Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Weird. Rome has an American Pope and America has a Russian President.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty. ~Thomas Jefferson

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

“But what about the lurkers?”

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 / Foreign FAFO Affairs Open Thread: The Canadian ‘Trucker’ Protests

Foreign FAFO Affairs Open Thread: The Canadian ‘Trucker’ Protests

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Foreign FAFO Affairs Open Thread: The Canadian 'Trucker' Protests

(Drew Sheneman via GoComics.com)


F*cked around, found out…


… But all the conservative think pieces in the world can’t change the facts: The group doesn’t represent anything near a majority of either truckers or Canadians. According to Trudeau, almost 90 percent of Canadian truckers are vaccinated. And many in the convoy aren’t even truckers. This isn’t a movement; it’s a Rorschach test, and the far-right media (including the polite right) see working men rising up against their oppressors. The rest of the media, meanwhile, are reporting on the protests without jumping to the conclusion that society is crumbling in Canada. (In fact, Ottawa’s chief of police has resigned following criticism over the weak response to the protests, which led to supply-chain issues for American carmakers and millions of dollars in lost wages for American workers. Eventually Trudeau declared a national public-order emergency.)

Tucker Carlson? He’s selling “I ❤️ Truckers” shirts that are a play on his name for 35 bucks. Elsewhere on Fox News, Sean Hannity told his viewers on February 11 that if Canadian-government officials “dare send the military in or cops or law enforcement in to arrest these guys, that’s on them. Whatever the result of that is will be on them.” Hannity also told Fox’s Sara Carter to “send our solidarity, love and support to all of the brave people who are there.” Solidarity! That’s quite a break from how Hannity, vocal critic of the Black Lives Matter movement, tends to talk about protesters. Turns out he doesn’t “back the blue” when it comes to the Canadian police or anyone who’s trying to police something he likes…

Foreign FAFO Affairs Open Thread: The Canadian 'Trucker' Protests 1

(Clay Jones via GoComics.com)

Reader Interactions

139Comments

  2. 2.

    scav

    Waving their magic white underwear as a get out of obeying the law trick. Well, I guess they’ve come to the hard conclusion that merely waving their white skin isn’t working as well as they once thought.

  4. 4.

    Baud

    @NotMax:

    Fucked around, found out.

    ETA: Maybe it’s the acronyming of the language, rather than demographic change, that’s driving right wingers crazy.

  11. 11.

    Scout211

    Wow. Did anyone else hear that megaphone guy in the first tweet announcing “freedom is coming” and “don’t worry, you’ve got nothing to fear,” etc., and was reminded one of those cheesy disaster movies with some guy on a megaphone telling the public they have nothing to fear from all the aliens who just landed on earth?

    It was very, very weird and eerie.

  12. 12.

    Peale

    I don’t have any white get out of jail underwear. Hopefully the police can use their imagination.

  13. 13.

    lowtechcyclist

    With respect to that other foreign situation that’s been in the news lately, what’s the deal with Belarus?  Especially, what’s the deal with their relationship with Russia?  I’ve read what Wikipedia had to say about Belarus and its relationship with Russia, and it all seems rather ambiguous. For instance, they were supposed to form a ‘Union State’ unifying the two nations, but never really carried it through.

    Questions like, could Russia attack Ukraine through Belarusian territory, come to mind, especially given how close Kyiv is to Ukraine’s considerable border with Belarus.  Would Belarus allow that?  Or alternatively, just choose to recognize that it wouldn’t be in its best interests to try to interfere with that?

  15. 15.

    Parfigliano

    I sincerely hope there is something  in Canadian law whereby these shitheads lose their CDL forever.

  18. 18.

    mrmoshpotato

    Saturday morning megaphone: protesters proclaim “you’ve got nothing to fear. The police are our brothers.” In full sight of them, there are two police armoured vehicles and tactical officers getting ready to roll. Video by @crystaloag pic.twitter.com/9FdIhN0nU0— ??á? ?’???? Global News (@ConsumerSOS) February 19, 2022

    Extra “u” for extra ass kicking! What up, Canadian Trump truck trash?!

  19. 19.

    Baud

    Sean Hannity told his viewers on February 11 that if Canadian-government officials “dare send the military in or cops or law enforcement in to arrest these guys, that’s on them. Whatever the result of that is will be on them.

    Only good government has agency.

  22. 22.

    debbie

    A thread about an “award-winning correspondent who works with @FoxNews.” Based on her methods, she probably does:

    A lesson in how misinformation becomes fact in too many minds. Thread:

    Meet @SaraCarterDC. Her bio says she’s an award winning correspondent who works with @FoxNews.

    Three hours ago, Sara tweeted that someone in the occupier demo died after police on horses pushed through. 1/ pic.twitter.com/fpaYDctQVn
    — The Family Soup Company (@mypoortiredsoul) February 19, 2022

    The whole thread is worth reading, just to see how dishonest she is.

  25. 25.

    mrmoshpotato

    What if your underloos aren’t white?!  Does waving a pair of green boxers signal “Come beat my dumb ass, coppers!  Nawh!  Ya see!”?

  27. 27.

    Brachiator

    @debbie:

    From a Daily Beast piece on Sara Carter:

    This isn’t the first time Carter has made an outlandish claim and had to back peddle. In March of 2020, the Fox News star deleted a bonkers tweet urging her followers to film nearby hospitals, convinced that people weren’t getting sick in mass numbers and leading to overflowing hospital rooms amid a global pandemic.

    That’s the thing about Fox News and associated crackpot media. They have no compunction about lying.  It’s for what they think is a noble cause.

  28. 28.

    Another Scott

    It's amazing that the Canadian "freedom" people don't get that civil disobedience — protesting by blocking streets or defying official orders — means YOU EXPECT TO GET ARRESTED. That's what civil disobedience is!

    White privilege is a powerful drug, man

    — Will Bunch (@Will_Bunch) February 19, 2022

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  30. 30.

    Geminid

    @lowtechcyclist: Belarus’ leader stole his last election and was only able to quell protests with Russian assistance. He’s now a Russian puppet. The joint Belorussian/Russian military maneuvers of the last few days are seen as a springboard for invading Ukraine.

  31. 31.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Meanwhile Pat King is telling truckers the OPS has said they will let truckers leave. He recommends taking their white shirts or underwear off to hold a white flag because the cops “cannot touch you if you are holding a white flag. That is international law.”

    This sounds like something Brent Park would say during one of his comedy videos.

    “We are not retreating, we are regrouping.” They are setting up again at Antrim Truck Stop, Arnprior. And then they’ll drive back to Ottawa. “Get out because we have already won…We don’t want violence.”

    If this is white privilege it’s white privilege in the form of too much drugs and Call of Duty.

  35. 35.

    debbie

    @Geminid:

    Belarus is its own kind of evil. They made a point of bullying immigrants to go to Poland, only to be kicked out and tossed back and forth like ping pong balls for weeks earlier this year.

  36. 36.

    Just One More Canuck

    @debbie: If it’s the same incident I’m thinking of, one of the toddlers spooked some of the police horses by throwing a bicycle at  them

  39. 39.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Brachiator:

    That’s the thing about Fox News and associated crackpot media. They have no compunction about lying. It’s for what they think is a noble cause. 

    The Dump-humping fascist shitstains wouldn’t have anything to say if they didn’t lie.

  40. 40.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Baud: Don’t worry, they have ham sandwiches to eat. The spiciness of the mayonnaise will keep their lilly white asses warm.

  41. 41.

    Brachiator

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: 

    Meanwhile Pat King is telling truckers the OPS has said they will let truckers leave. He recommends taking their white shirts or underwear off to hold a white flag because the cops “cannot touch you

    Wow. Someone told them this. And they believed it.

    And now we have the Butt Cheek Roundup.

    Sad.

  42. 42.

    Peale

    @lowtechcyclist: there was a brief period where it looked like  Lukashenko thought he could be popular by being a maverick thorn in Putin’s eye. And I remember some kind of ridiculous thing where Putin banned Pringles in response to US sanctions and there was a lot of smuggling going on because Belorussia wasn’t joining in Putin’s continental system. But that ended because someone needed help putting down protesters and the West isn’t buying that he won his last election 150% to -75%.

    belorussia will be a no belligerent in this war if it happens. I expect Ukraine will be invaded from the south, east and north.

  44. 44.

    Ramalama

    Spotted a pickup in my small QC village with a Support the Truckers bumper sticker. Guy gets out with his gal, walk into a side door of the local workout / gym place, mask-less. This is not usual. Everyone’s still gotta wear a mask to get into any place. And lately lots of people walking around outside with a mask.

    My spouse thinks that it’s possible that the protestors will convene in our belle province to regroup because… Quebecers, when they get the bug, are very good at protesting. Not sure if there’s much support for the trucker asshats here though.

  46. 46.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Geminid: So, they don’t understand Canada isn’t part of the US? I supposed they were too drunk and stoned for the geography lesson back in grade school. lol

    Sounds like the Freeman on the Land kind of nonsense; “Well were sovereign citizens so Canada has to treat us like we’re another country”

  51. 51.

    Redshift

    @lowtechcyclist: Their relationship is rather ambiguous, and is deliberately kept that way. The history of the “Union State” agreement is pretty weird. One interpretation of the pressure from Russia to implement it a few years ago was that Putin was looking for a new position to move up to and still effectively rule Russia after his term was up, but instead, he’s now pushed through a law allowing him to remain in his current position indefinitely.

    After mass protests over the stolen election, Belarus’ Lukashenko is now more dependent on Russia than ever, and if Putin says he’s going to launch an invasion of Ukraine from Belarus, Lukashenko will say “how high?”

  54. 54.

    Mike in NC

    Recently discovered the “Art of Mark Bryan” website. Some awesome cartoons, but my favorite with Trump is called “Feeding the Baby” featuring a box of cereal named “Bannon’s Special KKK”. Beautiful.

  56. 56.

    Redshift

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    Sounds like the Freeman on the Land kind of nonsense; “Well were sovereign citizens so Canada has to treat us like we’re another country” 

    I’ve read there are plenty of sovereign citizen types involved in this occupation (apparently that’s not just an American thing.) There was some video of a group of them being deputized by one of their leaders as “having the right to make arrests.”

  57. 57.

    Kent

    @lowtechcyclist: Belarus is run by a Russian puppet dictator Lukashenko  who stayed in power through massive elections fraud just like Trump tried to pull off.  And maintains his power through brutal suppression of any dissent.

    I expect the Belarussian people are probably of mixed opinion about their closeness to Russia.  But the government is essentially a autocratic Russian puppet.

  60. 60.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Redshift:

    I’ve read there are plenty of sovereign citizen types involved in this occupation (apparently that’s not just an American thing.) 

    Wingnut assholery has no nationality. :)

  61. 61.

    Martin

    I’ve been saying that we’re going to have to put these people down. They do not recognize anyone else’s authority to govern.

  66. 66.

    RSA

    @Another Scott:

    It’s amazing that the Canadian “freedom” people don’t get that civil disobedience — protesting by blocking streets or defying official orders — means YOU EXPECT TO GET ARRESTED. That’s what civil disobedience is!

    I came across an anti-vax meme today making an allusion to Rosa Parks and her refusal to move to the back of the bus.

    The writer apparently didn’t realize the consequences: arrest, imprisonment, a criminal record, a court trial…

  67. 67.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Kent: I subscribe to this Russian You Tuber who does a lot of stuff on Russian pop culture and he said the Russian were stunned at the Belarus protests again that election, that the Belarus are widely considered pretty passive there.

  68. 68.

    Thor Heyerdahl

    @Baud:

    The horses, however, hate your guts.

    A tweet I saw in the last 24 hours said “of course they do – you took all their deworming medication”

  73. 73.

    Thor Heyerdahl

    It was hilarious to read tweeter twits commenting that the it was a UN operation and was against their freedom since the riot officers spoke French.

    Duh – Quebec is just across the river you idiots. Montreal is 200 km away….and the Sûreté du Québec and Montreal cops will rough up anyone (these white people are learning about the BIPOC treatment)

  74. 74.

    divF

    @raven: I was going to post this in response to Baud, but then said “70+ comments? Nah, raven will have taken care of it by now”

  75. 75.

    lowtechcyclist

    Thanks, all, for advancing my understanding of the Belarus-Russia relationship.  It seems like an important piece of the overall situation as Russia tries to put the screws on Ukraine, but in all I’ve read, Belarus is scarcely mentioned. So I’m glad to know a bit more now.

  76. 76.

    debbie

    @Martin:

    That’s because they’re total idiots. Omicron’s slowing down enough that vaccine mandates would likely have ended relatively soon. They didn’t need to do what they’re doing. That said, I cannot wait to see their dismay when their bank accounts and licenses are locked up.

  77. 77.

    Another Scott

    The honkers are in Edmonton today, getting loads of tickets. They also can't figure out how to get Ram Ranch off their Zello channels. Not a fun day for them. ??

    — Karen Piper (@PiperK) February 19, 2022

    (via CherylRofer)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  78. 78.

    apocalipstick

    @scav: If the white flag has a brown stripe, is that still covered by international law? ‘Cause a lotta those guys don’t look super scrupulous concerning personal hygiene.

  81. 81.

    scav

    @apocalipstick: Tricky question.  Traditionally hard-line conservatives have tended to rely heavily upon the “One Drop” rule, but when the tighty-whity is flapping on the other hand?

  82. 82.

    lgerard

    I still think the city should have brought in the Truckasauras and his monster truck pals and just rolled over the whole thing,

    The trump nuts wouldn’t know what side to root for

  93. 93.

    Cameron

    Once, the leaders fired up the crowd by ‘waving the bloody shirt.’  And now….no, no, I really don’t want to think about it……

  95. 95.

    mrmoshpotato

    Anyone else surprised that Shithead Ted (Cruz) didn’t cross the border to be a shithead with his fellow Canadian-born shitheads?

  97. 97.

    Dan B

    @debbie: Mandates were an excuse.  They want reactionary government that will stop all the liberals, send immigrants home, lock up minorities. Then all their problems will be gone!

  105. 105.

    debbie

    @Another Scott:

    Quite the insulters!

    The devil shits, and your army eats. Thou shalt not, thou son of a whore, make subjects of Christian sons. We have no fear of your army; by land and by sea we will battle with thee. Fuck thy mother.

  109. 109.

    Kay

    Dan Gardner
    @dgardner
    ·2h
    This is a United States Congresswoman. She is introducing legislation to “grant asylum to innocent Canadian protestors.”
    I’m confident I speak on behalf of the overwhelming majority of Canadians when I say, good for you. Keep them all. You deserve each other.

  110. 110.

    Mike E

    @debbie: Maladicta, a Midwestern academic authority on curse words, ranked Slavic languages 2nd in the world behind only African languages (apparently, it takes a village of extended families to invent some really colorful swearing), heh.

  111. 111.

    Another Scott

    If you're a Freedom Convoy protester hauled into court asking for your Miranda rights and the Canadian judge asks you who Miranda is, tell them its the name of a hit song by Boston. You'll still be wrong, but at least you'll have a nice earworm.

    — Ragnarok Lobster (@eclecticbrotha) February 20, 2022

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  112. 112.

    Gin & Tonic

    @debbie: There are several versions of the “original” text floating around, and they all may be apocryphal, but they are very direct, and don’t really seem like “thou” texts, if you know what I mean.

  118. 118.

    NorthLeft12

    These morans had two goals;

    1. Removing the Liberal government from power and especially removing/jailing PM Trudeau.

    2. Promote the free transmission of COVID. They wanted all vaccine mandates ended, ending of all masking requirements, and basically any other public health orders or guidelines to protect the people of Canada from COVID. It did not matter that these are under three different jurisdictions.

    They wanted things to go back to the way it was in 2019 and damn the death and hospitalizations.

  119. 119.

    MomSense

    I’m probably a wicked snob, but I’m so goddamned tired of these astonishingly dumb people.  No, waving your crusty white underwear is not going to keep you from getting arrested you dumbass.

    ETA: Surrunderwear!

  120. 120.

    Scout211

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Yvette Herrell, R New Mexico

    She seems nice. ?

    Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.) said on Saturday that she would be introducing legislation that would grant temporary asylum to those involved in the Canadian trucker protests.

    “Just as we provide asylum for political prisoners, we should do the same for truckers who have been subjected to violence, had their property confiscated, and their bank accounts frozen by a government that is quickly becoming the embarrassment of the free world,” Herrell said in a statement on Twitter.

    “I am introducing legislation that would temporarily grant asylum to innocent Canadian protesters who are being persecuted by their own government. We cannot be silent as our neighbors to the north are treated so badly,” she added.

  121. 121.

    Chacal Charles Caltrop

    @zhena gogolia: yeah, “thou” became archaic because it became insulting as “too intimate.” Now it’s just dead, but the last meaning before it died was to insult the listener

  126. 126.

    Thor Heyerdahl

    @NorthLeft12: Exactly. Bureaucrats need to provide service in both official languages.

    Which leads to a great way to answer the call if you feel like talking to someone after getting a “government” robocall (Service Canada, CRA, etc.).

    “Bonjour. Parlez vous français?”. (I’ve had a “no, only English” response, and an immediate hang-up when I spoke French. A family member had the scammer say “blah blah blah” and hang up when they tried it).

    Feel free to use the occasional “tabarnak”.

  133. 133.

    Chetan Murthy

    132 comment in, so I’ll go off-topic.

    Today I got a 4th shot — Moderna this time..  I went to a community vaxx event, that was (wowsers) really under-attended — like, nobody was waiting in line, and presented myself under a false name, with no ID and no address, for a first shot.  The nice old ladies were *thrilled* to be saving someone’s life, and I didn’t disabuse them of this notion.  I felt guilty AF, offered to pay out-of-pocket, then later offered to go buy/fetch/deliver their lunch, but to no avail.

    I’m not going to try to argue that this was the best use of the vaccine.  Given the warm weather and the lack of other clients, I’d bet that they’d have had to throw away the doses they’d prepared, at the end of the day anyway.  But even otherwise, with all the jackasses not masking in SF trains and buses, and the new “you don’t gotta mask anywhere indoors” bullshit, I’m not gonna take any incremental risk of covid that I could easily eliminate.  And since I was 4mos out, I don’t think this is very bad: Israel (IIRC) is giving 4th shots to people only a little older than me, right now.

    Anyway, it was easy and stress-free.  I just chose a *small* community nonprofit event that had a high likelihoood of having near-to-none traffic/clients, and stuck to my story: no address, no id, first shot, fake name, fake ph#, burner email.

  134. 134.

    Dopey-o

    @lowtechcyclist: Questions like, could Russia attack Ukraine through Belarusian territory, come to mind, especially given how close Kyiv is to Ukraine’s considerable border with Belarus.  Would Belarus allow that? 

    Digby addresses that, and her map shows Russian forces on the Belarus / Ukraine border, within striking distance of Kyiv.

  135. 135.

    Ruckus

    @Suzanne:

    Not sure that’s the most human way to approach it.

    But.

    They want to take the risk of dying from an easy preventable disease. Let em. But if they give the disease to anyone else, that’s an assault charge, first degree. If the person dies, that’s murder. All of this is preventable if they weren’t such assholes and chickenshits. It isn’t just their life, it’s everyone they contact. Fuck them, fuck their religion. I’ve spent 9 days in a hospital from vaccinations. And I made my appointment for my first shot 10 minutes after my age group opened up for this one at the VA. Because I’m NOT a pompous, arrogant asshole. At least not most of the time…..

    We had numerous chances to not have the level of death and long term symptoms that we do but no, they had to be assholes. And not just be assholes but make it far tougher for everyone else. And it’s not just in this country, it’s many countries, assholes are everywhere, all seemingly led by conservative politicians.

  136. 136.

    Jay

    @Chetan Murthy:

    great,

    no fourth shot yet up here in the frozen north, ( 3 only) but with BA2 out there, and near the head of the queue, looking forward to my next one.

    stay safe,

  137. 137.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Jay: If I were in Canada, I might not feel the need to have done this.  But here in SF, truthfully, I feel more and more that “you’re on your own”.  The frontline workers I interact with all have stories of the maskless, and I just don’t feel safe in public transit or foreign buildings with these dumbfucks.

    To be clear, I lied to get it. And I’d do so again, b/c I feel a ton safer now.

  138. 138.

    Ramalama

    @Scout211: police handed out flyers telling protesters which laws they were in violation of, a day before they began pushing everyone out. Dummies don’t realize how good they’ve got it. American police would never do that, white or not.

  139. 139.

    Geminid

    @Scout211: Yvette Harrell (NM-2) will probably be a one termer. Xochitl Torres-Small beat her by a few thousand votes in 2018, then Harrell won a rematch in 2020. Now New Mexico Democrats have drawn  a new map that will help a Democratic challenger this year.

    Torres-Small is now Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development, but flipping Harrell’s south and central New Mexico seat is a top priority for Democrats and she will face a strong candidate this fall.

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