Geekman's World: Derfa-der!

I learned something today: there actually was such a thing as Smell-O-Vision.

New from the Canadian federal election trail! Conservative Stephen Harper continues to play into the hands of fear-mongering Liberals by promising to re-open the debate of same-sex marriage. Furthermore, he has promised that if elected he will reduce the GST by 2% within 5 years.

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So, did someone forget to tell Mr. Harper that in Canada a government can only rule for 4 years? Or perhaps this is the most brilliant scheme a politician can ever come up with. Just promise that you'll do something "within 5 years". That way, if you don't get re-elected and people say, "You never kept your campaign promises!" you can shoot back, "Sorry, I said within 5 years, but you didn't re-elect us, so we never got the chance to. This was the year it was gonna happen, really!" Of course, if you do get elected for a second term, then you're screwed. But after two terms as Prime Minister and lots of time spent in federal politics, you're probably ready to hang up the hat and hand over your mess of broken election promises to the next poor schmuck.

I recall hearing about a movie, I cannot recall which offhand, where they injected that sort of maple-y smelling smoke into the theatre, during some battle or fire scene I presume.
Also with some other movie that was set mainly on boats some theatres had the idea of the audience being sprayed, more like misted, with water to feel more like they were in the movie.
It would definitely make going to the theatre a different experience.

5 years, that definitely would be a sly way to get around promises. I presume many things could, in theory, be accomplished within 4 years. It makes me wonder though, even if someone were trying their best (some sort of altruistic politician being elected?? some odd scenario that may never happen) how difficult it would be to get certain things accomplished due to the opposition, other problems that come up etc. Not that that should excuse politicians shirking almost every thing they used to get people to elect them.

This next election is definately about healthcare. The only party that is willing to fix it so that we will end up with it is the NDP. Vote for Jack Layton and stop the bullshit.

Actually, a Canadian provincial or federal government may hold office for up to five years. By convention, elections are usually held approximately every four years, but this is a legal requirement only in British Columbia.

Canada is currently in the middle of an election campaign called much sooner than four years since the last election -- because a non-confidence motion passed the House of Commons, where the governing Liberal party held only a minority position and were kept in office only by the votes of the social democratic party, the NDP, as well as a few independents. When all the opposition parties determined that they could no longer support the Liberals, the Liberal prime minister had to go to Governor General Michaëlle Jean, who dissolved Parliament.

The Governor General could also have offered Stephen Harper the chance to form a government, but because he holds fewer seats in Parliament than do the Liberals, his coalition would have been very unwieldy. It is unlikely that Harper could have formed a coalition with the secessionist Bloc Quebecois, and he hates Paul Martin too much to form an Israeli- or German-style grand coalition with the Liberals, even though the two parties have more in common with each other than with any other party.