In the past Mexican farmers made dangerous trips to the United States, hoping they would earn enough money by doing different jobs to cover make sure they could pay their debts. At home, they were cultivating small plots of land that has been in their family for generations. More recently, these farmers could stay home instead of making the dangerous trips because of a new venture with PepsiCo, which buys their crops. The farmers sell their corn directly to PepsiCo, which guarantees the price it will pay for the crops. This is a new approach for trying to maintain their business edge while they’re helping farmers and their families.

This is a very good idea of PepsiCo. Because PepsiCo now buys their crops directly from the farmers in Mexico, these farmers can now take care of their family and their farm. This will also give the farmers the opportunity to get the correct price for their crops and they will also be sure that the crops they have produced are going to get sold. Now, the farmers don’t have to worry anymore about their debts that have to be paid. Because of this deal, the farmers can now grow varieties of crops that are better suited for the Mexican climate. There is also a benefit for PepsiCo. This project saves PepsiCo a lot of transportation costs because the farms in Mexico are close to several of its factories. Another advantage is that because PepsiCo made a deal with local farms, they are sure that they have access to the types of corn that are the best suited for their products. There are also some social benefits because of this deal. The farmers who work for PepsiCo now have a higher income. This has as a result that they have more money that they can give for their children and their education. Several other companies are now following the example of PepsiCo.

Source:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/business/global/22pepsi.html?adxnnl=1&ref=mexico&adxnnlx=1301936575-wuVN68wBI50CKlESDXoKgA 

15-05-2011 om 18:52 geschreven door LKEJ  

Guerrero election kicks off weighty Mexico political year

15-05-2011 om 14:36 geschreven door LKEJ  

Mexico

I found an article about Mexico’s drug war. The Mexican president Felipe Calderon has been fighting against drugs cartels for four years now and he has announced that he will keep on fighting until he has eliminated all drugs cartels once and for all. Those fights have unfortunately cost tens of thousands of deaths in Mexico, including innocent people. Felipe Calderon says that the amounts of deaths are painful, but that there’s no other alternative.
The inhabitants and the US say that Felipe Calderon has made the wrong decision to start his drugs war and that he has to search another alternative.
I agree with the US and the inhabitants because there have already been a lot of innocent people killed. The people of Mexico can’t live their lives like they’re used to anymore, they have to be more careful and more wary about things . For example, the people were warned to keep off the streets because it was too dangerous. Felipe Calderon is right that things have to change and that the drugs cartels have to be eliminated but I certainly think that there are other alternatives for that.
I think that Felipe Calderon was just desperate, he didn’t know what to do to stop the drugs cartels, so he just started a war against the drugs cartels.
But the drugs cartels are not that easy to stop, and they started to commit more crimes like massacre.
The president is now cleaning house in Mexico. He will not rest until Mexico is safe but he has to sit together with his peers to find other solutions.
The drugs war has to be stopped as soon as possible but other measures have to be found! The government of the US offered already its help to Mexico but Felipe Calderon did refuse that because he said the drugs war is the best and only solution for the problem.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/9130155.stm

14-05-2011 om 00:00 geschreven door LKEJ  

Mexico

Summary

Mexico’s oil exports could end within decade – Mexico could lose the capacity to export crude altogether within a decade without major new investments in exploration and production. The country’s shift form exporter to importer would deal a severe blow to Mexico’s federal government, which depends on oil sales for roughly a third of its budget. Production by Pemex, the national oil company, has fallen 25 per cent from its peak in 2004, while internal demand has climbed, sharply curtailing the amount of crude available for export. The drop in supply is largely due to steep declines at Cantarell, an aging super giant field formerly responsible for the bulk of Mexico’s oil output

My opinion

In my opinion it is pity for Mexico that this happens, but it proves once again that building materials aren’t self-evident, they are not inexhaustible. So I believe we should keep on investing in more natural way of gaining energy such as wind and solar energy, ultimately Fukushima has proven that nuclear energy is dangerous. Gaining oil isn’t save ether has proven the recent disaster of British Petrol in the Gulf of Mexico.

Mexico should take matters in hand if it doesn’t want to shift towards oil importer. This would be a severe burden on the Mexican government and curb its ability to provide important services, both related to social programs and internal peace and security. What Mexico can do is keep on gaining oil out of the Gulf of Mexico. But perhaps it would not be wrong to set their pride aside and ask more experienced companies for help and guidance, because surely we don’t want another BP incident. Of course Pemex has its knowhow, but for drilling on land, not in the ocean.

So I wish Mexico the best of luck and hopefully they succeed, without serious problems or accidents.

12-05-2011 om 22:51 geschreven door LKEJ  

The President of Cuba, Raul Castro (brother of the previous President Fidel Castro), has rejected large-scale market reforms to revive the struggling economy of the country. The state wouldn’t control everything anymore in some areas so that more workers are allowed to be self-employed or they can even set up small businesses. The Cuban people expected some measures from the President to get the country out of its deep economic crisis. He answered to that by telling the people that some restriction to start small businesses would be ceased and that the small businesses could also employ staff. Unproductive or under-employed workers would also have to find another job.

I personally think that the President did a good thing when he said that there wouldn’t be some major large-scale market reforms to get the economy out of the crisis. Making some major reforms could lead to several people losing their job, more unemployed people, ... This is certainly not helpful for a country that is already in crisis. Those actions would only do the economy more harm. In stead, the Cuban President chose to reduce the role of the state in some areas so that the people would be more free to do what they want for a living. Now that people can start their own small businesses, that will be good for the economy. These businesses can help the country get out of the crisis. Workers can also employ staff, which means that there will be less unemployed workers left on the market. That is stimulating for the economy because these people will receive a salary and with that salary, they can buy new products or even a new house. I think that it is also a good decision that unproductive and under-employed workers need to look for another job. Unproductive workers cost enterprises a lot of money. That money, the enterprise can’t use to invest so that’s a loss for the economy. In my opinion, these measures will help Cuba get out of its economic crisis.

Source:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-10834192

Kelly (2MA2)

12-05-2011 om 19:35 geschreven door LKEJ  

Cuba

My article is about a project in Holguin to create bamboo forests. The project is called Bamboo  Biomass and the coordinator is Raul Figueredo. Raul Figueredo created the project because bamboo is environmentally friendly and is also a good alternative for wood.
He has chosen bamboo because bamboo is a plant who grows very fast, so it can provide big volumes in a short time compared to wood.
There have been already 3 centers opened where they  produce the bamboo-plants and the goal is to open 10 small centers this year.
I think the idea of Raul Figueredo is a very good idea. It’s necessary that we find an alternative for wood because there is already a lack of wood and it’s still growing.
Our planet is already polluted and that’s why we have to find an environmentally friendly solution, and I think Raul Figueredo found that solution.
The bamboo of this project can be used to make decorations, to make furniture, for flooring, to make energy by burning the bamboo,… so it’s a great alternative.
I don’t think that bamboo can totally replace wood but it can replace a part of it and we can go on searching other ways to replace wood. The governments can also take some measures like rules considering the amount of wood that can be chopped.  I think that there are already rules like that but there also have to be a good control about that. Many people just chop wood illegal and that shouldn’t be happening so the governments have to focus more about the control of their own rules.
Bamboo grows faster than wood and it purifies the soil, that causes that the water resources will also improve. This is a great advantage because in a lot of countries, the ground and the water is badly polluted.
I don’t really see any disadvantages of the Bamboo Biomass project ant I think every country should take such initiatives like Cuba and Raul Figueredo did.
Lastly, I think that this project brings employment, and for the people of Cuba that’s great news.

http://www.cubaheadlines.com/2011/02/19/29635/cuba_seeks_to_boost_use_of_bamboo.html

 Lisa (2ma2)

12-05-2011 om 19:13 geschreven door LKEJ  

12-05-2011 om 18:27 geschreven door LKEJ  

Cuba

Summary

Cuban government outlines steps towards a freer market. For the first time since the Communist revolution 52 years ago, Cubans will be allowed to buy and sell houses and newer automobiles, and they may be able to travel abroad as tourists more freely, under policy changes that are intended to shake up the country’s foundering economy. Cubans lined up at kiosks to buy booklets outlining 313 guidelines approved at a historic Communist Party congress last month. However, this publication lacks many details on what the restrictions, taxes and other potential roadblocks the initiatives might include. But analysts said that simply bringing into the open what had been a black market of house and automobile swaps could be one of the most significant changes to the economy in decades and could inject badly needed cash into the system. In the speeches, President Castro declared that Cuba, hit hard by the global recession, deteriorating sugar market and, the government says, repercussions of the United States economic embargo, must move form an almost entirely state based economy towards one allowing at least a little more free enterprise. 

My opinion

I believe that this is a very large step forward for Cubans. For decades they were not able to buy or sell cars manufactured after the 1959 revolution. The housing market wasn’t much better, since the revolution there has been no housing market to speak of. In Cuba, people are born in the same house they die in. All of this had as result that many Cubans hardly ever move, and they often are stuck driving crumbling Soviet-era cars bought form state dealers. So it would be a real progress if they are back allowed to buy and sell houses and cars.
But just as the New York Times I have my doubts about the real impact these policy changes will have. Especially because the publication lacks many details on what restrictions, taxes and other potential roadblocks the initiatives might include. And if I bear in mind that most of the Cubans are poor, I wonder whether they will able to buy a car or a house even if they want to. Maybe this is what the government is hoping for: to soften restrictions, knowing few people will be able to benefit from them. This way they send out the positive message of being willing to chance when there is actually few risks involved.
So my conclusion is that it’s a good step forward, but that Cubans still have a long way ahead.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/10/world/americas/10cuba.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=cuba&st=cse

Evelyne Vlerick (2MA2)

12-05-2011 om 18:24 geschreven door LKEJ  

12-05-2011 om 16:18 geschreven door LKEJ  

Tunisia

In the capital of Tunisia, Tunis, is now dealing with some mayor protests. The civilians want their President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to quit immediately.  The demonstrators say that Tunisia can’t have a true democracy when the current president remains in charge. The president himself, announced that he would resign in 2014. The civilians are also protesting over corruption, unemployment and high food prices. The protest began when an unemployed graduate set himself on fire, after the police told him he couldn’t sell vegetables without a permit. The president has swore that he would take action on food prices.

I personally think that the demonstrators had a good reason to protest. It can’t be done that food prices have gone up fourfold in just a few weeks time. If the prices continue to rise, people can’t afford to buy food anymore. This will be very bad for the economy. Another negative affect for the economy is that several tour operators have returned their customers back home and cancelled departures to Tunisia. Tourism is the key in the Tunisian economy and it’s also a very important source of jobs and salary. In Tunisia there has always been censure. Several incidents have already been censured from reaching the people before. Now, with the case of the young Mohamed Bouazizi, the Tunisian people wanted to be heard and they didn’t want that this was going to be censured, so they came out on the streets. I believe that the right of free speech applies to each and anyone of us and so I think that it’s good that theTunisian people stood up for theirs. Following the example of the Tunisians, several other countries had to deal with protests of their inhabitants like there was in Egypt, Algeria, Iraq and now also in Lybia.

Source: 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12189535

Kelly (2MA2)

10-05-2011 om 22:59 geschreven door LKEJ  

Tunisia

The article I read is about the politics of Tunisia. Since a couple of weeks, there are a lot of riots and demonstrations because the people wanted the president, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, to hand over the reins.
The people wanted that his authoritarian rule ended and now it seems like they won because the president handed over the power.
Fouad Mebazaa, the speaker of parliament, will be the interim president until a new solution is found.
The prime minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi, wanted to rule the state until there was a new solution but the people didn’t want that because Mohamed Ghannouchi has the same ideas as Ben Ali and so nothing would change.
I understand the people in Tunisia completely. Ben Ali has had the power for about 23 years and now, it’s time that there come some changes. I understand that the people didn’t want Mohamed Ghannouchi as a new interim president because they realize that nothing will change that way. Mohamed Ghannouchi was close to Ben Ali and so he has the same ideas and principles.
The people in Tunisia are exhausted but however, they are standing outside, yelling and screaming because they feel relieved. They argued for several days on a row, so it’s pretty normal that they are tired.
You can see the relief in the eyes of the people but there’s also an atmosphere of uncertainty. I think that’s normal because the locals don’t know how the future will evolve. I hope that Ben Ali learned his lesson and that he never comes back to Tunisia. The people in Tunisia were treated badly for too long and I hope a good president will come who treats the people fair and right.
In the article is also mentioned that Ben Ali and his family wanted to go to France but the French president didn’t want them to stay in France and refused to welcome them. I think that the French president has the right to refuse to welcome someone in his country. Ben Ali is no longer the president so the French president is no longer obligated to welcome him.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/01/20111153616298850.html

Lisa (2ma2)

10-05-2011 om 18:16 geschreven door LKEJ  

Tunisia

Summary

The games must go on in Egypt and Tunisia. Soccer, obviously, took on less meaning during the recent political upheavals in both countries. But the coincidences remain: Tunisia and Egypt were the first Arab nations to experience apparent political openings in the past few months. The decision to resume league play is a bid, in both countries, for a return to normalcy. In Egypt and in Tunisia soccer fans played a role in anti-government protests for change. They were using their acumen with social media and smartphones to maintain communication, much as they do before, during and after matches.

My opinion

I find it quite funny that while their country is without government and in serious reformation problems, Tunisian people worry about soccer. First it was my opinion that they had more important things to worry about. Like restructuring their country, elect a new president and let everyone cool down. But then it became clear to me, it was not just about the soccer itself, but what it represents. When they take up the treads of the games, it means that everything is – as good as – normal.  That Tunisia is reviving. It also means that the soccer clubs and authorities believe that it is save enough to allow assemble of people and let go of the curfew.

In this way I can understand that is a big deal if the soccer games are allowed again. I find it very remarkable that everything is already becoming more normal after only a few months. Ultimately, it was a huge thing they Tunisian people accomplished, after decades of suppression they were finally able to shed yoke of dictatorship. And a lot of other countries followed their lead. Tunisia really unchained a wave of revolution that frightened many Arabic leaders. With reason, as we see know. This is something to be proud of.

Source: http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/in-egypt-and-tunisia-the-games-must-go-on/?scp=4&sq=tunisia&st=cse

Evelyne (2MA2)

10-05-2011 om 17:05 geschreven door LKEJ  

A short guide to the Italian political system

INTRODUCTION

The modern state of Italy came into force on 17 March 1861 when King Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont-Sardinia signed into law a bill in which he took for himself the title King of Italy.

Italy adopted a new constitution in 1948 after the traumatic experience of Mussolini's fascism and the Second World War. Unusually the two Houses of the Italian Parliament possess the same rights and powers - a particular form of parliamentary democracy known as perfect bicameralism. However, this is far from being the only oddity of the Italian political system.

Italy is something of an aberration in the democratic sweep of Europe. For decades, it somehow combined the maintenance of the same political party in power with constant changes of government while, in more recent years, it has witnessed a fundamental transformation in the pattern of political parties and this process is still in flux.

Meanwhile, in recent years, the electoral system has been changed frequently and substantially and the current version is both immensely complex and hugely controversial.

Politics in Italy is constantly beset with scandal and corruption and, at times, it has seemed astonishing that the Italian economic system could be so robust, when the Italian political system has been so chaotic – and I write as a half-Italian.

THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

The Italian monarchy was abolished in a referendum of 1946 (when my mother voted against the retention of the King) and, under the constitution of 1948, the head of state is the President of the Republic. He is elected for seven years by a two-thirds majority of the Parliament sitting jointly with 58 regional delegates.

The Italian President of the Pepublic heads the armed forces and has powers to veto legislation, disband parliament and call elections. He nominates the senior Government minister, called the President of the Council (equivalent to the British Prime Minister). The current President of the Republic is Giorgio Napolitano who is a former Communist Party member.

Day to day power is exercised by the President of the Council who is nominated by the President of the Republic (one needs to be careful with the term President in Italy) and confirmed by the Parliament. The current President of the Council is Silvio Berlusconi.

It is the President of the Council who proposes the other ministers (formally named by the President). The Government ministers make up the Council of Ministers. Vice-ministers - called “Sottosegretari” (Undersecretaries) - are not formal members of the Council. In Italy, anyone can be appointed a minister, with no requirement to be a member of the Parliament or a political party.

THE CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES

The lower house in the Italian political system is the Chamber of Deputies. It has 630 members elected by all Italian citizens older than 18.

617 members are elected by proportional representation from party lists for each of 26 constituencies. Lombardy has three constituencies, Piedmont, Veneto, Latium, Campania and Sicily each have two constituencies, and all the other 13 regions have one. Another Deputy is elected in the Aosta Valley (a mountainous region in north-western Italy).

A peculiarity of the Italian Parliament is the representation given to Italians who are permanently living abroad (about 2.7 million people). Therefore, as well as the 618 nationally elected Deputies, there are 12 elected in four distinct foreign constituencies.

The term of office of Deputies is five years, but the Parliament may be dissolved by the President before then if it proves impossible to form a stable government (this has happened six times since the war).

The election system for the Chamber of Deputies is new and complex. In its newest form, it dates only from 2005; its complexity comes from the fact that it combines a proportional representation system (a version of which produced so many weak post-war governments) with a 'prize' for the coalition securing the largest number of votes (so that the resulting government has a stronger basis than would otherwise be the case).

To obtain seats, some thresholds must be surpassed on a national basis as follows:

• a minimum of 10% for a coalition (if this requirement is not met, the 4% limit for single parties apply)
• a minimum of 4% for any party not in a coalition
• a minimum of 2% for any party in a coalition (however, the first party in a coalition that rates below 2% is also assigned seats).

As an Italian friend of mine put it: "Look!!! I fund a party, my mother another one and my father as well. We join together into a coalition and we get 30 votes (just the votes of the neighbourhood), rather far from 2%. But, as candidate of the first party, I can claim for a seat. In Italy everybody can go the Parliament, that’s democracy!"

Finally, the coalition or party that obtains the largest number of seats but is assigned less than 340 seats, is assigned additional seats to reach this number, which corresponds roughly to a 54% majority. This is the 'prize' and this is the incentive to form coalitions.

The Chamber of Deputies actually sits in a palace: the Palazzo Montecitorio.

THE SENATE

The upper house in the Italian political system is the Senate. It has 315 members elected by all Italian citizens older than 25.

309 members are elected by a system of proportional representation system based upon party lists for the 20 regions of Italy.

As mentioned earlier, an oddity of the Italian Parliament is the representation given to Italians abroad. Therefore, as well as the 309 nationally elected Senators, there are 6 elected in four distinct foreign constituencies.

The term of office of elected Senators is five years,

As well as these 315 elected Senators, the Senate includes former Presidents and appointed Senators for life (no more than five) by the President of the Republic according to special constitutional provisions.

The electoral system for the Senate is very similar to the one for the Chamber of Deputies, but it is in many ways transferred from a national to to a regional basis. Therefore the thresholds – which are different – are applied on a regional basis as follows:

• a minimum of 20% for a coalition
• a minimum of 8% for any party not in a coalition
• a minimum of 3% for any party in a coalition (there is no exception for the first party in a coalition below this threshold, as in the lower house)

The coalition that wins the largest number of seats in a region is automatically given 55% of that region's seats, if it has not reached that percentage already. In contrast to the situation for the Chamber of Deputies, there is no mechanism to guarantee a nation-wide majority in the Senate.

So the real oddity in this electoral system is the lack of a 'prize' in the Senate. As widely confessed by Roberto Calderoli (a Senator from the Northern League and the creator of this electoral law), the new electoral system was written and approved during the last months of the Berlusconi Government in order to put the new winning coalition (at that time the Centre-Left coalition was substantially ahead in the opionion polls) in trouble with a weak majority in the Senate. In Italy, this electoral law is infamous and well known by everybody for its amusing 'nickname', the "porcata” (a rather rude way to say 'a load of rubbish') and this is the name that television and newspapers often use to refer to it.

The Senate actually sits in a palace: the Palazzo Madama.

POLITICAL PARTIES

After the end of the Second World War, Italian politics - and even more so its government – was dominated by a single political party Democrazia Cristiana (DC - Christian-Democrats) for more than forty years, while the opposition was led by the Italian Communist Party (PCI). The third important party was the Italian Socialist Party (PSI).

Accordingly, in the period 1946-1992, there were no less than 28 governments and all but two of them were headed by a Christian Democrat.

Everything changed in the early 1990s. First, all the governing parties were caught up in a major scandal called the Tangentopoli and dissolved themselves so that the Christian Democratic and the Socialist parties ceased to exist. Second, following referenda of 1993, substantial electoral changes were introduced, shifting the country from an unstable system of proportional representation to a more stable additional member system (although the voters had actually expressed a wish for a majoritarian system similar to the French model [click here]). Third, a further electoral change provides a 'prize' to the coalition which secures the largest number of votes in the Chamber of Deputies (which is intended the give the government a stronger base) which has the effect of encouraging political parties to join one of two major coalitions.

The results of all these changes are that, in an effort to maximise votes, simultaneously political parties are splitting and political power is now contested by two broad coalitions bringing together most of these (often small) parties:

• a Centre-Left one known as the Democratic Party – a descendant of the Olive Tree coalition - which originally consisted of 11 parties (Democrats of the Left being the largest) and is led by former Communist Pierluigi Bersani
• a Centre-Right one known as the People of Liberty – a descendant of the Pole of Freedoms – which originally consisted of 8 parties (notably Forza Italia, the National Alliance and the Northern League) and is led by Silvio Berlusconi

In July 2010, supporters of Gianfranco Fini, a co-founder of the People of Liberty movement, set up their own groups in both houses of parliament under the name of Future and Freedom for Italy. Technically this means that Silvio Berlusconi lost his majority in the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies.

The factionalism of Italian politics has some echoes of the party political situation in India [click here] but, in European terms, this situation of a multiplicity of parties and changing alliances is unique.

THE JUDICIAL BRANCH

The Constitutional Court of Italy is the country's supreme court. It is composed of 15 judges: one-third appointed by the President, one-third elected by the Parliament, and one-third elected by the ordinary and administrative supreme courts. The Constitutional Court is a post-war innovation. Its powers, volume, and frequency of decisions are not as extensive as those of the Supreme Court in the United states

The other senior court is the Court of Cassation.

Given the conflict and corruption in the Italian political system, the courts in Italy find themselves embroiled in political issues in a manner largely unknown elsewhere in Europe.

So it was the courts who played a major role in provoking the fundamental political restructuring and realignments of the early 1990s as a result of the exposure of the corruption-based system called Tangentopoli (Italian for bribeville) that dominated the country until the 'Mani pulite' ('clean hands') investigation delivered it a (possibly fatal) blow in 1992. The 'clean hands' operation exposed corruption at the highest levels of politics and big business. Several former prime ministers were implicated and thousands of businessmen and politicians were investigated.

CONCLUSION

Perhaps only in Italy could a business leader (Silvio Berlusconi) create a major political party (Forza Italia) from scratch and then become Prime Minister while simultaneously owning the majority of the country's television channels and while still in office facing substantial corruption charges.

Therefore Italian democracy remains a work in progress.

We cannot be sure that the present electoral system will be preserved; we cannot be sure that the present coalition structures will be unchanged; and much work needs to be done to reduce corruption and restore voter confidence.

Source: 18/02/2011, http://www.rogerdarlington.me.uk/Italianpoliticalsystem.html, internet

Summary :

Nowadays Italy is a republic, this is because the Italian people voted against the monarchy in a referendum, this all happened in 1946. This was a consequence after the collapse of the fascist regime, the monarchy was questioned, especially because of the state of mind of the royal family at the time of the fascist regime of Mussolini.
In 1948 a new constitution came in force presided by a new president of the republic. A president is elected for a term of office for seven years by a two-thirds majority of the Parliament sitting combined with 58 regional delegates.
In a Italian political system you have bicameral parliament that consists of the senate and the chamber of deputies, the lower house in the Italian political. The members of the chamber of deputies are choosen by the citizens who are older than 18. In contrast with the senate were the electors need to be older than 25 years. A weirdness of the parliament is that there is given representations to Italian people living in a foreign country.  The term of office of Deputies is five years, as well in the senate as in the chamber of deputies.
The Italian politics are characterized by a lot of scandals, for example in the early nineties Tangentopoli scandal.  It was such a big scandal that even Christian Democratic and the Socialist parties ceased to exist. This all leaded to some changes in the political scene,  shifting the country from an unstable system of proportional representation to a more stable additional member system. And another change was  the providing of a “prize” to the coalition which leads to the encouraging of the political parties to join one of two major coalitions namely a center-right or a center-left coalition.
The juridical branch comprise the Constitutional Court and the Court of Cassation. The Constitutional court of Italy is consist of 15 judges: one-third appointed by the President, one-third elected by the Parliament, and one-third elected by the ordinary and administrative supreme courts. Both courts were involved with political scandals in the past like Tangentopoli scandal.
Also Silvio Berlusconi is accused of corruption. So a lot of work needs to be done to reduce corruption and restore voter confidence.

My opinion:

I found it interesting that the political system is totally different of here in Belgium. I thought actually that in the most part of Europe it was the same system, but it’s the opposite. Off course the system raises some questions, if you see that there’s so much corruption. I could not imagine that this would happen in Belgium, if this would happen here, the country would be in a total chaos and the people would stand up and manifest in the streets. And so far I remember there were some protest against Berlusconi, which I think is good but I think that the Italian citizens could do more. Maybe I know less about Italy, the policy, the government and its people to judge this article.
Of course there’s a long way to go because a lot of things should be changed in their system I think, like the fact that Italians who live in a foreign country can be elected for the chamber of deputies and the senate is wrong. These people don’t live in Italy and in my opinion there’s a need to be in touch with your country  by living there. You need to know what takes place in the citizens their minds.
What I do know from the newspapers of Italy is mainly the scandals that Berlusconi has caused. I personally think that he is unprofessional and an embarrassment to an otherwise superb country. When the earthquake hit he went to the camp where people were living and pretty much said ''it will be like a nice little camp out'', not to mention the incident of him pretending to “do” that woman from behind... Also his meeting with Barack Obama, the president of the United States, Berlusconi described Barack Obama as "young, handsome, and tanned". I'm sure that's not how you're supposed to act as a political leader. So I would suggest the Italian citizens to abandon Berlusconi and choose a total new political government or regime.

 Jasmien Vuye

2MA2

09-05-2011 om 20:54 geschreven door LKEJ  

Italy

Summary

Tensions rose between Italy and its European Union partners over how to handle an influx of immigrants from North Africa, prompting the Italian interior minister to question the utility of the European Union. At a meeting in Luxembourg, European Union interior ministers said they would not recognize the temporary permits that Italy had said it planned to issue to scores of immigrants who have arrived since January. These permits were intended to allow them free travel within Europe. France and Germany rejected Italy’s plan. This made Italy’s interior minister, Roberto Maroni wonder ‘if it makes sense to stay in the European Union’.

My opinion

In this matter I must agree with France and Germany. Once the immigrants possess this permit, they can travel through Europe freely, without any kind of control system. Europe has to ‘swallow’ already so much immigrants and it is very hard to keep track of everyone. With these permits this problem will only enlarge.

However I understand Italy as well. Since the begin of the riots in North African, they have had to manage an influx of immigrants. Of course it is very hard for Italy to provide first care and shelter from all of them. Imagine having to provide it on long term. So I agree that all those immigrants can’t stay in Italy. So Europe will have the come up with a solution. Perhaps they can start by verifying whether none of the immigrants in Italian can return to his or her country. Of course I understand that this will not be possible in the majority of the cases. So if it’s not possible there has to be some kind of plan.  A plan to ‘divide’ the immigrants all over Europe. Then they can establish a permit. However this permit needs to be accompanied by some rules. These rules will make it possible to keep track of the whereabouts of the immigrants. They should not just go up in the air and become someone else’s ‘problem’.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/world/europe/12italy.html?scp=7&sq=italy&st=cse

Evelyne Vlerick (2MA2)

09-05-2011 om 19:00 geschreven door LKEJ  

Italy

Summary :

Nowadays Italy is a republic, this is because the Italian people voted against the monarchy in a referendum, this all happened in 1946. This was a consequence after the collapse of the fascist regime, the monarchy was questioned, especially because of the state of mind of the royal family at the time of the fascist regime of Mussolini.
In 1948 a new constitution came in force presided by a new president of the republic. A president is elected for a term of office for seven years by a two-thirds majority of the Parliament sitting combined with 58 regional delegates.
In a Italian political system you have bicameral parliament that consists of the senate and the chamber of deputies, the lower house in the Italian political. The members of the chamber of deputies are choosen by the citizens who are older than 18. In contrast with the senate were the electors need to be older than 25 years. A weirdness of the parliament is that there is given representations to Italian people living in a foreign country.  The term of office of Deputies is five years, as well in the senate as in the chamber of deputies.
The Italian politics are characterized by a lot of scandals, for example in the early nineties Tangentopoli scandal.  It was such a big scandal that even Christian Democratic and the Socialist parties ceased to exist. This all leaded to some changes in the political scene,  shifting the country from an unstable system of proportional representation to a more stable additional member system. And another change was  the providing of a “prize” to the coalition which leads to the encouraging of the political parties to join one of two major coalitions namely a center-right or a center-left coalition.
The juridical branch comprise the Constitutional Court and the Court of Cassation. The Constitutional court of Italy is consist of 15 judges: one-third appointed by the President, one-third elected by the Parliament, and one-third elected by the ordinary and administrative supreme courts. Both courts were involved with political scandals in the past like Tangentopoli scandal.
Also Silvio Berlusconi is accused of corruption. So a lot of work needs to be done to reduce corruption and restore voter confidence.

My opinion:

I found it interesting that the political system is totally different of here in Belgium. I thought actually that in the most part of Europe it was the same system, but it’s the opposite. Off course the system raises some questions, if you see that there’s so much corruption. I could not imagine that this would happen in Belgium, if this would happen here, the country would be in a total chaos and the people would stand up and manifest in the streets. And so far I remember there were some protest against Berlusconi, which I think is good but I think that the Italian citizens could do more. Maybe I know less about Italy, the policy, the government and its people to judge this article.
Of course there’s a long way to go because a lot of things should be changed in their system I think, like the fact that Italians who live in a foreign country can be elected for the chamber of deputies and the senate is wrong. These people don’t live in Italy and in my opinion there’s a need to be in touch with your country  by living there. You need to know what takes place in the citizens their minds.
What I do know from the newspapers of Italy is mainly the scandals that Berlusconi has caused. I personally think that he is unprofessional and an embarrassment to an otherwise superb country. When the earthquake hit he went to the camp where people were living and pretty much said ''it will be like a nice little camp out'', not to mention the incident of him pretending to “do” that woman from behind... Also his meeting with Barack Obama, the president of the United States, Berlusconi described Barack Obama as "young, handsome, and tanned". I'm sure that's not how you're supposed to act as a political leader. So I would suggest the Italian citizens to abandon Berlusconi and choose a total new political government or regime.

Source: 18/02/2011, http://www.rogerdarlington.me.uk/Italianpoliticalsystem.html, internet

Jasmien (2MA2)

09-05-2011 om 00:00 geschreven door LKEJ