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MUBBY
Joined: Jun 17, 2006
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MAKING GOVERNMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THEIR PROMISES
June 20, 2006 - 08:10 AM
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Before any government is put in place,it utters a lot of promises many of which are not met.However,the extend to which these promises are met depends largely on the citizens of that particular country.
From the onset, it should be noted that for any government to come into power it has to have the support of the people.For this reason it is logical for it to carry out the wishes of the people.
Practically speaking when you put a government into power you are optimistic that it will fullfil its promises,but this is never the case.
In theory there are a lot of things that youths can do to hold their governments account for their promises.In practice there are a few.
Its high time that we become more fanatical inorder for the goverment to honor its promises.A good illustration is Hitler in Germany.His followers were mainly youths and they held tenaciuosly to their beliefs.They spoke out and made threats to the government if they did not carry out their promises.If need arises we should do the same in our countries.
Hitler was at one time quoted saying,'THE WEAK MUST BE CHISELLED AWAY.I WANT YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN WHO CAN SUFFER PAIN .A YOUNG GERMANY MUST BE AS SWIFT AS A GREYHOUND,AS TOUGH AS LEATHER,AND AS HARD AS KRUPP'S STEEL'.
This may sound outrageous but its closer to the qualities we need inorder to hold our governments accountable for their promises later on vote them out if they do not fullfil their promises at all.
However, we can not overlook the fact that our current governments are characterised by selfish ambitions.They are literally adamant to the voices of their citizens.Its humiliating.
Nevertheless, this should not make us loose our tenacity or make us relent in our struggle for change.
We can make our governments account for their promises and thats a fight we need to win. Lets be united together as youths for the betterment of our future.
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Christian
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Re: MAKING GOVERNMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THEIR PROMISES
June 20, 2006 - 02:19 PM
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Fredchris
I expected to read more on how we can hold the political class accountable.indeed, it is a case of real world competing with the ideal world.As an African i have come to realise the fact that the cabal have held on to power and are not willing to steep down.indeed most times attempyt at asking for a change is met with a strong fire power which occasionally results in death.This is not to say lying supinely at our back but when you consider the massive poverty on ground .this poverty suituation has even dragged the youths in becoming ready tools in the hands of the political class.indeed, today the youths killl the youths just for pots of stew.Too bad and i know in my country Nigeria there is hardly credible election but a selection among the cabal or anyone ready to do thier bidding.I suggest massive re-orientation to rebrand our youths play more on reason than emotion.
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e.sum
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Re: MAKING GOVERNMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THEIR PROMISES
June 21, 2006 - 12:26 PM
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There is also the issue of powerful bodies who cannot be held accountable through a democratic model - NGOs. In considering the accountability of governments, we must also address the relative power (or lack thereof) of the state vs. organizations like the World Bank, IMF, UN etc.
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Adhiambo
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Re: MAKING GOVERNMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THEIR PROMISES
June 22, 2006 - 09:20 AM
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hey everyone, my name is Adhiambo and I'm from Kenya. about holding governments accountable, it's nearly impossible in my country because it has so much power. they have no one to answer to. They literally do what they want. for instance, about three or two months ago, It, our government, well a certain ministry, raided a media house that was "critisising" (personally, I think it was just reporting what needed to be) the government. nothing was done about that.
politicians here seem to argue about everything, but when it comes to increasing their salaries, wouldn't you know it, they show so much soliderity!! now they earn about 1 million Kenyan shiliings a month (allowances included), while about 57% of the population lives below the poverty line.
And these are the people we vote in just because they make a few promises they never intend to keep!!!
I think the only way, atleast in Kenya's case is to educate the citizens on the importance of voting right. and to get the youth involved.
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BenoitCtr
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Re: MAKING GOVERNMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THEIR PROMISES
June 23, 2006 - 11:12 AM
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In countries where democracy is healthy, accountability rest with the citizens first. We are given all the possibility to govern ourselves according to integrity. Over time, this integrity has become the rule of law to control the legal tender.
Now democracy's health is in great jeopordy from the inside because offcial secrecy of the public sector and the codes of silence of the private sectors are in control of the legal tender with such a fierce competition between the 2 of them that voters are trapped in paying for both sides of the ongoing madness.
Accountability of government and of people calls for a truce from secrecy and from the codes of silence at the levels of family, neighbourhoods, communities and on the regions, nations and continents before they choke us to death with the psycological effects of darkened oppression caused by the entity of terror-anti-terror.
This post was edited on: 2006-06-23 at 11:16 AM by: Benoit17
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Anu maheshwari
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Re: MAKING GOVERNMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THEIR PROMISES
June 23, 2006 - 12:14 PM
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well in India the Right to Information Act
provides the citizens with a right to access records and demand clarification from the government on various issues concerning public interest.
Another noteworthy reform is an electoral reform which allows the voters to reject all the candidates on the list !!!!
I think this is a major breakthrough for democracy in India as it provides the citizens with a healthy way to register their dissatisfaction with the government in power.
will get back later to the debate ...have to go now !
Cheers !
Anu
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Laura Steiner
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Re: MAKING GOVERNMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THEIR PROMISES
June 29, 2006 - 11:21 PM
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Reject all the choices on the ballot... Wish we had that choice- I can think of at least one time I would have used it.
Anyway; Sad to say, I don't think there is a way we can ensure that governments can keep their promises for two reasons. First that, political parties are willing to say anything; villify anyone just to get our votes. How are we to know what's true, vs. what's not true- we have to go by other criteria, such as; does the party in power meet my needs?
Second reason: circumstances change from campagin to government and actual administration. We've seen this in Canada, and our recent election when we switched to the Conservatives. Stephen Harper, ran his campagin slightly to the right- but is governing to the political left. Credit to him; he's actually trying to keep a few promises.
-concernedcdn
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BenoitCtr
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Re: MAKING GOVERNMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THEIR PROMISES
June 30, 2006 - 07:15 AM
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concernedcnd,
You wrote:
"Stephen Harper, ran his campagin slightly to the right- but is governing to the political left."Could you explain further what you mean in terms of right and left and how it applies to your statement in that regard from the Harper government.
You followed with:
"Credit to him; he's actually trying to keep a few promises."
Dont they all? But then could you specify?
Regarding the question of this thread, I suggest that democracy and capitalism are faced with the responsability to deliver the model of such basic desire as to see promises fulfilled.
Such promises should be connected to the daily grind of the population through home, school, work and leisure time.
In other words, governing in a democracy begins by the self-governing of each citizen.
This way, decision making would not need to depend on cycles of pointless partisanship, struggling in the bias of theories called promises, but rather we would grow decision making as a mature people of all people.
The very thecnology we are using now to help to guide our education and contacts of the mind, is what humanity never had...until now!
Shall democracy and capitalism move to serve as its clain is all about or will we go on deceiving ourselvesl until police states replace any chance of getting there?
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e.sum
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Re: MAKING GOVERNMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THEIR PROMISES
June 30, 2006 - 11:58 AM
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concernedcdn wrote:
Reject all the choices on the ballot... Wish we had that choice- I can think of at least one time I would have used it.
If you check off all the choices in the ballot, it is a sign that you still want to participate in the voting process, but are unhappy with all the candidates!
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Anu maheshwari
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Re: MAKING GOVERNMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THEIR PROMISES
July 1, 2006 - 02:51 PM
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esum wrote:
concernedcdn wrote:
Reject all the choices on the ballot... Wish we had that choice- I can think of at least one time I would have used it.
If you check off all the choices in the ballot, it is a sign that you still want to participate in the voting process, but are unhappy with all the candidates!
For the Indians it means not havin to perforce choose the lesser evil and getting across a clear message to all the parties concerned to clear up their acts !
This post was edited on: 2006-07-01 at 02:53 PM by: anuriandima84
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Laura Steiner
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Re: MAKING GOVERNMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THEIR PROMISES
July 3, 2006 - 01:54 AM
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Benoit;
Examples of promises kept: The GST cut from 7-6%, added funding for the military, accountability, and to get tough on crime. 3 big promises kept, unlike the Liberals.
The fact that Harper has kept the promises, is a plus; it feels like we haven't had someone who did that for 13 years at the federal level. Just contrast to the Liberals; next to no promises kept while in government, and now in the role of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition-even more directionless, when in a minority situation an opposition party is supposed to be ready to govern when asked.
-concernedcdn
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BenoitCtr
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Re: MAKING GOVERNMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THEIR PROMISES
July 3, 2006 - 07:13 AM
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concernedcdn,
thank you for answering. I heard someone who worked for over 30 years as a puschaser for the Canadian government in the Privy Council say that the only difference that goes on when the Governmnet goes from one party to the other, is who the government puschases from.
Did you know that the purchase of all these military airplanes that were just annouced in last 3 weeks, were not tendered at all and went straght to the US instead of going to our own aero industry, which happens to be located in French Canada?
Apart from such an example of flagrant backroom deals of the various kind, governing Canada is to keep the pulse of the nation going without rushing and without slowing down the well being of the industries that has made of us a colony until 1982 and which has gone on using division as an excuse to keep the population from ever being involved with due knowledge of who and why command and control goes on. As long as we pay our taxes, we can be sure that governing will go on.
Personally, I grew up and lived the first 20 years of my life in the French socialistt province of Quebec and since then, I've lived in the very capitalist province of Alberta, where Prime Minister Harper is from.
My greatest concern is that the unity of Canadian citizens is left to politicians to decide and for the burreaucrats to implement, while everyone goes on paying the price to watch ourselves growng apart further and further from any human cohesion, while militarisation and police forces go on increasing as if we were heading toward a police state.
Are the Conservatives the ones who are going to "free us all" from the burden of deciding for ourselves", in the way democracy claims to provide? Are they the ones who are going to impose the martial law or implement the police state to keep us all safe from each other's liberalism?
When will we learn that left and right are both part of who we are as humans and that not competition but rather completion of one another is how we get to be united?
...continues on next post...
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BenoitCtr
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Re: MAKING GOVERNMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THEIR PROMISES
July 3, 2006 - 07:21 AM
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...continues from previous post...
When does Canada stop being a colony, indusrial, political or in any other way, and becomes a mature people of all people? If we govern ourselves well, then we do not need any promises from anyone above us all, since democracy finally would begin to be what it claims to be instead of just an ongoing smoke and mirror game of big business?
Is it not up to the people to learn where yes and no go and to stay the course on the promise, trial and errors of life itself, not politicians' promises?
Why dont the parties learn to work together at the grassroot level of neighbouhood implementation, in between elections?
Ideas can now travel at the speed of thought. Why are politicians maintaining our participation to the little x on the ballot every 4 to 5 years, as if democracy had not learned to evolve and to adapt since it began; before the inventions of radio, telephone and now, the Internet?
If governing refuses to grow up into teams that assemble our voting power from the school Trutee to the city Councillor to the Member of Provincial Legislation to the the Member of Parlaement, how do we expect civilisation and democracy to come in synch and to move justice and liberty forward?
While these questions go on unatteded with due consideration, the war machine goes on ruling our nature of ignorance and indifference, while we, the people, go on patting each other on the back, boosting our confidence in the positive thinking that all is well and if not now, it will be, somehow; just trust politicians, and in time, all will be well!!! My 48 years youth has shown me otherwise.
I've been ready for a long time to participate in the real reforms that can transcend the plight of this trans-generational state of affairs, but the market place cannot afford peace on earth...at least, not until we, the people decide so...
If not you and I in Canada, then who and where please?
This post was edited on: 2006-07-03 at 08:15 AM by: Benoit17
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Prince Charles Jiduwah
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Re: MAKING GOVERNMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THEIR PROMISES
July 12, 2006 - 09:14 PM
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I feel we the youths have a task to get done by elightening the people on the need to be aware of their rights as citizens of a nation and members of a global world. The only way we can do this through Education.
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