thefrogman:

This seemed pretty crazy… so I looked into it. I found it hard to believe that some dude rented pandas to lay around the house, munch bamboo, and do his bidding. Which is how you made it sound. 

My instincts were correct. That is not the case. I’m also bad at spotting Canadian politicians. I had never actually seen a picture of Stephen Harper before. 

Two Canadian zoos will be “renting” some pandas for the next 5 years. They will pay $1 million to the Chinese over the next ten years. The money will go towards panda conservation. Also, if the pandas make sweet love and have babies, the zoos get a huge discount. I suggest pumping their habitat with Al Green.

The Canadian government “cosigned” the deal, saying they would pay the bill if the zoos are unable to. However, the zoos say they are sure that the increased attendance and merchandise sales will more than cover the cost of the pandas.

I don’t know if the zoos are good for it. So maybe this will be a bum deal for Canadians. There seems to be a lot of debate on that. I’m sure Stephen Harper is a real square. I’m also sure Canadians would like him to focus on more important things than brokering deals for panda bears. But, so far, he hasn’t spent any tax dollars to rent pandas. In fact, I think there is something more sinister going on here.