Getting a bigger stick

Hey you. Yeah you.

What country do you live in?

Most of my readers are in the US. Readership beyond that is scattered across the world.

So to my few readers in Brazil, I ask you this:



Are you going to let a Canadian court tell you what you can and can't do in Brazil?

My reaction is also pretty much unprintable too.

Of course not. Yet a Canadian court has decided it is going to tell you what to do. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-google-idUSKBN19J27N

Suppose Brazil applies its laws to Canada? How long do you think Canada would stand for that?

LONG ARM OF THE LAW

This Canadian court decision is for Google. You may say it does not affect you.

But when you use Google to do a search, Canada now says if it wants something blocked or removed, you won't be able to search for that anymore. Even if you live in Brazil.

"The internet has no borders - its natural habitat is global," the Supreme Court wrote in its judgment. "The only way to ensure that the interlocutory injunction attained its objective was to have it apply where Google operates - globally."

Canada is reaching across its borders and have its laws apply in other countries.

Talk about the long arm of the law.

SIEG HEIL

And from the Land of Jorge "Let me show its features" Sprave comes a law that also reaches across borders. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/30/business/germany-facebook-google-twitter.html

This German law seeks to force Internet companies to shut down, stop, block pretty much exterminate with extreme prejudice anything that violates German law. Examples: "any content that is illegal in Germany — such as Nazi symbols or Holocaust denial."

Germany arrests people for saying the Holocaust did not happen. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/11993382/German-Nazi-grandma-sentenced-to-10-months-in-prison-for-Holocaust-denial.html

Germany also wants to arrest people who are natives of and live in other countries who deny the Holocaust. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-eu-germany-holocaust-denier-112408-2008nov24-story,amp.html "Although Toben is Australian and his Web site is hosted there, Grossmann said that German law allows for his prosecution here on charges of denying the Holocaust because the site can be accessed in Germany."

Our neighbor to the north feels the same way. http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ernst-zundel-sentenced-to-5-years-for-holocaust-denial-1.659372 "In several European countries, including Germany, Austria, Belgium, Poland, Spain and France, Holocaust denial is a specific criminal offence. In Canada, Holocaust denial can be prosecuted as a hate crime."
Never mind that speech in Canada is illegal there but 100 percent legal in the US.

Has your head gone splodey yet?

WALK SOFT CARRY A BIG STICK

Yassee, these countries, Canada, Germany, France, CHINA, and all the others can do this because no one will stop them. They can create laws that apply to citizens of other countries. They can try to enforce those laws across international borders. They DO in enforce these edicts across international borders.

North Korea does the same thing. Its enforcement methods are so far limited to assassination. Of course, that's a really freekin' effective enforcement method.

These countries can get away with this utter bull**** because ... they can.

Do you really think the United States is going to tell Canada, "knock of the BS. You can't tell us what to do within our borders." Do you really think the US is going to tell Canada it can't dictate operating terms to a US-based company? Oh sure, the US could do it. It would not cause a "diplomatic incident" either. Canada and the US need each too much. 

If you have a big enough stick, you can get away with anything you want to do. 

THE BIGGEST STICK OF ALL

Let some third world country try that cross-border law crap on the US and they'll be staring down the barrel of an M16. Don't think so?

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/30/world/americas/manuel-antonio-noriega-dead-panama.html Manuel Antonio "Pineapple Face" Noriega was arrested by the US for violating US drug laws. We went down there, arrested this guy and brought him to the US and tossed him in jail. The US made our law apply to another country and invaded the country to make it stick.

Anyone else remember the global protests, threats and embargoes against the US by Canada, England, Germany, France et al?

Yeah, this is a case of the US enforcing its law in another country. Not quite the same as another country enforcing its law here. Not quite the same as in the tail side of a coin is not the same as the head side of the same coin.

The US has the world's biggest stick. A double handful of other countries have big sticks too. These Big Stick guys are not interested in beating each other up over this BS. So, we beat up other small countries over this crap. Korea. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/truman-orders-u-s-forces-to-korea-2 Vietnam. http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-history Grenada. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/united-states-invades-grenada Nicaragua. http://articles.latimes.com/1985-03-05/news/mn-12633_1_harbor-mining

Ah heck. Get you some facts. https://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/interventions.html

When it comes to sticks, the US is packing the biggest Miss Pine the world has ever seen.

FLIPPING THE B SIDE

It is entirely acceptable for the superpowers and allies to create a law and enforce it in other countries. Yay. Rally round the flag and let's teach them furriners some manners.

Let one of those much-picked-upon countries try that shift and we got another World War. Canya queue up the B-side on that record, Walrus?

When the US decided to get a summer home in Afghanistan, 58 - that is FIFTY-EIGHT - other countries pitched in. Sounds purty World Warish to me.

Look at WWII. Eliminate the countries that were invaded by the Axis powers. When you do that, you get maybe a dozen countries that had troops in WWII.

Now do the same for Operation Slash & Burn Urban Renewal for Afghanistan.

12 v. 57.

Redefine your definition of World War?

OLD WHITE GUYS

Bully much?

For the most part, what you are looking at here is a case of cis gender white male privilege. Yup. Yup. Yup. A bunch of white guys decide "Hey. Enough of THIS crap. Let's make it illegal everywhere on the planet."

And they do.

No one stops them. Ain't nobody got a big enough stick.

ILLEGAL IN SEVERAL COUNTRIES

One country's laws stop at the border, unless of course that country carries a big stick. In which case, the law is infinitely portable.

Lemme make this very clear. The Holocaust happened. So did the purges in Russian and China and a whole bunch of other countries, including the United States of America. But more importantly from a crossing-the-border-with-our-law perspective, the Holocaust did happen. Millions died in gas chambers. No idea how many. The Nazis systematically carried out mass executions.

It happened. I believe it.

However, some people do not believe it happened. I support their right to share that belief, even though they are so wrong.

Because some people espouse this belief, they are subject to arrest if they visit a country with Holocaust denial laws.

In other words, what you say in your own country can get you arrested if you visit another country. This makes a whole lot of people criminals-in-waiting. What you legally DO in your own country can get you arrested in another country.

Sooner or later one of these multinational giant global conglomerates is going to stand up and say, "Hey cool. That's your law. We're good. We're cutting off access to your country. Problem solved."

I look forward to that day.