Now that we've moved into Comparative Government, I thought it might be interesting to post some things about society elsewhere. For my Spanish class, I have a weekly assignment to inform myself about issues in Latin America, and I use the UN website to do it. This is the link to the Spanish-speaking countries page, but you can navigate from there to any other region in the world, so have fun exploring! (And yes, it really is fun. You can even listen to the reports as a radio publication.)
http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/spanish/
Also. This page is completely in Spanish, but you can change the language in the top right hand corner.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Woman Sues Congress for Injuries Given by a Small Dog.
How are Congressmen just like you and I? They, too, get sued when someone gets bitten by a dog on their property. How are they not like us? When they get sued, so does the entire House of Representatives.
Two years ago, Elizabeth Crawford went to a meeting with her Representative, Tom McClintock. While there, a small dog that belonged to a staffer bit her on her finger. Self-remedies, hospital trips, and two years later, she's suing him for $200,000 of damages. The four-figure amount they offered to pay for the bills was, apparently, not enough. In total, she's seeking 174,000 for "pain and suffering".I'll be interested to see how this one plays out...
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/dog-bites-woman-woman-sues-congress/ar-BBhz560
How are Congressmen just like you and I? They, too, get sued when someone gets bitten by a dog on their property. How are they not like us? When they get sued, so does the entire House of Representatives.
Two years ago, Elizabeth Crawford went to a meeting with her Representative, Tom McClintock. While there, a small dog that belonged to a staffer bit her on her finger. Self-remedies, hospital trips, and two years later, she's suing him for $200,000 of damages. The four-figure amount they offered to pay for the bills was, apparently, not enough. In total, she's seeking 174,000 for "pain and suffering".I'll be interested to see how this one plays out...
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/dog-bites-woman-woman-sues-congress/ar-BBhz560
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
After I read Connor's post on the North Korea/Sony problems, I found this on a gossip site, and I think it adds an interesting new piece of the argument.
In our country, we have freedom of speech. We (in general) believe that every person should be able to speak their mind without reprisals. And that is why ultimately, the people of the US agreed when Sony released The Interview even under threat from the North Korean dictator. But just because we believe in it, does that mean that every person has the right to free speech?
North Korean defector and human rights activist Park Sang-hak has that everyone deserves uncensored access to The Interview, and, together with the Human Rights Foundation, is going to drop 100,000 copies of the movie to the citizens inside North Korea. Now, I respect and understand this desire to help them, and to try to break down the psychological walls Kim Jong-un has built around his country. But, here's the potential problem. IF anyone decides to watch the movie without turning it into the authorities and IF the authorities don't find all of the copies first anyway, those citizens who keep it are automatically subject to a death sentence. So what do you guys think? Is it worth the risk to individuals? Will efforts like these help the situation at all in N. Korea? Is it anyone's place to interfere in the operation of another country?
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Politico's 14 Quotes of 2014
In the spirit of the last post, here are 14 memorable things that were said this year. Some of them made me laugh and some of them I honestly didn't remember, but it's a good wrap up for the year in politics.
Some of my favorites were...
1. "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee."
Ah, yes. The moment where possibly the most competitive Republican for 2016 flushed his chances straight down the toilet. Even if Chris Christie didn't cause the vote-stopping traffic, his reputation took a big hit and his other faults suddenly came to light.
4. "I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm."
This one just made me laugh. Apparently Joni Ernst, a new Senator from Iowa, used this as a slogan in her campaign. Her ads ran along the lines of "I can help cut the pork from Washington and make them squeal..." let that image sink in for a bit.
5. "Don't do stupid s**t."
I like this. It was the motto of Obama's staff this year, and it's a good motto for anyone to live by. Keep it simple.
8. "We tortured some folks."
I cringed. Just a bad reminder of a bad event that I really wish we hadn't done but we now have to justify to the world.
There are lots more, so take a look here!
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/top-quotes-2014-113882.html?hp=t4_r
In the spirit of the last post, here are 14 memorable things that were said this year. Some of them made me laugh and some of them I honestly didn't remember, but it's a good wrap up for the year in politics.
Some of my favorites were...
1. "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee."
Ah, yes. The moment where possibly the most competitive Republican for 2016 flushed his chances straight down the toilet. Even if Chris Christie didn't cause the vote-stopping traffic, his reputation took a big hit and his other faults suddenly came to light.
4. "I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm."
This one just made me laugh. Apparently Joni Ernst, a new Senator from Iowa, used this as a slogan in her campaign. Her ads ran along the lines of "I can help cut the pork from Washington and make them squeal..." let that image sink in for a bit.
5. "Don't do stupid s**t."
I like this. It was the motto of Obama's staff this year, and it's a good motto for anyone to live by. Keep it simple.
8. "We tortured some folks."
I cringed. Just a bad reminder of a bad event that I really wish we hadn't done but we now have to justify to the world.
There are lots more, so take a look here!
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/top-quotes-2014-113882.html?hp=t4_r
15 Political Questions for 2015
The beginning of 2015 will bring the first candidates for the 2016 elections to the forefront. Even though the elections are still nearly two years away, the game is on! These are Politico's questions for this year in preparation for 2016. I only listed the first 5 with my own commentary, but the rest are also interesting and deserve a read!
1. Can Hillary change?
An important question, since she will clearly need to appeal to more people to win this time around. (Having lost once before.)
2. Who emerges as the left's Hillary alternative?
It's an interesting point-there are many options, and the Democratic party needs to decide where their allegiances lie.
3. How far will Hillary distance himself from Obama?
I think it depends on what Obama does between now and election time.
4. Does Jeb scare anyone off from running?
More importantly, does Jeb have a chance himself?
5. What is Rand's ceiling?
I think that depends on whether the Republicans can find anyone who's more sane and likable.
The beginning of 2015 will bring the first candidates for the 2016 elections to the forefront. Even though the elections are still nearly two years away, the game is on! These are Politico's questions for this year in preparation for 2016. I only listed the first 5 with my own commentary, but the rest are also interesting and deserve a read!
1. Can Hillary change?
An important question, since she will clearly need to appeal to more people to win this time around. (Having lost once before.)
2. Who emerges as the left's Hillary alternative?
It's an interesting point-there are many options, and the Democratic party needs to decide where their allegiances lie.
3. How far will Hillary distance himself from Obama?
I think it depends on what Obama does between now and election time.
4. Does Jeb scare anyone off from running?
More importantly, does Jeb have a chance himself?
5. What is Rand's ceiling?
I think that depends on whether the Republicans can find anyone who's more sane and likable.
Steve Scalise Says he is NOT a Supremacist
The new Republican whip, Steve Scalise, was accused by certain Democrats earlier this week of having supremacist tendencies. We're used to politicians accusing each other of things, but I think it's an important aspect of being a public figure to research your claims before you publish them. In this case, we have a badly supported claim. The evidence? A speech he gave to a group in Louisiana as a state legislator. The group was founded by a member of the Ku-Klux-Klan and has been classified as a hate group. But the largest hole in the accusation? The speech was 12 years ago and was only one in a series of many speeches he gave to inform the public of a new tax bill.
Now, I don't agree with many Republicans in many ways, but accusing a probably innocent man of being a supremacist? That's a little too far. Isn't it?
original story:
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/gop-leader-i-regret-speech-to-white-supremacists/ar-BBhlRe5
The new Republican whip, Steve Scalise, was accused by certain Democrats earlier this week of having supremacist tendencies. We're used to politicians accusing each other of things, but I think it's an important aspect of being a public figure to research your claims before you publish them. In this case, we have a badly supported claim. The evidence? A speech he gave to a group in Louisiana as a state legislator. The group was founded by a member of the Ku-Klux-Klan and has been classified as a hate group. But the largest hole in the accusation? The speech was 12 years ago and was only one in a series of many speeches he gave to inform the public of a new tax bill.
Now, I don't agree with many Republicans in many ways, but accusing a probably innocent man of being a supremacist? That's a little too far. Isn't it?
original story:
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/gop-leader-i-regret-speech-to-white-supremacists/ar-BBhlRe5
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Well, folks, it is 11:00 at night and I'm sitting here staring at the screen waiting for election results! Tomorrow when the official results are released I will edit this post and add the real numbers, but thus far almost nothing is happening the way I would have chosen...congrats to all of you who voted for the first time today, I was excited and I hope that you were too!
UPDATE: Love V. Owens is currently 47, 49, respectively!!
UPDATE: Love V. Owens is currently 47, 49, respectively!!
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