The Republic of Heaven

Surley I can't be the only one intrested in how our lives are run?

Anyways, the council elections are just gone with the Cons making a big gain (Bugger) and Mr Praisley and Mr McGuiness are shaking hands in Stormont, will it last? Is the the Cons apex of popularity? Whens Blair going to go and will Gordon make a good Pm?

All that and more on the...Poltics Thread.

Will the SNP pull it off as a minority government?

past few days in Northern Ireland government.... how much life was wasted just for this?

how many people died just so that two twats could get along? I dont see this lasting, im being pesimistic but forgive me i have experenced alot first hand at what the divide has done. There are poeple still afraid to go out of their homes, children being caught up on weekend riots. The same thing happened in 1973 didn't last then so do you honestly think it will last now?
also - do you really think people will treat eachother different over here now? i highly doubt it. I'm still in a high risk of getting the ~*pineapples*~ kicked out of me just walking across the road just because i'm a Catholic. My grandparents house constantly under attack. Endless friends being beat up because of their religion. I hope it lasts and helps things improve, i hope to god it does, but like i said to much hurt has been caused already, this doesn't compensate for it in my eyes.

*is getting annoyed about what people went through for this*

im not bitter at all *shifty*

Yes, when I saw Paisley, McGuinness and co shaking hands on tv last night, I couldn't help thinking that you could almost see the daggers they wished they could stick into each other's backs.

There have been so many false dawns in the whole Northern Ireland peace process thing, that I am cynical that anything will ever change.

When I turned 18 I was really pleased that I could vote. I was so excited to vote for the first time, running the gauntlet of political campaigners outside the polling booth, waving leaflets at me, saying 'no thank you' to the Liberal Party campaigners and 'yes' to the Greens and Labor ones. (yes, I am a nerd!) And I voted. And the rest of the country didn't vote in a way that (to me) made any kind of sense. The same racist, conservative, 1950s nostaligics remained in power. And now we've had 11 years of government by these idiots. They make me ashamed to be Australian. And the worst part is, I can't complain because we're a democracy, and if idiots vote for idiots, we get idiots governing us.

I'm cynical. I want to go and live in a little commune with crazy people, since the sane people are so obviously stupid.

And that's what I think about Australian politics.

I'll admit I don't know much (anything, really) about European politics, but I love discussing US politics... As you can see from my sig, I'm currently backing Ron Paul for president. All you Americans should really read up on him a little. Don't be frightened about the Republican label; he's anything but a typical conservative.

Anyway, who's everyone else pulling for?

I'm a US citizen as well as an Australian citizen, because I was born in New York. But I haven't really thought much about the US presidential elections. I'll have to start thinking about it at some point...but I must admit, the campaign seems to drag on and on and. And it all seems to be much more about the personality of the candidate than about what he or she is going to do once elected.

We're having trouble deciding who to vote for. The thing is that Labor has seriously mucked up Canberra, especially the health system which is just appalling - but we want, finally, and this is the best chance Australians will get, to get Labor into the Commonwealth government. Labor's Commonwealth policies are considerably better than their State policies, which is extremely annoying.
Oh yes, and another problem. If Kevin Rudd becomes PM, the caricaturists will have a lot of trouble making fun of him. John Howard makes a natural caricature model. Behold:
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Kevin Rudd, on the other hand, has no distinctive facial features:
>>> ?

Just my two cents.

The thing is that Labor has seriously mucked up Canberra, especially the health system which is just appalling - but we want, finally, and this is the best chance Australians will get, to get Labor into the Commonwealth government. Labor's Commonwealth policies are considerably better than their State policies, which is extremely annoying.

I know, and the weird thing is, every state has a Labor government, but there hasn't been a Labor federal government for 11 years. I miss Paul Keating. (not that I was old enough when he was PM to notice his flaws).

Oh yes, and another problem. If Kevin Rudd becomes PM, the caricaturists will have a lot of trouble making fun of him.

Kevin Rudd is known as 'Harry Potter' around the halls of Parliament House, because (well, do I need to spell it out? He has glasses, he's mild-mannered, and he's a nerd). So there are a lot of cartoonists who do him as a boy-wizard.

But he's not exactly a caricaturist's gift, like Howard, with his epically-proportioned eyebrows.

And you should vote the Greens. It goes to Labor anyway, and you can vote for them with a clear conscience.