All Purpose Politics and News Thread

[Natalka]

^ That's just sick.


I couldn't decide between this thread and LOL thread, but in the end, I put this here...



From Nov, about the farm legislation protests in AB

Now, what's even funnier are the comments/tweets which are on this page - I've been snortinglaughing

I hate to admit it, but #kudatah does have a certain genehsaykwah.

http://globalnews.ca/news/2450876/al..._campaign=2014

[TaraF]

Right now I'm so mad! I wouldn't give a damn if someone blew up Charlie Hebdow in the middle of the night when no one was there!!!

There is being controversial, then there is just being a douche-bag. #‎jenesuispasCharlie‬

[gryphon]

[DaveP]

Twitter campaign to get all France wearing Jewish skullcaps

A call for French Jews to remove their skullcaps to make themselves less vulnerable to attack has provoked a social media campaign calling for more or less the opposite.

Using a hashtag #TousAvecUneKippa (Everyone with a kippah), thousands are calling on French people of all backgrounds to don the traditional Jewish skullcap and post a selfie on social media this Friday in a show of solidarity against anti-Semitic attacks.

[seylz_gurl]

http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada...YcI?li=AAggNb9
Vancouver Police looking for men spotted filming inside Pacific Centre mall

[seylz_gurl]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe...le27973254.ece

Who wants Trudeau’s electoral reform especially those experiencing economic downturn in Alberta and Ontario....jobs and the economy need to be focus first instead of political interests.

[TaraF]

seylz_gurl - who wants electoral reform? I DO! I DO!!!! And I zoned in to this in the article:

"Many Canadians do not think our voting system is a major problem." - Total BS, and a poll conducted by the very paper that printed the article I just read says Canadians do. lol The problem is that most people don't have a clue as to how the voting system actually works, other than having to get off their butts once every 4 years and put an "x" in a box. The reality is that once people are aware of exactly how our Prime Minister and MP's are elected they do not favour the First Past the Post system we have and want proportional representation. Unless they only care about winning over democracy and FPTP will benefit "their guy" most/all the time.

Our system now is based on First Past the Post voting, so whoever is the most popular party in your riding will get elected. For instance, in 2007, during Stephen Harper's landslide Majority win he received only 39% of the all votes cast. However, that translated into 54% of the seats in the House, which meant he received 100% of the power. Had proportional voting been in effect at that time he would have only held a minority Government and the seat distribution would have been significantly different.

For example: Justin Trudeau took last year's election by a landslide, I found these stats to break down for you how the results came out under our current FPTP system and how they would have turned out if it were the proportional representation.

FPTP:

L: 184
C: 99
N: 44
G: 1
B: 10

Under proportional representation:

L: 135
C: 108
N: 68
G: 10
B: 17

This past election would be totally different. The Liberal Party would still be in power, but with a minority Government and not a Majority, the Conservatives would have more seat representation, as would the Bloq and NDP and most importantly, the Green Party would have been allowed to form "official" party status.

Also, the writer is making the argument that with the FPTP system you "know who your Government is," which is in line with people I've talked to over the years that seem to favour FPTP and are of the mindset of not wanting to go to the polls more than once every 4 years. Really? THAT is the benefit to you? I prefer having the votes of ALL Canadians represented at the polls and in the House of Commons. And here's a novel idea: Why don't our politicians act like ADULTS and work together?

[gryphon]

seylz_gurl - who wants electoral reform? I DO! I DO!!!! And I zoned in to this in the article:

"Many Canadians do not think our voting system is a major problem." - Total BS, and a poll conducted by the very paper that printed the article I just read says Canadians do. lol The problem is that most people don't have a clue as to how the voting system actually works, other than having to get off their butts once every 4 years and put an "x" in a box. The reality is that once people are aware of exactly how our Prime Minister and MP's are elected they do not favour the First Past the Post system we have and want proportional representation. Unless they only care about winning over democracy and FPTP will benefit "their guy" most/all the time.

Our system now is based on First Past the Post voting, so whoever is the most popular party in your riding will get elected. For instance, in 2007, during Stephen Harper's landslide Majority win he received only 39% of the all votes cast. However, that translated into 54% of the seats in the House, which meant he received 100% of the power. Had proportional voting been in effect at that time he would have only held a minority Government and the seat distribution would have been significantly different.

For example: Justin Trudeau took last year's election by a landslide, I found these stats to break down for you how the results came out under our current FPTP system and how they would have turned out if it were the proportional representation.

FPTP:

L: 184
C: 99
N: 44
G: 1
B: 10

Under proportional representation:

L: 135
C: 108
N: 68
G: 10
B: 17

This past election would be totally different. The Liberal Party would still be in power, but with a minority Government and not a Majority, the Conservatives would have more seat representation, as would the Bloq and NDP and most importantly, the Green Party would have been allowed to form "official" party status.

Also, the writer is making the argument that with the FPTP system you "know who your Government is," which is in line with people I've talked to over the years that seem to favour FPTP and are of the mindset of not wanting to go to the polls more than once every 4 years. Really? THAT is the benefit to you? I prefer having the votes of ALL Canadians represented at the polls and in the House of Commons. And here's a novel idea: Why don't our politicians act like ADULTS and work together?

Except Trudeau doesnt want Proportional Representation. He wants Ranked Ballots which will ensure repeated liberal majority governments

[gryphon]

http://www.therebel.media/muslim_rap...omes_to_canada

A 33-year-old Muslim migrant to Canada, Walid Mustafa Chalhoub, has been convicted of 24 charges of sexual assault and extortion against ten teenaged girls in Montreal.

[gryphon]

[TaraF]

Except Trudeau doesn't want Proportional Representation. He wants Ranked Ballots which will ensure repeated liberal majority governments

Really? I've never heard him say that or read that. Anywhere. Infact "Trudeau promised he’d introduce electoral reform legislation within 18 months of forming government. The legislation would be based on the recommendations of a special, all-party parliamentary committee mandated to fully and fairly study alternatives to first-past-the-post, including ranked ballots and proportional representation. The committee would also explore the notions of mandatory voting and online voting."

[DaveP]

This is from the article you linked, Tara.

During the Liberal leadership race, Trudeau expressed a personal preference for ranked balloting. But he told The Canadian Press he wants to be “careful about pushing my own views on this” now that they carry greater weight.

So gryphon is correct that ranked balloting is what Trudeau wants. But Trudeau is also saying it won't be his choice alone and that other choices are on the table.

[TaraF]

Thank you for pointing that out Dave. I prefer Proportional Representation myself. I think that ranked and FPTP both are too similar in allowing someone to have too much control when they really don't have the majority of the votes.

This is from the article you linked, Tara.



So gryphon is correct that ranked balloting is what Trudeau wants. But Trudeau is also saying it won't be his choice alone and that other choices are on the table.

[Patty Smyth]

I like online. It's the only way we will get the under 25 crowd to the polls in the future.

[TaraF]

That's fair but I'm worried about hacking. How will it be prevented? If people are able to vote from their own computers and their system is only as secure as whatever antivirus software they may or may not have. It's a scary thought to me.

I like online. It's the only way we will get the under 25 crowd to the polls in the future.