I actually stopped writing about politics in Nigeria for an internet blog and publications recently, when I discovered that the people in question refuse to turn a new leaf. But the recent happenings in the country for over two months now have woken my pen in this regard. The question is what is the constitution? Why do we have it? Is it that we don’t have competent hands to handle it anymore? Or we are simply playing politics? The worst of the scenario is that the national assembly is like a paper tiger. I may not really place the blame on them because they are more or less extractions of the “business as usual mentalities” that would preferred to trade the sanctity of our constitution for paltry crap! Most of them I believe are only opportunist, they do not really understand the essence of the mandate they enjoy even those that can still be vouched for have long sacrificed their integrity on the altar of greed. There is really no difference between these so called lawmakers and drunken brats.

The situation of Nigeria has complicated into a hydra headed issue in which one may not know how to approach it. For over two months now, the nation that boasts of over 150 million people has been without a substantial head. This was due to the fact that the ailing president went under the knife with no regards for constitution and the fate of over 150 million people. This illegal act on behalf of the president has since been condemned by all and sundry. The question that is making wave is why did it take so long for the needed change to be effected as regards a substantial president? Some group of people condemned the resolution of the national assembly that recently empowered the vice president as the acting president that it was illegal and unconstitutional in the sense that two wrongs cannot make a right that the infringement on the constitution still exists.

I still do not understand why our leaders cannot get things right in the proper manner it should be done. Imagine the attorney general of the federation, the number one law person that is supposed to protect the integrity of the constitution even desecrating it in his own show of shame! Thanks to the new government for dealing with that in a timely fashion. It is high time we made a change in our leadership, even if it is going to be a revolution as it happened in neighboring African countries.

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It has been now about two months that, to my shocking surprise, we have been bombarded with news about Greece. Every single day, there is one or more stories in the front page of the Wall Street Journal and other newspapers, all analyzing the importance of Greece in the European Union in particular, and the world’s financial health in general. I have spent the last few days in Denmark and Germany and a day does not go by without seeing Greece in the front, middle and back pages of the Financial Times and other newspapers written in languages beyond the four I can personally speak. So the question is, what makes little-tiny Greece, all of a sudden the center of the universe again? Don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled that Greece is in the news daily, but the question is why does Greece matter?

Greece is a minor euro zone economy, perhaps 2-3% of GDP, but what matters is the fact that Greece uses the Euro as its currency and the threat alone that Greece may go under sends shockwaves to the financial community, for the fear of one country going down may take other countries with similar problems with it as well.

The issue became critical when Greece announced that its budget deficit as percent of GDP, was way above what was reported by the previous administration, 12 or 13% to be exact, way above the required by the Union 3%. One only had to look at similar countries like Portugal and Spain to see they too had very high budget deficits. The PIGS, as they call them, i.e., Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain make for a very unstable economic group, which, if can not meet its financial obligations to the community, puts unsustainable pressure on the Euro with the now known consequences. In fact, the Euro has gone on a free fall almost overnight, from being the dominant currency with dollar exchange rates around $1.5, to losing more than 5% of its value against the dollar, to an eight month low of $1.3529 as recently as two months ago and some analysts predict it may go down to $1.3, or even less.

So what can the mighty US learn from tiny Greece? Is it possible that the US, by running, or even threatening to run huge deficits, as the proposed social plans by the Obama administration indicate, would face similar disastrous economic situation that would severely and adversively impact the dollar, vis-à-vis the major currencies? Some people argue that this is not possible because unlike the EU where countries are not really legally bound by a single government, the US can legally mobilize financial resources and assist states that are in dire straits, something that the EU is currently challenged with. However, it is not the state budgets that create global havoc, but rather the budget deficits at the US federal level which are currently huge by historical standards that create serious risks and in turn scare away investors – like China, who are looking to expand their recently acquired wealth into more productive capital markets. One can already see that current US deficits, even before Mr. Obama’s proposals are approved, have scared away investors who are already looking for safer havens. China for one thing is building its gold stockpiles rather than investing in US real estate capital.

A country’s budget deficits, its liabilities to its people and foreign investors, put pressure on its ability to borrow in the open markets and eventually run the risk of seeing its bonds down rated. This is exactly what has happened to Greece and what can happen to America, if it doesn’t get its (White) house in order.
America has recently used extreme financial behavior by spending immense internal capital to bail out the auto industry and Wall Street on the premise they were too big to fail. This was the wrong long term strategy which bound to have two effects: 1) these industries have no incentive to put their house in order and, 2) the US citizens at large will be financing this error for ever.

It is interesting to see that Germany, the country that all other economies are compared to in Europe, decided that under no circumstances will it bail out Greece for the above two reasons. In the long run, Greece will have to find its way out of this financial Greek tragedy and be a better EU partner. There is no such thing as “too big” or “too small” for that matter, to fail!

For the US, tough times are ahead. It would be a shame if Greece, where democracy started, could not teach the world a lesson, and America is where democracy ended. For the shake of our children, I need to be proven wrong.

Did you find this article informative, thought provoking or interesting? If so, you may also enjoy visiting my blog: http://www.askDrNick-anything.blogspot.com

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He succeeded President Kenneth Kaunda and got re-elected in 1996 after a successful first tenure in office, but failed a third tenure bid in 2001. His party rather preferred Levy Mwanawasa who contested on their platform and won the election.

The coming of Mwanawasa into power brought to fore the shoddy deals of President Frederick Chiluba while in office. He was investigated for corruption, arrested in 2003 and charged along with his former intelligence chief, Xavier Chungu, on 168 counts of theft totalling over $40m. His serving ministers and senior officials were also charged. His wife Regina was arrested for receiving stolen goods and for aiding her husband.

On the 4th of May 2007 Chiluba was found guilty of stealing $46m in a civil case by a United Kingdom court presided over by Peter Smith. The stolen money were said to have been transferred to a London bank by the Zambian intelligence service. Later on Mwanawasa recovered nearly $60m purportedly stolen by the man who was supposed to be a good ambassador of his country, who swore on oath to uphold the constitution of his country and do all he could to improve the lot of the Zambia people.

Chiluba was acquitted from the charges on 17th August 2009 after the death of Mwanawasa in 2008. The current President Rupiah Banda did not only ensure that Fred Chiluba was acquitted, he also refused to allow the state to appeal against the verdict of the court. It only reminded one of the usual practice in Africa where leaders cover the sins of one another to keep their subjects perpetually in darkness.

What legacy did Frederick Chiluba leave? He’s said to have initiated a great economic reform for his country and also played the role of a mediator in bringing to an end the protracted war in the Democratic republic of Congo, but all those achievements have been overtaken by the corruption charges pressed against him.

His friend Rupiah Banda was said to have been endorsed for presidency by Chiluba so as to help cover up his corrupt profile and guarantee his personal freedom. It’s truly a case of a corruption-prone leader coming to the timely aid of a corrupt friend to shield him from law and justice.

Joseph Ezie Efoghor is a professional nurse with years of practical experience. He writes on variety of topics which you may find beneficial to you. For more on his write-ups visit http://politicalfield.blogspot.com.

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The first UK-wide referendum was held in the 1975 and was concerned with continued membership of the European Economic Community (EEC), also known as the Common Market. The poll, held on June 5th, 1975, commanded a high turnout (65%) and resulted in almost two-thirds in favour of continued membership. Every administrative area in the UK voted ‘Yes’, bar two small Scottish island regions.

The question put to the electorate was this: “Do you think the UK should stay in the European Community (Common Market)?”

Critics of membership were quick to point out that voting to stay in the EEC was a far cry from voting to join it. The electorate had not been given a chance to vote on whether the UK should join, and therefore the argued that once joined, a referendum was a foregone conclusion. No further referendums have been held on EU membership.

Other UK referendums are:

1973: Northern Ireland’s membership of the UK. A referendum on Northern Ireland’s continued membership of the UK after the abolition of the Stormont government. The result was an overwhelming yes after opponents agreed to boycott the vote.

1979: Devolution for Wales and Scotland. A very close run vote on a devolved assembly for Scotland with legislative powers in areas such as health care and education. Turnout was around 64%. A clause in the referendum legislation stated that 40% must vote in favour if the result was to stand. Despite winning the vote, only 33% of the electorate voted ‘Yes’ and therefore the vote was nullified. This had significant impact on the stability of the UK government, with incumbent Labour losing the support of the SNP and subsequently losing a House of Commons vote of confidence that resulted in the 1979 General Election.

Despite lower turnout in Wales, an overwhelming majority rejected a call for its own independent assembly.

1997: Devolution again for Wales and Scotland. Following Labour’s huge election win in 1997, Scotland and Wales were again offered independent assemblies. In Scotland, voters were given the option of a parliament with wide-ranging legislative powers and limited tax-raising ability. Turnout was lower than the 1979 vote; however 60% voted in favour.

In Wales, voters were offered a limited assembly with no tax-raising powers. Again turnout was far lower than the previous referendum in 1979, at 50%. 50% of voters favoured the limited Welsh assembly.

1998: Devolution for Northern Ireland. Following the ‘Good Friday Agreement’, the voters of Northern Ireland were balloted on the restoration of a reformed Stormont Assembly. In a vote of very high turnout (about 80%), over 70% voted in favour.

With political pressure in the UK growing over EU membership and the UK’s adoption of a single European currency, referendums are certain to play a major part in the future of UK politics.

Bernard Bresslaw writes for the Learned Fool politics blog.

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1. The first answer to the question why was the Great Compromise important is because it has managed to create the proper structure for the American government. There were two major plans that were given for the structure of the government. The first one was called the Virginia Plan and the second one was called the New Jersey Plan. In the first one plan’s proposal, the government will have three main branches. The plan also indicated that there should be two branches for the legislature. The first branch would be chosen by the citizen through their votes. The second branch would be the ones that the first branch has selected. The Virginia Plan also proposed that the legislative branch should be the one to appoint the judges and the president of the country.

2. The second answer to the question why was the Great Compromise important is because it allowed for some of the details in the second plan, the New Jersey Plan to be included. The major issue however was that it gave a lot of power to the states in America that were big in population. The New Jersey plan added that there should only be a single house. The makers for the New Jersey plan suggested that each state should have the same number of house representatives.

3. The third answer to the question why it was important is because it merged the two great plans into the best plan together. The Virginia Plan proposed that there should be two houses and the New Jersey Plan proposed there should be one house. The Great Compromise took the best contents from the two plans to have one concrete deal.

4. The fourth answer to the question why it was important is because it has enabled the two houses to have good interaction at all times. The Great Compromise stated that the Lower House should be the branch that would tackle anything related to taxes and allocating of funds. The Senate can always amend their actions however. The Senate has the power to change their actions, thus allowing for the two legislative branches to efficiently work.

Please click these links if you want to know more about why the great compromise is important or why the Berlin airlift is important in general.

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One idea was to increase the payroll taxes by 2% and over a 75 year period, the deficit problem was expected to be resolved. However, the future deficits are growing so large that this modest tax increase will still leave a large shortfall. Social Security’s impending crisis cannot be resolved with this small tax increase.

Another idea, which is supported by President Obama, is to raise SS taxes on people who earn more than $97,500 per year. Currently, those who earn more than this cap amount of $97,500 do not pay Social Security. The Congressional Research Service says that if all earnings were subject to payroll tax, the Social Security trust fund would remain solvent for the next 75 years. Senator Clinton opposed increasing taxes for people earning more than $97,500 because she stated it hurts the middle class. On the other hand, both Presidential hopefuls were strongly against the privatization of Social Security because it leaves the system at the whim of the market.

Former-President Bush has been in support of a plan that allows Americans to invest a portion of their existing Social Security taxes in a personal account. This is sort of semi-privatization. Polls show that there are large numbers of supporters backing this plan.

Out of all the proposed ideas on how to face the impending crisis deficit, no one plan seems to be favored above all the rest and the deficit continues to grow. Hopefully new ideas keep coming forth in order to solve the deficit problem that Social Security will inevitably face.

So far, the Administration has been using special issue bonds from the trust fund to cover its financial problems. But by 2041, that trust fund will run out. At that time, a 26 % reduction in benefits for retirees has been planned.
So, what does all this add up to? Basically, current retirees are in the clear. Their full promised benefits will be paid to them. The Administration has enough money to cover everyone promised benefits until 2017. This even allows for annual cost of living increases.

However, by 2041 the Administration will be in trouble. The trust fund will have run out and so the situation for younger workers looks dire. Anyone born after 1974 will reach retirement age after the trust fund is totally exhausted. At this time, it is estimated that these younger workers will have paid fully into throughout their careers, but will only get 74% of the benefits that have been promised to them.

There is one solution has little to do with politicians and taxes. It involves starting a personal retirement account. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt originally created the Social Security Administration, it was never intended to be the only source of retirement income for anyone. It was established as a supplemental income system. Therefore, younger workers need to think ahead and began looking for other ways to ensure a safe retirement for themselves.

Shaneela Khan is an expert on Social Security Law and has been working in the Field for the past 15 years. For more information on Social Security Benefits please visit: http://www.socialsecuritylaw.com.

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In the southern part of the Philippines a political war has been waging on between two families for decades it’s not just your simple he said she said propaganda, the fighting between the two families having left many innocent bystanders dead. With the gubernatorial race starting to heat up one candidate in the race Ismael Mangudadatu has not only had his lives threaten from political rival the Amputuan clan during the course of the current election but he has also lost close family members in the process.

Earlier this weak whiles candidate Mangudadatu family members and supporters were traveling through rival Amputuan Township to file paperwork in the provincial capital for the elections in May 2010 they were high jacked and massacred. In all 46 people were killed in two separate attacks. The first attacks left a total of 24 people dead bodies riddled with bullets; between the victims were Mangudadatu’s wife and his two sisters. The second attack not that far away claimed 22 more supporters of Mangudadatu’s that were left piled up in hillside grave including a very visual pregnant woman. Out of the 46 victims 20 were journalist just doing their jobs covering the political campaign.

Because of the latest incidents that have taking place in the southern region of the Philippines, president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has placed the region under emergency rule to find those guilty of the heinous crimes described as the worst massacre in recent Philippines history. Under emergency rule army forces will conduct random searches and checkpoints to try to locate the gunmen responsible for the crimes.

While investigators try to find witnesses to come foreword to help find the perpetrators, no one really wants to come foreword fearing retaliation from the warlords or militia that is most likely responsible. One witness who would not give his name said, “There were about 12-militia gunman accompanied with local police”. So far National police chief Jesus Versosa has placed the police chief responsible for controlling the area and three other officers one being a person considered to be a suspect into a camp until the investigation is over.

One thing is clear whoever is responsible for the attacks planned it out ahead of time gave the fact that the graves that some of the bodies were placed in was carefully dug up ahead of time. As the investigators look farther into the details of the case, they are starting to discover not only do the Ampatuan family who are considered partners with warlords and deadly militia’s control the people in the towns but also many of the police officers around the area.

While the recent killings have shocked the Philippines nation, given the fact that the southern region is the poorest area in the country, violence similar to the recent massacre have taken place before. Since the 1970’s over 120,000 people have lost their lives to political wars in the southern region. Until the Philippines government officially steps in and take over the area from certain powerful families that run the region with an iron fist, murders and kidnappings will continue throughout every election leaving more innocent people to die.

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There was a presidential election in Honduras, to elect a new president to replace the interim president, who was serving after the Honduran supreme court had to oust the former president to save the country from becoming a dictatorship.

Back in August, President Zelaya was attempting to change the constitution and basically appoint himself to third term and stay president. He was supported by Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, and by Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, and also by the American president, Barack Obama.

The Honduran supreme court found him in violation of the law, and removed him from office and forced him to leave the country. He spent several months trying to create riots and get back into the country. Fortunately the Obama administration changed their public support, and helped calm the situation.

Zelaya and his supporters made many threats to protest the election and cause problems. The election went off with very little protesting due to a large military presence at the polling places. The Honduran people had the opportunity to show that they wanted to remain a democracy. Zelaya’s party lost the election decisively.

Hopefully the Obama administration will work to make sure that Zelaya lives up to the deal he made and stop trying to cause problems. The Honduran people can then go back to a democratic rule and not end up like Venezuela.

Chavez has said he will overthrow the new government. Castro has condemned it, and so has Hillary Clinton. Yesterday Hillary accused Honduras of violating “the precepts of the Inter American Democratic Charter” and said it “should be condemned by all.”

The fight is far from over. There is hope that the American government will support the democracy of Honduras. The Honduran people have the right to be free, and govern their country the way they see fit.

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New Mexico is facing a $600 million shortfall for the current fiscal year. A special session of the state legislature was called to make decisions about the budget. An agreement was hammered out on the last day of the session and forwarded to Governor Richardson for approval.

Governor Richardson delayed signing until the last day, then vetoed some provisions while accepting others. He and his advisors then produced their own program which was published as an executive order, rather than bringing the legislature back to produce acceptable legislation.

The purpose of having an Executive Branch, a Legislative Branch, and a Judicial Branch in our state government is to prevent excessive power being concentrated in one group or person. By issuing his executive order, Bill Richardson has usurped the legislatures authority to make the budget go his own way, thereby in effect negating all the votes of the citizens those legislators represent. They each represent smaller constituencies, and thus their decisions should be more representative of the people’s desires.

Unfortunately, he is not the first politician to use a crisis to set aside legal restraints. George Bush did so several times using the 911 attack as an excuse. The CDC has used numerous health threats to se aside legal protections of businesses and individuals in the guise of resolving a health crisis. The Treasury Department has used the same principle in handing out bailout money without obeying congressional guidelines.

As state shortfalls increase, these types of over stepping authority are likely to become more common. It will be easy for constitutional authority to be usurped, in many cases unintentionally, but also deliberately. If such actions are ignored, we may well find most of our freedoms and protections taken away.

The book, The Tyranny of The Urgent, describes the pressure to take action on seemingly urgent affairs. As a result, people neglect more important issues in an effort to relieve the pressure. Claims of crisis produce a similar sense of urgency, and people become so focused on the crises they ignore other issues. It really doesn’t matter whether the crisis is real, as long as people believe it to be. Con artists find it easier to invent crisis than to find a real one.

Former President Clinton said it would be better to pass even a bad bill than to do nothing in encouraging congress to pass the Healthcare reform bill. He failed to take into account the results of the Creditors Rights bill Congress just passed. Less than a month after passing, many credit card users found their interest tripled or more. Fees on almost all accounts were increased and new fees were imposed. A defective bill made the problem much worse.

The old saying “if you don’t have time to do it right the first time, How will you ever get time to do it again?” is even more important in legislation than in many other areas, because it affects more people. Allowing a sense of urgency to rush into ill-conceived legislation is dangerous.

Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin and many others have used Crises to gain power. To avoid losing our freedoms, we need to periodically step back and observe the other things that are happening, things which most people seem not to see because they have become equally focused. People, including reporters and politicians, find it easy to follow the crowd, but sometimes the crowd is wrong.

An example is the focus on Global warming. The media reported that two years ago farms in Sweden were discovered that had been covered with ice since the early 1700’s. The so called “proofs” of Global warming actually showed that during the 1600’s temperatures were warmer than they had been until the present time. The claims of urgency have distracted people from checking out the facts. If it continues, it will result in serious problems due to misguided decisions.

One principle is to follow the money. If Al Gore will make one hundred million Dollars by convincing people that Global warming is real, he has a vested interest in doing so. His claims need to be supported by other research. The same is true with the H1N1 swine flu crisis. The medical establishment makes $25 per shot. That’s a lot of money if they can get half the population to get shots. It could well cause them to overlook evidence which doesn’t support vaccinations. Does this mean that there is no problem? Obviously not, but it does indicate we need to examine the crises more carefully to determine what the real problem is.

When proposed actions ignore the constitution or peoples rights, they need to be especially closely examined as their effects are so serious, and difficult to undo once in place.

For information on what the Bible teaches about various situations by the author go to http://BeingChristianToday.Blogspot.com.

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A European Union quiz will show that there are twenty seven countries that are members of the organization. They are in alphabetical order, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

The EU has grown to its impressive twenty seven country size after starting with only six. France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg are shown in European Union trivia to comprise the original members of the Union. The majority of the continent has since joined after meeting the criteria set out in 1993 to join. Most of the non members are in the Eastern part of the continent. The Western European countries which have not joined are Norway, Switzerland, and Iceland.

A European Union quiz will show that the goals of the organization were never military in nature, and that the economy and trade were always the far stronger goals. It was decided early on that existing military policies which were in place were more than sufficient to govern that part of policy. Most of the countries are already members of NATO, while those who are not have neutrality policies.

There are a number of reasons why the Euro has only been adopted by sixteen of the countries in the Union. Two have had their membership include the fact that they will not have to accept the Euro as their sole currency. These are the United Kingdom, and Denmark. Sweden on the other hand, has carefully avoided having to adopt the Euro by not meeting the targets required for them to meet before adoption.

Although most matters of internal policy are still left to individual governments, the EU has attempted to have an impact in other areas. The Environment, agriculture, and energy are other key areas in which the EU attempts to set common policy and goals.

Masters of Trivia is a website dedicated to trivia games and quizzes that cover several different areas of interest. The various trivia questions available on the site can be easily accessed and played by going to http://www.mastersoftrivia.com.

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