The Anything Thread

Even the cookie monster

 

Ofcourse they are responsible for everyone. But I think all parties have the same basic ideas, they just have different views on how they want to achieve this.
Me and a coworker both had the exact same opinions on different subjects, yet we ultimatley voted for parties on the opposite side of the spectrum because of how these parties wanted to implement their ideas. Meaning that if you don't vote you do not express your opinion on how you want things done. How are they going to know what you think about certain issues if you don't vote?

I do not think not voting equals an empty ballot. By voting blanc you send out the message that you don't agree with any of the parties enough to vote for them, not to mention the quota (kiesdeler) goes up. By not voting you send out a message that you could care less on who gets elected.
I do have to say I do not think voting should be compulsory, if people such as you do not want or agree to vote they should have the right to not vote. I just think it is important

 

Governments don't rely only on voting to decide on what policies to implement. If that was the case there would be more frequent referendums.

I didn't say that. I said they were equally valid.

No, by using an empty ballot you are saying that you do not want any of the parties to be elected. By not voting you are saying that the political system is flawed/doesn't work/etc. I know there are some people that don't vote because they don't care but most people that don't vote have other perfectly valid reasons for not voting.

I think voting is important (all the more so because I am not allowed to vote in the country where I live) but I simply do not agree that people that don't vote don't care and should not have the right to complain. The right to protest (and complain) is an absolute right and is not connected in any way to somebody's voting history (or lack of a voting history). We have to recognise that electoral systems are by their very nature limited and as such they simply don't accomodate everybody.

Tell him/her to stop voting for Wilders

 

Secret link for Gerda

 

Didn't you tell Brenda to sell tickets to her wedding to?

 

:laughing: LOL, I'm not selling tickets to my wedding but definitely a new way to look at a wedding (economical? - somehow that and wedding IMO will never be able to mix, because you want to treat your friends and family on your wedding, I'd rather go without silly flowers or the artificial stuff and have more friends at my wedding)

I don't have much to say about the politics - at this stage our politics are driving me crazy so I don't like the topic anymore I've voted ever since I could, but somehow it still doesn't feel like such a big contribution, sometimes when I'm so frustrated with the ridiculous stuff that happens here I wish I could do more than just make a vote

 

That is a big possibility, though I can't recall the article.

 

I agree to that, mostly, but I do feel people that don't care and just don't vote because it is too much of an effort and will rather use the day off to do something fun should not complain (the extreme person that doesn't even really know what is going on in the country), because if they can't care less to make a vote, why do they care about what happens? people that don't vote out of principle or for good reason (like an empty ballot) can complain because at least they thought about the situation and have good reasons for not voting

 

We did but I hadn't read an article about it I still think it is a good idea.

Why not?

I have never felt "treated" (that doesn't sound right) at a wedding and wouldn't expect it either. Then again, maybe I'm just strange

 

A lot of countries don't give you the day off to vote, they either hold elections on a Saturday or Sunday (when most people aren't working) or they just do it on a weekday and let people vote until later at night so they don't get a day off.

 

Codie, what are you doing looking at Gerda's secret link? To answer your question though, we told Brenda to sell alcohol at her wedding (among various other strategies). To be honest, it never occured to me that people would actually pay to go to a wedding. You would have to pay me to go to a wedding.

You could sell food and drink though! It is a captive market - just like an airport!

Most people don't get the day off to vote (in a lot of countries the elections are held on the weekend, for others they are held on a normal working day). The problem with making blanket statements like saying that people that don't care/don't vote shouldn't be able to complain (in addition to the fact that complaining/protesting is an absolute human right) is that you then put people in the position of having to judge what is a "reasonable" reason for not voting. Countries with compulsory voting already try to do this and it does not work very well (it is very subjective). Whether people like it or not, voting is not the only way for people to participate in the democratic process. You could just as easily argue that people that don't protest outside parliament when they disagree with a law that is being debated don't have a right to complain when that law is passed. I don't see voting as any more important than all other forms of democratic participation.

 

It is like when someone tells you NOT to look and you have to look because they told you not to I guess you wont be going to many weddings then

 

If somebody else pays for my aeroplane ticket I am more than happy to spend a few hours at a wedding (albeit with ear plugs in my ears ).

 

How polite of you

 

I know! My earplugs even match my suit (well maybe not ).

 

You need to learn to control yourself I would never look at something when I am told not to look at it...

Personally, I think my presence is well worth paying for. You don't agree?

 

:laughing: :laughing: oh boy. How classy.

 

Agreed, you shouldn't make it a law, absolutely not because as you said there is no way to estimate what was a good 'reason' not to vote or to vote. I'm just saying if an irritating person I know (yip I'm thinking of someone specific) keeps complaining for complainings sake and doesn't really care (they didn't vote and don't show interest in general political/social/economical subjects etc) I don't want to listen to it - if they want to go out and protest by all means they can and have the right to, just not to me - people should always have a say regardless of their voting status because if you start limiting that by law it will always be misused, but it doesn't mean I have to listen to the constant complains or that I can't feel they don't even really care so why complain - don't know if I'm making any sense? as you might have noticed I'm not in a very logical debate mood regarding having a voting day off - I know that is not the norm, I was just stating what the experience was here

LOL, not even you will believe this statement

 

It looks better than when we stuff our ears with bits of cotton (which is our alternative when we can't find our ear plugs).

 

Clearly you're underestimating my influence on cutting-edge fashion. Soon, everybody will be going to parties with earplugs of a contrasting colour to their suits.

 

:laughing: You are too curious to wear earplugs, how will you mock the wedding procedings if you can't hear what is happening

 

The earplugs we use are designed for musicians (we bought them so we wouldn't go deaf when we play the bagpipes ) so they only reduce the decibel level. It actually makes it much easier to hear what people are saying because it cuts out a lot of the background noise without stopping us from hearing what people are saying.

 

I found a picture. They look like this.

 

Well you have a right to not listen to them complaining but that is completely different from saying they don't have the right to complain. Saying that people don't have the right to complain is what I object to. It doesn't matter if it is a law or not, the mere suggestion that people do/should not have the right to complain because of "x" (whatever x may be) is stepping into dangerous territory. Protesting/complaining is an absolute, irrevocable and unnegotiable human right and any attempts (legal or otherwise) at restricting that right should be strongly denounced.

I like to pretend I believe it though

 

With this I will agree completely

ETA especially now with the media banns they want to implement here (I know completely different subject) but I feel the same way about freedom of speech, if you start restricting that it also becomes very dangerous territory (as Mugabe demonstrated in Zimbabwe )

Seems like the work internet is blocking this site so I can't see it. Those earplugs would have been useful with the soccer, then I could still have heard the conversations and not the vuvuzela's

 

:laughing: :laughing:


ETA : They are aimed at the boys, a wedding is beautiful. Not something to but earplugs in for

 

They block Wikipedia? How do you get any work done? I've attached it to this post for you.

 

They block wikipedia? Torture!

 

LOL, it's flesh coloured as well so you can camouflage it well - fashion forward

I tried opening wikipedia seperately now, don't know why they would block it?? maybe it's just a connection problem today - though I'm sure I've been on there before (at work) :unknw:

 

This is directed at the girl that posted this quote. You clearly haven't been to the weddings we have or you have but are already deaf. You can't reverse hearing damage. Damage done by loud noises (yes, at weddings) is permanent. I know most people don't care but I don't plan on going deaf.

 

That is what I said! See Codie, Gerda agrees with me

 

So the only reason is because of the loud noises? if so then that is ok then.

 

What else did you think they were for? If I am at a wedding all my other attempts at getting out of it have clearly failed The only things that can help me at that point are ear plugs and a sickness bag for when I do this: :bad:

 

Not about putting earplugs in on weddings but about making sensible ear plug choices (for the bagpipes)

anyways, weddings that play there music so loud you can't hear each other speak is silly - you are going to a wedding not a disco/rave/dance

 

As the noise (I hesitate to call it music ) at parties (including wedding parties) is generally louder than bagpipes, if I'm going to use them when playing the bagpipes it makes perfect sense to use them at parties as well. Unfortunately they don't do much for that annoying base.