[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[Barrister]

Here's a run-down of all the political parties running in Alberta:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/all-parties-running-alberta-election-1.5087278

What I found fascinating, and didn't know until now, is that the Wildrose Party and the PC Party remain as validly incorporated parties.  These are the two parties that merged to form the United Conservatives.  Each has Jason Kenney as their leader (who is the UCP leader).  They are each running exactly one candidate, in Premier Notley's riding, although neither are actively campaigning, and Notley is widely expected to win.  Apparently it has to do with settling old party debts, and ensuring no one else can take those names.

[crazy canuck]

Can we get back to scientology 

[Oexmelin]

Are you not fascinated?

[viper37]

Supposedly L. Ron Hubbard bet Robert Heinlein that he, Hubbard, could make more off of religion over the next 5 years than Heinlein could make writing, then started Scientology as part of the bet.

The whole backstory in Scientology's belief system sounds just like a bad SF story of exactly the type Hubbard used to write.

What were the stakes?

the version of the story I heard didn't mention the stakes.  It's an anecdote, and thus unlikely to be true, but that anecdote is the likely basis for the idea that Scientology started as "a joke."

yes, that is what I heard.  Didn't pay much attention as to the source, at the time.  It is a religion like any other and should enjoy no special priviledges.

[viper37]

Which flavor of conservatism are the Alberta Liberals again?

They're staking out a fairly typical centre-left position: they want to introduce a sales tax (but eliminate most income tax), increase spending and decrease taxes , and yes, support pipelines (which all parties are promising to do).

Really their big signature issue is a sales tax, which has largely been seen as politically poisonous in Alberta politics.  So it's certainly brave of them to propose it.  But it also doesn't appear to be doing much for them either.

sales tax is better than income tax, so long as there are some form of compensation for low income households.

[Zoupa]

What a strange article.

One more for you then 

CBC News: Quebec's religious symbols ban welcomed by some who left Muslim countries behind.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-s-religious-symbols-ban-welcomed-by-some-who-left-muslim-countries-behind-1.5091277

[grumbler]

the version of the story I heard didn't mention the stakes.  It's an anecdote, and thus unlikely to be true, but that anecdote is the likely basis for the idea that Scientology started as "a joke."

yes, that is what I heard.  Didn't pay much attention as to the source, at the time.  It is a religion like any other and should enjoy no special priviledges.

Talked with a friend of mine who is interested in the early history of SF and this is his take on the origins of Scientology:
1. LRH created this program called "Dianetics" to use the subconcious mind to overcome personal problems, mental disorders, etc.
2. John Campbell, the founder of modern SF, Robert Heinlein, AE van Vogt, and other bought into this and helped fund a Dianetics Foundation that opened clinics in a bunch of cities.  Made money for a while, but got closed down in a number of places for practicing medicine without a license, and went into bankruptcy.  A millionaire follower bought the rights to Dianetics to fund a revival. Campbell and the others dropped out.
3.  LRH continued to lose money, and the backer decided to reclaim the copyright he now had.
4.  LRH changed Dianetics to Scientology, abandoned the scientific approach, and made Scientology a religion, instead.  Not subject to the old copyright.
5.  The millionaire backer returned the copyright on Dianetics to LRH and the two were combined.

I like the bet story better (pun intended).

[garbon]

What a strange article.

One more for you then 

CBC News: Quebec's religious symbols ban welcomed by some who left Muslim countries behind.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-s-religious-symbols-ban-welcomed-by-some-who-left-muslim-countries-behind-1.5091277

Looking at both articles, what do you find so remarkable that there are some people who support Quebec's moves?

[garbon]

I post a perfectly good #LaypingPipe Canadian political meme in a thread dedicated to Canadian politics, and you assholes are talking about Scientology?

I think the issue is that it is a bit of a...puerile story?

[Valmy]

And he was so indignant when I made a joke about how hard Bernie Sanders was for the left to 

[Barrister]

I post a perfectly good #LaypingPipe Canadian political meme in a thread dedicated to Canadian politics, and you assholes are talking about Scientology?

I think the issue is that it is a bit of a...puerile story?

Absolutely.  So of course I immediately thought of Languish when I saw it.

[Barrister]

Edmonton Pride Festival cancelled - could not reconcile with complaints from people of colour and others claiming Pride was too white.

Ultimately police were called to a contentious meeting - which was ironic since one of the demands was that Edmonton Police not be allowed to march at Pride.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-pride-festival-cancelled-2019-1.5093276

[Valmy]

Edmonton Pride Festival cancelled - could not reconcile with complaints from people of colour and others claiming Pride was too white.

Shouldn't that be a rather straightforward fix?

[Barrister]

Edmonton Pride Festival cancelled - could not reconcile with complaints from people of colour and others claiming Pride was too white.

Shouldn't that be a rather straightforward fix?

Apparently not.  Here's the lists of demands:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14YbfuNswFwFyIT3eTHac5Ekf8LHGudz7/view?fbclid=IwAR023C2yNaor2GTtM4Eg2vmr2MFS198vw7htUVDpnsLDWQFp18k5JRa_Pbo

It's a lot of heavy hard left intersectionalism, plus 3 of the 7 demands were for money.

[Valmy]

Damn. I don't know how much such a list really reflects "people of colour", that strikes me as the demands of a radical group. But hey I do not live in Edmonton, what do I know?