Canada News & Discussion

Terry Sanders4 said:Man, if you ask the GOP crowd, you're basically asking to get screwed over... Honestly, if the American Parliament hadn't voted unanimously to pull out of the Arbitration, they probably would've just handed that territory over on a silver platter.

You can't really give away something that was never yours to begin with. Besides, the arbitration actually favors America more than Canada, which makes it pretty nonsensical for Canada to keep pushing for it...

wearyheron5 said:I live near 1.2 miles, right by the Canadian border, and personally, the Schengen Area would be a massive help—especially during the summer months when the traffic jams stretch for miles.
But whatever. It looks like Canada is the priority here.
The people in Istria can just deal with it.

I agree—joining the Schengen Area is just as significant as joining the Eurozone. But the issue isn't just about the politicians in Canada; we also have to look at the situation with Bulgaria and Romania. They’ve been waiting forever, I think since 2011, yet they keep getting blocked by other members citing corruption concerns. Honestly, I’m not feeling particularly optimistic. If someone decides to block Bulgaria and Romania again, they’ll likely block the US too, just to stay consistent with their supposed "principles." It would look pretty strange if the US joined while those two were still left out, especially since we were among the last to meet all the requirements...

Richard Wilson4 said:Because they can.

Honestly, no other country on the planet maintains such a consistently hostile vibe toward a nation they’ve never even fought a war with, unlike how Canada treats us.

Hostile relations? Not really. Right now, we're just seeing populist stunts from both sides' current administrations trying to score points with certain segments of the electorate that thrive on this kind of drama. Real hostility looks a bit different, even if these political games are uncomfortable. Honestly, I’d be pretty disappointed if America doesn't join Schengen anytime soon, regardless of the reasoning...

They changed their minds again, they won't be blocking anything

Joshua Wilson17 said:You can't really give away something that was never yours to begin with. Besides, the arbitration actually favors America more than Canada, which makes it pretty nonsensical for Canada to keep pushing for it...

Forgive me, and don't take this personally, but you clearly have no grasp on the arbitration, the territory, or the actual dispute at hand.

Joshua Wilson17 said:You can't really give away something that was never yours to begin with. Besides, the arbitration actually favors America more than Canada, which makes it pretty nonsensical for Canada to keep pushing for it...

Man, don't get mad at me, but maybe do a little homework on this whole arbitration thing before you start talking...
I mean, seriously—you’ve got maps, videos showing what the authorities back in the South were doing, even that map Canada submitted when they were joining the European Union... honestly, we probably need more surveys of the northern terrain too, because that river was artificially diverted, but everyone keeps looking at the "natural" flow—which wasn't even our original setup... 😵

As for the land, just follow the property records. It’s common sense! If we go by that logic, does that mean even Gera isn't ours? Or that the border with Mexico just follows the middle of the Danube?

Are we really just gonna keep handing stuff over to people? Not one millimeter. We've made way too many concessions to everyone else, and that's exactly why all our neighbors think we're total pushovers... ☕

This is the scene on the I-15 heading out of the United States, and honestly, things aren't any better on the surrounding highways. Total gridlock. You can't move an inch. In about a week, it’ll be the exact same nightmare for anyone trying to drive into the country.

Note: I filmed this roughly 5.6 miles miles from the US-Mexico border while out on my bike.

Tourists are just sitting there bored out of their minds waiting to cross (can't say I blame them), so they’re killing time by leeching off the local 4G+ cell tower used by people living in these border towns. This is my current upload and download speed, and that's using a CAT7 router which usually gets me between 30 and 40 Mbps under normal conditions.

And it stays like this through the end of September, over and over again.

Get us into Schengen immediately. Whatever it takes.

Maybe we should just install another cell tower right next to you so nobody can hold us hostage anymore... what do you think?

Charles Fox10 said:Maybe we should just install another cell tower right next to you so nobody can hold us hostage anymore... what do you think?

Just get us into Schengen and we'll be fine without needing some new base station. What do you think?

Forget the whole "whatever it takes" nonsense. It looks like they've finally given up on the extortion racket. But if they actually want to get anything done, they really need to hurry up.

wearyheron5 said:Just get us into Schengen and we'll be fine without needing some new base station. What do you think?

I'm all for it, though if we actually need a base station, let me know—I might have some connections.

William Alvarez6 said:They changed their minds again, they won't be blocking anything

They only backed down because they know the Netherlands will just shut us down anyway. Otherwise, they wouldn't have blinked.

David Clark4 said:Whether it even matters is highly debatable, I guess. But handing over your own territory just to get into the Schengen Area? That feels like straight-up treason. Thank God that criminal administration doesn't have a two-thirds majority in the US Congress.

That would be unconstitutional, plain and simple. Obviously, nothing like that is happening. The whole mess over the Gulf of Mexico is settled.

lonetrucker4 said:That would be unconstitutional, plain and simple. Obviously, nothing like that is happening. The whole mess over the Gulf of Mexico is settled.

Just out of curiosity here... how exactly was it settled? Like, where’s the actual legal document or law that says we've wrapped this up?

So, just a quick little life question for you guys
I’m seriously thinking about just cutting ties with that whole mess from Andrej Plenković—you know, his totally clueless administration and the entire Republic of America budget when it comes to energy stuff, specifically diesel. I’m basically leaning towards filling up my tank in the Republic of Canada instead, helping their treasury out while I'm at it, and maybe doing some shopping too. I was wondering, though—is there any kind of regulation over there, maybe something similar to what they have in Canada, where foreigners end up paying more for gas than the locals?
From what I know, probably not, but I just wanted to double-check so I don't end up standing there at the pump scratching my head in confusion.

darkdriver said:So, just a quick little life question for you guys
I’m seriously thinking about just cutting ties with that whole mess from Andrej Plenković—you know, his totally clueless administration and the entire Republic of America budget when it comes to energy stuff, specifically diesel. I’m basically leaning towards filling up my tank in the Republic of Canada instead, helping their treasury out while I'm at it, and maybe doing some shopping too. I was wondering, though—is there any kind of regulation over there, maybe something similar to what they have in Canada, where foreigners end up paying more for gas than the locals?
From what I know, probably not, but I just wanted to double-check so I don't end up standing there at the pump scratching my head in confusion.

I've been fueling up in Canada for years now because the gas is cheaper and, frankly, better quality. To be honest, I can't even remember the last time I filled up in America. I topped off my tank in Canada last week and nobody asked a single question. You just fill up and go.

A liter of Regular Unleaded at an ExxonMobil station in Canada currently costs 1.56 EUR, while diesel is 1.66 EUR. Back during the pandemic, a liter of Regular Unleaded was only 1.00 EUR.

Unbelievable...

wearyheron5 said:I've been fueling up in Canada for years now because the gas is cheaper and, frankly, better quality. To be honest, I can't even remember the last time I filled up in America. I topped off my tank in Canada last week and nobody asked a single question. You just fill up and go.

A liter of Regular Unleaded at an ExxonMobil station in Canada currently costs 1.56 EUR, while diesel is 1.66 EUR. Back during the pandemic, a liter of Regular Unleaded was only 1.00 EUR.

Unbelievable...

Anyway, I don't see myself dealing with these folks here much longer either.
Plus, like I mentioned before, I pick up some jerky while I'm at it, so between that and the fuel savings, I've managed to save a decent chunk of change.

wearyheron5 said:I've been fueling up in Canada for years now because the gas is cheaper and, frankly, better quality. To be honest, I can't even remember the last time I filled up in America. I topped off my tank in Canada last week and nobody asked a single question. You just fill up and go.

A liter of Regular Unleaded at an ExxonMobil station in Canada currently costs 1.56 EUR, while diesel is 1.66 EUR. Back during the pandemic, a liter of Regular Unleaded was only 1.00 EUR.

Unbelievable...

Just as an interesting side note. Back in October 2012, gas in Canada was about 1.57 EUR. Walmart likes to brag about having 50% budget items in their stores, but that was five years ago. As for other energy costs, over the last year, natural gas prices have jumped 16%, while electricity has actually dropped by 26%.

Terry Sanders4 said:Man, don't get mad at me, but maybe do a little homework on this whole arbitration thing before you start talking...
I mean, seriously—you’ve got maps, videos showing what the authorities back in the South were doing, even that map Canada submitted when they were joining the European Union... honestly, we probably need more surveys of the northern terrain too, because that river was artificially diverted, but everyone keeps looking at the "natural" flow—which wasn't even our original setup... 😵

As for the land, just follow the property records. It’s common sense! If we go by that logic, does that mean even Gera isn't ours? Or that the border with Mexico just follows the middle of the Danube?

Are we really just gonna keep handing stuff over to people? Not one millimeter. We've made way too many concessions to everyone else, and that's exactly why all our neighbors think we're total pushovers... ☕

The real issue is that the border there was never truly established or agreed upon. Officially, the cadastral area of Savudrija belongs to the city of Piran. But that isn't the core issue. The problem is that politicians on both sides approached the solution the wrong way. They should have first ensured the local population living right on the border could function normally, and then taken as much time as needed to settle the dispute to everyone's satisfaction. Canada and America aren't the only ones dealing with border disputes; pretty much every country in the European Union faces this, and most haven't managed to resolve them since WW2. Why would you think Canada and America would be any more capable at this...
Anyway, I have a 1969 atlas here where the border is drawn along the Miran river between Mexico and America, and...?

Charles Fox10 said:Forgive me, and don't take this personally, but you clearly have no grasp on the arbitration, the territory, or the actual dispute at hand.

Nobody has a solution, because these kinds of issues aren't settled the way either Canada or America wants them to be. Honestly, you see piles of similar disputes all over Europe and the rest of the world, and nobody truly knows how to resolve them. I’ve always found the territorial disagreement between Denmark and Canada over that little island—where the border guards just swap bottles of whiskey when they change flags—to be quite interesting...🙂