Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

America

2007-04-09T22:12:00Z

Wikifreedomfighter:

The term '''America''' can refer to:
*The [[United States of America]] - one nation within the [[Americas]], and the only one using "America" in its name
*The [[Americas]] - the two continents of the Western Hemisphere + associated islands
**[[North America]]
**[[South America]]
**The [[Caribbean]]

Michael Moore

2007-04-09T22:08:55Z

Wikifreedomfighter: Have you actually read Michael Moore? By the standards of any industrialised nation outside of America, his views aren't particularly leftwing. Universal healthcare Gun control? We have those in the

'''Michael Moore''' (born April 23, 1954) is an [[Academy Award]] winning filmmaker and bestselling author who presents [[left|left of center]] views in a somewhat polemical way.

Before producing "Bowling for Columbine," Moore was the producer and host of the television series "The Awful Truth," which was typified by a type of sketch-comedy activism that was often directed against large corporations and government agencies.

He is well-known as a practicing Catholic who tithes 10% of his income to the Church, a [[socialist]] and a member of the [[National Rifle Association]] (although Moore has claimed that he joined this organization in order to make it support gun control). <ref>http://www.nationalreview.com/kopel/kopel040403.asp</ref> He has been an outspoken critic of the administration of President [[George W Bush]].

Some of his work includes the semi-documentary films ''Farenheit 9/11'', ''Roger and Me'', and ''Bowling for Columbine'', and the books ''Dude, Where's my Country'', ''Downsize This! Random Threats from an Unarmed American''. and ''Stupid White Men''.

His production company which produces feature documentary films is Michael Moore Films [[http://www.michaelmoore.com/]]

Moore has been accused of using deceit to make his points, especially in ''Fahrenheit 9/11'', many of the claims of which a number of people have questioned. <ref>http://slate.msn.com/id/2102723/</ref>

Michael Moore was the subject of the 2004 documentaries '''Michael Moore Hates America'''<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0411646/</ref>, '''Fahrenhype 9/11'''<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427228/</ref> and the 2007 documentary '''Manufacturing Dissent'''<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0961117/</ref>. He was also the subject of books include '''Michael Moore Is a Big Fat Stupid White Man''' by David T. Hardy and Jason Clarke<ref>http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Moore-Big-Stupid-White/dp/0060779608/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-2466588-5816760?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174624100&sr=1-1</ref>, '''Forgive Us Our Spins: Michael Moore and the Future of the Left''' by Jesse Larner<ref>http://www.amazon.com/Forgive-Us-Our-Spins-Michael/dp/047179306X/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-2466588-5816760?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174623950&sr=8-1</ref>.

A new Michael Moore film, ''Sicko'', is due to be released in June 2007. In this documentary Moore will advocate for a nationalized health care system.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386032/</ref>
==References==
<references/>

Qaddafi

2007-04-09T22:06:10Z

Wikifreedomfighter: Really. I'm trying to help you maintain a politically neutral page. It's somewhat premature to term the War on Terror "successful", is it not?

[[Image:Htfr658.jpg|right|thumb|260px]]
Colonel '''Muammar Qaddafi''' (born 1942) has been the leader of [[Libya]] since 1969, when he seized power in a military coup against King Idriss. Once he became leader, he renamed all the months in the calendar and published the Green Book, which was a series of pamphlets on [[democracy]], [[economics]], and sociology.

President [[Ronald Reagan]] was a frequent target of Qaddafi's rants. Reagan responded with this assessment:<ref>http://www.nndb.com/people/641/000026563/</ref>

:I find he's not only a barbarian, but he's flaky. ... I just think that the man is a zealot.

Reportedly Qaddafi supported terrorism, and may have ordered the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in 1988.

Due largely to his fear of becoming a target in [[George W. Bush|President Bush]]'s [[War on Terror]], Qaddafi decided to change his ways, giving up his WMD programs and renouncing terrorism. Full diplomatic relations with the [[United States]] were restored in 2006, and the Qaddafi regime's turnaround has been heralded by Secretary of State [[Condoleeza Rice]] as a model for others to follow.

[[Category:Heads of state]]

Gun control

2007-04-09T22:03:50Z

Wikifreedomfighter: Just a couple of minor amendments, in the interests of political neutrality.

{{merge|Gun Control}}

'''Gun control''' refers to all laws enacted at the federal, state, and local level with the intent of placing restrictions on the right of individual private citizens to own [[firearms]]. A common use of firearms are to defend one's life, though accidental death of those who are attacking has occurred. These laws are often seen to conflict with the [[Second Amendment]] to the [[United States Constitution]], which recognizes the right to bear arms.

The Second Amendment reads: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

==Overview==
The end effect of gun control laws is the concentration of firearms ownership in the hands of the state. This is why gun control is promoted by various statist philosophies such as [[Communism]], [[Socialism]], and [[Fascism]].

"Gun control" is the use of legislation to place restrictions on this right. This can include:

* Restricting which persons can own firearms.
* Restrictions on the number of firearms a person may own, or purchase during a given time period
* Requirements that privately owned firearms be registered with the government. (Often leading to gun confiscation){{fact-historical}}.
* Bans on certain types of firearms; for example, "handguns" or assault rifles
* Restrictions on where firearms may be carried, for example into restaurants or post offices
* Requiring a "background check" and/or a "waiting period" to purchase a firearm
* Restricting when and where firearms may be bought and sold, for example banning their sale through the mail
* Requiring licenses or some other form of permission from the government to buy and/or sell a firearm
* Requiring some form of permission from the government to carry a firearm in public, either concealed or openly
* Laws granting special gun rights for some people, for example retired law enforcement officers, which are denied the rest of the public, which was used in several southern states.
* Outright bans on carrying firearms in public
* Outright bans on private possession of firearms, though this has never occurred in the United States

In the United States the three primary federal gun control laws are:
* National Firearms Act (1934)
* Gun Control Act (1968)
* Brady Bill (1993)

These laws have further been amended by other laws such as the Firearms Owners Protection Act (1986) and the Omnibus Crime Bill (1994).

Interestingly enough, the USA PATRIOT Act is another law that restricts liberties in the name of safety, yet those in favor of the PATRIOT ACT are often opposed to gun control.

Besides the second amendment, studies by John Lott and others indicate that gun control isn't practical and doesn't help public safety <ref>http://www.johnrlott.com/</ref>. [[Washington, D.C.]] has one of the highest crime rates in America even though it completely bans private handguns <ref>http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/dccrime.htm</ref>. However, these studies do prove conclusively that guns are used as a significant mean to causing harm to individuals.

After decades of increasing gun control, the current trend is in the direction of more gun rights. The 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill included a ban on certain "rifles" labeled assault rifles solely because of features of their appearance (and lethal fire power). This law recenly expired and was not renewed by Congress. Also, Washington D.C.'s gun ban was struck down as unconstitutional by the U.S. Court of Appeals on March 9, 2007.<ref>http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20070309-102401-2730r.htm</ref>

==Constitutional Debate==
The [[Second Amendment]] reads:

"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

Most constitutional scholars agree that it protects an individual right to own guns. The extent of that right has been debated.

==Racism of gun control==
In the [[United States of America]], gun control has a strong racist origin and reasoning. Before the Civil War ended, State "Slave Codes" prohibited slaves from owning guns. After President [[Abraham Lincoln]] issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, and after the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolishing slavery was adopted and the Civil War ended in 1865, States persisted in prohibiting blacks, now freemen, from owning guns under laws renamed "Black Codes." They did so on the basis that blacks were not citizens, and thus did not have the same rights, including the right to keep and bear arms protected in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as whites. This view was specifically articulated by the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] in its infamous 1857 decision in ''Dred Scott v. Sandford'' to uphold slavery.

The United States Congress overrode most portions of the Black Codes by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1866. The legislative histories of both the Civil Rights Act and the Fourteenth Amendment, as well as The Special Report of the Anti-Slavery Conference of 1867, are replete with denunciations of those particular statutes that denied blacks equal access to firearms. [Kates, "Handgun Prohibition and the Original Meaning of the Second Amendment," 82 Mich. L. Rev. 204, 256 (1983)] However, facially neutral disarming through economic means laws remain in effect.

After the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1878, most States turned to "facially neutral" business or transaction taxes on handgun purchases. However, the intention of these laws was not neutral. An article in Virginia's official university law review called for a "prohibitive tax...on the privilege" of selling handguns as a way of disarming "the son of Ham," whose "cowardly practice of 'toting' guns has been one of the most fruitful sources of crime.... Let a negro board a railroad train with a quart of mean whiskey and a pistol in his grip and the chances are that there will be a murder, or at least a row, before he alights." [Comment, Carrying Concealed Weapons, 15 Va L. Reg. 391, 391-92 (1909); George Mason University Civil Rights Law Journal (GMU CR LJ), Vol. 2, No. 1, "Gun Control and Racism," Stefan Tahmassebi, 1991, p. 75] Thus, many Southern States imposed high taxes or banned inexpensive guns so as to price blacks and poor whites out of the gun market.

Today, "gun control" laws continue to be enacted so as to have a racist effect if not intent:

* Police-issued license and permit laws, unless drafted to require issuance to those not prohibited by law from owning guns, are routinely used to prevent lawful gun ownership among "unpopular" populations.
* Public housing residents, approximately 3 million Americans, are singled out for gun bans.
* "Gun sweeps" by police in "high crime neighborhoods" whereby vehicles and "pedestrians who meet a specific profile that might indicate they are carrying a weapon" are searched are becoming popular, and are being studied by the U.S. Department of Justice as "Operation Ceasefire."
* Some U.S. cities with high minority populations, such as Washington, D.C., are singled out for gun bans.
* "Project Exile" began in the U.S. city of Richmond, Virginia and mandated that people arrested for technical firearms violations (note: not for violent crimes committed with a firearm, but for technical violations of the law) be tried in federal court where they would be subject to lengthy mandatory minimum sentences rather than in state court under the more lenient Virginia laws. As with many other restrictions this was aimed primarily at the city's Black residents. It has since been copied in many other cities.

==Other terms==
Other terms sometimes used by those who are opposed to gun control include:
* Rights restriction
* Victim disarmament

<references/>

United Nations

2007-04-09T21:59:25Z

Wikifreedomfighter: Just a couple of minor amendments, in the interests of political neutrality.

[[Image:UN1.jpg|thumb|right|Seal of the United Nations]]
The '''United Nations''' is a collaboration of countries all over the world, and aims to facilitate cooperation in [[international law]], international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. It was founded in 1945 at the signing of the United Nations Charter by 51 countries, replacing the League of Nations, founded in 1919. The U.N. has at various times in its history been accused of inefficiency and waste, which some critics have attributed to its cumbersome and excessive bureaucracy. Probably the most controversial issue with the United Nations is the Oil-for-Food scandal.

As a meeting place for many different nations, the UN can only act as a mechanism for international consensus. The UN has been unable to act in a clear and decisive way when confronted crises in which this consensus is not present. Recent examples include the [[Iran]]ian nuclear program and the genocides in Darfur, Sudan and Rwanda. Because each of the five permanent members of the Security Council have a veto, and because they often disagree, many times no action can be agreed upon. Typically but not always this division includes the [[United States]] on one side with either [[China]], [[Russia]] or both on the other. Other times the Security Council has been able to agree but lacks the will or means to enforce its resolutions. A recent example is the 2006 Israel-Lebanon Crisis, where no action has been taken to enforce the provisions of Resolution 1559 and Resolution 1701 to disarm terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah. There usually are no consequences for violating a Security Council resolution.

Inclusion on the old United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) of nations such as Sudan and Libya, whose leaderships have dubious records on human rights, and Libya's chairmanship of this Commission, has been a highly controversial issue.

The UN has often been accused by agencies within Israel and its allies (notably the United States) of taking a one-sided approach to issues relating to the [[Israel]]-Arab conflict. Israel has, according to this thesis, consistently been singled out by the UN for uniquely critical treatment. Unlike other refugee groups, the Palestinian Arabs have their own agency within the United Nations. Israel was excluded from membership in any of the UN's regional groups until 2000. In effect, this meant Israel was forbidden from serving on UN bodies such as the Security Council. Israel's recent permission to participate more fully within the UN as a member of the Western European and Others regional group is temporary and subject to renewal. Israel is allowed to participate only in the New York operations of the UN and is excluded from the UN offices in Geneva, Nairobi, Rome and Vienna which handle such issues as human rights and arms control. Censure of Israel has apparently been instituted as a routine agenda item for various UN bodies such as the Human Rights Council. The 1975 Resolution 3379 qualified Zionism as a form of racism (later revoked with Resolution 4686).

The United Nations has on many occasions ignored the plight of people across the world, especially in parts of Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Current examples include the UN's inaction toward the Sudanese government in Darfur, the Chinese government's ethnic cleansing in Tibet, and the Israel-Arab conflict.

During the Rwandan genocide the UN did not authorize UNAMIR to intervene or use force to prevent or halt the killing.

==History==
The United Nations originated as a bureau within the US State Department during [[World War II]] tasked with planning and organizing a post-War future. President [[Franklin D. Roosevlet]] envisaged "four policemen", the British Empire, United States, Soviet Union, and [[Kuomintang]] to be the major forces on what later became the UN Security Council to enforce the peace worldwide. This was deemed a modern approach to replace the old [[spheres of influence]] as they were called during the age of Imperialism. Ulitmately the Kuomintang were subverted and replaced by the Soviet Union's [[Comintern]] ally, the [[Chinese Communist Party]]. The CCP holds the UN Security Council seat to this day, despite the fact their Soviet ally abandoned the policy of workers world revolution and communist subversion more than 15 years ago.

In the original planning stages State Department employee and KGB Agent [[Alger Hiss]] was tasked with much of the organizational work and later became the first Secretary General at the United Nations Charter Conference in San Fransisco. US Secretary of State Cordell Hull said a the time while selling the idea to Congress, "there will no longer be need for spheres of influence, for alliances, for balance of power, or any other of the separate alliances through which in the unhappy past the nations strove to safeguard their security or promote their interest." Nonetheless, the separate alliance of [[NATO]] came into existence at the same time and played a much greater role in US foreign policy commitments and decisions during the [[Cold War]] than the UN ever did.

[[Image:un_building.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The UN headquarters, on the east side of Manhattan, opened its doors on January 10th, 1951.]]

==External link==
*[http://www.unausa.org/site/pp.asp?c=fvKRI8MPJpF&b=1813833 All about the United Nations Budget] June 2006

{{stub}}

Michael Moore

2007-04-09T21:50:43Z

Wikifreedomfighter: Just a couple of minor amendments, in the interests of political neutrality.

'''Michael Moore''' (born April 23, 1954) is an [[Academy Award]] winning filmmaker and bestselling author who presents [[left|left of center]] views, in an at times polemical manner.

Before producing "Bowling for Columbine," Moore was the producer and host of the television series "The Awful Truth," which was typified by a type of sketch-comedy activism that was often directed against large corporations and government agencies.

He is well-known as a practicing Catholic who tithes 10% of his income to the Church, a [[socialist]] and a member of the [[National Rifle Association]] (although Moore has claimed that he joined this organization in order to make it support gun control). <ref>http://www.nationalreview.com/kopel/kopel040403.asp</ref> He has been an outspoken critic of the administration of President [[George W Bush]].

Some of his work includes the comedo-documentary films ''Farenheit 9/11'', ''Roger and Me'', and ''Bowling for Columbine'', and the books ''Dude, Where's my Country'', ''Downsize This! Random Threats from an Unarmed American''. and ''Stupid White Men''.

His production company which produces feature documentary films is Michael Moore Films [[http://www.michaelmoore.com/]]

Moore has been accused of using deceit to make his points, especially in ''Fahrenheit 9/11'', many of the claims of which a number of people have questioned. <ref>http://slate.msn.com/id/2102723/</ref>

Michael Moore was the subject of the 2004 documentaries '''Michael Moore Hates America'''<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0411646/</ref>, '''Fahrenhype 9/11'''<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427228/</ref> and the 2007 documentary '''Manufacturing Dissent'''<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0961117/</ref>. He was also the subject of books include '''Michael Moore Is a Big Fat Stupid White Man''' by David T. Hardy and Jason Clarke<ref>http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Moore-Big-Stupid-White/dp/0060779608/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-2466588-5816760?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174624100&sr=1-1</ref>, '''Forgive Us Our Spins: Michael Moore and the Future of the Left''' by Jesse Larner<ref>http://www.amazon.com/Forgive-Us-Our-Spins-Michael/dp/047179306X/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-2466588-5816760?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174623950&sr=8-1</ref>.

A new Michael Moore film, ''Sicko'', is due to be released in June 2007. In this documentary Moore will advocate for a nationalized health care system.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386032/</ref>
==References==
<references/>

The New York Times

2007-04-09T21:45:37Z

Wikifreedomfighter: Just a couple of minor amendments, in the interests of political neutrality.

{{stub2}}

The '''New York Times''' is a daily newspaper that is published in New York, New York and distributed to readers worldwide. It is the third most widely circulated newspaper in the United States behind ''USA Today'' and ''The Wall Street Journal'' <ref>http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0004420.html</ref>.

The New York Times is published by third generation NYT publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. The NYT publishes 15 other newspapers, including the ''International Herald Tribune'' (based in Paris) and the ''Boston Globe.''

The Times is generally regarded as a newspaper of record, frequently being relied upon as an official and authoritative reference for modern events. <ref>[http://www.svsu.edu/library/newsletterw04/newYorkTimes.htm| Historal New York Times]</ref>

==References==
<references/>

Qaddafi

2007-04-09T21:35:16Z

Wikifreedomfighter: Just a couple of minor amendments, in the interests of political neutrality.

[[Image:Htfr658.jpg|right|thumb|260px]]
Colonel '''Muammar Qaddafi''' (born 1942) has been the leader of [[Libya]] since 1969, when he seized power in a military coup against King Idriss. Once he became leader, he renamed all the months in the calendar and published the Green Book, which was a series of pamphlets on [[democracy]], [[economics]], and sociology.

President [[Ronald Reagan]] was a frequent target of Qaddafi's rants. Reagan responded with this assessment:<ref>http://www.nndb.com/people/641/000026563/</ref>

:I find he's not only a barbarian, but he's flaky. ... I just think that the man is a zealot.

Reportedly Qaddafi supported terrorism, and may have ordered the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in 1988.

Possibly due to his fear of becoming a target in [[George W. Bush|President Bush]]'s [[War on Terror]], Qaddafi decided to change his ways, giving up his WMD programs and renouncing terrorism. Full diplomatic relations with the [[United States]] were restored in 2006, and the Qaddafi regime's turnaround has been heralded by Secretary of State [[Condoleeza Rice]] as a model for others to follow.

[[Category:Heads of state]]