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Tajikistan

2009-12-10T21:59:03Z

Kjill74: additional information

{{Country
|name =''Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон Jumhurii Tojikiston''
|map =Tajikistan rel01.jpg
|map2 =Tajikistan location.png
|flag =Flag of Tajikistan.png
|arms =Arms of Tajikistan.png
|capital =Dushanbe
|capital-raw =
|government =Unitary presidential republic
|government-raw =
|language =Tajik
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Emomalii Rahmon
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =Oqil Oqilov
|pm-raw =
|area =55,251 sq mi
|pop =7,345,100
|pop-basis =2008
|gdp =$4.788 billion
|gdp-year =2008
|gdp-pc =$561
|currency =Somoni
|idd =
|tld =
}}
The '''Republic of Tajikistan''' is a former member of the [[Soviet Union]] located in in [[Central Asia]]. Its capital is Dushanbe.

==Geography==
At 36'40' northern latitude and 41'14' eastern longitude, Tajikistan is nestled between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to the north and west, China to the east, and Afghanistan to the south. Tajikistan is home to some of the highest mountains in the world, including the Pamir and Alay ranges. Ninety-three percent of Tajikistan is mountainous with altitudes ranging from 1,000 feet to 27,000 feet, with nearly 50% of Tajikistan's territory above 10,000 feet. Earthquakes are of varying degrees and are frequent. The massive mountain ranges are cut by hundreds of canyons and gorges; at the bottom of these run streams which flow into larger river valleys where the majority of the country's population lives and works. The principal rivers of Central Asia, the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, both flow through Tajikistan, fed by melting snow from mountains of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Flooding and landslides sometimes occur during the annual spring thaw.
*Area: 55,251 sq mi; 143,100 sq. km.
*Capital: Dushanbe.
*Terrain: Pamir and Alay mountains dominate landscape; western Ferghana valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest.
*Climate: Mid-latitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir mountains.

==People==
Contemporary Tajiks are the descendants of ancient Eastern Iranian inhabitants of Central Asia, in particular the Soghdians and the Bactrians, and possibly other groups, with an admixture of western Iranian Persians and non-Iranian peoples, Mongols, and Turkic peoples. Until the 20th century, people in the region used two types of distinction to identify themselves: way of life--either nomadic or sedentary--and place of residence. By the late 19th century, the Tajik and Uzbek peoples had lived in proximity for centuries and often used--and continue to use--each other's languages. The division of Central Asia into five Soviet Republics in the 1920s imposed artificial divisions on a region in which many different peoples lived intermixed.
*Population (Oct. 2008 est.): 7,345,100
*Population growth rate (2008 est.): 2.3%
*Ethnic groups: Tajik 67%, Uzbek 23%, Russian 3.5%, other 6.5%.
*Religion (2003 est.): Sunni Muslim 85%, Shi'a Muslim 5%, other 10%.
*Language: Tajik (sole official language as of 1994); Russian widely used in government and business; 77% of the country, however, is rural and they speak mostly Tajik.
*Education: Literacy (according to Tajikistan official statistics, 2003)--88%. The Tajik education system has suffered greatly since independence.
*Health: Life expectancy--61.68 years men; 67.59 years women. Infant mortality rate--110.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.).
*Work force (2003 est.): 3.301 million.

==Government and Political Conditions==
The Republic of Tajikistan gained its independence during the breakup of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) on September 9, 1991 and promptly fell into a civil war. From 1992 to 1997 internal fighting ensued between old-guard regionally based ruling elites and disenfranchised regions, democratic liberal reformists, and Islamists loosely organized in a United Tajik Opposition (UTO). Other combatants and armed bands that flourished in this civil chaos simply reflected the breakdown of central authority rather than loyalty to a political faction. The height of hostilities occurred between 1992 and 1993. By 1997, the predominantly Kulyabi-led Tajik Government and the UTO successfully negotiated a power-sharing peace accord and implemented it by 2000.

The last Russian border guards protecting Tajikistan's 1,400 km border with Afghanistan completed their withdrawal in July 2005. Russia maintains its military presence in Tajikistan with the basing of the Russian 201st Motorized Rifle Division that never left Tajikistan when it became independent. Most of these Russian-led forces, however, are local Tajik noncommissioned officers and soldiers.

Tajikistan's most recent presidential election in 2006 and its 2005 parliamentary elections were considered to be flawed and unfair but peaceful. While the government and the now-incorporated former opposition continue to distrust each other, they have often found a way to work with each other and are committed to peacefully resolving their differences. In June 2003, Tajikistan held a flawed referendum to enact a package of constitutional changes, including a provision to allow President Rahmon the possibility of re-election to up to two additional 7-year terms after his term expired in 2006. The February 2005 parliamentary elections, in which the ruling party secured 49 of the 63 seats, failed to meet many key Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) standards on democratic elections, but there were some improvements over previous elections.

After the November 6, 2006 presidential election in which President Rahmon secured a new 7-year term in office, the OSCE determined that democratic practices were not fully tested "due to the absence of genuine competition, which provided voters with only nominal choice." There were four other candidates on the ballot but no strong opposition candidate. The strongest opposition party, the IRPT, decided not to field a candidate and two other parties (the DPT and SDPT) boycotted the election.

Afghanistan continues to represent the primary security concern in Tajikistan's immediate neighborhood, although much less so than in earlier years. With the ouster of the former Taliban government from Afghanistan, Tajikistan now has much friendlier relations with its neighbor to the south. The Taliban-allied Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), a U.S. Government-declared terrorist organization formerly active in Afghanistan and Tajikistan, has also been greatly diminished as a threat to Tajikistan's domestic stability. Rampant illicit trafficking of Afghan opium and heroin through Tajikistan remains a serious long-term threat to Tajikistan's stability and development, fostering corruption, violent crime, HIV/AIDS, unstable marketing, and economic distortions.

===Principal Government Officials===
*President--Emomali Rahmon
*Prime Minister--Oqil Oqilov
*Foreign Minister--Khamrokhon Zarifi
*Ambassador to the United States--Abdujabbor Shirinov
*Permanent Representative to the United Nations--Sirojiddin Aslov

===Foreign Relations===
With the ouster of the former Taliban government from Afghanistan, Tajikistan now has much friendlier relations with its neighbor to the south. Though a pull-out of Russian border guards was completed in July 2005, Tajikistan continues to permit basing of the Russian 201st Motorized Rifle Division that never left Tajikistan when it became independent.

==Economy==
Tajikistan is the poorest Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) country and one of the poorest countries in the world. With foreign revenue precariously dependent upon exports of cotton and aluminum, the economy is highly vulnerable to external shocks. In FY 2000, international assistance remained an essential source of support for rehabilitation programs that reintegrated former civil war combatants into the civilian economy, thus helping keep the peace. International assistance also was necessary to address the second year of severe drought that resulted in a continued shortfall of food production.

Despite resistance from vested interests, the Government of Tajikistan continued to pursue macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform in FY 2000. In December 1999, the government announced that small-enterprise privatization had been successfully completed, and the privatization of medium-sized and large state-owned enterprises (SOEs) continued incrementally. The continued privatization of medium-sized and large SOEs, land reform, and banking reform and restructuring remain top priorities. Shortly after the end of FY 2000, the Board of the International Monetary Fund gave its vote of confidence to the government's recent performance by approving the third annual Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility Loan for Tajikistan. Improved fiscal discipline by the Government of Tajikistan has supported the return to positive economic growth. The government budget was nearly in balance in 2001 and the government's 2002 budget targeted a fiscal deficit of 0.3% of GDP, including recent increases in social sector spending.
*GDP nominal (2008 est.): $4.788 billion.
*GDP nominal per capita (2008): U.S. $561. Purchasing power parity is about $1,800.
*GDP real growth rate (2005 est.): 6.7%.
*Inflation rate (consumer prices, 2006 est.): 7.5%.
*Natural resources: Hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, gold, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten.
*Official unemployment rate (2003): 2.1%. The official rate is estimated based on the number of registered unemployment benefit recipients; under employment also is very high, approximately 40% of the workforce; 60% live under the poverty line (2004).
*Agriculture: Products--cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats.
*Industry: Types--aluminum, zinc, lead, radon, chemicals and fertilizers, cement, vegetable oil, textiles, metal-cutting machine tools, refrigerators and freezers.
*Trade: Exports (2006 est.)--$1.16 billion f.o.b.: aluminum (49%), electricity (23%), cotton (12%), gold, fruits like pummelos, vegetable oil, textiles. Partners (2005)--Netherlands 46.6%, Turkey 15.8%, Russia 9.1%, Uzbekistan 7.3%, Latvia 4.9%, Iran 4%. Imports (2006 est.)--$1.513 billion f.o.b.: electricity, petroleum products, aluminum oxide, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs. Partners (2005)--Russia 19.3%, Kazakhstan 12.7%, Uzbekistan 11.5%, Azerbaijan 8.6%, China 7%, Ukraine 6.2%, Romania 4.6%, Turkmenistan 4%.
*Total external debt (2005 est.): $1.09 billion; total bilateral external debt--$509 million, of which Uzbekistan $94 million, U.S. $18.2 million, Turkey $26 million, Kazakhstan $19 million, Pakistan $16 million; total multilateral debt (2000)--$365 million, of which World Bank $153 million, IMF $113 million, ADB $19 million.
Debt/GDP ratio (2005): 46.7%.

==History==
The current Tajik Republic hearkens back to the Samanid Empire (A.D. 875-999), which ruled what is now Tajikistan as well as territory to the south and west, as their role model and name for their currency. During their reign, the Samanids supported the revival of the written Persian language in the wake of the Arab Islamic conquest in the early 8th century and played an important role in preserving the culture of the pre-Islamic Persian-speaking world. They were the last Persian-speaking empire to rule Central Asia.

After a series of attacks beginning in the 1860s during the "Great Game" between the British Empire and the Russian Empire for supremacy in Central Asia, the Tajik people came under Russian rule. This rule waned briefly after the Russian Revolution of 1917 as the Bolsheviks consolidated their power and were embroiled in a civil war in other regions of the former Russian Empire. As the Bolsheviks attempted to regain Central Asia in the 1920s, an indigenous Central Asian resistance movement based in the Ferghana Valley, the "Basmachi movement," attempted to resist but was eventually defeated in 1925. Tajikistan became fully established under Soviet control with the creation of Tajikistan as an autonomous Soviet socialist republic within Uzbekistan in 1924, and as one of the independent Soviet socialist republics in 1929.

{{Copyright Details (US Government)}}

Source = [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5775.htm]

[[Category:Asian Countries]]
[[Category:Former Soviet Countries]]
[[Category:Landlocked Countries]]
[[Category:Muslim-Majority Countries]]

Hillary Rodham Clinton

2009-12-10T21:52:47Z

Kjill74: spelling error

{{Infobox person
|image=Hillary-6.jpg
|office=United States Secretary
|country=State
|term_start=January 21, 2009
|term_end=Present
|party=[[Democrat]]
|previous=Condoleezza Rice
|next=
|birth_date=October 26, 1947
|birth_place=Chicago, Illinois
|spouse=[[Bill Clinton]]
|religion=[[United Methodist Church]]
}}

'''Hillary Rodham Clinton''' (b. 1947) is the [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State of the United States]]. From 2001 to 2008 she was [[United States Senate|Senator]] from [[New York]], and from 1993 to 2001 was [[First Lady]] of the United States while her husband [[Bill Clinton]] was president.

In 2000, Clinton ran for the New York Senate seat vacated by the [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] Senator [[Daniel Patrick Moynihan]]. Backed by the White House, she obtained the Democratic nomination for this Senate seat, and then won easily against Republican Rick Lazio (who entered the race when [[Rudy Giuliani]] withdrew). She ran for the [[United States Presidential Election, 2008 - Primaries|2008 Democratic Presidential Candidacy]], winning more primaries than any woman in history. On June 7th, 2008 she conceded defeat to [[Barack Obama]] after a closely challenged campaign, although she did not release her delegates until the convention itself.

==Early Career==
==Early life==
She was born October 26, 1947, in Chicago in a middle class family. Her father Hugh Rodham operated a small business. He was born into a coal mining family in Pennsylvania, graduated from Penn State University, voted Republican and was known as a martinet. She grew up in Park Ridge, an upscale suburb of Chicago along with two older brothers. Hillary attended Maine East High School, where she was involved in many extracurricular activities, was active in the Methodist church, and worked for Republican campaigns as a Goldwater Girl. As a tenth-grader, she heard the Rev. Martin Luther King speak in person. In the eleventh grade, she was class vice-president. She attended Wellesley College, an elite woman's college near Boston and was elected class president in 1968.
===Goldwater Girl===

Speaking at [[Selma]], Alabama's First Baptist Church on the 42nd anniversary of the "bloody Sunday" freedom march Hillary Clinton declared: "As a young girl I had the great privilege of hearing [[Martin Luther King|Dr. King]] speak in Chicago. The year was 1963....[Dr. King] called on us, he challenged us that evening to stay awake during the great revolution that the [[civil rights]] pioneers were waging on behalf of a more perfect union." In her memoirs Hillary Clinton described herself in 1964 as "an active Young Republican" and "a [[Barry Goldwater|Goldwater]] girl, right down to my cowgirl outfit." Columnist [[Robert Novak]] observed, "As a politically attuned honor student, she must have known that Goldwater was one of only six Republican senators who joined [[Solid South|Southern Democratic]] [[segregation]]ists opposing the historic [[Voting Rights Act|voting rights act of 1964]] inspired by King."<ref>[http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RobertDNovak/2007/03/12/hillary,_king_and_goldwater Hillary, King and Goldwater], by Robert D. Novak, [[Townhall.com]], March 12, 2007.</ref>
===College===
Starting college as a Republican activist, she became a liberal by her senior year. During the summer of 1968, she participated (as a Republican) in Wellesley's Washington internship Program. where she worked as an intern in the office of [[Melvin Laird]], then congressman from Wisconsin, and attended the Republican convention in Miami as a [[Nelson Rockefeller]] supporter (he lost the nomination to [[Richard Nixon]]). She was the commencement speaker at her graduation from Wellesley in 1969, during which she argued forcefully against the war in Vietnam and said, "And the challenge now is to practice politics as the art of making what appears to be impossible, possible." A photo and the report of her Wellesley commencement speech were featured in ''Life Magazine''.

==Early Career==
In 1969, she attended Yale law school, where she was one of only 27 women among 235 law students. On May 7, 1970, she addressed the League of Women Voters in Washington, a sign of her growing prominence. Always active in campus politics, she ended up becoming something of a communications facilitator, as she had been at Wellesley, between potentially radical student elements and the college administration during the era of extreme student unrest in 1970. She was written up on hometown and New England newspapers, and was interviewed on Irv Kupcinet's nationally syndicated TV talk show from Chicago. That summer, she worked in Washington for Marian Wright Edelman's Washington Research Project, where she conducted research on migrant children's health and education difficulties, especially in the South. Her subsequent studies at Yale were concentrated on how the law affected children. At Yale in 1971, she met Bill Clinton, her future husband, also a law student at Yale.

She graduated from Yale Law School (JD 1973) a year later than necessary, having remained an extra year to be near Bill. As a staff attorney for the Children's Defense Fund, she specialized in children's advocacy law. She married Bill on October 11, 1975; daughter Chelsea was born in 1980.

===Arkansas===
As her husband built a political career in Arkansas as governor, she was a partner in the locally prestigious Rose Law Firm, 1976-1992. Nationally she continued her legal advocacy for children and chaired the American Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession, which played a pioneering role in raising awareness of issues like sexual harassment and equal pay.

During the 1970s and '80s, the Clintons invested in the Whitewater Development Corporation which later became the subject of a federal investigation, prosecutions and convictions. Jim and Susan McDougal, and then-Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker were convicted of multiple counts of financial fraud, even though President Clinton testified for four hours for the defense.<ref>Once upon a Time in Arkansas, [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/arkansas/docs/clintondepo.html Transcript of Clinton's Sworn Deposition], PBS.</ref>

On the evening Bill Clinton lost his bid for a Congressional seat in 1974, Hillary is reported to have cursed out a Jewish aide using nasty words. <ref>Jerry Oppenheimer, ''State of a Union: Inside the Complex Marriage of Bill and Hillary Clinton'' (2000_ cites three witnesses to the incident. </ref>

===Legal Services Corporation===
Hillary Clinton was appointed by President [[Jimmy Carter]] to head the controversial [[Legal Services Corporation]] (LSC) in 1978 and remained on the Board until 1983. <ref>[http://www.nlpc.org/view.asp?action=viewArticle&aid=225 Thwarting the Will of Congress: How the Legal Services Corporation Evaded, Diluted, and Ignored Reform], Testimony of Kenneth F. Boehm before the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, House Judiciary Committee, February 28, 2002. </ref>
Under Hillary Clinton's leadership, the LSC began moving away from its legislated task of providing poor people with free lawyers and began an [[activist]] agenda to influence [[public policy]] through [[class action lawsuit]]s. One case involved bringing lawsuits to force New York's Transit Authority to hire [[heroin]] addicts. The LSC also violated its own rules by organizing political campaigns against a state referendum and against Ronald Reagan. <ref>Michael Barone , [http://www.jewishworldreview.com/michael/barone070899.asp ''Taking Hillary seriously], ''Jewish World Review'', July 8, 1999. </ref>

Clinton failed the District of Columbia [[Bar Exam]] in the 1970s.<ref>[http://mediamatters.org/items/200706010006 On Today, Bernstein omitted key fact in purported disclosure of Clinton's D.C. bar exam failure: It's not news], ''[[MediaMatters]]'' June 1, 2007. Retrieved from MediaMatters.org October 4, 2007.</ref>

== 1992 Presidential Campaign ==

===Domestic Spying===

''The Hill'' magazine reported Hillary Clinton may have been involved in [[civil right]]s violations by monitoring [[illegal wiretap]]s and [[domestic spying]] on political opponents during the 1992 camapaign.<ref>[http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/gop-targeting-clinton-on-phone-call-snooping-2007-10-16.html GOP targeting Clinton on phone-call snooping], By Alexander Bolton, ''The Hill'', October 16, 2007.</ref> After the revelations came to light in a book entitled, ''Her Way'' [http://www.amazon.com/Her-Way-Ambitions-Hillary-Clinton/dp/0316017426] by Don Van Natta Jr., an investigative reporter at the ''[[New York Times]]'', and Jeff Gerth, who spent 30 years as an investigative reporter at the paper, a [[Republican]] official remarked,
{{Cquote|it is rather unbelievable that [Hillary] Clinton would listen in to conversations being conducted by political opponents, but refuse to allow our intelligence agencies to listen in to conversations being conducted by [[terrorist]]s as they plot and plan to kill us.<ref>[http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/gop-targeting-clinton-on-phone-call-snooping-2007-10-16.html GOP targeting Clinton on phone-call snooping], By Alexander Bolton, ''The Hill'', October 16, 2007.</ref> }}

== First Lady ==

During [[Bill Clinton]]'s presidency, Hilliary initially played an important role. Immediately after his [[inauguration]] in 1993, she led a task force to create a national health care system. The secrecy of the Task Force was at issue in court cases which resulted in disclosures to comply with the law.

Her friend [[Vincent Foster]] supervised the defense of the litigation, but died under mysterious circumstances at the height of the controversy; the death was officially ruled a suicide. The Task Force proposals lacked public support and support from the Democrats in Congress, and came to nothing but an ambarassment for the Clinton presidency.

Subsequently, the Republicans won a landslide victory in 1994, taking over both Houses of Congress.

===Health Care Task Force ===
:''Main article: [[Clinton health care plan]]''

Hillary played a central role in secretly crafting the Health Care plan, unveiled in late 1993. Democrats were divided, and conservatives counterattacked. The plan failed without a vote in Congress because Democrats could not unite. The long-term impact was an embarrassment to Hillary, especially in her 2008 presidential campaign.

===Conspiracy Theories and Enemies List===
:''Main article: [[Vast right wing conspiracy theory]]
Hillary Clinton branded attacks on the Administration as "a vast right-wing conspiracy." White House staffers made up an enemies list of persons and organizations who subsequently endured IRS audits and harassment. All of the persons harassed were found adipiscivelit. <ref>Larry Klayman, WorldNetDaily 7/9/99. [http://www.alamo-girl.com/0311.htm]</ref>

===Reaction to Monica Lewinsky scandal===
As the full extent of the scandal became known, however, Clinton forgave her husband, and the two appear to once again have a trusting, love-filled relationship. <ref>[http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/06/09/tem_monlede09.html]</ref>

==Accusations of Stolen Gifts==
When the Clintons left the White House, they were accused of taking furniture that belonged not to them, but to the White House. It was explained that the movers "inadvertently' packed the wrong items. Most of the articles were quietly returned. <ref>"Clinton Shipped Furniture Year Ago," Washington Post, February 10, 2001.</ref>

== U.S. Senate ==
Elected to the Senate in 2000 after her main Republican opponent dropped out, Clinton was a high visibility show horse. Working hard to develop a base in upstate regions, she initiated no major legislation.<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_7_54/ai_84454903 Hillary Clinton's spending of taxpayer money], ''[[National Review]], April 22, 2002.</ref>
[[Image:070917graveconcern-x.gif|right|thumb|400px]]

Since joining the Senate, Clinton has belonged to a conservative prayer group with the expressed purpose of "bringing Jesus back to Capitol Hill."<ref>http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/hillarys-prayer.html</ref> A few of her collaborators in the group include Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan) and Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa).

===FEC fined campaign for failing to accurately report $721,895 in contributions===

In January 2006 Hillary Clinton's New York Senate 2000 campaign was fined $35,000 for failing to accurately report $721,895 in contributions. <ref>[http://www.fec.gov/press/press2006/20060126mur.html Federal Elections Commission] Press Release, January 26, 2006. </ref>

===Saddam Hussein and weapons of mass destruction===

[[Hillary Clinton]] speaking on [[Saddam Hussein]]'s possession of [[Weapons of mass destruction]] said,
{{Cquote|I have to say that this is something that I have followed for a decade. If he [Saddam] were serious about disarming, he would have been much more forthcoming. There may be progress, we may be destroying his missiles, there is no accounting for the [[Weapons of mass destruction|chemical and biological stocks]].<ref>[http://www.archive.org/details/HillaryClintonsviewsongoingtowarSaddamandWMDs Hillary Clinton's views on going to war, Saddam, and WMD]</ref>}}

Hillary Clinton further described the situation after weapons inspectors we're expelled during the time when America had two in the position of presidential leadership, "for the price of one."<ref>[http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CharlesKrauthammer/2007/11/02/two_for_the_price_of_one Two For the Price of One], By Charles Krauthammer, November 2, 2007.</ref>
{{Cquote|In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his [[nuclear]] program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to [[terrorist]]s, including [[al Qaeda]] members ... It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons.<ref>[http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=6390 Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), October 10, 2002]. Retrieved from Zmag.org December 4, 2007.</ref>}}

===Failure to reform earmark process===

The noted newspaper which covers legislative affairs, ''The Hill'', reported Hillary Clinton received more [[earmark]]s for Congressional [[pork barrel]] projects than only one other United States Senator. Reforming the earmark process had been among the Democrats top priorities in the [[110th Congress]], up until the time Democrats voted to rescind the rules aimed at reform that were passed in the first 100 hours of the new Congress in January. Ethics reform and the earmark process is widely attributed as the cause why Republicans lost control of both Houses of Congress after several members had been caught up in ethical scandals. ''The Hill'' reported Sen. Clinton received 26 earmarks worth about $148.4 million total, much going to [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]] contractors. <ref>[http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/clinton-can-boast-wealth-of-earmarks-2007-06-13.html Clinton can boast wealth of earmarks], By Roxana Tiron and Ilan Wurman, ''The Hill'', June 13, 2007.</ref>

===Voted against raising the minimum wage===

After voting to send troops to Iraq Hillary Clinton voted against funding the troops in Iraq. In May of 2007 Clinton voted against raising the minimum wage. <ref>[http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_keyvote_detail.php?cs_id=12952&can_id=55463 Senate Concurrence on HR 2206] Title 8 Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, Record Vote Number 181, 05/24/2007. [http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_keyvote_member.php?cs_id=12952]</ref>

== 2008 Presidential campaign ==

===Alleged embellishment of career events===

{{quotebox|What is Mrs. Clinton doing? She is having the worst case of [[cognitive dissonance]] in the history of modern politics. She cannot come up with a credible, realistic path to the nomination. ... But she is a scrapper, a fighter, and she's doing what she knows how to do: scrap and fight. Only harder. So that she ups the ante every day. She helped Ireland achieve peace. She tried to stop NAFTA. She's been a leader for 35 years. She landed in Bosnia under siege and bravely dodged bullets. It was as if she'd watched the movie "[[Wag the Dog]]," with its fake footage of a terrified refugee woman running frantically from mortar fire, and found it not a cautionary tale about manipulation and politics, but an inspiration. - [[Peggy Noonan]] <ref>http://online.wsj.com/article/declarations.html</ref>}}

===Promises Made, Promises Broken===

In late August 2007 Senator [[Bill Nelson]] and other members of Florida's Congressional delegation protested the Democratic National Committee's scheme<ref>[http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FL_DEMOCRATIC_PRIMARY_FLOL-?SITE=FLPET&SECTION=HOME Fla. Democrats warn of voting rights probe if state sanctioned], By Rasha Madkour, Associated Press, Aug 23, 2007. Retrieved from ''St. Petersburg Times'' August 24, 2007.</ref> to deprive Floridians of equal voting rights protection<ref>[http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FL_DEMOCRATIC_PRIMARY_FLOL-?SITE=FLPET&SECTION=HOME Fla. Democrats warn of voting rights probe if state sanctioned], By Rasha Madkour, Associated Press, Aug 23, 2007. Retrieved from ''St. Petersburg Times'' August 24, 2007.</ref> in selection of delegates to the 2008 DNC Presidential nominating convention. A letter sent to DNC Chairman [[Howard Dean]], threatened legal action "to determine whether this could violate any state or [[federal law]]s governing and protecting individual [[Voting Rights Act|voting rights]].... It always has been a priority of our party to protect the rights of every eligible American to vote...We would hope the DNC will continue to honor this right."<ref>[http://www.nelsonforsenate.com/feature/dean/ Letter from Florida Congressional Democrats to DNC Chairman Howard Dean], August 22, 2007. Retrieved from nelsonforsenate.com/feature/dean/ September 13, 2007.</ref> The move prompted Hillary Clinton to pledge not to campaign in Florida.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/us/politics/02dems.html?ex=1346472000&en=d7f7216c6188da2e&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Clinton, Obama and Edwards Join Pledge to Avoid Defiant States], By Jeff Zeeleny, ''New York Times'', September 2, 2007.</ref> A week later she was campaigning in Florida.<ref>[http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/09/11/news/iowa/c07662f8adc84f9a8625735300091c7f.txt Candidates have events in Florida despite pledge], By Charlotte Eby, ''Sioux City Journal'', September 11, 2007.</ref>

===The Nuclear Option===
[[Barbara Olson]] in her 1990 book ''Hell to Pay'' <ref>[http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0895262746/102-6782111-3076127?SubscriptionId=11NRD61HE570TCSR99R2]</ref> made a convincing case that the former Goldwater girl, raised in a Republican home, while working for the staff of the House Judiciary Committee preparing impeachment Articles against [[President Nixon]], studied Nixon very closely. Olson and others have now commented how Hillary Clinton built her political career by learning to think and act as Nixon did, and modeling herself after him. These writers cite instance after instance of such behavior. <ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45138 Hillary's Secret War], The plan to silence Internet journalists, Joseph Farah, ''WorldNetDaily.com'', July 6, 2005.</ref> When Democratic competitor [[Barack Obama]] made a public statement vowing not to use [[nuclear weapons]], Hillary Clinton shot back,
{{Cquote|I don't believe that any president should make any blanket statements with respect to the use or nonuse of nuclear weapons}}reflecting Nixon's thoughts in ''The Real War'' :
{{Cquote|[[Eisenhower]] said... "You should never let the enemy know what you will do, but it's more important that you never let the enemy know what you will not do." }}
Nixon referred to it as "the [[Madman theory]],"
{{Cquote|... statements that appear to rule out the use of force, while perhaps meant to be unprovocative, will in fact provoke an antagonist to push for more. ...we should not make statements that we will never launch a preemptive strike. Whether or not we would ever exercise that option, we should always leave open the possibility that in extreme circumstances we might. <ref>[http://nobsnews.blogspot.com/1996/10/real-war.html#hole_card ''The Real War''], Richard Nixon, Warner Books, May 1980, pgs. 253 - 260.</ref>}}

===Abuse of Mother Teresa===

Hillary Clinton was chastised by a [[Catholic]] Advocacy group for using an image of [[Mother Teresa]] in a campaign ad. Clinton continues to support abortion. <ref>[http://www.fidelis.org/gw3/articles-news/articles.php?CMSArticleID=1456&CMSCategoryID=10 Fidelis Covered by Catholic News Agency on Mother Teresa Video Controversy], ''Catholic News Agency,'' 05-18-2007.</ref> The U.S. Catholic-based advocacy group Fidelis, an organization working with people of faith to defend the [[sanctity of life]], [[traditional marriage]], and [[religious liberty]] rights, called for Hillary Clinton to remove the image of Mother Teresa from their campaign video. In a press release the group declared the video, narrated by her Bill Clinton,
{{Cquote|is wholly inappropriate, disrespectful and disturbing ...using an image of blessed Mother Teresa as a political tool, especially given their radically different views on abortion...Mother Teresa tirelessly fought to protect unborn children, while Hillary Clinton staunchly supports [[abortion]] on demand in all nine months of pregnancy, including [[partial birth abortion]] and [[taxpayer funding of abortion]]}}

When the image of Hillary and Mother Teresa appears in the video the former president is heard saying “Hillary, in effect, was the face of America … in India;” the video then cuts to a clip of the former first lady addressing the 1995 Beijing Conference where an effort was made to declare abortion a fundamental “human right.”

===PolitiFact Awards===
Hillary received a "Pants on Fire" award from [[PolitiFact]] for saying Obama "basically threatened to bomb Pakistan."<ref> http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/375/ Et tu, Clinton?</ref>

Hillary received a second "Pants on Fire" award from [[PolitiFact]] for this false statement to a Washington, D.C. crowd on March 17th, 2008. <ref> http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/411/ Video shows tarmac welcome, no snipers</ref> {{cquote| I remember landing under sniper fire.}}

==Secretary of State==
After [[Barack Obama]] won the election, Hillary was widely speculated to be offered a role in the upcoming Obama Administration. On 1 December 2008 Obama announced that he was nominating Hillary to become his [[Secretary of State]], succeeding [[Condoleezza Rice]] in January 2009. Hillary touted her role as "Tough Smart Foreign Policy." It was later revealed by Mrs. Biden that Joe was first offered the Secretary of State position, an unintended swipe at Hillary. She would criticize the White House for delaying a key appointment to her staff saying, "White House vetting process as a "nightmare," "frustrating beyond words" and "ridiculous."

[[Mark Rudd]] of [[Progressives for Obama]] said of the appointment, "the mere mention of the names Hillary Clinton and [[Lawrence Summers]] alone conjure up a litany of horrendous [[right-wing]]ers appointed to top level positions.... On foreign policy and the wars and the use of the military there will be no change at all. That's what keeping Gates at the Pentagon and Clinton at State..." <ref>http://www.markrudd.com/?organizing-and-activism-now/lets-get-smart-about-obama-nov-2008.html</ref>

In June 2008, she injured herself in a fall. Important multilateral conferences in Europe had to be cancelled and she was unable to travel with Obama to Russia.

In July 2009, Bill Clinton won the release of Americans held hostage by [[North Korea]]. She was asked by a Congolese university student what her husband thought of international relations. She responded annoyed, "My husband is not secretary of state, I am," and "I am not going to be channeling my husband." Diplomats laughed when Clinton took umbrage at a Congolese questioner whom she took to be asking her husband's opinion but it later surfaced that the question had been mistranslated.

In addition, a U.S. senator flew to Burma to bargain for the release of yet another American. Also, envoys of the reclusive North Korean regime have come to the U.S. for a meeting privately with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. All this has America wondering if Hillary has been marginalized in her Obama Administration role.

===Foreign Policy===
====East Asia====
Clinton's first major foreign visits were toChina [[China]], where she tried to maintain the status quo, with China buying American treasury notes to finance the U.S. deficit.
She told [[Japan[[ that the US-Japan alliance is a “cornerstone” of American foreign policy. She met publicly with Yukio Hatoyama, the opposition leader, who won a landslide election in Sept, 2009. The question is whether the new government will continue to follow a strongly pro-American foreign policy regarding economic affairs, [[North Korea]], and the issue of 47,000 troops American troops stationed there. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in his electioncampaign vowed to review a 2006 agreement to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Base from an urban to a coastal part of the southern island of Okinawa. The base has angered residents because of aircraft noise and friction with U.S. servicemen; while in opposition Hatoyama suggested it could be moved off the island altogether, a move Washington has strongly opposed.

====Africa====
Clinton went to Africa to demonstrate the administration is giving Africa a higher priority than usual. Clinton has long been outspoken on causes like development, health, poverty, and gender violence. Her first stop was [[Kenya]], where the U.S. policy is to stabilize the political situation which has been on the brink of civil war. Also important is economic development, with a continentwide economic conference. Under Bill Clinton the "African Growth and Opportunity Act" expanded the number of tariff-free goods sub-Saharan countries could export to the United States. Kenya is an economic engine in eastern Africa, and needs encouragement to seek economic growth and leadership rather than risk an ethnic civil war.

[[South Africa]] is the superpower on the continent, but relations were strained with the U.S. under the country's erratic former president, Thabo Mbeki. He for example, fought against American effortt to stamp out AIDS, sugginsting the disease was a Western conspiracy. The new president, Jacob Zuma, is an unknown quantity. South Africa is in its first recession in more than a decade. With riots on the streets over his failure to deliver on promises to the country's poor, Zuma may hope to capitalize on improved relations with the United States. That bodes well for Clinton.One of the biggest splits was over Zimbabwe, where Bush wanted Mbeki to take a more pro-active role, while Mbeki wanted the United States to stay out of his tyranny.
[[Angola]] is now the top oil exporter in Africa, with the usual corrupt pattern of concentrated oil wealth, wobbly, and a 48% unemployment rate. American oil companies are active and the U.S. is providing business and military support. American support for Angola causes resentlment in the rest of Africa, where critics attack the American friendship with President José Eduardo Dos Santos, who has held power for more than 30 years. President Bush's oft-stated concern for human rights and democracy in Angola was seen by African nationalists as little more than a pretense.

====Middle East====
In November 2009, Clinton finally took a foreign policy initiative in the highly sensitive Palestine-Israeli peace process. However, she offended the Palestinians by praising Israel for offering to curb its settlement-building program in the [[West Bank]]. <ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/01/palestinians-accuse-clinton-undermining-peace-talks-shift-settlements/ Palestinians Accuse Clinton of Undermining Peace Talks With Shift on Settlements, FoxNews, November 1, 2009]</ref> The Palestinians accused her of undermining progress toward Mideast peace talks(the Palestinians want to see all settlements dismantled). To try and make amends and smooth over Palestinians, she issued a new statement saying the US wants [[Israel]] settlement halt forever, “We do not accept the legitimacy of settlement activity and we have a very firm belief that ending all settlement activity, current and future, would be preferable.” <ref>[http://www.jewishjournal.com/israel/article/in_cairo_clinton_clarifies_settlement_position_20091104/ "In Cairo, Clinton clarifies settlement position," ''Jewish Journal'', November 4, 2009]</ref>

==See Also==
*[[Bill Clinton]]
*[[Hillary Clinton for President Exploratory Committee]]
*[[Freedom of Choice Act]]
*[[Previous Breaking News/Hillary Clinton|Articles about '''Hillary Clinton''' from previous "Breaking News"]]
*[[Charles Schumer]]

==External Links==
*[http://www.thenation.com/doc/19990809/kaminer Hillary's No Liberal], Wendy Kaminer, ''The Nation'', July 22, 1999 (August 9, 1999 issue).

==References==

{{reflist|2}}

{{Liberalism}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clinton, Hillary Rodham}}

[[Category:Liberals]]
[[Category: United States Appointed Officials]]
[[Category:Former United States Senators]]
[[Category:Democratic Party]]
[[Category:First Ladies]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:2008 Presidential Candidates]]
[[Category:Obama Administration]]

Adam Smith

2009-12-10T21:16:40Z

Kjill74:

[[Image:Sigentha.jpg|right|thumb|200px]]
'''Adam Smith''' (June 16, 1723 to July 17, 1790) was a [[Scottish]] political [[economist]] and moral philosopher. He is considered the fundamental economist upon whose work modern [[capitalism]] is based, as he advocated individual economic growth, [[free enterprise]] and [[free will]]. He founded modern economic theory.

==Philosophy==

His most famous concept was that markets guide economic activity and act like an "[[invisible hand]]" - allocating resources through prices, which rise when there is a shortage of a commodity and fall when it is plentiful.

*Each individual strives to become wealthy "intending only his own gain" but to this end he must exchange what he owns or produces with others who sufficiently value what he has to offer; in this way, by division of labour and a free market, public interest is advanced. <ref>http://plus.maths.org/issue14/features/smith/</ref>

One of the key figures of the intellectual movement known as the Scottish Enlightenment, he is known primarily as the author of two treatises:
* ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'' (1759)
* ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'' (1776)

His ''[[The Wealth of Nations]]'' was one of the earliest attempts to study the historical development of industry and commerce in Europe, as well as a sustained attack on the doctrines of mercantilism. That work helped to create the modern academic discipline of economics and provided one of the best-known intellectual rationales for [[free trade]], capitalism, and [[libertarianism]]. It continues to greatly influence the writings of economists.

==Biography==
Smith was born in [[Kirkcaldy]], [[Scotland]] in 1723 and was raised by his widowed mother. Smith entered the [[University of Glasgow]] at the age of fourteen and then attended [[Balliol College]] at [[Oxford]] for six years until he graduated at the age of twenty-three. Adam returned to Scotland, and delivered a series of lectures which were very well-received. Smith was appointed first chair of logic in 1751 at the University of Glasgow and later then chair of moral philosophy in 1752. In 1764, Adam Smith left the academy to tutor the young Duke of Buccleuch. They lived and traveled in France and Switzerland for two years. The duke had given his teacher a comfortable life pension, so Adam Smith retired to Kirkcaldy and began writing his book, ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations''. In 1778 Smith was appointed to a post as commissioner of customs in Scotland and went to live with his mother in [[Edinburgh]]. He died there on July 17, 1790, after suffering with the painful illness, proctalgia fugax, and was buried in the Canongate Kirkyard, Royal Mile, Edinburgh. Smith is hailed as the one who discovered the [[invisible hand]], and explained the theoretical bases of free enterprise.

==Legacy==
With effect from March 13, 2007, Smith's portrait appears on the reverse of the English £20 note. He is the first true Scotsman to feature on currency issued by the [[Bank of England]], though others with Scottish noble titles have been so featured. His portrait also features on £50 notes issued by the Clydesdale Bank. Many members of the British Conservative Party revere his economic philosophy and insights, and the [[Adam Smith Institute]] is a prominent UK pro-free market think tank.

== Links ==
*[[Economics Lecture One]]
*[[Libertarian]] thinking

==References==

<References/>

==External links==
* [http://plus.maths.org/issue14/features/smith/ Adam Smith and the invisible hand] - Helen Joyce
* [http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Smith.html Biography] at the ''Concise Encyclopedia of Economics''
* [http://www.econlib.org/library/YPDBooks/Rae/raeLS.html ''Life of Adam Smith''] by John Rae, at the Library of Economics and Liberty
* [http://www.mises.org/web/2691 ''The Celebrated Adam Smith''] by Murray N. Rothbard; full text of Chapter 16 of ''An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought'', Vol. I and II, Edward Elgar, 1995; Ludwig von Mises Institute 2006
* [http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles/smith.htm Smith's works]
*[http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN.html ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations''] at MetaLibri Digital Library
*[http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWNtoc.html ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations''], by Adam Smith. Fifth edition (1789), presented here, republished from: Edwin Cannan's annotated edition, 1904, Methuen & Co., Ltd. First edition: 1776.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Adam}}

[[Category:Economists]]
[[Category:Philosophers]]
[[Category:Scottish People]]
[[Category:Academics]]
[[Category:Libertarians]]
[[Category:Enlightenment]]

Capitalism

2009-12-10T21:13:34Z

Kjill74:

[[Image:Tokyo Stock Exchange.jpg|thumb|Tokyo Stock Exchange]]
'''Capitalism''', also called a '''free market economy''' is an economic system where the investment of capital, and production, distribution, income, and prices are determined not by government (as in [[socialism]]) but through the operation of a competitive market where decisions regarding transfer of money, goods (including capital goods), and services are voluntary and private rather than regulated and mandated by government (see [[law of supply and demand]]).

==Overview==
One self-regulating feature of capitalism is competition, which helps maintain fair market value for goods and services. However, ''unrestrained'' or ''pure'' capitalism may sometimes create a positive feedback loop in which a small number of individual accumulations of capital grow ever larger, eventually becoming so few as to limit effective competition, thus ceasing to strictly be free-market capitalism. In this regard, pure capitalism is unstable. Modern political systems have developed regulation mechanisms in an attempt to render capitalism more stable, including anti-trust regulation, trade tariffs, etc.

Since the fall of [[communism]], and the advent of information technology, capitalism is becoming increasingly widespread.

[[Adam Smith]] described the operation of capital accumulation through the productive powers of labor as such,

{{Cquote|Whatever a person saves from his [[revenue]] he adds to his [[capital]], and either employs it himself in maintaining an additional number of productive hands, or enables some other person to do so, by lending it to him for an interest, that is, for a share of the profits. As the capital of an individual can be increased only by what he saves from his annual revenue or his annual gains, so the capital of a society, which is the same with that of all the individuals who compose it, can be increased only in the same manner. <ref>Adam Smith, ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', [http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN.html Book II, Chapter 3, Paragraph 15,] ''Of the Accumulation of Capital, or of Productive and Unproductive Labour'', First Edition 1776.</ref>}}
[[Image:Eco Pillars.jpg|right|320px]]
Smith goes on to describe how the productive powers of labor employed by the owner of a capital allow laborers to reproduce with a profit the value of their maintenance, over and above their own consumption, which then allows for an additional set of hands to be employed. <ref>Adam Smith, ''Wealth of Nations'', Book II, Chapter 3, Paragraph 22.</ref> Smith observes labor is the original purchase price for all the wealth of the world,

{{Cquote|The real price of every thing, what every thing really costs to the man who wants to acquire it, is the toil and trouble of acquiring it. What every thing is really worth to the man who has acquired it, and who wants to dispose of it or exchange it for something else, is the toil and trouble which it can save to himself, and which it can impose upon other people. What is bought with money or with goods is purchased by labour, 2<ref>'Everything in the world is purchased by labour.'—Hume, 'Of Commerce,' in Political Discourses, 1752, p. 12</ref> as much as what we acquire by the toil of our own body. That money or those goods indeed save us this toil. They contain the value of a certain quantity of labour which we exchange for what is supposed at the time to contain the value of an equal quantity. Labour was the first price, the original purchase-money that was paid for all things. It was not by gold or by silver, but by labour, that all the wealth of the world was originally purchased; and its value, to those who possess it, and who want to exchange it for some new productions, is precisely equal to the quantity of labour which it can enable them to purchase or command. <ref>Adam Smith, ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', [http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN.html Book I, Chapter 5, Paragraph 2,] ''Of the Real and Nominal Price of Commodities'', First Edition 1776.</ref>}}

Real wealth consists not in money, but in the things money will exchange for,

{{Cquote|In order to put industry into motion, three things are requisite; materials to work upon, tools to work with, and the wages or recompense for the sake of which the work is done. Money is neither a material to work upon, nor a tool to work with; and though the wages of the workman are commonly paid to him in money, his real revenue, like that of all other men, consists, not in money, but in the money's worth; not in the metal pieces, but in what can be got for them. <ref>Adam Smith, ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', [http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN7.html Book II, Chapter 2, Paragraph 37,] ''Of Money Considered as a particular Branch of the General Stock of the Society, or of the Expence of Maintaining the National Capital '', First Edition 1776.</ref>}}

Since wealth does not consist in money, gold, or silver, and labor is the original purchase price, Smith explains how the capitalist system is then put into motion, complete with natural incentives, only Smith does not use the word "capital" here to describe what is needed. Smith explains how a "store of goods", or "stock sufficient to maintain" the original capitalist entrepreneur is necessary;

{{Cquote|When the stock which a man possesses is no more than sufficient to maintain him for a few days or a few weeks, he seldom thinks of deriving any revenue from it. He consumes it as sparingly as he can, and endeavours by his labour to acquire something which may supply its place before it be consumed altogether. His revenue is, in this case, derived from his labour only. This is the state of the greater part of the labouring poor in all countries.

But when he possesses stock sufficient to maintain him for months or years, he naturally endeavours to derive a revenue from the greater part of it; reserving only so much for his immediate consumption as may maintain him till this revenue begins to come in. His whole stock, therefore, is distinguished into two parts. That part which, he expects, is to afford him this revenue, is called his capital. The other is that which supplies his immediate consumption <ref>Adam Smith, ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', [http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN7.html Book II, Chapter 1, Paragraphs 1 & 2,] ''Of the Division of Stock '', First Edition 1776.</ref>}}

The [[division of labor]] is the necessary condition that gives rise to the productive powers of labor that allows for large scale economic growth. By "division of labor", Smith is referring to "specialization of labor", where each worker acquires specific knowledge to apply to a specific task.

{{Cquote|In that rude state of society in which there is no division of labour, in which exchanges are seldom made, and in which every man provides everything for himself, it is not necessary that any stock should be accumulated or stored up beforehand in order to carry on the business of the society. Every man endeavours to supply by his own industry his own occasional wants as they occur. When he is hungry, he goes to the forest to hunt; when his coat is worn out, he clothes himself with the skin of the first large animal he kills: and when his hut begins to go to ruin, he repairs it, as well as he can, with the trees and the turf that are nearest it.

But when the division of labour has once been thoroughly introduced, the produce of a man's own labour can supply but a very small part of his occasional wants. The far greater part of them are supplied by the produce of other men's labour, which he purchases with the produce, or, what is the same thing, with the price of the produce of his own. But this purchase cannot be made till such time as the produce of his own labour has not only been completed, but sold. A stock of goods of different kinds, therefore, must be stored up somewhere sufficient to maintain him, and to supply him with the materials and tools of his work till such time, at least, as both these events can be brought about.

As the accumulation of stock must, in the nature of things, be previous to the division of labour, ...in order to give constant employment to an equal number of workmen, an equal stock of provisions, and a greater stock of materials and tools than what would have been necessary in a ruder state of things, must be accumulated beforehand. <ref>Adam Smith, ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', [http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN7.html Book II, Introduction, Paragraphs 1, 2, & 3] ''Of the Nature, Accumulation, and Employment of Stock,'', First Edition 1776.</ref>}}
{{Cquote|When the division of labour has been once thoroughly established, it is but a very small part of a man's wants which the produce of his own labour can supply. He supplies the far greater part of them by exchanging that surplus part of the produce of his own labour, which is over and above his own consumption, for such parts of the produce of other men's labour as he has occasion for. Every man thus lives by exchanging, or becomes in some measure a merchant, and the society itself grows to be what is properly a commercial society. <ref>Adam Smith, ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', [http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN7.html Book I, Chapter 4, Paragraphs 1] ''Of the Origin and Use of Money'', First Edition 1776.</ref>}}
==Capitalism and Society==
[[Image:Ludwig von Mises.jpg|thumb|100px|Ludwig von Mises]]
Historically, capitalism has fostered freedom and an increase in the standard of living and human rights, and vice versa. Societies that have tried non-capitalist systems inevitably fall into tyranny.

For example, [[Venezuela]], while not a perfect country before [[Hugo Chavez]], had freedom and wealth unprecedented in its history. As Chavez has nationalized industries, he has also centralized power for himself, becoming a dictator. The [[Soviet Union]] eventually fell under the rule of [[Joseph Stalin]], who killed millions and is considered by many the worst dictator in history.

Capitalist societies also generally have higher standards of living compared to their non-capitalist counterparts in terms of per capita GDP, education, healthcare, and poverty rates. [[China]], for instance, has been growing extremely prosperous since it began opening its economy to the world.

== Quotes ==

“Historical evidence speaks with a single voice on the relation between political freedom and a free market. I know of no example in time or place of a society that has been marked by a large measure of political freedom, and that has not also used something comparable to a free market to organize the bulk of economic activity.”

--[[Milton Friedman]], Capitalism and Freedom, 1962.

“Capitalism is essentially the economic system of poor people. That’s what allowed the people that came from humble origins of the world to have economic rights the way only nobility and the high bourgeoisie had it before. So capitalism is essentially a tool for poor people to prosper.”

--Hernando de Soto, PBS Interview, March 30-31, 2001

(cf: [http://www.americansolutions.com/General/?Page=026a3bda-755c-45d8-84d3-c68eef294612 Values - Free Enterprise])

"The only real cure for poverty is production". [[Henry Hazlitt]], from ''Man vs. the [[Welfare]] State''.

== See also ==

*[[Capital]]
*[[Free Enterprise]]
*[[Ludwig von Mises]]
*[[Enterprise]]
*[[planned economy]]
*[[Socialism]]
*[[Welfare]]

==External links==
*[http://www.capmag.com Capitalism Magazine]
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/capitalism/ What Liberals Say - Category: Capitalism], [[Accuracy In Media]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Economics]]
[[Category:Business]]
[[Category:Libertarianism]]

Australian Labor Party

2009-12-10T21:06:07Z

Kjill74:

The Australian Labor Party (ALP) is [[Australia]]'s oldest continuous political party. The ALP was formed in 1891. The ALP has a strong connection to the trade union movement.

During the 1950s communist scare in Australia, the ALP expelled many anti-communist Catholic members. The anti-communist Catholic members became suspicious of communist influence in the trade union movement and groups were formed to take control of the unions. The '''groupers''' went on to form the anti-communist, Catholic aligned, '''Democratic Labor Party (DLP)'''. The DLP became largely irrelevant after the election of a Federal ALP majority under [[Gough Whitlam]] in 1972.

Famous ALP prime ministers have included the [[World War Two|war time]] [[John Curtin]] and 1970s [[Gough Whitlam]]. Although it has espoused socialist ideals in the past, the ALP has never introduced [[socialism]] to Australia. In recent decades, the ALP has remodelled itself in terms of its ideological vision to combat political pressure from outside sources.

The current national leader of the ALP is [[Kevin Rudd]]. The ALP is currently in power in several Australian states and territories and won the federal election of 24 November 2007.

[[Category:Australian Political Parties]]
[[Category:Labor Unions]]

Andrew Fisher

2009-12-10T21:03:54Z

Kjill74:

{{PM
|dob=29 August
|yob=1862
|birthplace=Crosshouse, Ayrshire, Scotland
|dod=22 October
|yod=1928
|wife=Margaret Fisher
|party=Australian Labor Party
|succ={{Succession
|hdg=As Prime Minister
|term=1
|start-date=13 November
|start-year=1908
|end-date=2 June
|end-year=1909
|prev=Alfred Deakin
|next=Alfred Deakin
}}{{Succession
|term=2
|start-date=29 April
|start-year=1910
|end-date=24 June
|end-year=1913
|prev=Alfred Deakin
|next=Joseph Cook
}}{{Succession
|term=3
|start-date=17 September
|start-year=1914
|end-date=27 October
|end-year=1915
|prev=Joseph Cook
|next=William Hughes
}}
}}

The '''Rt. Hon. Andrew B. Fisher''' was the [[Prime Minister]] of [[Australia]] on three occasions in the first two decades of the [[20th Century]].

His first time as Prime Minister followed the resignation of the previous government.
He resigned following a defeat in Parliament.

He regained the office following the 13 April 1910 election.
He lost office at the following election, in June 1913.

He began his third stint in the job after winning the 5 September 1914 election.
He resigned a year later due to ill health.

In January 1916, he succeeded [[George Reid]] as Australia's [[High Commissioner]] in [[London]], and retired five years later.

Fisher's government introduced pensions for invalids and started the government-run [[Commonwealth Bank of Australia|Commonwealth Bank]].

== Source ==

* National Museum of Australia, [http://www.nma.gov.au/education/school_resources/websites_and_interactives/primeministers/andrew_fisher/ Andrew Fisher]
{{Australian Prime Ministers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Andrew}}

List of Prime Ministers of Australia

2009-12-10T21:02:45Z

Kjill74:

Following is a '''list of Prime Ministers of [[Australia]]''' from [[Federation]] to the present.<ref>[http://www.aph.gov.au/library/parl/hist/primmins.htm Prime Ministers of Australia]</ref>
{|border=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=2 width=90%
!<big>Prime Minister</big>||<big>Dates</big>
|-
|'''Sir [[Edmund Barton]], PC, GCMG, KC''' ([[Protectionist Party]])
|1 January 1901—24 September 1903 (2 years, 8 months, 24 days)
|-
|'''[[Alfred Deakin]]''' (Protectionist Party)
|24 September 1903—27 April 1904 (7 months, 4 days)
|-
|'''[[John Watson|John Christian Watson]]''' ([[Australian Labor Party]])
|27 April 1904—17 August 1904 (3 months, 21 days)
|-
|'''[[George Reid|George Houstoun Reid]] (later Sir George), PC, KC''' (Free Trade)
|18 August 1904—5 July 1905 (10 months, 18 days)
|-
|'''Alfred Deakin''' (Protectionist Party)
|5 July 1905—13 November 1908 (3 years, 4 months, 9 days)
|-
|'''[[Andrew Fisher]]''' (Australian Labor Party)
|13 November 1908—2 June 1909 (6 months, 21 days)
|-
|'''[[Alfred Deakin]]''' (Protectionist Party)
|2 June 1909—29 April 1910 (10 months, 28 days)
|-
|'''Andrew B. Fisher''' (Australian Labor Party)
|29 April 1910—24 June 1913 (3 years, 1 month, 26 days)
|-
|'''[[Joseph Cook]] (later Sir Joseph)''' ([[Liberal Party of Australia]])
|24 June 1913—17 September 1914 (1 year, 2 months, 25 days)
|-
|'''Andrew B. Fisher''' (Australian Labor Party)
|17 September 1914—27 October 1915 (1 year, 1 month, 11 days)
|-
|'''[[William Hughes|William Morris Hughes]]''' (Australian Labor Party; [[Nationalist Party]] from 1917)
|27 October 1915—9 February 1923 (7 years, 3 months, 14 days)
|-
|'''[[Stanley Bruce|Stanley Melbourne Bruce]], PC, CH, MC''' (Nationalist Party)
|9 February 1923—22 October 1929 (6 years, 8 months, 14 days)
|-
|'''[[James Scullin|James Henry Scullin]], PC''' (Australian Labor Party)
|22 October 1929—6 January 1932 (2 years, 2 months, 16 days)
|-
|'''[[Joseph Lyons|Joseph Aloysius Lyons]], PC, CH''' ([[United Australia Party]])
|6 January 1932—7 April 1939 (7 years, 3 months, 2 days)
|-
|'''Sir [[Earle Page|Earle Christmas Grafton Page]], PC, GCMG''' ([[Australian Country Party]])
|7 April 1939—26 April 1939 (20 days)
|-
|'''[[Robert Menzies|Robert Gordon Menzies]], PC, KC''' ([[United Australia Party]])
|26 April 1939—29 August [[1941]] (2 years, 4 months, 4 days)
|-
|'''[[Arthur Fadden|Arthur William Fadden]] (later Sir Arthur)''' ([[Country Party]])
|29 August 1941—7 October 1941 (1 month, 9 days)
|-
|'''[[John Curtin]], PC''' (Australian Labor Party)
|7 October 1941—5 July 1945 (3 years, 8 months, 29 days)
|-
|'''[[Francis Forde|Francis Michael Forde]], PC''' (Australian Labor Party)
|6 July 1945—13 July 1945 (8 days)
|-
|'''[[Joseph Chifley|Joseph Benedict ("Ben") Chifley]], PC''' (Australian Labor Party)
|13 July 1945—19 December 1949 (4 years, 5 months, 7 days)
|-
|'''[[Robert Menzies|Robert Gordon Menzies]] (later Sir Robert), PC, KC''' (Liberal Party of Australia)
|19 December 1949—26 January 1966 (16 years, 1 month, 8 days)
|-
|'''[[Harold Holt|Harold Edward Holt]], PC, CH''' (Liberal Party of Australia)
|26 January 1966—19 December 1967 (1 year, 10 months, 23 days)
|-
|'''[[John McEwen]] (later Sir John), PC''' (Country Party)
|19 December 1967—10 January 1968 (23 days)
|-
|'''[[John Gorton|John Grey Gorton]], PC''' (Liberal Party of Australia)
|10 January 1968—10 March 1971 (3 years, 2 months)
|-
|'''[[William McMahon]] (later Sir William), PC, CH''' (Liberal Party of Australia)
|10 March 1971—5 December 1972 (1 year, 8 months, 25 days)
|-
|'''[[Gough Whitlam|Edward Gough Whitlam]], QC''' (Australian Labor Party)
|5 December 1972—11 November 1975 (2 years, 11 months, 7 days)
|-
|'''[[Malcolm Fraser|John Malcolm Fraser]], PC, CH''' (Liberal Party of Australia)
|11 November 1975—11 March 1983 (7 years, 4 months)
|-
|'''[[Robert Hawke|Robert James Lee Hawke]], AC''' (Australian Labor Party)
|11 March 1983—20 December 1991 (8 years, 9 months, 10 days)
|-
|'''[[Paul Keating|Paul John Keating]]''' (Australian Labor Party)
|20 December 1991—11 March 1996 (4 years, 2 months, 20 days)
|-
|'''[[John Howard|John Winston Howard]]''' (Liberal Party of Australia)
|11 March 1996—3 December 2007 (11 years, 8 months, 22 days)
|-
|'''[[Kevin Rudd|Kevin Michael Rudd]]''' (Australian Labor Party)
|3 December 2007—
|}

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Australia]]