Debate Forum - Week 12 - Broken Treaties

in ungrip •  7 years ago 

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Please visit the debate frequently!  The winner of last weeks debate is @salmanbukhari54 with a respectable vote tally of 9 and @ailenepm  has won the steem for contributing a vote to that winning post!  Congratulations.  

Week 12 debate topic - Broken Treaties

Two days ago Gerald Stanly was found not guilty in the death of Colten Boushie, a case that has sent shock waves throughout Canada.  While this case is being seen as a white vs indian case, it raises some deep rooted relationship issues between the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island and those of us who's ancestors came from other lands.  

While the state believes that the Queen now has title to this land, acquired through treaties, conquest and Doctrine of Discovery, the Indigenous believe the treaties are peace treaties to share this land equally.  Despite the differences of opinion on what the spirit of the treat is all about, the Crown has constantly violated the treaty through their own greed, contempt, bias and genocidal behaviours.  That leads into this weeks question:

This weeks Debate Forum question: Despite the fact that the Federal Government and her subjects have apologized for their behaviour in the past, they continue to engage in violent behaviour.  Does that behaviour constitute a failure to live up to the terms and conditions of the treaties and if so, does that invalidate the treaty due to non-performance, fraud and violence?   

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The spirit of this contest is to engage the readers with thoughtful   debate and to explore ideas that are not commonly made available to   the    average Jane and Joe.  I also want to see if this is a good way  to     get low steem users participating and being rewarded with steem  to  help them build influence on this platform.  Readers are reminded  that  all comments are the opinions of those who are posting and as such  it    is    your responsibility to do your own research and make up  your own    mind  on these topics.  There is no write or wrong answer.   Let us  debate this  issue with respect, honour, dignity, heart and intelligence.     I am now on steemit.chat, user id @wwf. and discord (WWF#2870)  If you want to private chat, you can contact me there.           

Past debates

Week 11 - Pipe Lines - won by @salmanbukhari54
Week 10 - Trade Agreements - won by @salmanbukhari54
Week 9 - Legitimacy of Government - won by @dubem-eu
Week 8 - Guaranteed Income - won by @salmanbukhari54
Week 7 - Sectarianism & Dogma - won by @shai-hulud
Week 6 - Spirit vs Letter of the law - won by @shai-hulud
Week 5 - Indigenous Reconciliation - won by @dubem-eu
Week 4 - Net Neutrality - won by @skycae
Week 3 - Geoengineering - won by @cheneats
Week 2 - Government sponsored vaccination programs - won by @cheneats
Week 1 - Fixing government vs self-governance - won by @yulem   

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A treaty is basically a contract, and a peace treaty between two parties would rest upon neither side acting in violence to the other. It is obvious that the crown has engaged in violence and broken that contract so therefore the honourable tribes have a right to seek just and fair compensation for the harm caused by the crown for breach of contract - or respectfully request the crown to "GET OFF MY LAND".

However in reality, non of this will happen the crown is like a cancer and will only continue to get bigger and cause more harm to the tribes - the crown will continue to control the narrative and has shown repeatedly that it has no honour or integrity and any future treaty contract or other agreement will be nothing more than a pacification to save face with other countries.

The tribes will not be compensated by the crown and the crown will continue to trespass and not leave the land.

What can these peaceful tribes do about this trespass, Nothing... Apologising does not fix the problem or bring back those that have made the ultimate sacrifice - The crown will probably draw up another treaty to gloss over the harm they have already caused and force that treaty upon the tribes - receiving a standing ovation from the other countries for showing great kindness to the tribes - and that treaty will be broken before the ink dries.... they will continue in their domination and destruction of the tribes because they covet their lands.

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

They already have the lands, the crown and the vatican own the most land so do they really care so much about a few more square miles? The Crown and the Vatican can and have been held accountable in the past and continue today to show that they are willing to face the music and stop this trespass, the Tribes can certainly say "Enough" and they can even elect and run their own offices for whatever form of government they wish, but more than anything they can reach out to their brothers across the globe to help them stand up to these thugs, there is plenty to be done, it's not "business as usual" and the Crown and it's controller the Vatican aren't worried about claiming more land, they have bankruptcy to worry about.

i do not believe the crown owns the land at all my friend. The tribes can say that the land is theirs and has been for thousands of years - that will hold up in any court - i believe the crown will push to own the land in full allodium through the use of force, violence and coercion - in so doing removing all rights that the tribes have to their sovereignty.

In feudal law if you do not hold property ie land, then you are a simple serf and can not be a "freeman", that is why non Crown land in Scotland is being sold by the inch...

it's all about forcing the free into slavery, and the crown will take the land inch by inch if they can. Bankruptcy is a meaningless word to the crown / Vatican as wealth is not measured in fiat but in the land and people they own. The plan of domination by the crown is a complicated issue in itself, and this debate is about the Treaty violations committed by the Crown, so keeping this on topic i would disagree with the creation of any form of government by the tribes, and instead have a decentralised way of dealing with issues, that way no small group can sign away the rights of the many. Peace to you my friend :)

i do not believe the crown owns the land at all my friend. The tribes can say that the land is theirs and has been for thousands of years - that will hold up in any court - i believe the crown will push to own the land in full allodium through the use of force, violence and coercion - in so doing removing all rights that the tribes have to their sovereignty.

The crown can say that they acquired the land that had no landowner. They can also say that the treaty was for the land. If the natives make a claim it's tantamount to a homeless person declaring themselves landlord of the city. If the crown resorts to violence, coercion and force the natives could say "you're nothing without your thugs and your aggression, this is clearly unlawful", and if the crown ultimately does that they have demonstrated that they are indeed only thugs.

In feudal law if you do not hold property ie land, then you are a simple serf and can not be a "freeman", that is why non Crown land in Scotland is being sold by the inch...

In reality it doesn't matter what "equity" you "hodl", all men are begot Free, wars have been fought and won to establish that, again and again and again.

it's all about forcing the free into slavery, and the crown will take the land inch by inch if they can.

If the crown doesn't already own the land then why are people paying taxes on their property?
A: The Queen is the Ultimate Owner of the Land, both in Canada and the rest of the UK
http://www.whoownstheworld.com/canada/

Bankruptcy is a meaningless word to the crown / Vatican as wealth is not measured in fiat but in the land and people they own.

How can you dismiss bankruptcy, do you understand that it means all that they own is owed to others because they went bankrupt/cannot make good on their debts? Bankruptcy is what says if you can keep all that land, and about owning people I am sure that no Court on this Globe will uphold owning another human being.

The plan of domination by the crown is a complicated issue in itself, and this debate is about the Treaty violations committed by the Crown, so keeping this on topic i would disagree with the creation of any form of government by the tribes, and instead have a decentralised way of dealing with issues, that way no small group can sign away the rights of the many. Peace to you my friend :)

When I said they can have any kind of government you assumed that I meant centralized power that signs away other's rights, which isn't what government always is or what it always becomes, government can be by consent, within it's limitations and in good faith, and can be "decentralized" in method as well, yet ultimately government is a tool used to reach consensus and nothing more.

The crown have already used force and violence against the tribes and have already said the land belongs to them, just because the crown has said "it's mine", doesn't make it so - these actions have shown that they are nothing more than thugs.

There are no free men fighting in any army, all those that take up arms, are expendable slaves, and i respectfully disagree that wars are fought for freedom. Most wars are instigated by politicians/elite and are rooted in gaining resources, their greed is the driver for conflict, and is not the will of the people. [Also it is a way to remove Alpha males from the population decreasing the risk of an up-rising / civil war]

The queen holds the land in leu until an heir from god comes forth. She owns the people through words used by the people to describe themselves, ie British subject, human, person, citizen and honorary title like Mr. It has taken hundreds of years for the use of these words to become part of common everyday language, check out my brainwashed blog...

Even the best democratic government with honest intentions means that 49% of the people have no voice. And i respectfully disagree that you are governed by consent. Try and opt out... Try and say that their acts and statutes do not apply to you...Try and say you no longer wish to support their violence and wars by paying TAX. -

When you are aware that you are not human, then the complexity of the lie may fall into place - peace to you @baah, and thank you for the reply :)

The only problem with accusations of thuggery is to make them stick, and of course the crown said they own the land, and in the international communities eyes the crown is the landlord, and making claims is exactly how ownership occurred, claims that weren't challenged became accepted, which is why the indigenous have to challenge the claims and when they accuse the Crown of malfaice it must be substantial.

For every law theres is an exception, and for every rule an exemption. An apropos about wars, if an aggresor initiates war with your country, wouldn't you consider fighting against the aggresor fighting for freedom, in turn meaning every defensive war a war for freedom.

Treaties are often made between a State and another State, State and Corporate bodies and or State and an individual. It is very obvious that no state goes into a treaty that is not gainful to her, now the measurement and understanding of the gain a state stand to get from an existing treaty probably after some time especially when it’s original initiators are no longer occupying big political offices becomes a big issue.
Due to greed and selfish reasons, governments tend to exploit and most time violet some part of treaties and when such happens they pretend to be ignorant of it, but if the other party raises an alarm over the violation, government may own up and apologize. Is the apology a sign that such violation will not happen again? Obviously No!
On whether it invalidates the treaty for violence, non-performance, fraud and violence, the answer is no because that is when and where the coercive attitudes of governments manifest fully as she will do everything possible including more violence to compel the other party to continue the pact unless a formal dissolution or modification of such treaty is agreed.

i respectfully disagree with your conclusion at this time. Could you please explain how the treaty/contract is not broken when all evidence and one of the parties believe the contract/treaty to be broken? irrespective of the crowns "attitude" and willingness to engage in further violence, the crown was the "promiser", and the tribes the "promisee" if the crown had any intention of honouring the treaty, there would be a history of compensating the tribes for the trespass by the crown. Contracts/treaties require both parties to be in agreement - As the "promisee" believes the "promiser" has failed in their obligation, then the Contract/treaty which binds the two party's requires that the promiser compensate the promisee - There is a lot of damning evidence to support the claim by the "promisee".

Yes many presume that violation of any of the terms of agreement means an outright cancellation but its not, until formally broken, any of the parties may continue laying claims against the other even when such party started or was involved in terms violation.

Thank you for your clarification, however you did not answer the question - yes the two parties to a contract/treaty can have disagreements, but a disagreement is not what this debate is about, it is about whether the violence committed by the crown makes the treaty null and void - Also how can the tribes formally nullify, break the treaty when the promiser i.e the crown is the one enforcing and controlling all of the courts that hold the power to officially say that it is broken? If your premise is correct, then the treaty can never be broken by the crown no matter what horrors and violence they unleash upon the tribes. Whilst ever the promiser is also the enforcer of the contract/treaty, it will always be a case of "do as i say not as i do, the rules i make don't apply to me" - You see this in most statute laws, it makes it quite clear that the crown is exempt from the statutes.

A simple example - punch your boss at work... and try and say that you have not broken your work contract by engaging in violence....You will find that your contract was void when the punch landed - and your employer will be more than happy to toss your ass to the kerb....

Now if your boss punches you at work, and you say that he has broken the work contract, he will laugh at you and tell you to get back to work or you will be either beaten further or he will have your ass thrown to the kerb....

The land belongs to the tribes - it is their land and they cannot and should not quit and walk away -

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

My response and initial postulation is based on general contract/treaty, but being specific using the situation you are pointing at, its long over due for the people involved to raise and formally invalidate the so called treaty as it no longer holds. The reason I believe in this arrangement is, going be what one party may loose in canceling this treaty formally, it may not willingly agree to this but when the public stand as one united people with one voice, the other party will start to recognize that the people has cancelled the dead treaty and may call for a round table discussion if its still willing to make peace.

My dear friend;

If I just read your response correctly, are are advocating for the idea that violence, non-performance and fraud is not grounds to invalidate a treaty, only because the bully will resort to more violence if we confront them on that fact. As such, those that have been violated by the bully should shut up or face the consequences of more violence.

This stand is, in itself, a violent and abusive position to take and violates the foundations of this debate forum. You are justifying the actions of the state and telling the other part to shut up. Not only that, but you are arguing that the only way to get out of the treaty is if both sides agree, which further traumatizes the victims of the abuse and violence and provides even more power and authority to the abuser.

This is an abhorrent and violent position to argue my friend. I am disqualifying you from the debate due to your violation of the spirit of this debate. I am also calling out the 21 individuals who voted for this argument and I question their own integrity regarding violence, bullying, coercion, fraud and non-performance.

Please I never wished to be misunderstood by my comment, Like I explained to @realtreebivvy my position is based on an ideal treaty/contraction situation, however your yesterday's post (https://steemit.com/ungrip/@wwf/the-day-treaty-six-died) gave a more detailed and clearer explanation of the situation which is very obvious that the so called treaty in question is dead long long ago.

Am not in support of violence, bullying, coercion, fraud or non-performance from whoever against any people or group in any manner.

I'm not convinced my friend. Even if you were speaking from an ideal treaty / contract situation, your position still held the fact that the violence would NOT invalidate the agreement and your argument also suggested that the other party had no power to do anything about it.

This position is similar to an abused spouse trying to leave a relationship and the abuser having power over them to prevent the separation.

EVERYONE has a veto and to suggest otherwise is coercive, violent and abusive. Your argument supported that no veto exists and for anybody who has been on the receiving end of a violent relationship, they most likely would have a visceral reaction to your statements. Your words have power and I suggest you think twice about how you use them.

To argue such a position is, in fact, in support of the abuser. So your comments are now incongruent.

Nice

Upvoted ☝ Have a great day!

Without a doubt that means that they have no contract. Apologies for the past wrongs are but the first step in the right direction and by their continued behavior it's obvious that the "apology" wasn't earnest as it lacks any kind of follow through, and obviously any contract or action born out of fraud will always be fraudulent, their only option is to make another offer, something that requires admitting that your contract is completely unilateral and thus far hasn't been honored by the only party to this contract, which ultimately all Treaties are Good Faith Contracts, which unravel the moment that they disregard their good faith promises and guarantees. So yeah, the apology is simply the word of those faceless liars, thieves and murderers that promised otherwise, and I feel such empty words from these individuals should be meet with an universal eye roll.

The apology of misleading public opinion only, and the practice of violence and non-adherence to treaties, indicates the continuation of their greed and injustice. I think it is useless to abide by treaties with them
@wwf

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

As we have learnt from history treaties are mostly not made in good faith. Powerful always tries to get maximum to his advantage and tries to exploit the weak opponent.

Peace treaties made in past between almost every state or government have ended in shame and violence. At point when one party is at upper hand he wants to get maximum out of the situation.

The capitalists came to America; the land of opportunities. They were more civilized then native Indians. In order to satisfy their own masses at home they made treaties to coexist but with passing time the colonizers grew in size and number with so many resources and power at their disposal. So treaties lost important for the colonizers so they started exploiting the treaties of coexistence.

My heart aches to see the plight of the poor natives, they are still lagging behind the developed citizens. They are greatly shrinking in numbers and want equality and justice.

The government must help the natives to end violence, greed and exploitation. The government should address the grievances of the natives and help them restore their confidence in the state. Give them a bit freedom and protect their land and given them stolen rights.

The state has the capacity to make things better by providing justice to the innocent. The sanity must prevail to end the culture of violence and mistreatment.

i disagree that the settlers were more civilised, the tribes had access to clean water, fresh air, animals in abundance for hunting, rivers full of fish no obligations to a feudal lord etc...the tribes existed in balance with nature for 12000 years. Then came the settlers that thought they could improve on what the tribes had...Now look at how things have turned out, poisoned air, dirty polluted water, contaminated land and empty fenced plains and poisoned rivers...all within a couple of hundred years....I agree that the tribes require help, however i disagree that they should turn to the government for that help. that would be like asking your jailer for a day out....and to be happy for it..... The best way to help the tribes in my opinion, would be for the government/crown to pack their bags and leave and compensate the tribes so that they can clean up the mess.

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

Well, my friend we can not turn the clock back. A lot of water has been passed under the bridge since then. What we can do is to make present beautiful and future secure.

Any one who doesn't cope with the changing circumstances perish. Its the law of nature no one can deny. You adept, you make change, you progress, you develop; you survive other wise you are no more on the competing forces of nature.

For generations the natives faced isolation of the developed world. When they were made contact they refused to change and cope with the modern world; most of them vanished.

The remaining can only survive if they can re-conciliate what is in hand. I am not saying that they should surrender but at least they should demand their rights within the treaties and constitution of the country.

I agree with you opinion that the settlers had polluted much of the natural environment and that should not have been taken place. But I politely disagree with your opinion that they were more civilized than the settlers because the natives had their own issues. They had their own fighting among tribes. They didn't know the advance ways of living, cultivating, ranging, ranching, farming etc.

The modern easy ways, like we are talking thousands of miles away, have taken the price in their own way. I respect your opinion.

Even though we cannot turn back time we can compensate the sons and daughters of those who's estate was plundered and heritage outlawed. To think that justice has availed them as rightful heirs to their estate simply because the theft has happened generations ago is to consider that what once was born out of fraud can become whole and good with time. What is born out of deceit (as you said "tries to get maximum advantage" exposes that their intention was self serving, why would anyone agree to such an unconscionable, inconsiderate contract?) and fraud will never become just and correct, it will always be void no matter how many generations have passed and how many times the estate changed hands.

If we brush off justice because it's been so long ago we have no chance or reconciling our current situation which is directly born from the failed decisions and lack of justice in the past, surely the only way forward is by acknowledging the wound in its entirety and going from there to treating it and not simply declaring it "water under the bridge".

I think I have the same opinion that we should try to compensate the loss and stop worrying about the past time. We should look into future and do good to them in present so that they can get maximum benefit from their ancestors' land.

But I politely disagree with your opinion that they were more civilized than the settlers because the natives had their own issues. They had their own fighting among tribes. They didn't know the advance ways of living, cultivating, ranging, ranching, farming etc.

Actually the native Americans taught the settlers how to farm their land. https://modernfarmer.com/2016/11/pilgrims-no-idea-farm-luckily-native-americans/

Yes there was fighting among tribes, but the whites have also been warring since time began and continued to inflict it on their arrival in America.

I appreciate your sharing of knowledge and good research. But despite their sound knowledge of farming they were outnumbered by the people carrying "guns, germs and steel." Please have a look at book of "Jared Diamond" or documentary by National Geographic Society if you have not already read or watched.

Does the carrying of guns, germs and steel make the invaders more civilised?
I am very much aware of what occurred historically, and still occurs in many ways. I was merely pointing out that the native Americans were also capable what we call civilised activities. I feel we run a risk of downgrading others races and cultures if we don't acknowledge we all have both faults and greatness. We could all do with being a bit humble in order to accept that our ways are not the only ways.

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

Well, my friend I appreciate your balanced approach. I like to add that "guns, germs and steel" wasn't about civilized or uncivilized. I thought to share a good research for your knowledge.

Neither I called anyone uncivilized nor tried to downgrade anyone's culture. I only said "more civilized" in the sense that they didn't know ADVANCED ways of the modern world. I used it in a broader sense.

In history hundreds of civilizations perished and new one emerged in a particular time at a particular place. My humble opinion was only to highlight that by not accepting change societies (be that any) perish.

Very true, nothing is permanent and many advanced civilizations have perished, but people continue after their fall. It makes you wonder, is it the ideal of civilisation that cannot be sustained? Many tribes deep in the rainforests have lived that way for hundreds of generations.

Anyway, I digress now. Thank you for a thought provoking conversation.

The people acting as government are responsible for the treatment of the Natives, how can the government be trusted to help them? Why should they settle for "a bit of freedom" and why should their confidence in the government be restored, shouldn't the question be of "how do you hold the government accountable?" instead of saying that government has a chance of providing justice?

It's not sane to believe that abusers of power and of the people can be relegated to the initial charm of protector without any problem. If someone claims to be a protector but demonstrates to be an abuser then you cannot expect them to protect. it simply doesn't make sense to trust them once they have demonstrated that they are abusers. Now if they say "mistake" or anything it certainly wouldn't sing them praises of what a good Protector they are, it will only demonstrate that they acknowledge their mistake, in reality they might only be pretending that they recognize why and how it was a mistake and simply seek to use that forgiveness or reconciliation as a chance to abuse once again. In the end one wouldn't nonchalantly argue that they are Protectors if they are shown to be Abusers, regardless of their capacity for good because if one argues that they might as well give the chickens directly to the fox and promise the fox seconds.

I respect your opinion. But what I opined was that instead of aggressive approach they should solve the matter diplomatically. When you are weak then you must do something extraordinary to live rather to face "fox".

I didn't promote that the natives should be Aggressors against the Queen I asked how can you trust the Queen/Crown/Government to help them if the crown itself has proven to be only a Aggressor. To my understanding Protector and Aggressor are mutually exclusive, as are Friend and Enemy. The crown's Deeds throughout history expose the crown as Aggressor and even more so a Predator indeed, the people don't need to declare War against this wanton abuser, they need to denounce it's deeds and acts, they need to denounce it's legitimacy and evidence it with the long trail of abuse they suffered. Weak or not you're saying that they shouldn't dare to speak up or face the fox, and equate doing something extraordinary to live to not facing the Queen, because you are weak and they are strong? The testament of strength is exactly what one does when they are weakest, and the testament of weakness is exactly what one displays when they are strongest. The crown shows that it knows almost exclusively only coercion, deceit and aggression, displaying the character of an Abuser, they are weak, all they can do is hurl rocks, lie and cheat, their strength is what most consider weakness indeed.

Despite the fact that the Federal Government and her subjects have apologized for their behaviour in the past, they continue to engage in violent behaviour. Does that behaviour constitute a failure to live up to the terms and conditions of the treaties and if so, does that invalidate the treaty due to non-performance, fraud and violence?

First and foremost, were the treaty agreements made in good faith? Or were they an end to a means? Were they made under duress? Did all parties understand the terms and conditions?

I am not a lawyer, but to me, when two or more parties agree to certain conditions and those conditions are broken by anyone of the parties, then you have a breach in the contract or agreement. So in my mind, the contract becomes null and void.

Apologizing and having said apology accepted, does not give permission to continue the fraud and violence, on either part. Two or three wrongs do not make it right.

I think the behavior is due to the greedy behavior of Crown, and this is the failure of the Crown as a ruler on the island of turtles resulting in violent behavior, such as humiliation, bias and genocide that threatens minorities so that a wave of retaliatory action will likely occur throughout Canada and of course the problem the deep-rooted relationship between Turtle Island Orang Asli and people from other lands will intensify so that this will result in large casualties
Although Crown does not have absolute power over Turtle Island, Turtle Island Queen has several prerogatives. His role as head of the Turtle Island state was limited to ceremonial and some authorities, such as the announcement of war, governing public servants, and fixed agreements at the level of his authority

surely this could invalidate the agreement because the crown is not performing, and committing fraud against Indigenous Peoples, the peace agreement to share this land equally is not done by the queen and the Federal Government

so this is the failure of the queen to lead a country

In essence, violent behavior of one party to a treaty constitutes a failure to live up to the terms and conditions of the treaties and thus can invalidate the treaty. Reading some background information about how Indigenous people of Canada enter into treaties with the Crown, the former see these treaties as sacred and the binding character of those is not found primarily in the legalistic language of the documents but rather on what were actually said during the agreement that were actually accompanied by ceremonial acts.

On the other hand, the Federal government see these treaties in accordance to the technicalities of the language and in some cases even abused them as in the case when they used violence against the other parties.

My take on this issue is that the Indigenous People must stand their ground and fight for these peace treaties so they can share equally their rights to the land. When the Crown is abusing their rights to these treaties, they must learn to battle them out legally. I've read that Supreme Court of Canada have already established jurisprudence that in cases of conflict between the treaties relating to Indigenous People, they should be construed liberally in favor of the Indigenous Groups. Also, it is an established rule internationally that any fraud/violence committed on the part of one party to the treaty is a valid ground to invalidate such treaty. Although the use of violence of most government entities have been left ignored and not acted upon in most cases, I think the only way for the Indigenous people to have an equal treatment to these treaties is to continue to battle them out, the instances may be hostile to their interests but that is their only way out to achieve their victory.

This is a brilliant contest you have going on here, bro. And i'd usually be quiet, if i wasn't so darn impressed with what's going on here.

The reason i'm writing this, you see, is not just to give out a compliment, but to point out a flaw in your decision system, and all such that works in a similar fashion--that is, the post with maximun number of upvotes win.

While, ideally, this system would be the best possible system, in that it not only takes away the decision from a centralized privileged person or group of persons, but that it actually gives that privilege to the whole community.

In practice, however, IT is even more flawed than the centralized privileged judging system.

There are numerous reasons to support this, the most pertinent being that it is almost too easy to rig. All you have to do is go to your group on Telegram, WhatsApp, or Discord, and request for upvotes with promises to return the favor at a future date. Trust me, i'd know, I belong to at least two of such groups. Now in a group with over a hundred members, all you need is just a quarter of the total member to vote you and you're guaranteed a sure win.

Another reason is the fact that most people do have multiple accounts--some people have three. Myself included. Imagine having five of me upvote a shitty argument like the one you have up there.

Like I said, I would be quiet, but i really love your blog and appreciate what you have going on, so, I advice consider changing the decision system--you might consider choosing a panel of judges, maybe from past winners, trusted friends etc.

Transparency is good, but shouldn't come at the cost of an even more insidious evil.

P.S: You probably don't want to know, and it probably doesn't change anything, but I just want you to know I was pushed to the expedient of having more than one account.

Just going to clear my comment and leave ye be.

Best of luck

Treaties are agreements signed to spell out the terms and conditions to which the contractual parties have consented to abide by them. The terms and conditions should include remedies or damages or compensation for the injured party with which the agreement was broken. Often times, this would end up being a court battle to determine the injured party and the party in breach. There are valid reasons as well as invalid ones that caused the breach. For example, non-performance is one whereby one or both contractual parties had not performed according to the agreement. There is also a frustration reason, whereby a party would not be able to perform due to circumstances beyond the parties control, such as by a force majeure. For instance, a seller would not be able to satisfy the sales agreement of a house on the closing date because the house was burnt down by a fire the night before. Within the agreement, there are also terms that allow both parties to amiably terminate the agreement upon their wish, with the stipulation that advance notices must be given. Therefore, there are reasons for broken agreements in spite of their validity or justification.

With respect to the current question of broken agreements by the Federal government, the crown should honor the consultation framework in place with the aboriginals. However, this framework is only a skeleton of what needs to be done in terms of consultation process and procedure, which are not or may not be detailed in the agreement. Without putting these process and procedure in policy and in practice, there is a chance for the contractual parties to not follow the rules. A failure to live up to the terms of the agreement should not invalidate the agreement. In fact, the agreement or treaty would be good evidence of the performance required by the parties, and if a party is in breach, in this case, could be the Federal government, then the injured party should demand compensation for a broken treaty. Invalidity of a treaty or a demand for performance of a treaty should be judged by a court, which ideally is independent of the government. A treaty is signed for a reason, and that reason is to govern the behavior and performance of the contractual parties. A treaty should not be invalidated lightly without seeking recompense for the injured party through a court or exposing the problematic behavior. If that were the case, it would be a disservice to the public and businesses that rely on contractual law to help them achieve a promise in exchange for another contracted in the agreement. We have laws in a civil society to help people and businesses, or in this case the government, to negotiate the terms and conditions in an agreement or treaty and to which the contractual parties are bound. These laws hold the contractual parties to their promise and provide compensation for the one who abides by the agreement or treaty, and failure to live up to the agreement by a party is certainly deemed to be in breach by the same.

Except that treaties are unilateral, and hence not an actual contract, you cannot hold the other party to the contract because they will simply say that you weren't a party to a unilateral good faith agreement they made with some land stalwarts centuries ago. If I make a promise to a city and then I don't deliver on that promise nobody from the city can claim to be a victim even if their life and livelihood was entwined in me delivering on that promise because people are allowed to make all kinds of Grand Gestures and not deliver on them. If you gave me money/consideration for my promise then of course you should expect me to deliver on that promise.

In the terms of a good faith agreement, the very first instance where it was neglected or overstepped renders it invalid/null, in other words the single party that made the promise failed to live up to their magnanimous words.

This is the definition of a treaty:
a : an agreement or arrangement made by negotiation: (1) : a contract in writing between two or more political authorities (such as states or sovereigns) formally signed by representatives duly authorized and usually ratified by the lawmaking authority of the state (2) : private treaty
b : a document in which such a contract is set down

When there is negotiation for an agreement or treaty, it is not unilateral, meaning not one sided. By all means, one party may be in a stronger position to negotiate with terms and conditions apparently more favorable, but this does not mean it is unilateral nor does it mean one party dictates all the terms and conditions. If that were the case, then this one party can just dictate, there is no need for an agreement or treaty. This one party might just as well set all the rules and punish those who are not following them, and this is call dictatorship.

You can still have an agreement/treaty and one or both parties might not follow through with it, but that does not mean it is a unilateral agreement/treaty. Both parties did sign and agree to the terms and conditions in the beginning so there is bilateral agreement/treaty. Things can happen during the period of the treaty that lead a party to breach the terms, but that does not mean the agreement/treaty is unilateral. You might not be able to contest it (in court or otherwise) due to circumstances such as financing or other terms, but that does not mean the agreement was made unilaterally by one party alone defining the terms and conditions.

In terms of city agreement in your example, there are agreements such as restrictive covenants and caveats that tie to the land and not the person. The terms of these agreements will be transferred to the new owner as they run with the land. However, usually these agreements (i.e. restrictive covenants) might have term limits, which means the agreement with the city on the covenants may end in 40-50 years then the owner can have that agreement (i.e. restrictive covenant) discharged from the land. These matters are related to municipal laws and property laws.

Offended by the concepts of the treaties, Cree chiefs resisted them. Big Bear refused to sign Treaty 6 until starvation among his people forced his hand in 1882.

From wiki.

Does that qualify it as unilateral, or only one party benefits?

A contract must show Intent to contract, or an offer to contract is extended, someone Accepts the Offer, without duress, without coercion or without being compelled AT ALL, the contract offers EQUAL consideration of both parties resources, meaning that both parties are to gain and both are putting something substantial to the other party's offer. Without these things it cannot be called an Agreement, only an Imposition, only an Order, only a dictatorship indeed.

The thin veneer that covers these contracts and glosses them as Lawful or Agreement peels off effortlessly, exposing that for example the Natives had no concept of land ownership yet the treaties are primarily centered on land ownership, which demonstrates that there wasn't any "accord" only the appearance of accord, in reality what was agreed to was to allow the Queen to use their lands, not to buy them or to own them and among others the promise to provide schools or teachers, not to make the native's culture and heritage illegal and force assimilation, a thoroughly failed experiment, and such actions display the disparaging chasm between what the two parties interpretations of the terms were, and that is not even touching on the fact that there was no Equal Consideration of both parties resources, it was very much One Sided and will always remain One Sided solely because the Dominating Winner, the Queen afforded nothing to the Natives that could replace their land or could be equal consideration.

we're not debating history here. It already happened and circumstances and feelings at that time would perhaps be different from today. Regardless, we are only observers, and also are not historians. I thought the point of this debate is on the existence of an agreement/treaty, whether it was breached by non-performance, violence, etc. to render it invalid. If so, how should it be remedied going forward. Are there any remedies available? Not here to re-hash feelings or circumstances of the people from ages ago when the treaty was formed. It's more important to deal with the present situation and find remedies to improve the relationship and/or uphold or renegotiate a settlement.

If we cannot approach the foundation of the treaty then what is there to renegotiate or improve? Obviously the history and the circumstances are crucial, what do you think gives the Queen any leeway to renegotiate and why should the natives contract with their abuser?

The situation is that the treaties were unilateral, that the parties didn't agree to the same things and as such they wouldn't have entertained the terms and the meaning behind them that the Queen offered, and why should they, as no leader or individual knowing full well what they are doing would give away a fortune for a bowl of porridge. Agreement under unclear terms, and under duress or coercion renders the Agreement void.

What is born of fraud and deceit with time doesn't become ture and good, it always remains deceit and fraud. Apologies are meaningless gestures if the underlying issue is fraud. Clearly the international community needs to make the Queen pay, the end.

  ·  7 years ago Reveal Comment