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POPSImportant World Event! Please Consider Watching, Thanks. Argentina's Economic Collapse Documentary on the events that led to the economic collapse of Argentina in 2001 which wiped out the middle class and raised the level of poverty to 57.5%. Central to the collapse was the implementation of neo-liberal policies which enabled the swindle of billions of dollars by foreign banks and corporations. Many of Argentina's assets and resources were shamefully plundered. Its financial system was even used for money laundering by Citibank, Credit Suisse, and JP Morgan. The net result was massive wealth transfers and the impoverishment of society which culminated in many deaths due to oppression and malnutrition.
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POPSToleranz - Komplexe politische Konflikte lassen sich nicht mit der Dominanz der Mehrheit entscheiden
Diese demokratische Respekt-Konzeption beschreibt Forst, der zu der jüngeren Generation der "Frankfurter Schule" zählt und einer der Sprecher des Exzellenz-Clusters "Herausbildung normativer Ordnungen" ist : "Dabei ist die Toleranz eine Haltung der Bürger zueinander: Sie sind zugleich Tolerierende und Tolerierte, und zwar als dem Recht zugleich Unterworfene und es Autorisierende. Obwohl sie in ihren Vorstellungen über das Gute und das Seligmachende deutlich voneinander abweichen, erkennen sie einander einen Status als gleichberechtigte Bürger zu, der besagt, dass die allen gemeinsame Grundstruktur des politischen und sozialen Lebens allein auf solchen Normen beruhen darf, die alle Bürger gleichermaßen akzeptieren können. Autorität, Freiheiten zu verleihen, liegt nicht bei einem Machtzentrum, sondern in einem Prozess der Legitimation, der bestimmte Grundrechte nicht verletzen darf und in Grundsatzfragen ein besonderes Rechtfertigungsniveau vorsieht."
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POPSIslam and Secularism Volkhard Krech, professor for religious studies , has come to the conclusion that some religious traditions, such as Judaism and Protestantism, represent "secularization factors." Other faiths, such as Islam and evangelical churches have a tendency to combine a strong sense of both national and religious identity, mixing politics with religion. The Berlin Islamic scholar Gudrun Krämer made clear that a "massive rejection" of secularism prevails in most Muslim countries. In Islamic discourse, secularization is regarded as a "hostile takeover" of Muslim society. Instead of the notion of the separation of religion and state, the idea of "empowerment" is stressed. Islam calls for believers to actively participate in the power structures of the state. As a mixture of nationalism and Islamism, the so-called "national Jihad" is pushing its way into the political arena and has given birth to the notion of the "Islamic welfare state."
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POPSOlivier Roy: Europe's difficulties with its Muslims a subject of oversimplification Olivier Roy is one of the most renowned experts on political Islam. In this interview with Michael Hesse, he talks about religious fundamentalism, Islam in Europe, and explains why the Muslim middle classes in the West ought to be recognized as a western faith community, not as an alien culture: the modern brands of fundamentalism (wahhabism, but also protestant evangelicalism) are not the product of traditional cultures, but on the contrary the product of a crisis of traditional cultures, the product of deculturation and globalization. Religious tensions are linked with the crisis of traditional cultures, and are not their expression. Deutsche Fassung: Interview mit Olivier Roy - "Radikale Muslime sind verwestlicht"
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POPSJeff Zervas: Maternal Galactic Government How about a Planet Earth Governing Body? Or a Solar System one. Or a Milky Way government? Or something bigger and better? We could call it the Universal Galactic Government. The possibilities, and everything else, are limitless. Every creature, great and small, the young as well as the old, Earthlings, Martians, and Plutonians would be suckled and shielded from cradle to grave. Even Cassiopeians, and those witless, though straight shooting, Sagittarians. No creature would ever have to work or find food, seek shelter, look both ways when crossing the stars, or even think. All our needs, wants, and desires would be effortlessly provided for. Milk chocolate bon-bons would outnumber the stars! No one would have to grow up and take care of himself! We would, one and all, be nurtured and protected by the great galactic government. Universal Galactic Government. UGG.
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POPSMarch of Democracy - Government by the People across History - 4,000 years in 90 seconds [FLASH] This is simplification as usual: "The Republic of Rome - First Democratic World Power"; Manifest Destiny as an expansion of democracy. Which people ruled? Which peoples were oppressed by that people? Can anybody glorify a political system as democratic when peoples are oppressed by it? Can a world power be democratic at all? What, for instance, about the "democratic" attitude of the United Kingdom when the queen/king was Empress/Emperor of India? Which is the value of democracy if the demos fancies themselves the chosen people to subjugate and to prey other peoples? Conclusion: Democracy is not enough. There must be cosmopolitan morality to make it a valuable political system.
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POPSBoys Treat Girls Like People: Thanks to Feminism Masculine stereotypes still do all kinds of harm to men and women and girls and boys alike, and there's a good argument to be made for the idea that men are much further behind women when it comes to embracing feminist ideals. But feminism has had some successes, and it's been good for all involved -- this is just one example of that. There's still a long way to go, but hopefully studies like this will serve as reminders of who actually has the interests of human beings in mind, and who is solely dedicated to a dogma that doesn't fit into most peoples' realities or ideals.
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POPSThe scourge of global neoliberalism and the need to reclaim democracy With power loosened from traditional modes of politics, public policy has been hijacked by global corporate elites and the state has been forced to abandon its comprehensive social welfare agenda in order to cater to the needs of the plutocrats. Wedded to the belief that the market should be the organizing principle for all political, social, and economic decisions, neoliberalism wages an incessant attack on democracy, public institutions, and non-commodified values. Privatization, deregulation, commercialization, and cuts in social spending rule the day and the prevailing mentality is that everything is for sale and what is not has no value as a public good or practice.
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POPSHijab is a personal choice not state law in Turkey In the early eighties, Iran imposed the hijab on its female citizens, while Syria banned it from schools during the same period. Syria gradually came to terms with the hijab, as the number of Syrian women who chose to wear it increased drastically during the nineties. The hijab is enforced today in Iran and Saudi Arabia, and banned in Tunisia . France banned the hijab in 2004, and far right politicians and pundits are calling for similar bans in other European countries . The Turkish parliament passed a constitutional amendment that practically repealed early constitutional provisions that allowed the Turkish government to ban the hijab from government buildings, universities, and schools. Although the lifting of the ban is not in force yet, the confrontation over this issue with secularists who control the military and the courts has already started. Secularist Turks are up in arms, protesting the new amendment .
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POPS"Don't worry", "keep cool", "life's a party", "have fun", "make love" - die Spaßsprachgesellschaft
Vergleich der Gegenwartssprache mit dem „Neusprech“ aus George Orwells Roman „1984“: der Sprachgebrauch in den Medien würde auf das Denken der mündigen Bürger zurückfallen und Urteils- sowie Kritikfähigkeit in einem beängstigenden Maße zurückstutzen. Der Spaß prägt in Deutschland heute die Umgangssprache und den verfügbaren Wortschatz der Jugendlichen. Was als grenzenlose Freiheit postuliert wird, läuft in der massenmedialen Welt des regierenden Marktes auf eine Einkerkerung und Verkümmerung selbständigen Denkens und Handelns hinaus. Zuerst und am deutlichsten drückt sich dieser Fakt in der Sprache aus, welche Gedanken formt und Handlungen folgen läßt. „Spaß haben“, „Party machen“, „Fun and Action haben“, „Relaxen“, „Chillen“ . War die 68er-Revolte noch hoch politisch, so ist der Nachwuchs von heute kaum noch in der Lage, auch nur einen vollständigen sachlichen Satz zu seiner politischen Meinung zu äußern. (Frank Fehlberg, a.a.O.)
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