Posts by yudhvir

South Africans awoke this morning to incredibly disturbing pictures reminiscent of the dark days of apartheid brutality. The xenophobic attacks has reached a crisis point as 12 immigrants have been killed so far.

In a country supposedly proud of its democratic system and with a constitution built on the respect of human rights, little has been done to stem the violence. It seems that history has not taught us much, if burning people alive is the way to deal with an immigrant problem. More worryingly, further negligence on the abuses in Zimbabwe by the South African government gets one asking whether we are heading down a slippery slope.

"For the first time in Bolivian history, the people will not only have
the right to choose but also to decide if the authorities are failing
them,"

Its not often we hear these words from politicians (take note Mr Mugabe) about the their own performance. But it seems that Bolivia's ruling party is living up to this stange concept called "accountability" and holding a referendum on whether regional governments should stay in power. Full story here

Another interesting read on the Bolivia's situation since the socialist re-revolution details the ups and downs of Morales' term thus far.

When the sun rose on Zimbabwe this morning, the festivities and celebrations by all Zimbabweans should have started with grand splendour as the country marked its 28th year of independence from colonialism. Economic growth and cultural diversity should have been boasted about as Zimbabwe headed into its third decade of independence as an African economic powerhouse and democratic model for the rest of the continent.

As we, your trusted democracy bloggers, scour the internet for democracy related articles/news/ stories etc, we often come across pieces of text/video/ multimedia that keep us amused and inspired.
One video that has got a fair amount of attention (and well worth listening to) is a speech made by US Senator, Barack Obama on race issues in America.

Another (less serious) find is a website dedicated to democracy games. In a simple and fun way, issues surrounding citizenship and responsibility are explored in games such as “Councillor Quest II” and “Captain Campaign”. Enjoy!

The global success of the Why Democracy? broadcasting event in October 2007 has spurred on the next exciting stage of the project. By utilising the films as an innovative learning tool in secondary and tertiary institutions, the Why Democracy? project is working on an outreach programme in which the films can be used to stimulate a discussion about democracy among critically-minded students. We are also reaching out to NGOs and trying to establish a network of organisations and a series of seminars in which the films can be shown and discussed.

Watch this space for further details.

Recent global events have demonstrated that the topics dealt with in the Why Democracy? Films have a tendency to occupy news headlines around the world.

A recent example is an audio message supposedly made by Osama Bin Laden threatening the EU over the re-printing of the Prophet Muhammad cartoons in all major Danish newspapers.

In another story, a rare letter from a Guantanamo Bay detainee has been published outlining the harsh conditions suffered by terrorist suspects. Alex Gibney's Taxi To The Dark Side may have shed some light on the treatment of detainees, but this treatment continues to dismantle any attempt at a global human rights framework.

Is Democracy Good For Everyone?

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Since today sees an end to our 10 questions feature, it is only fitting that we end with a question that is at the heart of this project. Over the last few months, the Democracy House has been attempting to start a global debate about democracy. Our efforts have not been in vain as our forums have had constant activity. Our channels on YouTube, MySpace, Facebook and Flickr have had substantial interaction making the Why Democracy? project a resounding success.

Through these various discussions, the question of the day has been answered many times and on a number of levels. We have ultimately left it up to our readers to discuss whether democracy is indeed good for everyone. The answer after reading hundreds of contributions? Undecided!

With regard to the question of the day, one group of worthy candidates has to be The Elders.

Their website states that "out of deep concern for the challenges currently facing all of the people of our world, Nelson
Mandela, Graça Machel and Desmond Tutu have convened a group of leaders to contribute
their wisdom, independent leadership and integrity to tackling some of the world's toughest
problems."

Some of the leaders include Jimmy Carter, Li Zhaoxing, Kofi Annan and Muhammad Yunus.

Who would you vote for as the president of the world?
I don’t think it’s realistic to think about. I can't imagine there would be a global president, but if I would have to choose, if I had to vote, it might be the United Nations High Commission of the human rights reservoir, the former chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

We asked all sorts of people -- authors, athletes, movie stars, politicians, thinkers, workers, dreamers -- ten tough questions about democracy. We will publish many of the answers on this page, with new ones every day. Be sure to tell us what you think in the forums.

See today also:
10 Questions: Mário Soares - Former President of the Portugese Republic 1986-1996
10 Questions: Adil Tiscatti - Santa Teresa Cinema Founder (Brazil)
10 Questions: Jaakko Jakkila - Unemployed (Finland)

How could anyone ever choose a President of the World? With diverse cultures and societies, surely there cannot be one person that could govern the entire globe. Instead, today's question tries to get you thinking about entities or corporations that control international trends. International financial institutions have long been thought to guide capital markets and assist developing countries. But their reputation has been tarnished badly over the last decade leading to the question of what could or who could rule the world. The Democracy House has been a running a poll over the last few weeks for today's question. Cast your vote for the candidates our readers have chosen.

Today's feature film is the award-winning Please Vote For Me. Despite being set in a third grade class, the film provides a microcosm of the way politics operates all over the world.