Happy B-Day Nihil.

Title says it all : happy birthday post-whore

^

^

^

BgFighter/Ghost wrote:^

Quote pyramid go!

Bulldog wrote:

BgFighter/Ghost wrote:^

Quote pyramid go!

Oh no you dont!

^ quack

Happy 13th birthday! You're a teenager now, yayy!

Nomad wrote:Title says it all : happy birthday post-whore

He's one day closer to dieing!

wait...IS that too negative? o=

Its ma brithday! Its ma birthday!

And i'm writing a research paper... YA!...All day...YA!... becuz my teacher was stupid enough to make me change my topic twice, then revise my topic again, then give a shortened schedule for the due date...YA!...and she was the one who approved my first two topics before telling me I couldn't use them...YA!...



Matthew Carr
Mrs. White
English Honors 10
03/18/10

An Academic Study and Comparison of Major Theocracies and Democracies

Theocracies and democracies have key points of difference, one of them is hegemony, in a theocracy, power lies with a divine sovereign, in a democracy, with the people, however, in a modern and industrialized world with melting borders, it is not possible for a religious state to survive as a world power. Three points of dissimilarity are found within their individual economies, the people and state issues, and the government and governing of theocracies and democracies. The three theocratic nations that this study will be focused around are Iran, Saudi Arabia and the Vatican City, the three democratic nations will be Canada, Russia and France. In these countries a diverse set of economic, political and governmental situations exist making them optimal for review. It should become apparent to the reader that the theocratic nations are, in general, lacking in these three categories.
To begin, the first step is understanding the difference between a theocracy and a democracy and the background to the specific theocratic and democratic nations. The most critical difference, to restate, is the notion that ultimate authoritative power derives from a deity, or in some cases a monarch, in a theocracy and that in a democracy, this power resides with the people. The origins of our perception of a secular government come from the eighteenth century Enlightenment period in Western Europe where ideas such as freedom of speech, natural rights, and other things flourished. Once the people began to greater rule themselves, as a result of these Enlightenment ideas, Western Europe fostered great advances in human rights. (Shomali 1-2)? period or not, format for citation including parenthetical
In Saudi Arabia the present government was established in about 1750 C.E when the Saud family joined with an Islamic scholar Muhammad Abd Al-Wahhab, whose work would become the basis of the religious and government structure. It was not until in 1902, however, that this small state would begin to expand rapidly into other states of its sort. In 1902 Abdul Aziz Al Saud lead a successful conquest to regain the city of Riyadh and continued to expand his territory until he united roughly what is present day Saudi Arabia.
The present Russian Federation has had a shaky history, maneuvering the totalitarian system of Communism to democracy and the free market. In 1917, due to widespread poverty and dissent over the first world war, which had remained static since the deposition of Czar Nicholas II and the creation of the provisional government, the Bolsheviks and their allies stormed the Winter Palace and usurped authority from the provisional government and oversaw the creation of a Communist state. This communist state, the USSR, came to embody much of Eastern Europe and after the second world war, became the proponent of the Communist state and world power opposing the United States of America. However, as the USSR began a policy of openness and modernization, it began to fracture as insurrections from former Eastern European states became successful because of this policy. Today it runs a tightly centralized government that is checked by national elections under strict supervision.
The Islamic Republic of Iran was formerly known as Persia until 1935 when the Shah changed the name1. The Shahs of Iran, the monarchal leaders, experienced their final dynastic change in 1925 when Reza Khan, an Iranian officer who took over the government, had finally dethroned the Qajar Dynasty establishing the Pahlavi dynasty. Later, during the reign of the Shah's son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh assumed popular support that the Shah saw as a threat, and in 1951 he fled the country. When the Shah later returned, he began to run a more tightly centralized government, repressing the rights of the citizens. In 1979, internal dissent forced the Shah to flee for a final time allowing for Ayatollah Khomeini to establish Iran as an Islamic Republic.2
The Canadians have had a relatively uneventful background. British relinquished its former dependency, Canada, in 1867 when the British North American Act of 1867 bestowed upon the Canadians the right to govern themselves on the basis of the British Constitution. Even though Canada was a former colony under British rule, it has maintained close relationships with the British government ever since. Canada and the United States are also greatly connected over political, economic, and military issues.2
The Vatican City, whose government is known as the Holy See, is an independent state located within the Italian capital of Rome. The Vatican City was previously part of what is collectively known as the Papal States, a large swath of land that the Pope held power over, albeit small. When the Papal States were captured by Victor Emmanuel in his conquest to unify Italy in 1870, the Pope voiced his protest, disagreeing with the claims and pronouncing the Vatican City to be sovereign. Italy ceded to these protests in 1929 with thesigning of a formal agreement, officially recognizing the Vatican City's independence from Italy.
France has long had a struggle for democracy, beginning in the late eighteenth century, the French peasants and middle class overthrew the Ancien Régime, a monarchy, and established their first republic. France, as the home of the Enlightenment, was in an ideal position for such revolutionary change to happen, however, it maintained a volatile political status, reverting back to other forms of highly centralized rule until 1940 where its third republic fell to the invasion of Nazi Germany. After WWII, Charles de Gaulle, a French general, set up France's fourth republic. The present French Republic, the fifth, was set up at the collapse of the fourth republic, having been besieged by internal stress. The fifth republic was designed to fix the flaws of the fourth republic, namely increasing the strength of the executive branch.
The economic prowess of a nation generally defines its capabilities as a world power and a modern country and also largely affects the living standards and happiness of the population. Therefore, it is necessary to examine throughly the composition, the modernity, and the trade relations between countries, looking first at the theocracies, and then the democracies.
Saudi Arabia's economy is largely focused around oil productions. "At the beginning of the 21st century, petroleum accounted for 90%–95% of the kingdom's export earnings, 70%–80% of state revenues, and approximately 45% of its gross domestic product (GDP)" (Groiler Online).?? Though largely dependent on oil production, the government has tried to diversify its economy into sectors such as telecommunications and natural gas, and also try to encourage private sector growth to lower the unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia, which has been holding in the upper single digit to lower double digit rates1. The Saudi graduates in this economy are still unable to find jobs to match their profession or training, as a result, many educated men or either leaving the country, taking a different job, or are unemployed2. This poses a substantial threat to the government attempt to diversify and is an economic roadblock. The economies major industries are such things as cement, plastics, metals, oil and natural gas1. The present Saudi Economy faces the challenges of putting their citizens to work and diversifying the economy while combating the thousands of undocumented workers who work for less and push out the Saudi citizens1.
The economy of Iran currently is struggling with a high unemployment rate, an inefficient government and high inflation. The lack of diversification is another problem, the oil sector of the Iranian economy provides over 85% of the government revenues. The government also has maintained nationalization, but has allowed many privatization reforms, on institutions like banks and the energy sector, particularly petroleum and mining, since the 1979 revolution. Under President Rafsanjani, Iran first began to privatize some of the nationalized companies and institutions, seeing as Islam specifically promotes the right to private ownership. Government influences and controls on businesses, like the abundant subsidies and price controls, prevents the economies prosperity and long term growth, in addition, tainted officials and other economic controls prevent the private sector from leading growth. As such, the inefficient and oversized government lead sector compounds this problem2. The economy is also being damaged by the lack of professionals in the country, that is, many young Iranian graduates and Iranian intellectuals are leaving the country in search of better opportunities1. So while the state may help produce doctors, it rarely employs all those that they train. This may also be explained by the double digit unemployment that has plagued the country for so long1&2. Another economic factor limiting growth are the sanctions other nations have imposed upon it due to its nuclear ambitions and having been identified as a state sponsor of terrorism2. Iran's major industries currently are petroleum, fertilizer, caustic soda and cement production1.
The Vatican City has a unique noncommercial economy, primarily engaging in worldwide banking and regular state financial activities, such as printing money and producing coins. The Vatican City is supported through something called the Peter's Pence, a donation from Roman Catholics around the world, and by tourism activities2.
The common theme throughout the theocratic nations are centralized governments running good portions of the economy but transitioning over to privatize many of these companies, all the while that there is a continuous mismatch in the educated population and the jobs available or desired by the feeble private sectors. In addition, the jobs available leave a large portion of the theocratic nations' population out of work, attesting to the inability of the government in these nations to run businesses that can compete and provide jobs to its citizens. A similar shared hazard is the lack of diversification in the economies. Iran and Saudi Arabia both seem to be highly dependent upon their energy sectors, oil and natural gas, to carry the economy, while the Vatican City relies upon the Peter's Pence and tourism activities to fund their government.
Canada has a highly profitable relation with its neighbor, the U.S. Canada and the U.S enjoy mutual profitable trade, 75% of Canada's exports were sent to the U.S and 63% of their imports came from there too but also has strong commercial and political ties to Britain. Urban services and manufacturing make up a large portion of Canada's economy and as one of the leading exporters to most U.S states, this is understandable. Canada and the U.S also enjoy common trade policies and relatively few disputes that are often solved peacefully, or by referring to the World Trade Organization, of which they are both part, for a final referendum, maintaining genial relations thereafter2. Canada has always held a steady growth rate and during the 2008 and 2009 became one the countries whose banking system was most praised, due to banks conservative lending practices, Canada's banks faired much better than most countries1&2. Canada has maintained unemployment rates in the mid range of single digits to the upper single digits since the recession2. Canada's main industries comprise the following fields: chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals, fish products, paper products, and petroleum and natural gas.1
The former communist nation of Russia has not transitioned smoothly to a free market since the Soviet collapse. Even with the transition, there is still heavy government interference and regulation into the economy. Russia's current dependence on trade, particularly in heavy industry and oil, has caused it to be relatively without defense to the economic "boom and bust" cycles. In addition, there is corruption in many of the former nationalized industries from the Soviet era, a shrinking work force as a result of the lower birth rate, and the 2008 and 2009 recession to deal with. Russia has been one of the hardest hit by recession, referring back to its weakness to "boom and bust" cycles, with falling oil prices and the halt of banks' foreign credit1. Russia is still regaining its former world prominence, as of yet, it has gained a trade window into the world, with imports up in Russia by their former enemy, the U.S, by 38% in 2008, Russia is also looking to take more active roles in trade and is currently seeking entrance into the World Trade Organization2.
France also is undergoing an economic transition akin to Russia's. France owns substantial shares in the economy either through direct ownership or partial.

happy b day

wow

Matthew Carr
Mrs. White
English Honors 10
03/18/10

An Academic Study and Comparison of Major Theocracies and Democracies

Theocracies and democracies have key points of difference, one of them is hegemony, in a theocracy, power lies with a divine sovereign, in a democracy, with the people, however, in a modern and industrialized world with melting borders, it is not possible for a religious state to survive as a world power. Three points of dissimilarity are found within their individual economies, the people and state issues, and the government and governing of theocracies and democracies. The three theocratic nations that this study will be focused around are Iran, Saudi Arabia and the Vatican City, the three democratic nations will be Canada, Russia and France. In these countries a diverse set of economic, political and governmental situations exist making them optimal for review. It should become apparent to the reader that the theocratic nations are, in general, lacking in these three categories.
To begin, the first step is understanding the difference between a theocracy and a democracy and the background to the specific theocratic and democratic nations. The most critical difference, to restate, is the notion that ultimate authoritative power derives from a deity, or in some cases a monarch, in a theocracy and that in a democracy, this power resides with the people. The origins of our perception of a secular government come from the eighteenth century Enlightenment period in Western Europe where ideas such as freedom of speech, natural rights, and other things flourished. Once the people began to greater rule themselves, as a result of these Enlightenment ideas, Western Europe fostered great advances in human rights. (Shomali 1-2)? period or not, format for citation including parenthetical
In Saudi Arabia the present government was established in about 1750 C.E when the Saud family joined with an Islamic scholar Muhammad Abd Al-Wahhab, whose work would become the basis of the religious and government structure. It was not until in 1902, however, that this small state would begin to expand rapidly into other states of its sort. In 1902 Abdul Aziz Al Saud lead a successful conquest to regain the city of Riyadh and continued to expand his territory until he united roughly what is present day Saudi Arabia.
The present Russian Federation has had a shaky history inmaneuvering the totalitarian system of Communism to democracy and the free market. In 1917, due to widespread poverty and dissent over the first world war, which had remained static since the deposition of Czar Nicholas II and the creation of the provisional government, the Bolsheviks and their allies stormed the Winter Palace and usurped authority from the provisional government and oversaw the creation of a Communist state. This communist state, the USSR, came to embody much of Eastern Europe and after the second world war, became the proponent of the Communist state and world power opposing the United States of America. However, as the USSR began a policy of openness and modernization, it began to fracture as insurrections from former Eastern European states became successful because of this policy. Today it runs a tightly centralized government that is checked by national elections under strict supervision.
The Islamic Republic of Iran was formerly known as Persia until 1935 when the Shah changed the name1. The Shahs of Iran, the monarchal leaders, experienced their final dynastic change in 1925 when Reza Khan, an Iranian officer who took over the government, had finally dethroned the Qajar Dynasty establishing the Pahlavi dynasty. Later, during the reign of the Shah's son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh assumed popular support that the Shah saw as a threat, and in 1951 he fled the country. When the Shah later returned, he began to run a more tightly centralized government, repressing the rights of the citizens. In 1979, internal dissent forced the Shah to flee for a final time allowing for Ayatollah Khomeini to establish Iran as an Islamic Republic.2
The Canadians have had a relatively uneventful background. British relinquished its former dependency, Canada, in 1867 when the British North American Act of 1867 bestowed upon the Canadians the right to govern themselves on the basis of the British Constitution. Even though Canada was a former colony under British rule, it has maintained close relationships with the British government ever since. Canada and the United States are also greatly connected over political, economic, and military issues.2
The Vatican City, whose government is known as the Holy See, is an independent state located within the Italian capital of Rome. The Vatican City was previously part of what is collectively known as the Papal States, a large swath of land that the Pope held power over, albeit small. When the Papal States were captured by Victor Emmanuel in his conquest to unify Italy in 1870, the Pope voiced his protest, disagreeing with the claims and pronouncing the Vatican City to be sovereign. Italy ceded to these protests in 1929 with thesigning of a formal agreement, officially recognizing the Vatican City's independence from Italy.
France has long had a struggle for democracy, beginning in the late eighteenth century, the French peasants and middle class overthrew the Ancien Régime, a monarchy, and established their first republic. France, as the home of the Enlightenment, was in an ideal position for such revolutionary change to happen, however, it maintained a volatile political status, reverting back to other forms of highly centralized rule until 1940 where its third republic fell to the invasion of Nazi Germany. After WWII, Charles de Gaulle, a French general, set up France's fourth republic. The present French Republic, the fifth, was set up at the collapse of the fourth republic, having been besieged by internal stress. The fifth republic was designed to fix the flaws of the fourth republic, namely increasing the strength of the executive branch.
The economic prowess of a nation generally defines its capabilities as a world power and a modern country and also largely affects the living standards and happiness of the population. Therefore, it is necessary to examine throughly the composition, the modernity, and the trade relations between countries, looking first at the theocracies, and then the democracies.
Saudi Arabia's economy is largely focused around oil productions. "At the beginning of the 21st century, petroleum accounted for 90%–95% of the kingdom's export earnings, 70%–80% of state revenues, and approximately 45% of its gross domestic product (GDP)" (Groiler Online).?? Though largely dependent on oil production, the government has tried to diversify its economy into sectors such as telecommunications and natural gas, and also try to encourage private sector growth to lower the unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia, which has been holding in the upper single digit to lower double digit rates1. The Saudi graduates in this economy are still unable to find jobs to match their profession or training, as a result, many educated men or either leaving the country, taking a different job, or are unemployed2. This poses a substantial threat to the government attempt to diversify and is an economic roadblock. The economies major industries are such things as cement, plastics, metals, oil and natural gas1. The present Saudi Economy faces the challenges of putting their citizens to work and diversifying the economy while combating the thousands of undocumented workers who work for less and push out the Saudi citizens1.
The economy of Iran currently is struggling with a high unemployment rate, an inefficient government and high inflation. The lack of diversification is another problem, the oil sector of the Iranian economy provides over 85% of the government revenues. The government also has maintained nationalization, but has allowed many privatization reforms, on institutions like banks and the energy sector, particularly petroleum and mining, since the 1979 revolution. Under President Rafsanjani, Iran first began to privatize some of the nationalized companies and institutions, seeing as Islam specifically promotes the right to private ownership. Government influences and controls on businesses, like the abundant subsidies and price controls, prevents the economies prosperity and long term growth, in addition, tainted officials and other economic controls prevent the private sector from leading growth. As such, the inefficient and oversized government lead sector compounds this problem2. The economy is also being damaged by the lack of professionals in the country, that is, many young Iranian graduates and Iranian intellectuals are leaving the country in search of better opportunities1. So while the state may help produce doctors, it rarely employs all those that they train. This may also be explained by the double digit unemployment that has plagued the country for so long1&2. Another economic factor limiting growth are the sanctions other nations have imposed upon it due to its nuclear ambitions and having been identified as a state sponsor of terrorism2. Iran's major industry sectors are petroleum, fertilizer, caustic soda and cement production1.
The Vatican City has a unique noncommercial economy, primarily engaging in worldwide banking and regular state financial activities, such as printing money and producing coins. The Vatican City is supported through something called the Peter's Pence, a donation from Roman Catholics around the world, and by tourism activities2.
The common theme throughout the theocratic nations are centralized governments running good portions of the economy but transitioning over to privatize many of these companies, all the while that there is a continuous mismatch in the educated population and the jobs available or desired by the feeble private sectors. In addition, the jobs available leave a large portion of the theocratic nations' population out of work, attesting to the inability of the government in these nations to run businesses that can compete and provide jobs to its citizens. A similar shared hazard is the lack of diversification in the economies. Iran and Saudi Arabia both seem to be highly dependent upon their energy sectors, oil and natural gas, to carry the economy, while the Vatican City relies upon the Peter's Pence and tourism activities to fund their government.
Canada has a highly profitable relation with its neighbor, the U.S. Canada and the U.S enjoy mutual profitable trade, 75% of Canada's exports were sent to the U.S and 63% of their imports came from there too but also has strong commercial and political ties to Britain. Urban services and manufacturing make up a large portion of Canada's economy and as one of the leading exporters to most U.S states, this is understandable. Canada and the U.S also enjoy common trade policies and relatively few disputes that are often solved peacefully, or by referring to the World Trade Organization, of which they are both part, for a final referendum, maintaining genial relations thereafter2. Canada has always held a steady growth rate and during the 2008 and 2009 became one the countries whose banking system was most praised, due to banks conservative lending practices, Canada's banks faired much better than most countries1&2. Canada has maintained unemployment rates in the mid range of single digits to the upper single digits since the recession2. Canada's main industries comprise the following fields: chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals, fish products, food products, paper and wood products and petroleum and natural gas.1
The former communist nation of Russia has not transitioned smoothly to a free market since the Soviet collapse. Even with the transition, there is still heavy government interference and regulation into the economy. Russia's current dependence on trade, particularly in heavy industry and oil, has caused it to be relatively without defense to the economic "boom and bust" cycles. In addition, there is corruption in many of the former nationalized industries from the Soviet era, a shrinking work force as a result of the lower birth rate, and the 2008 and 2009 recession to deal with. Russia has been one of the hardest hit by recession, referring back to its weakness to "boom and bust" cycles, with falling oil prices and the halt of banks' foreign credit1. Like most countries, Russia's unemployment rate jumped in during the recession, Russia's unemployment is around the middle of the single digit numbers. Russia is still regaining its former world prominence, as of yet, it has gained a trade window into the world, with imports up in Russia by their former enemy, the U.S, by 38% in 2008, Russia is also looking to take more active roles in trade and is currently seeking entrance into the World Trade Organization2. Russia's main industries fall under the categories of mining, oil, coal, natural gas, scientific and medical instruments, textiles and machinery.
France also is undergoing an economic transition akin to Russia's, owning substantial shares in the economy either through direct ownership or partial. This ownership also contributes to France's enormous pay check, about half their GDP. France was the first European country to be officially out and recovering from the recession. France is still attempting to privatize many businesses and has passed several bills that attempt facilitate this by making France more competitive by modernizing the economy and by making improvements in the labor market2. Besides their economic downfalls, France has been one of the vanguards of aerospace and communications areas and is also the most visited country in the world, which inevitably entails a large tourism business, thus brining in large capital for the government1&2. The unemployment rate in France hovers in the upper single digits. France's main industries include sectors such as machinery, tourism, electronics, aircrafts, metallurgy and chemicals1.
The idea portrayed by the economies of the democracies is that of openness and diversity. On a whole, democracies tend to be open to trade with other nations as a good part of its economy, they also have great diversity that is geared around trade, Canada's main industries are all the types of goods that would be exported to their main trading partner, the U.S, and they take advantage of more than one natural resource. France also has a diverse economy, from tourism to machinery, and belongs to the European Union, a trading bloc. Although a democracy, Russia exhibits these ideas in a retracted state. Russia has some diversity in its economy, but not much seeing as it depends greatly upon its heavy industries, such as mining, oil, and machinery. Russia, however, is seeking to trade with its allies and is looking for access into the World Trade Organization, so though it does not trade as actively as some of the other nations, it is looking to do so.
The economies of the theocracies and the economies of the democracies are both similar and different. One the most glaring differences is the universal lack of diversity in the theocracies compared to the democracies, albeit Russia has limited diversity as well. Saudi Arabia's economy, as well as Iran's, is highly focused on the export of oil and natural gas. These countries, unlike their more developed democracies, appear to be making the raw materials for production, like plastic and cement. While the developed economies of Europe focus primarily on the industrialized aspects, like machineries and electronics, the theocratic nations are creating products that are sold to other countries so that they may do something with them, which brings reference to mind of the colonies of the eighteenth century world. In America's case, they were used to grow cotton, which in turn was used to spin clothing, which would finally be transported back to America for the people to buy. For instance, in Iran, the country moved rapidly towards modernization and industrialization under the Shah. "Since the fall of the Shah, economic recovery has proven elusive due to a combination of factors, including state interference in the economy and fluctuations in the global energy market.2" The Vatican City doesn't have a production center of its economy except for tourism, otherwise, its finances are mainly run by the Peter's Pence. The areas that they are similar to each other are in production, with regards to natural resources, and government policy.