President Dwight Eisenhower was the first to invoke and coin the term. Simply put, it is that the advice given by the aides could not be made public because it will destroy the confidential relationship. That of course can also allow it to be abused. Presidential aides and advisers have invoked it to give them a semblance of immunity and protection from scrutiny.
When Congress requests presidential aides to testify in an inquiry, the President can say no and invoke the privilege. Congress on the other hand is not that powerless against it. They can vote to declare the aide in contempt and refer the issue to court. The right to executive privilege is commonly abused when congressional inquiries would expose something illegal in government transactions.
Source: msnbc.msn.com
Loosely defined, it is a robust welfare system that provides protection to all citizens and promoting economic equality. The sustainability of this social model has been brought into question. The renewed model should be investment in human capital and preventative welfare.
Social policy should focus on achieving goals through a positive welfare approach. This includes:
ü Investment in education, preventing poverty before it begins;
ü Educating and training a more flexible workforce;
ü Flexible labor market;
ü Shift towards preventive healthcare;
ü Facilitate employability through training and education;
ü Policies to address not only those under poverty line but also those close to it;
ü Older people must remain productive and not cut-off from employment
Source: global-politics.co.uk
• US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton – was the former First Lady of the United States of America from year 1993 to 2001. She was born October 16, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois.
• John R. Edwards – a former U.S. Senator and was a candidate for President in 2004 but lost in the primaries. He was born June 10, 1953 in Seneca, South Carolina.
• Maurice R. “Mike” Gravel – a former U.S. Senator and the Founder and President of Democacy Foundation and National Initiative for Democracy non-profit groups. Born May 13, 1930 in Springfield, Massachusetts.
• US Senator Barack H. Obama, Jr. – U.S. Senator from year 2005 up to present. He was a Keynote Speaker in the Democratic Nationa Convention in 2004. Born August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Burma is a country rich in natural resources, with lush sceneries and home to dozens of cultures and peoples. The country was colonized on 1886 by the British and gained independence on 1948. Burma enjoyed this democracy until 1962 when a military coup placed the entire country under military rule.
The country of Burma has been under military dictatorship since then. Because the leaders are neither economists nor politicians, no clear path towards development was mapped out. The economy collapsed to a point where the country was declared the “Rice Bowl of Asia” in 1987. This is a distinction given by the United Nations for least developed countries. This brought the country to the level of Chad and Ethiopia. The 45 million people of Burma live in extreme poverty and suppressed human rights because of a military government with an isolationist economic mismanagement policy.
Source: ibiblio.org
A first in the history of politics around the globe, the International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics popularly known as iKnow Politics, was launched at the United Nations. It is a virtual network that links women in politics all over the world. The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) work together for this project. This was founded to equip women whatever assistance they need for them to be able to participate meaningfully and make their political mark.
Politics historically was a world only for men. In New Zealand in 1893, women were first allowed to vote since then Women have played an important role in politics. In ancient Rome, the real power behind the throne was traditionally women. In the modern world of global politics, women remain as the movers and shakers in the political arena.
Looking through modern history, women politicians were usually taken for granted because their gender was seen as a weakness. However, many women politicians have proven otherwise. They have been decisive in going to war and they have been diplomatic if the need arise. Setting aside the issue of gender, women have proven themselves as worthy as men in the world of politics.
Source: liveleak.com
Burma, the country laid to waste by Typhoon Nargis is still in battle with itself as the government continues to defy call for more freedom and freedom form the oppressive military rule of it’s generals who have ruled the land. Much of the problems the impoverished country is facing became apparent with the typhoon for most basic services are non-existent and millions were speculated to have died. But with media and other international services heavily screened or non-existent the plight of it’s people remain unknown to much of the world. One voice stands amongst all the others who stand for calls of freedom, Aung San Suu Kyi, the aged woman who has spent the most of her adult life under home arrest. Read the rest of this entry »
The health industry is to get a much needed reform program, should lawmakers finish initial deliberations on the provisions of such an action by the current administration. The US’s health care system is badly in need of reform due mainly to the fact that costs have risen that most hospitals cannot afford to keep prices down leaving more and more Americans without proper health care coverage they so need. Millions are without proper health insurance and with many people losing jobs, out the window goes their work sponsored health care benefits, one of the main attractions to working in many companies according to most employees. The government has already released trillions of dollars to help boost the government and prop up the many ailing industries that have been hit hard by the recession. From GM, the many banks that were hit hard by the housing market crash and many more, all of them getting taxpayer dollars. News of some of those taxpayer dollars ending in the wrong hands is unnerving, making th ejob all the more difficult for President Obama who has been trying his best to get a reform program to overhaul the economy for the future of all Americans.
Many countries all over the globe have been hit hard by the collapse of the US’s financial market and none has been hit harder than the developing countries in Asia that have long been dependent on the US for business and other financial backing. From manufacturing plants, assembly and other business tasks, most are silenced indefinitely as their parent companies in the US trims down operating costs, resulting in lost jobs and lost income for local governments. Manufacturing companies that used to boom, serving the needs of the US economy are also hit hard, areas such as industrial manufacturing and ship building have projects put on hold as their financing run’s dry awaiting more cash or more investors to pour in cash and other resources that would allow them to continue. The recession has taken victims, jobs and lost earnings that should have sent children to school for a better future. This is the cycle of the global economy that works like a wheelm sometimes up and sometimes down.
Most of the African continent is still locked in battle, from civil conflict to tribal wars, they rage just out of the headlines due to more pressing news that matters to most people. From the reliance of the many consumer electronics makers on precious minerals and metals that are abundant in that corner of the world, to the many conflict diamonds that are finding their way into jewelry stores all over the globe fueling wars and sending money for arms and other weapons killing millions, untold and silenced forever. Has the world forgotten of the problems the African People are facing, maybe not, but they surely have taken a back-seat as the world turns attention to their own problems. Millions of people on the continent still die from disease and famine and with Mr. Mandela out of the UN, focus may be shifting from the African continent hopefully not for too long a time.