Bizud

I think some jurisdictions count it as a spoiled ballot, and others count it as though they'd just marked a "1." Really, though, not knowing how to vote is inexcusable, especially since it's written on the ballot.

Marijuana's a serious issue, but the debate about gay marriage is such a no-brainer, it's hard to take it as anything other than a smokescreen.

This is false, sir. I meant in general, across all provinces where they've been in power. But especially in BC, where, contrary to popular belief, they inherited a massive budget deficit from the SoCreds, reduced it over time and ran surpluses for their last few years, paid down some of BC's debt, and then lost the election in 2001 to the Liberals - who promptly ran the biggest deficit BC had seen in decades.

Actually, it's infinitely more democratic to be able to say "well, given that there are multiple seats up for grabs, if my first choice candidate either already has more than enough votes or has no chance of winning, I'd like my vote to count for my second choice to help him beat out someone else who I don't like it all" than to just say "well, I'll just vote for who I want," or, more likely, "I'll vote for who's ost likely to defeat the person I hate the most." A voter's opinion is more complex than a simple one-candidate vote can take into account. Voters have preferences. Yeah, okay, if someone gets really unpopular they might have to step down. That doesn't change the fact that the majority of Canadians usually end up with a government that they don't want, and that majority governments are inherently less accountable than minorities.

I'd be interested to find that, because my understanding is that it's only stat rape if the "rapist" is in a position of trust or authority.

Good News is underrated.

I guess. I'm pretty sure that my point, which is that anyone can find music they love if they put effort into the search, stands.

based on the 28% that i have heard and dislike, it is safe to assume. I've never met anyone that didn't like at least one of the: Xiu Xiu, Arcade Fire, Dungen, Ted Leo, Loretta Lynn, McLusky, or Iron and Wine records.

well, get started, sweets. Sure, 50) Morrissey - You Are the Quarry 49) David Byrne - Grown Backwards 48) DJ Signify - Sleep No More 47) Cansecos - Cansecos 46) Plastic Constellations - Mazatlan 45) Clinic - Winchester Cathedral 44) Death From Above 1979 - You're a Woman, I'm a Machine 43) Air - Talkie Walkie 42) The Delgados - Universal Audio 41) Califone - Heron King Blues 40) Tom Waits - Real Gone 39) Junior Boys - Last Exit 38) Devendra Banhart - Nino Rojo 37) The Hives - Tyrannosaurus Hives 36) Jason Molina - Pyramid Electric Co. 35) Pinback - Summer in Abaddon 34) Blood Brothers - Crimes 33) Patrick Wolf - Lycanthropy 32) Bjork - Medulla 31) The Foreign Exchange - Connected 30) AC Newman - The Slow Wonder 29) Mission of Burma - OnOffOn 28) Ratatat - Ratatat 27) Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing in the Hands 26) Dizzee Rascal - Showtime 25) Max Richter - The Blue Notebooks 24) Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse 23) TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes 22) Espers - Espers 21) Apostle of Hustle - Folkloric Feel 20) Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Shake the Sheets 19) Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans 18) Interpol - Antics 17) McLusky - The Difference Between You and Me Is I'm Not On Fire 16) Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand 15) Destroyer - Your Blues 14) The Futureheads - The Futureheads 13) Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose 12) Iron and Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days 11) The Walkmen - Bows and Arrows 10) Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Love Bad News 9) Animal Collective - Sung Tongs 8) The GO! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike 7) Les Savy Fav - Inches 6) Brian Wilson - SMiLE 5) Dungen - Ta Det Lungt 4) The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat 3) Madvillain - Madvillainy 2) Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles 1) The Arcade Fire - Funeral congratulations on not listing a single thing i like. i guess you're better than me, or something I'm sure you've heard, and decided you don't like, all 50 of those. ;)

well, get started, sweets. Sure, 50) Morrissey - You Are the Quarry 49) David Byrne - Grown Backwards 48) DJ Signify - Sleep No More 47) Cansecos - Cansecos 46) Plastic Constellations - Mazatlan 45) Clinic - Winchester Cathedral 44) Death From Above 1979 - You're a Woman, I'm a Machine 43) Air - Talkie Walkie 42) The Delgados - Universal Audio 41) Califone - Heron King Blues 40) Tom Waits - Real Gone 39) Junior Boys - Last Exit 38) Devendra Banhart - Nino Rojo 37) The Hives - Tyrannosaurus Hives 36) Jason Molina - Pyramid Electric Co. 35) Pinback - Summer in Abaddon 34) Blood Brothers - Crimes 33) Patrick Wolf - Lycanthropy 32) Bjork - Medulla 31) The Foreign Exchange - Connected 30) AC Newman - The Slow Wonder 29) Mission of Burma - OnOffOn 28) Ratatat - Ratatat 27) Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing in the Hands 26) Dizzee Rascal - Showtime 25) Max Richter - The Blue Notebooks 24) Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse 23) TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes 22) Espers - Espers 21) Apostle of Hustle - Folkloric Feel 20) Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Shake the Sheets 19) Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans 18) Interpol - Antics 17) McLusky - The Difference Between You and Me Is I'm Not On Fire 16) Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand 15) Destroyer - Your Blues 14) The Futureheads - The Futureheads 13) Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose 12) Iron and Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days 11) The Walkmen - Bows and Arrows 10) Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Love Bad News 9) Animal Collective - Sung Tongs 8) The GO! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike 7) Les Savy Fav - Inches 6) Brian Wilson - SMiLE 5) Dungen - Ta Det Lungt 4) The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat 3) Madvillain - Madvillainy 2) Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles 1) The Arcade Fire - Funeral

Seems appropriate to me. Not that I'm fine with 50-year olds and 14-year olds having sex with each other, I'm just less okay with the police getting involved.

Contrary to popular belief, provincial NDP governments, on the whole, have a better record of fiscal conservatism (avoid deficit spending and pay down debt) than any other party. As for NDP promises not working, yeah, that must be why other countries have such better social programs and such smaller debt than us. Boing.

What are you on? First of all, even the idea that people can throw the government out if they don't do well is flawed. Without pro-rep, parties can easily form the government with less than half the votes. A majority of Canadians voted against the Liberals in the past four elections, and they won each time. Only in the most recent election was their power diminished slightly. The mixed-member-proportional system that Germany uses is the system I'd like to see. I'm familiar with the justifications, and I don't think they hold up. A majority government means that one party (and, in Canada especially, usually one man) has near absolute power for the next five years. In a minority situation, they can only pass legislation that is supported by parties elected by a majority of the population. Ergo, more democratic. Minority situations are inherently fairer and more democratic than majorities, and most countries manage just fine with them. Proportional representation systems (pure PR, MMP, STV) are much more common than single-member-plurality systems. Come back when you've read, um, anything about how proportional representation works.

Every decade in music since the 60's has been more or less inferior to the one that preceded it, and this one is proving to be no exception. That said, there's still more than enough great music to go around. If I can make a list of my favourite 50 albums from last year, and love them all, I'm sure you can find at least 10 you'll like.

There's a very simple test to determine whether driving under the influence of marijuana would see an increase if the laws were changed; ask if the Netherlands has seen a noteable increase. Since it hasn't, the argument has no weight.

With good reason, though. The resolutions the US vetoes slam Israel's actions without mentioning a word about Palestinian terrorism. Much as I hate to correct someone with a Stone Roses avatar, the resolutions predate the terrorism. Also, what Ham_Ahoy said.

I'm 22, and my girlfriend, who I live with, is 18. I'm pretty sure she's capable of making such a decision. I think people younger than 16 probably aren't, but that's a matter for parents, not the law.

It means non-government parties do have a voice. Have the NDP, Conservatives, or Bloc tried to "hold the government hostage?" How? The only way this view makes any sense is if you think the government should dominate the legislature as a matter of course, which is stupid. Again, Ireland, New Zealand, Germany, and most other rarely or never see minority governments, and their governments are perfectly stable. That's true, but completely independent of proportional representation - and Germany uses the same system today. It's not "unfair" for the government to only be able to pass legislation that's supported by a majority of voters. It's democratic. Sorry, I like a little more security than just being able to say yea or nay every five years.

Pedophilia doesn't enter into it, it only refers to sexual attraction to pre-pubescent individuals. I think 14 is really fine, given the alternative (if a 16-year old and a 15-year old have sex, the only choices are either it's legal or one of them gets some kind of punishment, which is totally absurd).

I never mentioned Australia at all, in any post, so no idea what you're talking about there. Germany's "mixed" system is actually "mixed member proportional," which is a 100% proportional system. In the lower house. New Zealand's about the same. Ireland uses a different system, but it's still a proportional system that has produced 2 majority governments out of the past 11 elections. Again, PR systems are more common than first-past-the-post systems, which are pretty rare outside of former British colonies. Actually, the majority does agree. That's the beauty of proportional representation - the legislature will only vote yes to proposals that are backed by parties representing the votes of the majority of the population. Issue by issue.

Actually, it's not a "mix" in the sense of being less proportional. The system ensures 100% proportionality. It's called "mixed member proportional" because half the seats are list seats and half are single-member constituency seats like ours, but it's 100% proportional. A party that gets 40% of the votes gets 40% of the seats, and they rarely (in fact, I'm pretty sure it's never) have majority governments, always minorities or coalitions. Do some reading before you shoot off at the mouth. As for all the examples being mixed, the Netherlands uses a "pure PR" system where the entire country is one constituency. Fool.

Just like it does in Germany, New Zealand, Ireland, the Netherlands, and in fact most other democracies. Oh wait. The general argument is that proportional representation creates frequent minority governments, and that in a minority situation, nothing gets done. Too bad there's not a shred of evidence to support this. Many of Canada's most important achievements (such as universal health care) were achieved under Pearson and Trudeau minority governments, and Paul Martin's done more with his minority thus far than Chretien did in ten years with a solid majority.

So the US, France, Germany, Russia, and all the other countries that have rid themselves of monarchy have no culture? Get a clue. Furthermore, the history of the British Empire is really nothing to be proud of being associated with. Yeah, we should know and understand it, but Canada, like most industrialized countries, should be apologizing for its history and looking to build a future. Specifically, a future without institutions that symbolize privilege, autarchy and imperialism. France doesn't have a monarchy because of a revolution, but their culture was always a strong one. But, you missed the point, we come from the British, we are British, we are also Canadian too. Canadians are different than Europe, and the U.S. worked hard by removing everything British to make a unique culture. But, hiding one side or another does little good either. Look at the U.S. system, it's not very progressive, and a government system needs to be progressive. It has to allow democracy to happen, but issues need to be resolved. Sometimes an issue cannot wait too long, and it has to be resolved sooner than later. The idea that the minority has a voice in the U.S. system is wrong too because the minority would either have to have a significant minority in the Congress or Senate there to be heard, or have a majority. However, the minority cannot have any voice beyond denying bills. Look at the Canadian Same Sex Marriage bill the "Liberals" have tried to please both the minority and the majority. For one side they are trying to have the bill pass, and for the other side they added in a portion that declares that religous institutions do not have to perform same sex marriages if they do not want to. If anything, I would say our system works better, because a candidate needs plenty of votes in his riding to be elected anyways. Funny, if I didn't know better I'd say that last part was an indictment of proportional representation. And, what role does the "minority" (not even sure what sense you're using this word in) play in US politics that it doesn't in Canadian politics? Canada is actually one of the least progressive developed nations. Always has been, by virtue of proximity to you-know-who. The health care system we're so proud of was established in most western European countries decades before it was here, and it's much more comprehensive, the welfare state in general is in better shape over there, people aren't as instinctively anti-union, labour and socialist parties regularly form governments, etc. Nearly all of them have proportional representation systems of one kind or another, too.

Michael Moore is not the far left.

So the US, France, Germany, Russia, and all the other countries that have rid themselves of monarchy have no culture? Get a clue. Furthermore, the history of the British Empire is really nothing to be proud of being associated with. Yeah, we should know and understand it, but Canada, like most industrialized countries, should be apologizing for its history and looking to build a future. Specifically, a future without institutions that symbolize privilege, autarchy and imperialism.