Canada, I fucking love you

So it's looking more and more like Harper is going to get ousted (right after being elected!), and that we will have a coalition government formed by the Liberals, NDP, and Bloc-Quebecois.

The best fucking part of the whole thing is that Harper has the audacity to call it 'undemocratic,' despite the fact that the only way it can happen is because the country voted overwhelmingly (63%) against his government. I fucking love it. So fucking much.

(of course, Harper may still be able to block it by dissolving parliament until January, but the Governor General may not allow it)

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/546900

Cool and all but I cant' believe that douchebag Dion has a chance at becoming PM.

I'd almost rather Layton. But not.

Dude how's blackfrica?

I think Dion is extremely intelligent and has some really good ideas, he's just not an especially charismatic speaker (and there's the innate bias against people with accents). And he'd only be PM until May, when the Liberal convention elects a new leader.

Africa's not bad. Only been in Burundi so far, and I've had a lot of downtime (and shockingly expensive accommodations!). I'm antsy to get moving, since I'll only have about 6 weeks to see all the rest of East Africa. The plan is to head out to Rwanda on Friday morning, though, so I'll be starting my travels in earnest.

I'm keeping a travelogue with some mundane journals and a few photos, if you're interested.

http://travels.pulltheskydown.com

I don't know how I feel about that. Something about changing a government without a vote of the people... It has a vaguely undemocratic ring to it - despite the fact that Harper didn't win a solid majority. And I say that as someone who voted for the NDP.

Although with, what, 56% turn out I'm not sure Canadians deserve democracy anyway.

Also, basing this whole governmental change in Canada, without an election, on the support of a regionally based separatist party (whether or not they've been accutely separatist lately is another matter) just seems really wierd.

The Governor General can also call for a snap poll, instead of just transitioning to the coalition government. But just 6 weeks afterwards...that seems a bit ridiculous.

And it's not like it changes the democracy. The opposition could have chosen to form a coalition government during the election, anyway.

Turbofrog wrote:The Governor General can also call for a snap poll, instead of just transitioning to the coalition government. But just 6 weeks afterwards...that seems a bit ridiculous.

And it's not like it changes the democracy. The opposition could have chosen to form a coalition government during the election, anyway.

Sure it does. We're talking about a de jure change in the governance of the country, without a single ballot being cast and without the Conservatives having, really, been given a chance to govern at all.

Personally I'd rather see the Liberals and NDP form a new party that could better represent the center left side of Canada and be elected into power. This simply strikes me as being behind the scenes politicing.

And, frankly, the Governor General - a non-elected figurehead that represents the Queen of England in Canada - having this much real power is frightening beyond belief.

lol u guys r fucked

Aristotle wrote:lol u guys r fucked

+1

Yeah, seriously, you're having a conversation with a dead guy.

dunnas wrote:Yeah, seriously, you're having a conversation with a dead guy.

turbofrog? cos of the aids?

Olds wrote:

dunnas wrote:Yeah, seriously, you're having a conversation with a dead guy.

turbofrog? cos of the aids?

the aids and machetes.

hutu talking about?

no more puns

Olds wrote:

dunnas wrote:Yeah, seriously, you're having a conversation with a dead guy.

turbofrog? cos of the aids?

I thought turbo was just dead and it was you with the aids.


From being a huge fag

yeah!

FUCK!

Whatever.

I just don't get the conservatives - when you have a minority, you don't give all the other parties a good single reason to unite. Particularly not taking away public financing for opposition parties. Then you get them talking to each other and finding other commonalities and eventually realizing that a coalition helps further their cause moreso than going it alone.

I personally voted Green since I wanted them to get greater funding for the next election - if anything, Harper attempted to make my vote completely worthless by removing the intent behind it.

Stephen Harper deserves everything he gets because he acted like a hamfisted idiot in a consistent fashion ever since the election.

What is unfolding in Ottawa is not illegal, unconstitutional nor immoral. Many countries have seen govts by coalition. The only people who are crying are Tory supporters. Fact is in 2004 Harper himself was trying to building a coalition with the Bloc and noted this to the Governor General to take power away from Paul Martin. So a little bit pot calling kettle black. It is not wrong to see if a coalition can be made up by the other parties when a parliamentary system has a minority govt. Harper and his regressive Conservatives have only a mandate to govern if the Parliament is willing to support them, the opposition parties have struck a deal, it will be a shaky one IMO but it's a legal exercise in our system and no crying will change this by the Tory's and their supporters. I LOVE listening to our right wing radio thugs Roy Green and Charles Adler to name but two whine like stuck pigs over this.

This said the criers who say it's the beginning of the end for Canada are silly. If our federation cannot withstand a number of months of a wobbly coalition govt well then we don't have much of a federation. IMO this coalition will likely last 8-12 months and not the 18 the Bloc promise to support the coalition with. There are too many differences between the three parties to keep it all chummy. Once the Liberals get their new leader on May and then add a few month to build from such the coalition will unravel and we will get a new election. But the dumb ass Harper who is proving to be unwise and a political hack and bully is getting his comeuppance and will likely be gone too ( this can't come soon enough) and a clean slate will be had by next fall.

911 wrote:I just don't get the conservatives - when you have a minority, you don't give all the other parties a good single reason to unite. Particularly not taking away public financing for opposition parties. Then you get them talking to each other and finding other commonalities and eventually realizing that a coalition helps further their cause moreso than going it alone.

I personally voted Green since I wanted them to get greater funding for the next election - if anything, Harper attempted to make my vote completely worthless by removing the intent behind it.

Stephen Harper deserves everything he gets because he acted like a hamfisted idiot in a consistent fashion ever since the election.

I agree with that.

I voted NDP. So, whatever. Fuck it.


At least I'm American. Christ. I never thought I'd see the day when I'm more proud of an American election than a Canadian. Jesus Christ.



Good bye!

I do have a bias against him because the Conservatives don't even have a semblance of an energy and environmental plan.

Read their 'Turning the Corner' plan - it uses the word 'conservation' once out of over 60,000 words. And that one mention states that energy conservation will just simply occur to further reduce loads on power plants. No talk about financing, just occurring.

911 wrote:I do have a bias against him because the Conservatives don't even have a semblance of an energy and environmental plan.

Read their 'Turning the Corner' plan - it uses the word 'conservation' once out of over 60,000 words. And that one mention states that energy conservation will just simply occur to further reduce loads on power plants. No talk about financing, just occurring.

It's not like any of it matters man. We're all doomed in the end. Human nature will fuck us over and the earth will kick us off and we'll be nothing but memory in 10 000 years. Oh look, gas is 75 cents a liter - I'll go buy the SUV now! I can't SEE global warming, so clearly it isn't happening! I want my cheap beef - so fuck the rainforest, what has it done for me lately? It just doesn't matter. And in any case, the environment will continue to get fucked over, no matter how many resolutions, accords, regulations and acts we pass in Canada and the US as long as poverty is rampant across the rest of the world. The farmers in South America don't give a shit about the rainforest - because if they do they starve to death. Tomorrow. Not 100 years from now, not 200 years from now. Tomorrow. Hey, but we passed climate control legislation! Go Canada! Hand me another big mac. Maybe the next uber-intelligent species will have more luck.

thewalrus wrote:

911 wrote:I do have a bias against him because the Conservatives don't even have a semblance of an energy and environmental plan.

Read their 'Turning the Corner' plan - it uses the word 'conservation' once out of over 60,000 words. And that one mention states that energy conservation will just simply occur to further reduce loads on power plants. No talk about financing, just occurring.

It's not like any of it matters man. We're all doomed in the end. Human nature will fuck us over and the earth will kick us off and we'll be nothing but memory in 10 000 years. Oh look, gas is 75 cents a liter - I'll go buy the SUV now! I can't SEE global warming, so clearly it isn't happening! I want my cheap beef - so fuck the rainforest, what has it done for me lately? It just doesn't matter. And in any case, the environment will continue to get fucked over, no matter how many resolutions, accords, regulations and acts we pass in Canada and the US as long as poverty is rampant across the rest of the world. The farmers in South America don't give a shit about the rainforest - because if they do they starve to death. Tomorrow. Not 100 years from now, not 200 years from now. Tomorrow. Hey, but we passed climate control legislation! Go Canada! Hand me another big mac. Maybe the next uber-intelligent species will have more luck.

I discovered a US show called the universe last friday due to finding that all my shows i usually download on a friday my time were missing (and not realising that it was thanksgiving thought they had all finished for the year already). I've downloaded half of the first 2 seasons so far to go with the three episodes from the current season.

It is mostly based in legitimate current science (although they do pretty much push a lot of things as near fact, such as parralel universes - ones with alternate versions of us leading different lives) and they speak to what would appear to be some of the best people in the industry, but is very sensationalised for your average joe sixpack (the plumber).

Anyway, out of the 5 episodes i've watched, at least twice now they have they discussed what humans might do at the end of existance (of the sun and the universe) to survive (6 billion years from now for the sun and a lot longer for the universe itself which would involve us movign to a parralel dimension universe).

I don't know about you but I have never thought of the existance of the human race being something that lasts more that the 10's of thousands of years, if we're lucky.

What about you guys?

thewalrus wrote:

911 wrote:I just don't get the conservatives - when you have a minority, you don't give all the other parties a good single reason to unite. Particularly not taking away public financing for opposition parties. Then you get them talking to each other and finding other commonalities and eventually realizing that a coalition helps further their cause moreso than going it alone.

I personally voted Green since I wanted them to get greater funding for the next election - if anything, Harper attempted to make my vote completely worthless by removing the intent behind it.

Stephen Harper deserves everything he gets because he acted like a hamfisted idiot in a consistent fashion ever since the election.

I agree with that.

I voted NDP. So, whatever. Fuck it.


At least I'm American. Christ. I never thought I'd see the day when I'm more proud of an American election than a Canadian. Jesus Christ.



Good bye!

Frankly, this is the first time I've been excited about my democracy in years. First-past-the-post is so disenfranchising, so critically broken, so out of touch with the realities of our multi-party system. I didn't even bother voting, because I knew that any vote that I did cast would be quite literally inconsequential, no matter what freak turn of events happened. When you can breed that kind of apathy in an idealistic pinko like me, something is not healthy.

I really hope this coalition goes through.

For someone in deepest darkest africa, you sure do have a lot of internet access. Are you sure you're not somewhere in Parkdale right now?

frog is a big, fat liar that is in the fucking bronx zoo.

Olds wrote:For someone in deepest darkest africa, you sure do have a lot of internet access. Are you sure you're not somewhere in Parkdale right now?

If you read my blag, you'd see that I have had some boring downtime waiting for work from my company (which didn't actually materialize - guh), and I've been sort of stuck in accommodation that is way nicer and more expensive than I need, which happens to have (slow) wi-fi.

It's also not really safe for whitey to walk around the streets at night in Buj, and to be honest, I can't really be buggered to take a taxi to some restaurant or bar just to chill out for a while and take a taxi back, so I'm hanging out here. (it's 7:00 right now, and gets dark right after 6:00).

dude, get a gun.

Turbofrog wrote:

Olds wrote:For someone in deepest darkest africa, you sure do have a lot of internet access. Are you sure you're not somewhere in Parkdale right now?

If you read my blag, you'd see that I have had some boring downtime waiting for work from my company (which didn't actually materialize - guh), and I've been sort of stuck in accommodation that is way nicer and more expensive than I need, which happens to have (slow) wi-fi.

It's also not really safe for whitey to walk around the streets at night in Buj, and to be honest, I can't really be buggered to take a taxi to some restaurant or bar just to chill out for a while and take a taxi back, so I'm hanging out here. (it's 7:00 right now, and gets dark right after 6:00).

haha Turbo's pissed that no one reads his blog.

Aristotle wrote:dude, get a gun.

+1

what's his blog address?

Aristotle wrote:what's his blog address?

Something about tearing the sky down. I have it on my Facebook profile and will procure it for you forthwith.

thewalrus wrote:

Aristotle wrote:what's his blog address?

Something about tearing the sky down. I have it on my Facebook profile and will procure it for you forthwith.

thewalrus wrote:http://travels.pulltheskydown.com/

oh now i KNOW frog is a fucking liar.

that's the fucking BRONX; not africa.