Politics Around The Globe

The Pragmatic View of Power (Part 2)

Ferdie — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:58:44 +0000

*continued from previous post

The three other types of power aside from incentive power and coercive power are legitimate power, referent power and expert power.

Legitimate power is the power held by a police officer or a referee. This is a kind of power that is given to some individual by an established authority to impose principles and standards of behavior.

Referent power is the power given to individual as a merit of attitude or accomplishment. This is similar to being a hero or a celebrity. This is incentive power as one rewards himself.

Expert power is the power one can get from experience. For example, when you have health problems, an advice from a medical doctor is more reliable than an advice from a college Linguist professor.

Obama’s Dinner Date

Ferdie — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:15:21 +0000

Illinois Senator and another Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama is having a dinner date with a 44-year old single mother from Indianapolis. The woman named Bonnie Locchetta, who donated $25 on one of Obamaâ€™s fundraising event titled â€œIntimate Dinner with Barack,â€ was among the four guests who were chosen to spend some time with the presidential candidate.

Kevin Griffis, Obamaâ€™s spokesman in Indiana, said that they chose Locchetta because she was one of the first-time donors and that the note that came along with her donation caught their attention. Griffis added that the dinner with Locchetta would give Obama an opportunity to talk to someone from Indiana.

Clinton’s Daughter to Raise Funds for Campaign

Ferdie — Mon, 10 May 2010 11:14:20 +0000

New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and former US President Bill Clintonâ€™s only child, Chelsea Clinton, has been a staunch supporter of the Democratic presidential candidate. She has been campaigning in almost 70 college campuses and joining fund raising activities to gather financial support for her motherâ€™s presidential campaign.

In a fundraiser event that took place in a concert hall just two blocks away from the White House, Chelsea welcomed Hillaryâ€™s supporters. She introduced her mother by highlighting Hillaryâ€™s achievements and revealed her plans of boosting the economy and ending the war in Iraq.

Hillary Clinton is reported to have raised a net of $3 million from fundraising events at the end of last month.

Making History

Ferdie — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:45:52 +0000

U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton is set to make history if she gets elected to be the first woman president of the United State of America. She first enjoyed the spotlight as USA’s First Lady when her husband William Jefferson “Bill” Clinton became the forty-second President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. When she moved to New York, she was elected U.S. Senator in 2000. And by the year 2006, she did not have a hard time winning re-election. At this point, she has a very strong chance and always a front runner in national polls as Democratic Candidate in 2008 U.S. Presidential Election.

Campaign cost for US Presidential Election

Ferdie — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:38:37 +0000

Every year, the cost for presidential campaign has been increasing significantly. As a matter of fact, if the costs being shelled out by both the Republican and Democratic parties for their campaigns are added the cost will reach more than twice than that of the cost eight years before. As an example, in the year 1196, the cost was $448.9 million and in 2000 it was $649.5 million. In 2004, the cost soared to $1.01 billion.

Imagine that huge amount of money. You can actually run a small country with it, or finance some third world universities, or help relieve the hunger in Africa.

Asians as Leaders

Ferdie — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:54:37 +0000

In the political arena nowadays, a lot of Asian Americans had made their presence felt not just in their community but in all the multi racial constituency. They have defied the old perceptions that Asians are not capable of being leaders. Some of the well known Asian American politicians are Former U.S. Assistant Attorney General For Civil Rights Bill Lann Lee, Washington Governor Gary Locke, Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta, and Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao. At the end of the day, Martin Luther King had made his point when he said, ï¿½ Individuals must be judged on the content of their character and what they do, not on the color of their skin or their ethnicity.ï¿½

Issue of Executive Privilege

Ferdie — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 07:59:40 +0000

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

European Social Model

Ferdie — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 07:59:39 +0000

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

The Democratic Candidates

Ferdie — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:43:40 +0000

• 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.

Free Burma Movement

Ferdie — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 08:00:45 +0000

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