Do not misconstrue this too mean that you can chant a certain line and walk backwards round a certain book and suddenly be announced the winner of a certain election. It will call for perseverance because it will not come automatic. You will come across die-hard opposition of your candidature.

Still, there is a secret which if you understand, you can as well be the victorious one at the end of your campaign season. There is nothing wrong with hard work when it comes to campaigns but all the same, it is not necessary at all.

It is not only about getting you on the radar. It is not enough to be seen doing something. An average candidate will probably make a technical appearance in a university event to be seen.

All hard work must be pointed towards the right direction. Regularity in the results shows that out of all the methods you choose to carry out your campaign agenda, the ones that will draw followers to you are those that are hard.

Among the simple methods that people use today are those like giving a cold call to people in your neighborhood. This will not get you so many votes.

To get more votes you should do something harder. Go and knock somebody’s door and tell him or her about your campaign. They will be more interested.

This political campaign secret can take you miles ahead in your quest for office. You just need to fortify it with hard work and persistence in what you do.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Shorn

The first six months of the current year, Arroyo’s administration spent more than what it has collected in terms of revenue resulting to an increased deficit to P196.7B. Of the targeted revenue collection, the shortage was P23.8 B. The expenditure exceeded by P45.1B.

The national budget for 2010 is 1.54 trillion pesos. What remains in the budget appropriated for 2010 is barely 100 billion pesos which is only 6.5% of the total budget. He said that this is the only figure left for the next six months of his administration.

Where did the funds go? He asked. President Noynoy discussed that the previous administration funded P200 M for Calamity Fund. While the fund is too small, and the typoon and flood season have just started, 70% or 1.4 billion pesos has already been spent.

The budget allotment for Pampanga province of P108M, P105 went to only one district. The fund was released during the month of election, seven months after the typhoons Ondoy and Peping hit the country. Whereas the Province of Pangasinan that was directly hit by typhoon Peping only received P5M for the damaged caused not by Peping but by typhoon Cosme which occurred in 2008.

Further, he added that the fund has been exhausted for the damaged caused from last year’s typhoons. “What will happen if typhoons hit the country tomorrow? The future will suffer for the excesses of the past,” he added.

President Noynoy went further, same thing happened to the funds in MWSS, another government agency (Manila Waterworks Sewerage System). Very recently, people were lined just to get water. In spite of this, the “good” leaders of MWSS rewarded themselves when in fact their retired employees have not received their retirement fees yet.

In 2009, the total payroll of MWSS was P51.4M. But this is not the only benefit; there were additional allowances and benefits that reached up to P160.1M. In other words, the leaders received P211.5M last year, out of which only 24% represents the salary, 76% were additional benefits which they only approved.

An ordinary worker receives 13th month pay plus cash gifts only. At MWSS, it reached to an equivalent of more than 30th month pay including all the bonuses and allowances they got.

Worst even is the anomaly on the earnings of the Board of Trustees. He said: “Let us take a look at the allowances they are receiving:

A mere seat in the Board of Trustees at Board Committee meeting, one is entitled to receive P14, 000 already. It could reach P98, 000 monthly aside from the yearly grocery incentive of P80, 000. The benefits do not end there; there is a mid-year bonus, productivity bonus, anniversary bonus, year-end bonus and financial assistance with Christmas bonus and additional Christmas package. Each of these is worth P98, 000.

The sum total will reach P2.5 M annually for every member of the Board aside from free luxury car, technical assistance and loan accommodation. All these they accorded to themselves despite their retirees have not received their pensions yet.

La Mesa Watershed did not escape their greediness, instead of planting trees around the area for steady supply of water; houses were built for the top ranking officials of the said agency.”

President Noynoy said that “they will not eventually be ousted from office because they belong to the Midnight Appointees of former President Gloria Arroyo.” However, he will have to make investigation regarding this issue and “If they still possess even a little of self-worth, they should voluntarily resign from office,” the President added.

Regarding the infrastructure program of the government, DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) pointed out 246 priority safety projects that will be funded by the Motor Vehicle Users charge. It will need a budget appropriation of P425M.

What were funded were 28 projects only. 218 projects were not only considered but were replaced with 70 projects not within the plans. The requested budget of P425M went up to P480M for the projects which benefitted only few beneficiaries. The projects were useless and not well-deliberated upon, they just came out from nowhere.

Five days before the end of Arroyo’s term as President, she ordered the release of P3.5 B for the rehabilitation of those affected by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. The amount was supposed to be for 86 projects. President said that 18 of these projects worth P981M were discovered by his men and barred because it was found that even before the release of the Special Allotment Release Order, contracts have already been executed.

President Noynoy also discussed what had happened in NAPOCOR (National Power Corporation). From 2001 to 2004, the government under Gloria Arroyo forced the said agency to sell power supply at a loss to avoid an alleged high price for consumers but he added that the real reason was to raise funds for the forthcoming election then.

Because of this, in 2004, the debt of NAPOCOR reached its maximum limit that forced the national government to shoulder the P200B debt. The people were made to believe that they were benefited by the move however; it is the consumer that shoulders the burden of paying the said debt. The decision was founded on wrong politics and not in accordance with the people’s needs.

Same thing happened at MRT (Metro Rail Transit), he further discussed. The operator was forced to maintain low transportation fare resulting to losses and eventual purchase of MRT by Land Bank and Development Bank of the Philippines. With the government’s failure to uphold the guarantee given to the operator that they can recover the cost, people money was switched over for a losing business.

Regarding the funds of NFA (National Food Authority), in 2004, 117,000 metric tons was the shortage in rice supply of the Philippines. The NFA bought 900,000 metric tons. However you compute it, still the over importation was seven times more than the shortage. In 2007, 589,000 metric tons was the supply shortage, they bought 1.827 million metric tons. Again, there was excessive importation.

The sad part is that the rice were made to rot in warehouses. This also happened in 2008 when people were lining up for hours under the scorching sun just to buy a kilo or two of NFA rice.

“Is this not a crime to allow the rice to rot despite the reality that 4M Filipinos are deprived of three-square meals a day?” he asked.

The disgusting result is NFA’s debt reached P171.6B this May. The wastage could have funded the following:

1. Judiciary budget of P12.7B for 2010.

2. Conditional Transfers for 2011 of P29.6B

3. Classrooms at P130B

“These kind of governmental processes are exceptionally displeasing,” remarked the President, summing up the anomalies that he and his men brought to light during his first State of the Nation Address.

As he continued his speech, he further reiterated that his leadership marks the end of extravagance and unbeneficial use of government funds. Out of keeping projects will be bumped off and implement a zero-based approach on the budget. By next month they will come up with a budget that acknowledges real problems and focuses on the possible rightful solutions.

“These are but a few of the uncovered problems facing the nation. Here are some of the steps that are being considered”, he further hashed out.

There was a case of an owner of a pawnshop who could purchase a car worth P26M, who can afford to buy a Lamborghini but cannot however pay taxes. The appropriate charges were already filed in court. Every week, cases are being filed against smugglers and tax evaders.

For extralegal killings, 50% are up for resolutions. The other half will be earnestly pursued and that they will not rest until justice has been attained. All perpetrators of injustices have to be punished.

The Truth Commission to be headed by former Chief Justice Hilario Davide who has recently finished his term in the International Court of Justice has been created. This commission will be responsible to uncover the truth of the alleged anomalies that occurred during the past seven years. Within the week, President Noynoy will sign the very first order creating the Truth Commission.

If the answer to injustices is judgment of conviction, the answer to budget deficit is modern and creative ways to resolve the perennial problems. We have great deal of indigences, from education, infrastructure, health, military and police, etc. The budget is not enough to respond to all these demands, he further discussed.

He continued saying, “no matter how great is the burden to respond to these problems, I am inspired because many are showing interest for change and trust in the Philippines.”

The solution will be: Public-Private Partnerships. Even if there is no contract yet being executed, he added, he can say that this is effective and will be fruitful. There are already interested parties to construct an expressway from Manila, that will pass through Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya to the end of Cagayan Valley without the government spending even a peso, he said.

According to him, in the military service, we have 36,000 nautical miles but, we only have 30 ships that were acquired during the time of MacArthur. There was a proposition to rent the headquarters of Navy in Roxas Boulevard and Naval Station in Fort Bonifacio.

The proponent will shoulder the cost of transferring the Navy Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo and immediately give the government USD100M aside from an additional share in the earnings of the businesses that will be integrated at the rented area. In short, the government will earn without spending.

There are other offers from local as well as foreign businesses to help augment the needs of the people.

From these public-private partnerships, the economy will flourish and every Filipino will be benefited and can provide aid to other sectors. To help promote tourism, infrastructure can be constructed. In agriculture, grains terminals, refrigeration facilities will also be constructed with good road networks and post-harvest facilities.

With the help of the private sector, the food supply chain can be in order, so instead of importing, we can dream of supplying food to the international market. If the suggested railway system is realized, prices of goods will go down, much cheaper, speedier, more convenient and more so, travelers can avoid “Kotong” cops and extortion from rebel groups.

Just a reminder, he said:”Foremost in our platform is the creation of more jobs and jobs come from a growing industry. Industry will only flourish if we can only make it clean, speedier and convenient in the processing for those who wanted to put up businesses.

He promised to speed up the process of projects under the Build-Operate-Transfer. With the help of the sectors of government and the citizens, the processing period will be reduced to six months when before, it takes years if not a decade.

He inspired the people that the time has come when we need not choose between security and future of our children. Once the public-private ownership is realized, it can fund social services in accordance with the platform of government, particularly in education from the 10 years to the global standard of 12 years.

Further he said that the future is good. He will push for the Fiscal Responsibility Bill, where a bill will not be passed not until the source of funding is identified. There were bills that have been passed into law but due to insufficiency of budget allotment, they were not implemented.

He further reiterated that we should not allow another NBN-ZTE scandal. He asked help from the legislators to help amend the low on procurement. And the need for an Anti-Trust Law that will provide opportunity to small and medium scale enterprises to participate in the growth of the economy.

Also, he asked for the passage of the Whistleblower’s Bill to prevent fear and silence of material witnesses and strengthened the Witness Protection Program.

Regarding the situation in Mindanao, President Noynoy said his views on the issue remain unchanged, that the mistakes of the past must not be committed again and be aware that the past peace processes is undoubtedly tinted with political color and not solely for public interest and welfare.

About the CPP-NPA-NDF he asked: “Are you ready to lay concrete suggestion instead of criticisms?” “If peace is all you want, are you ready to an extensive cease fire? “Let us talk. It is hard to talk when the air is filled with gun powders. I am calling on you; let us not allow putting to waste this very good opportunity to meet under the same political desire, he added.

In addition, he said, peace and order is the foundation of progress. Continuous fighting is continuously tying us to poverty. Let us realize that this is the time to sacrifice and this sacrifice will serve as our investment for our future. Associated with our rights and freedom is our duty to our people and country.

In closing, he ask the media to watch their own line to upheld the principle of their profession, fair and truthful reporting. He also asked the people to watch at their elected officials and move from criticizing to participating in the affairs of the government and be a part of the solution.

He summated that it is God and the people that brought him to where he now stands. The mandate is cogent evidence that the people are still hoping for a change. “The situation is really different. Now is to dream again. Let us proceed to the realization of our dreams,” he closes.

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And then we had the coalition, which almost immediately began to show us a completely different way to govern. We have long talked about the destructive effect of target setting in any business or administration and one of the first things we heard was that the police forces have been told to ignore their old performance targets and instead, get on with policing the nation.

We now hear that targets in the National Health Service are also being dismantled and expect very shortly to hear that teachers have been told to stop filling in forms and get on with educating our children. How bonkers is that system? We have to close our schools to allow teachers to fill in the paperwork to prove how well they are educating our children.

The regional development boards which have cost the taxpayer millions and never had any effect except to use that money to prove that they too were being effective, are also being dismantled. We came across a document called “The LGA (Local Government) Briefing – Summary of Coalition Agreement.” We were stunned at the elegance and simplicity of their approach which seems to be, if it is not adding value then stop spending money on it.

The target savings for the public service budget are 40%. The opposition parties were very quick to lay into the coalition deriding their declared ambition as impossible and therefore foolhardy to even attempt, and yet what we are seeing in the change in the way that they are going about the business of government makes it look as if they will succeed massively and no party will be able to govern effectively again unless they behave in the same way.

We have left behind the directive style of government, where those in power decide what they think is best for the electorate then spend our money trying to force us to accept what they think we should have or how they think that we should behave. In business this is the management style that has proved so destructive and an increasingly expensive waste of resources.

Today we seem to have a government that is behaving in a significantly different way. First they listen to what the electorate want, then they try to give it to us. That sounds expensive until you realise that a lot of the expense incurred by the previous government was in forcing through legislation that we neither needed nor wanted.

Unfortunately there are still many managers who believe that this old style of management is the only way to manage. For them we hope that the example of this new inclusive, supportive, devolved government will allow them to see how destructive their own behaviour really is.

Nick Clegg, as deputy PM, has set up a website to find out what the public believe to be useless pieces of legislation, the usual suspects are the smoking ban, the hunting ban and the various other attempts of the last administration to tell the public how to live their lives. Apart from the person who wanted the law of gravity repealed because it discriminated against fat people, this approach is brilliant. We tried to get on the Deputy PM’s site but after the story was on the news it was inundated. Give it a try, it sounds as if they are trying to listen. Yourfreedom.hmg.gov.uk

There is a man called John Seddon, an author and acerbic critic of the way that the public purse was being managed. This month he wrote from a loftier perspective than we:

“I listened to Andrew Stunnel, a minister for communities and local government (CLG) in the new coalition, speaking at a conference two weeks ago. He made it absolutely clear: there will be no specifications coming down from the centre. I asked him, for clarification, that this really would mean getting rid of those roles, he said yes. I read Eric Pickles’ article in the Local Government Chronicle, he is the minister in charge at CLG; he said the same. Last week I met Greg Clark, another minister at CLG and he too was unequivocal.

The regime is over. No longer will children in Whitehall dream up their dumb ideas on how to design, manage and measure public services; no longer will they tell local public service managers what to do and send the Audit Commission in to bully people in to compliance. The message from the ministers is crystal clear: they want leaders of local public services to get on with it. Responsibility has been put in the right place. We should rejoice. “

Thank You John, Indeed we should!

Peter A Hunter.
Author-Breaking the Mould
http://www.breakingthemould.co.uk

If you have ever experienced or learned something which you then knew was instinctively right – you will never have forgotten it. Peter Hunter learned something years ago which, regrettably, most of us have still yet to learn. When we do – once we have understood the simplicity of his book ‘Breaking the Mould’ – it will transform our lives forever! Vic Baxter � Business Workout.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Hunter

1959-1960: Following Fidel Castro’s overthrow of the dictatorial Batista administration, a host of people, including children and women, welcomed the arrival of guerrillas, but they turned the Island — about the size of Tennessee– into a place of repression. On the other side, Raúl Castro had been hand-picked by his brother, Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, as the second leader of the Cuban Revolution. In the meantime, in the early years of the new regime, up to 3,200 Cubans had been slaughtered by Fidel Castro and his family. On the economic side, Castro nationalized all U.S. businesses (without compensation). In fact, these events marked the beginning of one the world’s worst undemocratic governments. Toward the end of 1960, Washington imposed an embargo on Cuba.

1960-1980: As a consequence of the totalitarian policies, over one million Cubans had fled to America (chiefly Florida), Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Spain and Italy.

1960-1982: Inspired by the People’s Republic of China, Albania and other Communist tyrannies, Cuba’s undemocratic state had decimated the country’s tourism industry.

1960-2007: In one of Fidel Castro’s many dictatorial reforms, hemade his sister-in-law, Vilma Espín, President of the Federation of Cuban Women –a key organization on Cuba. Espín, Raúl Castro’s wife, was leader of the feminist organization until her abrupt death on June 18, 2007.However in time, she, a former Marxist guerrilla, was known as the “First Lady of the Cuban Revolution”. Over the decades of the Soviet Empire, she had strong links with radical feminist movements from Eastern Europe, Asia, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa.

1960-2010: World-famous dancer and choreographer Alicia Alonso Martínez became one of the key women, alongside Haydée Santamaria Cuadrado, Vilma Espín Guillois, Celia Sánchez Manduley and Mireya Luis Hernández, in the Cuban Revolution. Since then, she used her fame and prestige to clean up the Island’s bad image. By the early 60s, Fidel Castro gave Alonso $200,000 to set up the Cuban National Ballet. From then on, the Ballet Nationalbecame an open door for Cuban influence in the Third World and Europe.

1961: The Island’s history took sudden turn in this year as the provisional rule declared the country a Marxist stateand began a close relationship with the Kremlin -the USSR was one of the first states to recognize Cuba’s tyranny–and their allies, including the German Democratic Republic (GDR), North Korea and Czechoslovakia. From then on, Moscow played a key role in the Cuban Revolution. Nonetheless, after Cuba became a pro-Soviet dictatorship,the political relationship between the States and the Island worsened. On January 3, 1961, the tensions between both governments came to a head as America severed diplomatic ties with the rule of Cuba.

1962: The Republic of Cuba was suspended from the Organization of American States (OAS), which was founded on April 30 1948 in Bogotá (Colombia), over its dictatorial rule.

1962- 1990: Unlike many Marxist states in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, including Ethiopia (the world’s poorest nation), Guinea, Laos and Cambodia (Asia’s poorest country), the Island’s human development, from employment and energy to education, culture and public health, was subsidized by the Kremlin (which was supplanted by Venezuela since 2000). For example,most of Cuba’s young people –chiefly members of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC)– attend schools, universities and institutions in Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine, Poland and the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Moreover, a number of cultural delegations went to Asia, Latin America and Europe. In 1984, the Caribbean team, led by Alicia Alonso, visited five former Soviet republics (Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan). On the other side, around 90% of the military budget was financed from the USSR and other Communist states. These were some of the reasons why Cuba did not have financial problems -different from several Latin societies. During the Cold War, the massive Soviet aid gave Cuba a political influence in the Third World disproportionate to its size and economy.

1964-1990: Castro’s dictatorial rule, headed by its diplomat Isidoro Malmierca (the Cuban ambassador to the United Nations), allowed the USSR to direct its foreign policy.The Kremlin used Fidel Castro to expand its geopolitical influence in the Third World, chiefly in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa.

1967: Soviet Union’s Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin went to Cuba.

1970s Fidel Castro & Mengistu Haile Mariam

1970-1975: The totalitarian Communist state had cooperative ties with Peru’s dictator Juan Velasco Alvarado. Over that time, Raúl Castro, the Island’s second most powerful leader, trip to Lima.

1971-1973: After Salvador Allende’s win in the Presidential elections, the Cuban administration had shown a deep interest in cooperation with Chile. Upon the winning the Chilean election, Allende became the world’s only freely elected Marxist Head of State. Later on, in 1971, surprisingly, Fidel Castro embarked on a three-week tour of Chile.

1972-1990: The Republic Socialist of Cuba was home to the largest Soviet community outside Europe and the USSR.

1975-1991: With the help of 50,000 Cuban troops, the African country of Angola, led by José Eduardo dos Santos, moved into the Soviet orbit.

1977: The Cuban dictatorship sent a delegation, led by Sergio del Valle, to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

1978-1989: Under its pro-Soviet policy, Castro’s dictatorial rule sent over 20,000 troops to the Republic Marxist of Ethiopia – an African nation with 90% of the population living under the abject poverty– to support the dictatorship of Mengistu Haile Mariam, who led Ethiopia to one of the worst genocides in history. Over that time, Cuba’s troops carried out repressive measures against the Eritreans and Ethiopians.

1979: With the support of the Soviet bloc (from Bulgaria to East Germany), as well as anti-American states, Havana – the nation’s capital city– hosted the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit. Cuba’s satrap Fidel Castro was elected President. This international event was part of the Communist dictatorship’s strategy to win new allies in the Third World, including terrorist states.

1980s The pro-Castro Lobby

1980: To improve dictatorship’s image abroad, damaged by human rights abusesand pro-Soviet military projects in sub-Saharan Africa, the undemocratic rule sent a person -a Russian-trained astronaut– to space. Along with Alberto Juantorena ( 1976 Olympic champion), Alicia Alonso and Alejo Carpentier (author), Cuba’s cosmonaut Arnaldo Tamayo was one of the “special ambassadors” of the Cuban tyranny.

1981: On the world stage, the Castro regime established strong links with roguegovernments such as Libya, Iran and the DPR of Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or North Korea). By contrast, Cuba’s ties with many Latin American democracies worsened, including Colombia, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Peru.

1982-2008: Under the influence of the “pro- Castro lobby” in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), nine natural and cultural sites on the Island were declared wonders of the world- the Old Havana and its Fortifications (1982), the Trinidad and the Valley de los Ingenios (1988), San Pedro de la Roca Castle (1997), the Desembarco del Granma National Park (1999), the Viñales Valley (1999), the Archaeological Landscape of the First Coffee Plantations in the South East of Cuba (2000), the Alejandro de Humbolt National Park (2001), the Urban Historic Centre of Cienfuegos (2005) and the Historic Centre of Camaguey (2008). Curiously Cuba holds more world heritage sites than Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya and South Africa.

1984: Due to its political and financial dependency with the rule of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics (USSR), the totalitarian Communist state refused to send over 200 Cuban champs and officials to the 23rd Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, CA. Therefore, many champs lost the chance to compete in the Games, which included Javier Sotomayor (track & field) and Mireya Luis (volleyball) as well as Olympic gold medal winners Maria Caridad Colón (athletics) and Teófilo Stevenson (boxing).

1985: In its efforts to improve the country’s economy, tourism became one of government’s top priorities. Nonetheless, poor international image -among the world’s oldest tyrannies, together with the Stalinist state of North Korea-have caused great harm to the Island’s tourism industry.

1986-1992: Although many Socialist governments, from Czechoslovakia and Mongolia to the People’s Republic of China recognized to Seoul,the Cuban tyranny continued to reject South Korea’s sovereignty.

1988: After a year of speculations, the Cuban contingent did not participate in the Summer Games in Seoul, South Korea.

1990s Cuba — The World’s Worst Olympic Country

1991: Upon the ending of the Soviet Empire, the Caribbean Island, with few natural resources, had transformed itself from a middle-income country to one of the poorest countries on the American mainland.

1992: Cuba’s exile Eduardo Díaz Betancourt was executed by tyranny, despite worldwide appeals for clemency.

1992: Jorge Esquivel, the most outstanding dancer and choreographer in the Cuban Revolution, sought political asylum in Italy. This defection was a serious setback to the Cuban National Ballet. At the 1982 International Ballet Competition in Havana, Esquivel, one of the world’s six best dancers, made his choreographer debut. In the 70s and 80s, he was partner of Alicia Alonso.

1993: Despite Cubaannually budgeted over $ 100 million for the promotion of Olympic sport, which represents 3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) -one of the highest in the developing world, sport had a big problem: there were massive defections. During the 17th Central American and Caribbean Games in Puerto Rico, the Island boasted the infamous distinction of being “one of the world’s worst Olympic nations”, alongside Burma and Libya, as a host of Olympian athletes and coaches, including softball players and swimmers, refused to return to their impoverished country.

1993 Against all odds, Alina Fernández Revuelta, Fidel Castro’s daughter, fled to Europe.

1994-2010: The Cuban regime lost four important allies in sub-Saharan Africa: Angola (resource-rich nation), Benin, Equatorial Guinea (oil-rich country) and Namibia (uranium-rich country).

1995: The Island boasted one of the highest suicide rates on the planet.

1995-2010: Unlike the Republic Socialist of Vietnam, the Island, with an economy heavily dependent on tourism, has had one of the worst-performing economies in the developing world. The nation’s economy had long been handicapped by its primitive political system. Since the breakup of the Soviet Empire in the early 1990s, a lot of workers, from nurses to teachers, have been forced by the lack of job opportunities to work in Latin America and Spain. With the exception of Haiti, Cuba’s citizens are the poorest on the Caribbean region. On the other hand, important sporting and economical agreements between Havana and Latin America republics have strengthened ties between the Cuban dictatorship and Latin democracies.

1998: In an attempt to mollify its critics, the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II was allowed to visit the Island for the first time.

1999: At the Pan American Games in Winnipeg (Canada), the country’s Olympic delegation picked up several medals, but unwelcomed publicity came when Cuba’s athlete Javier Sotomayor Sanabria, one of the Island’s most respected icons since 1959, lost his Pan American gold medal in the men’s high jump after testing positive for a drug. Meanwhile, Fidel Castro did not accept the results.

2000s The Hereditary Dictatorship of the Castros

2000: Castro’s regime established close ties with the government of Hugo Chavez, Head of State of Venezuela.Due to his admiration for Fidel Castro, Chavez provided heavy economic aid and became a supplier of oil to Cuba. Meanwhile, Aleksandr Lukashenko, dictator of Belarus, went to Havana.

2003: While Cuba’s tyrant Fidel Castro -perhaps inspired by Mao Zedong, Pol Pot, Jean-Bedel Bokassa, Idi Amin Dada and other satraps of the Third World– expressed his desire to become Presidentfor life,the State Security Departament’s increased activity against the opposition groups as itarrested 75 prominent human rights activists, who participated in the Project Varela. They were named “Prisoners of Conscience” by Amnesty International. In response to the rule of Cuba’s human rights abuses, European Union (EU) imposed restrictive measures on Cuba.

2005-2010: In tribute to the “Ladies in White”, the European Union bestowed upon them the 2005 Sakharov Prize for Freedom. This award was hailed as a victory for the Island ’s pro-democratic groups. The pro-democratic organization “Ladies in White” became a world symbol of the struggle against tyranny and repression. They are one the greatest signs of hope for the new Cuba. In beginning 2008, they were threatened and attacked by paramilitaries forces.

2008: Because of its poor health, amid many speculations, Fidel Castro stepped down as Head of State and leader of the Cuban Revolution. Subsequently he was replaced by his younger brother Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz, becoming the seventh Marxist leader of a Latin American country, after Fidel Castro (1960-2008), Allende (Chile, 1971-1973), Forbes Burnham (Guyana,1970-1980), Michael Manley (Jamaica, 1972-1980), Maurice Bishop (Grenada, 1979-1983) and Daniel Ortega Saavedra (Nicaragua, 1985-1990). Raul’s succession was long-anticipated. Nonetheless, the new President, Prime Minister between 1976 and 2008,did not make major changes to the Island’s political system.

2009-2010: Under the tutelage of the hereditary dictatorship of the Castro family, there were up to 225 prisoners of conscience. Nonetheless, not much was known about the total number of political prisoners.

2010: Aware that several Cuban athletes want to escape from the Island, the country’s new dictator Raúl Castro, through the Cuban Olympic Committee (COC), declined to send Olympian athletes, coaches and officials to the Central American and Caribbean Games in Mayaguez (Puerto Rico). The Island’s sport during the past 20 years has been hit by a host of defections.

Alejandro Guevara Onofre: Freelance writer. Alejandro is author of a host of articles/essays about over 220 countries and dependencies (and American States as well), from ecology, history, tourism and national heroes to Olympic sports, foreign relations, and wildlife. In addition, he has published some books on women’s rights, among them “History of the Women in America” and “Famous Americans”

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So it goes with the Federal budget deficit and our skyrocketing national debt.. If we cannot fix our fiscal situation, nothing else matters. Much like the heart, if the financial foundation of our country is destroyed, then nothing else has any importance. You cannot even talk about global warming, a national energy program, improving public schools, fighting drug addiction, defending the country, helping out the needy, creating and maintaining job growth and economic growth, nothing else. If the heart goes, it does not matter how strong your legs are or how much air your lungs can pump. Much like the heart, sound fiscal policy makes everything else possible.

The severity of our fiscal distress was recently brought to mind again while reading the May 31, 2010 issue of Business Week magazine. In a short blurb, Business Week asserted that total U.S. debt, as of May 26, was $12.996 TRILLION. Given that we are now past that date, I think it is safe to assume we have broken through the $13 TRILLION threshold. What does this mean:

- At $13 TRILLION, the average U.S. household is on the hook for about $113,000 worth of government debt. Since the government does not create wealth, it can only confiscate wealth from its citizens, at some point we are all responsible for paying down this debt.
- At $13 TRILLION, every man, woman, and child in the country is responsible for about $42,000. Thus, a family of four is on the hook for about $168,000.
- The Obama administration’s ten year budget plan calls for another $8 TRILLION or so in debt to be accumulated by the Federal government, boosting each household’s debt burden to about $175,000 if nothing is done to change the trend.
- Last summer, Forbes magazine ran an article where they estimated the total wealth of the 400 richest Americans. As an illustrative example of how big the Federal debt is, assume that the Federal government confiscated the total wealth of these 400 Americans. Their total wealth, not their income, so this confiscation would be a one time shot. The total wealth that could be confiscated was estimated by Forbes in the article to be far less than $3 TRILLION. Thus, soaking and bankrupting the rich will not come close to paying down this skyrocketing debt, every U.S. living and to be born in the foreseeable future, is responsible for a large part of this $13 TRILLION.
- From a freedom perspective, you cannot live in a free country if the political class and the government in that country burden you with such debt. By running up such a huge deficit, a deficit that we will all have to pay down or suffer the consequences of default, we lose our freedom to spend our wealth on what we want to spend it on. We cannot send our kids to a better school, start our own business, retire when we want to, help out a charity or blow it all in Las Vegas.

Give the dire situation of our county’s heart and future, what has the political class been keeping themselves busy with in the past year or so:

- Congresswoman Anna Eshoo of California and her staff were busy working on legislation to Federally regulate the sound volume on television commercials. Never mind that TV watchers can mute the sound, change the channel, leave the room to get something to eat, fast forward on their DVR machines, or just ignore the TV for 60 seconds. Why work on soaring deficits (and other major national problems) when the TV commercial sound volume issue is so pressing?
- Congressman Jim Moran and his staff were busy investigating whether male dysfunction television commercials should be banned. I did not know this was so important either. As with Ms. Eshoo, let’s ignore real budget and financial issues facing America and work on E.D. commercials.
- Congressman Thaddeus McCotter and his staff were busy working on legislation to provide up to $300 a month in income tax deductions so that the unemployed do not have to put their pets up for adoption. Maybe if his staff and he were working on how to get America working again, which would increase tax revenue to pay down the deficit, there would be no need for this ridiculous program that would never be able to be tracked and would be rife with fraud.
- Hawaiian Senator Daniel Inouye’s and his staff have been busy helping a bank in Hawaii get bailout money from the FDIC after the FDIC determined the bank was not worth saving. Turns out that the Senator had invested heavily in the bank and stood to lose a load of money unless the bank was saved by the American taxpayer.
- Ex-Congressman William Jefferson of Louisiana was busy getting convicted of taking bribes and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. You may recall that Mr. Jefferson was caught with frozen bribe money in his home freezer.
- Also, Congressman Randy Cunningham was busy getting sentenced to eight years in prison for taking $2.4 million in bribes, Congressman Bill Ney was busy getting sentenced to two and a half years in prison for taking bribes, Congressman James Traficant was busy getting sentenced to seven years in prison for taking bribes, and the majority of ex-Governors of Illinois were either busy serving prison time, have served prison time, or may soon face prison time.
- 60% of the Congressional members sitting on the House Armed Services Committee were busy receiving campaign contributions from the very companies that they had previously earmarked pork barrel budget money for.
- Congressman Charles Rangel of New York was busy being investigated for a number of ethics violations including, but not limited to, non-declaration of rental income, certain assets, and other income.
- Fifty Republican Congressmen and women were developing legislation to replace Ulysses S. Grant’s picture on the $50 bill with Ronald Reagan’s picture. Given that all U.S, currency will soon be worthless unless the national debt is brought under control, this seems like a pretty useless endeavor.
- Every member of Congress has been busy in the development of the over 11,000 wasteful earmarks and pork barrel spending programs, in the latest Federal budget, for their home states and districts, the vast majority of which are nothing more than re-election badges for incumbents and all of which exacerbate the huge government deficit.

Thus, rather than solving the one major problem on which all else depends, many members of the political class chose to work problems that would probably not even make America’s top 50 concerns (TV commercials and doggie deductions), were busy taking bribes and/or serving time for taking bribes, or were busy diverting taxpayer money to their own personal benefit. Getting back to the Snoopy and Peanuts analogy, these politicians are busy putting earmuffs on cold ears and or tightening up their scarves while the body is in the middle of a massive coronary.

That is why it is critical to vote out all incumbents in November and place into office a new breed of politician that realizes what the major issues are facing this country, with fiscal soundness being the most critical. We need new representatives that can take unselfish, bold action to fix and address those issues. Listen to Snoopy, fix the heart first and then everything else is possible.

Our new book, “Love My Country, Loathe My Government – Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom and Destroying The American Political Class” is now available at http://www.loathemygovernment.com and online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

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In the interest of full disclosure, I have been active in conservative politics in Tennessee pretty heavily for the last 10 years. While I saw some familiar faces in the crowd, most of them were either new faces or people I had seen around town but never at a political event, much less a protest. Contrary to what you may have heard, many of them were Democrats, and most of them were older -say 40 and above. These are people who had never really called a congressman before. As they became more and more concerned about the issues I mention here, they called their congressman. Many for the first time. They were shocked at the reception they received. They really thought they would get to speak with the congressman. They really thought they would get an answer. Of course, they got the totally normal double speak and evasion. They called people they knew vaguely locally, like a mayor or county executive. They called their neighbors and urged them to call the congressman. They checked back with them and found out all these people received the same run around they got.

For the first time in their lives, they actually asked a politicians for something… And mostly, they came away unconvinced not only that their congressman had listened, but also that he really cared. The anger and fear they feel is about the double speak and the evasion they received. They naively thought they could make a difference right away. They were shocked that their congressman was actually VERY concerned about what the leadership in Washington thought. These people thought they were the boss, and for the first time, they questioned whether their government really cared what they thought. Whether they even mattered. It is through that lens that you understand the anger and sense of betrayal many of them feel.

Read away!

Town Hall Eyewitness

I attended a Lincoln Davis Town hall meeting Thursday evening, August 22 of 2009 in Crossville Tn. Lincoln Davis is a member of the House of Representatives, Tennessee’s 4th congressional district.

When we arrived at the venue, over 400 people had already been seated, and the doors were locked and guarded by the Police Force. Affable, apologetic when appropriate and always firm, they really were roving diplomats that spoke highly not just of “training” but common sense and respect for the citizens. Enough cannot be said of how well they handled this situation!

Over the course of the next two hours, as people began to exit, the police would allow replacements so eventually everyone was both allowed to enter, and to step up to a floor mike and speak their mind. I missed Rep. Lincoln’s opening remarks but the gist was that he was here to listen, and he would reserve comment until the end. Or course, the “end” ended up being about 4 hours after the start. All in all, I would guess 1000 people came and went over those four hours. At 5:00 the official starting time, I counted over 400 waiting outside, and the police confirming over 400 inside. An easy 200 left and were replaced in the line outside before everyone finally got in.

There was a lot of anger and a lot of fear. The fear has been characterized as a fear of the health care plan… That was not what I saw. What I saw was a group of people who for the first time in their adult life, feared their government was out of their control.

At the end of it all, Rep. Davis came out on the stage, remarked on his humble beginnings, born at home etc. etc. and how far medicine has come. He told a story about someone being diagnosed with breast cancer and having their insurance canceled, and insisted there must be health care reform. On the other hand, he listed several things he would NOT vote for if they were covered by the bill:

Public funding of abortion.
Illegal immigrant coverage.
Euthanasia – As if someone would propose such an amendment!
And probably a couple more along those lines.

So he answered none of the questions with ANY specificity. Every questionable accounting dodge, why no specific illegal immigrant coverage amendment, every question you can logically think of had been asked. Many brought with them specific page numbers and direct quotes for all their assertions. They spoke loudly and boldly, but many thanked Rep Davis for previous conservative votes. They spoke in the frustrated tones, many times, of people who feel sure they are going to be ignored.

In an act of pure political theatre, Rep. Lincoln held up his card for the congressional voting machine. “Nancy Pelosi does not control my vote” he trumpeted!

Last year, Lincoln Davis voted the party line 92% of the time… A far cry from the feelings of his district. But he knows (or thinks he does) how to play the game and walk the line. His re-election race will be one of the test cases next year. This series of town halls are the beginning of that campaign.

How has he done?

He is extremely smooth in his presentation, maybe too smooth. But he hits all the right notes, and rings all the right bells. The real test comes in his votes FROM HERE. The voters might give him a pass on past sins…

But he ignores these town hall protesters and votes against their wishes, and I believe he will lose his seat…

The question is, Does he?

DSHolman is a small business owner living in rural America. An active participant in local and state level conservative politics, he feels strongly that someone must ask the relevant questions and that they have a right to expect relevant answers from their political representatives.

You can find more of his “town hall memories” in his commonsense conservative blog.

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Scott Brown’s successful campaign was no different than those before his. Brown seized on the anger and fury of the voters in his state, much like Obama did just a little over a year ago. This is typical American politics. When one party seizes the swing of favoritism of voters, the other party simply sits back and waits until the party in charge screws up. Once the party in charge does screw up, the other party pounces on the hot issues and proclaim they possess the change that is needed. The problem with this philosophy is that the “change” is always short lived. Once the other party comes back into control it is back to business as usual. And thus the never ending cycle of swing politics continues.

However, the American public is quickly growing weary of swing politics and the types of candidates they produce. So who are some of the candidates America no longer need? America does not need another chameleon for a candidate. A chameleon does what is popular at the moment. America does not need a hide and seek candidate. This is the candidate that hides when his/her party is out of favor and then reappears when the swing comes back their way. America does not need the bully candidate. This is the candidate that bullies the party out of power. America does not need the whining kid that points and blames candidate. This is the candidate that is being bullied.

And who is the candidate America needs and wants? That is a very good question. Americans have put up with all the above type candidates for so long it is not clear what a real candidate is suppose to look like anymore. Perhaps a real candidate is honest, hard working, dedicated, eager to serve, willing to listen and capable of working with the opposing party on sensitive issues. Maybe they adhere to the “agree to disagree” saying, while being willing to compromise without compromising their dignity and values. A real candidate may possess the ability to overcome the dark desires of selling out in order to stay in office. That quality seems most elusive. Whatever the real candidate looks like, America is impatiently awaiting their arrival. And unless both Republican and Democrat start hearing what Americans are really trying to tell them, neither party will be safe in the upcoming 2010 elections.

Timothy Sweezy
http://timsweezy.blogspot.com
Writing for me is not a profession but a passion. It is an art form that evolves with the author and is expressed for the world to see.

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The odd in politics come to surface on each election period. You can just imagine the events that may arise during campaign period. The funny thing is that it is very rare to see a politician keep up with commitments and promises made during the campaign. You and I will agree that each of them would showcase what they can do when elected. Those promises in itself is quite odd. It is like setting a condition before taking the right actions. Seldom that you will hear somebody “I have done this and will continue doing it”; in most events, you will hear them say ” when elected, I will move the mountains for you”. Indeed oddity!

What is in store for a politician when elected is the million dollar question that needs an answer. We enumerate from the compensation up to the benefits of being a politician. Depending on a nation’s economy and the position gunning for, compensation as politician varies. Nevertheless, it is always less than what executives of small and big companies get. So why are people going for office? Maybe due to fame? Maybe due to influence? Connections maybe? Or all of the things I have mentioned? Whichever the case maybe, it all serve one’s self. If the answer is a big yes then you have a major problem. It has been said that the future of each nation depends on its leader.

We all have that power to put someone to office. That has always been the question when a nation goes starving due to some crooks elected in office. Sad truth it may seem but looking at each campaign before elections day, we are made to believe of every platform so they said would change or better our economy. Once they sit in office, our hands are all caught in a cookie jar. We are on dead end. So the key there is a wise decision making when choosing your leader. It doesn’t take an expert to choose one nor a previous experience to decide who should get our votes. It only needs somebody aware enough of the current situations of the nation; someone who pays attention to the daily news.

Its really a defining moment for everyone concerned of what will happen to the future. It is indeed a tough decision to make. The future of the nations depends on the powerful votes that we will cast. That future pertains to the economy our children will have to live in. The odd of politics will always be there as long as people do not value our nation’s welfare.

When I am not busy dead lifting over half a ton, I am reviewing electric wine chillers which I use for my protein shakes and energy drinks.

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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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