World Politics

Jacquie said:
Ducky said:
So to get thread running I have few questions:

- Do you vote when having a chance?
- Are you a member of some party?
- If you are not a member, do you still support a certain party and attend to their meetings etc.?
- What kind of is your government/parliament/senate? How many parties, structure?
- How often are elections?
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to answer some of these questions

yes
somewhat
yes and no
depends on which level. Far to many in my opinion
it depends

:D

Yes I do vote in elections. I've not missed an election in my 33 years of being eligible to vote. If I'm going to be out of the country or province at the time to vote I will vote in the advanced polls.

We used to be paid supporters of a party but not anymore.

Yes we support one particular party and no we don't go to the meetings.

I'm not even going to try and figure out the Federal Political system because I don't even fully understand it :D

Federal elections are held every 4 years unless the sitting government falls. As I said it's complicated. The last Federal election was held in October 2008. If Prime Minister Stephen Harper manages to hold on with his minority government then the next election will be in 2012.

Province elections are held every 4 years. The next election will be 2011.

Municipal elections in Ontario are held every 4 years and we get to vote this year. The elections are in October.

The mayor's race in Toronto is heating up and it's only February. One of the candidates was got cheating on his partner and has resigned from the race. He pulled a 'Tiger Woods' and was outed by one of his mistresses :rolleyes: This guy is also head of the Toronto Transit Commission and everyone is calling for his resignation from that job but the lame duck outgoing Mayor is not likely to 'fire' him from the job because he's one of the mayor's cronies. I'm so glad I don't live in Toronto.

Oh the joys of politics :rolleyes:

Go Canada
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#1..YES
#2..YES
#3..YES
#4..DEPENDS
#5..4 years
 
*lisasimpson* said:
Ducky said:
- Are you a member of some party?
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no. i've been a labour supporter all my life (the mainstream socialist party in the uk) but since blair has ruined everything they stand for and turned them into a close runner up in the tory stakes i don't feel comfortable supporting them any more, which is a real shame. there are a lot of people here now who were traditionally labour supporters (and moderate socialists) but who now feel unable to vote for them but don't have many other options because the only other leftist parties (respect (hah, respect!) and the swp are too far the other way). i think this is why the lib dems are suddenly doing better than ever - they are getting a lot of votes from ex-labour supporters who will vote for them just to stop the tories getting in (and i've done this myself).
:rolleyes:
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I know this comes pretty late but still.. I think socialist parties (the ones that have been in control) are in some kind of depression all over. Our socialist party is there, low and in opposition and I don't see them having anyone who could lead party to victory in next elections. And they are sooo close sometimes with two other parties except with some..erm interesting facts. Their leader said last autumn than limit of poverty is 3000e/month income :lol: :lol:

Anyways, I think they are lost just like the Centre Party was in the late 90s - I believe party support comes and goes in cycles. in the 80s right wing movement got support, it died and now in past few years its' follower has gotten bigger and more popular. Centreparty lost itself in late 90s and conservatives in general didn't get to government until late 80s.

Many say here that Centre Party should be wiped off because there isn't parties like that in other countries.. but it is the third big party along with social democrats and conservatives (coalition party)

As for social democrats... Left Wing is getting strong.. I don't mean communists but something like real socialist party, left party. They are on fire, they are very young and they attract young people - like in my university.

But then again there are those old silly communist parties (there are 4-5 and I always wonder if they were together, they might have a chance), that are just... not today's world. (even tho every time I use this 'election machine' on website to see what would be my candidate, there's usually some communist :p)

So at the moment conservatives and true finns (right wing, against immigration etc) are on top, on fire so to speak but their time will come, when they see themselves again in opposition.

AS for all this.. I like student politics, I mean parties included. At least in our university. We all get along... except Greens don't want to be with us and Conservatives.. well there are just few jerks that you cannot like no matter how hard you try.

See, students here have student overalls and those are decorated with different kind of patches (get from events or buy from different groups, exchange with your friends - they tell the story of your student life - what've you done, where have you been etc) - so our Left Wing Youth have a kickass patch, I think it's a great, cool logo so I asked today one of them if I could buy three and he said, he brings three next week and said that he is amazed and happy that a centre party member would buy something like that. I said because it's cool I want to buy it, I am not allergic to cool stuff of other parties or even to people or the candy they give away at meetings etc. I can read their magazines without getting upset or thinking they are below me or we are somehow better.

And we can joke about each other, since we arrange lots of political events at university together.
One of the best moments were last spring when we had MPs here from almost every party and they were given words to explain and audience answered. Well one word was Lenin and this MP only said "Soviet dictator..:" and guy in front of us (Left Wing) yelled "STALIN!LENIN!" and my friend from my party said "Oh, answer comes like a cannonball, no surprise there!" and everyone just starts to laugh.

Discussions between different views are wonderful when you can do it with someone with real debate and not with someone who just says "ME RIGHT, YOU WRONG" and it can be so open and you can talk and talk without being mean.

But then there are people who just.. I don't want to even talk with, they just make me mad - or should I just say - I don't even bother.

Heh, my bf's parents are social democrats, so are his grandparents and now my bf has become a member of centre youth (it was his choise, he wanted, he liked the stuff we do) and it's rather interesting to be with them sometimes when they get upset about Centre Party and I just smile and sip my coffee... except my father-in-law - he is very reasonable and great to talk about political stuff with understanding.

Oh what a rant again :p

I just add English pages of our parties if someone is interested - True Finns would have been great but of course they have only website in Finnish :p

http://www.keskusta.fi/In_English/About_Us.iw3
http://www.kokoomus.fi/in_english/
http://sdp.fi/en/frontpage

smaller ones:
http://www.sfp.fi/en/
http://www.vasemmistoliitto.fi/en_GB/
http://www.vihreat.fi/en/node/4
http://kd.fi/KD/www/en/
 
Okay I was debating whether or not to post this link, but I decided to do so and hope it is okay to do it in here, at first when you read it I will warn you it might not think it belongs here by the site name.

Let me just add if your are sensitive about your party, this may not be a good read for you, if your not overall sensitive, and still can have a good laugh no matter what then it might be okay. Me I found it a hoot to read I read them all, and these two ladies are funny and it doesn't even matter what party I affiliate myself with but thats just my opinion.

Margaret & Helen - This link will tell you about them, but to read their take on politics and those in it, and including fun of themselves, and the old days vs good days look to the right side of the page and click the link.

Hope it makes you laugh as much as it made me, just cause a good laugh can ease stress.
 
Ducky said:
I know this comes pretty late but still.. I think socialist parties (the ones that have been in control) are in some kind of depression all over.
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i agree, but i think a lot of it has to do with everyone scrabbling around for the centre ground so much these days (certainly in britain but i think many other places). we are all bourgeois now, and the traditional left just doesn't have the role it used to have, even the people it traditionally worked for - the working classes - are getting generally more affluent, the way industry has changed (well, in the uk it's been virtually wiped out) means trade unionism is much less an issue than it ever used to be. part of me thinks it's a good thing that people are generally more affluent but on the other hand it means that all parties are aiming for the same thing (there is almost no difference at all between labour and conservative these days), and that the real issues that labour used to stand for are being ignored while everyone fights for the votes of a rapidly expanding middle class.

that documentary about politicians staying in tower blocks has, i think, made this obvious - the politicians had *no* idea how bad things were for people living in the poorer areas now, they didn't even know what issues they were facing. they were pretty clueless, even the labour politician, and that made me really sad. especially as voting among the working classes is at an all time low, they don't feel like the politicians engage with or care about them, and politicians are so busy pandering to people living in nice suburban situations that they have "forgotten" about these peoplee. it's a real shame.


I believe party support comes and goes in cycles...So at the moment conservatives and true finns (right wing, against immigration etc) are on top, on fire so to speak but their time will come, when they see themselves again in opposition.
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oh it absolutely does - there are international cycles but then internal, national cycles follow those too. i remember after what thatcher did during her term, everyone vowed the tories would never have power again, and labour got in. but thatcher's government was in power for 18 years (not always with her at the helm) and the power went to their heads, they lost sight of what they were doing and just went for the power, which made people resentful. now labour have been in for 13 years and people feel exactly the same way about them now. this is one area i think the americans have got it right - a fixed 2 term presidency is a good idea, maybe the party in power doesn't change but if you have one small group of people at the top for too long, resentment gets high and people demand a big change. then it just repeats itself. blair has behaved appallingly, in staying for so long and then appointing a successor he undermined the notion of democracy.

As for social democrats... Left Wing is getting strong.. I don't mean communists but something like real socialist party, left party. They are on fire, they are very young and they attract young people - like in my university.
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yeah left wing is gettling a little strong but i think SD parties do tend to be more left leaning when compared with conservative parties - there is usually some element of wealth redistribution which is a generally socialist idea. the only really socialist parties left here are a bit of a joke - one is populated by students and hippies and the other is just.... :|

But then again there are those old silly communist parties (there are 4-5 and I always wonder if they were together, they might have a chance), that are just... not today's world. (even tho every time I use this 'election machine' on website to see what would be my candidate, there's usually some communist :p)
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i doubt they would - it's funny how often communist parties are so removed from eachother - surely the obvious thing, given their general beliefs, would be to work together, but there are too many faction arguments. there's usually a communist on all our ballots but they're never likely to get many votes.

Discussions between different views are wonderful when you can do it with someone with real debate and not with someone who just says "ME RIGHT, YOU WRONG" and it can be so open and you can talk and talk without being mean.
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very true! actually i think it's a problem in politics generally now - with the massive explosion in the media, politics is more and more about personality and how individual politicians behave, which means you get a lot of name calling, dirt digging and mud slinging but very little real debate. i'm sure most britons could tell you about various scandals affecting our mps over the last couple of years, but i bet very few could name any actual policies or discuss whether they agreed with them or not.

But then there are people who just.. I don't want to even talk with, they just make me mad - or should I just say - I don't even bother.
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yeah i gave up doing politics with my parents years ago, it's like banging my head on a brick wall!
 
Funny Destiny:lol: the lauguage WOW, keep on keeping on Helen:bolian:and thank's Ducky and lisa~

Some news about our president and his plans coming to fruition;)

*1..OBAMA:STIMULAS SAVED THE ECONOMY

*2..OBAMA:TO CREATE DEFICIT COMMISSION

http://www.thedailybeast.com/
 
they really do but it won't happen as long as they see (a) the bill as some kind of socialist/communist agenda and (b) socialism as some kind of disease. note to GOP: socialism =/= communism and really isn't all that bad. most of the countries doing best in terms of healthcare provision, rates of remission from serious diseases, rates of research into said diseases, and not to mention education, economy etc in europe are if not full blown socialist then certainly leaning that way, which probably says quite a lot.

the general attitude in the us to healthcare provision kind of upsets me actually, how can it be good to make people pay vast amounts for something that fundamental? insurance policies over there are massively exploitative, have gaps which herds of giant elephants could fit through, and often exclude the very people who need the most care - it's insane. not that our good old british nhs is perfect by any stretch, it really isn't, there are huge problems with it (and as a far too regular user of it i am prone to moaning about it all the time) but the fact that *anyone* in this country, regardless of job status, race, home-status, illness status, anything can walk into a hospital (or be carried) and get FREE treatment on the spot is something i think as a nation we can be massively proud of.

thus spake a die hard socialist ;) i guess the moral of this story is never allow a former social policy student into this thread.
 
No your a breath of fresh air, I agree with you, and enjoy your ideas, views, theories and opinions. Barack needs to stand more firm, he's so nice and seems to coddle these naysayers. Enough is enough, geez, this has been up for way too long. Pass the damn thing:scream:
 
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he does need to stand firm although with the lobbyists so strong it seems he'll have quite a job on his hands. and yes, they just need to push it through!

aww thanks :) it's weird, since doing a degree that was partly in politics (along with philosophy & history, i ended up focussing more on the history really although obviously all three cross over in a major way) i kind of lost interest in day-to-day politics, the more i understand how these things work, the less the petty arguments of party politics appeals to me. but the main themes still interest me - the way people can see things so differently, the way various broad strokes of politics (ie conservativism, socialism, left and right etc) affect people is what interests me - and that's true in my love of history too, i don't like "traditional" history, i really don't give much of a crap about dates of kings or battles or whatever, but social history, and how global shifts in thinking affect ordinary people, that is what fascinates me, which is why the broader impact of politics (like how people view various healthcare proposals etc) is more interesting to me.

i'm quite interested in marxist history - not history of marxism (although that too), but the kind of history that looks at how changes in marxist ideas (modes of production and people's relationship to production) have such a huge impact on populations (and also, although maybe to a lesser extent, military history, again not in terms of battles or whatever, but in terms of how changes and developments in military tactics directly impacted on ordinary people - my major "pet" topic is the first world war which was a huge shift militarily, stemming from an agricultural -> industrial shift, and which had an unprecedent impact on ordinary people's lives). my favourite historical periods are the ones where there was massive upheaval, massive change in production and therefore massive social change, for instance the periods when agriculture changed so much (the industrial revolution is one of my "pet" periods - right up to the first world war where ideas that had been intended to change the way people farmed ended up changing warfare for ever and causing millions of pointless deaths), or where trade changed (the period between 750-1250 for instance which had major changes in terms of trade, national alliances, empires, religious orders that affected such things etc). i think they are far more interesting than which guy (or girl) is in power and what they're doing on a more day to day basis.

haha, that went a bit off topic! just call me a marxist and be done with it ;)
 
Finally there are some politicians out there that do listen to us mere mortals :D

The Canadian Government reconvened this week with a new Thorne Speech. One item that Prime Minister Harper wanted in this next session of Parliament was to change some of the wording in 'O Canada' :eek: Harper felt that the line 'In all thy sons command' was not gender neutral. There was talk about changing it back to the original 1908 version of 'Thou dost in us command'. Well Harper and his government got an earful from us mere mortals with the complaints coming from 'far and wide'. An official statement came from the P.M.'s office yesterday saying there will be no changing of the words in 'O Canada'.

Public outcry convinces Tories 'O Canada' is OK
 
I am not a regular on this forum, but today the Toronto Sun had a cartoon by their award-winning cartoonist Andy Donato about the US health care debate. Here is the link: Donato cartoon. I just had to share this. Okay, Jacquie made me do it. :lol:
 
Love it, hate it or somewhere in between, the US House passed the Health Care Bill 219-212. All 178 Republicans voted against it and 34 Democrats voted against it.
 
PerfectAnomaly said:
Love it, hate it or somewhere in between, the US House passed the Health Care Bill 219-212. All 178 Republicans voted against it and 34 Democrats voted against it.
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Now that was a tight vote :eek: I'm not surprised to see the Republicans vote against it. They never seem to want to do anything good about Health Care.
 
Jacquie said:
PerfectAnomaly said:
Love it, hate it or somewhere in between, the US House passed the Health Care Bill 219-212. All 178 Republicans voted against it and 34 Democrats voted against it.
Click to expand...

Now that was a tight vote :eek: I'm not surprised to see the Republicans vote against it. They never seem to want to do anything good about Health Care.
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Ah yes it's great.
But time is pretty bad for these kind of improvements.
 
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