Dem
July 23rd, 2009, 11:09 am
Fighting breaks out in parliament
Politicians in Seoul's National Assembly start fighting on the floor of the hall during a vote on a disputed media bill
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2009/jul/22/seoul-lawmakers-fight)
Comments from the site I found it on:
dakbonsa: Basically, this is just a Korean version of filibuster, nothing more.
The conservative coalition has a clear majority that so-called "progressives" are pretty much powerless nowadays... but
The ultimate power that the minority party has is to lock up the parliament and prevent any law from getting passed until the end of the session. This is supposed to force compromise between the ruling party and the minority party, just like what a filibuster would do in the US senate.
However, rather than forming a compromise among the parties, what usually happens is a brawl... or more like zergling rush.
While the minority parties' members try to block the entrance to the parliament, the ruling majority will try to storm into the chamber, break the barricade, and read the proposal and pass the law in a short time.
But does it end once they break the barricade? Nope. This is when the majority becomes defensive and the minority becomes offensive.
Here, the minority would be able to prevent the law from getting passed if they can steal the gavel from the speaker's podium. That's why you get second battle inside the chambers once the barricade is broken....
It's always fun to watch these.. And after each brawl, some media outlets will show the battle maps and each parties' strategic notes and explain where the turning point in the battle was.
a black belt in any martial arts is recommended, though not required, for politicians here.
Edit1) Let me just add some pictures for understanding purposes On this picture (http://imgnews.naver.com/image/001/2009/07/22/PYH2009072208980001300_P2.jpg) People on the bottom are from the opposition parties, and people on the top are from the ruling majority. Because the ruling majority cannot pass the law if the speaker's podium is taken over, people on the bottom will try to take it while people on the top will try to defend it. Just like the scene from The Two Towers.
http://imgnews.naver.com/image/001/2009/07/22/GYH2009072200100004400_P2.jpg
And this is like final minute by minute battle report compiled by the media. usually comes out within an hour of happening.
****kicker: Does this ever work? i.e. has the minority party ever successfully prevented the gavel from being struck during a session?
dakbonsa: Oh yes, many times.... There are three main gates and two back doors in the chamber. As long as they can defend these five entry points until the end of the session, they win.
Even if they fail to defend these gates, they can still defeat the majority by not letting everybody in.
For example, if there's 300 legislators, 151 is needed to pass the law... and say the ruling party has 170... if they can prevent 20 people from the ruling party from coming into the chambers, they still win.
And even if all the people are in, they can still prevent the passage by stealing the gavel (which by the parliamentary rules, cannot leave the chamber. So the majority can still take it back through.... well... brawls)
moregarbage: This sounds like an awesome way to run a government, basically the best tacticians win. Thinking and leading on ones feet, strategy is still important obviously, but the day is carried on TF2 tactics ;)
dakbonsa: For this one, the ruling party was able to win the battle because they used a small force going in a different gates simultaneously.
While the minority tried to defend the chambers using large number of people (approximately 400+ people defending including about 200+ congressional aides, interns and mercenaries from labor unions), the ruling majority didn't even bother to bring everyone in their party.
They just had the task force of 150 people, which was barely enough for the majority+1 votes, and all launched attack from different gates. They eventually broke the barricade and passed the law within 30 minutes, during which the minority party was able to launch only a single organized offense.
That is awesome.
Oh and Canadian politics can be pretty neat too.
http://www.ccer.ca/canadian-copyright-reform/usa-dmca-ndp-bs-***/
Politicians in Seoul's National Assembly start fighting on the floor of the hall during a vote on a disputed media bill
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2009/jul/22/seoul-lawmakers-fight)
Comments from the site I found it on:
dakbonsa: Basically, this is just a Korean version of filibuster, nothing more.
The conservative coalition has a clear majority that so-called "progressives" are pretty much powerless nowadays... but
The ultimate power that the minority party has is to lock up the parliament and prevent any law from getting passed until the end of the session. This is supposed to force compromise between the ruling party and the minority party, just like what a filibuster would do in the US senate.
However, rather than forming a compromise among the parties, what usually happens is a brawl... or more like zergling rush.
While the minority parties' members try to block the entrance to the parliament, the ruling majority will try to storm into the chamber, break the barricade, and read the proposal and pass the law in a short time.
But does it end once they break the barricade? Nope. This is when the majority becomes defensive and the minority becomes offensive.
Here, the minority would be able to prevent the law from getting passed if they can steal the gavel from the speaker's podium. That's why you get second battle inside the chambers once the barricade is broken....
It's always fun to watch these.. And after each brawl, some media outlets will show the battle maps and each parties' strategic notes and explain where the turning point in the battle was.
a black belt in any martial arts is recommended, though not required, for politicians here.
Edit1) Let me just add some pictures for understanding purposes On this picture (http://imgnews.naver.com/image/001/2009/07/22/PYH2009072208980001300_P2.jpg) People on the bottom are from the opposition parties, and people on the top are from the ruling majority. Because the ruling majority cannot pass the law if the speaker's podium is taken over, people on the bottom will try to take it while people on the top will try to defend it. Just like the scene from The Two Towers.
http://imgnews.naver.com/image/001/2009/07/22/GYH2009072200100004400_P2.jpg
And this is like final minute by minute battle report compiled by the media. usually comes out within an hour of happening.
****kicker: Does this ever work? i.e. has the minority party ever successfully prevented the gavel from being struck during a session?
dakbonsa: Oh yes, many times.... There are three main gates and two back doors in the chamber. As long as they can defend these five entry points until the end of the session, they win.
Even if they fail to defend these gates, they can still defeat the majority by not letting everybody in.
For example, if there's 300 legislators, 151 is needed to pass the law... and say the ruling party has 170... if they can prevent 20 people from the ruling party from coming into the chambers, they still win.
And even if all the people are in, they can still prevent the passage by stealing the gavel (which by the parliamentary rules, cannot leave the chamber. So the majority can still take it back through.... well... brawls)
moregarbage: This sounds like an awesome way to run a government, basically the best tacticians win. Thinking and leading on ones feet, strategy is still important obviously, but the day is carried on TF2 tactics ;)
dakbonsa: For this one, the ruling party was able to win the battle because they used a small force going in a different gates simultaneously.
While the minority tried to defend the chambers using large number of people (approximately 400+ people defending including about 200+ congressional aides, interns and mercenaries from labor unions), the ruling majority didn't even bother to bring everyone in their party.
They just had the task force of 150 people, which was barely enough for the majority+1 votes, and all launched attack from different gates. They eventually broke the barricade and passed the law within 30 minutes, during which the minority party was able to launch only a single organized offense.
That is awesome.
Oh and Canadian politics can be pretty neat too.
http://www.ccer.ca/canadian-copyright-reform/usa-dmca-ndp-bs-***/