The Queen kicks the bucket

[Zeitgeist]

1 minute ago, Iceni warrior said:

Yeah, it's not like they're a German family.

Yeah well the German’s bought up most of the British auto industry.  What’s left? McLaren?

[Iceni warrior]

5 minutes ago, Zeitgeist said:

Yeah well the German’s bought up most of the British auto industry.  What’s left? McLaren?

JCB

[-TSS-]

As we in Finland have nothing to do with the British Empire to us the news of the Queen's death really is like an old sweet granny passing away.

However, there are millions of people in this world for whom the Queen absolutely was everything else than  an old sweet granny.

[Aristides]

On 9/9/2022 at 3:12 PM, SpankyMcFarland said:

For president or GG, one could have a stringent vetting process for candidates, independent of the PM, to screen out the Payettes of this world, followed by a series of secret ballots of MPs. Some democracy is better than none. It would give us a person based in Canada 24/7 rather than a part-time foreigner. 

We do have a vetting process. Trudeau ignored it when he chose Payette. If they are chosen by MP's, it is still a political position. I don't see how electing a new president every four years to do the same job would cost any less or be any  more effective than what we have. The job is constitutional, not political. It needs to be at arms length from politics. The Queen understood that perfectly and we will never know where she stood politically. Charles seems intent on taking the same course. We would also have to remove the Crown from everything in government. Would any of our treaties signed between FN and the Crown still be valid? They would have a huge stake in the game. Far more than the average Canadian who is just concerned about ideology 

[Aristides]

19 minutes ago, Zeitgeist said:

Yeah well the German’s bought up most of the British auto industry.  What’s left? McLaren?

McLaren is owned by a Bahrain holding company. I don't know if there are any left that are British owned. Even Morgan is now owned by an Italian company.

[-TSS-]

You complain how the government in Canada effectively chooses the GG. However, it is just the same in countries where the President is just a formal figurehead like in Germany or Italy.

In those countries the President is elected by their respective Parliaments, which means that the parties in the majority at the time get their preferred choice.

[Aristides]

33 minutes ago, RedDog said:

Her Majesty’s coffin being driven through the UK in a German Mercedes hearse. Unbelievable.

That’s strike one Charles. Shame.

Mercedes F1 is a British based team.

[Aristides]

7 hours ago, -TSS- said:

If I were British I would support keeping the monarchy but if I were Canadian, Australian etc I think I would prefer some boring and meaningless President if he or she is from my own country. 

However, I don't think this is a huge issue which people think about all the time. 

On the other hand, even if a President is just a nominal leader he or she is some retired politician and politicians tend to be divisive and even despised. 

Our GG's have been selected on the advice of the Canadian PM since 1928 and all of them have been Canadian citizens since 1952.

None that I know of were former politicians. Which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned.

Edited September 11, 2022 by Aristides

[Dougie93]

On 9/10/2022 at 10:53 AM, Zeitgeist said:

No more ignominious than the US, UK, or any league of Indigenous groups.

not feeling any particular loyalty to Westphalian states in general

as we are in the throes of a civilizational collapse of the entire Western World at once

these states no longer protect us, but are rather becoming threats to their own citizens

eventually these states will fail, and all will be reduced to internecine tribal warfare amongst the rubble

[SpankyMcFarland]

10 hours ago, ExFlyer said:

When did you do that??

Canada was born??? What a load of baloney, battle of the boyne?? LOL

And how on earth would we overthrow the new monarch under our current constitutional arrangement? Like proper colonials, we’re stuck with him until he, God or the Brits decide otherwise. 

[ExFlyer]

14 minutes ago, SpankyMcFarland said:

And how on earth would we overthrow the new monarch under our current constitutional arrangement? Like proper colonials, we’re stuck with him until he, God or the Brits decide otherwise. 

Overthrow what?

The monarchy is a figurehead and ceremonial to Canada.

No authority whatsoever.

We have nothing to overthrow. A picture in the hallway maybe??

Edited September 11, 2022 by ExFlyer

[Aristides]

4 minutes ago, ExFlyer said:

Overthrow what?

The monarchy is a figurehead and ceremonial to Canada.

No authority whatsoever.

We have nothing to overthrow. A picture in the hallway maybe??

Actually they do have authority but using it would likely cause a constitutional crisis. Like refusing to allow the prorogation of parliament.

[Zeitgeist]

3 hours ago, Dougie93 said:

not feeling any particular loyalty to Westphalian states in general

as we are in the throes of a civilizational collapse of the entire Western World at once

these states no longer protect us, but are rather becoming threats to their own citizens

eventually these states will fail, and all will be reduced to internecine tribal warfare amongst the rubble

Maybe.  I’m a big Steven Pinker fan. He basically says that, up to the pandemic at least, civilization has gotten better and better across almost all metros.  Infant mortality, hunger, warfare, education levels, real purchasing power, etc.  We have to ensure that we don’t ruin it in the name of some Puritanical idea of perfection: perfectly safe, perfectly healthy.  However, I think all the technology necessary to virtually end greenhouse gas emissions is close. It’s happening.  However, if we hurt people in the pursuit of perfection, we could have a lot less than perfection.  We could literally destroy our living standards, freedom, and way of life.  Not worth it.  

Edited September 12, 2022 by Zeitgeist

[herbie]

I'm not a big supporter of the Monarchy but I've become very Churchillian about it. When someone invents a system better than our Constitutional Monarchy we can look at it.

Lived my whole life under the reign of QE2 and can't think of anything bad to say about her. Other people petty enough to have said enough already.

[SpankyMcFarland]

6 hours ago, ExFlyer said:

Overthrow what?

The monarchy is a figurehead and ceremonial to Canada.

No authority whatsoever.

We have nothing to overthrow. A picture in the hallway maybe??

I was quoting the poster you responded to in your post who used that rather over-the-top term. Go back and have a look. Yes, the monarchy is ceremonial but we should still get our own head of state here in Canada. It’s time. We’re not a tiny colony any more.

Edited September 12, 2022 by SpankyMcFarland

[SpankyMcFarland]

2 hours ago, herbie said:

I'm not a big supporter of the Monarchy but I've become very Churchillian about it. When someone invents a system better than our Constitutional Monarchy we can look at it.

Lived my whole life under the reign of QE2 and can't think of anything bad to say about her. Other people petty enough to have said enough already.

If we need something as weird as a monarch we can get our own very easily who can spend their time in this country. Norway did that. Otherwise we are going to go through yet more decades pretending the Windsors can’t think of anything but Canada 24/7 which is clearly nonsense. Let’s stand up and say goodbye to another example of offshoring a job a Canadian could do better. 

Edited September 12, 2022 by SpankyMcFarland

[SpankyMcFarland]

5 hours ago, Zeitgeist said:

Maybe.  I’m a big Steven Pinker fan. He basically says that, up to the pandemic at least, civilization has gotten better and better across almost all metros.  Infant mortality, hunger, warfare, education levels, real purchasing power, etc.  We have to ensure that we don’t ruin it in the name of some Puritanical idea of perfection: perfectly safe, perfectly healthy.  However, I think all the technology necessary to virtually end greenhouse gas emissions is close. It’s happening.  However, if we hurt people in the pursuit of perfection, we could have a lot less than perfection.  We could literally destroy our living standards, freedom, and way of life.  Not worth it.  

Take a look at the environmental incidents happening around the world at the moment - fires, floods, droughts, storms, melting ice, epidemics. And that’s just the start. The catastrophes are certain, an easy-peasy technological fix much less so. 

Edited September 12, 2022 by SpankyMcFarland

[Iceni warrior]

7 hours ago, herbie said:

I'm not a big supporter of the Monarchy but I've become very Churchillian about it. When someone invents a system better than our Constitutional Monarchy we can look at it.

Lived my whole life under the reign of QE2 and can't think of anything bad to say about her. Other people petty enough to have said enough already.

QE2 is an ocean liner.

 

[ExFlyer]

12 hours ago, Aristides said:

Actually they do have authority but using it would likely cause a constitutional crisis. Like refusing to allow the prorogation of parliament.

Incorrect.

The monarchy is "more like a referee, acting to preserve the rule of law, within the rules of the Constitution ", but no authority to make laws or rules or regulations.

https://www.monarchist.ca/index.php/our-monarchy/myths-about-the-monarchy

https://lop.parl.ca/About/Parliament/Education/ourcountryourparliament/html_booklet/role-monarch-e.html

[Dougie93]

11 hours ago, Zeitgeist said:

Maybe.  I’m a big Steven Pinker fan. He basically says that, up to the pandemic at least, civilization has gotten better and better across almost all metros.  Infant mortality, hunger, warfare, education levels, real purchasing power, etc.  We have to ensure that we don’t ruin it in the name of some Puritanical idea of perfection: perfectly safe, perfectly healthy.  However, I think all the technology necessary to virtually end greenhouse gas emissions is close. It’s happening.  However, if we hurt people in the pursuit of perfection, we could have a lot less than perfection.  We could literally destroy our living standards, freedom, and way of life.  Not worth it.  

civilizations often bring themselves down at their zenith

as recently as 1914 in fact

[Dougie93]

6 hours ago, SpankyMcFarland said:

Take a look at the environmental incidents happening around the world at the moment - fires, floods, droughts, storms, melting ice, epidemics. And that’s just the start. The catastrophes are certain, an easy-peasy technological fix much less so. 

I would suggest that the nature of the civilizational collapse is technological in of itself

the techno Utopians of the 1990's heralded the "World Wide Web" as the great unifying instrument

but actually, it has had the exact opposite effect

just as predicted by Marshal McLuhan : Information World War Three

[Zeitgeist]

6 hours ago, SpankyMcFarland said:

Take a look at the environmental incidents happening around the world at the moment - fires, floods, droughts, storms, melting ice, epidemics. And that’s just the start. The catastrophes are certain, an easy-peasy technological fix much less so. 

Sounds like every year I can remember.  With more people and more news, these events seem more extreme and widespread.  Not sure much has changed.  I still remember the terrible stories of floods in Bangladesh and earthquakes and tsunamis in the South Pacific from early childhood.  

[Dougie93]

3 minutes ago, Zeitgeist said:

Sounds like every year I can remember. 

the Great Information War has already begun

we are in the trenches of it, on the Western Front, as we speak

as we speak information War, on every net, all day every day,

the nation formerly known as "Canada" is already tearing itself down

gouging its own eyes out, cutting its own throat, just to spite itself

 

[Zeitgeist]

2 minutes ago, Dougie93 said:

I would suggest that the nature of the civilizational collapse is technological in of itself

the techno Utopians of the 1990's heralded the "World Wide Web" as the great unifying instrument

but actually, it has had the exact opposite effect

just as predicted by Marshal McLuhan : Information World War Three

Well the risk of extreme surveillance and control, especially with A.I. running the data analysis algorithms, is a serious threat, especially when governments seek more power.  We saw some of this at work fighting Covid and it can be used to engineer all sorts of behaviour to meet ESG goals.  This tech must be contained when used for such purposes.

McLuhan understood that the future battles would be largely informational.  I think it’s worse than he thought.  It’s the battle for humanity: Our freedom and living standards are under threat, but the threat is mostly of our own making.

[Dougie93]

3 minutes ago, Zeitgeist said:

McLuhan understood that the future battles would be largely informational.  I think it’s worse than he thought.  It’s the battle for humanity: Our freedom and living standards are under threat, but the threat is mostly of our own making.

the First & Second World Wars were largely informational

as both were won by Signals Intelligence

culminating with Alan Turing and Ultra at Bletchley Park