Does your country have a backyard?

[SS-18 ICBM]

Where and how far does it extend? Is it maintained well? Any problems?

 

[W|M]

Petrobras (the state-owned Brazilian oil company) has been criticized in Bolivia for advancing Brazilian imperialism and Brazil is getting a lot of Bolivian, Peruvian, and Haitian illegal immigrants, especially in Acre state. Uruguay especially is largely influenced by Brazilian and Argentinian political and economic policies.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Is Paraguay a problem child in South America or something?

 

[W|M]

It has always been

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

If you know of any other countries where their Communist Party General Secretary was chainsawed to death to a soundtrack of polka music while his screams were broadcasted live to the ruling dicatator as he shagged his 12-year old mistress, I'll add them to the list.

No, no. This cannot be real. You have got to be yanking my leg.

 

[W|M]

This is a book detailing some antics of Paraguayan politics (and presumably source material for the article)

 

[Jehoshua]

Paraguay has always been a font of national weirdness when it comes to South America.

 

[IglooDame]

I always thought the US backyard was Canada...

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

I thought it was the hat.

 

[Takhisis]

These days, most countries in the CONMEBOL area seem to think of each other as their 'backyard'. This has traditionally been encouraged by the US and the USSR who liked waging proxy cold wars across the continent. Paraguay was just one of the worst hit, but I don't think they're the worst place in the world. And I'm almost sure Kafka2 was trolling back then.

 

[Tee Kay]

The rest of Oceania (excluding NZ); not that most of us are aware most of the time that they even exist, mind you.

 

[gay_Aleks]

Or most Bulgarians like to claim, particularly, the nationalists.

 

[Camikaze]

Oceania's pretty much in Australia's pocket, particularly with legal matters. To take Nauru as an example, you can appeal from the Supreme Court of Nauru to the High Court of Australia. Except in constitutional cases, but then the Supreme Court of Nauru consists of one resident Australian judge (the most recent was a former justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria). Which means that important matters like whether governments are actually legal, or if they can declare states of emergency, are often decided by Australians. This seems to often led to expulsions of the judiciary if results don't go the government's way. A couple of months ago the Chief Justice of Nauru (an Australian) resigned after the government deported the Chief Magistrate (another Australian). One of my teachers was a Judge of the High Court of Fiji until he was forced out of the country. The current Chief Justice of Australia was formerly a judge on the Supreme Court of Fiji. Following the 2000 Fiji coup, it was a former Queensland DPP that declared the new regime unlawful.

 

[Kyriakos]

We don't have a backyard (Cyprus included, it is too far away to be a backyard).

I'm ok with it, as long as we at least have a house.

 

[metatron]

We have other countries' backyards.
Mostly Austria's and Turkey's.

A totally novel idea, i know.

 

[Perfection]

I always thought the US backyard was Canada...

Piss no, it's the whole freakin' world.

Also the moon is totally ours.

 

[Winner]

Yup, it's called Slovakia.

 

[Antilogic]

Piss no, it's the whole freakin' world.

Also the moon is totally ours.

This. The flags planted up there are Ahmurikan, and don't you hooligans forget it.

 

[Civ'ed]

The netherlands has either Belgium, Suriname, the Antilles or all three.

 

[Silurian]

This. The flags planted up there are Ahmurikan, and don't you hooligans forget it.

Those flags will be in a Chinese museum soon