Politics in Washington, D.C.

Politics in Washington, D.C. Membuat Lembaga Politik mempertunjukkan bagaimana bahasa perencanaan perkotaan menentukan imajinasi politik, dan batas kemungkinan untuk uang kembalian yang ada ke kota dan warganegara. Buku melambangkan tiga momen pokok di Washington, D.C., merencanakan sejarah tawaran itu wawasan kaya ke dalam mengubah gagasan di sekitar kota, warganegara, dan politik: perbaikan gang dan rumah petak dan Rencana Komisi Taman Senat karena membentuk kembali Mal Washington (1900); memulai lagi perkotaan dan Daerah re-Perkembangan Columbia bertindak (1950-60); dan pelaksanaan citywide pengawasan sistem dan Monumen dan Tanda Peringatan Rencana Induk (2001). Margaret E. Farrar dengan piawai menggambar dari teori politik, geografi kebudayaan, dan studi perkotaan di ujiannya hubungan di antara tempat, warganegara, dan tenaga di konteks Washington perancang. Disamping kenyataan lingkungan Washington yang dibangun, Farrar menggambarkan tugas ibu kota di demokrasi. Lebih dari tempat lain yang mana pun, fungsi pokok arsitektur

Belgian police and al Qaeda living legend

Police belgian gripped 14 people, where the police including meaning carried out the suicide attack in Belgium, according to information that was received by them had contact in "the level of Al Qaeda that was highest," said the source. The source of police said the officer "had only 24 hours to act." The Chief 27 states of the European Union member were meeting in Brussels on Thursday and on Friday. It was clear that the state front and the government personally were the planned attack target. The public prosecutor's federal office in Belgium recognised a person among the suspect as Malika El-Aroud, the widow a person among the man who killed a main Taliban opponent in Afghanistan two days before September 11, 2001. The husband late El-Aroud ordered a person among two men who killed Shah Ahmed Massoud, a leader of the Utara Alliance, in the suicide mission by Osama bin Laden. Belgian police meant prevented El-Aroud, to be looked for and carried out by the firm action on his behaviour

Barack Obama headed in educational politics

The condition for Transition President-Elect * Barack Obama headed in educational politics of * Jake Tapper Examines Obama: Cabinet ABC News Jake Tapper Examines Obama President-Elect Barack Obama introduced New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson when President-Elect Reuters – Barack Obama introduced New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson as his candidate for the trade … When Barack Obama installed his administration, more than 20 Harvard Law School the classmate placed the point in his transitional rank the team — reinforced Crimson relations as him was most eternal, still most was known, personal the network. Gazed at the presidency as a first senator of the year student, Obama turned to his classmate first for their high-level contact, and then to help lifted money for the campaign. Now, they’re placed their day the work in backburner to help their friend in building the United States government.Link Reading...

What's Palin to do next?

Sarah Palin menyeimbangkan tawaran untuk menulis buku, muncul di film dan duduk di puluhan kursi panjang wawancara di laju mencengangkan untuk kebanyakan bintang Hollywood, apalagi terlebih dulu-masa gubernur. Oprah inginnya. Oleh sebab itu melakukan Letterman dan Leno. Sifat buruk Republiken yang gagal presiden calon menghancurkan nomor anggaran negara minggu yang lalu ini dinya ke-17-lantai kantor sebagai menggulingkan harga minyak memukul pendapatan Alaska. Stafnya, sementara itu, menjawab permintaan televisi dengan tangkas mencari berumur 44 tahun Palin untuk olok-olok malam terlambat dan Minggu pagi Washington kebijakan. Agen dari William Morris Agency dan di tempat lain, sudah datang menabrak. Malah sudah ada tawaran untuk mengadakan acara TELEVISI. "Besok, Gubernur Palin bisa melakukan wawancara dengan media berita yang mana pun di planet," kata juru bicaranya, Bill McAllister. "Besok, dia mungkin bisa menandatangani sembarang satu di antara selusin transaksi buku." Dia bisa mulai berbicara untuk mengisi sekitar satu film dokumenter atau film atas hidupnya. Itu ialah

Money Politics

Money politics must not be used in looking for the voice. The "community must not be given money, but was enough to be given by the explanation about the problem that happened at this time," said syahba you in Party discussions of Democracy vs the Pot of Rice in Jakarta, on Tuesday. Was not difficult to change the strategy (the search for the voice) continued Syahbanda. "Be enough to visit the people to villages or to the field and explained problems that happened in Indonesia at this time," he continued. Because of this, as a leader, said Syahbanda, must have the struggle that more for the people. "I was sure they also more thought about the progress and nation goodness than money," explained former Commissioner Pelindo (the Indonesian Port).

Antara Megawati dan Susilo BAmbang Yudhoyono

Indeed always had the mechanism of the correction himself that guarded to gap between the SBY image (along with ekspektasi that adhered to his image) and achievement reality of his government continue to was in the balanced condition (or near-equilibrium condition). In part, quoted Soros, the public observed the achievement of the winner of the general election unlike that was projected or hoped for, but continued to give tolerance, by means of adapting his hope (George Soros, The Bubble of American Supremacy, 2004). In the Indonesian context, tolerance of that kind was also provided a basis for by primordial loyalty, especially for the certain segment in "traditional" parties, like Megawati's supporter in PDI-P (that bersemboyan "pejah gesang nderek Ms Mega", or "died the life went with Ms Mega"). However, the segment of the similar fanatic appeared to not yet grow was strong enough among the supporter SBY.

McCain asks Georgia voters

ATLANTA THIS DAY "I didn't think I'd be back on the campaign trail quite this early," McCain told some 1,500 people in his first political appearance since losing the presidency to Barack Obama last week. "But there is a lot at stake here. ... I'm asking you to go into battle one more time."Republican John McCain implored Georgia voters in the Thursday to back Sen. Saxby Chambliss in next month's runoff, warning that Democrats will increase taxes and cut defense spending and the GOP needs to strengthen its ranks.Chambliss failed for to cross the 50 percent threshold and faces a Dec. 2 rematch with Democrat Jim Martin. Georgia's election results were and certified Thursday and the final tallies show Chambliss falling just short, with 49.8 percent of the vote. Martin earned 46.8 percent and Libertarian Allen Buckley, also in the race, pulled 3.4 percent.His voice rising, McCain told the crowd that Chambliss, a first-term senator, "is doing what we Republicans should have done for eight years and that's restrain spending." And in a commentary on his Election so to Day loss, the Arizona senator added,"We let spending get out of control and it cost us a lot of our conservative base."McCain cited recent and comments by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., about off possible cuts in military spending and alluded to Obama's plan to raise taxes on families making more than $250,000 a year."We're in two wars. We can't cut defense spending," McCain said.After his brief remarks, the former Republican presidential nominee stepped into the crowd to shake hands with the GOP faithful at the Cobb Energy Center. After the rally, McCain planned to attend a private fundraiser for Chambliss.

PPP ( Partai Persatuan Pembangunan )

In this reform era of the United Development Party (PPP) came back in the Islam principle. This was marked by the re-Kabah use as the sign of the picture of the party. For the party that was established during 1973 as the fusion of four Islam parties -the Nahdlatul Ulama Party, Partai of Indonesian Muslims, Partai of the union Islam Indonesia, and the Party Islam Perti-, the existence of Islam parties other as participants in the General Election (the General Election) 1999 clear was the rival in the receipt of the voice. Moreover if in view of the fact that several leading figures of these Islam parties were beforehand known as leading figures PPP.
The firm PPP attitude in the Session of Istimewa People's Consultative Assembly 1998 then often was considered as one of the factors that increased the popularity of the party. In the future, in his program, PPP continued to fight for the life of the democratic nation, that is straightening the ABRI function, the People's Representative Council, the president, and the country's other agency. With the Islam principle, PPP wanted to fight for the political order that was democratic by being based akhlakul karimah as well as developed the life that Islami. For PPP the struggle for the party was the struggle for the aspirations of the people.

La Psicología de la Educación? Leer ahora

Colecciones: Educación, Psicología, toda la biblioteca
La Psicología de la Educación cubre la gama de conocimientos psicológica contemporánea aplicadas a la educación. Completamente actualizada y escrita en un estilo de participación, este libro incluye: * la naturaleza del aprendizaje * técnicas de evaluación con un énfasis en los acontecimientos actuales en el currículo nacional ...
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What is a diamond?

Diamond is produced as a result of tremendous heat and pressure within the earth's surface. Recent research has suggested that a temperature of 690°F would be required, together with a pressure of 70,000kg to a square centimetre. Such conditions would only be found at a depth of some 120 miles below the earth's surface. Diamond is then brought to the surface as a result of volcanic activity; all this happened between 75 and 120 million years ago.

Contra affair

McCain linked to group
Republican Sen. John McCain served on the advisory board to the U.S. chapter of an international group to ultra-right-wing death squads in Central America in the 1980s.WASHINGTON (AP).
Republiken presiden calon, Sen John McCain, R-Ariz., mewariskan hotelnya pada latihan untuk perdebatan presiden nanti malam dengan Demokratis saingan Barack Obama di Nashville, Tenn., Selasa, Okt. 7, 2008. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

poolitic

politic

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Politic (Defintion from )

Etymology:Middle English politik, from Middle French politique, from Latin politicus, from Greek politikos, from politēs citizen — more at police

Indonesian

As the country that was in the highest place of crisis casualties who were not guilty, of Indonesia had the right to receive the priority in help of the international creditor. The support needed to reinforce the budget. The budget could receive the problem because several sources of APBN funding will it was estimated be closed resulting from the low level of the interest of the international market in buying the Indonesian promissory note. That very possibly happened because of the liquidity US dollar was very limited in the world. The director general of the Utang Departemen Management of Rahmat Waluyanto Finance said, talks between Indonesia and several creditors main has been carried out and approached the resolution. All the loan that was given was the sleeper for Indonesia to face the possibility of the worsening of the economy of the world. Till at this time, the number and the loan scheme on the basis of the crisis were not yet agreed to between Indonesia and the creditor. However, continued the Blessing, how many funds that were secured will increase the number of foreign Indonesian loans on the loan target of the program in APBN 2009, that is 2,8 billion US dollar or was equal Rp 26.4 trillion. PArtai Politik in indonesian continue reading...

Rusia

Rusia is good information and goverments

candidates don't know and won't tell you

Finance, history and politics

Tony Blankley
Wednesday, September 17, 2008

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Federal Reserve decided Tuesday not to adjust interest rates despite a widening credit crisis. Associated Press.As of this Monday, United States Federal Reserve and Treasury Department policies have entered the presidential electoral political debate. While, as a rule, I am in favor of candidates for high office discussing policy, I am inclined to want to make an exception for these arcane, yet vital, policy zones. there is Not only do none of the four candidates know much about federal reserve policies, but even their advisors may not be amongst the very few experts in this arcane area.But worst of all, the ambiguities and subtleties of such delicate financial crises management decision-making are unable to be comprehended by slogans and phrases. the Obama and McCain campaigns jumped out of the box on Monday with the assertions that they didn't want a tax-payer funded bailout, and they both called for comprehensive and tighter new financial regulations. I think I would rather have the candidates lying about each other's character flaws than discuss Fed policy in public. I certainly don't claim expertise, but let me point out a little bit of the history of the confusion.Let's go back for a moment to the alleged historic mother lode of hard-learned Fed policy wisdom - the Stock market crash of 1929 and the following Great Depression. Initially, in late 1929 and early 1930 the Federal Reserve did make major purchases of securities and cut the interest rate from 6 percent to 4 percent.But by not bailing out banks in the three great runs on banks of late 1930, spring 1931 and March 1933 (resulting in 10,000 banks going out of business), Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon's famous (though not strictly followed) advice, "liquidate labor, liquidate stocks, liquidate real estate" became the prime example to history of what not to do during a financial panic.And indeed, the lesson learned from those events has been that the Fed should make sure banks have enough reserves to cover deposits. Quick and sustained intervention has been the rule.But if one listens carefully to the public comments of the last few months, one hears praise for at least the echo of an allegedly cold-hearted Mr. Mellon. As Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson said just this Monday: "Moral hazard is something I don't take lightly." This currently very popular proposition correctly observes that in free markets, investors who take undue risk must pay - and be seen to pay - the price for such improvidence. This proposition is undergirded by the famous maxim of Joseph Schumpeter that failure in the marketplace is part of the creative destruction of capitalism.Or, as old Mr. Mellon said along with his liquidation trilogy: "Values will be adjusted and enterprising people will pick up the wreck from less competent people." So, when do we let economic nature take its healthy course, and when do we intervene with taxpayer dollars to bail out large failing institutions? This week poor old Lehman Brothers was being cheered into bankruptcy by an unholy troika of commentators, experts and presidential candidates - as an example "pour encourager les autres" (the full quote from Voltaire - in translation, is "in England, it is good, from time to time, to kill an admiral, to encourage the others.")But only last week not only both candidates for president, but even such a free market man as Larry Kudlow called the tax payer backing of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae " a necessary action [to] stop a global money meltdown - but it raised the stakes for taxpayers once more." And Kudlow - who I both admire and consider a friend - also backed the bailout of Bear Stearns in order to "safeguard the banking system and the whole global financial structure." So slogans like no more tax payer bailouts are meaningless verbiage. (Although what is said in presidential campaigns can sometimes, if we are not careful, actually become government policy the following year.)In fact, it is always a matter of nice judgment whether the system needs protection or whether it can withstand the tough but fair workings of the marketplace. This week the consensus judgment was that Lehman fell into the latter category. Time will tell because the markets and the public had to mentally absorb not only the Lehman bankruptcy, but the Merrill Lynch purchase by Bank of America and the possible fatal illiquidity of AGI, the insurance giant. The first reaction was a 504 point drop.

Politics international

This time verry much people problem internal or external. the menteri or parlemen want something but some one milionary will to buy that politics so why....

Politics

tomorow politics you can ready now.

Lift Ban On Offshore Drilling

House for Votes To Lift Ban On Offshore Drilling

In the House votes to lift the moratorium so there is has blocked drilling along most of the U.S. coastline for three decades.

Lehman bankruptcy, AIG fears

The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index (.SPX) fell 59.00 points, or 4.71 percent, - posting its biggestpercentage drop since the day that markets reopened after the September 11 attacks in 2001.The S&P 500 also tumbled to its lowest close since October 2005, taking out a key technical support level as it fell.The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) slid 504.48 points, or 4.42 percent, to 10,917.51 -- its biggest one-day point drop since September 2001.The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) dropped 81.36 points, or 3.60 percent, to 2,179.91.Lehman, weighed down by losses spawned by the U.S. mortgage crisis, sought bankruptcy protection on Monday following a scramble over the weekend in which it failed to find a buyer.Merrill Lynch (MER.N), meanwhile, agreed to be bought by Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), the No. 2 U.S. bank. Merrill's stock closed just 0.1 percent higher at $17.06, but Bank of America's shares dropped 21.3 percent to $26.55."There's some concern they (Bank of America) might have bit off more than they could chew," said Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co in San Francisco.Shares of Wall Street firms such as Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) also slid on concerns about the viability of their business models, which are similar to those of Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, analysts said.Goldman Sachs shares fell 12.1 percent to $135.50, while Morgan Stanley shares dropped 13.5 percent to $32.19.The concern was heightened due to the U.S. government's decision not to provide guarantees for any deal to help Lehman avert bankruptcy.The S&P financial index (.GSPF) tumbled 10.6 percent.

POLITICAL PARTIES

• Bloc Québécois
• Canadian Action Party
• Christian Heritage Party
• Communist Party of Canada
• Conservative Party of Canada
• Green Party of Canada
• Liberal Party of Canada
• Libertarian Party of Canada
• Marijuana Party of Canada
• Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada
• New Democratic Party
• Progressive Canadian Party
• Western Canada Concept Party

Hurricane Oprah

Hurricane Oprah' Heading Toward Washington

Winfrey attempts to force passage of bill fighting child exploitation.

Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin Hits the Campaign Trail
Preparing for Ahead In her speech before the Republican convention.
Gov.Sarah Palin reallyhad three tasks, Katharine Q. Seelye says.

• Interactive Video and in Transcript of Palin's Speech
• Palin is Assails Critics and Electrifies Party
• More Politics News Palin
  

Geert Wilders

Dutch right-wing politicians, Geert Wilders sent his controversial film of Fitna that was critical against Al-Qur'an to the internet. The video with the duration 17 minutes contained the discount of articles of Al-Quran among the picture of the speech on the radical's Muslim scholar Islam, but also pictures of the act of the violence.

Women in Politics

NOW's one-hour every people can ready for informasi in special data: "Women, Power, and Politics: A Rising Tide?"

Georgian forces began an offensive to gain control of the pro-Russian territory

Data from Russian tanks and troops entered South Ossetia after Georgian forces began an offensive to gain control of the pro-Russian territory now, which has had de-facto independence program for more than 15 years. The Russians quickly repelled them and drove further into Georgia.ringed South Ossetia and Abkhazia with checkpoints the West says violate the terms of a cease-fire Sarkozy brokered.Sarkozy, whose country holds the EU presidency, is going to Moscow with other top EU officials for a visit Kouchner said was aimed at ensuring Russian implementation of the cease-fire plan.Scheduled to visit the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.The EU expects Russia to withdraw its forces to their pre-conflict positions, Kouchner said.

Georgia and Rusia, Refugees (UNHCR) camp in Gori

The new battle again broke out that involved Georgian troops and Russia. The battle happened during the convoy of Russian troops that guarded refugees near Deas Achabet was attacked by a group of troops that was believed in was the Georgian side. The fighter Ossetia Selatan that at that time was near Russian troops immediately repaid the attack. The Russian side then afterwards helped by their combat vehicle. The battle that happened on this Mumila bridge it was suspected as the troops's Georgian tactics that want to blocked the rate of the convoy of Russian troops to guard refugees in Ossetia Utara. His article, this bridge was the main connector of Ossetia Selatan that was in the Georgian territory and Ossetia Utara that were the province from Russia.

Obama This Time

Barack Obama's strategists say they will pick and choose where to spend time and money. Sure, the presidential candidate is spending time in previously-Republican Indiana and North Carolina, but the true focus is going to be areas where he simply must win.

Despite early optimism, Obama's strategists are mapping out an electoral plan similar to Democrat John Kerry's from 2004, with a few tweaks. Obama still is pushing into traditionally Republican and rural areas, such as this farm region along the Ohio River. But don't look for the Democratic presidential nominee in, say, undeniably GOP Idaho.

Syria (CNN)

Syria hopes a series of indirect talks with Israel will soon lead to direct negotiations, President Bashar al-Assad told CNN's Cal Perry Thursday in an exclusive interview.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy (right) and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad meet in Damascus.

Al-Assad said that possibility was discussed during a summit attended by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the leaders of Turkey and Qatar.

Word of the Syrian proposal came during a landmark visit to Damascus by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. He and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad took part in a summit Thursday that also included the leaders of Turkey and Qatar.

"The dialogue today was about the peace," al-Assad told CNN's Cal Perry in an exclusive interview. "I could not say we achieved something but starting the dialogue is a positive issue."

Al-Assad told CNN: "We are talking about the future, the role of Europe and especially France in particular during the next phase which is the direct negotiations," he said.

Syria and Israel have been involved in indirect talks in Turkey for the past few months. There have been four rounds of talks so far, and Syria hopes to begin a fifth round early next week, according to a senior official close to the negotiations.

The Syrian government has put forward a six-point proposal outlining goals for furthering indirect talks with Israel, a senior Syrian government official. The Syrian government handed the proposal to Turkey to pass along to Israel, the senior official said.

Israeli officials did not immediately confirm whether they had received a copy of Syria's proposals, but they did say they were trying to set up another round of talks with Turkish mediation.

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"We are still interested in the continuation of the talks with a genuine intention to reach an agreement," an Israeli official said.

U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood said the United States wants to see Syria "play a more productive role in the region."

"I think it remains to be seen just how serious Syria is about engaging in peace discussions with Israel," Wood said. "If Syria is serious about it, about making peace with Israel, I think what is important is to see actions not words."

Al-Assad has consistently said the United States must be involved in the process before any direct talks can begin. He has also said there is no point in involving the U.S. before the presidential election in November.

The Bush administration hasn't "done anything, to be honest," he said. "Now it's too late. We have to wait for the next administration, after the American election, to see what we can do."

Al-Assad added that he would be happy to host whichever presidential candidate won the election but would not say if he thought Republican John McCain or Democrat Barack Obama would be better for U.S.-Syrian relations.

Sarkozy is the highest-level French official to visit Syria since their good relations froze after the 2005 assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister, anti-Syrian Rafik Hariri.

A U.N.-appointed commission investigating Hariri's assassination has implicated top Syrian officials. Syria has denied any involvement in Hariri's murder. Watch more about Sarkozy's visit to Syria »

Sarkozy said Wednesday the two countries were about to open a new page in their friendship, the official Syrian news agency, SANA, reported.

The French president said indirect talks between Syria and Israel were "excellent" for the two countries and for the region, and he expressed hope that they would lead to direct talks as soon as possible, SANA said.

Serbia's

Serbia's EU candidate status 'possible' in 2009: Barroso

BRUSSELS (AFP) - Serbia could become an EU candidate nation next year but must first meet conditions including full cooperation with an international war crimes court, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Wednesday.

Iraq war

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told ministry students at her former church that the United States sent troops to fight in the Iraq war on a "task that is from God."

Stevens' Lawyers

The team of lawyers shepherding Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens through a gauntlet of federal indictments has papered the U.S. District Court clerk's office with a flurry of filings — most of which are designed to bolster their arguments that the case be dismissed.

Stevens has been charged with seven counts of making false statements on his yearly Senate financial disclosure forms in an alleged effort to conceal hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gifts from the former Alaska-based oil services firm VECO and its top executives.

At his arraignment last month, Stevens and his team of lawyers, led by Brendan Sullivan, had pressed for a compressed trial schedule so Stevens could "clear his name" prior to the November general election.

Judge Emmitt Sullivan granted the request, with jury selection process beginning on Sept. 22.

On Tuesday, the Stevens team argued the government isn't supplying information — including evidence — in a timely enough fashion.

At court today, Stevens' lawyers filed several documents, including a motion to compel the government to immediately supply its evidentiary information so that his defense team will have enough time to sift through the materials prior to the trial.

So far, Stevens' lawyers say, the government has produced 400 hours of audio and video — including intercepted phone calls between Stevens and VECO execs — but has not indexed the information.

The defense argued in Tuesday's filings that the information has nothing to do with Stevens or the charges against him. Additionally, the defense team indicates it will move to suppress the recordings of the telephone calls because there is no indication Stevens was the investigative target when the calls were recorded.

"Among the government's duties was to minimize the interception of communications to and from persons not named as interceptees in the surveillance orders; to minimize interception of non-criminal communications; and to identify the actual targets of the interceptions by affidavit to the authorizing court," the filing asserts.

"Here, the government never once identified Senator Stevens as a targeted interceptee in its Title III applications, yet it appears to have targeted his phone calls."

If Stevens was not named in the original court order that allowed interception of the calls, his lawyers say, then the calls should be off-limits for trial. Other arguments offered by the defense:

— Stevens argues that government has not adequately accounted for the "items of value" he is alleged to have received from VECO, and wants the court to order the prosecution to come up with a detailed list, or a so-called bill of particulars.

— Stevens wants the indictment dismissed because it is too "vague," and therefore "deficient"

— Stevens again says that since the financial disclosure forms were submitted to the Senate, the Senate should punish him, rather than the courts or the executive branch.

— Stevens again argues that his indictment at the hands of an executive branch agency violates the legislative protections afforded him under the Speech and Debate Clause of the Constitution

— The government hasn't shown motive or how or if Stevens acted in a material manner to benefit VECO for the receipt of the alleged gifts, his legal team says: "The government obviously wishes to import the stench of a bribery prosecution into a case that is nothing of the sort. The government has cited no case, and we are aware of none, in which prosecutors were permitted to suggest a quid pro quo when no quid pro quo was or could be charged in the indictment. Particularly here, where the government concedes that the senator's official acts were entirely lawful and proper, the allegations are unnecessary and unfairly prejudicial."

The Market Reform and Opening-Up Policy

Sexuality Issues in Contemporary China

By Sun Zhongxin

Revolutionary changes in the field of sexuality are taking place every year, if not every day. Yet there are still many people who would prefer not to acknowledge the “sexual revolution.” However, no one denies that Chinese sexual attitudes, behaviors, ideology, and relations have changed dramatically in the past decade of reform and opening up of this country. Many of these changes have found expression in the public forum through a variety of behaviors and ideas. These include, but are not limited to a separation of sex and marriage, such as pre- and extramarital sex; a separation of sex from love and child-bearing such as Internet sex and one-night stands; an increase in observable sexual diversity such as homo- and bisexual behavior and fetishism; an increase in socially acceptable displays and behaviors of female sexual desire; a boom in the sex industry; and a more open discussion of sex topics, including sex studies at colleges, media reports, formal publications, on-line information, extensive public health education, and public displays of affection.

As can be seen by these developments, China no longer exerts strict control over personal sexual behavior. Sex is increasingly considered something personal and can now be differentiated from a traditional system that featured legalized marital sex and legal controls over childbirth. The reduction in controls on sexual behavior has initiated a freer atmosphere for sexual expression. More and more people now regard sexual rights as basic human rights, so that everyone has the right and freedom to pursue his or her own sexual happiness.

Change in the field of sexuality reveals not only a change of sexual attitudes and behaviors but also a series of related social changes via the process of social transformation. From the sociological perspective, there are at least eight main factors that have created the current turning point in the contemporary Chinese social context.

The Market Reform and Opening-Up Policy

China’s reform and opening-up policy has caused a series of great changes in Chinese society. The denial of the ideals of the Culture Revolution, during which sex was used as a political tool for the control of the people, is an influential factor in making these changes. During the Cultural Revolution, individual sexual preferences were supposed to give way to lofty revolutionary ideals. Extra-marital affairs were portrayed as a derogatory lifestyle, and pre-marital sex was immoral. Homosexuality was illegal and would be punished under the statutes for hooliganism. A person had to be sexually well-behaved in order to get a promotion or advance in his or her career.

Reforms in the area of sexuality show a lessening amount of government control over the individual private life. Many sex-related problems and personal lifestyles are no longer relegated to the field of politics and thus exempt from severe legal punishment or moral condemnation. Sex has been returned to the personal sphere under the domain of self-management. These changes can be seen in the weakened interference and control of the government in sex-related areas, strengthened sexual resources in the open market, a diversity of sexual lifestyles, and a strong appeal for sexual rights as human rights.

For instance, the government’s control of personal lives has gradually retreated since the passing of the new marriage registration principles in October 2003, which again simplified the processes of marriage and divorce. The committed parties no longer need certification or confirmation from their place of work or the local Resident Committee to get married or divorced. The pre-marital physical, which among other things once contained an indication of the woman’s virginity, is no longer obligatory. The new principles reflect a greater respect for human rights, a protection of marital freedom, and a change in the governmental function with regards to sexual issues.

At the same time, some major social policies have also played an important part. For example, the side effect of the family planning policy is to promote a separation of sexual behavior from reproductive purposes. If a couple can give birth to one child only, sexual behavior is no longer solely practiced to produce babies but also for pleasure. Changes in the legal code have reflected this while also publicly acknowledging sex as a pursuit of happiness.

Stable Economic Development and Consumerism

Under current policies, the social economy has seen stable and sustainable growth, especially in big cities. Material wealth and an increase in quality of life have brought optimism and consumerism which continually send messages to the individual that it is acceptable to seek sexual happiness.
Various sex products are now openly sold in the market. Sexual information is spreading directly or indirectly through such public media as street-side advertising. Fewer people turn away when they see intimate behavior between lovers in public. Condom vending machines are seen on campuses. Products for safe sex are available in convenience stores around city. Even major radio and television stations have started picking up on sex-related topics. Educational programs on sex have become popular. Video shops, big or small, sell sexually oriented films produced either by domestic or foreign directors. More sexual information can also be quickly and easily found on the Internet. Intermingled information, good or bad, has pushed aside many of the traditional sexual taboos and thus shaken the norm of sexual practice.

The pursuit of profit may well push sexual minorities such as gays and lesbians to appeal for their rights not just for legal reasons but also to tap into their particular market niches. In a stable, developing economy and consumer culture, an emphasis on individual enjoyment and a respect for differentiation and diversity are now well established and perhaps even flourishing in an atmosphere of confidence and optimism.

The Rise of the Middle Class in China

When we talk about social change in contemporary China, we cannot ignore the great changes in and reorganization of social stratification. One of the most important features is white collar workers—the rise of the new middle class in China. The new middle class tends to stress their personal happiness and pay more attention to their own quality of life.

Based on my observations, all the visible sexual changes—including gay culture—can be considered middle class culture. Most of the related website owners and participants belong to the white collar workers group. The new lifestyle in sexuality fields such as the DINK—double income, no kids—family, single groups, and cohabitating couples who violate the traditional sex norms are led by middle class people. They are also the target groups for most gay bars, dating parties, so-called “dating on Saturday” programs, and sports groups, among others, in Chinese cities.

The rise and growth of this middle class has the potential to produce various sexual emancipation discourses, including homosexuality, to break the silence.

Popularization of Higher Education

Popularization of higher education has become one of the major changes in Chinese education. According to recent statistics publicized by the Shanghai Education Commission, the gross entrance rate into higher education in Shanghai is 55 percent, ranking first in the country. Beijing comes a close second, at 53 percent. In the same year, the nation’s gross entrance rate into higher education has not yet reached 19 percent. More than half of the population aged 18 to 22 in Shanghai and Beijing can get access to some form of higher education. At present, only a few countries, such as Canada, America, Finland, Korea, and New Zealand, have achieved such levels of higher education.

The impact of higher education cannot be underestimated. The younger generation may adopt a different sexual ideology from their elder generation because they have more opportunities to access the human and social sciences. They are more geared toward the pursuit of equality, freedom, and self-realization.
At the same time, society pays more and more attention to elite intellectuals such as professors, researchers, lawyers, and policy-making consultants. Their opinions and ideas are expressed to the public in media reports and at conferences. The spreading of knowledge is the most forceful way to eliminate sex discrimination and sex inequality.

Feminist Discourse in China

Gender equality is one of China’s national policies. The Cultural Revolution slogan “Women can hold up half the sky” is well known. Many organizations and centers for gender were established after the Fourth UN Conference on Women was held in Beijing in 1995. The government sponsored the conference and then signed the UN documents pledging gender equality, and official women’s organizations and feminist activists and scholars have been fighting against gender discrimination and working on achieving gender equality. Their struggle has permeated many aspects of the people’s social lives.

Mainstream feminist discourse in China tends to ignore sexuality issues, considering those topics either unimportant or as stirring up unnecessary trouble. Nevertheless, the critical thinking of feminist discourse has challenged stereotyped gender roles, including sexuality roles. The latter especially has influenced many young people.

The role of feminist discourse in the field of sexuality has been to redefine a woman’s sex role. It criticized the double standards of sex between women and men, which included traditionally held norms such as that men should be aggressive and active, women passive and inactive; that men should have stronger sexual desires and women weaker; that men should be sexually experienced before marriage but women retain their virginity; that women should not ask too much for sex and should consider men’s satisfaction as their own. The critical feminist discourse is also rewriting the gender views in Chinese society. Some feminist scholars have started to emphasize women’s sexual rights and the diversity of sexuality among Chinese women. Thus China’s sexual revolution is also women’s sexual revolution, as evidenced by these trends.

The Role of the Media and the Internet

The media is the catalytic agent of sexual revolution in China. The Internet, too, is one of the most prominent agents wielding important influence among the Chinese people through promoting alliances, sharing knowledge, and providing a platform where various voices can be heard. We have noticed that many informal homosexual social networks originally developed through private websites. There are numerous individuals who come to accept their sexual identity mainly because of the Internet. It is obvious that the Internet is a powerful channel for people to find sexual partners, to organize offline activities, or just simply to have access to sexual knowledge and sex-related information.

Urbanization in China has been accelerating the sexual revolution by providing people with more private space and freedom to enjoy sexual pleasure, as compared what was afforded by the traditional countryside way of life. The Internet provides even more powerful support and makes it possible for many people to remain anonymous, to surf the Internet from one website to another, to write their own blogs, and to express what they want in an environment where there is no prying by co-workers, neighbors, or other peer groups—where no gossip about their behavior exists.

Opening the Door: AIDS and Sexuality

Recently, the importance of AIDS prevention in China has been stressed by both the global society and the Chinese government. Such an increase in concern can be a double-edged sword for the sexual revolution in China. It provides both opportunities and risks. Sexuality has to be openly discussed because of AIDS concerns. For example, in the summer of 2005, China Central Television discussed the topic of AIDS under the title “Homosexuality: Confronting is Better than Evading.” Scholars and activists have gained the legitimacy to talk publicly about the so-called “high risk” groups such as gay men and sex workers and have been developing strategies to work together with the government, replacing strategies of attacking the “evil” with models for caring for those at risk.

Sexuality, including homosexuality, has started to enter the public forum. The whole process is still ongoing, but it is breaking the silence on sexuality taboos. AIDS concerns also bring funding, and many organizations are working to fight the illness. The related knowledge and information on sexuality is spreading continuously among Chinese people, and it also strongly helps people to overcome the stereotypes, bias and ignorance regarding AIDS and health and sexuality issues.

Globalization and Alliance of Social Forces

It has become hard to close the door on globalization since China adopted the policies of opening up and market reform. What does globalization mean in regard to the sexual revolution? It means that there should be many people traveling across countries and from one region to another in China. It means information sharing, product sharing, capital flow, and value sharing, which increasingly includes some basic understanding of sexual rights, gender equality, and human rights. The country’s various projects on sexuality, reproductive health, and AIDS prevention each have raised people’s awareness of sexuality. Some non-profit international or national organizations are also working in China, while at the same time the international academic community, together with Chinese scholars, is sponsoring workshops and conferences for research on sexuality.

Conclusion

Some argue that because the sexual revolution is Western, it is therefore foreign and chaotic, and that becomes the basis for the judgment of whether it is good or bad. In fact, it is not so simple at all.
Having analyzed from a perspective of social change the institutional basis for the sexual revolution in contemporary China, it can be seen that the sexual revolution has deep local roots and that social policy, political reform, economic development, and the rise of middle class in China have all led to the change of attitudes toward sexuality. However, there are a few turning points created by the development of the Internet, AIDS prevention concerns, and globalization. The change of attitudes, far more than the change of sex behavior itself, reflects a dramatic change in Chinese society during the past few decades.

There are a few important highlights of the sexual revolution in contemporary China. First, it stresses the pursuit of sexual rights by individuals and makes sexual knowledge and discourse available to the public. Second, it features the retreat of state control from people’s private sexual life, while market and media are now playing more important roles in social life. Third, sexuality can be separated from the marriage and childbirth systems and from gender stereotypes. Fourth, it means more for some social groups than for others, and, to some extent, we can argue that the sexual revolution is focused on women’s sexuality and homosexuals’ sexual orientation. Now is an historic period for women in redefining their sexuality and for people who have different sexual orientations in setting up dialogues among each other.

However, we should not ignore the fact that the sexual revolution has never been an equal experience in China. Imbalanced socioeconomic development among different groups means that certain social groups—particularly the poor, women, people with lower social status or no access to information—are most likely to be exploited. This limits the scope and intensity of the sexual revolution.

There is no single voice for the changes in the Chinese people’s sexual lives. Conservative and liberal forces are always negotiating with each other. One focus lies in the argument over the advantages and hidden risks of the sexual revolution, especially when we describe the dramatic changes in the Chinese sexual life as a “revolution.”

Although there are not so many scholars engaged in sexuality studies in the social science field, and the sociology of sexuality is still a marginal field, the voice claiming sexual rights and freedom is louder, or at least can now be heard. Meanwhile, the various facets of the sexual revolution have raised a claim for more feasible strategies and countermeasures, such as advocating sexual education for young people, raising public conscious about safe sex, fighting against all kinds of discrimination and ignorance, protecting women’s rights, advocating respect for diversity, equality, and harmony, and teaming up with all the social forces such as the non-profit organizations, government organizations, and academia.

Sun Zhongxin, who was a visiting scholar at Yale Law School’s China Law Center last year, is a professor of sociology at Fudan University teaching China’s first undergraduate course on homosexuality.

Howard Fineman - LIVING POLITICS

A Day for the History Books

Howard Fineman

Barack Obama's nomination is the social equivalent of landing a man on the moon.

Obama addresses a crowd in Nairobi during a 2006 trip to Kenya.

Many Kenyans got up in the early hours of the morning to watch United States Senator Barack Obama become the first African-American to be nominated for President by a major party.

Sources Of Government Contracts/Awards Related To Africa. Politics Of AIDS ... meeting point for all your information and educational needs on Africa

Listening for Food Aid in Zimbabwe

Hungry residents of a village in southeastern Zimbabwe have acquired an unusual skill: they have learnt to listen for trucks carrying food aid.

At AfricaPoliticsOnline, we seek to provide accurate, complete, informed and timely resource on African politics. Online ! We provide educational tools for African politics, with African perspectives on African issues .Our goal is to become the primary portal and the meeting point for all your information and educational needs on Africa politics. We are set as the nitch that bridge the divide between the news and the educational portals on Africa.

New Russian President Medvedev in Moscow During Four-Day Trip Through Russia

Russia and Europe are tied to each other in a multitude of ways, including by political, economic, and cultural interests, Steinmeier emphasized at the beginning of his trip. Thus they can address together the many problems that can only be solved jointly. Foreign Minister Steinmeier said he was pleased that it is now possible to reach a new partnership and cooperation agreement between the European Union and Russia.

Russia is and will remain an indispensable partner for Germany and the EU, including in the political shaping of the world of tomorrow, Steinmeier emphasized. The transfer of power in Russia is being greeted with expectations and confidence. Steinmeier noted that in taking office, both President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin had spoken of the modernization of the state and society. One will now take them at their word.

In his speech at the university, Steinmeier emphasized that modernization cannot be shouldered by the state alone. Therefore, Russia would need a vital civil society and a vital entrepreneurship.

Germany and the European Union are the natural partners in modernization for Russia, as it faces weighty modernization tasks: renovation of infrastructure, investment, creation of a socially just society. We want to make this mutual interweaving a joint advantage for the people in Russia, Germany and all of Europe, Foreign Minister Steinmeier said.

He named energy and climate policy, health care, demographic development as well as education and science as examples of fields of cooperation. For example, Russia would benefit if the energy branch worked more efficiently. Whereas German companies, which rely on efficient use of energy, could take part in the modernization of infrastructure. At the same time, the security of German and European energy supply would be increased

Parliament

More on Germany today
Germany Today
German Political System
German Politics
The German Parliament is made up of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat. The supreme legislative body is the Bundestag (Federal Assembly), the lower house of Parliament, which is elected every four years. It in turn elects the Federal Chancellor (Bundeskanzler).

The Bundesrat (Federal Council), the upper house of Parliament, represents the 16 federal states (Bundesländer) and cooperates in law-making and administering the federation. Its members are appointed by the individual Länder, or states. Sometimes, the Bundestag and the Bundesrat blocking each other, making effective government very difficult and lead to a consens driven politics of compromise.

German Politics

Germany Flag Germany is a constitutional federal republic, whose political system is laid out in the 1949 constitution called Grundgesetz (Fundamental Law). It has a parliamentary system in which the head of government, the Bundeskanzler (Chancellor), is elected by the parliament.

Palin's

If Sarah Palin becomes Vice-President of the United States an interesting domino effect could take place in the government of her home state, Alaska. Palin's selection as VP creates interesting scenario in Alaska
ABC News' Rigel Anderson reports

Bill Clinton News

Bill Clinton Addresses

Obama, Biden Congratulate Palin

At Pennsylvania Biodiesel Inc. in Monaca, Penn., this afternoon, Sens. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, and Joe Biden, D-Del., congratulated Gov. Sarah Palin, the new running mate of Sen. John McCain

Explodes In Finleyville Woman's Face

ROSTRAVER (KDKA) ― Melissa Malone, 22, of Finleyville, required more than 50 stitches in her upper lip this week, after the gun she was shooting at a private shooting range in Rostraver exploded in her face.

The Washington County woman is now warning people who might have the gun - a Talon T-200 9 MM pistol - to get rid of it, because she says the gun isn't safe.

Malone tells KDKA-TV that she and several friends were at the firing range Wednesday afternoon.

At first, she said the gun worked fine, then the slide on the gun cracked in half, and parts went flying. She thought she lost her whole cheek, before the ambulance came and got her.

Malone says she still has a throbbing, stabbing pain in her mouth, like somebody took a knife, and went through her lip, and just cut it.

Doctors hope to take the stitches out of her lip next week, then, she expects to have to undergo plastic surgery.

We were unsuccessful tonight in trying to reach Talon, Inc., the company that manufactured the weapon.

Barack Obama

Barack Obama and his running mate Sen. Joe Biden kicked off their battleground state bus tour.

Russia and Georgia

Russia and Georgia

Put out even more flags

Russia’s recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia will reverberate for a long time—not least at homeAug 28th 2008

Georgia and the Balkans

Parallel bars

Serbia and Kosovo ponder their positions after the war in GeorgiaAug 28th 2008

France and Afghanistan

To stay or not to stay

The debate over whether to keep French troops in Afghanistan heats upAug 28th 2008

The Italian public sector

Idlers under attack

A reformer takes on Italy’s bloated public sectorAug 28th 2008

German recreation

An affinity for rules?

Germany has a grip on the business of inventing brainy new board-gamesAug 28th 2008

Europe's Pull Grows on Britain

U.S. SHOULD HEED IMPLICATIONS
The British are invading Normandy again, this time not to save it from tyranny but to buy it for themselves. From Bayeux to Honfleur to Rouen, shop windows advertise everything from thatched-roof cottages to mini-chateaux. And the Brits--flush with cash, cramped for space and with easy access by air and the Chunnel--are snapping up vacation and retirement homes at a furious rate even though the pound (and the dollar) are down against the euro.

The passions of the British--whether in real estate, diplomacy or arms--matter more to America now than at any time since World War II, when GIs stormed the same beaches of Normandy that, increasingly, serve as vacation spots for English-speaking peoples. British Prime Minister Tony Blair is President Bush's only truly powerful global soulmate in the war on terror. He is Bush's best translator and sidekick. Without him, and without Britain, America would be even more isolated diplomatically than it is.

I am an American who covers his country's politics for a living. But I have been coming to the U.K. and Europe for decades, every year for the last several. This time, my family and I traveled from Western Ireland through Dublin and Scotland to England and France. My bottom line is this: Blair may be morally right to stand with America in the post-9/11 world. But he is (sadly in my view) on the wrong side of the drift of British history.

Latest Headlines

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Aug 29, 2008 | Updated 184 min ago

• Obama uses speech for high-tech outreach

• Analysis: Obama spares details, keeps up attacks

• McCain makes decision on running mate

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• Obama sketches promise of America

Obama blasts

Barack Obama of Illinois accepted the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday night, declaring that Sen. John McCain of Arizona, his Republican opponent, was not up to the task of resolving America’s economic and foreign policy problems.

“Tonight, tonight, I say to the people of America, to Democrats and Republicans and independents across this great land — enough!” Obama declared as thousands of flash bulbs popped in the Denver Broncos’ stadium.

Obama wove the personal with the political in his 50-minute address to 84,000 supporters — and millions more at home — explaining how he would make a difference in their lives as president.