The Canada Appreciation Thread

You had to go there, eh?


Who would have ever thought that South Park would be 25 years ahead of their time?

On a more positive note, I saw this commercial today. Very nice!


I think I recognize that riff at the end.

Sent with much love.
gatorcpa

Given that there was no country called “Canada” in 1816, I think we were a little more worried about British colonizers, but yeah, OK.

Surveying was more of an art than a science then anyway.
gatorcpa

Correct, but still not a country until 1867.
gatorcpa

I don't know why the British were the scary part, if it were me I'd be far more fearful of the Québécois. I was watching a documentary about the great Canadian maple syrup heist and it stuck me that everyone they were interviewing was insane to varying degrees, from the Barrel Runners to the Syrup Mafia... all of them.

It is genuinely fascinating to watch though, part of the dirty money series, and they are right that Canadian maple syrup is infinitely better than the imitation stuff.

Time for a midday shot. I was recently gifted this maple syrup that looks kind of fancy. Delicious.

Wife is still freaked out by me pouring it on eggs/meat too.

A footnote to this discussion of how Canada has been affected by the recent changes in USA's view of the world.

Threats to the sovereignty of Canada, Greenland and even Mexico may be regarded by many Americans as hyperbole, but the sad fact is that the rest of us find those threats very disturbing, and not so easily dismissed.

In Australia, we have long regarded the USA as a steadfast, reliable and worthy partner, to which consistent hands-on support from Australian governments and our military services has been given. The days of the WWII war in the Pacific, and the very real threat to an invasion of Australia that American serviceman played a vital part in stopping, were the high water marks of that strong relationship. Gratitude for that was a factor in subsequent Australian support to the USA over the many decades that followed.

Sometimes that support was for ill-advised ventures in which we had no direct interest, other than to show that we could be relied upon. That cost us lives, but the view of those times was that their sacrifice was worth it to ensure a strong partnership.

That view has now changed. We are still coming to grips with the realisation that in the event that Australia is threatened, any existing alliance with Australia could well be regarded by the US government as no longer relevant to its interests.

We are not alone in this uncomfortable feeling of suddenly being outside the circle. The European Union countries are in an even more dire position. It is clear that the US government view is that the rest of us should buckle up and spend much more on defence - and I think that is perfectly reasonable.

However there is still a need for countries to band together to face a common threat. The sad fact is that the USA is no longer seen by the rest of us as a reliable partner, other than a country willing to sell its armaments to those able to raise the funds.

On a lighter note:

Starting to look very promising for Canada Women in Rugby World Cup!
Convincing victory puts Canada into semifinals