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Albertexit

Alberta should just declare independence if Trudeau and the Liberals win the election.
 
Don't have a clue what you're talking about, have you. Try and leave Canada? Not allowed to build pipelines? You're just babbling nonsense.

Bubba and Jim Bob should be rather chipper right now having thrown out the NDP and reducing Rachel Notley to a screeching annoyance.
 
It's just a provincial election, and not likely to surprise anyone when the NDP lose. Anyone who seriously suggests there's much support for separation is an idiot and anyone who's against oil pipelines needs to Google 'Lac Megantic'.

I'm guessing any separation movement in Alberta is like the one in Texas. No one is serious about it, but it makes for a cool looking t-shirt or bumper sticker.
 
I'm guessing any separation movement in Alberta is like the one in Texas. No one is serious about it, but it makes for a cool looking t-shirt or bumper sticker.

It comes up every so often. Now it would have the most support in rural parts of Alberta.

If push came to shove it would be rejected as it would be much less sustainable than Texas would be as an independent country. The First Nations would likely want to stay as part of Canada as well, splitting Alberta up with lots of smaller political entities in it
 
It comes up every so often. Now it would have the most support in rural parts of Alberta.

If push came to shove it would be rejected as it would be much less sustainable than Texas would be as an independent country. The First Nations would likely want to stay as part of Canada as well, splitting Alberta up with lots of smaller political entities in it

Alberta is one of two landlocked provinces. The whole idea is ludicrous. Ranks even higher on the scale than 'Cascadia', the pie-in-the-sky idea of Washington, Oregon and British Columbia forming a country.
But you're right, there probably is some support in rural Alberta. I used to describe Alberta as "four million people who think the movie 'East Rider' had a happy ending." That's probably unfair but there are pockets of determined redneck ignorance there. And in BC too.
 
Alberta is one of two landlocked provinces. The whole idea is ludicrous. Ranks even higher on the scale than 'Cascadia', the pie-in-the-sky idea of Washington, Oregon and British Columbia forming a country.
But you're right, there probably is some support in rural Alberta. I used to describe Alberta as "four million people who think the movie 'East Rider' had a happy ending." That's probably unfair but there are pockets of determined redneck ignorance there. And in BC too.

Having been born and raised in Calgary, I have seen the city change over the years. From being around 400 000 people to around 1.2 million. It is not redneck anymore (pockets of sure) but it is 40% ethnic minority now with I expect the under 50 population being over 50% ethnic minority. The rural parts of Alberta are far more conservative and religious than the cities, and that will cause the UCP to split in a few years as rural conservatives will be upset with city conservatives because of different policies they want (rural will want social conservative policies while city conservatives will want fiscal conservative policies)
 
A country would need money to fund the transition to a lower carbon producing economy

And after grossly overpaying Kinder Morgan in a sweetheart deal for that pipeline to get into the oil business it should have semi-nationalized ala Norway's example long ago, it desperately needs it.
 
Oh its the "others" is it? :roll:

Look...a little tough love if I may.
IMO...
Canadians everywhere like the idea of the French enclave in the nation called Quebec. Its part of what makes Canada...Canada. Its part of our shared history, heritage and culture. I would be surprised if any Canadians ever really "wanted" Quebec to separate. But just like a spouse who nags constantly about dumb crap, many Canadians have gotten tired of this perpetual battle and given up.

I was with an embassy in Europe as the IT dude, when the last referendum happened. It almost tore the embassy apart. It was confrontational and unpleasant. It turned friends into enemies, and the rift in the staff never mended until the next rotation. During this time, External Affairs was installing a new global network and had penned a deal with Digital to produce and provide all the hardware in Quebec. The manufacturing facilities were complete and the machines were all being rolled out, when the Language Police showed up and demanded that production be halted until all documentation and systems can be duplicated in French. Digital decided to pull up stakes, and move out of Quebec. The deal was over.

Nobody wants to lose the unique culture of Quebec. But Les Quebecois have let their hearts dictate their actions, and have choked off business within their own province. They've been lead down a path to ruin, over the asinine idea that they can manage as a strictly French land mass in the middle of a continent that is primarily English speaking. Hell not even France is that stupid. Y'all let Levesque rest power by appealing to the abundant emotions of French culture, and the lingering disappointment of having been over-run by the English, way back when none of us were even alive.

Les Quebecois need to drop this self-destructive path and be proud members of a unique nation. Canada. We're all sitting on a bloody fortune in minerals and resources. Its way past time Canada take its place as a leader globally and a merchant of this "gold mine" we're all living on.

I am of course NOT Canadian but I see some parallels down here.
Sure, I've learned some Spanish. I started learning in earnest back in the early 80's because I partnered with two Mexican ladies in a post production studio in N. Hollywood and a lot of our clients were hispanic owned businesses, and two Spanish language TV stations to boot.
I even wound up working at one of those stations for a little while even after my partnership broke up years later.
Strangely enough I didn't get much Spanish practice living in Texas but upon moving back to SoCal, there it was and I was happy to let it all start coming back to me, with practice.

I don't mind speaking a little bit of Spanish, but don't tell me I HAVE to use BOTH languages continually, because I am not hispanic. I am an Anglophone. The Spanish/Mexican culture of California is undeniable but the United States wasn't founded by Spanish colonists, it was founded by English colonists, and revolutionaries.
And the dominant language here happens to be English.

I don't even mind making basic Spanish proficiency a high school requirement.
But it doesn't change the fact that our dominant language is still English.
We don't want California to give up its Spanish and Mexican heritage but forcing it on us via the law is absurd.
We're primarily English speaking.

Now, a question: Is there a large (very large) percentage of Quebecers who cannot speak English at all?
 
There's another lunatic group talking about 'Cascadia', B.C. and Washington state and Oregon and northern California forming a nation. Hell, Sarah Palin and her husband supported an Alaska separation 'movement'. There's no shortage of those nutbars.

They don't like Southern California?
 
I am of course NOT Canadian but I see some parallels down here.
Sure, I've learned some Spanish. I started learning in earnest back in the early 80's because I partnered with two Mexican ladies in a post production studio in N. Hollywood and a lot of our clients were hispanic owned businesses, and two Spanish language TV stations to boot.
I even wound up working at one of those stations for a little while even after my partnership broke up years later.
Strangely enough I didn't get much Spanish practice living in Texas but upon moving back to SoCal, there it was and I was happy to let it all start coming back to me, with practice.

I don't mind speaking a little bit of Spanish, but don't tell me I HAVE to use BOTH languages continually, because I am not hispanic. I am an Anglophone. The Spanish/Mexican culture of California is undeniable but the United States wasn't founded by Spanish colonists, it was founded by English colonists, and revolutionaries.
And the dominant language here happens to be English.

I don't even mind making basic Spanish proficiency a high school requirement.
But it doesn't change the fact that our dominant language is still English.
We don't want California to give up its Spanish and Mexican heritage but forcing it on us via the law is absurd.
We're primarily English speaking.

Now, a question: Is there a large (very large) percentage of Quebecers who cannot speak English at all?

I would say there is a significant number of Quebecois who can't speak English.
 
I would say there is a significant number of Quebecois who can't speak English.

Wow, really can't or just "can't" because they can't bear to do it?
I know a ton of old Mexican ladies (well...not a ton but more than a few) who claim that they can't speak English but in reality they can speak it just fine.
Same goes for a few old Italian ladies I used to either know or was related to. Same goes for the ex-wife of one of my in-laws, and her mother, who pretended that they could only speak Russian when their English was actually not too bad at all, discovered by accident and much to the chagrin of both.

My father was a German illegal immigrant and while his mother managed to speak English just fine, he'd sometimes converse with her in German, and my Italian mother had (secretly) figured out enough basic German to understand what they were saying.

And here I thought (for some stupid reason) that bilingual ability was a requirement to living in Canada.
 
Wow, really can't or just "can't" because they can't bear to do it?
I know a ton of old Mexican ladies (well...not a ton but more than a few) who claim that they can't speak English but in reality they can speak it just fine.
Same goes for a few old Italian ladies I used to either know or was related to. Same goes for the ex-wife of one of my in-laws, and her mother, who pretended that they could only speak Russian when their English was actually not too bad at all, discovered by accident and much to the chagrin of both.

My father was a German illegal immigrant and while his mother managed to speak English just fine, he'd sometimes converse with her in German, and my Italian mother had (secretly) figured out enough basic German to understand what they were saying.

And here I thought (for some stupid reason) that bilingual ability was a requirement to living in Canada.

*giggle*
Don't say that in the open in Lethbridge Alberta...

Anyway...I had grandparents who didn't speak English. They spoke Hungarian and Slovak...which actually made them "bilingual".

My wife was a defector from Czechoslovakia. When I met her, she hardly spoke a word of English. The first couple years of my marriage were bliss. :cool:

I don't personally care if Les Quebecois wanna learn English or not. I value the province as a part of Canada that is unique and has a very interesting history. Unfortunately the politicians continuously use the emotionality of Les Quebecois, to get them to do things that wind up hurting Les Quebecois. Its asinine.
 
*giggle*
Don't say that in the open in Lethbridge Alberta...

Anyway...I had grandparents who didn't speak English. They spoke Hungarian and Slovak...which actually made them "bilingual".

My wife was a defector from Czechoslovakia. When I met her, she hardly spoke a word of English. The first couple years of my marriage were bliss. :cool:

I don't personally care if Les Quebecois wanna learn English or not. I value the province as a part of Canada that is unique and has a very interesting history. Unfortunately the politicians continuously use the emotionality of Les Quebecois, to get them to do things that wind up hurting Les Quebecois. Its asinine.

I actually understand...the part about "getting Quebecois to do things that hurt the Quebecois."
We have a similar situation here.

Bliss? Because she couldn't speak English? Sounds like a movie script from the 1960's. But hey whatever floats your boat.
 
I actually understand...the part about "getting Quebecois to do things that hurt the Quebecois."
We have a similar situation here.
Indeed you do. My daughter is down there on assignment right now. I hear about how pretty LA is every night.

Bliss? Because she couldn't speak English? Sounds like a movie script from the 1960's. But hey whatever floats your boat.
Yes. Bliss. Then she learned English from the diplomats I worked with, and learned how to be a right pompous ass like them. So...I learned to simply go..."Yes Dear".
 
Indeed you do. My daughter is down there on assignment right now. I hear about how pretty LA is every night.

It is very easy to wind up in parts of this town which look and feel as if they're right out of a movie, or a story, or a TV show.
Some parts are straight up fantasy brought into real existence.

Then, you turn a corner and suddenly you're face to face with a depressed and completely broken neighborhood no one seems to have much use for. Beyond that, all the stuff being talked about in other threads.

The older industrial areas are ringed by the unfortunates who can't afford a place to stay.
Some of them actually have jobs and some do not and don't intend to ever have one.
The ones who work get up every day, collect their stuff and stash it while they work and the others are there all day and all night long.
Nevertheless, they all congregate around a lot of the industrial areas while others seek out the downtown centers. That's how it is.
The truth is, it was always a bit like that even decades ago but it was minor. Now it's not a minor blight anymore, it's large and growing.

Yes. Bliss. Then she learned English from the diplomats I worked with, and learned how to be a right pompous ass like them. So...I learned to simply go..."Yes Dear".

My spouse is a blast to talk to so for me at least, I enjoy it.
 
It is very easy to wind up in parts of this town which look and feel as if they're right out of a movie, or a story, or a TV show.
Some parts are straight up fantasy brought into real existence.

Then, you turn a corner and suddenly you're face to face with a depressed and completely broken neighborhood no one seems to have much use for. Beyond that, all the stuff being talked about in other threads.

The older industrial areas are ringed by the unfortunates who can't afford a place to stay.
Some of them actually have jobs and some do not and don't intend to ever have one.
The ones who work get up every day, collect their stuff and stash it while they work and the others are there all day and all night long.
Nevertheless, they all congregate around a lot of the industrial areas while others seek out the downtown centers. That's how it is.
The truth is, it was always a bit like that even decades ago but it was minor. Now it's not a minor blight anymore, it's large and growing.
Tell me about it. The kid and her BF rented a little bungalow with a fence and a second apartment in the backyard. The pictures showed a new place and the renter assured them it was a safe place. They got there to find all the "fences" were actually lined with barbed wire. She said it looked like a battle ground, and that the very street over was not a place she intended to ever visit. But they quickly got out and went to a place called Brentwood? What's that area like?

My spouse is a blast to talk to so for me at least, I enjoy it.

I'm sure she is. Mine can be a hoot too. She still does a complete hatchet-job on English...
However...you'll just have to trust me when I say, meeting this tiny little blond Bohemian country girl who spoke little to no English, getting married and soon there after, moving to her country for a few years, was a friggin' hoot and a half.

If...ya know...you're into that sort of thing...
 
Tell me about it. The kid and her BF rented a little bungalow with a fence and a second apartment in the backyard. The pictures showed a new place and the renter assured them it was a safe place. They got there to find all the "fences" were actually lined with barbed wire. She said it looked like a battle ground, and that the very street over was not a place she intended to ever visit. But they quickly got out and went to a place called Brentwood? What's that area like?

Ever see the movie Mommie Dearest? A lot of it takes place IN Brentwood. OJ Simpson's former mansion is in Brentwood.
Joan Didion lives in Brentwood. A lot of movie stars have houses in Brentwood. Most of Brentwood is in the Santa Monica Mountains, and the tiny town center is mostly bistros and exclusive shops and boutiques.
My folks bought a home on North Bundy Drive in Brentwood in 1977 and lived there until 1986 when my Dad got killed in a car accident. My mom stayed on until around 1990 when she bought a condo across from Nicole Brown Simpson's place down the street...still in Brentwood, just not on the mountain anymore.
Brentwood is next to Bel-Air and Holmby Hills.
Holmby Hills is all the "OLD MONEY", or it's home to the Playboy Mansion, depending on how you choose to think.
The Jed Clampett Mansion (with the cement pond!) is in Holmby Hills.

What was the neighborhood with the barbed wire fences? Give me a street name or a neighborhood name.
And don't get upset if I laugh.

You see, the neighborhood I live (West Whittier - Los Nietos) in USED to be a VERY terrible neighborhood and as a news cameraman I wound up here every couple of weeks or even more often because of the gang shootings. Today it is peaceful. I won't say "serene" because the main drag and fire station are just a few yards away so it can be noisy sometimes.
But it's a calm neighborhood and a lot of people removed the ugly bars off their windows.

But some didn't. One old couple right down the street didn't change anything, so their home still has the high spiked fence, the bars all over the windows, it looks like it should be called "Fort Apache Los Nietos" or something, but it's out of place now.
They're old and they shouldn't have to expend the energy. It's what they're used to.
 
Ever see the movie Mommie Dearest? A lot of it takes place IN Brentwood. OJ Simpson's former mansion is in Brentwood.
Joan Didion lives in Brentwood. A lot of movie stars have houses in Brentwood. Most of Brentwood is in the Santa Monica Mountains, and the tiny town center is mostly bistros and exclusive shops and boutiques.
My folks bought a home on North Bundy Drive in Brentwood in 1977 and lived there until 1986 when my Dad got killed in a car accident. My mom stayed on until around 1990 when she bought a condo across from Nicole Brown Simpson's place down the street...still in Brentwood, just not on the mountain anymore.
Brentwood is next to Bel-Air and Holmby Hills.
Holmby Hills is all the "OLD MONEY", or it's home to the Playboy Mansion, depending on how you choose to think.
The Jed Clampett Mansion (with the cement pond!) is in Holmby Hills.

What was the neighborhood with the barbed wire fences? Give me a street name or a neighborhood name.
And don't get upset if I laugh.

You see, the neighborhood I live (West Whittier - Los Nietos) in USED to be a VERY terrible neighborhood and as a news cameraman I wound up here every couple of weeks or even more often because of the gang shootings. Today it is peaceful. I won't say "serene" because the main drag and fire station are just a few yards away so it can be noisy sometimes.
But it's a calm neighborhood and a lot of people removed the ugly bars off their windows.

But some didn't. One old couple right down the street didn't change anything, so their home still has the high spiked fence, the bars all over the windows, it looks like it should be called "Fort Apache Los Nietos" or something, but it's out of place now.
They're old and they shouldn't have to expend the energy. It's what they're used to.

Exposition Park?
 
Exposition Park?

Exposition Park is just a mile or so off downtown, near the University of Southern California (USC, aka University of Spoiled Children) and North of Hoover Street, which is one of the worst crack cocaine slinging areas in the region.
Hoover Street is the northernmost point in "South Central Los Angeles"...as in "the hood", in gangsta parlance.

If they can afford Brentwood, I am surprised that they didn't first try West Adams instead.
At least in West Adams you might end up with a delightfully beautiful old Victorian or a Craftsman home for Brentwood "apartment prices".
But Exposition Park is almost on top of the skyscrapers and just West of all the rail yards and warehouses.
Brentwood, by the way, is almost on the COAST, some 15 miles West.

What gave them the idea that Exposition Park was a great place?
Did they have ANY friends or family or did they just put their finger on the map and pick?
If they did, it's not surprising, because they probably thought downtown L.A. was "where it's at"....it's NOT, not really.
It's STARTING to try to become "where it's at" but downtown L.A. is mostly ignored by most people.

Los Angeles isn't like other cities. People don't congregate in downtown Los Angeles the way they do in other cities.
 
Exposition Park is just a mile or so off downtown, near the University of Southern California (USC, aka University of Spoiled Children) and North of Hoover Street, which is one of the worst crack cocaine slinging areas in the region.
Hoover Street is the northernmost point in "South Central Los Angeles"...as in "the hood", in gangsta parlance.

If they can afford Brentwood, I am surprised that they didn't first try West Adams instead.
At least in West Adams you might end up with a delightfully beautiful old Victorian or a Craftsman home for Brentwood "apartment prices".
But Exposition Park is almost on top of the skyscrapers and just West of all the rail yards and warehouses.
Brentwood, by the way, is almost on the COAST, some 15 miles West.

What gave them the idea that Exposition Park was a great place?
Did they have ANY friends or family or did they just put their finger on the map and pick?
If they did, it's not surprising, because they probably thought downtown L.A. was "where it's at"....it's NOT, not really.
It's STARTING to try to become "where it's at" but downtown L.A. is mostly ignored by most people.

Los Angeles isn't like other cities. People don't congregate in downtown Los Angeles the way they do in other cities.

I just spoke with her.
Finger point and cost...check for first place.
She tells me their place is actually a block or 2 inside a community called Westwood Village?
 
I just spoke with her.
Finger point and cost...check for first place.
She tells me their place is actually a block or 2 inside a community called Westwood Village?

UCLA territory. Fun place but not really Brentwood, at least according to Brentwood people.
But it's okay, they get funny/snobby like that. You see, Brentwood is "West of the 405" and there are actually people living here who "never go East of the 405". (extreme nose tilt required to say that)
And Westwood Village is East of the 405, heavens to Betsy.

So they live in college town.
Westwood is very active, very crowded, very busy and very exciting.
I bet they're having a blast. It's difficult to NOT have a blast in Westwood, something is ALWAYS happening in Westwood.
Those crazy college kids.
 
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