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cbacon

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Posts posted by cbacon

  2. Posted · Report reply

    In addition to Animal Collective, i'm looking forward to:

     

    Neko Case

    Antony and the Johnsons

    Matthew Good

    Patrick Wolf

    Sunset Rubdown

    Jimmy Eat World

    The Decemberists

    Metric, sorta

     

    And possibly new stuff from Radiohead, Sufjan (he's not going to finish the 50 States project at this pace), Arcade Fire, and I suppose some BSS members will bring something out

  4. Posted · Report reply

    There's no reason Israel shouldn't just outright crush Hamas at this point. I mean, Egypt is even pointing the finger at Hamas at this, claiming they warned them this would happen if they started attacking Israel again. It's 2008, not 1968. I don't think Israelis should be expected to live in constant fear of terrorists anymore.

     

    Indeed, Israelis should not have to live in such conditions, nor should Palestinians have to live in their virtual prison where malnutrition, unemployment and post traumatic stress disorder are rampant.

     

    Yeah, we can rehash the historical contexts ad nauseum, but when you attack the controlling power of your country, your people are going to suffer the consequences. The best thing for the region would be the eradication of Hamas, and I think even many Arabs wouldn't be against it.

     

    Historical context means everything in these situations. But with that aside, how would you propose the 'eradication' of Hamas? More bombings to add to the 400+ death toll?

  5. Posted · Report reply

    1. Frightened Rabbit – The Midnight Organ Fight

    2. Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer

    3. M83 – Saturdays = Youth

    4. Sigur Ros - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaus

    5. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago

    6. Brendan Canning – Something For All of Us

    7. Kanye West – 808s & Heartbreak

    8. Lil’ Wayne- Tha Carter III

    9. TV on the Radio – Dear Science

    10. Thao with The Get Down Stay Down - We Brave Bee Stings And All

    11. Jessica Lea Mayfield – With Blasphemy So Heartfelt

    12. Okkervil River – The Stand Ins

    13. Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs

    14. Land of Talk – Some Are Lakes

    15. Plants and Animals – Parc Avenue

    16. Why? - Alopecia

    17. Jenny Lewis – Acid Tongue

    18. Candence Weapon – Afterparty Babies

    19. CSS – Donkey

    20. Cat Power - Jukebox

  8. Posted · Report reply

    I think the election-style campaign we're about to see is pretty fucking stupid. If the coalition can remain focused and just last six weeks they'll take power in January. But it's going to be a bumpy ride.

     

    If the Governor General dissolves parliament after having been advised that an alternative government-in-waiting has the support of the House, whether it's three months after an election or three years afterwards, I think that's highly improper. Jean is already going to be burned in effigy for what she's done and rightly so. Don't think she wants to be crucified as well

     

    But get ready for every redneck retard in the country to act like they're accomplishing something by complaining real loud about the end of democracy and separatists and blah blah blah

  10. Posted · Report reply

    The Prime Minister is the member who commands the most support in the House of Commons. That's Stephane Dion now. I applaud the opposition parties and hope this coalition works.

     

    DID YOU KNOW: The government of Sweden is a coalition of centrist and right-wing parties that is led by the Moderate Party with 97 seats - even though the Social Democratic Party has the most seats in the riksdag (130 seats). Undemocratic, or normal coalition government?

  13. Posted · Report reply

    Islamic nations, no.

     

    Islamic terrorism is the result of US intervention in the Middle East, so to say "I'd leave the Islamists alone if they left us alone" is pretty ridiculous.

     

    You're taking a hindsight view. Using a basis of "If the U.S. would have never done this, then..." does not fix the present issue.

     

    I'm not disagreeing with the sentiment, just the "solution."

     

    I agree, which is why it is important to put these situations into proper context so we can come to a viable solution.

  14. Posted · Report reply

    How is it US responsibility to support Israel while undermining democracies elsewhere? Where is the support for Palestinians?

     

    While the US had interfered in Iran (supporting the shah and such), we weren't responsible for all their problems.

     

    Uh, the fact that the Shah was in power and recieved support from the US was the problem. Same deal when they initially supported Saddam in Iraq and countless dictators in Latin America.

  16. Posted · Report reply

    I'd even pull out of the United Nations, they are anti-American and have no interest in our well-being. Most importantly, I'd leave the Islamists alone if they left us alone.

     

    In the prolific words of David Cross, "those people have fucked with us never. Go read a fuckin' history book." Just go do a google search for "CIA Mossadegh," that should start off your search.

     

    ^dis

     

  18. Posted · Report reply

    Basically the amount of seats in parliament would be in proportion to the popular vote. There are several types of PR, the type most recently endorsed in Ontario, was Mixed Member Proportional:

     

    Mixed member proportional representation, also termed mixed-member proportional voting and commonly abbreviated to MMP, is an 'additional member' voting system used to elect representatives to numerous legislatures around the world. MMP is similar to other forms of proportional representation (PR) in that the overall total of party members in the elected body is intended to mirror the overall proportion of votes received; it differs by including a set of members elected by geographic constituency who are deducted from the party totals so as to maintain overall proportionality. Therefore, the additional party seats are compensatory: they top up the local results. In Germany MMP is called "personalized proportional representation" as distinct from the PR system used before MMP superseded it.

     

    In BC, there was referendum for the Single Transferable Vote system. It needed a super majority to pass and failed, but it is coming up for another referendum:

     

    The Single Transferable Vote (STV) is a system of preferential voting designed to minimize wasted votes and provide proportional representation while ensuring that votes are explicitly expressed for individual candidates rather than for party lists. It achieves this by using multi-seat constituencies (voting districts) and by transferring all votes that would otherwise be wasted to other eligible candidates. STV initially allocates an elector's vote to his or her most preferred candidate and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, transfers surplus or unused votes according to the voter's stated preferences.

     

    There are also other variants and hybrids of PR. Ultimately, its a far more democratic voting system.

  20. Posted · Report reply

    Gerard Kennedy taking the Parkdale riding here in Toronto was a pretty big surprise to some, our area re-elected Joe Volpe (again) to no real surprise.

     

    I used to live in the Mississauga-Streetsville riding and seeing Wajid Khan get booted after crossing the floor was suh-weet.

     

    Also congrats to seriously fit MP Ruby Dhalla for holding the brown powerbase down in the Brampton riding.

     

    Pretty upset seeing Peggy Nash ousted. Volunteered at her constituency office in June. Classy woman.

     

    I think the Conservative winning in my riding was a fair trade off to see Wajid Khan given the boot.

     

    And I was almost worried for Ruby earlier in the night. That race was a lot closer than anticipated.

  21. Posted · Report reply

    Having worked in the Correctional System in several different capacities, I can tell you without fear of contradiction that the average citizen does not care if prison deters criminals and their concern over rehabilitation is usually lip service at best. They want criminals to be punished and they want to be protected from them. I can guarantee you one thing, and that is that nobody serving time in a correctional facility ever committed a crime outside of the facility while they were inside. So in that respect, it's 100% effective.

     

    How does working in the Correctional System give you a better understanding of how the average citizen thinks?

     

    SUPPORT FOR CRIME PREVENTION AS AN APPROACH

     

    As in 2000, Canadians prefer crime prevention over punishment as a primary goal of the criminal justice system, by a margin of two to one. The goals of deterrence and rehabilitation get even less support as a primary goal of the criminal justice system. Support for crime prevention is higher among the more educated and in Quebec, as was the case in 2000. When crime prevention is juxtaposed with law enforcement, in the context of cost-efficiency, the results are also similar, although less so in the Prairies than elsewhere in the country.

     

    This preference for crime prevention over law enforcement becomes even more striking in the context of youth. Three in four Canadians would rather see an approach to youth crime that offers opportunities to get involved in positive activities, such as training and drug rehabilitation, than imposing tougher sentences. It is interesting to note, however, that parents themselves are somewhat more apt to advocate the law enforcement approach than non-parents.

     

    Focus group participants echo support for a preventive approach to crime, and believe firmly that prevention (particularly early intervention focused on youth) is the only means to reduce future crime.

     

    METHODS OF REDUCING CRIME

     

    When asked about a variety of approaches to crime, the top four approaches advocated by Canadians involve crime prevention aimed at youth, such as literacy programs, early childhood intervention, youth recreation and improving parenting skills. Approaches involving police and prisons are last, particularly among youth, residents of Quebec and visible minorities. The lean toward law enforcement approaches is comparatively higher, however, in the Prairies and among victims of crime.

     

    Focus group participants suggest a number of methods to reduce crime in Canada, including programs for youth (recreational, education and training), parenting programs (training and support), community-based surveillance programs, and community policing.

    http://ww4.ps-sp.gc.ca/en/library/publicat...udes/index.html

     

    And it's all well and good that no one in prisons commit crimes inside the facilities and that they're "100% effective", but that does nothing to curb crimes outside.

     

    Large amounts of money being spent on so-called "rehabilitation" programs in the correctional system will never happen, even if the NDP got into power. One of the few areas that the majority of people agree is on crime prevention. Any politician who publicly suggests increasing funding for prison reform is cutting their own throat. The public would rebel and the opposition would instantly suggest that the money be spent on more cops on the street.

     

    "It will never happen" is a weak argument and counter to social progress that undermines that kind of thinking.

     

    Practices like longer sentences have never been proven to reduce recidivism (jails breed more hardened criminals anyway). The motive here is revenge, a feeling that "justice" is satisfied in part by punishing the guilty. Respectfully, I disagree and think we would have better luck rehabilitating criminals if our justice system actually emphasized rehabilitation.

     

    I'm in favour of abolishing the prison system completely and finding alternate methods of rehabilitating criminals and helping them make restitution where that is possible, and while I accept that in many cases it isn't, and some criminals are in all probability beyond rehabilitation, they must still be treated humanely

     

    That would be the same Omar Khadr who is on video planting landmines to kill soldiers? Awww...poor widdle terrorist.

     

     

    Not sure what video your referring to. But yeah, I can't imagine why he would want to defend himself from an invading army.

  22. Posted · Report reply

    The question is whether Americans can trust Bush and his millionaire cabinet to defend the interests of the working families who are footing the bill. This is a government that believes every problem can be solved by giving money to rich people with no strings attached. And its only opposition is the Democrats, who are beholden to the same corporate interests. I want to know what taxpayers are getting for their $700B, other than bad debts and a roll of the dice. A truly democratic government would socialize the financial institutions themselves and not just their bad debts. In other words, I would be okay with investing public money to bail out the banks if the public would gain control over those institutions and their potential profits. I doubt that's what Bush has in mind.

  24. Posted · Report reply

    About the juvenile offenders issue: Harper's "tough on crime" platform provides more reliance on the police state and throwing kids in jail rather than addressing the underlying social problems. These sorts of policies do nothing to lower crime rates and will cost us a fortune.

     

    And why do people who hold left wing viewpoints care about "the taxpayers" all of the sudden, when it supports the argument they're making...when normally they are all for spending tax dollars for social programs?

     

    And is it true that "cbacon" isn't even really Canadian?

     

    And why do I care?

     

    And who am I asking these questions to?

     

    What's with the hostility, guy?

     

    Anyways, taxpayers should have issues with initiatives that don't really address social problems. Prison is not an effective deterrent to crime, nor does it attempt to rehabilitate the criminal. In fact the psychological effects it entails are dangerous. So I see this as wasteful tax dollars being spent which could be better spent on addressing economic and social issues such as inequality and poverty. Gangs, for example, are an avenue kids in lower classes tend to join, so I think programs that address this issue are the way to go.

     

    The idea of a 14-year old going to prison for life with other adults is a tad extreme. But this is coming from a Prime Minister that has sat back while Omar Khadr has been tortured in Guantanamo since he was 15.

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