Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States.

[Timewalker]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

There's been a lot of talk about a 'North American Union' which would supposedly consist of the USA, Canada and Mexico. But that's just paranoid conspiracy stuff, spouted by the likes of Hal Turner. None of those three countries - yes, not even the US - actually WANTS an NAU, and I wouldn't want it either.

There's a series of science fiction novels written in the '80s, by F.M. Busby. The Hulzein Saga's core books (Young Rissa, Rissa and Tregare, and The Long View) show a dystopian type of future in which there are only three governments on Earth: The Hulzein Establishment controls Argentina, the Australians are independent (though at one time were Hulzein-connected), and the rest of the world is controlled by a massive fascist government called United Energy & Transport (UET).

Back in the early 21st century, the world economy got so bad that the United States literally couldn't afford to keep its form of government going. So various multinational conglomerates stepped in, bidding every four years for the right to govern. One of those, Synthetic Food & Combine, annexed Canada and Mexico. Then a few years later UET took over and decided there would be no more "elections." When Europe objected, UET used nukes to convince them.

By Europe, I assume that you mean the people, and not the government. If the corporations tried setting up a fascist corporatocracy, and tried to annex or enforce their rule on first world countries that have pretty good military forces such as France or the U.K., I'd like to think that they'd try to resist militarily.
And if they nuked cities like London and Paris as example, it might galvanize dissenters to rebel and/or form resistance cells. You might even see another American Civil War between those working for the corporations, and loyalists to the ideals that the country was built on.

Sorry I've been away for so long, and hence haven't replied for a while, but I have been busy.

I'd have to go back to the novels and get an exact quote. Scandinavia and "when the neutrons dissipated" are mentioned.

Remember, Busby wrote these books back in the '80s. The world wasn't that wholesome then, but he couldn't have anticipated the world we have now. And unfortunately it's impossible to discuss this with him, because he died 10 years ago (he said he considered the Hulzein books to be "just stories" when I mentioned some real-world misgivings about how things were heading when I met him at a science fiction convention in Calgary in the late '80s).

According to Wikipedia:

In the Rissa Kerguelen and Bran Tregare series of Hulzein family novels, Busby's theme was one of human brutality on an institutional scale and how it inevitably effects the very people who will eventually fight against it. Additional themes included the worst extremes of corporate power, the oppression of minorities (particularly homosexuals), human rights in totalitarian regimes and the dehumanization of those who serve totalitarian states.

 

[T'Girl]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Do McDonalds have a weed burger it can sell in some places?

Probably more likely to get the weed in the bun, than in the meat. Weed's legal here, and you can get food ("edibles") in specialty shops, but not the local McDonalds.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Sue me, but I enjoy seeing American institutions corrupted by general deviancy.

(You're all thinking about the Royale with Cheese from Pulp Fiction?)

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLtwFugudZE[/yt]

"The metric system, the ####ing Metric system."

("Since space and time are curved, the infinite sooner or later bends back upon itself and ends up where it began, and so have I.")

 

[Showdown]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

UK
Canada
Australia

 

[MacLeod]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

I suspect I speak for many Brits, Canadians and Australians and say Thanks but no Thanks.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

And speaking as a New Zealander, I feel very excluded by the suggested collective there, but if we forgave the Queen for whacking Diana, I can't see any moral reason for dissolving the Common Wealth.

 

[Showdown]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

I suspect I speak for many Brits, Canadians and Australians and say Thanks but no Thanks.

To be fair, I don't expect them to join either. They are just the top three countries I would consider inviting.

And speaking as a New Zealander, I feel very excluded by the suggested collective there, but if we forgave the Queen for whacking Diana, I can't see any moral reason for dissolving the Common Wealth.

New Zealand is 4th on my list. Although, I doubt that statement will make anyone feel better.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Bronze medal runner up?

Wow.

Are you trying to seduce me?

 

[T'Girl]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

I suspect I speak for many Brits, Canadians and Australians and say Thanks but no Thanks.

Realistically, we'd probably want a country that brought more to the table besides manufacturing Fosters.

 

[Showdown]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Bronze medal runner up?

Wow.

Are you trying to seduce me?

Medals?
As if any of the countries I mentioned actually want to consider the remote possibility of being handcuffed to America.

 

[MacLeod]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

I suspect I speak for many Brits, Canadians and Australians and say Thanks but no Thanks.

Realistically, we'd probably want a country that brought more to the table besides manufacturing Fosters.

Say something like a functioning Government.

 

[Timewalker]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Canada has a functioning government?



Okay, it functions a bit better than the American government, from what I've noticed, but it's still pretty dysfunctional. There are people calling for U.N. monitoring of next month's federal election because we don't trust the Conservatives not to actively interfere with people voting on October 19.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Saw two things on scripted American TV yesterday that made me go "Hmmmmmm".

"The President of Canada" (That hasn't changed has it?) on South Park.

And the latest episode of Switched at Birth sending it's heroes down to Mexico to hand out fee hearing aids to the poor, which from all evidence (on the show), Mexico hasn't evolved in the slightest since 1870. They called it a Developing Nation a hundred years behind America.

Oh.

(This is funny!)

Chloe Sullivan: "Lex comes from more of the Rube Goldberg School of super villainy, this sort of direct attack really isn't his style."

 

[Showdown]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Isn't "functioning government" an oxymoron like "known secret" or "calm riot"

 

[Timewalker]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Saw two things on scripted American TV yesterday that made me go "Hmmmmmm".

"The President of Canada" (That hasn't changed has it?) on South Park.

No, we don't have a president.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Saw two things on scripted American TV yesterday that made me go "Hmmmmmm".

"The President of Canada" (That hasn't changed has it?) on South Park.

The South Park guys know that Canada doesn't have a President. That was just part of their usual teasing of Canadians on the show, and the fact that the whole episode was a role reversal between the US and Canada (and to a lesser extent Mexico), with Canada building a border wall and electing a Donald Trump-like buffoon President because everyone took his candidacy as a joke until it was too late, and then once in office he destroyed the country.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Saw two things on scripted American TV yesterday that made me go "Hmmmmmm".

"The President of Canada" (That hasn't changed has it?) on South Park.

No, we don't have a president.

Yes. I know. Which is why it was weird. What happened in the episode was an allegory to explain what will happen if Donald Trump is somehow despite reason elected as President of the United States.

South Park talks down to regular people usually, but in this case, they really put some effort in and talked down to idiots, because Trey must have thought that if he speaks in "idioteese" then maybe the idiots will understand the point of view he is trying to put forward.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Saw two things on scripted American TV yesterday that made me go "Hmmmmmm".

"The President of Canada" (That hasn't changed has it?) on South Park.

The South Park guys know that Canada doesn't have a President. That was just part of their usual teasing of Canadians on the show, and the fact that the whole episode was a role reversal between the US and Canada (and to a lesser extent Mexico), with Canada building a border wall and electing a Donald Trump-like buffoon President because everyone took his candidacy as a joke until it was too late, and then once in office he destroyed the country.

You know how on John Oliver when he talks about a strange little country being strange, then shows where it is on a map, and immediately calls we the viewers lazy morons for not knowing that that isn't Paraguay (for example)?

That's all I thought Matt and Trey were doing, but more assholier, because they kinda let the joke hang with out revealing the punch line, which of course they couldn't because in the South Park universe, it seems, that Canada does have a President (now?).

 

[Timewalker]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

Saw two things on scripted American TV yesterday that made me go "Hmmmmmm".

"The President of Canada" (That hasn't changed has it?) on South Park.

The South Park guys know that Canada doesn't have a President. That was just part of their usual teasing of Canadians on the show, and the fact that the whole episode was a role reversal between the US and Canada (and to a lesser extent Mexico), with Canada building a border wall and electing a Donald Trump-like buffoon President because everyone took his candidacy as a joke until it was too late, and then once in office he destroyed the country.

Well, the current PM of Canada has done his share of buffoonery (if you've ever seen a video of him "singing").

And one of the current comment threads going on right now on CBC.ca is this one, in which the Conservative candidate in my riding got his lawyer to send a cease and desist letter to the Liberal candidate in my riding over accusations of inappropriate fundraising. The letter itself is causing a great deal of amusement with its numerous spelling and grammatical errors, not to mention that it doesn't even get the name of the riding right.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Re: Name 3 countries you'd consider inviting to join the United States

The South Park guys know that Canada doesn't have a President. That was just part of their usual teasing of Canadians on the show, and the fact that the whole episode was a role reversal between the US and Canada (and to a lesser extent Mexico), with Canada building a border wall and electing a Donald Trump-like buffoon President because everyone took his candidacy as a joke until it was too late, and then once in office he destroyed the country.

We don't need made-up cartoon politicians to destroy the country... we have real politicians for that.

And speaking of border walls... apparently 41% of Americans would support a wall on the US-Canada border. Really?? (Although I thought Matt Damon's "white walker" comment was pretty funny! )