Category: Politics & Government 2182

Introduction

Sarkozy is the present president of the French conservative party namely UMPS. In the presidential election held in 2007, he won nearly about 85% of the vote. The number of members of UMP has significantly increased during his presidency. Sarkozy extended his support to the Yes in the French referendum on the European Constitution. (Duthel 73).

Frances social and economic policies underwent a radical transformation in the year 2005 due to new policies introduced by Sarkozy. (Duthel 73). On September 8, 2005, Sarkozy had a meeting with Le Monde due to his call for transformation where he strongly stressed that the French had been dubbed for the last three decades by hollow promises and condemned what he regarded as unrealistic policies.

Sarkozys demand for radical transformation

Sarkozys demand for a radical transformation in Frenchs social and economic policies includes the following:

• Sarkozy advocated for an easier, fairer, and simplified taxation system with lesser loopholes and proposed a maximum tax rate of fifty percent of revenue, which will include all direct taxes combined.
• Sarkozy endorsed initiatives thereby denying or reducing social support to unemployed citizens who declined to take up the employment which was offered to them.
• Sarkozy crusaded for cutbacks in the budget deficit, advocating that the French government has been living off credit in the last few years.
• He christened his new economic policies as Frances liberal, which means towards economically libertarian policies or laissez-faire system or with a derogatory suggestion, ultra-liberal.
• It is to be remembered that Le Liberalisme is a debatable issue in France, while some whole-heartedly supported them and with the majority of the left and some of the right turning it down. (Duthel 73). Sarkozy turns down the label of liberal and christens himself as a pragmatist. Sarkozy was involved in another volley of controversy by emphasizing that he opted for reform of Frances immigration policies with quotas intended to take in the skilled workers required by the French economy. He also emphasized restructuring the present French policies for foreign students asserting that it facilitates foreign students to have open-ended curricula to acquire resident status in France. In its place, he prefers to choose the best-talented students to the best curricula in France. French copyright law underwent radical changes due to the passing by the French parliament, a contentious bill known as DADVSI in early 2006. (Duthel 152).

Since there was no consensus in his party for this plan, and Sarkozy paced in and conducted a dialogue between various parties associated with this process. Sarkozy was criticized that he was personally and unofficially involved in some amendments to the law which codified vibrant penalties against planners of peer-to-peer systems by business groups like EUCD.info and the Odebi League.

Sarkozy attempts to project himself as an energetic man duly supported by the advertisement campaign for this reason mainly to find solutions to the contemporary issues of France. The left party used to criticize Sarkozy that he is a demagogue and more conversational leader and for attaining political benefits, he will go to any extent. (Duthel 152).

During his election presidential election campaign, Sarkozy pledged to introduce various economic stimulus packages like the introduction of targeted tax incentives, deep cuts in government spending, and loosening the 35hour workweek law. (Duthel 152).

To counter the economic crisis, Sarkozy had called for an end to capitalist excess, to introduce tighter bank regulations, and France to become a more interventionist state. Due to the global financial crisis, France has not been much affected as French people are not having personal debt and there is an immediate need to rescue any bank in France. Due to the global economic crisis, Frances GDP has shrunk by 3.3% as compared to 5.3% in Germany and 3.7 percent in Britain (Economist 2009).

Sarkozy cautioned in the G-20 London summit held during April 2009 that France wants stricter financial regulations to avert a future global financial crisis. Sarkozy blamed that Anglo-Saxons was responsible for the present global economic crisis. France wanted a financial regulator on a global basis which is strongly rejected by the USA. Sarkozys warning highlights the emerging fissures between global leaders. Sarkozy is more worried about the two factors of the current global financial crisis as it would have a greater impact on Frances GDP growth and unemployment rates. (Bremmer & Webster 2009).

The main reason for Sarkozys revolt may be attributed to a sharp slip in Sarkozys ratings in France, which reduced to 36% in April 2009. Though he got a small boost in his rating after the G20 summit in London in March 2009, the April 2009 end polling revealed a steep slip. In a poll during April 2009, respondents reposed confidence in the capability of trade unions than that of Sarkozy to alleviate the effect of the recession.

As far as crime is concerned, Sarkozy has been tough and as minister of the interior, he approved a drive to deport undocumented immigrants. However, one has to remember here that Sarkozy himself has an immigrant background as his father descended from Hungary and his mother was a Greek Jewish. Immediately, after being elected as President of France, he amended to try the juvenile offenders between the ages of 16 to 18 as adult offenders. He has the laurel of one of the very few French presidents to support affirmative programs, and he is the first to nominate color people to cabinet positions.

Immediately, after the assumption of president office, Sarkozy introduced many administrative reforms as per the details given below:

• He instructed his cabinet ministers and conservative government to report directly to him.
• Cabinet ministers were required to offer a report analyzing their departmental function on the yearly basis.
• An annual presidential address in the French parliament has been introduced during his regime.
• He interrupted the everyday business of the government and media was dominated with his news in an unprecedented manner.

Global Economy and France

France is greatly intertwined with the global economy and has derived many advantages from globalization. More than fifty percent of Frances GDP is comprised of the exports and imports of goods and capital account, which is the highest proportion as compared to any other nation in the globe. Foreign investments, especially investments from American pension funds which control and own about fifty percent of all shares traded on the stock exchanges of France. Hence, as the US is being affected due to the subprime mortgage crisis, its impact is being witnessed in the French share market. Further, about thirty-three percent of French employees are working for companies that are partly owned by foreign investors. (Kesselman et al 130).

However, French involvement in the global economy and the current performance of the French economy more or less created severe political tensions. Further, in France, the effect of economic determinants on domestic politics centers greatly on the form of political institutions and partisan alliances.

With the advantage of chairing the EU Presidency at a critical juncture, Sarkozy shifted beyond his national podium in meeting the challenges of the financial crisis. He was the mastermind in organizing the G20 meet for the deliberation of the global financial crisis both in Washington and in London. Though his idea of establishing global macroeconomic regulation was opposed by the US, Germany, etc, it did open the gateway for the French notion of a European economic state. This connotes that there existed a fundamental French proposal to advocate for greater economic assimilation in the European Union.

Sarkozy Stimulus Economic strategies

Sarkozy is now started to urge the European Central Bank to design a scheme to absorb government debt, as being done by the central banks of the US, Britain, and Japan. Further, Sarkozy vehemently worked at the G-20 summit held in April 2009 with the main agenda namely curbing the tax heavens that will offer a stimulus package in the French economy. (Vinocur, March 2009).

In November 2009, France disclosed its plan to avail a big loan of Euro 35 billion to give stimulus to its economy. According to Sarkozy, this will be invested in augmenting the infrastructures in universities across France, to strengthen the R&D mechanisms, to improve life sciences, financial incentives to the revolutionary small businesses, and to enhance the renewable energy resources. However, critics argue that in the short run, the huge government spending will deteriorate the French economy due to the dire of huge governmental spending by France. However, a survey poll on this topic has indicated that about fifty-four percent of questionnaires opposed this huge governmental spending.

It is to be noted that France during the year 2008 spent euro fifty-five billion mainly to service its total debt of euro 1.3 trillion. French government audit body had already warned the French government to minimize its government spending. Further, it is also against the poll promise made by Sarkozy that he will minimize the government spending if elected as French President.

It is estimated that Frances budget deficit will reach a record high of 8.3 % during the end of 2009 as against of deficit of 3.4 % during 2008. The increased French government spending on economic stimulus packages and decrease in tax receipts due to the current recession was the main reasons for the steep increase in the budget deficit. (www.theage.com).As per French government forecasts, this will increase Frances debt from 77% of the economic output during 2009 to 91% in 2013.

Frances economy is in a dire state and taking big loans now will have an impact on its economy as Sarkozy already invested euro 26 billion in economic stimulus packages to balance the international financial crisis. (www.theage.com).

Conclusion

Why there is a sudden slip in the ratings for Sarkozy? This is mainly due to increasing job losses and the closure of industries in France. Though Frances economy is much stable than that of the UK and Germany and as there is no subprime mortgage crisis in France, but France is still witnessing the impact of the global financial crisis. Jobless rates reached the height of 8.6% in February 2009, which is well ahead of the average of the European Union.

Initially, French voters were somewhat happy with the handling of the financial crisis by Sarkozys government. However, the later developments in France in 2008 and 2009 had shattered their hopes. There were substantial job losses due to the closure of the Continental tire factory in Picardy and the Caterpillar factory in Grenoble. Sarkozys pledges to save these plants later became futile. French voters have become wary of hollow promises as they are now under the impression that Sarkozy is interested in making hollow promises only and not interested in fulfilling the same. (Economist 2009).

In the second half of 2008, Sarkozy held the European Union presidency and won the hearts of the French by indulging in shrewd diplomatic interactions, starting from the Middle East to Georgia thereby making France in the headlines. Even now, French opinion polls approve how Sarkozy safeguards the French interest abroad but remain concerned that whether he can do more to arrest job losses at home.

One can witness a growing opposition to Sarkozys leadership in the middle of 2009 as trade unions were able to draw nearly 3 million people who were transported through the union-hired coaches on May 1st, Labour Day celebration at Paris.

It is to be observed that Frances two-layer labor market excessively safeguarded permanent jobs and thus supported companies to employ employees on convenient short-run contracts. Thus, during the current financial crisis, there were considerable job losses in this non-permanent sector. Public concern was sparked over this labor system, which resulted in rising unemployment and the French governments impotency to control this. Hence, French political custom, especially the association between the structure of government and public opinion was one of the crucial elements that shaped French leaders  establishing of and the public retort to the international financial meltdown.

According to Sarkozys close aides, the political risk has become increasingly high recently and the risk of violence and revolt is very high. The recent protests by trade unions, fishermen, students in 2009 all reveal that these sections are badly impacted due to economic shocks. Economist expert, Nicolas Beverez cites the absence of civic institutions below the state as the reason for the same. This demonstrates why direct action is so famous in France and why protests become so sweeping than in any other nation.

Sarkozy can count on two advantages as the opposition party in France is weak, has no credence, and they are divided. Further, Sarkozy may lose some popularity in 2009 due to the impact of the financial crisis but is well above the depth quantified by his predecessor Chirac. During the student protests in France in 2006, Chirac had the worst poll rating of just 16%. Comparing to this, Sarkozy is still having a good rating among the French. (Economist 2009).

Thus, Sarkozys endeavor to discipline the French economy implies the national leaders disaster outlining and the public reaction to this and cannot be regarded in separation from its political perspective. Lack of strong political opposition party in France, French political erudite, and the global and EU platforms offered a precious admiring comment to the crisismanagement evaluation. In a nutshell, national background issues, crisis opportunism, and individual leadership acumen framed French crisis administration in a international financial crisis.

Works Cited

Bremmer, Charles & Webster, Phillip. 2009. Nicolas Sarkozys Threat to Walk out of Global Summit. Web.

Duthel Heinz. Nicolas Sarkozy. Paris: Lulu.com, 2008.

Kesselman Mark, Krieger Joel and Allen & Christopher S. European Politics in Transition. Paris: Cengage Learning, 2008.

Super-Sarkozy falls to earth. Economist 390.8627 (2009): 55-56. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web.

Vinocur John. 2009. Politicus; A Circumspect Sarkozy Ponders the Economy. Web.

WWW.Theage.com. 2009. France to Take Big Loan to Boost Economy. Web.

Introduction

The Kurds are a Persian ethno-linguistic group of people occupying most of the hilly parts on the junction boundaries of Turkey, Iran, Iraq as well as Syria. Carole OLeary writes that, after WWII and the split of the Ottoman Empire, these people were assured of their independent state through stipulations of the 1920 Treaty of Sevres. They would later be short-changed as the proposal was revoked in 1923 through the Treaty of Lausanne. Consequently, these more than 25 million people are shared among Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria on about 300, 000 square kilometres. Thus, they are the largest ethnic grouping on earth with no state (2002, p.17). The area on which they inhabit in Iraq is popularly referred to us Kurdistan although the word is usually avoided for political neutrality (Katzman 2009, p.2). In this essay, we shall discuss the Kurds in Iraq. We shall determine whether they can form a new state in their northern home base or whether they may fail to pursue that independence. We discuss this considering the post-Saddam Iraq.

Kurds in Iraq

Majority of the Kurds in Iraq are Muslims following the Sunni beliefs. A few of them are shia or Yezedi. Description of Kurds life in Iraq has been punctuated with misery. After Iraq was created as a state, Kurds have been associated with poverty, political oppression and even ethnic turmoil (OLeary 2002, p.17-18). At one time, an organized armed operation was set against them as part of the continual crusade against Kurds in response to their fight to obtain autonomy within the state of Iraq. Under the direction of Ali Hassan Al-Majid, cousin to Saddam; chemical weapons were used to severe the resistance of the Kurds (Barkey 2009, p.7). This campaign was determined to get rid of the Kurds and clear the region of saboteurs-men from 15-70 years of age. Economic barriers were put on regions occupied by Kurds to starve them from any source of livelihood. Armies were then ordered to remove people and take them to reserves where adult men were secluded from women and children. Those who resisted leaving were killed. In deed, those gathered men who appeared to pose a threat were further butchered to reduce the crowd (OLeary 2002, p.17).

During that time, commonly referred to us the Anfal operations, more than 150,000 were killed. The Iraqi government was influenced by the perception that Kurds were siding with Iran in the Iraq-Iran war. The entire cleansing process began after Saddams Baath Party seized power in 1963: The aftermath was 4000 villages going up in smoke with around 300000 people dead (Barkey 2009 p.8).A good example of such destructions occurred in Halabaja town where chemicals and other types of bombs were thrown at the people. Conservative estimates give up to 12000 deaths although eye witnesses gave a more horrible description (Refugee Review Tribunal 2005[RRT], p.2).In early 1990s, rebellion by the Kurds was split into two. Based on the UN Security Council resolution 688, armies from the US, Turkey and other nine countries applied the Operation Provide Comfort to secure and assist refugees along the border of Iraq with Turkey. Thus, we can estimate that northern Iraq became a safe place for the Kurds. Katzman and Prados note that resistance to strong opposition both from outside and inside Iraq enabled the Kurdish safety to be sustained for over a decade under their own governance; after the Iraqi central government withdrew on volition (2005,p.4).

The Kurds conducted their own polls in early 1992 which resulted in the creation of the Kurdistan Regional government. Power was shared between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). There were efforts to involve all factions of the Kurds in the government even though Turkomans had tried to stay away from the elections. Every person was allowed to take part in the process of governance as a way of nurturing democracy. In fact international observers, notes OLeary, admitted these elections to be free and fair (2002, p.18).This local governance was sourced from the 1970 Autonomy Agreement with the government of Iraq. In this case, Kurdistan would have four provinces, each led by a governor. As usual with most coalitions, the half-half power sharing melted just after two years leading to a split in the government by the two major parties (Katzman & Prados 2005, p.5).

In spite of these upheavals, democratic polls were performed in 2001 in the areas governed by these separate parties. The Kurdish National Assembly converged in 2002, which was after about 8 years in separation. Perhaps this was a sign that the two split parties would rejoin. The two sides were unified in see self control to bargain for a future share in Iraqi Federal government (OLeary 2002, p.18-19), that is if a new constitution is implemented. These events can be said to be a replica of what could happen in Iraq as a whole. Kurdistan has been a safe haven for refugees in need of democracy and liberty. Many of the Iraqi refugees in Iran chose to come back to Kurdistan from the Diaspora. Despite conflicts coupled with restrictions from the Iraqi government, provision of basic necessities was guaranteed. Non-governmental organizations were established. Academic support was provided by US and European governments to help develop curricula for Universities in Kurdistan. In addition, the regional government allowed free choice of TV channels over the satellite. Private companies freely provided internet services and the government did not impose censorship restrictions on them. These have been milestones in the protection of human rights (OLeary 2002, p.19).

Many of the villages destroyed in the conflicts were rebuilt. Though the government in Baghdad tried to obstruct, Kurds continued to sell their oil for food. The Kurdish Regional Government has direct contacts with the UN agencies. Historically, Kurds in Iraq have a history of misery but it seems this could end in case the Baghdad government elects to cooperate with their desires (Katzman 2009, p.3).

Kurds in Iran after Saddams Reign

The Kurdistan region of Iraq has been enjoying relative peace since the collapse of Saddam Husseins reign. Friction between Kurds and the Iraqi government has, in most cases, resulted from political and economic demands (Katzman 2009, p.1).There has also been tension among the Kurds themselves; the Shia and Sunni Kurds, and the minority religions in the north. Iraqi neighbours initially opposed the Kurd autonomy but they have lately begun to invest in the region, giving a hint that they may be supporting their quest for self-rule. Vasisser Reider admits that the conflict between the central government and the Kurdistan may not end soon. He adds that apart from issues to do with oil exportation, Kirkuk (The capital of the Kurds) still disagrees with Baghdads way of administration (2008, para.6). In fact, the strain has been escalated by the provincial elections earlier this year (2009) that resulted in a reduction in the Kurdish representation. This, adds Katzman, nearly burst into violent confrontations between the Kurds and the central government in June (2009) thus dwindling the political stability reached in previous years. Consequently, the US army had to be redeployed to put up trust between the two sides (2009, p.1-2).

Major issues of conflict

The major conflict between the Kurds and the government result from the 2005 constitution as well as the close ties with the west. The Iraqi minorities and Iraqi Arab leaders in government feel the Kurds are demanding too much. This, according to Katzman and Prados, is seen as a security issue to the governments honour. Kurds on their part mistrust the central government on the promise of building a diverse plurality that will grant them full privileges to recover their mistreatment during Saddams time (2005, p.6). President Bush tried to calm the tension by acknowledging the Kurdish ties with his government while cooling down the opponents to avert a possible explosion. President Obama has also tried to urge the two sides to resolve their conflicts amicably. This, he said, would be through accommodation of all ethnic groups in Iraq as well as ideological differences. In response, Kurds complained that Obamas arrangement to withdraw US troops would weaken the US capacity to control the emergent conflicts. Many Kurds think the US political manipulation in the conflict is necessary to avert confrontations. In fact Kurds are also in conflict with themselves: After the 2009 elections, opposition won about 25% of the votes thus becoming a threat on their hold on the political and economic strength shared by two major parties (Katzman 2009, p.5).

The Kurds have been participating in the government as a way of nurturing their interests (Reider 2008, Para. 7).For in stance, in 2005 the Kurdish parties KDP and PUK united to win 26% of the vote which translated to 75 seats in the National Assembly. We can argue that this strength enabled Talabani to be president of Iraq because most Sunni Arabs stayed away from those elections. Additionally, the Kurds took control of the Nineveh province which according to Somer Murat is populated by Arabs (2004, p.253). Talabani tried to include Kurdish leadership in the government; Barham Salih was appointed one of the deputy prime ministers. He had been the prime minister of the Kurdish government. Apparently, writers usually quoted his title because it was not recognized by the Iraqi government, argues Reider (2008, Para. 7). This slightly accommodated the Kurds but other factions of the country remained disillusioned.

Issues concerning the budget have also been querulous. In 2008, Iraqi budget negotiations saw Arab leaders try to cut the revenue share meant for the Kurds to 13%, a reduction by 4%. The Arabs failed to put their course through, but the Kurds sensed an imminent betrayal and would refuse to put up with the revenue share decided by a census which was not even held. Further issues emerge in the way Kurds wanted their salaries paid through the national income yet they have their own tax collections in the north (Reider 2008, para.8-9).

Still on conflicts, the Kurdish government has been purchasing weapons from Europe. Although the Central government did not object the buying of weapons from Bulgaria in 2008, it can be seen that such a move could still endanger the fragile calm experienced between the two sides (Londono 2008, Para. 1-6). First, the central government may think it is a strategy to be ousted thus it may ready itself in case of any confrontation. Second, we can observe that the confidence between the two sides may be weakened. As a result, the conflict is likely to persist.

The Question of Autonomy

Friction between the Baghdad government and the Kurds has not been centred on autonomy although it is one of the issues that Kurdish minorities have had. Katzman reports that top Kurdish leaders have opted not to fight for absolute independence. Perhaps they know that such a move would be met with stiff antagonism probably because of the regions rich oil wells! Concern among Iraqi neighbours may push the Kurds especially the young generation to pursue this course (Murat 2004, p.252).Carole OLeary argues that Kurds are political realists and hence their aim is to share a practicable government in Kurdistan under an integrated federal arrangement in the whole of Iraq (2002, p.24). This establishment would give the Kurds an opportunity to share in the funds from the federal government apart from deriving fulfilment from self-government. Although this is viewed by Iraqs neighbours as a potential threat, federal governments are known to cool down tensions in many countries. Besides, this may culminate to the eventual democratization of Iraq. While Turkey and Iran may be worried that this may provoke Kurds on their soils to pursue the same path, it is obvious that a democracy is a better environment because it will ensure plurality and tolerance even to the minority.

We can argue that the path taken by the Saddam administration to quell the Kurds ambitions may have served a potential catalyst to pursue their course in self-government; hence it is necessary for the current Iraqi government to guarantee the protection of all people. Those Kurds who were abused may only forget that mistreatment if the government accepts the identity of all people. Thus, a unified government would guarantee everyones protection and eventually act to avert thoughts of seeking their own state.

In summary, we have seen that Kurds became rebellious to the central government as way of responding the perceived betrayal in self rule; which had been promised but not implemented. Iran appeared apprehensive initially but later chose to aid them through accommodation of refugees. This was a way of breaking down Saddams administration. When the international community finally intervened, Kurds begun to get back to Kurdistan where they formed their semi-autonomous region that dealt directly with the UN agencies. Barkey argues that the 2003 Iraqi war cemented Kurds image in the eyes of the international community because the US dealt directly with Kurdistan after Turkey refused to cooperate. In fact the region became more stable and had to harbour refugees who sought freedom and safety.

We conclude this discussion by revisiting our topic: The Kurds may not desire to seek their own independent state because they understand the consequences. First, they will be opposed by other factions in the country, the central government included. Two, the stability realized amid the 2003 war may teach them to avoid confrontations; even those in Diaspora after the Iraq-Iran returned to settled in Kurdistan. Being a realist ethnic group, they will opt to seek a federal relationship with the other parts of the country, perhaps just to enjoy self rule as well as a share of the national cake.

Reference

Barkey, HJ 2009, Preventing Conflict in Kurdistan, Cannergie Endowment for International Peace, Washington, pp 4-43, Web.

Katzman, K &Prados, AB 2005, The Kurds in Post-Saddam Iraq 1, CRS Report for Congress, [Order Code RS22079] Web.

Katzman, K 2009, The Kurds In post-Saddam Iraq 2. Congressional Research Service, pp1-10, Web.

Londono, E 2008, Kurds in North Iraq Receive Arms from Bulgaria. The Washington Post, Web.

Murat, S 2004, Turkeys Kurdish Conflict: Changing Context and Domestic And Regional Implications, Middle East Journal, Vol.58, no.2, pp.252-253.

OLeary, C. Dec 2002, The Kurds of Iraq: Recent History, Future Prospects, Middle East Review of International Affairs, Vol.6, no.4 pp.17-29. 2009. Web.

Refugee Review Tribunal 2005, RRT Research Response, Australia, Web.

Reider, V 2008. The Kirkuk Issue Exposes Weakness in Iraqis Ruling Coalition, Web.

Introduction

The American government faces many challenges in trying to contain illegal immigrants from gaining access to America. Though there are mechanisms in place to enable people legally to get visas into America, some people will not qualify. Some of the unqualified people usually decide to cross the American borders illegally. It is unfortunate to note that some of the parents come along with their children through illegal ways.

These children grow up in America and take up American culture. However, later on in life, they face a lot of difficulties securing jobs or even economically empowering themselves. The government, therefore, came up with the Dream Act to help illegal minor immigrants. However, the Act has never been passed due to its disadvantages despite the good effects it has on the community.

Proposals of the Dream Act

The Dream Act proposes to offer development, relief, and education to people who came to the United States while they were under sixteen years of age. However, the youth ought to have graduated from high school, lived in the United States for five continuous years and exhibited good moral character.

The Act proposes the issuance of temporary residency to this group of people to allow them to access certain services (LaTour 219). In addition, the Act prepares the ground for the youth to gain permanent residency. Nonetheless, this will not come easily as the youth should undertake two years in the military, two years of college and two years of credit in a four-year college program, all within six years.

Arguments in Support of the Dream Act

The proponents of the Act have put forward several advantages of the Act, both to the federal government and to the illegal immigrants. To begin with, the Act helps in avoiding brain drain from America to other countries. The United States will waste resources if it trains the youth and sends them back to their homes instead of allowing them to contribute to the American economy (Marrow 245).

It will be wise for the federal government to allow the trained youth to stay and use their talents in fostering economic growth. On the same note, sending all the illegal immigrants out of America is practically impossible because others will choose to suffer in America rather than leave. Therefore, giving these youth an opportunity of securing jobs will go a long way in reducing crime rates.

On the same note, the Act will encourage many immigrants to seek higher education thus increasing their contribution to the economy. Moreover, the majority of the minors were brought to the United States when they had no power to choose what to do. It will, therefore, be inhuman to make them pay for the sins that their parents committed. Pallares and Nilda argue that the majority of the American public seems to favor measures that would allow undocumented immigrants to stay in the United States (26).

The Act, therefore, seeks to save the youth the agony they are condemned to live with due to mistakes of their parents. In addition, the Act will save numerous immigrants from abuse by their employers, who misuse them because they have nowhere to seek redress (LaTour 192). Generally, the Act will empower immigrants and help increase their incomes. They will then be able to pay more taxes to the government, thus increasing the income of the government.

Arguments against the Dream Act

It should be noted that the Act has received substantial opposition. First and foremost, critics see the Act as an avenue for more immigrants to come to America. Many more immigrants will endeavor to step into America using any means possible, with the expectation that the government will in future pass a law that will favor them.

As a result, instead of reducing the number of illegal immigrants, the Act will actually increase their number (Marrow 237). Secondly, the Act has been criticized as rewarding a criminal behavior which was well calculated and diligently executed. Whether the illegal immigrants were young or not a crime was committed, and actions should be taken accordingly.

Furthermore, it is known that illegal immigrants are economically incapacitated due to lack of well-paying jobs. However, the Act proposes to increase social services offered to these people. On the contrary, the amount of taxes that can be collected from them is barely enough to even cover the services they are set to receive (Pallares and Nilda 28). The result is a net tax deficit on the government which is detrimental given the current state of the economy.

Conclusion

Some youth who came to America at a tender age has lived in the United States the whole of their lives, and have no ties with their ancestral country. On the same note, these youth are productive and can contribute immensely to the economy if given the opportunity and the right skills. Given the difficulties that are associated with the option of deporting all immigrants from the United States, the Dream Act is a good idea. The Act will not only guarantee that the immigrants have means of survival but will also ensure that they contribute to the economic growth of the nation.

Works Cited

LaTour, Mark Louis. American Government and the Vision of Democrats. Lanham: University Press of America, 2007. Print.

Marrow, Helen. New Destination Dreaming: Immigration, Race, and Legal Status in the Rural American South. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2011. Print.

Pallares, Amalia and Nilda Flore-Gonzalez. Marcha: Latino Chicago and the Immigrant Rights Movement. City: University of Illinois Press, 2010. Print.

The approach given to the right interpretation of the Constitution is supposed with the group of people known as Publius. This pseudonym was taken by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in their reciprocal activities and efforts to make closer relation to all democratic flows. Such urge was concerned with the sustainability and firmness of the new country, meaning the United States. In this respect, it is necessary to work out whether Publiuss assertion and rational approaches provide a departure from or reflection of the sentiments, expressed in the Declaration of Independence. The thing is that this normative law document is a creation of another politician, Thomas Jefferson, who also participated directly in the process of the state power formation. In this respect, the idea of whether any similar sentiments are reflecting in Publiuss the Federalist and in Jeffersons the Declaration of Independence provides direct points on the same ideals highlighted in both documents.

Looking at the essays by Publius, it is necessary to admit that in a form of a monologue the intentions of the authors are rather straightforward and reliable in comparison with other law documents of that time. Furthermore, the Federalist in its background data comprises the whole fields of great concernment for the young country on its initial stage. The idea of freedom was at that the most significant for showing designation of British American Colonies into free from any political impact other than the federal governing. In this point the Federalist essays on the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are fully unified: &anarchy may as truly be said to reign as in a state of nature, where the weaker individual is not secured against the violence of the stronger (Federalist No. 51 para. 10).

Hence, the ability of each state to provide functions independently is recognized by Hamilton. Thus, the theoretical approach of the document makes it easy to understand the main points which were described in the Declaration. In Jeffersons work, the points on equality of individuals and the supremacy of the law are underlined in both documents. Nonetheless, it is necessary to admit that the Federalist and the Declaration of Independence have mutual reflections of the same points. Moreover, the work of Publius is encoded with more explanation of the Constitution of the United States. Thereupon, the thought about the Federalists departure from the Declaration is possible solely when looking at the size of both law documents. In other words, Jefferson was apt to concise the wholeness of ideas about Independence in one declaration with several points. On the other hand, Publius described another significant document, the Constitution, in detail.

The truths of the Declaration logically contemplate the reasoning maintained in the essays of Publius. The credibility of ideas absorbed some of the common intentions provided by the Founding Fathers in their urge for independence. Hence, the plan of Publius implemented in The Federalist No. 10 and 51 reckons with the ideas promoted in the Declaration. However, more attention is dedicated to the difference between democracy and republic. The significance of the federal government is not less. Here lies the similarity between the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Hence, the freedom of states is reflected both in the Declaration and in The Federalist No. 51. However, in the Declaration it is observed with more glimpses at the freedom, as it is, without notion on self-government and self-administration: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES (the Declaration of Independence para. 21). Looking at the grounding of each statement in both declarative documents one cannot but notice that this reflection stands among the most prior. Federalist No. 51 highlights the significance of the situation at hand in the following way: &the territory of the Union may be formed into more circumscribed Confederacies, or States oppressive combinations of a majority will be facilitated (Federalist No. 51 para. 10)& These attempts to take all controversies into account is also depicted in another essay by Publius: A republic, by which I mean a government in which the scheme of representation takes place, opens a different prospect, and promises the cure for which we are seeking (Federalist No. 10 para. 10). It is fair to admit that the points described and highlighted in the Constitution of the United States are straightforward to what is depicted in the Declaration. Their additional interpretation in the Federalist is reflected in a straightforward approach using merely the same assertions outlined as the continuation of the political process in the US in the late eighteenth century.

Thus, the Declaration of Independence has a mere extent of reflection according to the Federalist essays. The extent to which Publius makes reflection or departure as of the bilateral approach of the Declaration and the Federalist papers can be measured due to the precedents in current law. In other words, the normative law acts and documents of federal significance were grounded on the previous and current experience of politicians throughout the world. In this respect, the genuine character of the Federalist does not consider modern changes in the American society and points to the human factor.

Works cited

Ahern, Gregory S. Virtue, Wisdom, Experience, Not Abstract Rights, Form the Basis of the American Republic The Center for Constitutional Studies. 2004. Web.

Declaration of Independence, 1776. Web.

The Federalist No. 10. The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection (continued). Daily Advertiser. Thursday, 1787. Web.

The Federalist No. 15. Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union. Independent Journal. Saturday, 1787. Web.

Introduction

Language can be viewed as a means of domination, meant to consolidate the relationship in the system of organized political and social power. It means that the language is ideologized in its nature. Moreover, the less explicit the relationships between different parts of a political-social system are, the more substantial number of implicit meanings may be hidden in various linguistic and imagery symbols used within political messages.

In their articles, Charlton McIlwain and Joseph Zompetti provide semiotic analyses of distinct relationships between cultural symbols, and the way they are used to form the political reality. While McIlwain focuses on the theory of critical semiotics and uses its major tenets to evaluate the promotion of racism through political communication activities, Zompetti synthesizes the principles of critical rhetoric with a Gramscian understanding of hegemony to explain the idea of cultural dominance and freedom. The given paper will aim to analyze the major takeaways from both of the works to show the role of various semiotic symbols including power, freedom, and domination in modern political communication media and social reality.

Political discourse

Overall, semiotics may be regarded as a tool for measuring the meanings in human activities in various spheres of performance and the analysis of political language, as well as its conceptual base and content, in particular. The exposure of inequality and injustice, the refusal to see ideologies as something natural, the disclosure of linguistic mechanisms through which domination and power persist, and the reporting of these findings to those who suffer from oppression  these are the primary goals, which supporters of the critical semiotics pursue.

In his article, McIlwain attempts to accomplish similar objectives through the analysis of an ad produced by David Perryman, a white candidate for the U.S. Congress in the Fourth District of Oklahoma in 1994 against his black opponent, former Congressman J. C. Watts (171). As the author argues the primary imagery, language, and their arrangement in this ad connotes the historical image of black militancy as a way of appealing to whites fears about black criminality (171). It means that through linguistic and imagery symbols, political messages may be used as an instrument of control and power consolidation in politics and contribute to the marginalization of particular population groups, e.g., racial minorities.

In the mentioned ad, the producers did not include any explicit racist messages yet the selected visual images and audible speech, which did not have any racist connotations initially, were put in such a context and arranged in such a way that they evoked adverse perceptions of the African-American candidate in the predominantly white audience. It happened because the video styling and other semiotic components in combination referred to negative stereotypical notions of the black culture compared to the white culture.

For instance, Congressman Watts hairstyle (an afro) on the picture used in the advertisement as one of the major semiotic elements of the implicit racist message as it signifies the turbulent time in U.S. history in the late 1960s and 1970s coinciding with the rise of the black power movement (McIlwain 177). For the white audience, the time of African Americans struggle for their cultural and ethnic identity is often associated with crimes and violence committed by them against the representatives of the U.S. white population because those events were presented by the media as a threat to whites well-being.

In this way, such a visual symbol as the afro, which has a positive meaning for African Americans, has a negative connotation for white individuals, especially those who lived during the 1960s and the 1970s. The major takeaway from the given observation is that the semantic implications associated with symbols can be used to promote racism, as well as to encourage other attitudes, and influence voters decision making by politicians. In this way, by contrasting a negative perception of an African American with a positive perception of a white farmer, Perryman tried to win over Watts by employing racial stereotypes in the representation of his opponent and, in this way, provoking racist sentiments in white voters.

McIlwains analysis of the ad shows the role of elites and political players in the reproduction of racism. The development and dissemination of implicitly racist messages can be regarded as a form of power abuse operating at an ideological level. It means that individuals and entities that control the largest part of the discourse elements and can directly influence themes, rhetoric, participants, and circumstances within the political discourse have greater power because through changes in the discourse they may significantly impact social structures.

The analysis also shows that the realization of particular social and cultural structures occurs through the mechanism of cognition. For instance, such a social-cultural structure as racism can become legitimate when cognitively accepted by the majority population groups and become repeated through speech and other means of expression conveying the same semiotic implication.

Similar ideas can be observed in the Gramscian conception of hegemony discussed by Zompetti. In general, the essence of hegemony as intellectual and political governance of the society is in the acceptance of the ideals and values of the ruling class by other social strata. Hegemony as such implies the ability of a particular class to lead the historical development of the society as a whole, the ability to instill certain rules of conduct.

A culturally significant result of politics is not a long-term or a short-term rule of a particular party, but a specific format of the collective living in the society. Considering that any political and social system is primarily defined by the relationships among its elements, the semiotic analysis of that system should aim to reveal and criticize the mechanisms supporting those relations. It is possible to say that in hegemony, the concepts of freedom and dominance play a pivotal role in the establishment of a particular order.

Freedoms largely define the way of life, and the relations between different civil freedoms form the basis of the constitution. Nevertheless, freedom can also be regarded merely as another side of dominance because each maintains a separate space, is used at different times and for different purposes, that freedom for one person is domination for another, etc. (Zompetti 70). This conflict between freedom and domination is inherent with hegemony. It means that the dominant ideology can promote a particular view on freedom and implement various strategies to urge others to accept it. As Zompetti notes, the creation of a political myth as a form of rhetoric is one of the best ways to mobilize people (80).

Thus, the symbols of freedom and domination can be widely exploited in the development of ideological messages that can be consequently used by a ruling class to form a specific social order. At the same time, marginalized populations can utilize their symbols of freedom and dominance to build a collective will needed to bring social changes. For instance, in Soviet Russia, the symbol of oppression by the bourgeois was one of the primary stimuli to commence the revolution.

In the USA, the symbols of white dominance and equal freedoms for African Americans was used by civil right activists to persuade people to fight against inequality and change the law. Even the Nazi ideology of the Third Reich incorporated the symbols of freedom to a large extent as it was based on the principles and values of democratic socialism including social justice and equality. Based on this, contexts in which myths and symbols are interpreted by diverse populations play an essential role in defying the formation of social-political discourses and dominant ideologies, in particular.

Conclusion

The analysis of works by Zompetti and McIlwain revealed that linguistic and imagery symbols perform multiple interconnected functions including the generation of ideologies through the establishment of connections between semiotic structures and individuals experiences, determination of interpersonal relationships among the members of communication, and the establishment of coherence and cohesion among diverse texts.

The implementation of semiotic symbols always leads to the establishment of social and political identification, social relationships, knowledge systems, and public attitudes. Additionally, any manipulations with either social or political discourse (i.e., the inclusion of new elements, reproduction, and exclusion of texts, etc.) can change the social-political reality. Of course, some parts of the discourse may conflict with each other, as well as different social groups can oppose each other. However, a set of the most frequently reproduced texts always constitutes the basis of the social-political order.

Works Cited

McIlwain, Charlton D. Race, Pigskin, and Politics: A Semiotic Analysis of Racial Images in Political Advertising. Semiotica, vol. 167, no. 1/4, 2007, pp. 169-191.

Zompetti, Joseph P. Toward a Gramscian Critical Rhetoric. Western Journal of Communication, vol. 61, no. 1, 1997, pp. 6686.

Introduction

The dispute about measures of individual freedom as contrasted to the unifying, authoritative body of power is one of the most intense ones in the USA. The reason for this lies within the scope of the US founding principles that gave practically unlimited authority to people who were entitled to govern themselves in contrast to other countries imposing much stricter regulations on their citizens. The United States of America have been propagating and declaring freedom for everyone as a basic principle of their functioning, thus exercising much less control over daily activities of its nation that it is usually witnessed with other states and government:

Clearly, it was the plan of the Founders to limit government, and to a substantial extent they succeeded; for in the grand sweep of things, America has fared rather better than many other nations that sought also, in their own ways, to limit their governments (Pilon, 1999).

Discussion

Taking into consideration how propagated and nurtured individual freedom in the USA is, it becomes hard to understand how it can be impaired. And truly, the ability to limit individual freedoms was initially secured by the Founding Fathers who found out that the size of federal government affected the level of freedom in a negative way, so it should be kept on an adequate level in order not to decrease the number of liberties and not to prevent citizens from enjoying them fully. To understand the attitude of Founding Fathers to the government it is enough to recollect their mistrust and disapproval to governmental growth. While creating a new, free and independent state the Founding Fathers insisted that the government should not expend much of its authority on private sphere of civil life because such an intrusion would result in the violation of human freedom to make certain decisions and follow the chosen life paths. Thus, the discussion of what government can be considered good and functional is still continued:

To advocate good government is to recognize the indispensable role that political authority plays in a healthy community. To advocate limited government is to understand that not everything necessary for a community to be healthy is the responsibility of government (Messmore, 2007).

And indeed, one can witness the negative influence of extended government structures on the quality of their operations and productivity. Officials who have to correlate their activities and decisions with a huge number of relative institutions and agencies will act much slower and will fail to react to the urgent needs of the US citizens. If a certain group of population voices some needs or requests to the government and turns to its representatives, it will take much longer to give the constructive response to these needs.

In addition, it is highly important to mention the varied opinion of people living in the United States to the issue of limited government preventing outstanding theorists and politicians to find out the real value of government, its purpose and profile it should correspond to in order to suit the needs of the nation.

Identifying the proper tasks and limits of various social institutions is bound up with a societys understanding of the good life and the good community  its moral vision of its defining goods and purposes (Messmore, 2007).

The way organizations, individuals or households understand the US founding principles and the way they have been altered in the course of time differs so significantly that at times it is hard to outline the overall attitude and opinion in the country existing towards the discussed issue.

This finding has revealed the fact that at times citizens feel securer when they witness the active intrusion of the US government into their life justified by their care for the nation they are responsible for. However, at times this care may become unbearable for the citizens and results in the excessive expenditures that are not substantiated by any reasonable arguments.

The work of Rauchut (2008) dedicated to the analysis of Kirkpatrick series also presupposes a certain measure of doubt about the role of government as it should be in the contemporary reality. The author analyses a great number of writings on the issue of the extent to which the state government should take part in human lives and makes a conclusion that according to all logical inferences the US government cannot have the power it has gained now. For this reason in his work dedicated to the American vision and values he asks a rhetorical question:

How, then, has our government, founded on principles of limited government, enumerated powers, and checks and balances, grown beyond the warrants of its own Constitution to pursue the mischief that so many of us have come to accept as the normal state of affairs? (Rauchut, 2008).

Conclusion

My personal opinion on the topic is that the US government surely conducts its functions in a much more responsible and efficient way than it is done in many other countries. However, the funds of all innovations initiated by the legal institutions are taken from the pockets of taxpayers; besides, all additional agencies and programs initiated by the government take additional time and raise additional concerns of the nation. This way the communication between institutions becomes vaguer and results in less action. For this reason I am for a more efficient but less numerous government that will fulfill its initial functions and responsibilities designed by the Founding Fathers.

References

Messmore, R. (2007). A Moral Case Against Government: How Government Shapes the Character, Vision and Virtue of Citizens. First Principle Series, No. 9, pp. 1-12.

Pilon, R. (1999). The purpose and limits of government (Catos letter) (Unknown Binding). Cato Institute.

Rauchut, E.A. (2008). American Vision and Values. Bellevue University.

The modern world is characterized by a great deal of instability that can threaten the world order established after the Second World War. It becomes clear that the created paradigms are inefficient in meeting the challenges of the world that ceased to be two-pole over two decades ago. The issues concerning alliances come to the fore as countries are trying to ensure stability and the balance of power. This paper includes a generic hypothesis related to the existing world order through the lens of the theory of power balance.

The balance of power theory is one of the most widespread approaches to treating issues related to international relations as well as processes taking place within nations.¹ The balance of power theory holds that countries are constantly engaged in building, maintaining, and defending the international balance, which is the balance of power central to stability and peace in the world² The major premise of the theory is that countries try to gain resources and build alliances to make sure that no other nation can swallow them.

Since all countries are involved in such processes, the international balance is achieved as countries balance each other. At that, such variables as alliance formation and level of threat are central to understanding the peculiarities of modern international relations. It is necessary to identify major concepts of the Power Balance theory to apply it effectively and develop a hypothesis involving the variables mentioned.

As has been mentioned above, the theory is grounded on the assumption that all countries strive for gaining power. Some of them try to achieve the preponderance of power while others focus on being safe and avoiding situations when they can be swallowed by more powerful nations³ Two primary patterns of the balance of power have been identified, direct opposition and competition⁴ The pattern of direct opposition implies the situation when one nation wants to take control over the other that refuses to yield.⁵ The pattern of the competition involves three actors. Two bigger nations powers are quite equal, and they balance each other, which makes it impossible for them to gain control over the third country.

Apart from the basic principles governing international relations, it is important to understand instrumentation used by countries. Researchers have outlined several tools countries use to achieve their goals in terms of gaining or maintaining power. These instruments include armaments, compensation, buffer zones, alliances, intervention, and divide and conquer.⁶ Armament is one of the easiest ways to gain and exercise power over other nations as the country that has a mighty army and sufficient weapons (nuclear weapons, for example) may control to a certain extent other countries.

The next tool, seizing territories, involves the situation when a more powerful country (country A) is about to swallow a less powerful nation (country B) but has to share with other powerful actors (country C). Thus, country A has to give away a part of the seized territories of country B to compensate for the disturbance of the balance of power created previously. The establishment of alliances implies the collaboration of nations that want to gain or maintain their powers.

Setting up buffer zones consists of ensuring the neutrality of a weaker nation located between two powerful countries. Intervention is a common practice in international relations since many powerful countries interfere with the internal affairs of smaller and less powerful nations. The final tool to be described is divide and conquer which implies activities of a powerful country aimed at breaking alliance (or encouraging, at least, some actors to withdraw) that prevent the nation from achieving its goals. It is important to keep these instruments in mind when considering the variables mentioned above.

The level of threat is the independent variable that can be applicable when focusing on international relations. The level of threat involves possible risks a country may face in the international arena as well as regarding domestic issues⁷ When applied within the context of the Power Balance theory, the level of threat can be regarded as a measurement of possible tools that can be used against a country (see figure 1). Importantly, the degree of power of the alliance (both existing or possible) is also associated with a threat as weak alliances make nations vulnerable to other risks.

The distribution of elements is different for every country as each nation can be a target of each of these threats. Importantly, the size of the country, resources available as well as the amount of power gained affect the level of threat. It is necessary to note that even large and powerful countries are often under pressure, and the level of threat can be even higher compared to smaller nations. For instance, in small countries, the level of threat can be quite low if they have formed strong alliances with other small or bigger nations. At that, the level of threat of powerful countries can grow due to the empowerment of other actors (including alliances of smaller countries). Therefore, when looking into international relations, the use of this independent variable is critical.

The dependent variable that can be employed to evaluate the peculiarities of international relations is alliance formation. This involves such aspects as the willingness of actors to participate and the size of contribution aimed at the increase of the alliance power. As has been mentioned above, the alliance is seen as an effective tool to address challenges including a high level of threat.⁸ Remarkably, the size and power of a nation are not relevant when measuring alliance formation.

It is possible to come up with a generic hypothesis concerning international relations. Thus, the level of threat the country faces positively correlates with the alliance formation that can be measured by the affected countrys willingness to form an alliance and keep it strong and viable. The contribution of the country to the development of the alliance is also important. The generic hypothesis can be formulated as follows: Country A if facing a high level of threat from countries B and C is willing to ally with county D, or even B or C (see figure 2).

In conclusion, it is possible to note that the theory of power balance allows us to identify and evaluate certain processes that take place in international relations. It is clear that countries face various threats, and the level of threat affects the way the nation develops international relations. Countries are striving for gaining power or remaining independent, which is often achieved through alliance formation. The level of threat affects the way nations collaborate within alliances as well.

Bibliography

Fritz, Paul, and Kevin Sweeney. The (de)Limitations of Balance of Power Theory. International Interactions: Empirical and Theoretical Research in International Relations 30, no. 4 (2004): 285-308.

Morgenthau, Hans J. Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1993.

Organski, A.F.K. World Politics. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1964.

Waltz, Kenneth N. Structural Realism After the Cold War. International Security 25, no. 1 (2000): 5-41.

Footnotes

1. Kenneth N. Waltz, Structural Realism After the Cold War, International Security 25, no. 1 (2000): 27.
2. A.F.K. Organski, World Politics (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1964), 272.
3. Ibid., 273.
4. Hans J. Morgenthau, Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace (New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1993), 188.
5. Ibid.
6. A.F.K. Organski, World Politics, 275.
7. Paul Fritz, and Kevin Sweeney, The (de)Limitations of Balance of Power Theory, International Interactions: Empirical and Theoretical Research in International Relations 30, no. 4 (2004): 300.
8. A.F.K. Organski, World Politics, 276.

The Meeting

The purpose of the meeting lies in need to discuss the Affordable Care Act Replacement Bill and various associated factors. The key participants are senior correspondents of Kaiser Health News Julie Rovner and Mary Agnes Carey. Key agenda items include the discussion of the effects that the ACARB would cause, such as the loss of insurance by more than 20 million people, the stability of the act, the debate around the act and other aspects.

The Committee

The committee included Mary Agnes Carey and Julie Rovner. Carey is a senior correspondent and partnerships editor of Kaiser Health News. She oversees the nationwide placement of Kaiser Health News material in various publications. Her history of work includes Capitol Hill Bureau Chief for Congressional Quarterly, associate editor position at CQ HealthBeat, and a reporter position for Down Jones Newswires (Mary Agnes Carey, 2017).

Rovner worked as a policy correspondent for 16 at NPR. She focused on the coverage of the creation and implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Rovner wrote a book called Health Care Politics and Policy A-Z to high critical acclaim. She is a recipient of the National Press Foundations Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for distinguished reporting of Congress. Currently, she is a Senior Chief Washington Correspondent for the Kaiser Health News (Julie Rovner, 2017).

Both members are highly knowledgeable about on the topic of health policy. Their experience allows them to provide evidence-based answers to almost any questions asked by the audience and the host of the program.

The Topic

The primary topic of the meeting is the Affordable Care Act Replacement Bill and its implications for the citizens of the United States. The topic was discussed in a question and answer form. The discussion began with the host John McArdle asking questions about the millions of people who are going to lose their insurance if the new act passes, and how those numbers are calculated. Subsequently, viewers and listeners of the program called in to ask additional questions from the committee. While the nature of the questions ranged from the interest of the uninsured to search for possible alternatives to the act, the majority of the conversation was dedicated to its implications. The committee described in detail that people who make up the millions of uninsured are not constantly uninsured. Their condition depends on constant changes in their wage, as well as other aspects that may change after the regular appraisal (Kaiser Health News Correspondents, 2017).

Stakeholder Positions

Due to the extremely partisan nature of the topic, the stakeholders are divided, at times with little concern for the implications of the act. Some callers expressed displeasure with the way the bill is treated in the media and believed that the original Affordable Care Act needs to be repealed, no matter what. This position is shared by a portion of the Republican Party members that support the new act. However, those callers that are currently insured have expressed concerns for their families, loved ones, and colleagues who may be negatively affected by the act. The committee and those politicians who voted against the act share a similar view. They see the replacement act as either incomplete or outright harmful to a large number of people who may lose their insurance if the act passes. This number includes a wide range of people but especially those who cannot afford healthcare without the Affordable Care Act. The tax breaks that the act allows the rich are also seen in a negative light by the callers who were against it.

Key Interactions

Key interactions during the meeting involved callers contacting the committee from various walks of life. A call from a veteran touched upon how this bill does not have a separate mention of veterans, despite having a potential effect on more than 400,000 of them. Another caller mentioned how Medicare does not provide methadone maintenance, and while the current population of older people does not require such treatment, the next might need it, and the coverage would have to increase to provide for them. Some of the most important interactions concerned people who voiced their reasons for the inability to afford insurance without the Affordable Care Act and the majority of cases show that even people responsible for the provision of healthcare, may not be able to afford the insurance they provide. The socioeconomic factors that are related to this issue play a very large role, and the poorest people are likely to be affected the most.

Outcomes

The meeting provided answers to a great variety of questions concerning the Affordable Care Act Replacement Bill and the Affordable Care Act itself. The additional information allowed for better understanding of the issues and implications of the bill. In addition, rarely discussed points of view were touched upon. These issues include the number of people affected by the changes, effectiveness, and sustainability of the bill, issues of fraud and how the bill may change in the future.

References

Julie Rovner. (2017). Web.

Kaiser health news correspondents on Affordable Care Act Replacement Bill. (2017). Web.

Mary Agnes Carey. (2017). Web.

The geopolitical situation in the twentieth century was under the force of change by virtue of some historical shifts in many countries. The major ones, like The USSR, the United States of America and the UK, provided several designs of turning situations and current events in their favour separately or in combination. The help of intelligence services played at that time great role in working out of governmental controversies by means of well-planned secret missions.

Harold Wilson was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the 1960s and early 1970s providing the policy of Labour Party. He was deeply assured in further democratic reorganization and stabilization on the area of the UK and urged to implement various reforms to support his policy in times when world was on the edge of cold war. At the same time it is necessary to mention that in the 60s there was a design and realization of plot against Harold Wilson. The details of the reasons and circumstances were for a long period of time top secret for the society.

Not so long ago the world had a possibility to adventure the fully documented arguments of Wilsons affair and the detailed information with certain number of hypothesis about the nature of planned army coup in Great Britain when Wilson was in office. This information was reported due to the BBC. Too many facts and documents mainly coincide in statements of Wilsons ulterior policy during his being in power.

In spite of British-American relationships governments of both countries had no ideas of the secret operation maintained by the secret cervices, namely: MI5, MI6 and CIA. First, there should straightforward evidences of why these services were intended to begin contradicting Prime Minister at that time. In accordance with The Mirror the gradual and relatively unhampered rise on the career ladder gave Wilson many opportunities to find and gather his allies for further actions:

As a minister in Attlees postwar government, as a backbench MP, as Labour leader after Hugh Gaitskell and as Prime Minister four times in the 1960s and 1970s, Wilson was the target of elements in the security services seeking his downfall. In the view of hard-right MI5 mavericks like Spycatcher Peter Wright, who later confessed his role in the plot, Socialists were the same as Communists  intent on delivering the UK to the Kremlin. Wright confessed: We discussed how to get rid of him. Brian Crozier, another ex-spook, admits that top members of the Army were involved in the takeover talks. (The Mirror 2006)

One point being of great interest is the way Wilson won office. It was a result of scandalous affairs of previously assigned UK Minister of Defence John Profumo, a certain Lord Astor, a girl called Christine Keeler, and a showgirl called Mandy Rice-Davies. (Aangirfan 2006) Later it emerged that above mentioned women were somehow enrolled by Israeli secret service Mosad. Universally accepted truth that the cat would be always out of the bag somehow cannot but be applied here. Harold Wilson was under a cloud from the very beginning of his political careers. It is a reminder that at that time the work of various espionage rings drew to a head.

For example, in the 40s British and American governments had already confronted with espionage activity of so-called Cambridge Five. These five men made a great contribute to the Soviet science due to their delivery of secret information according to designing nuclear bombs. These blunders were enough for British intelligence service to keep a strict eye on distrustful person of Harold Wilson and people who sheltered themselves behind his authority.

Former arms minister Lord Chalfont agrees that a coup would have involved very senior people. To bolster their sordid case for ousting a democratically-elected government, MI6 invented a Russian lover for Wilson, and passed a compromising photograph of the pair in Moscow to MI5  who fed it straight to the media. It was also claimed that Wilson had taken bribes, and supplied classified information to Soviet moles. A Soviet defector fingered the Prime Minister as a KGB agent, and claimed there was a Communist cell in Downing Street. (BBC2, 2006)

Still was the possible coup an opportunity to detect Wilsons innocence? Looking at the dramatic flow of further events it is clear that he not only withstood first term in office but also was elected in next years up to early 70s. It is quite obvious and logically that during this time Sir Harold Wilson had great chances to make influences by means of his authority on the members of his government in order to have enough information at the moment.

This hypothesis had been covered with scepsis, unless the direct fact of Wilsons belonging to foreign security services. One fact concerns the above mentioned situation and background which helped Harold Wilson become the Prime Minister of the UK particularly immixture of some persons having been involved in that scandal to Masad. Secret Documents have revealed that the UK supplied Israel with quantities of plutonium while Harold Wilson was prime minister. (Aangirfan 2006)

The actions and all efforts versus the Prime Minister worried the higher representatives of the society. The heads of MI5 and MI6 were implementing and working out their campaigns so that Wilson was brought his anti-British activity home to him. The behind-the-scenes judgement of Ministers probable common interests with KGB or Masad continued during his second and third terms.

Nigel West, an outstanding writer being a representative of espionage genre, criticizes in his books many of the spontaneous actions of secret services in Great Britain emphasizing it by stating the following remark: It is one of the paradoxes of the British intelligence tradition that whereas there is a convention, and now a criminal statute, to prevent intelligence officers from making unauthorized disclosures, more have done so in this country than anywhere else in the world. (Johnson 91)

It is undoubtedly will not do to act like this, but, on the other hand, the situation was full of facts which could discredit the policy and reputation of the country in any time causing disorganization in rows of its defenders. It is so when addressing to the words of former officers in this sphere of interests, especially those from the foreign services. For instance, Anatoli Golitsin, a spy who defected from the KGB, claimed that Hugh Gaitskell was murdered in 1963 so that Harold Wilson, a KGB agent, could become leader of the Labour Party. (Aangirfan 2006)

Summing up all facts mentioned and other which still exist behind the scenes, one can suppose that the operation against former Prime Minister was well-planned and reported to the appropriate foreign intelligence bodies, so that to prevent country from international, political and social disaster. The plot as of Harold Wilson could not reduplicate many of the mistakes having appeared in American-British foreign relationships, one of which was a fascinating path of espionage work of Rudolf Abel who did an enormous harm to intelligence agency of the United States being straightforwardly involved in it. The army coup against Harold Wilson was being plotted for few years, but resulted in backstage underlying reasons.

References

West, Nigel. [Rupert Allason] (1983). A Matter of Trust: MI5 1945-72. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. The Circus: MI-5 Operations 1945- 1972. New York: Stein & Day.

Johnson, Loch K (2007). Strategic Intelligence. Greenwood Publishing Group.

Aangirfan. (2006). The Plot Against Harold Wilson  what they missed out. Web.

Phibbs, Harry (2006). The Plot Against Harold Wilson. BBC2. Web.

Morgan, Austen (1992). Harold Wilson. Pluto Press, Michigan University.

Leigh, David (1988). The Wilson plot: how the spycatchers and their American allies tried to overthrow the British government. Pantheon Books, 1988.

Introduction

The Growing Communities WA project is supposed to end in mid-2010. We are going to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of either making it a separate legal entity or let it remain as it is.

Advantages of letting the project remain as it is

Growing Communities in Western Australia Project has been funded through contributions from Learning Centre Link partners. Financial support has come from the federal government through departments such as education and training. Individual contributions through financial donations or offers of services have also been involved. The structural formation of the project has allowed willing stakeholders to advance their contributions without legal restrictions.

This project hasnt existed on permanent staff because it is community-based. Volunteers have been beneficiaries and the government is seen as a partner rather than the owner: Once it initiated the project, beneficiaries felt to maintain it. They want the benefits already enjoyed to be continued (Learning Centre Link [LCL] Para. 2).

This project has built the strength of the communities (Parliament of Australia [PA] 1-8). Community members have freely enjoyed the exchange of ideas for their own development.

This project demonstrates how resources should be utilized. Having been used to the nature of this project, they may take longer to adjust if the project becomes a separate entity. First, the activities may be halted as the management is altered (LCL Para. 4). Two, the new management may take a long to acquaint with people. Consequently, the achievements may be hampered.

Disadvantages of being just a project

The government may have initiated it but funding is what maintains the project but its future is uncertain. Since the stakeholders are not legally bound to contribute, they may bow out any time thus jeopardizing the project (PA 6).

The projects true achievements can not be realized in just two years. Communities need to grasp its idea before they implement it. The period in which it is supposed to operate may not benefit the community. It needs to be long-term and this cannot be achieved if it has no legal foundation of its own.

Advantages of the project as a separate legal body

This project was only meant to last till mid-2010. It has already begun to show benefits to the community (GCWA Para.4). However, these benefits are likely to be cut off if partners choose to pull out at the end of the term. Recognizing this project as an independent legal organization will save this risk because the government will be compelled to fund and maintain it. It will have a structure to depend on to function in the long term. Besides, the rewards given to staff through wages or stipends may serve to instill commitment.

In conclusion, this is a provisional institution meant to be a pilot scheme, it is better for the project to be managed collectively because every stakeholder feels appreciated. It is not viable to turn it into a separate organization.

Works Cited

Growing Communities WA. A Project Supporting Community Gardens. 2009. Web.

Learning Centre Link. Aims and objectives. 2009. Web.

Parliament of Australia. Community Gardens Help Tackle Obesity. Standing Committee on Health and Ageing: Submission inquest into Obesity in Australia 153(2008):1-8. Web.