Archive for the ‘POLITICS’ Category
Friday, June 13th, 2008
A while back we told you about Austrailian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s apology to the Aboriginal people and hoped that other nations who had committed injustices against various groups in the past would follow his lead. We are happy to report that this week the Canadian government did just that; using the Parliament floor to issue a formal apology to Native Canadians for forcing thousands of native children into government-run schools where many were physically or even sexually abused. The schools, which were finally shut down in the late 1970’s, also contributed to the destruction of much of the culture and traditions of various native groups.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in his speech, “Today we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, it has caused great harm and has no place in our country. In addition, the government also agreed to pay $1.9 billion to surviving students and set up a truth and reconciliation commission to document the experiences of students and help make sure they never happen again.
-JH
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Wednesday, June 4th, 2008
It was history in the making last night as Barack Obama secured the final delegates needed to become the Democratic Presidential Nominee, making him the first African-American candidate of a major party. This selection is another important step in our nations journey to overcome racial prejudice. We at MajorityMag congratulate Sen. Obama on this momentous achievement, and wish both him and Sen. John McCain the best in the upcoming general election.
-JH
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Wednesday, May 21st, 2008
GenerationEngage is a nonpartisan organization that aims to educate and empower young people in the areas of politics and civic involvement. The main goal is to provide access to political dialogue to young people who normally don’t have the opportunity to hear it. Various GenGage sites across the country put on local GetEngaged Forums in community centers, pool halls, libraries and other easily accessible public venues. These forums are also available to view live online. Past forums have featured several of this year’s Presidential candidates, former President Bill Clinton, former Speaker Newt Gingrich, civil rights leader Corretta Scott King, and many other members of Congress as well as local government officials.
In addition to the GetEngaged Forums the organization has recently launched an online VideoCast Center that allows viewers to watch and download various speeches and interviews as well as engage in online discussions about them with other viewers. Regardless of your age or political views, this type of education and dialogue is key to developing an informed society, so we encourage you to log on to the site and see how you can get engaged.
-JH
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Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
In one of his first speeches last year as newly elected Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd made the unprecented step of apologizing to the nations Aboriginal people. For several decades Australian governments had enacted laws that were prejudice against the indigenous people and even went as far as making official policies of separating children from their families in an effort to eliminate the population.
In front of Parliament, and hundreds of Aboriginals in attendance, Rudd bodly declared an apology for the past wrongs and pleged to lead all Australian people toward racial reconcilliation (watch video of the speech here). In addition to this first step toward unification, Rudd showed his commitment to the future of the environment as well ratifying the Kyoto Protocol which is a promise to reduce the nations greenhouse gas emmisions to levels agreed upon by a UN Summit.
In just a short time in leadership Rudd has laid the foundation for a bright future for The Land Down Under.
-JH
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Thursday, April 17th, 2008
In a gesture of apology Pope Benedict XVI met with several victims of sexual abuse by clergy, today in Washington D.C. While many expected the Pope to just symbollically address the issue he has made it a priority. While here on his first visit to the U.S., he has addressed the issue several times calling it a ”deep shame” and apologizing for the pain it caused, as well as encouraging present bishops and priests to ”bind up the wounds” of this breech of trust. Additionally, his visit with victims today was more than just a photo-op, he actually sat down with them away from the press and took time to listen to their stories.
Its clear he desires to seek restoration between the Catholic church and these mistreated members, and while he will never be able to erase what happened this was a positive step in the right direction and an excellent example of humility and accountability.
-JH
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Friday, April 11th, 2008
Newly elected South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak announced last month that he will donate his entire salary during his five-year term to the nations underprivileged. This generous move is a continuation of a commitement he made when he retired as CEO of a multi-million dollar construction conglomerate to get into public service.
As mayor of Seoul from 2002-2006 Lee donated his salary to the children of the city’s street cleaners and firefighters to help pay for education. Before he was elected, Lee said whether he won or not, he would eventually give away his whole fortune , with the exception of his retirement property, to help the poor. This practical application of wealth redistribution is a great example to other business and political leaders worldwide. Stay tuned for more posts about Lee soon.
-JH
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Wednesday, April 9th, 2008
In 2000, the United Nations established eight development goals, one of which was eradicating malaria. Tonight Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown pleged to contribute 20 million bed nets to protect citizens in areas where malaria is still prevalent. The bed nets are treated with a special repelent that keeps those that sleep under it safe from mosquito bites at night when most malaria transmissions occur.
Brown urged other government leaders to have their countries to follow his lead and lend to this cause as well. Malaria No More, an organization that combats the disease, estimates that 120 million nets would be enough for everyone in need to sleep safely so Britain already did 1/6 of the work, let’s all help do the rest.
-JH
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Saturday, March 15th, 2008
A big round of applause goes out to the 73 members of the U.S. Senate who voted in favor of a $3.1 billion increase to the international affairs buget. This increase, which was requested by President Bush, had been turned down by the Senate Budget Committee who actually proposed to decrease the budget by $4 billion. Senators Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) co-sponsored the bipartisan amendment which will help provide funding for programs that fight poverty and global diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
The American public played a huge role as well. Led by groups such as ONE and U.S. Global Leadership Campaign thousands petitioned their senators to support the amendment. It’s not too late for you to get involved either, you can send thank you’s to your senators for getting behind this amendment or encourage those who didn’t to support this legislation as it moves forward.
-JH
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