Jun 28

Tonga’s First Steps Towards Democracy.

Posted in Presidential

The political climate in Tonga has been changing since the death of the people’s beloved monarch, King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV.  One of the last remaining true monarchies, the island kingdom of Tonga is ruled by its royal leader, whose authority is absolute.  A majority of government is royally appointed, with all but nine of the 32 members consisting of nobles, chiefs and royal supporters.  Due to public unrest His Majesty King George Tupou V decided to relinquish this absolute authority, bringing democracy to his country.

Prior to his death King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV spoke of the need for political change for his people.  In the wake of his passing, having lost a well respected leader the people were ready for change.  In 2006 news rocked the Pacific that the tiny island kingdom, known as the ‘Friendly Islands’, had found itself under siege. 

Rioting broke out in the capital, Nuku’alofa, with rioters and looters targeting businesses owned by or closely affiliated with the royal family, as well as foreign owned shops.  Store fronts were smashed and buildings were set alight.  In the aftermath of the riots, once the capital resembled a charred version of its former self, it was clear that public opinion of the monarchical nature of the government was on a decline.

The newly crowned king announced that his country would embrace democracy, with elections set to allow Tongan citizens the right to vote for government representatives, including prime minister.  While the King will remain the head of state, this will largely be as a figurehead, similar to that held by Queen of England, after having relinquished all his executive powers.

Elections are scheduled for this year, with November 25 being chosen to be the day that will be remembered forever in Tonga’s history.  Anyone can run for parliament with the only requirement for eligibility being that the Tongan citizen must have lived in the country for a minimum of three months.  This has seen an influx of expatriots returning home to participate in the race to parliament.

Controversially the elections validity has been called into question recently when the sitting Legislative Assembly voted upon an amendment to a motion concerning electoral boundaries on 20 April 2010.  They additionally successfully voted to amend the Constitution in order to make an amendment to the Electoral Act, as well as a bill for the establishment of a Boundaries Commission. 

The legality of these votes is being questioned on the basis that the amendments and bills voted upon and subsequently passed, have yet to be drafted.  People are questioning the legality of passing laws before they are written. 

A leader of the Tongan pro-democracy movement, People’s Representative ‘Akilisi Pohiva said on a national radio broadcast that “tonight we are united and have achieved what all of us have been working towards for years”.  This has prompted the editor of the Matangi Tonga to question how the House could consider their goals having been reached when the laws that were passed had not been written. 

The elections in November will rely upon the boundaries that are to be set forth in the unwritten amendments.  If the legality of these votes is pursued and the amendments struck down for procedural impropriety after the elections take place, the question shifts to whether or not the elections themselves will be valid. With this question hovering over the first democratic elections in the country it certainly will add a dimension to how the day will be remembered in years to come.

Written by Alithia
Lawyer, Teacher, Dreamer… Writer

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Apr 27

A specter is haunting Civilizations: an anarchist from the first

Posted in City-state

Article by Sandy

Krolick Dr.

Karl Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto that “a specter is haunting Europe.” Note that I wrote these words on the eve of revolutionary turmoil that began in Italy and France in 1848 and absorbed much of the continent

In case nobody has noticed here in America -. birthplace of freedom and daring – Europe is back in the middle of Raging battles, threatening to spread the financial crisis that began in the United States and swept the planet, and debt that was caused to the U.S.. Should then ignite the passions of the slaves and strangled bodies everywhere. People are recognized and identified slavery enslavement. And thoose largely capitalist regimes are no less affected (maybe more) that Democrats are socialist, communist or theocratic ones.

What started in 2009 with demonstrations of civil unrest and widespread as Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Poland, Germany, Hungary, Greece, Portugal, Russia and the Czech Republic, in response various stringent measures applied by the ruling elites, has recently broken out in full force in France. Just as policies protests that followed elections in Iran in 2009, months of street protests and demonstrations across France have taken a more violent turn that telltale signs of an armed uprising continues to grow. both sides of the Atlantic, even Canadians left long enough to become their furious television – with protests in the G-20 Toronto, which will make even a French national pride, protests, quickly revealed in the wisest of tyranny in search political animals <. / P> Of course, the American working class is still staring at the shadows on the walls of his cave – or is this “prison” – believes what he is told by his owner and trainers … “That all is good in the world … Just head down, work, and join the party (or maybe Tea Party). And political hucksters, as Mr. Obama soothing say” Yes We Can “to survive this crisis and continue to participate in the” American Dream “(if only as we tell the big boys). It’s like as many children in the story The Wizard of Oz, the man behind the curtain is implore you to ignore what is before our eyes obviously. He told us that our world is intact and will continue to evolve. And listen carefully Graphic voluntarily, refusing to see what is before us, instead we continue to turn, quite comfortable watching shadows on the wall of puppeteers talent -. like brothers Koch – our Shadowbox Theatre

However illusioned among the few who can no longer afford to ignore. Visceral proof installation. The show closes quickly and is most likely inglorious there. What, destroying almost the total of our biosphere, oil peak, peak water crisis in the economic and financial systems around the world, so-called political turmoil at home and abroad are abundant signs of immanent collapse.

But even our European cousins ??do not understand the significance of this seismic event. This is not a tax or economic problem, it’s not wrong to have political leadership, not a question of social priorities confused or lost. There is a crack in the frame of the theater, the show began with the advent of history, civilization. This is the last phase of poor cultural adaptation, which have sought medical treatment Fireworks and control at any cost.

As Thomas Hobbes proleptically, but unintentionally, ever said in August that it would be … “Warre of all against all.” But it will not be wrong, I war that would exist if it was not for the creation of civil society. This is not war, I imagined barbarism took place in our pre-civilized ancestors, if not to our social contract. It is rather a war resulting from the contract itself and the momentum to civilization, which resulted in six thousand years of history. thinking in such a cold and calculating

Of course, the ghost of Marx was referring to above is communism, his argument was that it can and should be the last step in the dialectical movement of history, civilian, but is synonymous with classless society . But I was wrong. This experiment did not get much better. The real “spectrum” or ghostly visions of you now is a natural reflection of the weariness of civilization industry itself – and the systems hierarchy and domination has developed and perfected, largely based on logic and syllogism contains This is the logic of objective science, principle of our system. legal principles at the heart of our social contract, the anonymity of our civilian politicians, and the story of history itself. This is a logical connection thoose hierarchies, to be subsequently worked to clear the world of all its resources and life, its meaning, instead of leaving impersonal systems for monitoring and managing all the logistics business, human or natural. This is a necessary outcome of six thousand years of history Artificial humanity that began with the first emerging urban empires in and around the Fertile Crescent and Gulf.

What people around the world at this time may be significant is that they also emptied Join emptying hierarchical WHOLIS (institution) – a gap in dry out in the following form: If A = B and B = C, then A = C. Here is a universal declaration relating to persons of the yield to logical conclusions. What we want to control the nature of those around us, from this perspective, all parts of the system, it substitutes in the control logic. Herein lies the foundation of our emptiness and our sense of alienation. another, nature, and themselves in search of recovery for this delay, we humans are trying to acquire other products to make us feel full – televisions, cars, laptops and smartphones in. when the asking price was too high the man in charge broke the cheap stuff, and you gave Wal-Mart, so I can again feel that we are part of the game. But it may be the discovery that the luxury cars and big screen does not make us happy.

America as we know, is the most rational of all modern civilized societies. We have more science and technology, laws and more lawyers, more prisons and prisoners than any other country on the planet, we have fund managers become crooks, higher productivity, psychopathology, and individual terrorists acting against what “they perceived as injustice in the world and yet continue to go straight to the abyss we are a nation of laws, not a community of people -… and we are committed to syllogism like no other He n “There is no dignity in our slavery, we become in the emptiness of souls

What’s fascinating world today is the specter of a primitive anarchist TREND wild buried deep in the muscles of the spinal cord of man and species -.. instinct to live beyond the limitations of cold, but skillfully crafted dominance of hierarchical institutions that are enslaving the planet for six thousand years, now all Craven freedom of “blind justice” thoose “neutral” laws based on the assumption of total anonymity, seeking more primitive character in the actual relationship between people that certain bonds of kinship blood kinship gold and a better understanding and respect that comes from living in proximity, physically and mentally, in another.

This is anarchica in the true sense of the word. It seeks not only to lead in the political sphere, but free as a tyrannical hegemony imposed by the logic of syllogistic reasoning civilization itself It seeks freedom in the ambiguity of sensitive body -.. not the body political spectrum is real and for you. is free and there will of its own – as scary as it looks to himself or others and will not end syllogistically or negligently Thanks to escape, perhaps anarchy, it will end, of course .. .

About the author

After a career of ten years in academia, Krolick spent the next twenty years in the executive ranks of many of the largest U.S. multinationals. I recently returned to the U.S. after training for several years in the center of the Siberian steppes of Barnaul, Russia. Order his latest book, Recovery : / / www.amazon.com/Recovery-Ecstasy-Notebooks-Siberia/dp/1439227365/?tag = widgetsamazon-20or , to visit him @ / A>.