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Author Topic: News from the North  (Read 64194 times)

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Mongrel

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Re: News from the North
« Reply #300 on: December 11, 2009, 08:27:30 AM »

Holy Fuck! Tony Clement I love you!

For the un-initiated, Canada - the country that invented the Blackberry - has the worst service, highest prices and most out-of-date technology for cellphone service in the industrialized world AND some of the frickin' DEVELOPING world. Literally, there people who come here from war-torn African nations who think our cellphone service sucks.

Massive and brutal competition funded by deep-pocketed foreigners is way, Way, WAY, overdue.

There's also a part of me that feels really GOOD about seeing an Egyptian company (Orascom is Egyptian) stand up on the global stage and beat the crap out of the dregs of entitled and lazy western corporations. I may be something of a leftist (always been a Red Tory, or Blue Liberal really), but seeing Capitalism really work PROPERLY gets my fires going too.
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SCD

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Re: News from the North
« Reply #301 on: December 11, 2009, 08:56:45 AM »

 :perfect:
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SCD

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Re: News from the North
« Reply #302 on: December 17, 2009, 03:13:49 PM »

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Büge

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Re: News from the North
« Reply #303 on: December 17, 2009, 03:29:40 PM »

Quote
“Cool Sporting Event That Takes Place in British Columbia Between 2009 & 2011 Edition.”

Quote
“We never imagined or intended it to be that way,” insisted Petersen. “We did our homework and were very confident that this is within the letter of the law.”

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SCD

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François

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Re: News from the North
« Reply #305 on: December 20, 2009, 12:11:13 PM »

Rich man brushes away the merits of one of the most spectacular bloomings of liberal thought of the last century. What else is new?

Quote
The teachers and nurses left their religious orders and performed the same tasks as before, less assiduously and at 10 times the cost to Quebec’s taxpayers.

Because we all know that teachers and nurses don't deserve fair wages and should be satisfied with real estate in heaven. Plus I reallllly want the Catholic Church to control the school curriculum again, that would be so keen.

:facepalm:
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Mongrel

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Re: News from the North
« Reply #306 on: December 20, 2009, 02:04:43 PM »

Nobody so embraces random kicks to Quebecers as western Canadians :slow:
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SCD

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Re: News from the North
« Reply #307 on: December 20, 2009, 02:38:35 PM »

There's two parts to this, really:

One is that for some reason, Conrad is able to remain smug knowing that his pen on ink is worth money, and that people will buy it.  The guy is in prision.

The second one with the words "grow up" really reaonates with myself.  We're about to blow money on bilingual signs because of quebec pressure on the other fracking side of the rockies shows how childish these fools can get.  More people in vancouver speak hindu and mandarin than they speak french over there.  Heck, more people speak Cantonese over there.

And yet they all can feel comfortable knowing that they will get to see the olympics in english and French.  Talk about oblivious to the realities on the ground.
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Büge

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Re: News from the North
« Reply #308 on: December 20, 2009, 06:47:36 PM »

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Mongrel

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Re: News from the North
« Reply #309 on: December 20, 2009, 08:57:40 PM »

See, I can't ever complain about any form of offical Bilingualism, because it's the only thing that keeps me employed.
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SCD

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Re: News from the North
« Reply #310 on: December 20, 2009, 10:00:07 PM »

Again:  Relevance.

You are a logistics officer for a Canadian branch of a company, and is the primary supplier of your company's widgets to all provinces?  If no, does your area of responsibility invoke Qc?  If so, your abilities to speak both languages are required and an asset for your company's success.  Of course, if my hypothesis stands, it also would stand that we're talking a free market thing more than any official regulation.
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Mongrel

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Re: News from the North
« Reply #311 on: December 21, 2009, 04:15:58 AM »

Well, your hypothesis has been technically valid all along. It was technically valid before, during, and after the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. That's not the point. They could also have saved a lot of money by not making the Olympic buildings accessible to the disabled, who will show up in Vancouver in smaller numbers than francophones from Quebec or New Brunswick, but they're not doing that either, are they?* Again, 'numbers served' is not the point.

The fact remains that bilingualism is only really mandatory for federal projects, which simply provides employment for an extra stable of bureaucrats in Ottawa who would otherwise be employed in any of that town's other, less-useful make-work projects. Official bilingualism is hardly a cure-all and is often silly, but it brought more peace and harmony at a cheaper price than a lot of other stupid things we've done at many times the cost.

Finally, there's some perspective: Even with the amount stuff they'll have to translate, I can guess by the volume that the Vancouver Olympics has retained the services of less than ten people for translation purposes - very possibly less than five people. The difference in actual printing and mounting of signs is minimal.



Disclosure: I think everyone should be heavily exposed to at least one more language in their youth, if not 3-5. And I don't mean these token classes you get, but some substantial learning. It seems to really improve kids' intellectual abilities and even their empathy and social understanding. So where other people think the policy only exists to humour a bunch of eastern cranks, renowned for yanking chains, I think circumstance has given us a rare gift.

*I'm sure you'll appreciate the comparison between Francophones and the disabled.
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François

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Re: News from the North
« Reply #312 on: December 21, 2009, 06:37:31 AM »

Québec is the only difference between Canada and the United States.

no wonder you want us to stay

dang i'm kidding

i know, we got better beer
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Mongrel

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Re: News from the North
« Reply #313 on: December 21, 2009, 08:24:25 AM »

It's okay, we can all be united in our shared hatred of Ottawa.

Québec is the only difference between Canada and the United States.

No way!

While the US will always have a streak of ingeniousness and industry that we can't touch, they will never be able to match the unstoppable drive for mediocrity, lip service, complacency, and all-around incompetence that gives that special Canadian shine to all our endeavours.
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Cthulhu-chan

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Re: News from the North
« Reply #314 on: December 21, 2009, 08:39:22 AM »

We try, damn it! :loser:
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Joxam

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Re: News from the North
« Reply #315 on: December 21, 2009, 08:42:26 AM »

It's okay, we can all be united in our shared hatred of Ottawa.

Québec is the only difference between Canada and the United States.

No way!

While the US will always have a streak of ingeniousness and industry that we can't touch, they will never be able to match the unstoppable drive for mediocrity, lip service, complacency, and all-around incompetence that gives that special Canadian shine to all our endeavours.

I don't know, I hear you guys have some pretty serious competition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqQ6Z-HmAqY
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Büge

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Re: News from the North
« Reply #316 on: December 21, 2009, 09:15:01 AM »

So nobody else is upset that there's a proposal being considered of legalizing prostitution for the duration of the games.

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SCD

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Re: News from the North
« Reply #317 on: December 21, 2009, 10:03:04 AM »

Mongrel, Zed:   I suspect at somepoint, there will be need of a major national debate on services or education.  I'd rather go for the education one, despite a major lack of knowledge in how to fix.  Also, hooray for CEJEP. 

Buge:  Why are you upset in particular?  Without trying to sound offensive, you seem like the sort of person who would be for the liberalization on the issue of prostitution.  Regulation, taxation as opposed to criminalization of one of the oldest trades and all..  More importantly are you referring to Vancouver, which I cannot find an article, or South Africa, the home of Apartheid, Israeli nuclear technology, really nasty racially based crimes, and some of the nastiest bunch of mercenaries ever to walk the face of the planet?  If the later, have fun - won't waste time debating about anything that happens there.
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Mongrel

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Re: News from the North
« Reply #318 on: December 21, 2009, 10:16:15 AM »

I'm guessing he means Vancouver?

But I'm with you SCD, I haven't seen hide nor hair about this legalized prostitution kerfuffle.
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Büge

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Re: News from the North
« Reply #319 on: December 21, 2009, 11:19:08 AM »

I've had to revise my stance on prostitution after it came to my notice that prostitution is entwined in the human trafficking... uh, trade? Management? Industry? Anyway, legalizing it would pretty much mean carte blanche as far as traffickers and pimps are concerned, even with stringent government controls in place (viz. Amsterdam, Las Vegas). Vancouver is also one of the biggest transit hubs of human trafficking, since it's pretty much the landing point for anyone inbound from Asia.

Oh, it was overturned. False alarm everybody!  :slow:

It's still a problem though.
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