On Tue, 8 Oct 2024 11:31:32 -0400, Rhino
<
no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:
The Canadian parliament is situated on Parliament Hill in Ottawa,
overlooking the Ottawa River. As I understand it, it is a public space
where all are free to come and go. I've been there in years gone by and
there was no gate to pass through or security team that had to say yes
or no to my being there.
If you are want to go up the Peace Tower you have to go through a
metal detector; similarly they simply DON'T let people anywhere near
the main entrance of the Commons and Senate when each house is
actually sitting. When the politicians AREN'T around the tour guides
will take you down the center aisle of Parliament though you can't sit
on the Parliamentary benches or sit in the Speaker's chair. The same
is true of the Parliament in London (Been there done that in both
Ottawa and London; there is no public access to Big Ben at all)
Yesterday, the pro-Palestinian crowd had a "demonstration" on Parliament
Hill and the taxpayer-funded Parliament Protection force (which was
formed after a terrorist actually broke into parliament and attempted to >murder parliamentarians after having killed an unarmed soldier outside
the premises) barred people not supporting Palestine from the
demonstration. They literally asked would-be attendees if they supported >Palestine and, if they didn't, they were forbidden entry.
Parliament Hill in Ottawa always had protection, the Parliament
Protection force is something new.
I'm surprised they let people inside the Parliament buildings at all
on October 7th given the likelihood for trouble that day. And I will
have to watch Monday's paper as for a soldier being killed (I hadn't
heard that till your posting). I would expect at that point they'd
bring in as many Ottawa police as needed until the military arrived.
If an officer was killed I'm amazed they didn't clear it totally -
asking people who they support is silly - people DO lie after all.
Meanwhile, large pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Toronto and Vancouver
were allowed to go their merry way, with the assistance of police. >Demonstrators denounced the Two State Solution, which Canada, like most >Western countries clings to as the best way to end the trouble in the
Middle East. Instead, they called for a return to '48, i.e. a desire for >everyone to gang up on Israel and destroy it entirely.
I've heard that as well and share your opinion. At least they cleared
the encampments at U of T and UBC quite a while ago.
Our nation, or at least a significant contingent of the young people in
it, has badly lost its way and our government appears to be on their side.
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/first-reading-the-cheering-crowds-who-thronged-canadas-cities-to-celebrate-oct-7
I'm astonished the National Post reporter called the Israeli consulate
in Toronto an embassy - any reporter SHOULD know without needing to be
told that embassies are in the national capital, consulates in major
cities - doh! I knew that in my teens for heavens' sake (though I was
in a minority amongst my classmates given my father and mother were
born in the US and Canada respectively - and was taken out of school
one day in grade 11 for my father's naturalization ceremony - my
mother who was a substitute teacher checked with the principal who
just laughed and said "Of course - he'll probably learn more at the
court than in the classroom that day!"
And it goes without saying that anyone that refers to "martyrs" is
almost certainly pro-HAMAS. Though what was that Chilean flag doing in
the picture from the Toronto demonstration? Chile is further from the
Middle East than Canada after all <grin>
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