyles are changing in the north and I'd be surprised to see anything like this practice surviving. Nowadays, the people in the north have satellite TV and they dress and behave just the same as you or I would on a cold day. It's much more likely to see Inuit riding ski-doos, hunting with rifles, wearing modern parkas and shaking hands with people they meet than practicing any of their old traditional ways you might see depicted on TV or in the movies. Nowadays, there are tour ships that go up north to Alaska, mostly to see the whales, glaciers breaking and the landscapes. But, no one expects the people living up there to be living the same as they were 100 years ago. They make souvenirs for the tourists out of seal skin and soap stone, but it's just to earn money so they can buy the same stuff as we do with our money.

Well there you go... another myth debunked. Next thing you'll tell me is that not all southern rednecks drive around in old Chevy pickups, look like Larry The Cable Guy, are married to their 1st cousin, drink PBR and live in a trailer parks. Wait thats Arkansas.:hide:

What's PBR?

One thing Canadians are probably wondering about is whether the portrayal of racism in the southern US like we see on TV and in the movies is accurate. My (and probably the typical Canadian's) understanding is that the south nowadays is really very different than the south of the 50's, 60's and 70's. Apparantly, nowadays, there's not much difference (in a black person's perspective) between living in Mississippi or living in California or living in Minnesota. That is, there is probably some degree of prejudice, but it's not appreciably worse in the South than it is anywhere else. Is that about right?

(If this might be too sensitive a subject to discuss in this forum, then please let me know. I meant no offense, nor do I want to put anyone on the spot.)

Also, I note that eastern Tennessee is in the Appalachian mountain range, or what is commonly referred to as "Appalachia".



Typically you find natural resources in older mountain ranges like mineral ores and coal because the uplifting of the Earth's crust followed by erosion of the mountains puts those ore deposits within easier reach of the surface. Is eastern Tennessee (and Appalachia in general) fairing well (as Canada is) from a resource based economy, or are the people living in Appalachia having a tough time of it since coal is falling out of favour as a fuel source?

(I notice that on the above map, ALL of West Virginia and the biggest hunk of Pennsylvania are in Appalachia. I notice that Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is deep in Appalachian territory, and Pittsburgh is synonymous with the steel industry. You need coal to make coke to make good steel. Are coal and iron mining still a large part of the economy of Appalachia?)

Is "Knoxville, Tennessee close to "Fort Knox"?

Nestor_Kelebay said:

What's PBR?

PBR- Pabst Blue Ribbon

One thing Canadians are probably wondering about is whether the portrayal of racism in the southern US like we see on TV and in the movies is accurate. We have "white supremacists" up here, but they are a small group and rarely make themselves known.

Is there an active white supremacist movement in the southern US, or have they pretty well disappeared nowadays. My understanding is that the south nowadays is really very different than the south of the 50's, 60's and 70's. Apparantly, nowadays, there's not much difference to a black person between living in Mississippi or living in California.

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I'm sure there are many "Racist" folks left in the south. What I find is that it's not just a white racist, there are black racist also. Is it a problem, yes. I don't have a problem with cultural mixing, my next door neighbor is of Hispanic descent, the black family across is a preacher, the lady across the street is Honduran. They let me live here and I enjoy it. It's nothing like you might see on T.V. or even as it was back in the 50 and 60's. It's an underlying issue but I've had some very good friends over the years who have different cultural backgrounds than I. If Alan Keys would run for president on a major ticket, I'd vote for him in a heartbeat.

That's about the same as in Canada. I have had every different race in my building. As long as they pay their rent on time and don't cause any problems for me or their neighbors, then I say live and let live.

I only asked that question because your American TV news networks were commenting on the increased security around the White House before Barack Obama took the Oath of Office, and I was wondering why they would protect him more than any other President. It wasn't until they mentioned the possibility of an assassination attempt that it dawned on me that that could be a very real concern. But, to be honest, I thought to myself, "Wow, do those people still exist?"

Barack struck me (and prolly most people) as being a middle of the road, level headed, thoughtful kinda guy, and would prolly make an OK president, or at least no worse a president than anyone else. It struck me as odd that anyone would want to kill him just cuz he wasn't white.

Following your post, I Googled Alan Keyes and came up with the Wikipedia biography on him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Keyes

He seemed like a level headed kinda guy until I came to this part:

Obama citizenship lawsuit
Keyes filed a lawsuit on November 14, 2008 against the California Secretary of State, then-Vice President-elect Joe Biden, and California's 55 Democratic electors, seeking to challenge Obama's eligibility for the US Presidency. The suit requests that Obama provide documentation that he is a natural born citizen of the United States.

Following Obama's inauguration, Keyes denied he had been constitutionally inaugurated, refused to call him president, and called him an "usurper" and a "radical communist".

I'll be the first to admit that having been born in Indonesia, Barack Obama would not be considered "a natural born citizen" of your country. I expect that part of the constitution requires that the President be born in the US. However, given that the overwhelming majority of Americans were willing to set aside that requirement, it strikes me as "sour grapes" that Alan Keyes wouldn't, and chose to pursue it through the court system. Technically, Alan Keyes had a legal point, but it seems to me that on an issue like the choosing of a President, the will of the American people should prevail despite this requirement in your constitution. (although I'm no constitutional expert by any means) The Constitution establishes America as a democracy, and to use it's rules to unseat a democratically chosen President seems to me to be "undemocratic".

Also, once elected and having taken the Oath of Office, to call Obama a "radical communist" strikes me as just sour grapes, or the same kind of partisanship politics that's a mainstay in both Ottawa and Washington. I, for one, want the person who's supposed to be my "representative" in Ottawa to be open minded and willing to work with everyone, regardless of their political stripe, just as I would and I'm sure all Americans would as well.

I expect that Alan Keyes has excellent qualifications and a lot of experience, but I think he probably regrets some of his decisions in this particular matter. After all, the President of the United States isn't just the head of your country. The President of the United States, like it or not, also becomes a world leader. The decisions he makes can and do affect everyone in the world, so, to that extent he has to carefully consider the broad implications of everything he says and does. I'm sure that Alan Keyes realizes that calling Barack Obama a "radical communist" was a gross overstatement. Barack leans left, but there's an awful lot of space between him and Fidel (who really was a radical and a communist).

So, what's PBR? And, do you drink it out of a bottle or is it home made?

Ft Knox is just outside Louisville, KY nowhere near Knoxville, TN.

PBR-Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer. If you ever come to Tennessee I will buy 1 or 6.

The Appalachians are some of the ares in the US with poverty. Partly because of diminished coal production and lack of industry.

Knoxville is a rather progressive city, home of the University Of Tennessee. I really like Knoxville, close to Gatlinburg and a generally pretty part of the state. We were in Gatlinburg a few weeks ago and it's a tourist destination, but it's changed over the years. The whole area of Pigeon Forge, Seiverville (home of Dolly Parton) Gatlinburg have turned into T-shirt-knick knack shops. Use to be a quaint getaway now its water parks and theme parks.

Google Alan Keys and see his info. A great man with conservative views.

O.K. this thing about rubbing noses, when ever I go outside in cold weather my nose starts running, rubbing noses with anyone else would probably not be well received here in the south. How the heck did that tradition get started/ Who was the first person to say "hey theres someone I've not seen in a while, lets rub runny noses". You know I've quit shaking hands with people till the swine flu goes away. I just don't have a clue where you would come up with the nose embrace to signify a warm embrace.....

O.K. this thing about rubbing noses, when ever I go outside in cold weather my nose starts running, rubbing noses with anyone else would probably not be well received here in the south. How the heck did that tradition get started/ Who was the first person to say "hey theres someone I've not seen in a while, lets rub runny noses". You know I've quit shaking hands with people till the swine flu goes away. I just don't have a clue where you would come up with the nose embrace to signify a warm embrace.....

Click to expand...

It's just that when it's 50 or 60 degrees below outside, about the only part of you that isn't gonna be covered is your eyes cuz you need to be able to see where you're going.

So, the idea of rubbing noses allows for some form of intimate personal contact when about the only part of your body that's exposed is the area around your eyes. Ya just moosh your parka hood against the other person's, and rub away. If it feels good, it can't be bad for you.

Besides, everybody's doing it...

I live in the South and the racism is pretty bad. I don't know if it's as bad as the TV portrays it but it's still pretty bad.

Tx, now tell the truth... the biggest form of racism in Texas is the Beef BBQ people discriminating against the pork BBQ folks right?