Canada
Related: About this forumAs expected, Harper blocks NAFTA Commission studying Alberta's Tar-Sands Taillings Ponds.
What was even less surprising, is "How this News" practically made very few ripples in our Media-Outlets.
http://canadians.org/blog/harper-block-nafta-commission-studying-tar-sands-tailings-ponds
I guess, when you create one of the biggest "Environmental Rape" on the planet, you wanna keep a low profile!
alcina
(602 posts)Every layer of the Harper onion that's peeled back just reveals more rot. And yet he's still polling high, no doubt due to his "strong leadership" in the face of recent terrorist attacks -- elsewhere. Canadians needs to stop thinking like Americans.
Johnny Rash
(227 posts)2015 is the year, that will prove it, once more, DEMOCRACY in Canada is DOA!
Only by Exposing, the "Dark-Sides" of the so-called Harper Government in the International News Media, can we gain some form of leverage!
alcina
(602 posts)being DOA in Canada. I'm inclined to agree with you, but hope springs eternal.
I moved here last year from the US and was so glad to be back in Canada, despite the current leadership. I left Ontario during the Harris dark ages, and I returned to a nationalized version of that monstrosity. (I can't even look at pictures of John Baird without wanting to spit.)
Harper reminds me of the Martin Sheen character in The Dead Zone, and I do believe he's just as dangerous. But he's learned from the US nightmare and is pushing that fear button to stay in power.
From what I've read, the European community does not think highly of him, nor does the official US government. So I'm not sure how much leverage there is in exposing him internationally. There seems to be reasonably good coverage in Canada about his misdeeds, but people who are already entrenched probably don't pay attention to that news. For example, there was a call-in on CBC radio yesterday, and two self-identified conservatives called to express their support. Unlike conservatives in the US on such programs, these two were articulate and polite; but they were firm in their respect for SH's "courage" and "leadership."
Conservatives love their father figures....
Johnny Rash
(227 posts)Here, what you said: "...he's learned from the US nightmare and is pushing that fear button...", is about the size of it!
In other words, PARTISANSHIP is no-longer a "Fanciful Political Abstract Concept"; It's the "Order-Of-The-Day"!
With that in mind, can you see, "Why Democracy in Canada is DOA?"
Then, about Mike Harris, the father of the "Common Sense Revolution" in Ontario, I just got tired explaining "What that really mean" to our Officers-Of-The-Law!
alcina
(602 posts)Last edited Fri Jan 16, 2015, 04:02 PM - Edit history (2)
I don't know if you read rabble.ca, but there's a somewhat recent article about Harper and the direction he's taking Canada:
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/karl-nerenberg/2015/01/voters-choice-2015-harpers-conservatives
I don't think we're as far gone as the US just yet, but we're definitely on the path. On a daily basis, the level of casual aggression I see in Toronto is worse even than it was under Harris -- though I'm pretty sure Harris' Ontario was the breeding ground. I still remember first hearing the term "welfarian" and realizing just how mean and dangerous the conservatives were becoming. Toronto is still a far more sympathetic city than the many I've lived in in the US, but it's changing for the worse.
A friend insists that much of the change is due to the influx of Americans who came with the various American companies that operate here. I dunno. But I wouldn't doubt there's a correlation between the number of million-dollar single-occupancy condos and the rising level of Randian selfishness.
I think it's a given that when resources become scarce, the creatures that depend on those resources will eventually turn against each other. One of the problems I see with humans is that the concept of "scarcity" seems to be quite subjective. Some people never feel they have enough.
Johnny Rash
(227 posts)When TPP is finalized, it won't matter where you live; Your ASS is GRASS, and the Lawnmower is your local Government.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6079674
In order words, the days, when the Corporate World rules with absolute impunity, are here to stay.
About, what Toronto has become today?
I can only say that it is one more place, in Canada, I will never be able to afford to live in.