[old poll down] new poll up

Old poll

Politics and religion should be kept separate

# fully agree 55%

# one can try to separate 16%

# they're interwoven 29%

31 votes total

Comments [read from the bottom up, for chronological order]

Posted by Dave Petterson in reply to Peter on May 1, 2007 at 9:07 am.

At the level government should be working there is no requirement for religion. I believe in minimal government. Of course current government thinking is to interfere in everything. That seems to be where religion comes in.

Posted by Peter on May 1, 2007 at 8:52 am.

If you try to exclude religion from politics, where does that leave the Christian Democrats in Germany, the Netherlands and many other European countries? Much better to have a democratic outlet for people who have religious values - so long as they accept the right of secularists/atheists to disagree!

Posted by Dave Petterson in reply to Lord Nazh on April 26, 2007 at 6:59 am.

Agree.

Posted by Lord Nazh on April 26, 2007 at 3:19 am.

We should not be driven by anti-religious zealots either.

Posted by Dave Petterson on April 25, 2007 at 5:43 am.

There is nothing to stop us picking the best bits from religion and making them law because they make sense but we should not be driven by religious zealots.

Posted by James on April 25, 2007 at 2:07 am.

Depends on the religion, really. In the case of Christianity, they are, by definition, separate in theology but interwoven in terms of social commitment to one's fellow man and woman.

Previous polls [Bag pointed out I hadn't given the results but this was because so few responded]

U.S. interest - would a North American Alliance and open borders:

# solve the ethnic issue 0%

# exacerbate existing problems 75%

# neither 25%

4 votes total

Comments [read from the bottom up, for chronological order]

Posted by Lord Nazh on April 18, 2007 at 11:39 am.

Dave, its' not even a good idea 'in theory'.

If we wanted a NA country, we should have taken Mexico and Canada in the 1800's

Posted by Dave Petterson on April 18, 2007 at 7:24 am.

To be honest I don't really know enough to comment.

But, that has never stopped me before so here we go.

I have never seen anywhere that amalgamates lots of fundamentally different opinions and societies that works out by making a more efficient society. Itll just be a NA equivalent of the EU and either dominated by the US or made insignificant by the US when it does not go the way the US wants to.

Like all these things, a good idea in theory.

Posted by Lord Nazh on April 17, 2007 at 4:24 pm.

Instead of having one and a half great nations (ha Canada and Mexico needing to become more, we'd have a full continent of underpaid people with not enough to live on.

Posted by James on April 17, 2007 at 1:59 pm.

The North-American Alliance is truly evil - there's a lot of other baggage attached to it. It would make matters worse.

Brit interest - if all parliaments fully devolved within a loose sort of union, would this be:

# a good thing 50%

# a bad thing 38%

# no opinion 13%

8 votes total

Comments [read from the bottom up, for chronological order]

Dave, I didn't answer - I only read and learnt.

Posted by Dave Petterson on April 20, 2007 at 12:24 pm.

My Lord, I thought James would answer this but he is clearly busy making up some more quizzes.

In the UK there is currently a bit of controversy because the current government, spit, is in the process of setting up regional parliaments. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, three of the four subcomponents of the UK. England is not getting one as this would make the main government superfluous and, according to our wonderful government, we dont need one. So we have a parliament for the entire UK with certain things delegated down to Scottish, Welsh and NI parliaments leaving England, the largest component without a regional voice. Similar in a way to how Washington DC is not a standard state.

This gives rise to a major political issue. It means that these assemblies can legislate for their own areas and allow things denied in England. The Scottish and Welsh MPs vote in the main UK parliament with the government for things that do not impact them or their constituents. Current issues are the NHS and Schools where treatment, deemed too expensive for England, are prescribed in Wales and Scotland and School Top Up Fees are only charged in England.

When you hear the phrase The West Lothian Question this is what it refers to. It is making a lot of English people very unhappy as they end up funding the other areas while being deprived of certain facilities.

As a slightly different, but linked fact, our main political players are made up mainly by people from Scotland. Thus the people in England don't even get to vote for them and the people that do get additional funds and facilities from us to keep them happy.

All in all it makes for interesting times.

Posted by Lord Nazh on April 19, 2007 at 4:21 pm.

I would vote on this one, but I have no idea what you are getting at.

Do you mean all the countries in the EU dissolve parliament or what? Of course i don't need to vote in this one, but I hate not knowing things

Posted by Dave Petterson on April 17, 2007 at 5:14 pm.

James, Sorry I took too long last time. I do visit daily.

Back to the poll. I do have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand I don't like the fact that they are taking a large cut of the pie and they are used to enforce laws here that don't apply there. On the other I think that we are stronger together. Just needs to be on different terms. The bonus is that a split, albeit unlikely, would screw Labour forever. That alone makes it worth it.

Posted by James on April 17, 2007 at 1:58 pm.

I'm coming round to Toque's way of thinking.

New poll

You find $10000 in the street. Do you:

# hand it in to the authorities forthwith

# hand it in to the media, guaranteeing coverage

# invest it then give back the principal later

# invest it of yourself and posterity

# blow it and binge it away

# squirrel it away

# burn it in an act of anti-capitalist defiance

# contact the owner, Gates and negotiate a deal

# use some and give back the rest

# pay off your blackmailer

# hire a hitman to take out your blackmailer

# some other variant … comment below

Please have a go at this one in the sidebar.