Well, parliament has officially been suspended. So that's: Harper -- one, democracy -- zero.

Though I'm going to call this the lesser of two evils, since the idea of the NDP and the Bloc being in power irks me (I'm okay with the Liberals).

I lived in Montreal for 4 years. The Bloc always seemed like a petty party that was always more about its lil' corner of nouvelle France then the rest of Canada. That's about all I have to say on that.

^

I disagree. The bloc is and has been working pragmatically to promote Quebec's interests for quite some time, focusing instead on language and provincial rights. They are up front about their platform, and the question of seperation has been off the table for a long time now - it's simply not feasable politically for them. Like it or not, they are a legitimate party within our government and trying to sell them as some sort of evil boogie-man is going to do nothing positive for the situation on ANY side. This is already enough of a crisis without raising the spector of national unity again.

A) I think the Bloc deserves all the demonizing they get. I mean, this is a party whose sole platform is to essentially tear the country in two. Do you think that kind of BS would fly in the States? Or any other rational country, for that matter? It's nutty.

B) I think both sides are in the wrong in this particular issue. The Liberals/NPD/Bloc are wrong to be doing what essentially amounts to a coup. And the Conservatives are wrong to try to dissolve parliament, even temporarily. They both seem somewhat anti-democratic to me.

And thank you right back

In reply to this comment by Zifnab:
*promote

Even though the FOX news reporter stated that they were not Obama supporters, he continually made references to the democrats and freedom of speech.

These guys were Black Bloc - "anarchists" or real leftists. Their message is real and I support their ideology but not many times their actions. They don't believe in our massively corrupted two-party, corporate, pseudo-fascist system and I see eye-to-eye with this idea.

But, FOX News and all mainstream media will use the Black Bloc or other anarchist "extremist" groups to scare people away from protesting. The same thing happened before we began bombing Iraq... the Black Bloc swept across major urban areas of the country ; they graffitied police cars, they burned flags, they smashed windows of large corporations on break-away marches from the centralized and legitimate permitted protests. When they did this the media made it seem like the other 99% of the protesters were engaging in these activities of which they were actually condemned. So, if history repeats itself as the US gears up for war again, more protests of tens to hundreds of thousands will manifest and once again the media will focus on these 100-500 black hooded twats/hooligans who only aid in obscuring the much more important message of peace. A few screwballs can ruin it for the millions protesting with this shitfaced media monopoly we've got going on.

Yeah, "Fuck Fox News" - these guys had a chance to go all Chomsky on Fox Live and they blew it....

hey, its bloc party

^ I agree the two party system needs to change. It's not going to happen in the 2008 Presidential election.

If that's ever going to happen, it'll come when a third party starts winning seats in congress, and probably they won't have a serious shot at winning the Presidency until they become a large enough bloc in congress to thwart the Democrats and Republicans.

There's a reason why smears against Obama are seen as endorsement of McCain; that's what the entire Republican party is hinging their campaign on. They want to frame the entire election as being a yes/no vote on Obama, instead of a choice between Obama and McCain, because they know if people look closely at McCain, he will lose. So they always drive the conversation to "are you sure about Obama?"

I hear you about wanting more from the U.S. in terms of the environment and several other issues, but bashing the candidate from the major party that wants to move things towards what you want is more likely to help elect the person who wants to move the U.S. further away from what you want.

*sigh* You'd think the lower and middle-class WASP's would have changed by now. (And I am one; a WASP, not a racist, mind you)

Hmm, let's see...

1830-1850: Huge immigration of Western Europe to the US. Irish, Italian, etc. #1 complaints? Lack of assimilation to the "American ideal" and: http://www.videosift.com/video/De-Tuk-Er-Jeeerbs

1885-1895: Another huge immigration...this time Eastern Europe. Poles, Jews, Eastern Bloc countries. #1 complaints? Lack of assimilation to the "American ideal" and: http://www.videosift.com/video/De-Tuk-Er-Jeeerbs

Since 1900, immigration from every country in the world, more from Asia and Latin America now. And guess what? We still have the "American" ideal and we still have jobs. Unemployment is about the same rate and so is crime. Nothings changed.

Oh, except we now have cool shows like South Park... http://www.videosift.com/video/De-Tuk-Er-Jeeerbs

Sounds better remixed with this - http://www.videosift.com/video/Sleeparchive-Live-at-Bloc-Weekend

in Soviet Russia, wife beats you!

/or Former Eastern Bloc Country, whatever

I'm an American who moved to a suburb of Amsterdam right around the time of the Theo van Gogh murder. My wife is Dutch, I'm getting to be pretty good at the language. Most Sundays, you'll find us in church--and the church will be packed. Our daughter's best (Dutch) friend is Roman Catholic; it was a big deal when she invited my daughter to her confirmation. Most of my friends are secular, and I think that one difference with the US is that atheists are pretty open about their views--sometimes to the point of being rude, but, then again, being blunt to the point of rudeness is a trait for which the Dutch are famous in general.

Dealing with the diversity of religious belief in the Netherlands is a difficult and interesting subject. The problem with this report is that it's overly simplistic and based on extremely superficial reporting--who on earth is this reporter to make such sweeping statements about this country? He obviously didn't talk to very many people, and he also obviously didn't step outside central Amsterdam, unless it was to go to The Hague for a location shot. The fact that they showed a building as the parliament when it wasn't is telling--how seriously would you take a foreign report on the U.S. if they put up a shot of the National Archives and said it was the Capitol?

Take the good old days that the reporter talks about when church attendance was 95%. Among Catholics, yes. Then there were the Protestants, who have historically held the wealth and the power and historically wanted nothing to do with the Catholics. And there was a secular (mainly socialist) bloc (not to mention the Jews). The entire society was segregated. You didn't just go to a Catholic (or Protestant or no) church; you belonged to a Catholic (or Protestant or secular) social club, your kids went to a Catholic (or Protestant or secular) school, you voted for a Catholic (or Protestant or secular) party, etc. Dutch tolerance meant that the different groups didn't try to kill each other; it didn't mean they had to like each other or even interact with other beyond what was absolutely necessary.

That doesn't mean that the more fluid society of today is better, but the story is much more complex than this report makes it sound. What worries me is that Fox News is doing so well in the ratings. If that many people are watching, some of them must believe this nonsense.

No way, I have no problem being a fan of a band. I'm not really a fan of any contemporary rock bands, that I can think of, but I've been a huge fan of bands in the past, most notably Queensryche, but also Zeppelin, and Hendrix, although they were before my time.

I just meant that I wasn't a fan of those bands in particular. I enjoy a few tracks by Bloc Party and Coldplay, but I couldn't name a member of either band, don't know their albums, etc etc.

I am a HUGE fan of Simon Posford, aka Hallucinogen aka one half of Shpongle. I am a big fan of Shift, a trance producer from South Africa. I'm a HUGE fan of Robert Rich, and I wish that there were better robert rich videos to sift. No, I'm definitely a fanboi, just not for Bloc Party or Coldplay.



In reply to your comment:
“why are you against being a fan of bands? you said like the exact same disclaimer before that bloc party video. is because you're a dj? and dj's can't get attached to bands?”

No way, I have no problem being a fan of a band. I'm not really a fan of any contemporary rock bands, that I can think of, but I've been a huge fan of bands in the past, most notably Queensryche, but also Zeppelin, and Hendrix, although they were before my time.

I just meant that I wasn't a fan of those bands in particular. I enjoy a few tracks by Bloc Party and Coldplay, but I couldn't name a member of either band, don't know their albums, etc etc.

I am a HUGE fan of Simon Posford, aka Hallucinogen aka one half of Shpongle. I am a big fan of Shift, a trance producer from South Africa. I'm a HUGE fan of Robert Rich, and I wish that there were better robert rich videos to sift. No, I'm definitely a fanboi, just not for Bloc Party or Coldplay.



In reply to your comment:
“why are you against being a fan of bands? you said like the exact same disclaimer before that bloc party video. is because you're a dj? and dj's can't get attached to bands?”

why are you against being a fan of bands? you said like the exact same disclaimer before that bloc party video. is because you're a dj? and dj's can't get attached to bands?