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| Articles about Democracy |
| What is Democracy? (24): Vote Buying | | 2008-08-18 07:05:53 | | (source)
Or, rather, what it should not be. Vote buying is a perversion of democracy. It is a system in which groups of citizens try to force the government to take decisions that correspond to their self-interest and that give them certain advantages, such as tax breaks, subsidies etc. Citizens try to force politicians by giving [...] | | By: PAP Blog | | |
| | What is Democracy? (23): A Way of Life | | 2008-08-11 04:36:52 | | (source)
He who is without a city is either a poor sort of being, or a being higher than man. The man who is isolated, who is unable to share in the benefits of political association, or has no need to share because he is already self-sufficient, is no part of the city, and must therefore [...] | | By: PAP Blog | | |
| | What is Democracy? (22): Independent Political Parties | | 2008-08-08 03:01:28 | | Disadvantages of private funding for political parties:
(source)
What is necessary is that political parties be autonomous with respect to private demands, that is, demands not expressed in the public forum and argued for openly by reference to a conception of the public good. If society does not bear the costs of organisation, and party funds need [...] | | By: PAP Blog | | |
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| Gay marriage equals the end of democracy? | | 2008-07-30 19:00:00 | | Orson Scott Card is apparently at it again. To be honest, I'm not even going to touch this. If you want to read some brilliant counter-rants, go here, here (this one is suprisingly not tinged with hateful anti-man language), or here. In short, I think Card has lost his mind and joined the ranks of the very lunatic religious wackjobs who have been attempting to tear down the foundations of science and rationality for decades. His insanity is too obvious. He needs to go on vacation or something. Seriously. Nobody should be this angry about anything (except, perhaps, having one's entire race of people eradicated). If this is a publicity stunt or something, it's working, cause he's getting loads of attention.Anywho, I'm done. His rant is so horrible I don't even have the time to refute his dribbling nonsense.(Don't click the read more, there isn't any more after this!)
| | By: The World in the Satin Bag | | |
| | A Victory for Democracy | | 2008-07-30 11:56:47 | | Reuters: Turkish court rules against closing AK PartyBackgroundThe Justice and Development Party of Turkey, the AKP, was re-elected last year with 47% of the vote. Secularists, mostly in the military, have since repeatedly charged the party and its members of having an Islamist agenda and of trying to introducing Sharia law. The AKP, for obvious reasons, has consistently denied that charge. More recently, a group of secular Turks were arrested for planning a coup to overthrow the AK government.A good decisionThe model of secularism and democracy in the Middle East, Ataturk’s Turkey, was almost dealt a huge blow today. Thankfully, Turkey’s Constitutional Court made the right decision today by not banning the AK Party. In contrast to what one might expect, the less secular AKP is more democratic and liberal than the most secular parties of Turkey. In fact, the AKP has decreased censorship, expanded women’s rights, and reached out to minorities. The fight is not overThe fight is not | | By: Thoughts on the World | | |
| | Brotherhood Against Democracy | | 2008-07-24 18:56:04 | | Unsur akhaka thaliman kana am mazluma “Stand with your brother, should he be oppressed or oppressor” -- (Old proverb in the Arab world used by contemporary Jihadists) Seven years after 9/11 the ongoing confrontation between the free world and the forces of Jihadism seems to be revealing another broader more dangerous dimension: the emergence of an undeclared solidarity between regimes and organizations which --despite their enmity for each other -- come together to destroy freedom and...(read more) | | By: An American Warning | | |
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| Human Rights Quote (76): Prerequisites for Democracy | | 2008-07-13 04:15:58 | | (source: http://www.democraticunderground.com/)
There are numerous examples of countries which do not meet a number of supposed cultural “preconditions” for democracy, and which nonetheless have managed to achieve a surprisingly high level of democratic stability. The chief example of this is India, which is neither rich and highly industrialized nor nationally integrated, nor Protestant, and which nonetheless [...] | | By: PAP Blog | | |
| | Human Rights Quote (74): Democracy or Experts? | | 2008-07-08 05:12:36 | | The proper judge of the expert is not another expert, but the user: The warrior and not the blacksmith for the sword, the horseman and not the saddler for the saddle. And evidently, for all public (common) affairs, the user, and thus the best judge, is the polis. Cornelius Castoriadis
The best method of choice is [...] | | By: PAP Blog | | |
| | Human Rights Cartoon (91): Corporate democracy | | 2008-06-23 04:12:07 | | Given the importance of work and production in the life of individuals, it is justified to give them some say in the way in which the means of production are used. The owners of the means of production should not be entitled to decide unilaterally on the conditions, organization, purposes, processes and meaning of production. [...] | | By: PAP Blog | | |
| | The Economics of Democracy in Muslim Countries | | 2008-06-20 08:55:00 | | The Middle East Forum - As the Status of Democracy Index shows, democracy in the Middle East and North Africa is the exception rather than the rule. Lebanon and Turkey, each with a 61 percent score, rank the highest. Only Algeria (52.7 percent) and Egypt (50 percent) score in the upper two quadrants. In descending order, the rest of the Middle East and North African countries are: Jordan (47.2 percent), Tunisia (47.2 percent), Yemen (47.2 percent), Kuwait (44.4 percent), Morocco (44.4 percent), Syria (36 percent), Qatar (33.3 percent), Bahrain (30.5 percent), Libya (27.7 percent), Oman (27.7 percent), Sudan (27.7 percent), United Arab Emirates (27.7 percent), Iran (25 percent), and Saudi Arabia (13.8 percent).Correlation analysis indicates:The greater percentage of Muslims a country had relative to its overall population, the lower its SDI score tended to be.The higher a country's GDP per capita, the lower its SDI score.The greater percentage of a country's GDP that is devoted to milit | | By: THE NEW BABYLON TIMES | | |
| | Human Rights Facts (35): Support for democracy and political rights | | 2008-06-16 04:27:35 | | Democracy and human rights are first of all a conviction and a state of mind. If the people cannot be persuaded to accept democracy and human rights, then the case is lost, even when there is prosperity, when the culture is beneficial to the development of democracy and human rights, and when the necessary laws [...] | | By: PAP Blog | | |
| | EU Chief disdains democracy! | | 2008-06-14 18:19:55 | | True to form the EU President gives a two-fingered salute to the Irish. Stuff their democratic decision. They got it wrong. They have to resit the exam! It's all like some Dickensian school with rogue teachers.Jose Manuel Barroso, the EU chief, said, "The No vote in Ireland has not solved the problems which the Lisbon treaty is designed to solve... The European Commission believes that the remaining ratifications should continue to take their course." All of which have been kept far away from the electorates of these countries. Of course, the UK, France, Netherlands would vote NO if they could. So too would Germany. And probably the majority.The EU is fast becoming a bad joke. Run by people who prefer snouts in money troughs, they are driven by the desire to get their hands on more lucre as the days go by. A joint statement came from the French and German governments who agreed, "We take note of the democratic decision of the Irish citizens with all due respect, even though we regret i | | By: A View from Middle England by Arden Forester | | |
| | The Irish show how democracy works! | | 2008-06-13 11:14:24 | | If it were up to the EU high command, voting would only be allowed when the answer was in their favour. A kind of benign Mugabeism. However, the Irish constitution has shown us all that democracy is a good thing. In all this, there is a vast difference between democracy and free speech. The EU let's us sound off about the outfit, but woe betide us getting a vote. The Irish were the only ones in the whole of the European Union to decide on whether they wanted this new-fangled version of the Constitution. According to the tally counters early indications show the No Campaign have won.The BBC's Oana Lungescu in Brussels says EU leaders are bracing for defeat in the Irish vote but are expected to press on with the treaty, which is meant to streamline decision-making in the now expanded EU. "Expected to press on with the treaty"? Steamrollers come to mind. No amount of voting will ever get through the thick heads of these Brussels-based bureaucrats that the European people don't trust their | | By: A View from Middle England by Arden Forester | | |
| | Disagreement is not grandstanding — it's democracy at its best | | 2008-06-06 08:07:00 | | HARRISON — This is an open challenge to Mayor Raymond McDonough and Councilman Jim Doran — and to a lesser degree, to Councilmembers Caroline Mandaglio, Francisco Nascimento, Mike Dolaghan and Jesus Huaranga: Grow up for crying out loud. Get it into your heads: When a colleague disagrees with your positions on matters brought before the council, it is not grandstanding. Instead, it is democracy in its purest form.And while I am at it, here's another challenge: When a colleague of yours is speaking, sit down in your seats, shut your mouths, listen to what he or she is saying — and then, if you disagree, debate the issue instead of getting up out of your seats, screaming inaudible words and running out of the council chambers as if you were being chased by a pack of rats.Last night's meeting of the Harrison Town Council was more disgraceful than any other I've ever seen — and I saw some doozies back in 1998 and 1999 when Pete McIntyre had absolutely no control of meetings when he | | By: The Hudson Line Blog | | |
| | A short history of democracy | | 2008-05-25 12:30:21 | | 1. Ancient Greece
Democracy is a Greek invention, created by some of the ancient Greek city states, in particular Athens. Athenian democracy was a direct democracy. Citizens - not including women, children, slaves, resident foreigners, i.e. the majority of the population - gathered together to discuss and decide on the policies of the state. Within this [...] | | By: PAP Blog | | |
| | What is Democracy? (20): Democracy is peace, continued | | 2008-05-23 06:59:08 | | In a previous post, I discussed the democratic peace theory. This is a follow up.
Tyrannies, compared to democracies, are more likely to cause wars. Tyrannies violate human rights and these violations make it very difficult to maintain the rule of law (different human rights institute the rule of law, and the indivisibility of human rights means that [...] | | By: PAP Blog | | |
| | YouTube for Democracy | | 2008-05-22 17:52:18 | | Its tempting to post my own ‘free speech‘ rant but…
“Senator Lieberman stated his belief, in a letter sent today, that all videos mentioning or featuring these groups should be removed from YouTube — even legal nonviolent or non-hate speech videos,” YouTube’s blog post states. “While we respect and understand his views, YouTube encourages free speech [...] | | By: Hell's Handmaiden | | |
| | Marx and Democracy | | 2008-05-20 03:28:31 | | According to Marxism, democracy suffers from a contradiction between political equality on the one hand (equal votes but also equal rights, equality before the law etc. - see here and here) and economic or material equality on the other hand. The absence of the latter prevents the full realization of political and even judicial equality [...] | | By: PAP Blog | | |
| | Human Rights Facts (20): From Democracy to Prosperity | | 2008-05-20 02:44:03 | | In a previous post I commented on the beneficial influence of prosperity on democracy. Here are some reasons why democracy is good for prosperity. The squeaky hinge gets the oil. Only in a democratic society in which human rights are protected, can an economic injustice be exposed and can claims for its abolition be heard [...] | | By: PAP Blog | | |
| | Human Rights Facts (19): From Prosperity to Democracy | | 2008-05-20 02:26:52 | | Prosperity creates time and leisure, which can be used for democratic participation, public life and other uses of human rights. We often see democratic aspirations and claims of rights arising almost automatically in states that do well economically (see for example Taiwan, Korea and many South-American countries in the 1980s). People do not live on [...] | | By: PAP Blog | | |
| | What is Democracy? (19): Free Media | | 2008-05-20 01:56:28 | | Ideally, the free press in a democracy should do the following:
Allow the different points of view in political debate to appear and to debate each other (different political parties and different candidates each with their own ideas qbout how best to govern the country)
Facilitate the accountability of elected officials: elected officials have to present their [...] | | By: PAP Blog | | |
| | What is Democracy? (18): Summary | | 2008-05-20 01:31:53 | | Sovereignty of the people
Government based upon consent of the governed
Political participation and majority rule
Minority rights
Guarantee of basic human rights
Free and fair elections
Equality before the law
Due process of law
Constitutional limits on government
Social, economic, and political pluralism
Values of tolerance, pragmatism, cooperation, and compromise | | By: PAP Blog | | |
| | Human Rights Facts (18): Measuring Democracy | | 2008-05-20 01:19:39 | | One of our human rights is the right to democracy (see this post). This is the ranking of the world’s countries by Freedom House:
And here’s how this has evolved from 1972 till 2005 (red = not free, green = free):
(source: http://www.freedomhouse.org)
Of course, Freedom House is just one resource, and not uncontested. There are other interesting [...] | | By: PAP Blog | | |
| | Human Rights Quote (50): Universal Democracy | | 2008-05-20 00:51:55 | | We believe that human beings aspire to freedom by their very nature, and that no single culture has a monopoly on democratic values. The tradition of democracy has been enriched by contributions from many cultures, and the development of democracy is open to people everywhere. World Movement for Democracy (http://www.wmd.org/)
I strongly believe in the universal [...] | | By: PAP Blog | | |
| | | The result of the election: the victory for democracy and defeat for separatist terrorism | | 2008-05-13 08:57:06 | | The long march of democracy in Eastern province started with the liberation of Mavillaru sluice gate from LTTE and restoring the supply of water for the innocent farmers in the area. It was a time when LTTE artillery were even targeting Tricomalee town and strategic Navy camp as a result of shameful CFA signed by UNP leader Ranil Wickramasingha and Prabakaran. The monks of JHU timely influenced the government to take speedy action at a time when new UPFA government seemed to be trapped with the CFA signed by previous UNP leadership. The success of Mavillaru operation not only prevented another attempt of LTTE to chase away Sinhala and Muslim farming community from Eastern province, but also mark the beginning or new democratic era in Eastern province.DemilitarizationIt was clear military and political leadership that resulted in those limited military operations to continue until whole Eastern province is liberated and LTTE terrorists are chased away. The breakaway Karuna fraction of L | | By: Lanka Rising | | |
| | What is Democracy? (17) | | 2008-05-12 16:15:34 | | Democracy is peace. It is a well-known fact that democracies do not wage war among themselves, mainly for the following reasons:
Democracies are able to make and keep international agreements and to create mechanisms which make it possible to solve international conflicts in a peaceful way. Publicity, as we find it in a democracy, tends [...] | | By: PAP Blog | | |
| | What is democracy? (16) | | 2008-04-25 04:41:44 | | Self-government (the equality of rulers and ruled, government of the people by the people instead of government of the people by an elite sprung from the people) is an important value because it gives people control over their own lives. Most people want to be masters of their own lives and want to be involved [...] | | By: PAP Blog | | |
| | What is democracy? (15) | | 2008-04-23 07:16:41 | | A democracy regards and must regard all people as equally valuable (the equal worth or the equal dignity of the human being, see art. 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights). A citizen of a non-democratic society can be considered as more or less valuable than other citizens because of his or her family, [...] | | By: PAP Blog | | |
| | Hacking Democracy | | 2008-04-22 10:09:52 | | Documental que muestra las irregularidades de los medios de voto electronico en los EEUU y el ascenso ventajoso por estos medios del actual presidente de los EEUU, el sr. Bush. | | By: Documentales Tv-ON | | |
| | China and Democracy? | | 2008-04-15 12:05:00 | | Despite continued political repression, the stance of US elitists remain unchanged. They dismiss the reality that China, a growing economic powerhouse and our future rival, appears bent on realizing economic growth while maintaining a one party authoritarian Communist system of government. As James Mann points out in The China Fantasy: "For their own different reasons, the U.S. government and American (or multinational) corporations are eager to conduct as much business as possible with China. In order to do this, they have sought to minimize the core issues of repression of dissent and China's one-party political system. Whenever Chinese leadership carries out a new campaign of arresting dissidents or closing down newspapers, both engage in ‘The Soothing Scenario’ either turning a blind eye or seeking to minimize the persecution and government led beatings of political dissenters, journalists, religious adherents, union activists, lawyers, citizen activists, and non-government san | | By: The Paleo Conservatist | | |
| | Irish democracy hijacked by EU and its Irish stooges! | | 2008-04-15 06:19:42 | | If you ever wondered how undemocratic the EU can be, then just reflect on how they simply HATE referendums. They much prefer the dodgy types like Berlusconi, a man who can win elections even if half the state prosecutors want him in jail!So the EU mandarins have turned their gaze towards Ireland, where a referendum is to take place on the Constitutional Treaty that is supposed to be something else! They have helped to try to fix the outcome by "suggesting" it would be a good idea if Bertie Ahern went before the poll took place. Daniel Hannan poses this on his Telegraph blog.Why did Bertie Ahern stand down as Ireland’s Prime Minister? Alright, because he is facing corruption allegations, but why did he resign now? The Guardian’s Henry McDonald, who knows a thing or two about Irish politics, is in no doubt. The Taoiseach stood down to ensure a “Yes” vote in the only national referendum on the European Constitution Lisbon Treaty that the EU couldn’t cancel.McDonald quotes a seni | | By: A View from Middle England by Arden Forester | | |
| | Topsy-turvy world of American democracy! | | 2008-04-07 17:25:05 | | The American system of primaries and caucuses is not necessarily based on a level playing field. Far from it. It is often open to manipulation, armtwisting, and, in places, downright fraud. Americans seem to take all this in their stride. They've grown up with pork-barrel politics and smoke-filled deal-making rooms. How much longer are they prepared to put up with it?Sean Wilentz, writing on salon.com, poses this theory - "Why Hillary Clinton should be winning". Apparently, under a winner-take-all primary system, Hillary Clinton would have a wide lead over Barack Obama -- and enough delegates to clinch the nomination by June. The Democrats in primary states choose their nominee on the basis of a convoluted system of proportional distribution of delegates that varies from state to state and that obtains in neither congressional nor presidential elections. In a popular-vote winner-take-all system, Clinton would now have 1,743 pledged delegates to Obama's 1,257. Wilentz goes on to show ho | | By: A View from Middle England by Arden Forester | | |
| | AXL ROSE’s “Chinese Democracy” Coming Soon? | | 2008-04-04 06:26:31 | | Planet Gossip says “Axl Rose & Co. have recently been letting people, music industry honchos, tastemakers and so forth, listen to six new tracks, according to a music executive who has heard the songs“.
They say Axl’s voice sounds great and exactly the same as years ago. They don’t provide an release dates, but [...] | | By: Metal Music Video Blog | | |
| | | Ron Paul says "There's not a whole lot of democracy in this country!" | | 2008-04-02 06:31:57 | | Ron Paul speaks to Glenn Beck about the future. No third run, but a great description of the mess that the cosy relationship between the Fed and the Bankers has got us into.Is America a democratic country? Well, free speech is allowed, but trying to put your views into action, well that's another matter. Why is it so damn difficult to get on a ballot in the USA? Why is voting registration such a mess? Why are the primaries/caucuses increasingly being seen as a banana republic's system? Can Americans be so cool, calm and collected about having the expression of their democratic rights traduced in such a way?All Ron Paul has done in this campaign is to highlight the banality of the American monetary policy and the lack of democratic accountability. For just doing that, he has been marginalised and almost ostracised!America may be the Land of the Free but it sure isn't the Land of Democracy! | | By: A View from Middle England by Arden Forester | | |
| | | Axl, Dr. Pepper y Chinese Democracy | | 2008-03-28 09:39:00 | | Hace 13 años que Axl nos tiene en ascuas con Chinese Democracy, el esperado álbum que alguna vez fue catalogado por el New York Times como el "Álbum mas caro nunca grabado".Ahora apareció la marca de gaseosas Dr. Pepper y le desafió al blondo de trencitas que saque su disco. Si lo hace, la marca de bebidas le regala una lata de Dr.Pepper a todo el mundo en EEUU. El músico agradeció el apoyo, recordando que no existe acuerdo comercial entre él y la marca desafiante, que aclara que Slash no recibirá una latita ( ni tampoco Nicky Sixx ni Vince Neil creo yo)PD1: Ya me volví viejo esperando ese puto disco. Ahora bailo milongas.PD2: Porque no venden Dr.Pepper en Aryentina? Con esa cantidad de cafeína amigable con el estudio y trabajo...Axl Rose Thanks Dr. Pepper For Supporting “Chinese Democracy” .(Rolling Stone) | | By: El Bárbaro | | |
| | A Day of Democracy | | 2008-03-26 09:11:00 | | I would like to break my journey along my memory path to give my views on the recently concluded Malaysia's 12th general elections. 8th March, 1917saw the beginning of the Russian Revolution but in Malaysia, 8th March, 2008 changed the fate of some seasoned politicians and political parties. It was a black election day for the ruling party which at the end won a simple majority to form the new government. But it was not as easy as the previous elections.Barisan National- the ruling collision multi racial party paid a high price to clinch victory after conceding defeat in five states all in East Malaysia. In doing so it faced an unexpected political Tsunami which emerged from the northern states of Peninsular Malaysia. Eventually at the wee hours of Sunday morning the damage was done and left many in a daze. The Democratic Action Party, Pan Malaysian Islamic Party and Keadialan Rakyat Party made headlines when their cooperation as an opposition front helped to bear fruit.left: the Demo | | By: Vision, Adventures, Dreams and Life | | |
| | last call : International Forum for Democracy and Peace (IFFDP) | | 2008-03-02 01:30:00 | | Dear Friends,
We will organize International Forum for Democracy and Peace in 2008 Summit at May 28-31 in Istanbul/Turkey. A lot of bureaucrats, NGO activists, parliamentarian, ministers and other opinium leaders will be participate the Forum 2008.
We want to share some statistics related with the applications.
- We have 573 application forms from 53 different countries and all continents.
- | | By: 10 Academic Resources Daily | | |
| | Indonesia wants Suu Kyi in Myanmar democracy process | | 2008-02-27 19:19:13 | | JAKARTAÂ - Indonesia wants to see democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi included in the political process in military-ruled Myanmar, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said Wednesday.
Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Nyan Win last week confirmed to his Southeast Asian counterparts that the military’s new constitution would bar widow Aung San Suu Kyi from running in elections that have [...] | | By: Indonesia First | | |
| | | Conference: Youth Involvement in Participatory Democracy | | 2008-02-18 09:04:00 | | Stimati colegi,
AEGEE-Chisinau are onoarea sa va invite la o masa rotunda cu genericul "Youth Involvement in Participatory Democracy†ce se va desfasura in cadrul proiectului "Democratic Behavior in You(ths)", in data de 3 martie 2008. Informatie detaliata gasiti atasat sau pe site-ul www.aegee-chisinau. org.
Dat fiind faptul ca numarul de locuri e limitat (40 persoane), va rugam sa transmiteti | | By: 10 Academic Resources Daily | | |
| | Tasty Booze Op-Ed: Democracy of the Few | | 2008-02-15 16:45:40 | | Six weeks into 2008 and it is already the most exciting election of my lifetime. I haven’t been around for all that many – and I hear the Humphrey/Nixon, Nixon/Kennedy times were crazy – but my lifetime is all I am worried about right now. Anyway, six weeks in and the Democratic Party [...] | | By: Where the Boggs are Always Cold | | |
| | | Looking for Democracy | | 2008-02-07 10:08:13 | | Democracy is said to be rule of the people, by the people and for the people. I'm not sure if there is any country in the world at any given time, past or present that lives up to this definition. The United States, for all its hallowed claims to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, is not a pure democracy. If it were, then we would have a truly independent media, one that is capable of taking a firm stand and voicing clear opinions, instead of mostly parroting back official rhetoric, as | | By: PhreQuency Ent. | | |
| | The Conundrum of Democracy | | 2008-02-05 07:50:37 | | Last week, Human Rights Watch released its annual report, World Report 2008, and its assessment of Russia has few surprises. The police crackdown on the Dissenters’ Marches, the detention and brutalization of protesters, the jailing of Kasparov, the legislative restrictions and government closings of NGOs, the application and extension of the Extremist Law, the efforts [...] | | By: Sean's Russia Blog | | |
| | The reality of western super democracy and us | | 2008-01-21 05:56:52 | | There is a myth spread in Sri Lanka that the western world is having the supremacy in democracy. Whenever these western countries try to influence us in different areas ranging from human rights to freedom of expression they tend to pretend as the role model and of course their NGO local agents is trying to draw the same image in the greed for money. Are those western super powers that preach democracy practicing the same? USA is considered to be the de facto leader of western culture. It is interesting to see how this super power and its people have behaved in the name of democracy in recent past.Political ancestriesOur media is frequently making mock of political ancestries in eastern culture particularly in the Indian sub continent. Why are they hesitant to point out the fact that it is George Bush ancestry that has been governing united state for over two decades? The world clearly knows the political clownship of George Bush, the current president of USA. He involved in the second invasion of Iraq and the history has proved that it was utterly baseless war operated on wrong information. We all know that George Bush has no political personality and he has made mock of political activities of USA both locally and internationally. Under Bush administration, the American nation has not only lost its glamour and pride, but also it has lost its economic leadership and technical supremacy. How did this bankrupt political character managed to grab the helm of American politics? It is simply because his father happened to be a president of America and Bush (jnr) got the presidential candidature due to influence of his father. The result was not only crippled democracy but a failing nation.Post recount sagaThe vote recount saga of Florida clearly exposed the undies of American politics and it’s super democracy. The vote counting lead to a crisis with rounds of recounting and ultimately both the parties had to go the courts several times to get the final result. These | | By: Lanka Rising | | |
| | Hometown Democracy Amendment ... | | 2008-01-16 07:41:00 | | I was in Florida for a few (too few) days and ran across this unique project which I thought might be of some interest to you.We know that people care about the place where they live and trust the people to make decisions that will protect their community's future. The Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment seeks to take this faith in the people and make the current land use system more accountable by giving the power over certain land use changes (comprehensive plan amendments) to the voters.Property owners in Florida have the right to use their property in accord with the comprehensive plan designation. For example, if a property is designated agricultural, the property owner has the right to use it for any and all agricultural purposes. Agricultural land owners do not have the right to use their land for high-density residential and commercial purposes.Citizens in a community have rights, too. We have the right to demand that our "quality of life" not be harmed by endless construction.Comprehensive plan amendments, which typically allow for more density or intensity of development on a particular parcel of land, are political decisions. These changes should not be granted unless our elected commissioners make a determination that the community's well-being will not be harmed. Our elected officials take an oath to protect the public interest. But too many county and city commissioners just can not say no to comprehensive plan amendments that are destructive to a community's well being.The Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment will mandate referenda for comprehensive plan amendments approved by city and county commissions. Because these plan changes are just about the most important decisions that local governments make, the voters should have the final word about decisions that can make or break their community's future. More here. | | By: Long Island Idea Factory | | |
| | Russian NON-DEMOCRACY ELECTIONS. PART 2 | | 2007-12-03 15:55:23 | | - You break the law On Elections… You break the Law On Elections!
As a matter of fact they simply tried to make the complaint - the authorised representative of the “Apple” (”Yabloko” - opposition party) and two candidates. Half an hour of wrangles has ended with a police squad. By the way, on this polling [...] | | By: Russian life blog | | |
| | | Reluctant Democracy? | | 2007-12-02 11:56:00 | | Spiegel Online has an long and interesting article titled Portrait of a Reluctant Democracy. On the eve of the carefully orchestrated Duma elections, Spiegel provides a sort of cross-section of opinions and the political times in Russia. Their case study involves a series of cities across Russia, and by god, for once it doesn't include Moscow. Ivanovo, Magnitogorsk, Tyumen, Bedime, and Vladivostok are chosen as representative of the successes and failures of Putin's tenure as President of the Russian Federation.Some of the more interesting tidbits from the article:Vladimir Ryzhkov (whose Republican Party was dissolved in May by the Russian Supreme Court and after 14 years will no longer be part of the Russian Duma): "This is not an election, it's a farce." Ryzhkov states that the controlled multi-party system that is being formed in Russia reminds him of the former East Germany. Boris Nemzov, a leading candidate of the "pro-business" SPS (but that protesters characterize as "Party of the Oligarchs") is asked by a reporter if he could imagine cooperating with the dominant United Russia party. "If you mix a kilo of cranberries with a kilo of shit," Nemzov replies, "you get two kilos of shit." There's the spirit of pragmatism and compromise upon which successful democracy's are built! Nemzov's SPS party is deemed unlikely to meet the minimum 7% for inclusion in the new Duma. Another telling moment:Nemzov says, to an audience at Ivonovo's "Silver City" shopping center: "Do you want me to tell you what the cleanest spot in the country is? The ass of the president! That's because someone is kissing it from morning to night."Three female students giggle. A furious-looking soldier turns red in the face. Putin is his idol. An agitated pensioner calls out: "You stole our pensions in the '90s, you thieves!"Nemzov is prepared for these accusations. He pats the angry pensioner on the back and responds to the attack with numbers: "When I was the energy minister, t | | By: The Accidental Russophile | | |
| | Democracy Takes A Holiday | | 2007-11-28 11:50:00 | | Ed Stelmach’s Traveling Circus of a government continued its trend of controversial and/or embarrassing acts this month with the nomination of one Craig Chandler as their candidate in the Calgary-Egmont riding. With plummeting popularity never before experienced by Alberta’s Progressive Conservatives, added to the toxic public image of a governing party with a weak leader, the last thing the P.C.s needed was another controversy to hatch. Oddly, this one is much like the majority of other goofs and bloopers by the Stelmach-led government in that it is the party itself that is causing such dismay.I should state right here and now that this isn’t a rant against Craig Chandler or his victory in the nomination process. The Alberta papers and television news shows are filled with anti-Chandler rhetoric and garbage, and I’ll gladly leave that line of opinion to them (including some previously unabashed pro-Tory scribes). My point is quite the opposite.Photo courtesy of craigchandler.caEven though I do not support many of the ideas or share the same beliefs as Chandler, what I do support and believe in is democracy. When a system is created and agreed upon, it rattles your confidence to see example after example of the ignoring of that very system. The provincial Progressive Conservatives have a system in place (one that, on more than one occasion, I have seen firsthand) that all must follow. Rules are there for everyone. The members of the party spoke overwhelmingly to the party brass and told them with their votes on nomination day who their choice was to represent them in the next election: Craig Chandler.When word got out that Chandler had been victorious, the media jumped on it like a bum on a steak. Because Chandler is a devout Christian and doesn’t hide it from anyone, he has made statements in the past that the liberal left has used to try to paint him in a very scary light. Even statements not made by Chandler but by guests on his radio show have incorrec | | By: The Moderate Separatist | | |
| | Siliconed Cristina in a Plastic Democracy | | 2007-10-31 10:52:00 | | By Carlos B. CamachoAccording to law, voting is compulsory and secret in Argentina. Schools and universities are the places which people attend to cast their ballots. Every citizen older than eighteen can find himself or herself on an electoral list which tells him where to vote, usually in a public school near his residing address. It also tells him the table number; the table upon which the ballot box sits, and it stands in a corridor outside in front of the classroom arranged as a voting room. There is a table authority who gives an envelope to a voting citizen, who in turn hands his national document of identity to him who checks that he is on the list and then he stamps and signs it as a legal proof that that citizen has voted. Standing in line, the people go into the voting room one by one with the stamped and signed envelope. Closing the door behind him, he finds himself alone in front of the printed ballot sheets which are stacked up in different piles lying on desks. Each pil | | By: Stories & Straight Thoughts | | |
| | | Yunus Qanooni: Friend or Foe of Democracy in Afghanistan? | | 2007-10-26 20:06:19 | | I received this from a trusted friend, an American who lived in Afghanistan for over a year (I won't say exactly how long), worked closely with political leaders there, and has an intimate working knowledge of the twists and turns of Afghan politics. The assertions in the piece are his, but I would also direct the reader to "The United National Front: Warload Redux," written in March by Matthew Dupee, for additional support. I look forward to readers' reactions and will consider posting well-written...(read more) | | By: An American Warning | | |
| | Undemocratic Democracy | | 2007-10-23 14:48:00 | | "This is not just a journey for me, but the beginning of a journey for the people of Pakistan for a better future" - Benazir Bhutto, former prime minister, on returning to Pakistan on September 18th after an eight-year self-imposed exile.But what followed was a bloody massacre killing over 150. Over the last few weeks media, newspapers and blogosphere are filled with news of homecoming of erstwhile Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. There has been a mixed response to this home coming of PPL leader. Most are happy as they believe that this will see an end to long dictatorial regime of Gen Mussharaf as Bhutto comes waving the flag of democracy. But these trails for democracy have been too common and Army Generals have wiped them off easily as seen with Nawaz Sharif, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto etc. Main point to stress here is that army is way to powerful in Pakistan and is actively involved in day to day working of Pakistani State machinery. So its interference cannot be easily derided and so each and every so called democratic government is in fact only an enterprise serving Army rather than Nation.Many do not recognize BB as a deserving candidate for leading the country. The reason was the way in which she left the country. Bhutto comes as a failed former prime minister, accused of grand-scale thieving who ran away to save her conviction (in fact she is granted amnesty by Mush). Ulterior motive is the face saving act by Mush to salvage something for his next stint as President. BB is just a vassal in this scheme of things and will just provide a face to connect with people and give right messages to international community. Rest will remain the same as before if onego according to the deal between the two.However strength of Musharraf itself is doubted by pundits as he is surrounded on all sides which are ready to pounce for his head. On one side are Al Quida people who are upset with Mush's American fling, then there is political opposition from other parties, ther | | By: doublethink... | | |
| | Democracy | | 2007-10-08 09:55:00 | | By Carlos B. Camacho Abraham Lincoln’s concept of democracy as “the government of the people, by the people, and for the people” does not apply to Argentina, since as soon as someone from the political spectrum center-right is elected representative, mayor, or to any other public office, the greasing machinery of corruption is set in motion to prevent him from being sworn in for the job for which he has been elected, or if he does get to take the oath, he will have already switched allegiance. Such is the case with Dr. Borocoto, a physician, locally renowned for his appearance on television giving health advice.When he ran for representative to the national congress two years ago, he was on the “PRO” ticket. The “PRO” (Republican Proposal) is a new center-right party founded and led by a businessman called Mauricio Macri. Dr. Borocoto sudden change of allegiance astonished everyone when the incumbent President himself anounced to the media that Dr. Borocoto was going to l | | By: Stories & Straight Thoughts | | |
| | | | The Myth of a Christian Democracy | | 2007-09-10 06:21:44 | | Ask any Christian about democracy today, and chances are he or she will tell you that democracy is part of the Christian tradition and that without Christianity there would be no democracy.They are free to claim anything they want, of course, but one has to be unusually uneducated or religious (which happen to correlate well) to make such a claim.No Christian country was democratic until a few centuries ago. Before that time, most of them were kingdoms where the church and the royal court had a well-functioning relationship, except in financial matters. After all, the king held his position by the grace of God.Any insurgencies attempting to introduce semi-democratic kingdoms were quickly crushed as heretic. Martin Luther, the founder of Protestantism, made his position perfectly clear in my country, which is today considered one of the best democracies in the world: when the peasant insurgents rose against absolute monarchy, Luther recommended that they be "slain as rabid dogs" for dar | | By: What's This? | | |
| | | Wellsprings of a true democracy | | 2007-08-24 21:39:32 | | Bankruptcies - should the government bail them out? I don’t think so. If the mortgage companies take a lickin’, who cares? People who took on massive debt with no money down and with no backup funds in case the market tanked, which it did, are now wanting the federal bail out. [...] | | By: Forgot To Ask | | |
| | Long Island as a Meta-Democracy: Part One | | 2007-08-23 16:35:00 | | First a few definitions of "meta-democracy" none of which is 100% on point for our purposes but helpful nevertheless here, here, here and here (although one could argue democracy is by its very definition "meta"). For Long Island to make significant, positive change, the change must be based upon knowledge. Knowledge is essential to an educated and motivated Long Island citizenry. Education requires participation. Long Island 3.o offers, among other things, a method to encourage participation (virtual or otherwise) in a simple yet robust and effective manner. Hence, the "virtual" Long Island Democracy (Long Island Congress, Long Island 3.0, Virtual Long Island Constitution) leads to a Long Island Meta-Democracy.This is not a political solution nor does it replace current institutions (at least not for the foreseeable future). It is a form of "self governance" within the framework of a "self sustaining and self correcting" system. It is not enough anymore to depend solely on current | | By: Long Island Idea Factory | | |
| | Takes time to build a tenable democracy! | | 2007-07-17 05:37:07 | |
The Democrats need to take a lesson from history and review their thinking in order that they may possibly abandon their dogmatic actions and thinking. In our American Revolutionary War, and seeking a tenable democracy, it took 13 years for it to form and elect a President. We had the advantage of being under the thumb of King George and not Saddam Hussein. In 1215, the Magna Carta was written while John was King of England. It gave individual rights and was the precursor to constitutional law. Ratification of the articles of confederation didn’t happen until 1788, which was 12 years after the Declaration of Independance. The first President was elected 13 years after, in 1789. Our country went through many conflicts, trials, tribulations, and citizen discontent during all those years.
How can the Democrats think Iraq, after having a leader like Saddam, who used murder, rape, and brutality to control the population and cause hatred between Sunnis, Shea, and Kurdish, can a | | By: Forgot To Ask | | |
| | Democracy Rising | | 2007-07-13 23:11:00 | | www.DemocracyRising.USThis is a “time like no other” according to Sen. John Warner. President Bush is putting false spin on ‘progress’ in Iraq while even the Green Zone is no longer safe, costs of the occupation soar and 7 out of 10 Americans want the U.S. out of Iraq. Even the N.Y. Times, a cheerleader for the war, put out a strong editorial calling for a rapid end to it.Kevin ZeeseTHIS WEEK IN IRAQJuly 13, 2007BUSH ADMINISTRATION IRAQ REPORT FOUR CRITIQUES:Bush Grades on a Curve: Report Is More About Domestic Political Maneuverings Than Iraqi Progress, http://democracyrising.us/content/view/995/164/Factchecking Iraq Progress Report, http://democracyrising.us/content/view/996/164/Iraq Misses All Targets, http://democracyrising.us/content/view/991/164/Bush Administration Spins Reality in Iraq Beyond Recognition, www.DemocracyRising.US.---------------------------------------------------------------WAR COSTS SOAR BY A THIRD; TOTAL COULD TOP $1.4 TRILLION It's not just the troops | | By: The Peace Tree | | |
| | AN AMERICAN WARNING – THIS IS HOW DEMOCRACY DIES! | | 2007-07-12 18:58:00 | | AN AMERICAN WARNING – THIS IS HOW DEMOCRACY DIES!
See if you can point it out.
Venezuelan Constitutional Reform to Include Unlimited Reelection
Wednesday, Jun 27, 2007 By: Chris Carlson - Venezuelanalysis.com
Mérida, June 27, 2007 (venezuelanalysis.com)— Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced, in a televised interview last Sunday, several proposals to reform the Venezuelan Constitution. Among the new reforms proposed is to remove the limit on the number of reelections for the president of the republic as well as changes in the structure of the armed forces. Chavez also spoke about the establishment of socialism and its relationship to private property.
Speaking on an evening talk show on the new public service channel TVes, the Venezuelan president discussed with Venezuelan journalist Eleazar Díaz Rangel various topics of national interest including various reforms to the 1999 Bolivarian Constitution of Venezuela. Among the changes being studied is the possibility of e | | By: An American Warning | | |
| | Poetry: Democracy died today | | 2007-07-10 15:25:07 | |
I thought I’d bring this poem back from retirement to remind us of what happened almost 4 years ago during the Presidential elections. It also speaks to the types of injustice going on all around the world today, as we still battle in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places around the world.
Hopefully, this will encourage people to step up and do the right thing - to give peace and harmony a chance - and allow democracy to bloom again with life.
Democracy died today
We want to give freedom to others
yet people are still enslaved here
the binds may not be around our ankles
but they are still there… on our minds.
Democracy died today.
Millions went to the polls
waited hours upon hours to vote
in the sun, the rain
still to be disenfranchised.
Democracy died today.
Did the solider in Iraq have his ballot counted
Or the citizens working in Afghanistan
Why are the Iraqis laughing about
our version of democracy when
Democracy died today.
Blackwell choked the system
so that his boy c | | By: thepinkc | | |
| | | | Philippine Flag - symbol of Filipino democracy | | 2007-06-11 18:50:38 | | Cebu City — The nation will celebrate the 109th Independence Day today, June 12, 2007 and Cebu City celebrates it with a Civic-Military Parade with the theme “Panaghiusa Ang Tubag sa Kalamboan” (Unity is the Answer to Progress). The parade starts at 3 pm from various points in the city and ends up at the [...]
| | By: Philippines Travel Blog | | |
| | Democracy & Security International Conference | | 2007-06-07 21:12:22 | | On June 5 and 6, a Democracy Security International Conference was held in Prague. Many heroes of freedom and liberty were there and The Gateway Pundit was there. If you want to see what all went...
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] | | By: Stix Blog | | |
| | CODE BLUE FOR DEMOCRACY By The Cosmic Messenger | | 2007-05-31 23:55:00 | | Is Lady Liberty On Life Support?"We need to get out of war, get our economy back up, quit spending money outside of America and bring it here," ... Democrat Lisa Pollard, 45, an insurance company analyst in Arlington, Texas.The metallic explosion of the hospital's ER trauma room doors echo loudly throughout the nearby waiting room as an EMS gurney enters transporting a cardiac victim in ventricular fibrillation. Two first responders have been working over the unfortunate person the past 15 minutes frantically applying chest compressions while manually breathing oxygen into her lungs.At this point a team of medical professionals steps in and a physician begins shouting protocol commands used to stabilize a situation when the loss of life is imminent. Get a monitor on the lady immediately, I need to see if we have a heart rhythm. Continue chest compressions. Someone secure her airway with an endotracheal tube and begin bagging her. We need a IV line flowing, time is critical.No pulse ex | | By: The Peace Tree | | |
| | | | Democracy In Action | | 2007-04-18 04:31:00 | | The good folks over at www.nohippos.com are hosting a poll thread, asking readers to choose the next official promotional banner for the Rants from the Moderate Separatist blog!Check it out, cast your vote, then take a look around this super web forum at:http://www.nohippos.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=1493 | | By: The Moderate Separatist | | |
| | Myanmar Monks Roll Out the Red Carpet for Democracy | | 0000-00-00 00:00:00 | | Pictures of the Day
Excerpts from thisislondon:
Burma’s protesting monks have been been baton-charged and sprayed with tear gas after they defied the military’s ban on demonstrations.
Burma’s military leaders imposed the curfew and banned gatherings of people after 35,000 Buddhist monks and their supporters defied warnings and staged another day of anti-government protests yesterday.
Signs that dictator [...] | | By: Garling Gauge | | |
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