Coalition or ALP, who has the most backward drug policy?

[stonewolf]

I'm looking into this in regards to the queensland state elections. I was initially going to vote for the greens, but I think they would give their preferences to the Coalition because over beaties dam ideas. I should be worried about the "hospital crisis" and whatnot, but I dont feel either one will do any better than the other. What does bother me is queensland going backwards in its drug policy. So basictly im looking for the lesser of 2 evils to vote for.

[gomaos]

vote green, the only party that would decriminalise drugs if in charge.

preferences are mostly Labour.

Labour is still better than the coalition nazis (liberal/nazi-coalition).

Also see my new sig

[stonewolf]

your sig speaks truth!

[ergoamide]

I'd vote greens, i HATE both ALP and coalition equally. to em they are practically no different. i disliek alp slighty more atm because in my area they ahve done fuk all for the place tons of empty promises. An ambo station that is 6yrs over due. And a few other things that KERRY fukin SHINE has done nuthin about, so if i ahd to i'd even vote coalition before alp right now. VOTE GREEN

[Frank Costanza's Lawyer]

Green's seem to be the way to go. Having a look at a few of their policies it's almost as if they actually have listened to scientific evidence and aren't primarily based on fear campaigns. Wish I had enrolled to vote, oh well.

Cheers

FCL

[Torsten]

I am not allowed to vote, but my understanding is that you can eliminate preferences by numbering all the boxes yourself. Don't preferences only go to the pre arranged party if you vote/cross above the line? But if you number all the boxes according to your own preference then that will override the deals they make.

Please correct me if I'm wrong. It's been a while since I was involved in party politics.

[gomaos]

Does anyone know why they use Pencils and not pens in pollbooths?

I can think of only one logical reason:

If the outcome doesn't suit them, they can rub it out and change it anytime...

[noun]

Torsten your understanding is correct. It can be a time consuming process. I'm sure the scrutineers must love it

Gomoas, according to the Australian Electoral Commission, pencils dont run out, can be stored and work better in tropical locations. I believe you can use a pen to vote.

Who needs pens and pencils. Australia should buy some of those voting machines, like those they had in Florida!

Edited September 5, 2006 by noun

[minotaur]

The above the line / below the line voting is only for voting on the Senate paper in Federal elections.

Queensland State elections work on the Optional preferential system - you nominate a first preference, and number any other preferences in numerical order from 2 onwards - IF you want to. You can just put a 1 in one box only if you do not want to allocate preferences to any other candidates. You can allocate as few as 1 preference, or direct preferences to any other candidates on the ballot paper you wish to vote for. I think this is a good system because you do not have to give any preferences to a candidate that you do not want to vote for in any way.

If you don't nominate a clear first preference then your vote will be considered informal and not counted.

This is different to the Federal House of Representatives voting paper where you have to number every square in order of preference.

[MrBumpy]

I read in the courier mail this morning that the coalition will push for random drug testing of drivers...focusing on the detection of marijuana and amphetamines.

Looks like they are trying to make sure they get Family First' preferences now that the greens have said that they are most likely to give preferences to Labour.

-bumpy

[occidentalis]

I am not allowed to vote, but my understanding is that you can eliminate preferences by numbering all the boxes yourself. Don't preferences only go to the pre arranged party if you vote/cross above the line? But if you number all the boxes according to your own preference then that will override the deals they make.

The preference deals they make also influence the 'how to vote' cards that the parties give out at polling centres.

[devance]

:I am not allowed to vote.:

-------------------------------------------------------------

Must be angry type feeling.

Being a voter or not can be just a matter of chance.

Getting in a violent situation with the perps who are always going to lie.

So if one is not in the loop of wealth, simply be covered political favors or expensive lawyers.

A definite irritation exists.

[Torsten]

Just to clarify.... I am not allowed to vote because I am not an australia citizen. Not that I don't want to be, but sadly germany does not allow dual citizenship (except in extreme circumstances) and I am not quite ready to give up my EU passport yet.

I am working on fitting into the 'extreme circumstances' category, so hopefully I will be able to help oust Howard at the next election.

[_e_]

I always spend the time numbering my preferences.

However you have to be bloody careful and go over it time and again to make sure u didnt make any mistakes.

One wrong line and the whole thing is considered invalid.

[PD.]

Australia should buy some of those voting machines, like those they had in Florida!

LOL

A flawless machine for a flawless government.

[devance]

About the voting machines in Florida.

They were rigged to touch the screen face and using a code could simply put as many votes as one could want. Diebold was the company and already convicted and in the news

Another fact that was never mentioned in the news except vaguely.

Supposedly that wasn't done. But it could have been easily as the software was already there.

----------------------------------------------------

What I think is going on is that the post World war 2 model of dividing a country between communism and capitalism so that a civil war occurs before the country can get unified [as in Germany] become troublesome again is being done in the middle east.

So the idea that Iraque splitting into three separeate states is part of the game plan.

I don't think it going to have the desired results.

In fact a disaster worse than it already is.

The nuke missle was supposed to make war obsolete.

The only use of a nuke is blasting citys.

In the past war was about destroying the industrial capacity of another nation to wage war.

[DocAzz]

I never got why the US is the world police with nukes... I can think of two good reasons why they should be the LAST on the list of potentials.... Hiroshima, and Nagasaki!!!

They're the only ones to have ever used them against someone else!

How is that fair ?

[gomaos]

why are bullies bullies?

Because they can, that's all...

no other reason...

humans in technology: spaceage

humans socially : the law of the jungle!

very, very sad...

looking at Bush and all the "right-wing conservative" governments everywhere:

not much hope in sight, if any...

people the world over are brain-washed and conditioned to believe

that the "american way of life" is actually something desirable...

[hairyplant]

why are bullies bullies?

Because they can, that's all...

no other reason...

humans in technology: spaceage

humans socially : the law of the jungle!

very, very sad...

looking at Bush and all the "right-wing conservative" governments everywhere:

not much hope in sight, if any...

people the world over are brain-washed and conditioned to believe

that the "american way of life" is actually something desirable...

Well put. Yeah, vote greens or don't vote at all imo. there is no other choice. RIP the democrates in Australia, and hello to our two party (and their cronies) fucked up system where the choice is between the devil and the incompetent devil. fuck it.

[gomaos]

off topic:

hairyplant, i like your sig (mckenna quote) so much, i steal it and use it for myself...

hope you don't mind

[hairyplant]

off topic:

hairyplant, i like your sig (mckenna quote) so much, i steal it and use it for myself...

hope you don't mind

not at all, it speaks volumes!

[stonewolf]

I just had a fine oppertunity to use that quote

[puck]

Thought I might change my sig too...

Seriously, I have a lot of respect for the Greens, but they've got an uphill battle on their hands. I think the paradigm is shifting in their favour, but then again, if the mainstream parties are (finally) beginning to at least talk about envtl issues, they may continue to be ignored.

Basically their problem is they're too radical. Not to say they don't make perfect sense, but the status quo doesn't often change quickly in the absence of an immediate threat. I'm sure Noah, Manu and Gilgamesh would all agree.

I read a great little pamphlet at the last Vic election, scaremongering about the Greens. "The Greens want drug use in our community" it said, just because they supported legal injecting rooms. Like anyone in the party wants IV drug use to happen - no, they're just saying that since it's going to happen anyway, how about lets not have people dying in alleyways, huh?

My point is: the Liberal Party scumbag who authorized this libelous document, Julian Sheezel, is quite aware that he was lying. He is just a smarmy bastard who wants to play on people's fears and paranoia and misunderstanding and gullibility. While that kind of shallow crap is accepted as part of our political debate, we can't expect any progress at all - let alone in the area of drug policy.

Dirty so-and-so never even replied to my letter, either.

[BlackDragon]

Please remember people, now the upper house is a liberal majority, any changes labour makes will take forever(not literally, but at least 3-6 years), and dont expect any change in the senate untill after 2010 or so... All this changing IR laws bullshit is garb, labour cant change shit, its the upperhouse thats got the final say. They can all tell you what they want to do or change, fact is, they cant do shit untill the upper house is remodeled(dont know the propper term sorry).

Now where to vote??

[gomaos]

Basically their problem is they're too radical

it depends from which angle you look at it.

From my angle the present government is very radical.

For an extended time already they have run an anti- poor, anti-alternative, anti-people campaign, and they have been very radical about it.

their efforts have been sucessfull and by now they have carried it to a level, that all cannabis dealers are to scared to sell anymore.

It's virtually impossible to get an ounce of cannabis in brisbane, at least in my area, and this is because there have been busts upon busts upon busts for over a year now.

before that, for almost since i have lived in this area, 2001, it had never been a problem so I have been told.

for someone i know i must mention, since personally i am very religious and pray to god all the time, and i don't need no dope

The surveillance for this must cost the government millions upon millions.

The question is: How do the government justify it to their masters, the monster-capitalists who really run this country?

Easy. It doesn't cost the upper class a cent.

At the same time as they are running this horrible offensive against their own citizens, against their own family members, against you and me, they are running another one.

Which is, getting "dolebludgers", single parents, disabled people, senile people, basically all alternative people, off their asses and churn them into the workforce.

There maybe Mr. X, 62 years old, normally sitting at home with a bottle of wine, now they got him running around, doing pizza hut deliveries.

Or little mary popkins, just turned 20, boyfriend left when he found out she was pregnant, now she's stuckl with a little baby which is a whole lot of work day and night,

but smartass asshole Mr. Premier Howard wants her to work, put the baby into day care, get stressed out day and night, hey just go to the doc and get some antidepressants...

or all these evil single parents, who just sit at home and take the taxpayers money, now he's got them drivin around as delivery drivers, polluting the air even more than it already is through the work of those who are continuuously in the work force.

I could go on all night, but maybe you're getting my drift now.

The fact is, the government must be saving a heap on pensions, unemployment benefits etc just by putting hard to employ people to work at any cost.

Cool a lot of money saved you say.

Yeah but what's done with this money?

it's pput into the war against drugs against just the same people they have just got off their assesd and put to work.

So it's no surprise that presently there's a huge lot of break-ups going on, and the mental wards are ready to burst.

Thank you so much Mr Howard.

You smartass asshole premier.

Go fuck yourself or your party members but leave genuine people alone.

Taking the people's hemp away will make the people very upset.

Alcohol is crap and just makes them more aggressive.

Hundreds of millions of dollars are wasted on the war on drugs just to make people feel bad.

I hope you get what you deserve, Mr Howard and Friends.

Edited February 23, 2007 by gomaos