martes, 26 de febrero de 2013
Ernest Hemingway: The Spanish Earth (1937)
Ernest Hemingway: The Spanish Earth (1937)
This documentary film uses footage
of war and glimpses of rural Spanish life in its portrayal of the
struggle of the Spanish Republican government against a rebellion by
right-wing forces led by General Francisco Franco and backed by Nazi
Germany and fascist Italy. The film was written by Ernest Hemingway and
John Dos Passos (among others) and was narrated by Hemingway.
This video is in the Public Domain, visit Archive.org for more informations.
This video is in the Public Domain, visit Archive.org for more informations.
With spanish subtitles
jueves, 21 de febrero de 2013
Spanish, European and World Citizens
In all the units we have studied, including this one, we have been looking at the concept of citizenship as something personal: for us, that citizenship is Spanish. But citizenship cannot be limited; being a citizen means being open to others, to other cultures, other communities.
Spanish citizenship can only be understood if it is regarded as a European and world citizenship. This is why we can say that we are Spanish, European and also cosmopolitan citizens.
European Citizenship: The European Union and its Institutions
The European Union is not a federation like the United
States, or a mere organ of cooperation among governments, like the
United Nations. It is a unique social, political and cultural reality. Its
Member States are still independent sovereign nations, but they
share their sovereignty in order to be stronger and have a global
influence that none of them could have in isolation.
A shared sovereignty means that the Member States delegate some of their decisive powers to the common institutions with a view to taking joint decisions, always democratically, about matters of common interest.
There are three main institutions in charge of taking decisions:
• The EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, representing the citizens of the European Union. It
is directly elected by them;
• The EUROPEAN UNION COUNCIL, representing the Member States; and
• The EUROPEAN COMMISSION, defending the Union's interests as a whole.
These institutions draw up the politics and legislations to be applied in the European Union. The Commission proposes the new rules (in principle) and the Parliament and the Council must pass them. The Commission and the Member States apply them, and the Commission guarantees their compliance.
Other important institutions are the European Court of Justice, in charge of the compliance of European legislation, and the European Court of Auditors, in charge of funding.
Apart from these institutions, the European Union has some other organisms that deal with specific matters.
International Institutions: Towards a Cosmopolitan Citizenship (The UN) The UN may be the most important organisation of many other international organisations. The United Nations (UN) is the biggest international organisation. Its task is to facilitate cooperation on several matters such as international law, peace, international security, economic and social development, humanitarian matters and human rights. It was founded by 51 countries after the second Wold War in San Francisco (California) on the 24th October 1945.
The UN consists of several administrative and management organisms, some of them as important as the General Assembly, the UN Security Council or institutions like UNESCO (in charge of education) or the WHO (World Health Organisation). The UN is chaired by a “General Secretary”, at the moment this post is held by Ban Ki-moon from South Korea, who took over the presidency on the 1st January 2007.
Spain in the World
Spain in the World
To know a country, city or any other place, it is not enough to find out about its customs, language or politics. We can only have a true knowledge of reality - of a country in this case – if we are able to place it in context, and in this case it would be a double context: those of place and time. We can only know what Spain is according to its location in the world and history; this way, we go from a narrow concept of citizenship to a wide and cosmopolitan one.
“Spain is a country with deep historical roots in
Europe. A country which - as can be seen through
its cultural heritage - has gone through some
conflictive and magnificent times that contribute to
explaining its current reality. Spain has its own
personality and idiosyncrasies, characterised by
several phenomena, like the discovery of America
or its neutrality during the two World Wars. But at
the same time, its history shares some aspects of
the history of other European countries, when –
while conscience of its diversity - it declared itself
a unified state and played a leading role in some
of the most important chapters of modern European history..”
Information from the official webpage of the Office
of the President and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development
We recommend that you visit the webpage.
Some data taken from Wikipedia and supplemented with official statistcs pages, (www.ine.es).
miércoles, 20 de febrero de 2013
DEMOCRACY (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
DEMOCRACY
A woman casts her vote in the second round of the French presidential election of 2007
Democracy is a form of government
in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that
affect their lives. Democracy allows eligible citizens to participate
equally—either directly or through elected representatives—in the
proposal, development, and creation of laws. It encompasses social, economic and cultural conditions that enable the free and equal practice of political self-determination.
The term originates from the Greek δημοκρατία (dēmokratía) "rule of the people",[1] which was coined from δῆμος (dêmos) "people" and κράτος (kratos) "power" in the 5th century BCE to denote the political systems then existing in Greek city-states, notably Athens; the term is an antonym to ἀριστοκρατία "rule of an elite." While theoretically these definitions are in opposition, in practice the distinction has been blurred historically.[2] The political system of Classical Athens, for example, granted democratic citizenship to an elite class of free men and excluded slaves and women from political participation. In virtually all democratic governments throughout ancient and modern history, democratic citizenship consisted of an elite class until full enfranchisement was won for all adult citizens in most modern democracies through the suffrage movements of the 19th and 20th centuries. The English word dates to the 16th century, from the older Middle French and Middle Latin equivalents.
A democratic government contrasts to forms of government where power is either held by one, as in a monarchy, or where power is held by a small number of individuals, as in an oligarchy. Nevertheless, these oppositions, inherited from Greek philosophy,[3] are now ambiguous because contemporary governments have mixed democratic, oligarchic, and monarchic elements. Karl Popper defined democracy in contrast to dictatorship or tyranny, thus focusing on opportunities for the people to control their leaders and to oust them without the need for a revolution.[4]
Several variants of democracy exist, but there are two basic forms, both of which concern how the whole body of all eligible citizens executes its will. One form of democracy is direct democracy, in which all eligible citizens have direct and active participation in the decision making of the government. In most modern democracies, the whole body of all eligible citizens remain the sovereign power but political power is exercised indirectly through elected representatives; this is called representative democracy. The concept of representative democracy arose largely from ideas and institutions that developed during the European Middle Ages, the Age of Enlightenment, and the American and French Revolutions.[5]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the use of the term "democracy" as referring to a system involving multiparty elections, representative government, and freedom of speech, see Liberal democracy. For other uses, see Democracy (disambiguation).
| Part of the Politics series |
| Democracy |
|---|
| Basic forms |
| Variants |
| Politics portal |
| Part of the Politics series |
| Basic forms of government |
|---|
| Power structure |
| Power source |
Democracy
|
| Politics portal |
| Part of a series on |
| Politics |
|---|
 |
| Politics portal |
The term originates from the Greek δημοκρατία (dēmokratía) "rule of the people",[1] which was coined from δῆμος (dêmos) "people" and κράτος (kratos) "power" in the 5th century BCE to denote the political systems then existing in Greek city-states, notably Athens; the term is an antonym to ἀριστοκρατία "rule of an elite." While theoretically these definitions are in opposition, in practice the distinction has been blurred historically.[2] The political system of Classical Athens, for example, granted democratic citizenship to an elite class of free men and excluded slaves and women from political participation. In virtually all democratic governments throughout ancient and modern history, democratic citizenship consisted of an elite class until full enfranchisement was won for all adult citizens in most modern democracies through the suffrage movements of the 19th and 20th centuries. The English word dates to the 16th century, from the older Middle French and Middle Latin equivalents.
A democratic government contrasts to forms of government where power is either held by one, as in a monarchy, or where power is held by a small number of individuals, as in an oligarchy. Nevertheless, these oppositions, inherited from Greek philosophy,[3] are now ambiguous because contemporary governments have mixed democratic, oligarchic, and monarchic elements. Karl Popper defined democracy in contrast to dictatorship or tyranny, thus focusing on opportunities for the people to control their leaders and to oust them without the need for a revolution.[4]
Several variants of democracy exist, but there are two basic forms, both of which concern how the whole body of all eligible citizens executes its will. One form of democracy is direct democracy, in which all eligible citizens have direct and active participation in the decision making of the government. In most modern democracies, the whole body of all eligible citizens remain the sovereign power but political power is exercised indirectly through elected representatives; this is called representative democracy. The concept of representative democracy arose largely from ideas and institutions that developed during the European Middle Ages, the Age of Enlightenment, and the American and French Revolutions.[5]
Democracy (Stanford Encyclopedia)
Democracy
First published Thu Jul 27, 2006
Normative democratic theory deals with the moral foundations of
democracy and democratic institutions. It is distinct from descriptive
and explanatory democratic theory. It does not offer in the first
instance a scientific study of those societies that are called
democratic. It aims to provide an account of when and why democracy is
morally desirable as well as moral principles for guiding the design of
democratic institutions. Of course, normative democratic theory is
inherently interdisciplinary and must call on the results of political
science, sociology and economics in order to give this kind of concrete
guidance.This brief outline of normative democratic theory focuses attention on four distinct issues in recent work. First, it outlines some different approaches to the question of why democracy is morally desirable at all. Second, it explores the question of what it is reasonable to expect from citizens in large democratic societies. This issue is central to the evaluation of normative democratic theories as we will see. A large body of opinion has it that most classical normative democratic theory is incompatible with what we can reasonably expect from citizens. It also discusses blueprints of democratic institutions for dealing with issues that arise from a conception of citizenship. Third, it surveys different accounts of the proper characterization of equality in the processes of representation. These last two parts display the interdisciplinary nature of normative democratic theory. Fourth, it discusses the issue of whether and when democratic institutions have authority and it discusses different conceptions of the limits of democratic authority.
- 1. Democracy Defined
- 2. The Justification of Democracy
- 3. The Problem of Democratic Citizenship
- 4. Legislative Representation
- 5. The Authority of Democracy
- Bibliography
- Other Internet Resources
- Related Entries
domingo, 17 de febrero de 2013
jueves, 7 de febrero de 2013
STOP Food waste!!!!!!!
Food waste
What is the EU doing ?
Food waste: causes
Overproduction, misshapen products, product & packaging damage (primary production and food manufacturing);
Stock inefficiencies and marketing strategies such as 2-for-1 deals (retail);
Lack of awareness, lack of shopping planning and date label confusion (best before/use by) (households);
Standard portion sizes (catering);
Inadequate storage (throughout the food supply chain);
Inadequate food packaging.
All the actors of the food chain should tackle their sector-specific causes to reduce food waste.
What can you do?
The food we throw away is a waste of valuable resources as it is expensive to buy and dispose of.
Buy smartly & plan your weekly meals. Make a shopping list and stick to it. Don't shop when you’re hungry. Buy loose fruits and vegetables so you can buy the quantity you need.
Check the use-by and best-before dates. The use-by date label means the food is safe to eat until the indicated day e.g. meat and fish. The best-before label shows the date until when the product retains its expected quality but is still safe to consume after that date.
Store food according to the package instructions or in the fridge at 1-5 degrees C°.
Bring older items in your cupboards and fridge to the front and put new food at the back to avoid stuff going mouldy on your shelves.
Serve small portions. Everybody can come back for more once they’ve cleared their plate.
Use your leftovers at lunch the day after, for next day’s dinner or freeze for another occasion.
Turn it into garden food. Set up a compost bin for fruit and vegetable peelings and teat your plants to rich compost.
martes, 5 de febrero de 2013
Europe will come out of the recession if we all work together
Europe will come out of the recession if we all work together
Suscribirse a:
Entradas (Atom)