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[Canada] Politics of the Democratic Friedmanite Republic of the Government of Harper

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Posts

  • RichyRichy Registered User regular
    To no one's surprise, Harper passes the "sit down and shut up while I do whatever the fuck I want" motion. In the comments section, Conservative peasants cheer this step forward for democracy. No, I'm not exagerating nor making shit up. Conservative drones literally say that stiffling and limiting debate on major pieces of legislation is good and necessary for true democracy.

    Warning: toxic to your brain cells.
    Democracy consists not in debating a matter ad nauseum, but in finally deciding it. Unless and until the budget comes to a vote, there is no democracy. There should be enough debate to inform that vote, but not unlimited debate for its own sake. Every MP has already decided how he or she will vote on the Budget, so what is the point of more debate? Let them vote.
    Unfortunately, if debate is not limited the opposition will delay passing of the bill into the next century. It's just another way they can puff themselves up and hear themselves talk...
    Why enter into a "debate" with a bunch of incessant whiners and complainers interested solely in scoring points in their own partisan political game? Since when do the democratic winners in a parliamentary system allow the sore and bitter losers who feel entitled to run the show (and continually flog foolish mathematical equations that somehow dispute their loss) a say when they relentlessly demonstrate that they aren't of the requisite maturity and governmental intelligence? Why would a successful conservative party (enjoying a majority) "negotiate" with a deluded socialistic party and a decimated liberal one? ...Never mind.

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  • LaOsLaOs SaskatoonRegistered User regular
    I am disappointed you brought that filth (comments!) in here. Bad Richy. Bad!

  • RichyRichy Registered User regular
    LaOs wrote: »
    I am disappointed you brought that filth (comments!) in here. Bad Richy. Bad!

    I accidentally read them and, well, mysery loves company...

    sig.gif
  • LaOsLaOs SaskatoonRegistered User regular
    Bad!

  • JacobyJacoby OHHHHH IT’S A SNAKE Creature - SnakeRegistered User regular
    Looks like those commenters follow the Leroy Jenkins model of government. :)

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  • LucidLucid Registered User regular
    edited May 2012
    (and continually flog foolish mathematical equations that somehow dispute their loss)

    Apparently math is foolish, and somehow it does things.

    Lucid on
  • AegisAegis Fear My Dance Overshot Toronto, Landed in OttawaRegistered User regular
    Anyone else following the Rob Ford mugging Star reporters recent episode? I feel like moving back closer to Toronto is increasing the hilarity of taking in these incidents of rage by our favourite mayor.

    We'll see how long this blog lasts
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  • RichyRichy Registered User regular
    Aegis wrote: »
    Anyone else following the Rob Ford mugging Star reporters recent episode? I feel like moving back closer to Toronto is increasing the hilarity of taking in these incidents of rage by our favourite mayor.

    I saw that on the news.

    Multiple-award-winning investigative reporter claims to be investigating a piece of land the mayor wants to buy.

    Mayor who's openly scornful of the newspaper the reporter is working for claims the reporter is stalking his family, and refuses to release footage he has of the incident that could prove he is right.

    Yeah, I wonder who I'm going to trust on that one...

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  • finnithfinnith ... TorontoRegistered User regular
    Not a good idea to bite the hand that decides public opinion.

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  • EtiowsaEtiowsa Registered User regular
    edited May 2012
    Well, he already hates the star, and refuses to give them interviews or anything, but the ultimatum he threw out won't win him points with anyone. I really gotta wonder if he thinks about the things he says, ever.

    Etiowsa on
  • saggiosaggio Registered User regular
    STOP THE GRAVY TRAIN

    3DS: 0232-9436-6893
  • hippofanthippofant ティンク Registered User regular
    edited May 2012
    The most hilarious thing is that this has become like THE BIGGEST NEWS EVER. I was at the blood donor clinic for an hour, and the entire time, CP24 was just on this story like white on rice.

    Okay, maybe not he most hilarious thing. There's the fact that Daniel Dale looks like he was still is the president of your high school poetry club and that he actively describes himself as panicking, screaming please don't hit me, and then dropping his phone and running away yelling for help.

    Or the fact that Rob Ford is literally yelling at kids to get off his lawn.

    Or the fact that Rob Ford officially handled one reporter with a Blackberry worse than Miley Cyrus handles the paparazzi.

    Or the fact that Rob Ford was going to buy this land to build a higher security fence to protect his privacy, which then prompted a reporter to go out and "invade his privacy". And then he made a giant-ass spectacle of it and now it's going to be even more invasive of his privacy.

    Or the fact that Rob Ford now refuses to participate in any press scrums that Daniel Dale is in, to which Dale had the perfectly reasonable response that he wasn't going to stop attending them... so Rob Ford's never going to do another press scrum again?

    Edit: It's apparently no press scrums that the Toronto Star is in, period. So... uh... you know they're like Canada's biggest news organization, right Ford? Ummm.

    hippofant on
  • EntriechEntriech ? ? ? ? ? Ontario, CanadaRegistered User regular
    I was waiting to see if he could top calling the police when confronted by This Hour has 22 Minutes, and he finally delivered. Good for you, crazy Rob Ford.

  • RichyRichy Registered User regular
    If I were in Toronto, I'd be setting up a camp ground on that piece of land right about now.

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  • MuzzmuzzMuzzmuzz Registered User regular
    Doesn't Toronto Star (Or a certain related company) own The Toronto Sun, that 'Ford is the bestest Mayor Ever! McGuinty is icky, and spends money on Green Energy like a doo doo head' It may have been a while.

  • CorporateGoonCorporateGoon Registered User regular
    Overzealous staffer. Move along, nothing to see here.

    Pierre Poutine is most certainly someone who had access to that computer. I assume quite a few people did, but I would hope they'd need some sort of password to access it.

  • CorporateGoonCorporateGoon Registered User regular
    edited May 2012
    Muzzmuzz wrote: »
    Doesn't Toronto Star (Or a certain related company) own The Toronto Sun, that 'Ford is the bestest Mayor Ever! McGuinty is icky, and spends money on Green Energy like a doo doo head' It may have been a while.

    No. The media ownership in Canada has been confusing as hell for years. According to wikipedia, at one point the company that owns the Star also owned 20% of the company that owned the G&M, but there was never any relation to the Sun papers. Apparently the Star people also own Harlequin, which publishes a lot of those trashy romance novels you can buy at the supermarket. Weird.

    CorporateGoon on
  • hippofanthippofant ティンク Registered User regular
    Muzzmuzz wrote: »
    Doesn't Toronto Star (Or a certain related company) own The Toronto Sun, that 'Ford is the bestest Mayor Ever! McGuinty is icky, and spends money on Green Energy like a doo doo head' It may have been a while.

    No. The media ownership in Canada has been confusing as hell for years. According to wikipedia, at one point the company that owns the Star also owned 20% of the company that owned the G&M, but there was never any relation to the Sun papers. Apparently the Star people also own Harlequin, which publishes a lot of those trashy romance novels you can buy at the supermarket. Weird.

    Yeah. Having worked for Torstar, I can tell you that it's a lot bigger than it might first appear. It's not Bell Media or Rogers in scope, but it's got a lot of funky smaller properties and partial ownerships.

  • Al_watAl_wat Registered User regular
    Considering the Toronto Star has a liberal slant, and the Sun has a conservative slant, it would seem strange for the Star to own the Sun.

  • Gnome-InterruptusGnome-Interruptus Registered User regular
    Not that strange, many monied people will diversify their investments, and if you arent crazy religous to your party affiliation, it would make sense to double dip in media markets for different biases.

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  • AegisAegis Fear My Dance Overshot Toronto, Landed in OttawaRegistered User regular
    Story going around the news outlets that the Quebec student protest might be over after long negotiations over the past day or so with the government. They've submitted the deal to their members for ratification, but the actual contents of what was agreed to (assuming ratification goes through) will be made public in another couple hours.

    We'll see how long this blog lasts
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  • MuzzmuzzMuzzmuzz Registered User regular
    Al_wat wrote: »
    Considering the Toronto Star has a liberal slant, and the Sun has a conservative slant, it would seem strange for the Star to own the Sun.


    I wouldn't call it a 'conservative' slant as much as a 'Conservative vertical drop' Rob Ford is the bestest, Mcguinty lies about everything, Global Warming is just a hoax, Conrad Black is a very nice guy, CBC is a scam (But every page has an ad for their SunTV) and their skirting border of offensiveness when it comes to minorities, gay, and non-christian religions. Not to mention the semi pornographic Sunshine girls. Seriously, where's my Sunshine boy? The only publication I could think of that was more right wing than that was a magazine from Alberta, but they're now defunct. (Name escapes me.)

    As much as the Star bends toward liberal, they can and will agree with Harper on certain things, and always have dissenting opinions on topics. I don't think they're very friendly with Ford though.

  • hawkboxhawkbox Registered User regular
    The Alberta Report!!! WAHAHAHAHA!!! The teachers are making them thar kids gay!

    The sun used to have a sunshine boy that was even more pornographic than the girl. Wonder when it stopped.

  • Nova_CNova_C I have the need The need for speedRegistered User regular
    It stopped back when I was around 19 or 20 or so, so I guess 2000.

    To be honest, I've never been sure why a Sunshine Girl page is necessarily right wing. Are we liberal types supposed to be better than ogling? Or is it inherently sexist for a woman to have a photo printed expressly because she's pretty?

  • GaddezGaddez Registered User regular
    Nova_C wrote: »
    It stopped back when I was around 19 or 20 or so, so I guess 2000.

    To be honest, I've never been sure why a Sunshine Girl page is necessarily right wing. Are we liberal types supposed to be better than ogling? Or is it inherently sexist for a woman to have a photo printed expressly because she's pretty?
    A newspaper is for news and should inform and educate the people and should be above such low brow antics.

  • MuzzmuzzMuzzmuzz Registered User regular
    I'm not saying that the Sunshine Girl is right wing, it's just that us ladies would like some yumminess as well. Also, when the Sun rails against the 'evils' of sex (such as legalization of brothels, porn playing on Radio-Canada, and especially being against Prostitutes on Craigslist, it's like they don't even read their own classifieds), it creates a bit of hypocrisy.

  • Nova_CNova_C I have the need The need for speedRegistered User regular
    Gaddez wrote: »
    Nova_C wrote: »
    It stopped back when I was around 19 or 20 or so, so I guess 2000.

    To be honest, I've never been sure why a Sunshine Girl page is necessarily right wing. Are we liberal types supposed to be better than ogling? Or is it inherently sexist for a woman to have a photo printed expressly because she's pretty?
    A newspaper is for news and should inform and educate the people and should be above such low brow antics.

    Ah, I see. I disagree, though. I like my comics section as is.

  • GaddezGaddez Registered User regular
    Nova_C wrote: »
    Gaddez wrote: »
    Nova_C wrote: »
    It stopped back when I was around 19 or 20 or so, so I guess 2000.

    To be honest, I've never been sure why a Sunshine Girl page is necessarily right wing. Are we liberal types supposed to be better than ogling? Or is it inherently sexist for a woman to have a photo printed expressly because she's pretty?
    A newspaper is for news and should inform and educate the people and should be above such low brow antics.

    Ah, I see. I disagree, though. I like my comics section as is.
    I'm fine with comics, since it gives something for kids to read and get used to printed news but 2 pages of girls in bikini's is in bad taste.

  • Nova_CNova_C I have the need The need for speedRegistered User regular
    Why is it in bad taste? Comics in papers frequently have poor taste. Would you be the moral compass by which a newspaper's appropriateness is judged?

  • AegisAegis Fear My Dance Overshot Toronto, Landed in OttawaRegistered User regular
    I don't really see a place for British-style Page 3s either in Canadian newspapers. At least, not if they're calling themselves newspapers. That being said, I'm more pissed off, after having been stuck with the National Post for an entire weekend, at Comment/Editorial sections masquerading as news articles on fucking page 1 of the damn paper. It took me several attempts at reading the damn paper to realize I wasn't actually reading news but some random editorial.

    Regarding the quebec protests that I posted an update about earlier, looks like the deal is that the tuition fee increase will go ahead unchanged over 7 years but that there will be a corresponding decrease in ancillary student fees that would offset the tuition increase for students. So the government can claim it "raised tuition" while the students get to claim they're not paying anything more. If anything, universities bear the brunt of the cost here, though I imagine these offsetting fee cuts will be nickle-and-dimed to not be completely equal to the tuition hike.

    We'll see how long this blog lasts
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  • Nova_CNova_C I have the need The need for speedRegistered User regular
    The Calgary Sun, at least when I was reading it, has always described itself as a tabloid and not a newspaper. I dunno if that's still the case, though.

  • Al_watAl_wat Registered User regular
    The only Canadian newspaper I take fully seriously is The Globe and Mail.

    I read the star from time to time but something about it is just lacking.

  • NewblarNewblar Registered User regular
    edited May 2012
    Muzzmuzz wrote: »
    I'm not saying that the Sunshine Girl is right wing, it's just that us ladies would like some yumminess as well. Also, when the Sun rails against the 'evils' of sex (such as legalization of brothels, porn playing on Radio-Canada, and especially being against Prostitutes on Craigslist, it's like they don't even read their own classifieds), it creates a bit of hypocrisy.

    It's been a long time since I've looked at a Sun because the paper is seriously horrible but unless things have changed they do have a Sunshine Boy. Neither belong in a newspaper and I agree with you on the utter hypocrisy.

    Newblar on
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  • NewblarNewblar Registered User regular
    edited May 2012
    double post opps

    Newblar on
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  • hawkboxhawkbox Registered User regular
    Gaddez wrote: »
    Nova_C wrote: »
    Gaddez wrote: »
    Nova_C wrote: »
    It stopped back when I was around 19 or 20 or so, so I guess 2000.

    To be honest, I've never been sure why a Sunshine Girl page is necessarily right wing. Are we liberal types supposed to be better than ogling? Or is it inherently sexist for a woman to have a photo printed expressly because she's pretty?
    A newspaper is for news and should inform and educate the people and should be above such low brow antics.

    Ah, I see. I disagree, though. I like my comics section as is.
    I'm fine with comics, since it gives something for kids to read and get used to printed news but 2 pages of girls in bikini's is in bad taste.

    When did it get two pages? I have been missing one of my eye candies!

  • hippofanthippofant ティンク Registered User regular
    I think, more than anything, it's just REALLY creepy, and also wtf guys, there's this thing called the Internet now.


    Also, Royson James is maaaaad... (and really right too):

    James: I believe Daniel Dale:

    Spoilered for long, but it's a good read.
    So he is not a peeping Tom, as the mayor claims. Not that there is anything wrong with a reporter being a peeping Tom. It goes with the job. We are proud of such name-calling. We have no shame. It’s what we do.

    If a public official won’t talk to us at the office, we try for a comment at his home. Make yourself available, like any other public official, and there is no need to follow you home. Hide and dodge and refuse to disclose your schedule — or communicate only to your favourite reporters or news outlets — and the ink-stained wretches will trundle over to your favourite watering hole to see if you are more inclined to talk there.

    If the mayor says he can’t attend the Pride Parade because he can’t possibly miss family time at the cottage, we go up to the cottage to see if he is, in fact, there.

    Call that snooping, if you want. We won’t lose any sleep over the characterization. It’s our job. When we show up at the cottage, you can choose to speak or not. Or call us snoops.

    Jittery about intruders? Don’t give out your home number, your home address, or invite hordes over to your place for a big annual ribfest and then complain about the privacy of your home and family.

    If you don’t want jokes about your weight, don’t make it the subject of a weekly weigh-in, don’t start a public campaign to ha-ha “cut the waist” and then hit the fast-food joints and miss several of the weigh-ins. If you do, expect that more than a few commentators will weigh in on the subject.

    If you don’t want reporters coming over to your place to check on your property, don’t apply to buy taxpayers’ land next to your place. We don’t sell such land every day. The request is bound to attract attention — and snoopy reporters looking to see if the request is reasonable or just another attempt by a public official to get a benefit otherwise not available to the general public.

    If you are going to run for public office, expect that your opponents will take a shot at you; that they will dig up dirt on you and give it to reporters; that journalists will investigate the charges; that sometimes it is near impossible to tell who is telling the “truth.”

    ...

    When the Star runs a story saying some people accuse Rob Ford of getting physical with a football player — and the newspaper report clearly says other people dispute the charge — the Star has done its duty.

    That particular story is supposed to be the source of Rob Ford’s anger towards the Star. But, like a good watchdog, the Star barked. It alerted readers to a potential problem and it warned that there are conflicting accounts.

    A watchdog doesn’t determine whether a visitor is friend or foe. It barks. If the assumed intruder happens to be a friend of the master, the watchdog lies down and waits for the next sign of another intruder.

    ...

    The day the Star removes a Daniel Dale from city hall coverage to appease a mayor, is the day I’ll request they move me as well.

    Until then, if the mayor cocks his fist at this journalist, he’d better be prepared to use it.

  • MackenzierMackenzier Gold Star Police Ninja Lurking... less than usual.Registered User regular
    That was a great read! I really hope that the Star continues to send Daniel Dale to cover any and all press events held by the mayor; let's see how long Ford will keep his pretty promise until his handlers get on him to grow the fuck up.

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  • VanderbrentVanderbrent Registered User regular
    Mackenzier wrote: »
    That was a great read! I really hope that the Star continues to send Daniel Dale to cover any and all press events held by the mayor; let's see how long Ford will keep his pretty promise until his handlers get on him to grow the fuck up.

    It's not just Daniel Dale, he said he won't speak if ANY star reporter is there.

  • RichyRichy Registered User regular
    Vic Toews: "Hey you guys, remember back in colonial days when people were charged rent for being in prison, so when their sentence was up they were kept in prison until they could pay their rent debt, which they never could because they were not earning any money while being in prison and had no savings and they were still being charged rent since they were still in prison, making it a meaningless and purposeless vicious cycle that only served to keep people in prison forever? Yeah, we're bringing those back! Because that was an awesome time, and we're THOUGH ON CRIME."

    sig.gif
  • hawkboxhawkbox Registered User regular
    That syphilitic piece of shit.

This discussion has been closed.