Category: Politics

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On Voting

I recently attended a forum for local candidates in the provincial election that is taking place tomorrow. I felt a little overwhelmed by my lack of knowledge of current events in the province and also by my confusion over what should make a candidate deserving of my vote.

Provincial Candidates for Lethbridge East and West

I have decided not to be apathetic though; I’ve decided to vote for Tom Moffatt of the NDP. I haven’t jumped to this conclusion lightly. Among other reasons, I’m voting for him because the NDP is a party that DOES NOT TAKE corporate donations—EVER. It’s a party for the people, one that has proven it can be trusted.

The other thing I wanted to bring up, is voter apathy. It’s become a big problem here, as in many western countries. My friend Andy wrote an article on the subject, Voting: part of a healthy democratic diet, that has been published in this weeks issue of The Meliorist (the student run paper at the University of Lethbridge). Seriously go read the article, it’s short and it very nicely sums up why people don’t vote, and why it’s important to take part in the selection of our government.

He states that one of the biggest causes of voter apathy is the lack of proportional representation. According to Andy’s article, I can see why the current party (the Progressive Conservatives) have nothing to gain and everything to lose from proportional representation.

The differences based on the last elections results would be as follows:

  • PC – would have 39 seats instead of 61
  • Liberals – would have 24 seats instead of 17
  • NDP – would have 8 seats instead of 4
  • Wildrose Alliance – would have 7 seats instead of 1
  • Green – would have 2 seats instead of 0
  • Social Credit – would have 1 seat instead of 0

Albertans are ready for a new government and if we had a more democratic way of getting the people we want into power, more voters would vote with their hearts and we’d see an even bigger shift away from the PC party.

Here’s hoping more people will vote for the party they believe in, despite a lack of proportional government, in the hope of moving our leadership in the direction the people want.

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Not Voting for PC

There are a myriad of reasons to NOT vote for the Progressive Conservative party in the upcoming provincial election but this one in particular makes me chuckle:

PC election sign placed without permission

Remember that on March 3rd, Alberta needs a new government.

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Control Room

Control Room is a documentary on the perception of the United States’ war with Iraq, with an emphasis on Al Jazeera’s coverage. It makes it clear that the endeavor for unbiased reporting is a difficult, almost impossible task.

Control Room running time is 1 hours and 26 minutes. Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

[Control Room – YouTube]

(via)

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Berkeley vs. the Marines

Did the city of Berkeley, California, tell the US Marines that their recruiting office was not welcome there? Yes, they did.

BERKELEY, Calif. Local officials in this liberal city say it’s time for the U.S. Marines to move out.

The City Council has voted to tell the Marines their downtown recruiting station is not welcome and “if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome guests.”

The measure passed this week by a vote of 8-1.

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Obama for President

This electrifying speech by Oprah Winfrey solidifies my belief that nothing could be better for the United States and possibly the entire world, than Barack Obama as President.


[LA Rally: Oprah Winfrey – YouTube]

Here are a few stats from urbanfervor:

Obama has received, on average, 51.2% of the votes in each of the states to have held primaries through Super Tuesday yesterday. Clinton has, on average, taken 42.3% per state. Obama has won 70% or more of the vote in three states, Clinton has won 70% of the vote in none.

Obama has won 60% or more in 8 states. Clinton has won 60% or more of the vote in only Arkansas, where she was once First Lady of the state and a successful corporate attorney.

Obama won 80% of the vote in one state, Idaho. Clinton has not won more than 69% in any state.

Obama has won 10 states by at least 15 percentage points over Clinton. Clinton has won only five states by such margin, including Arkansas again, New York, where she currently serves as the Junior Senator, and Florida, which was uncontested and is virtually worthless delegate-wise.

In the states Obama has won, he has won by, on average, 25.5 points. In the states Clinton has won, her average margin of victory is 15.09 points.

Obama hasn’t just won more states by big margins, he’s won the most tight battles. In elections decided by five or fewer points, Obama has won 3, Clinton only 1.

A couple months ago everyone was penciling Clinton in as the nominee. Probably time to rethink that. I think a lot more people out there are a lot more excited about Obama than are for Clinton. The more we see him and get to know him, the more we like him. As the primaries continue on, with the money he has raised and the enthusiasm he has generated, I can’t see him not winning the nomination.

I hope he’s right. I’m tired of not loving the United States—the world is watching and hoping for change.

Here’s Obama himself, answering some questions at Google headquarters.

[Barack Obama: Q and A from Google employees II – YouTube]

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The Kurds of Northern Iraq

During a seven-week stay in 2005 in Iraq, photojournalist Ed Kashi captured thousands of images that were used in this interesting flip-book style animation, “Iraqi Kurdistan“.

Iraqi Kurdistan is an expansive look into the daily lives of the Kurdish people of northern Iraq. These images provide an alternative perspective on a changing culture, one different from the destruction and discord that dominates so much media coverage of the region.

Here are policemen seated on the floor, eating lunch and laughing, old men taking care of their fields and young girls celebrating at a suburban birthday party.

There is also hardship and tribulation, to be sure; the Iraqi Kurds endured generations of brutality under Saddam Hussein. His genocidal campaigns cost close to 200,000 lives. But as Iraqi Kurdistan documents, the region is mostly peaceful today. The people enjoy more autonomy and women’s rights continue to grow stronger.

Very compelling on a social studies level, but also I also found the images themselves to be fantastic—they are not only beautiful but also capable of stirring a variety of emotions.

I had a hunch he was using a Canon 5D and though I’m still not 100% sure, I saw the Canon logo in one of the photos with a mirror in it. I would love to get myself one of those.

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Legalizing Torture?

Seriously, there is something wrong with the United States. They are considering legalizing TORTURE! See this Metafilter post and its many links.

This has me blown away. So here’s your chance (yes you) to tell me (and everyone else), what you think about the USA trying to legalize torture.

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