Zompist Bboard Again

malloc wrote: ↑Fri May 22, 2026 7:52 amWill the bad news never cease?

Remember what I said earler about books of medical symptoms? If not, you can learn how to use the search feature, which may be located somewhere on this website.[/quote]

malloc wrote: ↑Fri May 22, 2026 7:52 amIt's also quite possible that Alberta will become a US state at some point, which would further strengthen GOP electoral prospects.

Here's what I found with a little poking around a well-known website, from which you may draw your own conclusions:

Population of Alberta in 2021: about 4.2 million
Population of Oregon in 2020: about 4.2 million
Electoral votes of Oregon: 6

As for "at some point", what is the earliest this could happen by? Before Trump and the GOP are no longer in power?

alice wrote: ↑Fri May 22, 2026 2:51 pmPopulation of Alberta in 2021: about 4.2 million
Population of Oregon in 2020: about 4.2 million
Electoral votes of Oregon: 6

Considering that elections in the US often have razor-thin margins, that could definitely make all the difference. The last few elections have all had a few million votes separating the winner and loser. The electoral college makes things even worse since Alberta would automatically net the GOP an extra eight votes (six from the house and two from the senate).

As for "at some point", what is the earliest this could happen by? Before Trump and the GOP are no longer in power?

It hardly matters when. The political benefits to the GOP would accrue either way.

Sorry to contradict your doomerism, but only about 30% of Albertans actually favor secession, and that figure typically goes down significantly when the economic consequences of secession on Alberta are presented. So unless Trump nukes Edmonton and Calgary to tip the scales in favor of secession (as most people supporting secession are in rural northern Alberta), forget about Alberta actually seceding from Canada.

According to Ipsos, only 16% of potential Albertan voters are actually firmly set on secession.

Seriously, now I wonder to which extent an explicitly politically right-wing, relatively small (compared to North America as a whole) independent country in North America might actually serve a useful function, perhaps as a kind of flypaper.

Raphael wrote: ↑Sat May 23, 2026 3:15 am Seriously, now I wonder to which extent an explicitly politically right-wing, relatively small (compared to North America as a whole) independent country in North America might actually serve a useful function, perhaps as a kind of flypaper.

They would probably ask Trump to annex them, and he'd oblige -- he'd probably even make Alberta a state, to give the Republicans extra seats in the Senate and House.

Travis B. wrote: ↑Sat May 23, 2026 10:47 amThey would probably ask Trump to annex them, and he'd oblige -- he'd probably even make Alberta a state, to give the Republicans extra seats in the Senate and House.

Exactly my concern. People here call me a crazy doomer but that is precisely the kind of thing that Trump would try and there is remarkably little we can do to prevent it.

malloc wrote: ↑Sat May 23, 2026 7:03 pm there is remarkably little we can do to prevent it.

To state the obvious, you can vote, at least. I’m sure the others will happily list many other things you could do to contribute. (Probably they already have.)

As always, in times like this it is important to keep in mind the sentiment of Rabbi Tarfon:

It is not your duty to finish the work [of perfecting the world], but neither are you at liberty to neglect it.

In other words, do what you can, no matter how little or much that is.

malloc wrote: ↑Sat May 23, 2026 7:03 pm

Travis B. wrote: ↑Sat May 23, 2026 10:47 amThey would probably ask Trump to annex them, and he'd oblige -- he'd probably even make Alberta a state, to give the Republicans extra seats in the Senate and House.

Exactly my concern. People here call me a crazy doomer but that is precisely the kind of thing that Trump would try and there is remarkably little we can do to prevent it.

He might try, but he probably wouldn't succeed. How long does the process of accepting a new state take anyway?

alice wrote: ↑Sun May 24, 2026 2:20 pm

malloc wrote: ↑Sat May 23, 2026 7:03 pm

Travis B. wrote: ↑Sat May 23, 2026 10:47 amThey would probably ask Trump to annex them, and he'd oblige -- he'd probably even make Alberta a state, to give the Republicans extra seats in the Senate and House.

Exactly my concern. People here call me a crazy doomer but that is precisely the kind of thing that Trump would try and there is remarkably little we can do to prevent it.

He might try, but he probably wouldn't succeed. How long does the process of accepting a new state take anyway?

Congress admits states, not the President.

But the hangup would be on the other end. Brexit took a long time to negotiate.

alice wrote: ↑Sun May 24, 2026 2:20 pm He might try, but he probably wouldn't succeed. How long does the process of accepting a new state take anyway?

Using Alaska and Hawai'i as examples, once the enabling law was passed through Congress, it took about six months for each of them (because the enabling law required a referendum, and then the results of the referendum to be certified). But this first required a congressional law and overcoming opposition from several circles (and in both of the cases, it took about forty years to get to that point; in Hawai'i's case, it really was World War II and its aftermath that got the gears rolling). By comparison, Puerto Rico has had multiple referenda in favor of admission as a state and has mostly been ignored...

zompist wrote: ↑Sun May 24, 2026 2:57 pm But the hangup would be on the other end. Brexit took a long time to negotiate.

And especially that a good majority of Albertans are not secessionists...

Travis B. wrote: ↑Sun May 24, 2026 3:28 pmAnd especially that a good majority of Albertans are not secessionists...

What worries me is that people said the same thing about Brexit, Trump getting elected and reelected, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, AI invading the arts, and so forth over the past decade. It just feels difficult to write off any catastrophe as truly impossible anymore even it currently seems unlikely.

malloc wrote: ↑Sun May 24, 2026 8:04 pm

Travis B. wrote: ↑Sun May 24, 2026 3:28 pmAnd especially that a good majority of Albertans are not secessionists...

What worries me is that people said the same thing about Brexit, Trump getting elected and reelected, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, AI invading the arts, and so forth over the past decade. It just feels difficult to write off any catastrophe as truly impossible anymore even it currently seems unlikely.

Look at what the polls say about Albertans ─ about 30% of Albertan voters favor secession until faced with things like the economic implications of such, where then the figure decreases significantly.

German conservatism: https://youtu.be/UjmsfOXy5oM

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The West is pleased with the Ultrahitler of West Bengal. Diplomatic favors are already being directed his way. This is the behavior Western diplomats enjoy:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/benga ... p-disputes

https://theprint.in/opinion/between-pol ... r/2935115/

https://www.himalmag.com/politics/bjp-w ... e-hindutva

Of course, it's really about helping corporations hire cheap labor:

https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianLeft/com ... are_button

This is what resistance looks like now:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockroach_Janta_Party

This guy left Hindutva: https://www.youtube.com/live/dSI3AmfYu6k

I keep hearing people recommend his channel.

Edit: https://scroll.in/article/1093009/harsh ... telessness

54.9 percent of the voters in Hamburg, Germany, voted against the city's attempts to bid for the Olympics.

Apparently, BJP also wants to keep TMC around to stop the left from winning.

Since the term "fascist" is controversial, what do you guys think of "psychotic cocksucker" instead? It's perfectly accurate and descriptive AFAIC.

Speaking of psychotics and fascists, a 14 year old girl was strangled to death and then dismembered in Argentina, And apparently, there's now "online speculation about her lifestyle", which involves people "posting photos of her when she went out dancing".

Yes, I knew before that fascists are a bunch of worthless lowlife trashbags. So this shouldn't surprise me. But it still goes farther than even I would have expected that crowd to go.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/ ... ide-crisis

Oh, and just for the record, I'm pretty sure that on this Board, "c*****er" is a good deal more controversial than "fascist".