MetaFilter posts tagged with Australia and Canada

Bad officials are elected by good citizens who don't vote

never used baby shoes — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 20:11:08 -0800

Alberta voted on March 3, 2008. Or did it? The record low turnout of 41.3% is causing questions to be asked. Declining voter turnout is not new in Canada. Elections Canada has studied the reasons behind it (full study indexed here), showing that many factors play a role in the decision not to vote. Is it time to explore the Australian solution?(pdf) In the meantime, American primaries are breaking records for voter turnout, showing that the trend can be overcome.

President’s House

hadjiboy — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 06:08:01 -0800

Welcome to the Rashtrapati Bhavan (inspired from):

Child migrants

serazin — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 00:04:39 -0800

A moving, four-part audio documentary tells the story of as many as 150,000 children of the British poor, sent to populate Australia, Canada, and other colonies with "good, white stock".

Unintended Consequences

Capn — Fri, 25 Feb 2005 12:09:00 -0800

Cane toads in Australia. Zebra Mussels in The Great Lakes. Purple Loosestrife in Canada (and the introduction of another alien species to control it, I don't know why she swallowed the fly).

Invasive species, threat or menace? You decide.

DO - YOU - SPEAK - ENG-LISH...

rory — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 10:19:09 -0800

It's our language, not yours. So, you were born in an English-speaking country founded by the English, speak English, have a degree in English, write and publish in English, have lived in England for years, and would like to become an English citizen? Sorry, you failed our English test to determine whether you have workable English, so you can't be English.

gottabefunky — Fri, 11 Oct 2002 07:14:35 -0800

However you spell it, it sounds like good news. After five years of lobbying by the Aborigines, Australia set aside a huge chunk of the central Outback yesterday as the country’s largest national park. At 38,000 sq mi (98,000 sq km), Ngaanyatjarra is twice the size of Switzerland. This comes on the heels of the Canadian government's plans for ten new national parks and five new marine conservation areas over the next five years, a move greeted with skepticism by some. (And then there are those that say national parks are obsolete anyway). Has anyone been to any of these places?