Recent posts

#31

Off the Record / Re: [Canada] Canadian Politics...

Last post by Grey Fox - February 09, 2026, 06:05:07 PM

Can dead people who would've been able to get Canadian citizenship if they were alive under the current legislation be granted Canadian citizenship retroactively?

The "OMG is this for real" reading seems to imply that if anyone of your direct ancestors were Canadians, then each of the descendants gets posthumous citizenship in turn, creating a domino effect of citizenship.

On the other hand when I read the link Grey Fox shared, the requirement seems to be at minimum that you are a grandchild of a Canadian citizen and that your Canadian descended parent spent at least 3 years in Canada. It says nothing about posthumous citizenship being granted to dead non-Canadian citizens if they would've qualified under the current law.

Presumbably if your great-great grandparent was a Canadian and had a child (your great grandparent) that spent at least 3 years in Canada, that great-grandparent could become a citizen now. But if they're dead then they are not and have never been a Canadian citizen, they're never going to be able to apply for citizenship or take the oath - so the chain of citizenship eligibility would seem to end there.

Yes but all your ancestors should have had citizenship. And the law seems to say they all get granted citizenship if they were born before December 15th 2025.

#32

Off the Record / Re: Aukus

Last post by Tonitrus - February 09, 2026, 06:05:00 PM

Our defense equipment design/procurement process seems to be at such at point that if a real WW2-scale war were to kick off, we'd be better to dust off all of the old designs from about 1970-2000 and just rebuild all those at a large scale.  Plus drones.

#33

Off the Record / Re: Aukus

Last post by Sheilbh - February 09, 2026, 06:04:07 PM

It does matter though, because it means the Navy will spend a good part of the next 2 years farting around with a fantasy ship instead of working on designs that might actually matter for a 2030+ era fleet.

Things may be different in the US, but from a UK perspective, that just sounds like most defence procurement projects...

#34

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by Sheilbh - February 09, 2026, 05:58:49 PM

Feeling a bit like 'evil counsellors' with now a 2nd resignation.

Cabinet secretary also going. Two chiefs of staff, two Cabinet Secretaries, five directors of communications in 18 months.

It all bring to mind Jeremy Thorpe: "greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his friends for his life."

I strongly suspect Sarwar thought he had the backing of some of the cabinet (probably Streeting), but they've all backed Starmer with varying degrees of caution in their statements. I still think it's fundamentally just a matter of time - it might be tomorrow, it might be PMQs (Badenoch has been increasingly effective, especially on Mandelson), It might be the byelection, it might be the May election (Labour are currently polling third in both Scotland and Wales).

It all feels very Johnson after party-gate broke - and as then I'm very annoyed at people arguing that Starmer has a mandate. He's not a president (Particularly disappointed to see the Attorney General, a respected KC, pushing the line that the PM has a personal mandate).

Did Labour run on an identifiable platform? "We will do this if elected?"

Yes-ish. All British parties run on manifestos - Labour's 2024 manifesto was about 150 pages long, Lib Dems about 120, Tories about 80. They serve a quasi-constituional role because it is generally seen that a government has a democratic mandate to enact its manifesto. So by convention the undemocratic, unelected Lords will not block legislation enacting a manifesto pledge.

Having said all that manifestos are fairly vague and aspirational so it can be a bit difficult to pin down a specific pledge. It's weird because they used to be shorter but more substantial on actual pledges - so Labour's 1983 manifesto was under 50 pages (according to Gerald Kaufman, the "longest suicide note in history"). The Labour manifesto for 1945 was even shorter but has pretty clear manifesto promises (which they'd basically completely implemented by 1950) and is fantastically well-written.

To be fair to Shelf, that's one ugly house and to plonk it down in a quaint part of Wiltshire, the Vale of Pewsey, is appalling. 

Regretfully I'd also seen the other photos from the article and - again very much not the main issue here but - the mind boggles at how you can be that rich and yet decorate your house so badly. I mean what is he thinking

#35

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by Crazy_Ivan80 - February 09, 2026, 05:53:36 PM

I find it strange, weird and disturbing that an elected leader is officially rating half-time shows and officially disparages an athlete from one's own country that has won Olympic gold. Particularly when said elected leader's brain consists of gold and hamberder.

and covfefe! Important ingredient

#36

Off the Record / Re: Aukus

Last post by The Minsky Moment - February 09, 2026, 05:46:23 PM

Are the "Trump Class" battleships a real thing?

It's a hypothetical concept for a guided missile cruiser.  They are calling it a "battleship" to amuse the Idiot.

It's not a real thing. They hasn't been any funding for it. There isn't a design.  The current plan is to select a design by 2028.  I doubt even that will happen, and if it does, it won't get built.

It does matter though, because it means the Navy will spend a good part of the next 2 years farting around with a fantasy ship instead of working on designs that might actually matter for a 2030+ era fleet.

#37

Off the Record / Re: Aukus

Last post by Baron von Schtinkenbutt - February 09, 2026, 05:41:54 PM

I don't think it's "AI slop", I think it's the bones of a cruiser concept the Navy actually wants, with extra bullshit tacked on and the "battleship" label applied to placate Trump.  If this actually goes anywhere, they'll remove the bullshit "for cost savings" and hopefully end up with the ship they actually wanted.  The USN has been trying for a couple decades to get a Ticonderoga replacement done, and they're now looking at a situation where, in a few years, the USN won't have any cruisers for the first time in over 150 years.  The USN also needs something bigger, because they have already crammed too much into the Burke hull in the Flight III mod, and they've gotten nowhere on replacing that 30+ year old base design.  The frigate fiasco does not instill confidence in the Navy's ship acquisition skills, though, so it will probably still be a shitshow.

#38

Off the Record / Re: Elon Musk: Always A Douche

Last post by Baron von Schtinkenbutt - February 09, 2026, 05:35:22 PM

Plot twist: it will be a spherical robot vacuum manufactured by Dyson.

[Conservative Party faces significant financial loss after convention voting devices go missing]

#39

Off the Record / Re: [Canada] Canadian Politics...

Last post by Jacob - February 09, 2026, 05:33:51 PM

Conservative Party faces significant financial loss after convention voting devices go missing
Pricey keypads were not to be taken home as 'souvenirs': party organizer

Conservative convention organizers are urging delegates who may have walked off with pricey voting devices to return them to the party so it can avoid incurring significant unexpected costs.

In an email to delegates last week that was subsequently shared with CBC News, Wayne Benson, the party's former executive director, said "several" keypads and smart cards that were distributed for votes on policy changes have not been accounted for in the days since the convention in Calgary wrapped up.

"We are seeking your assistance with locating several LUMI Connector Keypads (valued at close to $1,000.00 each) and more than 220 Smart Cards used at the Saturday Plenary Sessions," the email from Benson reads.

Those keypads, which look like an old Blackberry, were used to register yes or no votes on proposed changes to the party's policy playbook, which were carried out live on the convention floor. The smart cards, which resemble a calling card, tracked the province and territory of each registered delegate.

There were roughly 2,700 of each on hand to record votes on dozens of proposed changes.

...

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/conservative-voting-devices-missing-9.7081473

#40

Off the Record / Re: Aukus

Last post by Zanza - February 09, 2026, 05:32:41 PM

Are the "Trump Class" battleships a real thing?

At the moment it's just AI slop. Trump does not seem to have sufficient attention span to actually have a ship constructed.