Actually Canadians did not invent Basketball. The Mayans invented it over 1000 years ago. Except their losers were beheaded.

Canada is no stranger to terrorism on our soil. We had a 7-year period of terror, which led to the October Crisis of 1970. I am not afraid of the truth.
I have a short clip for you of our PM being questioned by reporters after he invoked the War Measures Act and deployed Canadian Soldiers in Ottawa & Quebec.

Pierre Trudeau interview

http://cbc.ca/clips/ram-newsworld/trudeau_watchme.ram

The FLQ Manifesto called for non-democratic separation to be brought about by acts of terror. From 1963 to 1967, the FLQ planted 35 bombs; from 1968 to 1970 they planted over 50 bombs. By the fall of 1970 the terrorist acts of the FLQ cells had claimed 6 lives.
The PQ government is no longer in power, for now. We just let them keep talking. Every time they open their mouth they expose themselves for who & what they really are. Quebec needs to be an equal partner but we need to meet them half way.
Prejudice & bigotry are not exclusive to race, religion or sex. They are a state of narrow minds.
In fairness to the PQ, In October 1970 they said that a peaceful political separation was the only way. The PQ never had any connection to the FLQ. The FLQ hurt the very cause they wanted through violence.
Like in marriage, when times get tough and money gets tight, or the relationship is not fair to both parties. That is when extreme measures seem like the right idea at the time. We learned a hard lesson here and are still learning. With the way Canada treated Quebec and the people in the early part of the 20th Century, is it any wonder that some would turn to violence?

I give you a link to the complete story. The October Crisis. http://cbc.ca/millennium/timelines/feature_octobercrisis.html
Canada earns the UN's top ranking for seven consecutive years.
For the record, this is what the rest of the world believes. I know the Americans love to tell themselves and everyone else that they are the best country in the world. With 300 million people saying it often enough one may start to believe it. I will leave it to the World Community to praise Canada. To me, that weighs more than the opinion of some biased countryman. We like to save that sort of behavior for The Comedy Network or The Royal Canadian Air Farce.

All I want is for my country to keep getting better. If it means that Norway or Sweden have come up with rights or programs that Canada does not have, I want to know. (IMO) The reason we were knocked off the hill was in large part to Equal Pay for Woman % was not high enough among many other reasons.
Congratulations Norway & Sweden keep setting the bar higher. I am happy to know that Canada has been given a message by the world community on the present record. We must do better.
Relax America, we know you are Number 1.
Norway is saving your place in line. Be back soon.
The United Nations ranked Canada third on its Human Development Index in 2002. Canada has established a reputation for outstanding living conditions from 1994 to 2000. The country's standard of living, health care system, educational attainment, housing, cultural and recreational facilities, level of public safety and tourist opportunities are all of an exceptionally high quality.
Rank Country
1 Norway
2 Sweden
3 Canada
4 Belgium
5 Australia
6 U.S.A.
7 Iceland
8 Netherlands
9 Japan
10 Finland
11 Switzerland
12 France
13 U.K.
14 Denmark
15 Austria

Qwiz, in fairness, with the exception of one poster, I think the whole tenor of this thread has been rather rampantly PRO-Canadian, so please don't feel we are trying to make the case that the US (or Oz, or Uzbekistan, for that matter) is qualitatively better than Canada.

(Well, maybe Oz )

And as for, my name sake. I do remember saying she is one of the only good people to come out of Canada. That doesn't mean I hate her. I respect her. She's one of the few people who CAN actually WRITE songs.

I'm just curious, cool, why so down on the metric system? Makes sense, easy to remember conversions, double recipes, etc. The only real problem I find is that we took the coward's way, refused to enforce the changeover, so we have a sort of double system, where nobody really knows what any measurement means. In Canada it's not at all unusual to hear something at the deli counter like this, "I'll have 300 grams of the smoked meat,please, and half a pound of the turkey".

Sorry! I forgot I should be excessively modest.

Re: Metric system

1. A "foot" corresponds roughly to something in real life. A "meter" is something that some wonky guy like Professor Frink invented. It's a little too four-eyed for us macho Yanks.

2. To Qwiz: I think the jig may be up on Canadian modesty.
Chretien has been bashing the Yanks around PRETTY HARD lately!

file://C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\All%20Users\Documents\AOL%20Downloads\globeandmailstory.html

Did he tell the truth?

I think the jig is up for Bush.
Better Mad Cow than Mad Cowboy.
I can eat the beef but can't stomach the man.

Tips for Canadians who wish to take potshots at "W"

1. Calling him a "cowboy" is drawing a rather long bow. He was born in the rip-roarin', hell-raisin' town of New Haven Connecticut to extremely wealthy people. His grandfather was the Republican Senator from that state. "Dubya" grew up in Midland, Texas. While there are certainly cattle in Texas, Midland is not exactly a cow town. Think "Alberta", Qwiz... Midland's an oil town, albeit without Ralph Klein. It has an actual skyline and a population of nearly 100,000.

A good friend of mine happens to hail from the place, and I can tell you that she is about as much a "cowboy" as was, say, Lionel Trilling. She is a lawyer who handles difficult malpractice cases and gets excellent results. She went to HS with Mrs. Dubya, btw. (She also happens to be a licensed chiropractor). "Texas" does not equal "dumb".

2. Thus, while I would not try make the case that George W. Bush is the intellectual equal of John Quincy Adams, say, I certainly have a bit of difficulty with the "dummy" equation. In fact, no one was the intellectual equal of John Quincy Adams. Quincy, however, was a pefectly terrible president (although a great man in many other respects). Bush, who has if nothing else shown genuine political courage, has arguably effected more meaningful change in the Middle East than any US President in history. He didn't exactly attend a diploma-mill college, either. He graduated from Yale -- sort of like a south-of-the-border McGill if some of our northern neighbors are not familiar with the name-- and while I am aware that a rich man's son may be expected to enjoy certain PRIVILEGES there, it's still not something to be tossed completely aside.

Much as I dislike some of his domestic policies, I would suggest (somewhat to my own dismay) that the jig is most certainly NOT up for George W. Bush. I fully suspect he will be a two-termer.

Quote:

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Calling him a "cowboy" is drawing a rather long bow.

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Agreed, and what I find most disturbing about this whole "cowboy" thing is that most people who use the word as an insult aren't even aware of its historical connotations:

Quote:

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The slur "cowboy" (a favorite word of Hitler's) has now returned to the German political lexicon...
http://www.nationalreview.com/script/printpage.asp?ref=/hanson/hanson022803.asp

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Did Canadians invent 5 Pin Bowling because you couldn't afford all 10 pins????

Americans are cheap, aren't they? (In a good, non-offensive way ^_^) Just so you know, I'm British.

Actually, I found that one of the least offensive things Americans have been called in these forums. I think it was meant in good humor and it should be taken as such. But Sue, I am glad someone is paying attention.

Agreed. But since the thread is about Canada, and since one does not exactly have to search hard in Canada for persons of Scottish descent, I feel that pursuant to the International Stereotype Protocol promulgated as part of the Hague Convention, we should give the Canadians their due in this regard. Particular notice should also be given to Trawna and Montreal, both of which additionally have significant Jewish populations, of which the Hague Protocol would also require mention.

I read once that MacLean's magazine ran a contest to find the best way to complete the sentence "As Canadian as..."

I suppose they were originally thinking of something homely like "As Canadian as a McIntosh apple" or so, but the winner was "As Canadian as possible under the circumstances."

I always thought that rather telling. I also recall a recent survey in which nearly half of Canadians expected their country to sooner or later wind up part of the United States. I have no idea why they'd think that, but it's depressing. Buck up, Canada, you're not so bad.

Hey there, Grits 'n Dippers... long time no see, eh? Hey, is Alberta still part of the Confederation? We're still lookin' for #51... Ralphie? Your move, big guy.

Someone on this thread called Bush a two-termer way back in May '03. Well, the sonofabuck was on the money with change. I'd like to buy him a drink. In fact, tomorrow I will do exactly that.

Hehe, hi Cool. Hope you didn`t do all your dough on The Cup this year.

Hoss racing is dead. Canadian politics, however... that's where the fun is, especially since you Ozzie blokes did the right thing and put Little Johnny back in.

Horses or politics eh Cool. It`s all sport. Though of course some prefer bodyline tactics.



Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence. In other words, it is war minus the shooting. Orwell.

I'm not much for it meself, and wish they would get it the heck out of the high schools. But it still has its place... remember Wellington saying that the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton.

I found this on Happy Death Inc. Looks like even George W likes 5-Pin Bowling (notice the size of the bowling ball).

http://www.happydeathinc.com/bowling/galleryc/galleryc15.html

Edited to correct link.