Given the recent political domestic effectiveness of US federal governments, perhaps we could simply be annexed and taken under Canadian tutelage.
I do remember with great gratitude Canada's bold and nimble assistance to the US at the time of the taking of US hostages in Iran. I'm not sure US citizens have ever properly thanked Canadians for this. Cheers, L > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Ed Weick > Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2003 2:30 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [Futurework] The District of Colour Bar > > > >Who says that Canada wants to be annexed?? > > >arthur > > Perhaps we should offer provincehood to the US -- under very strict > conditions of course. > > Ed > > Ed Weick > 577 Melbourne Ave. > Ottawa, ON, K2A 1W7 > Canada > Phone (613) 728 4630 > Fax (613) 728 9382 > > -----Original Message----- > From: Karen Watters Cole [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2003 8:52 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Cc: Tanya Campbell > Subject: RE: [Futurework] The District of Colour Bar > > > Yes, Tanya this was a good read, part humor part dirty facts. If > it weren't > for the fact that the seat of government takes up so much of it's real > estate, Washington DC would be just another urban renewal project in some > ways. But hey, they've got great real estate and the Smithsonian, too. > > Guess it should be noted that the lost margin keeps getting smaller on > legislation to give DC residents their own reps in Congress. As soon as > there is a change in majorityship, this effort might just succeed > after many > attempts, another example of dogged democracy, if not fluid democracy. > > I would at least hope that DC gets official recognition before we annex > Canada and incorporate Israel. > > Karen Watters Cole > East of Portland, West of Mt Hood > Outgoing mail scanned by NAV 2002 > > A great piece in the Guardian this morning on Washington DC's racism and > contradictions/hipocracy surrounding it as the center of democracy. > > It also touches on something that is often missed when talking > about the US > and that is the state capitals, centres of where democracy is to be > practiced are not often much more than manmade suburbs at their > best (DC is > an extreme example of this). And from this structure, the vocal > minority in those capitals and surrounding often have more > ability to drown > out the voice of those in cities. > > (I humbly await pro-suburb criticism.) > > Regards, > Tanya Campbell > > --------------------------------------------------------- > The District of Colour Bar > > Engel in America > > Matthew Engel > Tuesday January 21, 2003 > The Guardian > > It is commonplace in the media to use the names of capital cities as > shorthand for the opinions of a country: "Washington thinks this"; > "London agrees"; "Paris doesn't". And so on. It is an odd formulation in > any case, especially when you're talking about Washington. What is > Washington? Even the leading citizens have some trouble grasping that. > It is possible to read books with Washington in the title that make you > imagine the entire city is given over to cocktail parties with senators > dropping confidentialities under the chandeliers. Indeed, it is possible > to live here for years and believe that. > > For this could be the most racially segregated city in the world. It is > certainly the most segregated I have seen since Johannesburg circa 1976. > Of course, all cities are economically stratified in a manner that > produces de facto segregation. But in Washington this takes on extreme > form. The whites live in the north-western sliver of the city: a wealthy > corridor stretching down to the city centre. The rest of the place, with > small (though, it is true, growing) exceptions, is overwhelmingly black. > > > Guidebooks always warn first-time visitors about the quirks of > Washington's grid system. The city is divided into four quadrants, and > every address is repeated four times. So if you have to go to the corner > of, say, 21st and K Streets, it is necessary to specify whether you mean > the NW, NE, SW or SE quadrant. But if a white visitor gets into a taxi, > the driver just drives straight to the north-western version. Why the > hell would you be going anywhere else? > > The second oddity is that this is the least democratic city in any > allegedly free country. The District of Columbia was never given the > same rights as the states: in the early days of the republic, the > federal government, uncertain of its status, wanted a small patch to > call its own, which at the time was probably fair enough. > > As the city grew, it became absurd, indeed outrageous. The population > grew to 800,000 (it is under 600,000 now), but since they were mainly > black people or white liberals and thus staunchly Democratic rather than > Republican, logic and justice went out of the window. In 1961, when the > US was a mere 185 years old, the city finally gained the right to vote > for president. A form of home rule followed, though Congress still has > unique rights in bossing the place about. Since for many years DC was > run by the ridiculous Mayor Marion Barry, there was a case for > maintaining those rights. > > Barry has gone; the city is now quite well-run. But in fact DC voters > have been losing rights. They are not allowed any senators (if they > were, the Republicans would lose their majority) and the "delegate" to > Congress had her limited voting rights taken away when the Republicans > gained control there in 1995. Bill Clinton, in a Clintonian gesture, put > the city's campaigning licence plate, "Taxation without Representation", > on the presidential limousine; George W Bush took it off again. > > The third point about Washington is its status as reputed murder capital > of the world. There were 482 murders in 1991, which was one way of > maintaining population decline. Over the past decade, that figure has > halved - more cops, fewer young males thanks to demographic trends, less > crack cocaine, more prosperity. But in 2002, it rose again to 262, the > worst figure since 1997. > > It is expected to keep going up, due to another population spike (the > grandchildren of the post-war baby boomers) and the scheduled release > from prison of some old-time baddies. Cities as big as Boston have a > tiny fraction of those rates. There are seven police districts in DC: in > a typical year, two or three of the murders take place in the second > district, which covers the north-west. > > Yet it is only a short drive from supermarkets selling Roquefort and > organic granola to those selling plantains and yams, and from banks > willing to throw cheap money at home-owners to the Check 'n Go, which > will loan you $50 for 14 days at an annualised rate of 547.5%. Some of > these areas are pleasant, laughing neighbourhoods; some are flat-out > murderous. > > Some are now getting very mixed, like U Street, where white gays, > dinkies and singles are taking over. Part of the attraction is Ben's > Chili Bowl, an institution whose "chili half-smokes" knock the pants off > the canapés at the more fashionable salons. Nizam Ali, the original > Ben's son, helps run a group called NoMurdersDC - not fewer murders, > note, but none at all. > > It is a splendidly ambitious idea: making the point that these are not > faceless statistics being killed, worth their two paragraphs in the > Post, but real people who matter. At one of their meetings a 17-year-old > girl got up and said 12 of her friends had been killed. "I've been to > more funerals than birthday parties," she said. A few months ago, the > world became obsessed by the sniper. These are daily snipes, happening > all the time, about three miles from the White House. > > But Washington's votes don't count, and its people are largely > invisible. > > Now where were we? Democracy in Iraq, was it? > > Tanya Campbell > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > +44 (0)7810 562209 > > > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
