Is there any chance the US system of voting would see a change to proportional representation so that all opinions would have a chance of having their say in government?
(This rant does have some relevance to the topic...)
America went into the war on Iraq with a point of view that it it had to be done.
The fact is that no-one in the US actually cared about international law or factual evidence.
How did a war start like this when so many opposed it...
An impartial news service is a good news service. Don't accept a spin, read/watch multiple sources to get an idea of the true story.
If a reporter is killed, accept that the perpetrator does not wish any reporting and is therefore going outside accepted protocol(I think it's at least 48...
The way to get the representatives in touch is to have a system of proportional representation. No longer do you have one majority of 51% making all the rules.
Instead you have majorities of 40% who have to make concessions to minor parties in order to govern. You'd think the US would've...
It might be better to support Iran and Syria now economically rather than inflicting them with economic sanctions. In the long term, economic support will encourage changes in the voters. Sanctions will only encourage more hardline opposition to the international community.
Iran has...
More international support in Afghanistan would be better than having US troops in the country.
By all reports, US troops are just itching for a chance to "kill a filthy r@ghead".
I support the attack on Afghanistan, although I think the resources put into Iraq could have been far better...
I guess it's possible that the US refuse to accept a deal on international control options.
In that case, what happens if a competing network is created where all countries agreeing to the deal pull their current network support and move it to another system?
It would hurt all businesses...
Marketing and past performance.
No-one wants to take a gamble with a possibly wonky AMD server, when they know what they get with an Intel server.
For sure the AMD server might be better performing but what about reliability and support?
If there are multiple servers in a business...
The article seems a little one sided.
I don't doubt for a minute that US forces are anything but effective in eliminating known opposition.
The question that keeps being asked and overlooked is: what is the actual objective? How do you win a war where you keep making enemies by the very...
New Zealand was based on a "first past the post" system similar to the US until a referendum changed that fairly recently.
There were and still are two major political parties.
The big difference now under a system of proportional representation is that minor parties may actually have a...
There was no real threat from Iraq given the UN accepted assessment by the weapons inspectors, yet still the country was invaded.
How do you determine a rogue state without going through the process accepted by international law?
The belief that the US is all knowing has been proven to be...
The question is "Why does the rest of the world want US interventionist policies to infringe on their way of life?".
Anything imposed by coercion or force by a democracy is bound to fail in the long run. It will create oppostion by the pure fact that it is essentially undemocratic and goes...
There are a few fallicies in your link regarding democracy. There are vastly different types of democratic government possible. Proportional representation is one of the ways of making sure people can have their say.
I guess you could have proportional representation in a republic. It...
Doesn't America have an occasional referendum?
One of the things I like about a democratic system of government is that if a petition is made with a certain number of signatures, a national referendum can be called for everyone to vote on the issue.
A referendum can be called to change...
I think it would be more a case of sanctions and possibly airstrikes if the backing were there. I doubt there is the capability to invade Iran without decimating half the population first.
In the case of any sanctions or military attack, I suspect Iran would see it as an attack and react...
It's unlikely Iran will withdraw from the treaty unless sanctions are imposed. If that becomes the case, who knows what could happen.
Iran have stated a number of times that their nuclear intentions are for power generation and that they're not prepared to be denied the right to develop fuel...
Under the NPT they have every right to develop nuclear power.
Given the inspections they are now subjected to and have agreed to, there is no reason they shouldn't be allowed to continue developing nuclear power.
In WWII, half of germany didn't want the nazi regime in the first place. They were quite happy to capitulate and go back to normal life. They knew their war was a war of aggression and they deserved to pay for it.
In Japan, the code they have meant that what the emperor says must be done...
There is in general at least 2-3 wars going on around the world at any one time. That's hardly any reason to say that there's a world war occurring is it?
The definition of the start of WWII was I think defined as the time the British Commonwealth declared war on Germany. This is when it...
New Zealand has a national system for basic care.
If you're in need of urgent medical attention you can get it. There are a certain number of major surgical operations(such as heart and kidney transplants) each month allowed by public funding as well. This is based on a priority waiting...
There was a story fairly recently of a taxi driver taken prisoner by coalition forces in Afghanistan. He received several beatings and died as a result of his injuries.
There was no suggestion he was linked to the insurgency or Al Qaeda.
Those held responsible for the murder were sentenced...
At a certain point it becomes less expensive to use biofuels than fossil fuels. Maybe more research should be put into high oil yield GE crops. European countries already use a certain percentage of biodiesel.
Obviously diesel is used for a lot of shipping and a large percentage could be...
Nice idea but it might be a little late for that.
IMHO there's at least a generation of fresh recruits to Bin Laden's cause thanks to inept western policies.
Special forces are often sent into areas to scout and destroy enemy infrastructure. What that infrastructure is would be unlikely to be revealed unless a regular army operation was necessary.
If it was SAS, the Iraqis who stopped them were probably lucky to get away with their lives...
You have to define who your enemy is before you can fight them.
By my reckoning there are at least three sources of insurgency in Iraq(this is only my opinion based on reports I've read).
1. The ousted government of Iraq and it's supporters including ex-Iraq army members. This group's...
You'd think given the recent US refusal to implement the Kyoto protocol, there might be a rethink happening... rather than trying to lay blame on people building flood defenses or evacuating people in the aftermath of extreme weather.
Obviously the issue of global climate change is an inexact...
Makes sense that those opposing the US would target infrastructure. If they wanted to cause maximum human casualties, they could have hit the World trade centre at 3PM, instead of when it was relatively unoccupied.
Look at the investment the US government has put into anti-terrorist...
I really feel sorry for Colin Powell. He could have been so great given the right circumstances.
Watching him during his speech to the UN before the Iraq invasion, you could see that he didn't believe what he was saying.
In my opinion, he was a great statesman who believed in doing the...
Recent reports have shown that the warmer it gets, the more CO2 is released by plants.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4269066.stm
The Kyoto protocol may be to late to slow the effects of global warming.
Kyoto counts on the effects of vegetation being able to remove carbon...
Personally, I'm all for some type of military training. For civil defense and defense of a country it's a good idea to have part timers who are able to fill a role at a moment's notice.
What I'm against is sending part time soldiers into combat zones overseas where they don't even know the...
It's not a question of one or the other. The question is whether you want to blame a government that tends towards one point of view or the other.
You can't have it both ways. If you're blaming socialist ideas for problems, you can't go saying that the other point of view is wrong as well.
You have said before that social welfare is the cause of problems in New Orleans. What exactly is your point of view?
Do you support the idea of capitalism, low taxes and low federal intervention? Survival of the fittest, Social Darwinism?
Do you support the idea of socialism, higher...
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