What The Frig Is A Commonwealth?

[Hottub]

OK, oracle. A thread inspired by the tragic Matty steak dinner and the epic failure of snoogans' Australia thread.

The empire is long gone. England has aboot as much pull as mikeyboy on .net.

Australia and Canada are Commonwealth's.
As are Massachusetts and Virginia here in the good old U.S.
WTF is it, and does it even mean a damn thing anymore?

[Snoogans]

OK, oracle. A thread inspired by the tragic Matty steak dinner and the epic failure of snoogans' Australia thread.

The empire is long gone. England has aboot as much pull as mikeyboy on .net.

Australia and Canada are Commonwealth's.
As are Massachusetts and Virginia here in the good old U.S.
WTF is it, and does it even mean a damn thing anymore?

it means you arent allowed in

[midwestjeff]

it means you arent allowed in

So...

Commonwealth = School Zone?

Got it.

[Snoogans]

So...

Commonwealth = School Zone?

Got it.

damn thats funny

[Hottub]

Fuckin' Jeff.
I took a knee on that one.

[El Mudo]

I believe Pennsylvania and Kentucky are Commonwealths as well


Wikipedia Sez:

Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good or in which all participants have equal standing. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic".

[sailor]

Fuckin' Jeff.
I took a knee on that one.

a middle school locker room?

[Dan 'Hampton]

Everyone of us is equal in MA? Thats new.

[Snoogans]

Everyone of us is equal in MA? Thats new.

well at the time blacks werent free. Mass is just tryin to stick to tradition

[Fallon]

This gay guy loves the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

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[Freakshow]

Puerto Rico is a commonwealth.

[opie's twisted balls]

So...

Commonwealth = School Zone?

Got it.
That is god damn funny!


England has aboot as much pull as mikeyboy on .net.
So is that.


Australia and Canada are Commonwealth's.
As are Massachusetts and Virginia here in the good old U.S.
WTF is it, and does it even mean a damn thing anymore?
No idea about MA and VA but from this Canadian's perspective the British Commonwealth has degraded to a mostly symbolic association.

Within our government our head of state is still the the British Crown (currently Queen Elizabeth II) meaning that when we enact any laws or bills through our federal parliament (sort of like your house of representatives) & senate (similar to your senate but far less useful and with members that would make Robert Byrd look spry) it then needs to go for royal assent. Practically speaking royal assent means once our members of parliament and senators finish dicking around with things and come up with some piece of watered down legislation it goes to our governor-general (the crown's representative in Canada, again an almost wholly ceremonial position) to be signed into law. There's technically the ability for the governor-general to deny royal assent but I don't think that's ever happened in modern history. The position is also responsible to call to session and prorogue parliament (both of which are usually done at the request of the prime minister). As a sign of respect and the queen's place as our head of state her picture appears in federal offices, courthouses, etc.

There are some diplomatic considerations still in place as being part of the commonwealth, probably the most obvious would be the note that appears in Canadian passports:
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada requests, in the name of Her Majesty the Queen, all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary.
Again, kind of meaningless since if you're being held captive by the Taliban and they're about to lop off your head they'd probably give a flying fuck about giving the bearer of a Canadian passport any assistance or protection.

We have certain institutions that still carry "royal" in their name as a legacy to their place in Canadian history....the most familiar would be the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Who incidentally only wear the red serge and ride horses for ceremonial occasions.

There are come economic ties between the various commonwealth countries but I'd have to say thats trumped by more meaningful affiliations like the G8.

A good indication of really how effete the commonwealth has become is to look at the consequences, or lack thereof, to being suspended from membership. It happens occasionally when a country does something offside (usually around human rights, trade, etc.) and pisses off the monarch. Most recent was this past year when Fiji went through a military coup. In response the following were the consequences as a result of being kicked out:
Elaborating on the implications of “full suspension”, the Secretary-General said the following provisions would apply with immediate effect:
· representatives of the Interim Government of Fiji will be excluded from participation at all intergovernmental Commonwealth meetings; likewise, nominees of the Interim Government will not be able to take part in other intergovernmental Commonwealth activities;
· Fiji will not be able to participate in Commonwealth sporting events;
· no Commonwealth technical assistance can be provided to Fiji, with the exception of assistance aimed at facilitating the restoration of democracy;
· while Fiji will remain a member of the Commonwealth, all emblematic representation of Fiji at the Commonwealth Secretariat, at Commonwealth meetings and all other official Commonwealth events will cease; and
· contact at professional and non-governmental levels with Fiji counterparts will be left to the discretion of individual pan-Commonwealth organisations.
So, in other words they can't play with the rest of us and we won't pick up the phone if they call.

That explain things a little?

[Boogie in Va]

I tried to read all of that, but my eyes kept being diverted to that little kitty in your sig. Damn you and your cute kitty!

[Contra]

It means I get to pay 52 dollars a year just to work here.

[Chigworthy]

This thread got really Canadian on us.

[Thomas Merton]

I tried to read all of that, but my eyes kept being diverted to that little kitty in your sig. Damn you and your cute kitty!

And my eyes will do the same thing whenever I read your posts. Damn evil clowns and cute kitties

[opie's twisted balls]

This thread got really Canadian on us.
You're welcome. Just trying to add a bit of class to the joint :cool: