Having suffered an overwhelming defeat in Parliament today, PM May faces the stark choice of tabling a revised Brexit agreement what is approved by the majority of UK MPs. Despite the fact that a solution seems almost impossible to most observers, there IS one that could be successfully tabled on
Continue readingAuthor: CuriosityCat
CuriosityCat: FPTP makes Canadians second class citizens
Voters in the province of British Columbia are faced with a dilemma: Does morality require them to vote for political reform because they owe their family, friends and neighbours a duty to take care of them? This dilemma arises because each voter in BC will within days receive a postal
Continue readingCuriosityCat: A vote for FPTP is a vote for legalized theft
Voters in BC are being given the chance to vote for a dramatic change in the way in which their representatives in the provincial government are chosen, as this article shows: David Eby said the referendum would be conducted by mail-in ballot, with the campaign to begin July 1 and
Continue readingCuriosityCat: How to Frame the electoral reform referendum in BC, Canada
Mark Mitchell has a post in Facebook in which he writes: Apparently, those of us who support ProRep are wrong to use facts and logic in our argument, when the opposition is using emotion and lies. Any suggestions as to how to change this? Good (Read more…) and a valid
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Is the Trudeau government unconstitutional?
Canada demanded that Saudi Arabia release persons jailed there and a storm erupted, with Saudia Arabia cutting off most interactions with Canada. It would be very ironic if the current Trudeau government was determined by our Supreme Court to be unconstitutional, as I believe it is, would it not? Justin
Continue readingCuriosityCat: How to nail the NAFTA sunset clause sticking point
Mexico is showing realism with its latest move towards recognizing that the American administration wanted a different trade agreement, based on fair trade (and not just free trade), and that puts an end to the flight to the bottom of the wage scale. Mexico is prepared to commit to conditions
Continue readingCuriosityCat: The Best Analysis yet of Trump’s America
The article by Frank Buckley, Brian Lee Crowley (Read more…) Sean Speer in today’s Globe & Mail is by far the best analysis of the driving forces behind the new American government that I have read. The article (headed Canada must recognize that the game is changing) is a clear,
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Trudeau’s Government is screwing up the Trump Steel Tariff issue
And why is this happening? Because the Canadian government has not done its homework. It has been obvious for more than 18 months that a Trump presidency would pose special problems for the small Canadian economy, but you would never have guessed this from the activities and statements of the
Continue readingCuriosityCat: The Pope: The one man who can save Spain.
Spain’s problem can be solved by one man: the Pope. How? Simple. The Pope invites (commands?) the two leaders of Spain and Catalonia to meet with him and his advisors, in the Vatican. As part of the public invitation, the Pope sets out a few topics that he will raise
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Good news coming on electoral reform says Andrew Coyne
In a thoughtful article Coyne ranges over the positive news springing up at levels below the federal level, regarding changes to our undemocratic first past the post electoral system (the one that PM Trudeau favours, given his decision to walk away from his campaign promise to end it). Ontario is
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Brexit: How’s this for framing?
Ouch! This is going to hurt PM May’s government, and the opposition framing of the issue is brilliant: Davis himself struck an emollient tone on Thursday, seeking to reassure MPs about the scope of the so-called Henry VIII powers, which will allow ministers to make changes to any laws necessary
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Trump: The asymmetric revolutionary warrior
Asymmetric Beaver Why are Americans reeling in dismay over the state of politics? Why is the American media locked into total disbelief every day? What has happened? A revolution. Donald Trump is President, the result of a campaign that was totally different from any other; and is governing in a
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Why UK’s PM May won’t last 3 months
The UK election was a disaster for Theresa May. She wanted a strong majority (40+ seats) to allow her to cope with a handful or more of dissenting Tory MPs in the House, and secondarily (and a far less important reason) to send a message to the EU that the
Continue readingCuriosityCat: UK Election 2017 Who Won What and Where
This site is a good analysis of the results. One key factor for me is that Labour increased the percentage of younger voters from less than 40% in the last election to 70% this time. If this holds, the Tories are in trouble!
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Is this why Trump won?
Here’s one analysis of why Trump won and the Clinton Democrats lost: Why? Because Trump’s brand of populism — and more importantly, that of working-class whites — differs in important ways from the populism of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. While the populism espoused by Sanders and Warren is economic,
Continue readingCuriosityCat: UK Election – my forecast? A new government lead by Labour’s Corbyn as MP
Now’s a good time to stick my neck out and forecast that come June 8, PM May will be booted out of power and replaced shortly thereafter by a new Labour government, with Corbyn as Prime Minister. Here’s the latest Yougov forecast, which shows May’s Tories at 310 votes (16
Continue readingCuriosityCat: UK June 8 Election and How Framing might destroy PM May
Remember Don’t think of an elephant? Does the name George Lakoff ring a bell? Does the concept of framing a debate in political discourse remind you of something? If your answer is Yes, step this way and consider the article I quote below. If your answer is No, then step
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Upset for PM May in UK June 8 election?
Prime Minister May might find her apple cart upturned next week when voters send in a hung Parliament, if a new opinion-polling method by YouGov actually works, as this article explains: Robert Barnes, the U.S. lawyer who made hundreds of thousands of dollars betting on Brexit and Donald Trump’s victory,
Continue readingCuriosityCat: How Globalization hammers France
Worth reading is this article: Guilluy doubts that any place exists in France’s new economy for working people as we’ve previously understood them. Paris offers the most striking case. As it has prospered, the City of Light has stratified, resembling, in this regard, London or American cities such as New
Continue readingCuriosityCat: How Nathan Cullen can bring about electoral reform within months
Our Prime Minister clearly has limited knowledge of electoral reform, both the theories and the practice. This article rebuts his extraordinarily inaccurate claims about the dangers to Canada of electoral reform: The prime minister keeps making the bizarre argument that a partly proportional electoral system would allow anti-immigration Conservative Kellie
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