Growing Fears for Greek Exit of the Euro

The office of Greek President Karolos Papoulias has announced that his country will be forced to hold a second general election after the parties failed to agree on a plan to enter a coalition. Talks are currently being held in Athens to form an interim caretaker Government until the next vote likely to be held in the middle of next month.

Fears are growing across the Euro zone that the Greeks will be forced out of the euro following the increasing lack of stability in their political class. There is also an expectation that it will be the extreme-left parties that will benefit most from the forthcoming elections following 5 years of harsh austerity and rising unemployment. . These parties have to various degrees been threatening to undermine the austerity model imposed by the EU and IMF under the terms of the country's bail outs. The election of such leaders and subsequent disputes with the EU could likely precipitate a withdrawal of Greece from the Euro.

American Politics and the Word Rhetoric

The word rhetoric is one which I had never encountered in my life up until I first began to take a deep interest in American politics just over four years ago yet one cannot have a serious discussion about the role of the media in American politics without using it. At the time of writing this, Tuesday March 6th2012, the possible Republican presidential candidates are preparing for the most hyped night of their race for the nomination so far. From where I am in France watching the major news outlets in America covering the race is has it has always been fascinating.

While I have already covered this topic in an earlier post I feel like the time is right to re-visit this issue given the historically low approval ratings of the American people in their congress and the hype surrounding the Republican race at least in the news media, if not in the general public.

Hopes for Democracy in China

Wukan, China- 12,000 citizens are expected to vote

The small agricultural village of Wukan, Guangdong is the scene of something seldom witnessed in China today democratic elections. Elections have been held for decades all over China at local levels but they have seldomly been as hotly contested as those taking place today. This is due to recent rare reforms by the ruling authoriatrian Communist Party who have allotted greater powers to the local village leadership councils in the face of growing civil unrest.

Many village residents are furious due to to perceived illegal seizures of agricultural land and Premier Wen Jiabao has told his people that they will vow to give local residents greater protection against rural land seizures, pointing to its failings in this regard in the past.

The Republican Presidential Problem

Mitt Romney 

While I am not American I tend to follow political events in the worlds most powerful nation with interest as a citizen of an increasingly globalized world. As always I try to keep Junction News a non bias outlet but it appears to me and indeed even several conservative pundits such as Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh (as summarised by  Ann Coulter that the Republican party's most likely candidate (in my opinion) Mitt Romney has serious issues to overcome if he is to become the next president of the united states.

Few can remember a contest as fluid as the current war between the 4 remaining potential Republican nominees. While Romney has always been touted by many as the eventual nominee the popularity of the other nominees is constantly changing.  Michelle Bachmann, an early favourite among the ultra conservative tea party movement bowed out after a crushing defeat in the first in the nation caucuses in Iowa.  Hermain Cain also found himself riding high in the polls but was forced to end his run without having ever faced the public, following a number of claims he had  been unfaithful to his wife.

Junction News: Starvation in Africa: An all too Common Tale

 The site's most popular story and undoubtedly one of its most tragic. Originally posted on the 24th of July last it details the world's continuous lack of assistance to its most vulnerable people.

Today  I read a shocking report on the current situation of food shortages in the central African nation of Niger.  Here hunger is threatening up to eight million people in the nation, half of its roughly 16 million population. The nation is in dire need of rainfall after drought has destroyed the lifestock of the largely nomadic country. The great hunger also threatens 2 million people in areas of the neighbouring countries of Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and northern Nigeria.

The UN World Food Programme says it only has half of the $213 million people it claims it needs to up the distribution of emergency food aid. Response to the crisis has so far been quite slow. The reason given for this is both obvious and devastating.

Opinion: AV vote in Britain

Perhaps in my old (20) age I am becoming a little bit overly nationalistic as I've noticed that my last two strongly opinion driven pieces have been  tinged with a somewhat anti-British sentiment. I am in no way anti-British or indeed any nation in the world so if any of you feel this way I would like to open this piece with an apology.

However, the media's treatment of tomorrow's AV referendum has me somewhat baffled. For those of you not in the know about UK politics the country will go to the polls today to decide whether to keep the country's current first past the post electoral voting system or to adopt the Alternative Voting System. These will be explained after the page break.

The Death of Osama Bin Laden

Obama watches real time footage of the attack

The internet and media outlets will no doubt be abuzz with the aftermath of the death of Osama Bin Laden for the coming weeks and months. His killing on the night of Sunday the 1st of May in Abbottabad has been welcomed by massive celebrations at the site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and by public representatives of all political denominations across the world. 

The death raises a number of questions. Firstly, there will be retaliation from Al Qaeda, it is a question of when, not if. It is up to security forces to foil attempts as successfully as they have many times in the past. Osama Bin Laden has undoubtedly become a martyr for the cause of Islamic Fundamentalism and indeed for many he had become a spiritual figurehead for many extremists in the Church. The second question is a little more complex.

Reform in Cuba as Castro Steps Down?

Fidel Castro

Around the world there are few leaders as well known as Fidel Castro. The leader of the small Communist nation of Cuba has been a key figure in International Politics for decades, owing to his conflicts with US presidents and close ties with other Communist or Socialist regimes.  He has been awarded the" Golden Medal and the First Class Order of the National Flag" by everyone's favourite North Korean dictatorship in 2006 while in 1962 he was excommunicated from the Catholic Church by the then Pope John XXIII. These are just two of the many dubious accolades attained by Mr Castro in his long career spanning over 4 decades. However, in what had been suspected for months even years, he officially announced his resignation yesterday as leader of his country's Communist Party.

Political analysts are now pondering what ths may mean for the country. Perhaps the face at the top, Castro's brother Raul may not look so different but his policies do show the beginnings of a possibly bigger change for the small nation.  The country is currently suffering economically and those with the power in Cuba are fully aware of this. Just this past Monday a raft of legislation was introduced in order to aid the suffering of ordinary Cubans.

Election Time

As an ardent follower of politics, whether Irish or international I have been following the current general election in my country with significant interest. Billed as the most important election since the foundation of this state it is hard to argue with the analysts predictions that this is going to mark a monumental change in the face of Irish politics. 

As I sit writing this only 7 of the 165 seats up for grabs in the parliament have been filled.  Since the foundation of the Irish state the largest party in the country has been the centrist Fianna Fáil party with the largest opposition being Finne Gael who have experienced terms of Government in coalition with the State's third largest Labour Party. However, owing to Ireland's well publicised Economic Meltdown Fianna Fáil has seen its share of the vote decimated with a projected seat count of just 17, less than a third of the 70 they had in the last Dáil (Parliament). This meltdown in the party's seat count has lead to a surge in support for almost every other party out there. 

The Arizona Immigration Debate

All over America people have argued the legality of the proposed Arizona immigration bill, parts of which have come into effect today. Just yesterday the Obama administration won a key victory when parts of the bill were deemed unconstitutional  by District Judge Sarah Bolton. The moved has angered many republicans in the border state which suffers greatly from the immigration crisis.

The Governor of the State Jan Brewer is planning to appeal the decision of the judge and it looks likely the bill will be taken to the supreme court. Many other states across America were considering enacting similar laws and now it seems there pans may have hit a roadblock.

The Loosening Grip of the Catholic Church

Today marked the publication of the Catholic Church's newest legislation in the fight against its ongoing fight with child sex abuse amongst the clergy. This story made headline news in Ireland, a country that has been rocked by the abuse scandal more than most

Let me explain something about the Church and the nation of Ireland. the Church has been the greatest political influence on this country from its creation in 1992 up until very recently. At the foundation of the State the church  was in charge of most of the country's hospitals and education facilities (it remains in a majority today). It also lead to the banning of pornography, contraception and up until the 1970's had a "special position" in the very Constitution of Ireland. Indeed, up until the child sex abuse scandal broke (originally about 5 years ago) the idea of being an ethnically Irish person who questioned Catholic teaching was bizarre and even admonished by elderly people. now dissent rings out from many corners against the Church and the pain of abuse victims is strewn across every newspaper.

Ban on Burqa in France?

Today the French Government began a debate on the banning of Muslim-garments which cover a woman's face or  body. Such garments include the Burqa, which covers a woman's entire body and face and the niqab, which covers the face and neck. The vote in the French Parliament was called after the French Council of Ministers approved the measure in May.


This is only one step in a process that has been taking place over the course of the past year when a group of lawmakers recommended the ban and in May they passed a non-binding resolution which noted the full face veil was entirely contrary to the French Constitution.

Pointless Presidency

Today will mark the ascension to power of  the next routinely elected Polish after the death of the country's last President in a plane crash on April 10th last. The winner with 95 percent of the votes counted is expected to be Bronislaw Komorowski,  the man who has acted as interim President for the past couple of months.
While reading the story it got me wondering about the nature of Presidency in some countries. The role of the Irish President and Polish President are similar in nature. There duty is to act as a representative of the State abroad but both importantly have the power to veto certain laws they find to be unconstitutional pending supreme court review. However, while this seems significant in the 13 years that our President Mary Mc Aleese has been in power she has done this just once. No Irish president has ever dissolved Government. It begs the question, what is the point?

Somali Separatist Ambitions.

In my daily scour of the internet for international news a story that really caught my eye was the recent elections in the self Governing Somalian province of Somaliland.

Voters all over the province headed to the polls on Saturday to democratically elect their new President. Over 1 million citizens were on the electoral register in the region of more than 3.5 million. The elections were marred by security threats from the Al Qaeda inspired Shebab group which has been responsable for major troubles in the rest of the country over the past few years.

The G20 Guide

In the past few days the G-20 summit has been taking place in Toronto, Canada. It is a meeting of the Finance Ministers and central bank Governors of 19 prominent world Economies plus the EU. Of course many heads of State also attend the Summit which has grown is status significantly in the past few years.They have been held bi-annually. However, 2011 they are scheduled to be convened on an annual basis. The next meeting of the group will take place in South Korea in November. The first meeting of the group took place in 1999. Although some members such as the UK, France and Italy are represented as part of the EU contingent they do also send their own contingents to the meetings.

You got News in my Opinion

There are many things about America that perplex me entirely. One, is how it matters hugely how much of a God fearing man a President is. I can safely declare now that if our own Prime Minister was to proclaim " God bless you and God bless Ireland", he would most certainly be laughed at by all of those listening to his speech.

Second, how the largest economy in the world has only recently passed any form of universal healthcare is completely beyond the imagination of those of us in Ireland and the UK at least. The fact it has constantly faced controversy is even more unimaginable.However, as someone with a mild interest in journalism the state of journalism in America is totally shocking for me.

Women in Politics

One of the major current international stories is the resignation of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. The resignation seemed to come as a shock to all. Indeed, anyone in a failing European economy is likely to be aware of the mass emigration to the supposed greener pastures of Australia. And while the country has of course not been immune from the recession the economy is unlikely to continue to suffer for as long as its European counterparts.

But the fact remains, after a number of notable U-turns particularly on climate change, Welsh born Julia Gillard has emerged as the Labor Party's new leader after the party voted to oust their Prime Minister of 3 years. It appears to have been a good decision. Gillard is clear favourite in the polls to keep her position at the time of the country's next general election. It would make her one of the few female leaders of Goverment in our world. So I thought for today's post Id take a look at the role of women in politics worldwide and why so few of them rise to the highest echelon in their chosen careers.

Eritrea:Forgotten World

Foreign Policy, a prominent US magazine, has published a list of its 23 most tyrannical dictators in ranked order. The list is an eye opening one, perhaps shining a light on the ignorance of myself in the sheer number of dictators still in power across the world. While I don't much approve of ranking the inherent evilness of people like Kim-Jung Il and Robert Mugabe and the obvious blurring of the definition of dictator in the article, I have to say it has given me some food for thought.

Perhaps like I said it is just my ignorance but this list has made me wonder how and why certain countries gain prominence in the media while others fail to do so. For example, number one on this list is Kim Jong Il undoubtedly a tyrant who has crippled his country's economy and subjected his people to years of famine and his most irrational behavior and threat of developing nuclear arms surely make his behaviour newsworthy, which also accounts for the inclusion of the Iranian leader (his Israeli hatred the icing on the cake in America).

Irish Politics in Mildly Interesting Shocker!

The first thing I do whenever I meet with my brother is discuss whatever is happening in the world. I had been away for a full week without a hint of news. Where I was staying was internet-less and Tv-less so i was hoping to be caught up with all the goings on in Gaza or if BP had fixed the leak. Imagine my shock and horror then, when it was the name of our very own dear nation that escaped from his lips.

Because let me explain just a little bit about the political system of this small island nation. We of course are a Republic and we use a Proportional representation system which has lead to a coalition being in power every year of my living memory. And it has been the will of the people of this nation in its 90 odd year history to make the centrist Fianna Fail Party the states largest since 1932. The states second largest party is Fine Gael and equally centrist party that has only formed part of 3 Governments since its inception in 1933.