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What should be the BARE MINIMUM expectations of a Mulcair government?

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KenS
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Joined: Aug 6 2001

I know we can do more Unionist, and should say so.

I'm registering a beef [again] with the tendency to treat even inclusion of debt and deficit issues as if that is a problem in itself. Rather than the problem being the lack of vision of anything else.

[You stand corrected.]


Fidel
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Joined: Apr 29 2004

KenS wrote:
I'm registering a beef [again] with the tendency to treat even inclusion of debt and deficit issues as if that is a problem in itself.

Deficits and debt are the neoliberals' modus operandi. Economists have a saying that says: Debts that can not be repaid won't be. 

The creditors don't really want us to pay off debts. What they covet most are Canada's tangible assets: electric power gen-distribution, minerals, oil, roads, public infrastructure, fresh water, sewers, day care, health care services, public education etc. They want their stooges in power to announce firesale selloffs of the common good at some point, like they are trying on for size in Greece, Latvia, Iceland etc and will attempt to do in other European countries before long.


Life, the unive...
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Joined: Mar 23 2007

Unionist wrote:

Nice retort, kropotkin. But face facts. Canada isn't ready for a Tommy Douglas. Let's start simple, with maybe Bob Rae or Ujjal Dosanjh or other similar progressive types. Let's balance budgets and suckhole to foreign investors. Let's show we know how to grow the dough.

The bad guys have rowed to the wrong side of the lake. We have to row our boat gently down the stream. Verily, verily, a better world is but a dream.

 

Can't believe on a progressive site, that no following poster comments on the use of a homophobic term like suckhole.  As in he's a management suckhole.  Casual homophobia is okay now on babble?


Ken Burch
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Joined: Feb 26 2005

"Suckhole" is homophobic?  I thought it was just another term for sinkhole. 


Life, the unive...
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Joined: Mar 23 2007

Nope.  Some people might use it that way, but that's not how it was used years ago.  "suckhole to foriegn investors"  Try replacing sinkhole in the sentance and you will see it doesn't work.


Fidel
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Joined: Apr 29 2004

kropotkin1951 wrote:
 Hell to get back to the 1991 banking changes they need to be in government till 2030 something?

 

Not only was the remainder of money supply privatized by 1991, the feds began lowering tax revenues collected by Ottawa. This is another hallmark of federally orchestrated neoliberalism in Canada.

The NDP might raise overall federal tax revs to just the OECD capitalist average as a percentage of GDP. $35 billion more in federal revenues right there. We won't even mention raising them to the EU-15 average much less the socialist Nordic country average. Canada has all kinds of commodities and raw materials to raise revenues that many countries simply do not. I think the NDP could look very good after just one term in government.

We can have fuller employment policies in Canada. We can have well-funded social programs, health care and education. And we can challenge capital by entirely democratic means. It's allowed for right there in the neoliberal financial regime's policy menu for all democratic countries to pursue if they so choose. The problem with weak and ineffective federal governments in Ottawa since Mulroney is that they always choose the capital-friendly items on the policy menu when they don't have to.


Ken Burch
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Joined: Feb 26 2005

Life, the universe, everything wrote:

Nope.  Some people might use it that way, but that's not how it was used years ago.  "suckhole to foriegn investors"  Try replacing sinkhole in the sentance and you will see it doesn't work.

Well, I'd never heard that usage...and while it is useful to know that that meaning exists to the word, you can't assume that the poster you upbraided for using it was aware of that particular meaning.


Your main point is taken, however.


Slumberjack
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Joined: Aug 8 2005

Ken Burch wrote:
Suckhole" is homophobic?  I thought it was just another term for sinkhole. 

It isn't as far as I can tell.  Oxford describes it as behaving in a sycophantic way.  Kissing ass in other words, for a longer duration than usual.


Slumberjack
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Joined: Aug 8 2005

Fidel wrote:
Yes we remember the Liberals and their terrible austerity budget of 1995. Canada basically came to a standstill under the Liberals.

I remember that the Liberal years very nearly coincided with the run of the Sopranos television series, both of which shared many similar characteristics.  People were getting confused as to who's episode they were watching on TV.


Unionist
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Joined: Dec 11 2005

Life, the universe, everything wrote:

Can't believe on a progressive site, that no following poster comments on the use of a homophobic term like suckhole.  As in he's a management suckhole.  Casual homophobia is okay now on babble?

Your typical trolling, baiting comments are coming back to the surface. Like a sinkhole. "Suckhole" isn't homophobic. It's sexual. That's a good thing, Life. Try it sometime. Seriously, it'll change your whole inlook on life.

 


Lou Arab
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Joined: Jul 25 2001

Fidel wrote:

I'm simply saying that if it takes Steve half an hour to row the boat to the other side of the lake, we might expect Tom to take half an hour to row it back.

You can knock a house down in a day, but it takes a lot longer to re-build it.


kropotkin1951
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Joined: Jun 6 2002

Indeed we need to redesign the house not try to repair the irreparable damage to the foundations that Harper's firestorm is causing. The NDP so far is still talking about how to repair the damage to the house as if we had a mild basement flooding instead.  I don't expect them to dream big but I can still dream about them dreaming big even if I know it is not going to happen.


Life, the unive...
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Joined: Mar 23 2007

Unionist wrote:

Life, the universe, everything wrote:

Can't believe on a progressive site, that no following poster comments on the use of a homophobic term like suckhole.  As in he's a management suckhole.  Casual homophobia is okay now on babble?

Your typical trolling, baiting comments are coming back to the surface. Like a sinkhole. "Suckhole" isn't homophobic. It's sexual. That's a good thing, Life. Try it sometime. Seriously, it'll change your whole inlook on life.

 

You see most people would go, 'oh crap didn't realize that was the way that word is used' if it was unintentional.  You are however are admitting you knew where it comes from and are completely unrepentent and attack the person who brings it up.  That sure makes babble a safe place for learning about our hidden bias.  You should try that sometime.  It is in the context used either homophobic, the most common usage for the term or sexist.  You seem to be leaning towards a sexist usage- I guess that is your perogative.  Either way it is wrong on a site like rabble/babble.

And thanks for the personal attack.  You of course will not be cautioned or rebuked for it, while lots of others would be raked over the coals.  That's the real way babble works.   


Life, the unive...
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Joined: Mar 23 2007

Slumberjack wrote:

Ken Burch wrote:
Suckhole" is homophobic?  I thought it was just another term for sinkhole. 

It isn't as far as I can tell.  Oxford describes it as behaving in a sycophantic way.  Kissing ass in other words, for a longer duration than usual.

 

Nice try, but think about it for a second.  "suckhole"  does that really sound like the etymology is 'ass kissing' regardless of duration?  suckhole- I'll wait for the light to go on.


Slumberjack
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Joined: Aug 8 2005

Nada.  I'm still not getting the connotation in the way you're trying to ascribe it as.  I think the nice try award belongs to you.


Life, the unive...
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Joined: Mar 23 2007

really?  "suckhole", (even Unionist admitted it was a sexual term) and you can't imagine what it is refering too.  You might need to get out more.


Slumberjack
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Joined: Aug 8 2005

In a sexual context, it may very well be a practice between intimates, but as far as I know, it's certainly not something generally confined to just one persuasion in that regard.  In the non-sexual context, used within a political discourse for example, it means the same thing as ass kisser, brownnoser, or sycophant as several dictionaries refer to, etc.


Life, the unive...
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Joined: Mar 23 2007

Oh yes a cleaned up dictionary tells us everything we need to know about the origin and use of a word.  A kneeling syncophant maybe, but the rest are just your generous interpretation of the innappropriate use of a word on a site that says it is progressive.  But lets attack the person who highlights something like this, instead of the knowing use of a term.  Pretty typical for around here.

There was a time when this was a fairly common term to describe, in a homophobic way, for instance, workers who had cozied up to management far too much.  I never liked it then and I like it even less now.


bagkitty
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Joined: Aug 27 2008

Well, if the NDP does form the next government, I am going to go way out on a limb and suggest that it will not be because of an actual 50% +1 vote (of those voting, much less those eligible to vote). I don't think a landslide of that magnitude is going to happen. Consquently, I would suggest that such a government doing something to demonstrate its principles... how about bringing in PR. Yeah, that would be the bottom line by which I would judge such a government.


Slumberjack
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Joined: Aug 8 2005

Life, the universe, everything wrote:
 But lets attack the person who highlights something like this, instead of the knowing use of a term.  Pretty typical for around here.

But no one else seems to know it in the way that you describe.  Is it possible that your interpretation is simply mistaken?  Or is it just as possible that a contrived attack of your own devising has fallen flat?


Unionist
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Joined: Dec 11 2005

I'm amazed no one has objected to Ken Burch's profoundly multiple offensive thread title. BARE MINI-MUM indeed! What is babble coming to??


Fidel
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Joined: Apr 29 2004

And that reminds me. I think we should count on the NDP not embroiling themselves in corruption, general kick-back and graft, nor election rigging,  like federal governments from Mulroney's through this current one.

The NDP should set a higher standard for transparency and accountability to the public as a refreshing change in Ottawa.


Slumberjack
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Joined: Aug 8 2005

Unionist wrote:
I'm amazed no one has objected to Ken Burch's profoundly multiple offensive thread title. BARE MINI-MUM indeed! What is babble coming to??

Naw, not even.  I went straight to google with it and only a few mildly objectionable hits appeared.  Nothing like I thought there'd be.


Life, the unive...
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Joined: Mar 23 2007

Slumberjack wrote:

Life, the universe, everything wrote:
 But lets attack the person who highlights something like this, instead of the knowing use of a term.  Pretty typical for around here.

But no one else seems to know it in the way that you describe.  Is it possible that your interpretation is simply mistaken?  Or is it just as possible that a contrived attack of your own devising has fallen flat?

Contrived attack?  Are you serious?  I have not participated in most of these threads.  I read this one out of curiosity to see what folks were saying.  With complete good faith I called someone on the use of a term that has no place on babble.  Yet somehow it was this devious plan by me to attack someone.  No wonder so many progressives have left this place.

I guess the real lesson is, not that we should always be prepared to examine our word usage, but rather whether in high school, babble or lots of other places never question the in crowd.  When you do that you are the one who is attacked.  Bullying is so cool I hope it gives you a thrill.


Fidel
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Joined: Apr 29 2004

Yes if the NDP does not promise Disney World in one term, well, then, we might as well keep the corrupt stooges rigging elections and sinking us further and further down the debt hole. We'll just have to hold out for the perfect revolution is all. 


Slumberjack
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Joined: Aug 8 2005

Well, I wonder if we couldn't just apply for a ruling on the use of the term 'suckhole.'  Your Honour?


Sean in Ottawa
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Joined: Jun 3 2003

Someone found a term offensive. That finding is credible when you consider the actual words. Why are we fighting this instead of correcting and moving on? I had never heard the expression before but it does not take much imagination to see that it could be offensive.

My understanding of harassment is if a person is offended you do what you can to make it right -- stop doing it -- as opposed to belittling what the person says or suggesting that they were not serious.

I know there must be loads of history (we have seen some) but at moments you have to limit the issues to the one at hand. A person complains about the usage of a word they find personally offensive, you consider the word and try to accomodate. This is hardly an essential word.

I hope I can say this without disturbing all the muck that might lie beneath-- but we can recognize the complaint is legitimate and respond in a positive way -- can't we?


Caissa
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Joined: Jun 14 2006

This thread has jumped the shark. I find it unreal that we are debating the etymology and meanings of "suckhole."

ETA: unless we think that is what we be calling Mulcair after the next election as he toadys up to the corporate sector.


Fidel
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Joined: Apr 29 2004

We should demand a pony for every child under 16. And the NDP should make Canada exactly the way it was in 1867, or else it's off. 

Deal or no deal, Mr Mulcair.


Catchfire
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Joined: Apr 16 2003

Hi everyone! I share most contributors' ignorance of the homophobic/sexist connotations of the word suckhole. I suppose I could see how it could be considered as such, in the same way that "to fellate" and its cognates could be used almost interchangeably in that context. If this was pointed out to Unionist in good faith, perhaps even in his infamous imperiousness, he might have reconsidered its usage. Unfortunately, it's hard for me to see past LTUE's well-documented intent to point out alleged double standards at babble (cf. post #43, which precedes any moderator intervention). As it is, I don't really see the offensive content in U's post. It seems the real loser is sex; not any group of people which practices a certain form of copulation, etc.

As always, you're welcome to discuss this if you like; but please do it in another thread (like rabble reactions) or limit yourself to "see, I told you mods you were doing a horrible job"-type comments in the abuse queue and let's get this thread back on topic.


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