# Okay, so does this canadian ex defense minister know something we don't? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 26, 2005, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842 "2005-11-26T21:47:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842/1 "2005-11-26T21:47:16Z")
[http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20051124/bs\_prweb/prweb314382\_1](http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20051124/bs_prweb/prweb314382_1) Wtf? WTF? Is Trudeau a known loon? Alternatively, is there some plausible and purely terrestrial political reason for something like this? (The story frames it as part of the Star Wars debate, but it’s not clear to me why it would be politically expedient to pretend to take ETs seriously as part of that debate.) What am I to make of this? -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842/2 "2005-11-26T22:04:13Z")
It’s not Trudeau saying this, it’s his former Minister of Defence, Paul Hellyer. And I’m guessing he’s a loon. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842/3 "2005-11-26T22:07:26Z")
I think if any alien species has technology advanced enough to travel through interstellar space and visit earth on a regular basis, they’ll be the ones deciding just how peaceful our relations will be. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842/4 "2005-11-26T22:12:01Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > [http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20051124/bs\_prweb/prweb314382\_1](http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20051124/bs_prweb/prweb314382_1) 😕 :dubious: :rolleyes: :dubious: 😃 :eek: 😕😕 > [@](#): > > What am I to make of this? > > -FrL- A new major topic of debate in GD : exopolitics 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842/5 "2005-11-26T22:40:12Z")
He’s run for the leadership of the Liberals, and also run for the leadership of the conservatives. He’s started and held the leadership of his own party, which he unsuccessfully tried to merge with the NDP. In other words, he has been all over the political map of Canada (and the universe). We did have a very successful Prime Minister who had some interesting beliefs: MacKenzie-King, who regularly spoke with his dead mother. Presently, our neighbours, the USA, have a President who ernestly believes in a god with whom he has spoken. Sorta creepy, if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842/6 "2005-11-26T22:41:48Z")
Conservatives, not conservatives. Sorry. Didn’t mean to offend. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842/7 "2005-11-26T22:47:51Z")
Paul Hellyer is arguialy the least reliable source in the world. He himself has recently been EXTREMELY vocal about his belief that space aliens are visiting the Earth and that the government of the United States is covering it up. Consider this quote from the linked article: _Originally said by Paul Hellyer_ > [@](#): > > I’m so concerned about what the consequences might be of starting an intergalactic war, that I just think I had to say something. He goes on to claim that the United States - Hellyer hates Americans - is going to start a war with the space aliens. Canada has serious problems with regional dissatisfaction, health care waiting lists, a totally failed Indian affairs policy, international competition and infrastructure issues, and Mr. Hellyer is worrying about our relations with the Klingon Empire. The man is fucking insane. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842/8 "2005-11-26T22:56:54Z")
You’ve got to take anything Hellyer says with a grain of salt. I figure that’s how the rest of us deal with him. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842/9 "2005-11-26T23:27:22Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > We did have a very successful Prime Minister who had some interesting beliefs: MacKenzie King, who regularly spoke with his dead mother. B.C. Premier [Amor de Cosmos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amor_de_Cosmos) (born “Bill Smith”) is a personal favourite. A great man, actually, but eccentric by most standards and totally off his head toward the end. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842/10 "2005-11-26T23:42:22Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > A great man, actually, but eccentric by most standards and totally off his head toward the end. Isn’t that a requirement to be elected Premier of BC? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2005, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842/11 "2005-11-27T00:12:33Z")
> [@Larry Borgia](#): > > I think if any alien species has technology advanced enough to travel through interstellar space and visit earth on a regular basis, they’ll be the ones deciding just how peaceful our relations will be. Not just interstellar space, but inter_galactic_ space! For some reason, out of all this guy’s wierdness, that part bothers me the most. We’ve got billions and billions of stars in this galaxy alone. That’s more than enough space to hold all of Hellyer’s crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2005, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842/12 "2005-11-27T00:15:35Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Isn’t that a requirement to be elected Premier of BC? Ba-dum-tish. 😃 OP: Yes. The Vogons will be along shortly, so grab your towel and hang on, I’ll hitch us a ride. ---
**Author:** ![deevee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@deevee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deevee)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2005, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842/13 "2005-11-27T00:44:24Z")
He’s been an inconsequential nutter up here for over thirty years. There’s no shortage of nutty uncles in the U.S. either. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2005, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842/14 "2005-11-27T01:18:49Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Okay, so does this canadian ex defense minister know something we don’t? YES! He knows the Top Secret Canadian Air Force Poutine recipe. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2005, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842/15 "2005-11-27T02:16:25Z")
In the 1980s there was a french fry war in River Valley, Ontario, (the combatants were some bikers and some paddlers; the bikers took offence at the paddlers wearing neoprene) within an hour’s drive of the air force base that was closed, and even closer to an American radar station. Fortunately, the paddlers had towels. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2005, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842/16 "2005-11-27T02:58:13Z")
That page is _still_ online? That Web site has been around for at least eight or nine years. I remember visiting it back in grad school, which means it’s been around since 1996, if not earlier. The stock graphics – the “turn page” arrow buttons – were a common sight on almost every Web site in 1994. Bad design now, but considering the limits of mid-1990s HTML, it’s not _that_ bad. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2005, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842/17 "2005-11-27T03:01:19Z")
Replied to the wrong thread. Can someone report this to a mod? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2005, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842/18 "2005-11-27T05:14:52Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > A new major topic of debate in GD : exopolitics 😃 Damn straight. Shouldn’t it be “xenopolitics”? ---
**Author:** ![Wake\_up\_call](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dec6dc/32.png) [@Wake\_up\_call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wake_up_call)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2005, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842/19 "2005-11-27T07:20:40Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > What am I to make of this? If you want to concentrate on “ET” part of it, then you are in loony land. But if you want to concentrate on [this aspect](http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1113-03.htm) of your link, then you are not talking fiction. You are now entering a serious debate as to whether your tax money should be spent on this: “The Air Force Space Command has issued a progress report, “Strategic Master Plan FY04 and Beyond (SMP),” which puts forth the U.S. intention to dominate the world by turning space into a crucial battlefield”. Is “Weaponization of Outer Space” something we really want to do? ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Macphisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@Ms\_Macphisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Macphisto)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2005, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842/20 "2005-11-27T07:21:34Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > It’s not Trudeau saying this, it’s his former Minister of Defence, Paul Hellyer. > > And I’m guessing he’s a loon. I’d also be somewhat concerned had Trudeau made any recent comments, insane or otherwise. Granted, as **Muffin** mentioned, speaking to the dead is not entirely without precedent in Canadian politics, but I don’t think Mackenzie King’s mother ever gave any speeches, so it would still be extremely weird. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-does-this-canadian-ex-defense-minister-know-something-we-dont/332842.md?page=2)