^^
i don't trust the man baaah!

lmao.
the healthcare thing is a big old mess.
its a great idea but how the hell is obama going to make it work when everything else is such a damn mess?
i don't know.
this isn't a subject i'm good with discussing so i'm just going to shut the eff up.

@_@

red,
how is my sanctuary coming along? <3

@Mau-
I think we have differing perceptions of politicians to say the least. In saying that, I find myself critical of certain actions they perform at various times. Although like you, I would not profess to have a great deal of knowledge about what is going on. I do not however agree this means you should not discuss such issues. After all as Plato asserted
It is just awaiting your entry so I can spring the trap. :)

Edit:
@BoytToy-
New Zealand has what is called a Mixed Member Proportional electoral system. In a nut shell this means that come election day we have two votes to give. One is for our electorate, where we vote for the politician we wish to represent our area. The second vote is for our preferred political party. The party vote is the more important vote as it determines how many seats in parliament the party gets. There are roughly 120 seats in parliament, so if a political party gets 10% of the party votes you can expect them to get 12 seats. Whichever party enjoys confidence of the house is able to form the government. For this they simply need 50% of the seats +1 supporting them. So in a parliament of 120 seats, this means they need support from 61 seats.

At the moment we have seven political parties in parliament (ACT, Greens, Labour, The Maori party, National, Progressive, and United Future). Of these parties, National is in governing through the support of ACT, The Maori party and United Future.

We will however be having a referendum in 2011 to determine if we will keep our current electoral system or change to another. Now while the system New Zealand operates on clearly has its flaws, it is a system I am by and large impressed with. I would like to give it some modifications (such as an alteration to how electorate votes are run). Oh and slightly related, New Zealand was ranked last year as being the country with the lowest level of corruption in government!

d'aww i don't want to go into a trap.. i want a sanctuaryyyy!!!
why do you want to catch me anyway? o3o

touche plato. i really like that quote! <3

i just feel that we're not given all the information.
you know what i mean?
i have this feeling deep in my gut that something is going on that we are unaware of.
and it's not right.

RED!! Don't you mean the extreme pleasure machine!? Trap. Silly idea.


I have fallen behind a little bit on my politics, but I try to keep some kind of watch on what's going on.

I feel kind of the same way about the government, I feel like there are a lot of things that they just don't tell you that really we should know.

i also feel that in this age of technology, there should be A LOT more voting going on.
as far as major decisions are concerned they at least should be made BY the people instead of the congress and house.
eff them.
this is where the age of technology comes into play...
maybe make a safe server where citizens can vote on these ideas online.
>.>

and i know.. i've been told many times before that it's impossible to vote on these sorts of things.. but it would be nice.


lol, boytoy.
frisky little thang! <3

@Red - Yeah that is a pretty cool system. I mean, every system has their flaws, but that one seems kind of unique.
Ha. That's amazing that you have the least amount of government corruption there. It kind of makes me want to move there. lol. I mean, I'd love to go there anyway, because I'm sure it's beautiful.

So, this is unrelated, but, what kind of crazy critters do you have that are unique to NZ?

@Mau - Yeah, there should be more voting going on. There was talk of online voting before, but I don't know whatever became of it. I guess maybe they couldn't figure out a way to implement it.

congratulations on the least corrupt government, red!!! ^^
yet another reason i too want to move there!
lol.


i did not hear they were going to try to implement online voting. would be useful i think.
and yes pleaase get away from political discussion. it gives me a headache! <3

@BoyToy-
I would not feel too bad about falling behind. It is certainly easy enough to do. Oh and you are totally right, it is a pleasure machine. NOT a trap.

Edit:
Absolutely agreed on the notion all systems have their flaws. A bonus in New Zealand is we are having our second referendum in such a short time. The last time we held a referendum on our electoral system was just in 1993 (when we changed from FPP to MMP). There are various creatures which are unique to New Zealand. I am quite slack here, which is somewhat shocking. A few which come to mind include the Kiwi (of course) our national bird and icon for New Zealand, the Kea, Kakapo, Tutatara. Actually this site might be more useful as if I try to sit here and remember as many as I can a lot of time will pass T_T.
@Mau-
In New Zealand, the public is able to play a role in the policy process. While there are certain exceptions, these are the exception not the rule. How this works is during the select committee stage the public are able to make submissions for the select committee to consider. These submissions can either be written or oral. Not only that, but the public is also able to attend the select committees (again most) as an observer should they so desire.

Edit: As for the information being given, I am somewhat at mixed feelings. On the one hand it does shock me that the select committee process which happens in New Zealand does not also happen in U.S.A. As I see this as an extremely crucial part of our democratic system. The whole given the public a means to have their voice heard and all that. However your education system itself, is vastly more impressive when it comes to political knowledge. Civic duty classes are really something I would *love* to see introduced to New Zealand. It is all good and dandy to have the process for citizens to have a say in place, but what does this mean if you have not given them sufficient knowledge to use said systems? Quite simply it becomes a farce, and one which infuriates me at that!! Okay I will try and cut my rant off here. Haha sorry for all concerned.

Haha yeah, while I do not entirely agree with Plato I do quite like that quote.

Edit (3? 4? 5? I've lost count T_T)-
Feel free to get into a discussion on our native animals or any other topic if you so desire. The Kea for instance is an incredibly intelligent bird! For instance there was recently a news story on a Kea conservation reserve? (not entirely sure what you would call it). But anyway they pointed out the specific doors they needed to use, otherwise the Kea would learn how to open the door and free itself O.o;

*squeeeeals*
and then
*runs blindly into trap*

red, that is interesting but still someone higher up is getting the overall say so in what is being passed and what isn't. why can't it be solely decided by the people? that's what i don't understand.


i'm off for the night.
good night everyone! <3

@Mau-
If only I knew how to type the music for Zelda which plays when you get an item. T_T As it would have been totally fitting to have that music play followed by "It looks like Red found a Mau" :o

As for the process which occurs, you are correct that once they have had their say it is the select committee who determines what will and won't be taken from this. However in saying that, I personally support this approach. I simply wish citizens would be given a better understanding of how it operates. Sweet dreams Mau, thanks again for the donation!

Sorry guys, my friend stole my computer for a while. lol.
I'm about to go look at that website. I love learning about wildlife in different countries.

Regarding the political system here, we do have somewhat of a similar process.
I'm a little rusty on my civics, but, I think each state gets two Senators; and then depending on the state's population they get 'X' amount of seats in the House of Representatives.
California of course has the most seats.

EDIT - For one party to have 'control' of the house and senate would mean that they had 51 Senate seats, and half +1 of the house seats. The two main parties in the US are the Republican (conservative) and Democrat (liberal). The third most popular would probably be our Green party, but they've *never* managed to make it in any major political office as far as I know.

I used to fancy myself a Libertarian, which believe in very minimal government intervention. But, when it comes down to it I vote for a democrat or republican rather than any other minor party, because I fear that I would feel like I wasted my vote or something, you know?

For the general election, each state is given a certain amount of 'electoral votes' (I think it's based on the amount of representatives that the state has, but I've never been clear on the electoral system). Sometimes the amount of actual votes for one candidate will seem to have won when really they haven't won at all. I don't know if that makes sense to you, but I know that it slightly confuses me. (By slightly I mean greatly. :rofl: )

EDIT Again - And I can understand your passion about needing some kind of education system in place so that the public is informed about the system and can be able to make wise decisions.

I've always been kind of into politics. My mom wasn't in any major office, but she was the treasurer of the the little township that I grew up in (Comstock Township, MI) for quite some time (as long as I can remember, and until I was like 17 {I'm 22 right now}), and now she works for Kalamazoo County as an 'Election Specialist'.

I'll probably be here for a little while longer.

Sorry I missed you Mau. Goodnight and I <3 U!!



EDIT - I'm lookin' at the animals right now. I've only made it to the birds, but...
And he shall be my squishy...!
http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/34803/...nguin2-223.jpg


What-oh-
There's about to be somethin' goin' down! Gotta go. lol.

Edit times infinity, and then I'm goin' to sleep. -

Well, nothin' really went down like I had thought. We just had to go pick up my friend's drunk aunt. :rofl:

Well, I found something that I have to save up for; The Cherry Faerie Wings. They're magnificent.
Okay, I know I've said how much I love it here already, but I'm officially here to stay.

That's quite okay, although I have gone to and returned from work in that time. Haha so it was hardly going to bother me. Indeed I am quite pleased there is only one message here upon my return. A very nice message at that :) I hope you enjoyed looking at that site. I luvies the Kea <3


This would be what I consider one of the key differences between our two electoral systems. Because of the proportional nature of the party vote, it still makes sense to vote for the smaller parties. As while it is possible for a party to get enough votes to form a government on their own, this has never happened before. Thus they are dependent on negotiations with at least one minor party. Although even if they had the numbers, it would only be a short term win if they did not negotiate. This is why despite already having the numbers, the National party reached out to the Maori party. Thus starting what they hope to be a good relationship which will survive into the future.

As for U.S.A, it does sadden me to see you people in such an extremist political situation. I am of the view that only having two political parties with a serious chance at getting into power is highly detrimental to the principles of democracy.

Well aside from why you would fancy yourself as a libertarian, that makes sense. I kid, I kid. But in such a political system I can certainly understand. I suspect this also explains the horrid turn out in U.S.A, whereas in New Zealand if the turn out for an election is between 75-85% they talk about it as being a really low turn out. It helps a lot when you feel that your vote really counts for something!
Are we talking total national votes, or State votes? Now be aware I am not familiar with the details of how the electoral college works in U.S.A, so rather I will address this point from an FPP (First Past the Post) perspective. If you are talking on a national level, such as the Gore vs Bush results, it is entirely possible for someone to win under FPP while having less votes. Indeed this was a problem which New Zealand faced, and added to the combination which ultimately saw us ditching FPP. As you have identified an FPP system has the electorate function of the MMP system. That is, the country is geographically separated into various electorates with each one having a set amount of representatives. Now the problem with this system comes in the form that each electorate is independent of the other. So one party could enjoy more votes than they other, but if they are spread out too much this counts for little. For a highly simplified example, let us consider there are four electorates (A, B, C, and D), in each electorate there are 25 people. Each of these electorates are also represented by one representative who is either from party 1 or party 2. Now let us suppose the outcome is as follows
1 2
A 14 11
B 15 10
C 13 12
D 04 21

Now under these results, party 1 has 3 representatives despite having a total of 46 votes vs the 54 votes of party 2. As I mentioned this happened several times in New Zealand. Now I am not sure how patronizing this will come off as. If you consider this a case of me explaining something very simple, then I truly apologize. It was not intended to be either patronizing nor offensive. But I would also ask that you understand my situation too, as I have mentioned I have difficulty in communicating. A fair part of this comes from my inability to balance the am I being too patronizing vs are my expectations of assumed knowledge too high balance.

Definitely! Two fields I believe are very crucial for a decent high school education are politics and sociocultural anthropology. Both provide you with crucial tools to better understand the world you will be 'entering'.
Then in all honesty my mini introduction to the FPP was probably quite patronizing for you. As for why I won't delete it... I spent so long typing it out *cries*. But that is really nice to hear about your mother. It must be really interesting having a parent in such a position. You should so totally take advantage of the information she can provide. Especially her thoughts on the electoral system. :D You have also been into politics for much longer than myself XD


Haha yeah, we have some truly amazing animals in New Zealand. I have oddly never been so interested in our penguins.
Glad to hear things did not turn out as bad as you expected them to. Hehe was she entertaining?

Good good, I will probably stick around too. Not sure how much longer I will talk about politics. Haha as it took me a fricken long time to make this post. Politics does not tend to be a topic which gives itself to quick exchanges. O.o

Thanks for the comments yesterday, guy and gals! Sorry, something happened and I ended up getting off the computer really fast so I didn't get a chance to respond then. I hope you all had a good night and are having a good day thus far!

Haha well I can't complain, as I suspect I left without notice before you did. Not that I would have complained anyway XD
Having a good day?

lol! I'm alright i guess. My back hurts really bad for some weird reason and I have a crying baby so I need to go get her out of her crib. I'll probably be back on later though, bye!!

Sorry to hear about the sore back, I probably won't be on for much longer (it is 2:30am here). Good luck with bubs though. :)

~Bounces in and looks around tapping the glass~ Hello Nekkid people?

*stretches and finds a comfy spot in thready*

good morning people!!

boytoy and red,
looks like you two had stimulating conversation last night!
i enjoyed reading the conversation but i'm afraid my head exploded! ^^

lady lunarius,
hi hi~!
i do hope you come back! lol.
i was sleeping when you bounced in! <3

i'm waiting for my man friend to wake up as i am anxious to get outside and walk around today!
i want to take pictuuuures so bad..

how is everyone doing todaY?

@@red - lol. Yeah, the Kea is pretty cool. That it's ranked as one of the most intelligent birds in the world is pretty impressive.
I was also really impressed with the story about the Black Robins, how there was only five birds/one breeding pair left and now there are over 200 birds. That's quite an accomplishment.

I feel the same way about our Political system. I feel that when there are only two parties who get any attention, we're most always stuck deciding between the lesser of two evils; And of course, the lesser of two evils is still evil.

I can't believe that you guys have such high voter turnout. If we were to get even 75% of voters to the polls it would be some kind of a miracle. Usually we've got less than 60% turnout. D=
I'm one of those people who pushes people to get involved. lol. I get really bothered when someone that I know isn't even registered to vote, and insists on complaining about the administration. To me, if you didn't vote you don't really have the right to an opinion. That's just me though. lol

To say the least I am intrigued by the democratic systems in place there in NZ.

*vomits at the thought of the 2000 presidential election*
lol. Yeah, that's exactly the type of situation that I'm referring to.
Typically, the electors from each state will vote for the candidate that received the popular vote, but they don't always, and they certainly don't have to.
Also, while presidential elections are always held in November, the electors don't vote until some time in December, and the president isn't sworn in until January of the following year.

I kind of lost where I was going with that... *scratches head*

lol. And don't worry, I didn't take it as patronizing or offensive at all, and really, I appreciate the simplified version you provided. Gives it a different perspective.

:P Yeah, it was very interesting growing up with politics, and I have actually learned quite a bit from my mother.
I'm sure that there's a lot she could teach me on the subject though, still.

I have actually worked at several elections, typically counting absent voter ballots. I've learned a lot from doing that too, regarding election laws and protocol.
It might sound lame, but I've always had a blast working the elections.
There is a group (the number of persons in the group varies depending on the amount of ballots returned, but there at least has to always be one Republican and one Democrat present during the counting process.
lol. Usually it's me and a bunch of older ladies.

*tries to rub brain* Yeah, that's a whole lot of political talk...My brain hurts. :rofl:


lol. My friend's aunt is pretty entertaining when she's sober, and she was effin' hilarious last night.

P.S. I'm sorry that I didn't provide quotes, but I tried to summarize what I was talking about.




@Stern - Aww. Sorry to hear about your back. Maybe you just slept on it wrong?

@Lady - Heyyy....! Can't you read?! There's clearly a sign that says, "Please do not tap glass. It frightens the nudie people."
*crouches in corner and rocks back and forth*
:rofl: Just kidding, how's it going?

@Mau -lol. Yeah we did. Don't worry, my brain exploded too. lmao.
How goes it this mornin'?
P.S. It's not even noon yet and it's already 59 degrees outside today!
I'm excited. And, and, and, and...! It's s'posed to be in the 80s by the end of the week, and not the 70s like I had originally thought. :D :D
Sorry, I'm excited.


So, an acquaintance of mine says that his elder neighbor is looking for a laptop, and they want to sell him mine. (the one I'm on right now)
I only paid $150 for it, and I guess this guy is willing to pay $300 for it.
It doesn't have Windows on it though, and I don't know if he knows that. I don't really know if he'd care. I mean, I have Debian GNU/Linux on this and it works like a champ, and the user interface is definitely easy enough.
((Quite frankly, even though most if not all distros of Linux are free, this computer has far more value to me with Linux than it did with Windows on it))

So, my question is, would it be wrong to double my money from this computer??

its goes really well! hehehe! :glomp:
trying to make a banner for the photography thread! :D
hope it doesn't die right off the bat.
what should i call it?
i'm thinking it's going to be called the dark room! ^^

oooh i don't know what the temperature is going to be yet.. but i really hope the eighties hold off for as long as they can! :D
i hate heat soo much!

haha.
it is NOT wrong to take more money if they offer it! <3
do it and buy some CIs! lol.
what will you be using after you sell your laptop though? @_@

*clings to you*
don't leeeeeave meeh!

Well I hope that it doesn't die early either!
I think that The Dark Room is a pretty cool name for it too. :D

Well, my friend has my old netbook, and a desktop (though the desktop is older than dirt with a 500-some-odd megahertz processor. :rofl: Megahurtz.
I think it's funny that it's so huge yet so slow while the little netbook is tiny and has TWO 1.6 Gigahertz processors.
Oh technology. :P

Anyway, if I do sell this one I'd be able to use one of those periodically, but I probably wouldn't be able to be on all day like I am now, until I got a new computer. (I already have one picked out on eBay)

lol. When i Get paid I think that I will buy some CIs. Too bad the March ones will be gone by then. :(
P.S. When I spend actual money on a site it pretty much ensures that I'll be there until they make me leave.
I've spent a lot of money on Gaia, and will probably still go there periodically, but this is my new home. :D

awww. cute megahurtz. <3

i love the new lappy toppy i have.
*pets her little pixie*

i've had such bad luck with the used shit i've had so i went and bought myself a new one! ^^
intel core i3 processor
500 gb hdd
4gb memory
17.3" screen! @_@

and she's clean as a whistle.
the only programs i have on her, other than the stuff i need for school, are winamp, photoshop, and gimp.
and i'm uninstalling gimp because i miss and love photoshop. gimp is a pain in the ass.
i need to find someone that has a more recent version of photoshop to send me because i only have the trial right now and i don't want it to expire... lol. *is cheap*
do you know anyone?

i have a march CI set i'm willing to hold onto for you if you want to trade.. though i may want goldies for it since i'm still buying
a lot of the older CI sets!

http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs47/f/20...mario_1995.gif

i'm sooo glad this is your new home..
i've spent quite a lot of money on gaia as well.
but it's not worth it to me anymore.
they over price things.
and then you can't really find anyone to talk to there anyhow.


boytoy... you should get the balloon from hell item in the toy box shop.. it would go well with your avi! <3

~mau5ie~ Hey you, how are you?

I started reading the convo but my head spun XD

hey lady!!!

what~the conversation about computers or the conversation about politics?
lol! politics always either offends me or gives me a headache!@_@

i am doing really well.. waiting for my lazy hubby to wake up so i can go and enjoy the lovely afternoon!
how are you!?

oh by the way guys, they have a pre easter thread started right here, so get your booties on the first page! ^^

@Lady - lol. Yeah, this thread was hoppin. :P
I like your outfit, btw.

@Everyone - My quote of the day comes from this lady that's over here right now, her name is Linda. She said, "You don't have to pick just one, you could be like Jesus and love 'em all". :rofl: