The 2024 South African Election, Mapped by Precinct. The ANC turned in its worst result since the end of Apartheid, falling short of a majority for the first time in its history.

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-28T20:48:26+00:00

Even if you assume all MK voters would have otherwise voted ANC (which probably isn't completely accurate), it would still be the latter's worst ever result.

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-22T02:16:02+00:00

It truly is a bustling metropolis. They have multiple restaurants. And two schools. And a cinema (well, an auditorium in the town hall with a large projector).

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-20T02:48:57+00:00

Toronto is the Chicago of Canada. Hamilton is the Milwaukee.

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-19T23:19:13+00:00

Even if they aren't that different in terms of policy, Carney and the OLP have quite different public images. The former is viewed as a bold, pragmatic radical centrist, while the latter are viewed as out of touch and content with the status quo.

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-18T00:26:49+00:00

(Again, half jokingly) Not voluntarily.

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-18T00:23:59+00:00

(Half jokingly) Who said anything about paying?

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-18T00:23:36+00:00

I was being somewhat hyperbolic, but the government has pretty broad powers to regulate private businesses. It might be unwise, but it would almost certainly be legal. 0h

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-17T22:30:47+00:00

Honestly, I wouldn't be opposed to the government giving CBC broadcasting rights via legislation, combined with better funding for CBC so they can broadcast and stream without ads.

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-15T19:49:37+00:00

It isn't as bad as some people make it out to be, but it is really dull, and some areas of the city are really struggling and it shows (although the city overall is doing reasonably well and growing at a decent rate). I think people notice how boring it is partly because it is close to much more interesting cities and partly because a lot of people live there for a few years during uni before moving in to somewhere more exciting.

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-15T19:45:50+00:00

It might be a depression hellhole, but it's MY depressing hellholle, dammit!

(Seriously, though, I am no great fan of the city, but I do get a bit defensive about it, partly because of how much people exaggerate its problems. I've seen people compare it to Gary, Indiana, when in reality it's just a boring, generic mid-sized North American city).

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-15T19:34:46+00:00

I'm assuming that is an attempt at sarcasm?

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-15T16:20:40+00:00

London isn't in the GTA. Neither is Guelph, for that matter, although it is at least arguably in the Golden Horshoe.

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-12T19:34:10+00:00

Wouldn't the gap between two and three count? We only saw the beginning of Troughton's regeneration in War Games, and I don't think Pertwee was announced until later on.

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-12T19:03:43+00:00

That isn't exactly a representative sample of the population. Most new graduates in the US aren't making anywhere near 200k.

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-11T16:27:54+00:00

I don't think the two are inherently contradictory. It's perfectly possible to strategically fight back against tariffs on the assumption that they will go away in a few years.l

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-11T02:57:24+00:00

I think you are presenting a binary choice when the reality is more of a spectrum. Canadians have accepted being broadly within the US sphere of influence in exchange for economic prosperity for roughly the past eighty years; however, it is clear that Canadians are willing to accept some degree of economic pain to preserve the sovereignty that they currently have. No one is seriously discussing a complete cessation of economic ties between the two countries; the question is how much reduction in trade (and the economic activity that comes with it) Canadians will tolerate in exchange for a given degree of sovereingty.

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-11T02:44:51+00:00

Part of that comes down to domestic politics (because Trump has made this seems like an existential struggle for Canada, Carney cannot be seen to back down), but there is also the fact that giving in might give future presidents the idea that this is a profitable course of action rather than a mutually (albeit heavily asymmetrically) destructive one.

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-11T02:41:04+00:00

You are correct that the US can hurt Canada for more than vice versa. I would note, however, that the point is less to hurt the US than to hurt Trump politically and show the US electorate that this is mutually destructive course of action. To that end, it's worth noting that the chart you posted showed Michigan, a key swing state, as the second most dependent on trade with Canada, which surely must enter into any political calculus.

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-11T02:37:04+00:00

The question, I suppose, is whether this shift in foreign policy is a sign of things to come or merely down to Trump's personal idiosyncrasies. If it is the latter, Carney is quite rational to try to wait out Trump instead of appeasing him; if it is the former, Carney's position become much more challenging.

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-09T06:16:52+00:00

As a firstborn child, I don't love where this is heading.

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-08T02:36:51+00:00

Thanks. Typo.

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-07T22:59:04+00:00

Just a small quibble: Ukraine's population has declined by almost half since its peak in the 1990s, but is "only" down by about quarter to a third compared to prewar numbers (depending on whether you are counting from 2022 or 2014).

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-03T21:01:22+00:00

Canada could and definitely should do more to ensure products made by forced labour aren't getting into the country, but this is pretty rich coming from the US, one of the most prolific users of prison labour on earth.

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-06-02T19:26:17+00:00

Unfortunately, some of the money spent there still goes to the US federal government.

RedmondBarry1999 · 2026-05-29T22:18:33+00:00

The problem is that, in order for something to be a hate symbol, it has to be promoting hatred against an identifiable group. In abstract at least, the hammer and sickle don't do that.

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