ENGLISH mother....., Do you speak it?

[solaar]

Do you have just one official written language or does everything need to be written in four scripts i.e. French/English in Canada?

Offically speaking, every federal document has to be released in the 4 languages - although the fourth one has become somewhat 'rarefied' over time and is sometimes omitted. The regional official communication is done in the regional language and has to be multilingual only if the particular canton (county) is multilingual.

 

(btw it's a constitutional right to choose one (or more) of the official languages in any official communication.)

[eire3678]

This ain't Europe. I don't know about you, but I don't want to walk down the street with big brother watching me from a light pole. The government would have a tough time with pulling that {censored} here since %98 of the populous in the south here have an arsenal in their home, and can form a 100 strong well maintained militia within 20 minutes.

 

 

I doubt the government would have a hard time installing such a system in the USA. It doesn't seem to take very long to convince people it's all in the name of safety. And a militia? You're comedic gold today. Do you honestly think a bunch of militias, no matter how many guns they have in their houses or how well they think they are trained, could succesfully repel the American Armed Forces?

[Alessandro17]

I live in a small but lively and wealthy town in Sicily (till 2005 I lived in Leeds, UK, in a muslim area)

There are quite a few foreigners here too. They don't annoy me in the least. Most of them work like anybody else.

I don't see why as an Italian I should deny them a right that I wasn't denied in several European countries.

[Mebster]

If you are here from another country, Why do you expect us to learn your language instead of you speaking ours? I for one will NOT learn your language for YOU. If you come to my country, you will learn my language. No ifs, ands, or buts.

 

If I went to Germany, I would NOT expect the entire country of Germany to learn English for me. Why do you think that everyone should learn Spanish for you? If you can't speak the language, go back to where you came from!

OryHara I can see where your coming from but I think your letting this become to big of a deal. If I went to Germany I don't expect anyone to make me speak german/dutch(?). I may or may not do. If I can get by with very little then I will. And remember not everyone that settles in a new country is a burden on the country and it's people. Just look at the state of the US and frankly how people are just getting less educated (I'm sure it's because you have a thick leader). Importing fresh young minds can be a good thing, whether they're they're able to speak English that well or not.

 

But don't get me wrong. I can see where you're coming from. I just prefer to take a little more relaxed position.

 

Note: I find it annoying when Americans come (to live often) to the UK and pretend they can speak English. Someone should teach them. (I'm just joking. Doesn't bother me.)

[OryHara]

I doubt the government would have a hard time installing such a system in the USA. It doesn't seem to take very long to convince people it's all in the name of safety. And a militia? You're comedic gold today. Do you honestly think a bunch of militias, no matter how many guns they have in their houses or how well they think they are trained, could succesfully repel the American Armed Forces?

 

There are several groups that meet each month that organize, and proclaim self defense. Thanks NRA, we here, welcome the right to bear arms.

 

Actually it is written in the constitution that it is our RIGHT to form militia against tyranny.

 

HERE, they would have a fat chance in hell for installing those things down the streets. They would be defaced, and destroyed in no time. I would give them a week or less before people started getting angry. After all, down here, we're nothing but a bunch of RedNecks. yeeeeee haaaaaaw.

 

 

LOVE the sig. That looks like him.

[gwprod12]

I'd like to point out that the reason you just gave for the existence of the NRA is the only good justification for the NRA's existence and cause. And also the one reason I almost never hear put forward by the NRA or about the NRA. Odd.

 

Why do you want a rocket propelled grenade launcher Joe?

Answer A: For hunting.

Answer B: Just because.

Answer C: Constitution says so.

Answer D: Because some day, my government might turn fascist and decide that everyone has to do exactly what it says, and when the tanks come rolling down my street, to round me up, I want the ability to blow them sky high. <ding ding ding>

 

Answer D is the correct answer. It also ties into the reasoning why patriotism and loyalty to government are almost necessarily mutually exclusive. The same can be said for all of the rights. They exist because the government cant and shouldnt be trusted (clearly).

 

To address eire3678's remark... the founders had a citizen soldiery in mind. Not a volunteer armed service. A citizen soldiery cannot be quashed by the standing army. They are the standing army. And a military coup is by default nothing more than an election. The swiss have a citizen soldiery. Which is one of the primary reasons no one has ever tried to or successfully conquered them. All (male?) citizens own their gear, have it at hand, have it ready, and know how to use it.

 

The right to a militia is guaranteed by the constitution. But it should be removed and replaced with a responsibility to form a militia. When everyone must fight a war, it makes it easier to decide whether or not there should be one.

 

Whatever happened to "Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none."?

[eire3678]

I'd like to point out that the reason you just gave for the existence of the NRA is the only good justification for the NRA's existence and cause. And also the one reason I almost never hear put forward by the NRA or about the NRA. Odd.

 

Why do you want a rocket propelled grenade launcher Joe?

Answer A: For hunting.

Answer B: Just because.

Answer C: Constitution says so.

Answer D: Because some day, my government might turn fascist and decide that everyone has to do exactly what it says, and when the tanks come rolling down my street, to round me up, I want the ability to blow them sky high. <ding ding ding>

 

Answer D is the correct answer. It also ties into the reasoning why patriotism and loyalty to government are almost necessarily mutually exclusive. The same can be said for all of the rights. They exist because the government cant and shouldnt be trusted (clearly).

 

To address eire3678's remark... the founders had a citizen soldiery in mind. Not a volunteer armed service. A citizen soldiery cannot be quashed by the standing army. They are the standing army. And a military coup is by default nothing more than an election. The swiss have a citizen soldiery. Which is one of the primary reasons no one has ever tried to or successfully conquered them. All (male?) citizens own their gear, have it at hand, have it ready, and know how to use it.

 

The right to a militia is guaranteed by the constitution. But it should be removed and replaced with a responsibility to form a militia. When everyone must fight a war, it makes it easier to decide whether or not there should be one.

 

Whatever happened to "Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none."?

 

Actually everything you said fell in with my point. We do not have a citizen soldiery but rather a bunch of loosely organized militias which are dwarfed in both training and resources by the US Armed Forces. As citizens we lack the power to fight a conflict with our own government. We would be dependent upon rogue military commanders to use their weapons and resources to assist the fight. And when all is said and done those rogue military commanders will likely take power and who knows if it would actually be any better.

 

There are several groups that meet each month that organize, and proclaim self defense. Thanks NRA, we here, welcome the right to bear arms.

 

Actually it is written in the constitution that it is our RIGHT to form militia against tyranny.

 

HERE, they would have a fat chance in hell for installing those things down the streets. They would be defaced, and destroyed in no time. I would give them a week or less before people started getting angry. After all, down here, we're nothing but a bunch of RedNecks. yeeeeee haaaaaaw.

 

 

Meet every month? So a group that meets monthly is going to be a match for a fighting force that trains daily? And you don't need to shout that it is our right to form militias. Militias would have worked when the 2nd Amendment was written. The only difference between the official army and the militias were some raggedy uniforms. Now the difference is cruise missiles, attack helicopters and tanks against small units of citizens who are unable to legally obtain even most automatic weapons.

 

And the cameras could be installed and kept functioning just about everywhere. With the ease the US government has introduced restrictions to rights in the name of safety, not to mention illegal wire taps that were never done with approval, do you really think it would be hard to convince the populace that cameras on every street would keep them safe from car bombs or something similair? Sure there will always be people that will want to tear down the cameras, but how long will that last if the police begin arresting and incarcerating those who do or if your neighbors look at you as aiding the terrorists for doing so. It wouldn't be long before it's just an accepted part of society. The general public is and always will be dumb and ignorant. What makes you think they would actually stand up for themselves in this case? You sir have a much higher amount of faith in the American people than I will ever be able to muster.

[solaar]

Man... I don't even know where to start on this one...

 

All that chat about private militia... but it's not at all the militia part that leaves me (almost) speechless, it's that by-phrase 'against tyranny'. Mixing weapons and trigger happy hobbyists with a mentality of 'good vs evil' , 'black vs white', 'right vs wrong' is not exactly a reassuring concept. It's actually scary. As a matter of fact, there are countless shades of grey in this world and certainly no firearm in the hands of a 'good vs evil' simpleton will ever change that fact.

 

In my home country, a militia is not a federal right it's a federal duty. (We don't get those imbecilic by-phrases about 'fighting the evil' though...) Every healthy male citizen between 18 and 34 is basically a soldier by default, the other men are reserve. You're fully equipped at home and have to go three weeks a year on refresh courses and once a year on obligatory shooting sessions. Until the 90s I had a FASS90 (SIG550) automatic rifle, 50 rounds (firmly sealed, don't even think of opening the pack!) and full combat gear in my closet, just like many other blokes. I got trained as a sniper but was suspended after a car accident. The day I returned my equipment to the authorities was a happy day indeed. All that stuff was just a waste of space.

At one point we were more than half a million armed forces, organised guerilla style. On a total population of 7.5 million (foreigners included). A small country armed to the teeth. A country which is neutral by constitution.

What's the question? How many people get killed by those military guns in people's homes? I have heard of 3 cases in my whole life and the gunmen were all mentally severely deranged. So let's say, 0.1 times in a blue moon.

 

And btw, no it's not because we're armed up the ying yang that nobody ever wanted to 'conquer' us. (That's an old myth, conveniently misused by trigger happy guns-are-good lobbies.) We never gave anybody a reason to even want to conquer us. That's the closest to the truth you can get.

 

The confederation is actually in the process of reducing the contingency by 50%. Brilliant move! that money can be spent much more wisely - for instance on education about the dangers of putting firearms into the hands of armchair generals and other fools... bah... put it on education in general.

[OryHara]

Whatever happened to "Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none."?

 

Peace flew out the window with the roman empire, the ussr, and the bush administration.