deanb Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 So cos UK and US are only a tinsy fraction of countries in the world inflicted with the terrible disease of politicianitis I thought it best to make this thread for all those other cases. Now on one hand it does seem a bit unfair to lump everyone else in one thread, but until those other nations become world leading super powers with a great stockpile of nuclear weaponry, world class army, fine cuisine, excellent wit, or are America, then you won't get your own thread yet. So to start here's a Canadian protester. And now we pass to our panellists: What's the politics like in your country? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 until those other nations become world leading super powers with a great stockpile of nuclear weaponry, world class army, fine cuisine, excellent wit, or are America... Hey now! We have lots of nukes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yantelope V2 Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 So cos UK and US are only a tinsy fraction of countries in the world inflicted with the terrible disease of politicianitis I thought it best to make this thread for all those other cases. Now on one hand it does seem a bit unfair to lump everyone else in one thread, but until those other nations become world leading super powers with a great stockpile of nuclear weaponry, world class army, fine cuisine, excellent wit, or are America, then you won't get your own thread yet. So to start here's a Canadian protester. And now we pass to our panellists: What's the politics like in your country? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 What's the politics like in my country? Well, the moderates that are currently in charge are moving the country away from my ideology but all the other parties are completely incapable of leading a country currently (Social democrats, who I am ideologically most aligned with, got complacent after being in power for a significant number of terms in a row) so we don't really have much choice. Very troubling to me is that we are slowly adopting the tax-hate that America is so famous for, which seems like idiocy to me when we have this actually working balance of socialism and capitalism in place. We don't even have the "our government is incapable of spending tax money well" excuse. =/ What really scares me though is the European Union. Not the concept of a European Union, but it's current implementation. Can something really be called a democracy if there is no easily available information on what's being done on the highest level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted February 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 The EU... I'm not even sure how it works. All I know is we're supposedly not keen on it at al, while also kinda running it n making it do a lot of the things we're not keen on it doing. I know it's there. I know it's bad. I know it's good. I know, or even don't know, that I can't vote in it. So yeah, EU I mostly ignore. Like the entity itself, the political thing of it. Not the body of nations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 The EU seems kind of like the Articles of Confederation: broken as hell but perhaps the precursor to a good, working system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luftwaffles Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 @Ethan, The EU, by definition, could be considered a confederacy. It's a large group of nations sharing the same currency, acting as a giant political entity when they want, but also breaking off (quite commonly) and doing their own diplomacy. It's a lot like the United States was before we wrote our constitution, but it's far more effective than that, possibly because of the centralized currency. The way I see it, the EU is the baby of Germany and France, as it seems to me (as an outsider) that most policy adapted by the EU benefits those two nations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battra92 Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 The way I see it, the EU is the baby of Germany and France, as it seems to me (as an outsider) that most policy adapted by the EU benefits those two nations. The way it seems to be reported is that Germany is going around cleaning up everyone else's messes. I guess I don't understand the need or purpose of the EU. I understand treaties and stuff but I wouldn't want any international laws to be higher than that of the laws of my own country. Heck, I prefer the laws we must have be based on my own state, county or town rather than our Federal government. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luftwaffles Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 I understand treaties and stuff but I wouldn't want any international laws to be higher than that of the laws of my own country. Heck, I prefer the laws we must have be based on my own state, county or town rather than our Federal government. What's funny about that is that you might like the EU, actually. For the most part, it's very similar to what you described. The countries make their own laws, they field their own armies, and are pretty in control of their own policy. The EU exists to manage fiscal, monetary, and some diplomatic policy in those countries, but I don't see it as controlling or blocking any sort of regulation or law that the countries themselves try and push or enact. It's a large amount of sovereign entities acting under the umbrella of the EU for both protection and alliances. It's similar to the Articles of Confederation, like Ethan said, in that it's a confederation of sorts, a large amount of nations more united than under multiple alliances, but not at all controlled by the center either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterDex Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 Just the thread I was looking for! Sporkwaffles described the EU very well. It's the early stages of a truly united Europe, I believe. I think as it is now, it works well and we're not quite ready for a federation, if we'll ever be but the goal is to get it closer to a federation than a confederacy - with, as it appears, Germany and France holding the greatest power. Now, this is just my own suspicions but I believe a lot of what is happening in the EU is being dictated by power plays from Sarkozy and Merkel's camps. Thankfully, there are limits to the power the EU have which makes changing its form and asserting any great level of power over it is difficult. An example would be that for any EU law that requires amendment of the Irish constitution to be instituted, it must be voted on by the Daíl(lower house) and the senate before then being voted on by the people. Like every form of government, it has its advantages and disadvantages. Now, onto why I was looking for a thread like this. Here's a video of an eviction being stopped in Portlaoise, Ireland. Common Law and the constitution. Love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 IIRC the Articles of Confederation were a PITA to modify (required unanimous consent of all states), so rather than doing so they just made a new Constitution which provided that it would go into effect when 9 of the 13 states ratified it. 12 did, but Rhode Island held out. IIRC, the other 12 states invaded and occupied Rhode Island until its government ratified the Constitution as well. Just sayin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterDex Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 It's a fair point and the possibility of such an occurance is high enough but I don't see it happening any time soon. I imagine that the threat of EU expulsion could be used to coerce ratification but they'd likely come up against some staunch opposition, at least so long as the political climate in the EU remains as it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battra92 Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 IIRC the Articles of Confederation were a PITA to modify (required unanimous consent of all states), so rather than doing so they just made a new Constitution which provided that it would go into effect when 9 of the 13 states ratified it. 12 did, but Rhode Island held out. IIRC, the other 12 states invaded and occupied Rhode Island until its government ratified the Constitution as well. Just sayin. Not quite an invasion. The other 12 States threatened to tax its exports as a foreign nation which would have bankrupted RI. In return for ratification they also promised a Bill of Rights (which was a popular idea in all 13 states at that time.) On a side note, Vermont originally wanted to join the Union but New York kept claiming they were part of NY and would block their entry. Vermont was acting as their own sovereign nation at that point with its own Constitution (the first to ban slavery and guarantee freedom of Religion) and it wasn't until slave holding Kentucky was poised to join the Union that NY dropped their resistance and allowed Free Vermont into the Union. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTF Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 Actually to be fair, I do feel bad for Greece. The best outcome would've been to just kick them out of the EU to be fair, but we have effectively created a third world nation in the EU now. If anyone thinks the Greek debt will be paid in our lifetime, barring a miracle it's next to impossible. Kicking them out would've been good for the EU and for the people of Greece. Both sides committed mistakes in this case but at the end of the day, we just made this situation because we need a new place for cheap labour in the West that isn't India or China. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted February 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/02/22/racknine-inc-fraudulent-election-calls-traced/ Ouch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFlyingGerbil Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 What's this Kony 2012, invisible Children thing going around? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luftwaffles Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 What's this Kony 2012, invisible Children thing going around? Slacktivism at its finest. Again. Not meaning to be insensitive, I personally support the message, but changing your twitter or tumblr and tagging things #kony2012 doesn't do shit. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faiblesse Des Sens Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 ^^^ http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post deanb Posted March 8, 2012 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thursday Next Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Fortunately there is only one nasty person left in the world. Once Kony is gone there will be no more evil people to replace him. For that reason alone we should continue funding Invisible Children's heavy handed films. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luftwaffles Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted March 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 Question: Why do the Americans make such a big thing out of one nations patron saint, while ignoring all others. Or is it pretty much just an excuse to get plastered and call it "tradition"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted March 17, 2012 Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 My understanding is that large Irish immigrant populations in New York City popularized it there, and then it kinda spread throughout the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted March 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 So it is very much an excuse to get drunk under the guise of tradition then 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Posted March 17, 2012 Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 Isn't most holidays? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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