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How to deal with threats
to Media
Silvio Berlusconi
succeeded in pushing a law through the Italian Senate that restricts the use
of wire-taps by investigating magistrates. As the magistrates will now have to
prove that a serious offence has been committed before they use this
surveillance method they will be much less likely to unearth corruption among
the political class in Italy. Investigators will be in a catch-22 situation.
Another recent example for politicians abusing their excessive discretionary
powers is the interference of French President Sarkozy in the
negotiations about a sale of the French newspaper 'Le Monde'.
These cases demonstrate the undemocratic symbiosis between the executive and
legislative arms of government that is common in our pseudo-democracies. The so-called 'Parliamentary System of Government'
is further corrupted by the ability of governments to control the appointment of
judges - in effect selecting the referee in the political game.
Under a system of direct democracy the shenanigans attributed to the two
politicians are unlikely to win the approval in a public referendum or under a
constitution which places more emphasis on the separation of powers.
14-Jun-2010
Totalitarian Logic: pay for TV and Radio even if you have no receiver
It is a
well-known fact that more and more controls are necessary once a society has
started on the slippery road towards state control of every aspect of the
citizen's lives. The nation who has 'given' Karl Marx to the world is
testimony to the inevitability of this 'road to serfdom' (F.A. Hayek).
The hapless legislators of Germany have just decided that as their police
apparatus is unable or unwilling to guarantee an efficient administration of the
license fee for TV and Radio, the only solution is to make it mandatory for
everyone to pay the fee - even if the citizen has no means or willingness to
watch (the mostly state-sponsored) TV and Radio programmes.
11-Jun-2010
To raise taxes or cut
services
This is the dilemma
facing political decision makers in most industrialised countries at the moment.
Under a system of direct democracy the solution to the fiscal problems would be
much more transparent as citizens would have the ability to vote on each
spending measure item by item. This would avoid the commingled decision-making
that dominates the political landscape at the moment where citizens may agree to
measure A but not to measure B but have no way of making a differentiated
contribution at the ballot box.
13-May-2010
Britain tries out
Coalition
Every country has the media
it deserves. This expression comes to mind when one listens and reads what the
media pundits have to say about the fresh experiment with coalition government
in the UK. One gets the impression that journalists would love nothing better
than a bust-up between the Conservatives and the Liberal-Democrats when they
conduct their interviews.
We also would like to caution against expecting too much a transition to
coalition government. There is nothing magic about either a single-party or
coalition government. Both create problems with respect to democratic legitimacy
and in our view only a transition to a full version of direct democracy can
insure that the wish of the majority of the electorate is followed in all policy
measures.
13-May-2010
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Decisions you would be able to influence:
By giving the
reader examples of recent policy decisions we highlight the dramatic
impact the introduction of Direct Democracy would have on the
political life of all countries.
All the following decisions where taken without the participation of
the affected citizens. Some - if not most - were highly
controversial and have a negative effect for at least some major
parts of the country's population.
The present system of government
not
only leaves the citizens powerless in the face of a never-ending
tide of legislation, it also inevitably leads to
inefficient use of taxpayer's money and a steady erosion of civil
liberties.
Full list of
decisions the citizens could influence
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GENERAL
Nuclear Powers impose further sanctions on Iran
Should former politicians be allowed to cash in from books and lecture
tours?
Unequal regional distribution of tax burden
Forum demands that climate tax be redistributed on global basis
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CLIMATE CHANGE AND POPULATION
Cap-and-Trade of Carbon Permits and ideal vehicle for fraud
Green Energy plan may cost 17 times more than its benefits
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EUROPE
European Council
members must put interest of the Union above those of their own
countries (Lisbon Treaty, Article 9)
EU prepares
expanded sanctions against Iran
MEP wants tax on carbon-intensive products
EU wants introduction of body scanners on Airports
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UNITED KINGDOM
Minister
states: British forces will be among the last to come home from
Afghanistan
Wind farms will
increasingly dominate most picturesque landscapes
7.6 billion car trip entries stored by police
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DEUTSCHLAND
Solar
Subventionen
erreichen 85 Mrd. Euro
Neue Steuer auf USB Medien
Hartz IV Empfaenger zahlen nicht fuer Strom, Gas
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OESTERREICH
Transparenzkonto: Parteifinanzen ausgenommen
Feinstaubkompetenz fuer Laender und Gemeinden
Mehrwertsteuergrenze manipuliert
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