Oldest Democracy vs Largest Democracy
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OCid wrote: super wrote: Since US is the oldest democracy,,, I hope you're kidding ... Not that I think being the oldest in anything is a sure fire route to being the best (just look at poppadums... old poppadums are never the best), but which country does have the oldest democracy?
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaRoger Wright wrote: Using a feather is kinky; using the whole chicken is perverted!
The Icelandic Althing is probabably the oldest continued participating democracy. The 6 Nations also lasted over 800 yrs and probably are still a legal entity of sorts. But it depends what you mean by "democracy" because none of them are "true democracies" still. Regardz Colin J Davies
Sonork ID 100.9197:Colin
You are the intrepid one, always willing to leap into the fray! A serious character flaw, I might add, but entertaining. Said by Roger Wright about me.
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OCid wrote: super wrote: Since US is the oldest democracy,,, I hope you're kidding ... Not that I think being the oldest in anything is a sure fire route to being the best (just look at poppadums... old poppadums are never the best), but which country does have the oldest democracy?
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaRoger Wright wrote: Using a feather is kinky; using the whole chicken is perverted!
Paul Watson wrote: poppadums :rolleyes: I think you mean _paapadam_s. In north India they are called _paapad_s. South Indians call them paapadams. Why your sudden "fixation" on paapadams though, if I may ask? Did you just discover them, or are you sick and tired of them?
Regards,Rohit Sinha
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Paul Watson wrote: poppadums :rolleyes: I think you mean _paapadam_s. In north India they are called _paapad_s. South Indians call them paapadams. Why your sudden "fixation" on paapadams though, if I may ask? Did you just discover them, or are you sick and tired of them?
Regards,Rohit Sinha
Rohit Sinha wrote: I think you mean paapadams. In north India they are called paapads. South Indians call them paapadams. and South African Indians, who introduced them to me, call them poppadums. I went home last night and checked my poppadum pack and it said "Poppadums, Made In India." They probably Anglasised it so that we English nuts can pronounce it properly :) Rohit Sinha wrote: Why your sudden "fixation" on paapadams though, if I may ask? Did you just discover them, or are you sick and tired of them? Neither. Been eating poppadums since I was yay high *Paul gestures two feet off the ground* I come from Durban which has plenty of Indians. And I can't imagine getting sick of them. There was a post a day or two ago about Nish and I had poppadums the night before. And they sound funny, so I just ran with it :) No offense meant at all.
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaRoger Wright wrote: Using a feather is kinky; using the whole chicken is perverted!
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Rohit Sinha wrote: I think you mean paapadams. In north India they are called paapads. South Indians call them paapadams. and South African Indians, who introduced them to me, call them poppadums. I went home last night and checked my poppadum pack and it said "Poppadums, Made In India." They probably Anglasised it so that we English nuts can pronounce it properly :) Rohit Sinha wrote: Why your sudden "fixation" on paapadams though, if I may ask? Did you just discover them, or are you sick and tired of them? Neither. Been eating poppadums since I was yay high *Paul gestures two feet off the ground* I come from Durban which has plenty of Indians. And I can't imagine getting sick of them. There was a post a day or two ago about Nish and I had poppadums the night before. And they sound funny, so I just ran with it :) No offense meant at all.
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaRoger Wright wrote: Using a feather is kinky; using the whole chicken is perverted!
Paul Watson wrote: and South African Indians, who introduced them to me, call them poppadums. Ah, I see. Paul Watson wrote: No offense meant at all. There was nothing to be offended about. I was just curious, so I asked. Because you have been bringing up "poppadums" more and more often recently. :) I hope I didn't come across as a flamer or something. :)
Regards,Rohit Sinha
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Paul Watson wrote: and South African Indians, who introduced them to me, call them poppadums. Ah, I see. Paul Watson wrote: No offense meant at all. There was nothing to be offended about. I was just curious, so I asked. Because you have been bringing up "poppadums" more and more often recently. :) I hope I didn't come across as a flamer or something. :)
Regards,Rohit Sinha
Rohit Sinha wrote: I hope I didn't come across as a flamer or something. Poppadums? How dare you? A weasel hath not such a deal of spleen as you are toss'd with. ;P Seriously though, there are lots of Indian Restaurants in the UK, and no two seem to ever be able to agree on spellings of the dishes, so I guess it's just that people with different regional dialects write out the words differently when they try and put it into English I've seen it written Poppadum, Puppadum, Poppadom, Pappodom, and many other combinations, for example -- Help me! I'm turning into a grapefruit!
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Rohit Sinha wrote: I hope I didn't come across as a flamer or something. Poppadums? How dare you? A weasel hath not such a deal of spleen as you are toss'd with. ;P Seriously though, there are lots of Indian Restaurants in the UK, and no two seem to ever be able to agree on spellings of the dishes, so I guess it's just that people with different regional dialects write out the words differently when they try and put it into English I've seen it written Poppadum, Puppadum, Poppadom, Pappodom, and many other combinations, for example -- Help me! I'm turning into a grapefruit!
benjymous wrote: A weasel hath not such a deal of spleen as you are toss'd with. :) I like that. I wish I also understood the meaning. :)
Regards,Rohit Sinha
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super wrote: :zzz: I have seen this done a few times. I thought that emoticon meant you were tired or the subject/post was boring. But often people just attatch it to posts and I cannot figure out why. So why did you reply with :zzz: to what Metcalfe said?
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaRoger Wright wrote: Using a feather is kinky; using the whole chicken is perverted!
Paul Watson wrote: So why did you reply with to what Metcalfe said? That's a little impersonal Watson! I thought we were all on first name terms here. :confused: Anna :rose: www.annasplace.me.uk
"Be yourself - not what others think you should be"
- Marcia GraeschTrouble with resource IDs? Try the Resource ID Organiser Add-In for Visual C++
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Paul Watson wrote: So why did you reply with to what Metcalfe said? That's a little impersonal Watson! I thought we were all on first name terms here. :confused: Anna :rose: www.annasplace.me.uk
"Be yourself - not what others think you should be"
- Marcia GraeschTrouble with resource IDs? Try the Resource ID Organiser Add-In for Visual C++
Anna-Jayne Metcalfe wrote: That's a little impersonal Watson! I thought we were all on first name terms here My dear Anna-Jayne. Apologies for offending, it was not meant in that way at all. What with my surname being Watson and all, people think it is clever to use it. Elementary really. So I have developed a habit of calling people back by their surname too. You will often see me saying Mr. Butler or just Maunder, not impersonal at all, in fact quite personal as most people use Chris or Michael, even those who hardly know them. Also, dead honest, I do not know wether I can call you just Anna or just Jayne and not Anna-Jayne. Plus I could not remember when writing my post if you spelt your name Jane or Jayne. I do know how to spell Metcalfe though, so I went with that. If I was being impersonal I would have said Madam Metcalfe... ;)
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaRoger Wright wrote: Using a feather is kinky; using the whole chicken is perverted!
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Anna-Jayne Metcalfe wrote: That's a little impersonal Watson! I thought we were all on first name terms here My dear Anna-Jayne. Apologies for offending, it was not meant in that way at all. What with my surname being Watson and all, people think it is clever to use it. Elementary really. So I have developed a habit of calling people back by their surname too. You will often see me saying Mr. Butler or just Maunder, not impersonal at all, in fact quite personal as most people use Chris or Michael, even those who hardly know them. Also, dead honest, I do not know wether I can call you just Anna or just Jayne and not Anna-Jayne. Plus I could not remember when writing my post if you spelt your name Jane or Jayne. I do know how to spell Metcalfe though, so I went with that. If I was being impersonal I would have said Madam Metcalfe... ;)
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaRoger Wright wrote: Using a feather is kinky; using the whole chicken is perverted!
Paul Watson wrote: My dear Anna-Jayne. Apologies for offending, it was not meant in that way at all. No offence taken hun. I was just a bit surprised. Paul Watson wrote: What with my surname being Watson and all, people think it is clever to use it. Elementary really. So I have developed a habit of calling people back by their surname too. You will often see me saying Mr. Butler or just Maunder, not impersonal at all, in fact quite personal as most people use Chris or Michael, even those who hardly know them. Also, dead honest, I do not know wether I can call you just Anna or just Jayne and not Anna-Jayne. Plus I could not remember when writing my post if you spelt your name Jane or Jayne. I do know how to spell Metcalfe though, so I went with that. I must admit I hadn't noticed you doing that! Anna is what my friends call me. My middle name is a thank you to a special friend who helped me when things were roughest last year, and when I put the two together hyphenating it looked good. :) Paul Watson wrote: If I was being impersonal I would have said Madam Metcalfe... Lol! You've spotted my collection of bondage gear then? ;P Speaking of which, I was writing a post in my journal (www.annasplace.me.uk/journal.html[^]) last night and made a wisecrack about straightjackets...then thought it would be fun to put a link in. I did a search on google, found a page with a rubber straightjacket on, put in the link, posted it...and then had second thoughts when I saw what else was on the homepage for the site in question. :laugh: Judge for yourself - http://www.stockroom.com/r023plus.htm (I won't put a link in as it's not lounge material ;)). Anna :rose: www.annasplace.me.uk
"Be yourself - not what others think you should be"
- Marcia GraeschTrouble with resource IDs? Try the Resource ID Organiser Add-In for Visual C++
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OCid wrote: super wrote: Since US is the oldest democracy,,, I hope you're kidding ... Not that I think being the oldest in anything is a sure fire route to being the best (just look at poppadums... old poppadums are never the best), but which country does have the oldest democracy?
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaRoger Wright wrote: Using a feather is kinky; using the whole chicken is perverted!
Paul Watson wrote: but which country does have the oldest democracy The oldest continuous democracy is claimed by the Isle of Man. The Tynwald was established by the Vikings more than 1,000 years ago and still exists. Simon HB9DRV ex-GD4ELI
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In last couple of weeks there has been n number of post abt US war on Iraq... My doubt is whether we international community only are so much worried or the Americans people are also pissed... Why my doubt is that Since US is an Oldest Democracy and people should have voice over any issues.....and it should affect the Govt... In India if i remember correctly ,there were many laws which were passed but becos of pure people's concern/agitation,govt was forced to change track.... for eg 1) In 1991-92 Govt passed "Mandal Report"(I could not get the required link)in the parliament with full majority.But they had to withdraw it in a weeks time becos of Mass agitation by Students community. 2)In 2002 Present Govt was forced to lover the Taxes imposed on Salaried class after the heavy protest by the people 3)Last year Govt was forced to Forward the Armed force(more than 60%) to the border to check Pakistan becos the people's sentiment was totally against PAkistan military regime.Troops were brought back when people got cooled down..... So my doubt is whether any measures are been taken by people in US abt this.. I dont say India is the best democracy or its people are best...There may be many instance in other countries but im taking of India since i saw it closely... My idea was Since US is the oldest democracy,,,it should be better placed to influence the govt cheers, Super ------------------------------------------ Too much of good is bad,mix some evil in it
super wrote: Since US is an Oldest Democracy and people should have voice over any issues Unfortunately, you have mistaken the "rights of the US people to object" with "the form of US government." The US form of government is not a "democracy" (which is rule by majority of people), but is instead a "constitutional republic," and was set up this way exactly to counter the problems inherent in rule-by-majority. The US Constitution and the Bill of Rights were created for the purpose of defining the limits of the government. Today, through much ignorance and deception, those documents are thought to give rights to the citizens and that may be leading you to believe: super wrote: whether any measures are been taken by people in US abt this.. Dave "You can say that again." -- Dept. of Redundancy Dept.
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In last couple of weeks there has been n number of post abt US war on Iraq... My doubt is whether we international community only are so much worried or the Americans people are also pissed... Why my doubt is that Since US is an Oldest Democracy and people should have voice over any issues.....and it should affect the Govt... In India if i remember correctly ,there were many laws which were passed but becos of pure people's concern/agitation,govt was forced to change track.... for eg 1) In 1991-92 Govt passed "Mandal Report"(I could not get the required link)in the parliament with full majority.But they had to withdraw it in a weeks time becos of Mass agitation by Students community. 2)In 2002 Present Govt was forced to lover the Taxes imposed on Salaried class after the heavy protest by the people 3)Last year Govt was forced to Forward the Armed force(more than 60%) to the border to check Pakistan becos the people's sentiment was totally against PAkistan military regime.Troops were brought back when people got cooled down..... So my doubt is whether any measures are been taken by people in US abt this.. I dont say India is the best democracy or its people are best...There may be many instance in other countries but im taking of India since i saw it closely... My idea was Since US is the oldest democracy,,,it should be better placed to influence the govt cheers, Super ------------------------------------------ Too much of good is bad,mix some evil in it
There is democravy then there is mob rule. Your description of actions in India is the latter. Mike
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Paul Watson wrote: but which country does have the oldest democracy The oldest continuous democracy is claimed by the Isle of Man. The Tynwald was established by the Vikings more than 1,000 years ago and still exists. Simon HB9DRV ex-GD4ELI
Simon Brown wrote: The oldest continuous democracy is claimed by the Isle of Man. The Tynwald was established by the Vikings more than 1,000 years ago and still exists Wow, thanks for the info Simon, much appreciated :) Though I must say, I never really considered the Vikins as being peace loving democrats... ;)
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaRoger Wright wrote: Using a feather is kinky; using the whole chicken is perverted!
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super wrote: Since US is an Oldest Democracy and people should have voice over any issues Unfortunately, you have mistaken the "rights of the US people to object" with "the form of US government." The US form of government is not a "democracy" (which is rule by majority of people), but is instead a "constitutional republic," and was set up this way exactly to counter the problems inherent in rule-by-majority. The US Constitution and the Bill of Rights were created for the purpose of defining the limits of the government. Today, through much ignorance and deception, those documents are thought to give rights to the citizens and that may be leading you to believe: super wrote: whether any measures are been taken by people in US abt this.. Dave "You can say that again." -- Dept. of Redundancy Dept.
David Chamberlain wrote: The US Constitution and the Bill of Rights were created for the purpose of defining the limits of the government. The federal government, to be specific. I can understand non-Americans not knowning that, but the masses of Americans who don't is trully amazing. "Any clod can have the facts, but having opinions is an art." Charles McCabe, San Francisco Chronicle
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The Icelandic Althing is probabably the oldest continued participating democracy. The 6 Nations also lasted over 800 yrs and probably are still a legal entity of sorts. But it depends what you mean by "democracy" because none of them are "true democracies" still. Regardz Colin J Davies
Sonork ID 100.9197:Colin
You are the intrepid one, always willing to leap into the fray! A serious character flaw, I might add, but entertaining. Said by Roger Wright about me.
Colin Davies wrote: But it depends what you mean by "democracy" because none of them are "true democracies" still. That's a problem... the word Democracy gets bandied about a lot, but I don't know of any governments that are true Democracies. The US is certainly not one of them, and never was intended to be. Democracy implies a direct participation in the daily operations of the government, with all the people voting on all the issues. I can imagine no more fearful situation. A democratic system is essentially government by committee, and no committee is wiser then its weakest member. All choices made by committees are, of necessity, compromises; the wise must settle for a less than optimum solution in order to placate the stupid and reach a consensus. We attempt to minimize the damage by limiting the decison-making power to a subset of the population, elected by the whole population. In theory we select those men and women who appear to have sufficient wisdom to make decisions for us that we can live with, then let them manage the affairs of government. If most of us think they've done a decent job, we let them stay for another term of office. If not, we take another shot at electing a smarter replacement. Overall it works rather well, and certainly far better than the nightmare option of a direct rule by the "peeple." The scariest thing about the Internet is not the readily available supply of porn, nor the flood of spam in our inboxes. It is the fact that, for the first time in history, direct popular rule is technically feasible! There have been proposals for using the Internet to allow the Great Unwashed to vote on every issue, bypassing the representative structure that has worked relatively well for over 200 years. It terrifies me to think what kind of place this would become if people who think placing hot coffee from McDonald's between their legs while driving is smart were to be allowed to decide when and if we should bomb Iraq! It has been said that "the gods have feet of clay" - I'm thankful that our government does, too! Nobody wants to read a diary by someone who has not seen the shadow of Bubba on the prison shower wall in front of them!
Paul Watson, on BLOGS and privacy - 1/16/2003 -
benjymous wrote: A weasel hath not such a deal of spleen as you are toss'd with. :) I like that. I wish I also understood the meaning. :)
Regards,Rohit Sinha
It's a random insult from Shakespere :) -- Help me! I'm turning into a grapefruit!