You know, people in Canada or Mexico, they probably know A LOT about the history of the United States. But what do I know about their history? NADA! I couldn't even tell you who either's president or (as I just realized) if Canada even has a president. I know Canada is sort of ruled by England. I know I can be in Niagra Falls, Canada in about 4 hours. But I'm pretty sure I couldn't name all the provinces of Canada. I couldn't even name 1 of Mexico. What are they called in Mexico? States? Provinces?
Except for the Queen of England and Prince Ranier (spelling may be off)of Morracco. I think the only other ruler could name is Khadaffi (spelling again). I do know who rules Iran but I'll not even attempt to spell that!
Anyway, the Jihad Walking piece on this portion of The Daily Show is very interesting!
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
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4 comments:
Now THAT was truly eye opening!
No wonder other countries have coined the phrase "The ugly American"
Okay, so here's your crash course on the Canadian system of government.
Canada's Head of State is indeed the Queen of England. When she is not in Canada (most of the time, obviously) she is represented by the Governor General, who is Michaëlle Jean, at the moment. The GG's role is largely ceremonial, though.
The person most people would consider the equivalent of the President is the Prime Minister, currently Stephen Harper. While the US president is independently elected, the Prime Minister is not. When there is a general election, we vote for a Member of Parliament to represent our riding. The party with the most Members elected becomes the government, and the leader of that party becomes the Prime Minister.
Fascinating, no? ;)
There are 10 provinces and 3 territories. See how many you CAN name. Don't worry, I couldn't possibly name all 50 American states, either. ;)
Just watched the Jihad Walking piece - very cute. Although I didn't think that Americans needed a lot of help doing the American-bashing thing. ;)
hmmm...the video isn't working.
But I must say that I don't know much of other countries either. So it's really good that me and my family are studying a different country each week! I didn't know until this week that Spain still has a king!
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