If You Like Fox News, You'll Hate Canada (And Canada will hate you in return)

The American Enterprise ^ | September 2, 2003 | Marni Soupcoff

[Snake65]

extensive social safety net and universal health care system

Just saying it doesn't make it true.

I was just in Toronto over Labor Day Weekend for the World Science Fiction Convention. Heard lots of Canadians b!tching about their health care--women basically have to pay through the nose to get to see a gynecologist, and anyone requiring expert assisstance heads to the States. Also I tripped over panhandlers every thirty feet while walking through downtown Toronto.

But on the other hand, the streets were clean. Just like Moscow!

[wizardoz]

But on the other hand, the streets were clean. Just like Moscow!

I bet the trains run on time too, eh woodsnake?

[quidnunc]

mc5cents wrote: Did I read that correctly, they can arrest you for selling DirecTV dishes up there? I mean, if I lived there I couldn't the NFL Package? WTH! Oh Canada!! Glorious and Free?? I don't think so.>

But you'd get to watch the Canadian Football League.

[TaxRelief]

Whether or not Cinemax is better than HBO, is not the point.

[mc5cents]

But you'd get to watch the Canadian Football League.

Yhoopeee!! 2 downs and punt. Chinese fire drills on offence. I don't think so. I want my NFL damit!!!

[steplock]

Not to worry, I have been having this off & on debate with a world-wide group on the TRUE restrictions of sattelite receivers and programming.

So far, Everyone around the world thinks that they can receive everything uncensored via sattelite.

This includes, Canada, UK, Australia, NZ, India, Indonesia, etc. They all claim total freedom.

I tried telling them - try to build your own dish/receiver and see how fast someone shows up to check out their progress.....

[xp38]

There are satellite services. The Daily show is shown in Canada. Complete NFL packages are available as well as all the other sports. The NFL local broadcast rules extend into Canada.

[JoeFromSidney]

I was just in Toronto over Labor Day Weekend for the World Science Fiction Convention.

I was also in Toronto for WorldCon. I have a Sirius satellite radio in my car. I had figured the signal would peter out at the border, with maybe a little reception just on the other side. To my surprise, Sirius reception was good everywhere I drove in Canada, including up to the Martyrs Shrine on Georgian Bay. I imagine they can't sell receivers to Canadians, but the signal is there and comes in just as strong as in the States.

[Malsua]

Cinemax is 10000% better than the cr@p on hBO What? You don't like all the butt sex happening on HBO?

[John Will]

Don't watch cinemax after 12 am

[July 4th]

Plenty of people do it though. "Grey" market programming is a booming industry, and it works both ways. For a few years, I had a Bell ExpressVU mini-dish with some really good programming. It's not illegal to have in the USA, but Bell won't authorize you with an American address. You need a third party to provide you an address and handle your programming, and many places do for about $70/year.

[nutmeg]

FoxFan ping!

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my FoxFan list. *Warning: This can be a high-volume ping list at times.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the heads up!

[Jeff Gordon]

Just when you think the Evil Empire has been defeated, the Union of Canadian Socialist States (UCSS) pops up on our own border. How long will it be before their very own KGB starts assinations in the USA?

[Steely Tom]

Was in Ottawa last weekend.

Never thought of the thorazine connection, but it sounds about right. My thought was that Canadians are sort of cattle-like. Comes to about the same thing, I guess.

Many dish antennas in Ottawa. On houses, on apartment balconies. If they're illegal, not too many are following the law.

Canadians are all right, I guess. It's just that they spend an awful lot of time thinking about America, and how they don't want to be like us. As a result, they make some rather strange trade-offs.

(steely)

[an amused spectator]

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is a little like that too. Nice folks, but when they're not actually speaking a lot of them just sit with eyes glazed over like puppets with their strings cut.

I dare you to come up here and say that, flatlander. ;-)

[Timesink]

For all it's flaws, it's hard to knock Canadian TV when it comes to hockey. When I was living in Calgary the Stanley Cup Finals could be seen on any one of four stations -- CBC (English), CBC (French), the local Calgary station, and the Spokane, Wash. affiliate of whichever U.S. network was carrying the game.

The difference is that anyone in the US who wants CBC hockey coverage can sign up for the cable hockey package and get it, without the FCC worrying that we're being tainted by socialist Canadian ideals.

[Timesink]

Many dish antennas in Ottawa. On houses, on apartment balconies. If they're illegal, not too many are following the law.

It's not dishes themselves that are illegal in Canada, just American dishes. There are at least two satellite companies in Canada that provide only Canadian Government-approved programming. Those are the ones whose dishes you're seeing ... 99% of them, anyway.

[Porterville]

This is going to be such an interesting world-revolution...

[Porterville]

Is it illegal to build your own receiver in the USA???