General Discussion Thread

[Solokov]

Well damn, that bites.

[Ragnarok]

Due to budget cuts to my city's school board, my school has to lay off six of the teachers. Despite this, the school can no longer afford to purchase stationery or whiteboard markers for the remainder of the school year. I just wish we had a government that actually cared about education here in Alberta.

Bloody hell, the 'no government or education is best government' people have power in Canada, too?

[donthangdamien]

They aren't in power at the federal level, but they have a majority government in my province. Unfortunately, the provincial governments in Canada are responsible for public schooling, health and social services. The UCP majority means that they essentially have free rein to break their campaign promises, such as the promise to ‘maintain or increase’ public services. The dinosaur that is our premier is making significant cuts to healthcare and education, ostensibly to balance the budget. However, he can still afford to make Albertans pay for a $4n7 billion corporate handout and to send his advisers on trips which rack up bills in the tens of thousands. Not only has Kenney lied and broken his election promises, he may have committed voter fraud. He's being investigated for voter fraud by the RCMP and Alberta's Electoral office. And now he's fired the election commissioner that was responsible for investigating wrongdoing within his party. There's no accountability or integrity whatsoever in his government.  More than anything, I just want to see him gone.

[Ragnarok]

They aren't in power at the federal level, but they have a majority government in my province. Unfortunately, the provincial governments in Canada are responsible for public schooling, health and social services. The UCP majority means that they essentially have free rein to break their campaign promises, such as the promise to ‘maintain or increase’ public services. The dinosaur that is our premier is making significant cuts to healthcare and education, ostensibly to balance the budget. However, he can still afford to make Albertans pay for a $4n7 billion corporate handout and to send his advisers on trips which rack up bills in the tens of thousands. Not only has Kenney lied and broken his election promises, he may have committed voter fraud. He's being investigated for voter fraud by the RCMP and Alberta's Electoral office. And now he's fired the election commissioner that was responsible for investigating wrongdoing within his party. There's no accountability or integrity whatsoever in his government.  More than anything, I just want to see him gone.

*offers hugs*

[donthangdamien]

*offers hugs*

Thanks, man. I really appreciate it.

[Róisín]

Purple Wyrm, are you okay in the fires? Sounds as if some are near you.,

[thorny]

Purple Wyrm, are you okay in the fires? Sounds as if some are near you.,

Róisín, what about you? did you get back home, and find home OK? if you've posted that already, I missed it.

[Róisín]

Yes, We got back okay. House was okay, though some areas near the town had burned. We did better than a few years ago, when part of the back garden burned. We have several 40C-plus days coming next week, so we just have to ride it out.

I’m hoping there are no alarms next Friday, the 20th, when my town does the big Christmas twilight market, which is usually one of my most profitable days. One of the things I do for a living now that I am retired from my job is selling produce at the local Farmers Market. The heat and smoke has already done bad things to part of my fruit crop, and I can’t harvest too many flowers because I don’t want to scant either my bees or the local wildlife, so I am largely depending on sales of herbs, water plants and potted plants over summer. Going to be tough.

I have a writer friend from Melbourne staying while we work on proofreading and editing his new novel, and he helps me with some of the garden tasks that require a tall person with two fully functional hands, which I am not. So I especially hope we don’t get a fire while he is here. We took him to visit mutual friends down in town on the catastrophic fire danger day last week (catastrophic fire danger level means heat and winds bad enough that if a fire starts there will be no way to save anything, so it is safest to be somewhere else for the day). I hope he doesn’t have to see a fire up close.

 Plus it is better for my partially disabled husband to not have to scramble to do a quick evacuation - he can still drive, but can’t walk fast or carry much. Bushfire season is hard for him.

[thorny]

Thanks for update, Róisín. Glad you at least have no fire damage so far. I know about terrible farm seasons without enough supplies for market; but at least here we didn't have to worry about the place burning up. Wishing you, and all your neighbors, the best of luck getting through the rest of this.

[Róisín]

Thank you thorny! We need a lot of luck this year!

[Purple Wyrm]

Purple Wyrm, are you okay in the fires? Sounds as if some are near you.,

I'm fine! I'm lucky enough to live in the inner suburbs - my place could only burn if hundreds of other houses burnt first.

The fires up at Yanchep have burnt through a lot of land, but only destroyed one house and a service station, so we've been a lot luckier than over east.

Glad to hear you're OK so far, fingers crossed you stay that way!

[thorny]

Glad to hear you're OK too, Purple Wyrm.

[Solokov]

Merry Christmas y'all.



There must have been some magic in that old silk hat they found. For when they placed it on his head, some Lovecraft shit went down.

Frosty the snow elder, was alive as he could be, and all children say, that you should run away, before it’s your soul he needs.

Thumpity thump thump thumpity thump thump it’s banging on the door, thumpity thump thump thumpity thump thump oh no where did it go?

[Róisín]

Good to hear you are okay, Wyrm. Look after yourself, mate. And the same to all out here who need it - I know I am not the only Australian Minnion who lives out on the edge in fire-prone areas.

[Purple Wyrm]

Good to hear you are okay, Wyrm. Look after yourself, mate. And the same to all out here who need it - I know I am not the only Australian Minnion who lives out on the edge in fire-prone areas.

You too!

Frosty the snow elder, was alive as he could be, and all children say, that you should run away, before it’s your soul he needs.

Hmmm, frosty looks kind of familiar...