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Should the US hand over Minnesota's Northwest Angle to Canada?
It's a geographic curiosity - a bit of US land at the top edge of Minnesota, disconnected from the rest of the state. The Northwest Angle is known to local residents, people who love to fish - the region is famous for its walleye - and geography buffs. It is accessible by land only through the Canadian province.
Now, someone has anonymously launched a petition urging the US to hand the land over to its northern neighbours. "Make America great by correcting this critical survey error," states the petition posted on 30 December on the White House "We the People" site, which allows citizens to petition Congress on issues that matter to them. The petition is titled "Give Canada back the Northwest Angle located in Manitoba".
The nub of Minnesota state is roughly 123 square miles (318 square km) and is farther north than any other part of the contiguous United States. Living above the 49th parallel, Angleites - as local residents are known - are the northernmost American citizens, barring Alaskans. It can be reached by driving through Canada or by boat across the Lake of the Woods.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 05 2019, @12:25AM (12 children)
Never would the greatest president the country has ever seen just *give* something away. But maybe he could negotiate a great deal like trading it for Alberta.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday January 05 2019, @12:53AM (11 children)
Take Quebec...YOU can put up with the whining: "Give us this and that and that....or we'll SEPARATE!"
"Take my Quebec. Please!"
--Rodney ChampdeDanger
My Canada includes provinces that don't whine about how little they get when they're given more than they pay in taxes.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 05 2019, @03:32AM (3 children)
Typical bullshit-regurgitating quebec-bashing basement dweller who's NEVER set foot in quebec. Never been out of his hometown I bet.
Do you know which province has the oldest recurring secessionnist movement in canada ? Alberta. Bet you didn't know that, ignorant worthless little shitfuck.
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by Gaaark on Saturday January 05 2019, @04:00AM (2 children)
Oh boohoo, found the Quepecker in the group.
Take more in taxes than you give and STILL whine and now you call ME a shit fuck.
Separate and see how well you do with your arenas falling apart and your infrastructure failing.
GIVE ME MY TAXES BACK or separate: put up or shut up little french-dick.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 05 2019, @05:59PM (1 child)
Huh? I'm confused. I thought Canadians were reasonable people. You two sound like Americans to me.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Sunday January 06 2019, @03:07AM
We all have our Trumps: mine is the stupidity of Quebec whining about how badly they're treated while taking more than they give.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 4, Informative) by dry on Saturday January 05 2019, @03:56AM (6 children)
I think you're mixing up Quebec and Alberta. It's Alberta that is always threatening separation due to evil Liberals not building pipelines fast enough. It's Alberta who bitch about not getting enough transfer payments from Ottawa just because they don't believe in paying Provincial taxes or charging oil companies a royalty. It's Alberta that bitches about the Liberals not doing in a couple of years what Harper's government didn't do in a decade. It's Alberta starting trade wars over not being able to ship bitumen. It's Alberta that refuses to build refineries and sell gasoline to the rest of the country leaving us to get ass raped by the Americans.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday January 05 2019, @04:12AM
So, you haven't been around for the referendums, the "My Canada includes Quebec" shit etc.
You haven't heard about the Quebec communities in Florida trying to push French as the second language to the point they have to vote that there are only 2 official languages there: English and Spanish, fuck the French whingers.
Quebeckers were given 'speshul' status by Pierre fecking Trudeau and now Canada has to support the French EVERYWHERE even in places there are no French or like in Toronto where there are far more Chinese speakers than French but by God they get better service.
Sheeit, they've finally shut up because they realise they are better IN Canada than out, but it's taken too long and Trudeau gave them toooo much because, SURPRISE, he's French!
Alberta hasn't whined NEARLY as much: they're only doing so now because they spent all the oil money that was coming in. If they'd spent less and been forward thinking and gone into some green energy, they wouldn't be so bad off.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday January 05 2019, @04:15AM (2 children)
Sorry...don't mean to take out Quebec on you.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by dry on Saturday January 05 2019, @05:00AM (1 child)
Here, on the wet coast, we notice Alberta more.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Sunday January 06 2019, @03:08AM
Ah, yeah: I guess that WOULD be true.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 05 2019, @05:32AM (1 child)
aren't most of the tar sands projects invested in heavily by American interests? They would rather expand refining capacity in Texas in order to export refined products? But thats the point of Trudeau's pipeline to BC, except to export the raw bitumen sludge, so probably to minimize any VAT/GST on it either...
(Score: 2) by dry on Saturday January 05 2019, @05:49AM
American, Dutch, British, some Chinese I believe, but probably mostly American. The argument is always that there is too much refining capacity now, yet it seems every second week there's a refinery shutdown and the price of gas goes up instantly. Takes a while to go down though and never goes down as much. jack it up to $1.60 a litre and people are happy at $1.40, just like it was when oil was a $150 a barrel. Refineries are making record profits and I guess that's what is important.
The GST isn't really an issue as businesses don't pay it, or rather get reimbursed generally. It's just a quicker buck to export the rare material.
There's also the argument that the tankers are just going to take it to Texas as well. Can't get that big of tankers that far up the inlet and it is hard to see it being worthwhile shipping small amounts across the Pacific, but maybe they'll return full of gasoline.