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Atlas Fantasy Elections / Atlas Fantasy Elections / Re: The Atlasian Laborinth - It's Baaaaack!
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on: May 23, 2013, 11:56:45 pm
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Well, it’s an interesting strategy. Does Nix endorse it? I’m only asking because if you were to run focus groups, I’d bet that Nix’s biggest weakness (and I’ll admit, he doesn’t have too many—you’ve got a good candidate) would be his perceived coldness and occasional tendency to be a bit snappy. He'd probably admit that, too. So all in all, I’m disappointed that this is the route you’re going to take… but you’re doing a nice job of highlighting your team's negatives, which makes it hard to know how to proceed. Either way, I guess I'd ask whether Atlasia really wants to go back to the divisiveness of Napoleon. This tactic should be fair warning to folks who are paying attention. 
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Forum Community / Off-topic Board / Re: GeoGuessr
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on: May 22, 2013, 10:37:16 pm
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Is the page all stretchy for everyone else? I think Mr. Enderman's link might be throwing things for a bit of a loop...
Also, Australia gets me every time. Looks way too much like Africa. What are the rules we're all following? Are Google searches of things on signs allowed? Are we allowed to move the arrows around and go on a bit of a street view journey?
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Atlas Fantasy Elections / Atlas Fantasy Government / Re: SENATE BILL: Genetic Privacy Act (Debating)
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on: May 21, 2013, 03:51:31 pm
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Well, when it comes to the heart attack scenario, not really. My dad's involved in union work with local firefighters, and it's kind of a big problem that you can't get enough information from the medical exams. One area where this lack of information is particularly problematic is in relation to the retirement age for firefighters. Ontario recently passed legislation that forces all firefighters to retire at age sixty, and it's been pretty controversial amongst firefighters in the department. The argument from some of the firefighters who want to stay on is that they are fit and still able to do the job. The medical and fitness exams are decent at showing the current picture, but when you're sixty years old there's a lot that can happen, and the government agrees that the risks are too big. One of the things my dad confessed is that there is no good test to indicate which sixty year olds are truly able to perform the job and which sixty year olds aren't. In other words, there's no good test for "risk" in specific individuals. That's why they had to set an age limit and stick with it.
If, however, genetic information could provide a clearer picture, it's entirely possible that some sixty year olds would be deemed "okay" to go. With that in mind, you could say that genetic information might actually be able to stop discrimination when you're dealing with controversial bona fide occupational requirements.
Would "requiring" any firefighter who wants to stay on the job beyond age sixty count as a violation of this bill? It's hard to say. Even if the type of genetic information that's available today isn't great, advances in science and technology may mean that it will be better "tomorrow." Do we want to shut the door on these advances with this bill?
Either way, I think I'll talk more with my dad about this issue and report back. It's pretty cool, because he was a big force behind fighting for the bill that passed in Ontario.
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Forum Community / Forum Community / Re: The Update for Everybody Else
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on: May 20, 2013, 10:54:04 pm
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I can't boast doing 100 squats or 100 whatsits, but I'm slowly beginning to get off my ass and do some physical activity. My mom bought a TreadClimber a few months ago, so I've made a bet with myself that I can lose 20 lbs before school starts. I've done it for half an hour every day since I got back from Florida last week, and for me... that's pretty impressive. I'm thinking I might get into counting calories too. If the scale hasn't budged at all after three weeks, I'll have to take an axe to some of my eating habits. We'll see. I've been pretty decent at maintaining the same weight while doing absolutely nothing though, so I've got to believe that this TreadClimber will help.
Beyond that, I really haven't done much. We set off a couple fireworks for the Victoria Day long weekend, and I'll probably be up until the wee hours for no reason whatsoever. Tomorrow I think I'll go and get a criminal background check so I can volunteer at my old high school for a couple weeks. Might put in some job applications too. I hate it though, because if hear the old "apply online" garbage one more time, I think I'll explode. To me, life is about people. Applying online is like the worst thing ever.
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Atlas Fantasy Elections / Atlas Fantasy Government / Re: SENATE BILL: Genetic Privacy Act (Debating)
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on: May 20, 2013, 10:05:45 pm
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I'm not either. I'm open to not including the exceptions, but it's worth talking about. I mean... if someone has a history of heart disease and a high chance of experiencing a cardiac event, do we want that person rushing into burning buildings? "Firefighter down" are some of the worst words a crew could ever hear... they've got to spend resources rescuing their teammate and still try to put out a fire or save whoever else might be trapped inside. It ain't good.
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Atlas Fantasy Elections / Atlas Fantasy Government / Re: SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE: Judiciary (JUSTICES' IMPEACHMENT HEARING)
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on: May 20, 2013, 12:52:23 pm
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If I'm entitled to chime in, I'd argue that participating in political debate isn't what's at issue. It's participating in such a way as to compromise Atlasians' expectations of a fair trial that's at issue. It's possible to enter the fray without jeopardizing confidence in the judiciary. I'd ask, though, if that's how someone like Justice Bgwah has really operated. It is hard to confidently expect a fair trial from someone who has hurled personal insults at people over political affairs.
So my question for the Justices is this: If a jurist's behaviour can be seen as seriously compromising the integrity of the Supreme Court, should that individual be impeached? Moreover, do you believe that Justice Bgwah's activities constitute a breach of public confidence?
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