Democratization

Democracy in my view is a very important part of politics. Without democracy the people would have no power and basically be puppets in the eyes of the government. If democracy did not exist then citizens would have no say in how their country is being controlled and have no power whatsoever againgst the government. They would be completely controlled by the government and have barely any say in their own lives. They will a life that has been set out and in many cases their own personal choices will be ignored. I believe democracy is very important to having a very sucessful country and government. With democracy the people have a say in what they want and I believe that is most important. I believe the citizens are the most important part of a country because they are what others look at when the country itself is being judged. Even now many countries are still not very democratic. In some countries elections do not exist and the leaders and governments are in complete power with no one that can oppose to them. In some countries there are elections but they are very corrupted. In those cases the people that are runinng for a government position are sometimes all doing it for the same party and no matter how you vote the government will be the same. Currently there are countries that beginning to see how democracy is a good aspect to a government and they are going through democratization. As well in some countries today many citizens are trying to gain democracy in countries that currently don’t have it. They are rioting and even using violent ways to gain that. If someone truly believes in democracy then they should have the right to fight for it. Everyone in this world today deserves their thoughts to be heard even if it’s something small.

heres a video of a people that believe they need democratization in their country

Interest Groups

This week in class we are learning about interests and the impact they have on politics. Interest groups are groups of ordinary people and sometimes even politicians and government that believe they can make change in the world for the better. These groups focus on the facts that many people believe need a change in the world. The example that comes up in my head first would be the womens rights interest groups. There are more than one interest group in the world today that focus on the rights women have and many of them are trying to gain equality in the world. In many countries including Canada, women are still getting mistreated. For example in many occupation situations women get paid less than men doing the exact same job men would do sometimes even a harder or better quality of a job. These interests groups focus on individuals needs and beliefs and the people in these groups truly believe the world needs change and they would support their movement in any situation. Of course there are interests groups that seem very selfish but I believe that people in support of those interest groups truly believe in what they are supporting and standing up for. I believe interests groups are very important in politics because this way many ordinary citizens can stand up for what they believe in and if there are enough suppoters there is a very likely chance they will get heard and can even change the world for the better.

Below is a video of an interview with a member of a women’s interest group

Wasted Votes

An electoral system is the method used by the citizens within the country or province to vote for their government. In Canada currently the system is based on a parliamentary system of government. In Canada we currently have a “sovereign” which is represented by the queen who is represented by the governor general,  a “upper house” which is represented by the senate, and a “lower house” which is represented by the house of commons where the representatives are elected in by the citizens of Canada. In Canada we have a  first-past-the-post system, which means the candidates with the most votes in the different parts of the country. IN this way of voting many of the votes are wasted because only one person can win in each section and all the other votes don’t count for anything. If there are many sections like in Canada where we have 308 than many of the votes are getting wasted. This way of elections causes many problems because even if a member of a party won doesn’t mean their party has the majority of the other seats in parliament. This system doesn’t look at the party who has the bigger numbers but the individuals who won the seat in their own section of votes. For example if the winner has 60 percent of the vote and that is 600 votes than the other 40 percent/400 votes are not even looked at and therefore completely wasted. I believe Canada should change to a system where citizens should vote for the parties and not individuals running for the seats. That would make it better for the country and most likely we can end up with a majority government. With a majority government I truly believe that there will be a lot less controversy and maybe even less systems within the government and nation itself.

Letter in support for bill C-205

To Whom this may concern

I am writing this letter to support the bill C-205 which is currently in the introduction and first reading stage. This bill is a good law to pass because it supports the everyday workers and employees in Canada. Currently employers are allowed to hire other employees if their current ones are on strike or not working due to certain union reasons. This bill is great idea because it stops the employer from hiring new people to replace union workers if they ever decide to go on a strike, I believe employees have every right to strike if their demands are on reasonable terms. During strikes the employees should not have to worry about someone else taking their jobs. Many unions strike because they believe they are not getting treated properly within their occupation. The fact that so many people in Canada are looking for better jobs in todays economy that it would be very easy to replace employees at the employers discretion. So I am in complete support of this bill and will gladly back anyone else who supports this, What happens if your the next person to lose your job just because you went on strike for something you truly believe in. If someone is getting mistreated at work I believe they every right to stand up to their employer and not have to worry that the security of their job is still there.

Your Best Regards

Anthony Zhou

Renewal of Presidency in Yemen

After 33 years of ruling by the long time ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh he has finally been out voted and someone new has taken over his throne in Yemen. During Saleh’s reign of power many riots and protests occured due to the lack of trust from the people in Yemen. Saleh leaves behind an economy in horrible shape, rebellion in the northern parts of the country, separatism in the southern parts of the country and a military that is completely unorganized and corrupt. The new president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi who was voted into presidency earlier this week was Saleh’s former Vice President. The time Saleh was in presidency caused a lot of problems and violence throughout his country. Personally I am glad to see some change in a country where poverty and violence is all we hear about in the news. Hopefully this new leadership will bring new hope and a better economy to this country. If a president doesn’t have the support of the population within that country and so many violent acts of riots and protests are happening, then I truly believe its time for a new leader. Hopefully this new ruler will bring joy and success to this country. Best to luck to the country of Yemen.

Here is a video of a little bit of info Yemen situation

 

Thailand Constitution Rewrite.

In thailand the Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s party have recommended a constitution rewrite after the incident in 2006 where the old  prime minister abused his powers and made many citizens in the country of thailand very unhappy. Currently many people are not liking the fact that there will be a constitution rewrite because they do not believe in the government anymore. They believe that the constititution should be written by the people of thailand for the people of thailand. They believe that the constutution is very selfish and looks down upon the lower classes of citizens within Thailand. The proposal of rewriting the constitution would have 99 members of the political party write a draft copy within 180 days. Citizens are outraged that politicians are writing the constitution because they believe it only favor the government and be completely one sided giving moe unneccessary power to the government of Thailand. I personally believe that citizens should have the right to give input of what goes into their own constitution. It’s true that the government runs the countrym, but they are running a country for the people and should not work agianst the people. Without citizens agreements and approval the country would be very hard to maintain and live in in my opinion. So I believe citizens of Thailand should have a say in what they believe in and the laws within their own country.

Below is a video of a little information regarding whats happening in Thailand

Economic Inequality

In today’s society, a big problem that involves many people is the economic inequality we have in our world today. Economic inequality affects many people in Canada today. Within the last 20 years economic inequality has dramatically increased throughout Canada and most of the world. Economic inequality is a very serious problem for those living in poverty today. The government is trying to do it’s part but I personally believe it’s not enough. Just recently the minimum wage was raised from 8.50 to 9.50 which in my opinion is a good raise but I believe with raising the minimum wage comes consequences. Everything in stores will become more expensive and food and clothes will raise in price because of this wage increase. Just because it sounds like someone working minimum wage is making more doesn’t mean that’s completely true. I believe the more you make the more you have to spend. Many small business owners have raised their prices on items so even if someone thinks they might be making a dollar more an hour, it means they have to spend that extra dollar just as quick. For example I was eating in a restaurant one day and without even knowing until my bill came up I had to pay an extra 2 dollars for what I usually get.  Even though the minimum wage has gone up, I don’t believe this will help the economy all that much. In my point of view I believe everyone get taxed way too much and that needs to stop. I believe that people get taxed too much and we pay way too much tax for our everyday needs. Even with minimum wage nowadays I believe it is very to get by throughout everyday lives.

Below is a video where researchers have information on people that work for minimum wage and their struggles

Does Globalization Destroy Nationalism?

The world today has become very different from what it was 10 years ago. The current society in the world is going under globalization. Globalization is defined as an elimination of barriers to trade, communication, and cultural exchange. The theory behind globalization is that worldwide openness will promote the inherent wealth of all nations. Globalization involves many things such as the econmics of the world also in affects many aspects of different cultures. An example of globaliztion is the developing country of Europe and the European Nation. Currently the European Nation consists of 27 nations. About 2 decades ago there wasn’t even half that many and because of globalization Europe has become the big and powerful nation it is today. Nationalism is a polictical ideology of that involves a strong identification of nationality either for a group of people or an individual. Nationalism gives groups of people a sense of nationality and identity. The big question many people have is does globalization affect nationalism and national identity. In my point if view I don’t believe that anything can destroy peoples cultures and traditions. I myself am of asian descent, I am proud of my cultural background and believe nothing can change my faith in religion. There will always be different religions and cultures in our world and nothing will ever change that. I believe peoples cultures and religous beliefs define the person they are and that is stronger than anything else in our existing world today. In my point of view people are proud of their cultures and nothing can really change their mind about their way of life and beliefs. Even though globalization is becoming a very powerful force, I believe nothing is more powerful than a persons beliefs and their sense of who they are and what they represent themsleves as. The best example of nationalism in my opinion is when a person moves out of their home country for whatever reason and still cheers for their home country in sports, as well still looks up about all the news and current events occurring in their home country. That to me proves that nationalism and identity are very powerful no matter where you are and whatever happens, people will still be proud of who they are and what they represent. So in simple words I truly believe that Globalization can never get rid of nationalism.

Below is a video describing what nationalism is.

Failed States and Terrorism

In our modern world today there is much talk about the connections between failed states and the huge amount of terrorism that occurs because of those certain countries. According to the text book Studying Politics By Rand Dyck it states “In short, it became accepted that failed or failing states could provide a safe haven for terrorists to the extent to which there was no central authority that was willing or able to confront them”.  I do agree that terrorism does exist but do terrorists actually do what many people in this world are believing is happening in our world today. For one example, many people believe that Iraq and other countries were building weapons of mass destruction, and because of this rumor a big war has errupted in the world today. To this day they have still not found but the war is still in effect. Are what so called terrorist really killing people for reasons of greed? or are they just trying to stand up for themselves? I believe that these so called terrorists are just people that want to defend themselves from being bullied by the richer states. Failed states are very poor and the environment people living in these states are very difficult to have a decent life in. Just because a country has a poor background doesn’t mean that terrorists are forming groups like Al Qaeda and planning weapons of mass destruction and war. I don’t agree with the fact that just because a state has failed that people in that state would have to resort to terrorism. I think that the people branded terrorists had no other option but to reside in the failed states for many reasons.

Below is a documentary describing how many people believe Al Qaeda was never real in the first place.

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