Leon Panetta, the US Defence Secretary, has decided to lift the military ban on women who fight on the front line. This is a move that could allow thousands of women to get positions on the frontline in far more prestigious positions. It overturns a 1994 rule prohibiting women from being assigned to small ground-combat units, yet the military have until 2016 to work out whether any positions should remain closed to them.
Some jobs are expected to be opened to women this year, while others – including for special forces such as the Navy Seals and the Delta Force – could take longer. However, in total 230,000 jobs are expected to become open to women in the military. Senate armed services committee chairman Carl Levin welcomed the decision: “I support it,” he said. “It reflects the reality of 21st-Century military operations.” The decision should be finalised today. What are your views on this? Thanks for reading, Digestible Politics http://www.facebook.com/pages/Digestible-Politics/476112109093593?ref=hl https://twitter.com/Digest_politics https://www.youtube.com/user/DigestiblePolitics?feature=mhee Proscovia Oromait, who turned 20 a couple of weeks ago, is Africa’s youngest and is suspected to be the world’s youngest legislator. Just months earlier she had been still at school in Uganda studying for her A-levels, but now she has much larger fish to fry. Her original plan was to finish her education first, but she was thrust into the spotlight in July last year by the sudden death of her father, the MP Michael Oromait. Ms Oromait threw herself into campaigning, and in September she won the by-election for his seat in Usuk County, with the backing of President Yoweri Museveni’s National Resistance Movement (NRM) party. She stated earlier this month that she is “so proud of what [she] is”.
Zimbabwe’s rival political leaders, Morgan Tsvangirai and Robert Mugabe, have reached an agreement over a new constitution. Tsvangirai said a “long journey” had ended, while Mugabe said he was “glad” that a deal had been reached. Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party and Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party entered into a fractious coalition following the 2008 election, which was marred by violence and allegations of vote-rigging, but now the two parties are beginning to work together.
Details of the deal have not been made public, but it is understood that the powers of the president have been curbed – a key demand of the MDC. There is going to be a referendum on the constitution, followed by an election in October if approved by the people. Mugabe has been in power since since independence in 1980 – is expected to be challenged by Tsvangirai for the presidency. Ray Nagin, the ex-mayor of New Orleans, has faced a series of charges including fraud, bribery, filing false tax returns and money laundering. So far two former city officials and two businessmen have pleaded guilty for similar charges. The ex-mayor, Nagin, is accused of abusing his power and position in office for personal gain and of accepting bribes while the city of New Orleans reeled in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Nagin had been mayor from 2002-2010 but had been facing his indictment in the case for a while. According to the federal indictment, Mr Nagin accepted more than $160,000 (£100,000) in bribes for his family business. Do you fear that people with power abuse their position and authority?
Although this article is to do with America, it is clear similar situations occur elsewhere on a daily basis and we shall create a post on similar situations around the world soon. We fear that abusing powers is one of the greatest fears in politics and democracy. Thanks for reading, Digestible Politics http://www.facebook.com/pages/Digestible-Politics/476112109093593?ref=hl https://twitter.com/Digest_politics https://www.youtube.com/user/DigestiblePolitics?feature=mhee President Barack Obama has stated that he is “determined” to tackle the issue of gun crime and prevent any further violence across America, according to the vice-president Joe Biden. By using his executive orders Obama could amend gun policy which proposes a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. This, for many Americans, is highly controversial as he is seen to be taking the constitution into his own hands with little negotiation or consultation.
The calls for greater gun control cam about after the horrific shootings in Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Aurora where a number of people died and had been injured. However, despite these shooting, gun control is a very polarising (dividing) issue in America and in Congress, with many believing it would be absurd to change the constitution and the gun lobby even declaring “more guns, less crime”. Yet Biden has told the nation that Obama will force changes and take action independently on the issue if need be, and will be the first thing on the agenda after inauguration day later this month – does this seem democratic to you? In a previous post we talked about the possibility of Hugo Chavez being unable to take office for his next term due to being treated for a lung infection. There had been a lot of opposition from those who though it was undemocratic that Diosado Cabello could lead Venezuela without public consent. Fortunately for them it has been declared legal to postpone Chavez’s inauguration, thus extending his mandate whilst he recovers.
The President of the Supreme Court, Luisa Estella Morales, said today that it would be “absurd” if the people of Venezuela did not declare Chavez’s illness as an authorised absence. She agreed that the oath to take office in the new term should be delayed to a later day than 10th January (the original inauguration day). What is the Eurozone?
The Eurozone is a collection of countries in Europe who all use the same currency – the Euro. It came to existence in 1999 with 11 countries opting in, now there are 17 member countries. The Eurozone does not contain all members of the European Union and its monetary rules are controlled by the European Central Bank. The most recent country to join the Eurozone was Estonia in 2011. The Eurozone Crisis The main cause was that the PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain) had lost control of their finances since the global recession – borrowing and spending more than they could realistically afford. Because of this, the other European countries had to bail them out costing billions of dollars. Greece was the first country to accept bailout money in May 2010, followed by Ireland and Portugal. However, this money was doing nothing to help their economies because they were trying to pay off loans, contributing to their debt crises, of a infinitesimal percentage. For these countries, the issue is is that if they have to keep repaying off loans to other countries they could effectively go bankrupt, which could have an even greater adverse effect on Europe, their economy and citizen spending power. In his speech he denounced his opponents as ‘enemies of God and puppets of the West’. Assad has also set out a plan involving a national dialogue conference and a referendum on a national charter.
Mr Assad’s speech was his first public speech since June 2012 and he rejected the Syrian opposition and said that Syria wanted to negotiate with the “master not the servants” as to negotiate with people who are not ‘terrorists’. By the end of the speech he was mobbed on stage. Mr Assad had accused the rebels of stealing wheat from the people, depriving children of school and cutting off electricity and medical supplies. Here are his series of steps he said would provide a solution to the crisis: - Outside powers to stop arming what he called “terrorist groups - The army would then halt military operations, while reserving the right to defend state interests - The government would then contact what he termed “Syrian individuals and political parties” to engage in a conference of national dialogue - The conference would try to establish a national charter that would be put to a referendum, leading to parliamentary elections and a new government Thanks for reading and please leave your views below on Assad, Digestible Politics https://twitter.com/Digest_politics http://www.facebook.com/pages/Digestible-Politics/476112109093593 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jp5gup8JUoM |