Bill Maher is a comedian, television host, political commentator, author, and actor. A renaissance man I believe is the term for him. He was born in January 20, 1956. You can read more about Bill Maher here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Maher

This is another man whose views I agree with. Obviously I don’t agree with all of his views but as I have said numerous times no one truly agrees with each other 100%.

I like some of what Bill Maher stands for. I like that he is for the legalization of same sex marriage and marijuana. I don’t consider marijuana a drug. I don’t smoke marijuana, at least not anymore, but I don’t see why people should be banned from smoking it. I believe it is perfectly natural. I am against drugs but as I said I don’t consider marijuana a drug. Marijuana is a plant.

As for same sex marriage, there is no problem with that either. If you aren’t gay don’t marry someone of the same sex you are. Get over yourself already. Everyone should have the life they want shouldn’t they?

By the way, I don’t own the videos. I am promoting them so they get more views. That is if you even bother to watch them anyway.

Despite being in a happy, long term relationship, I still don’t understand why people are so obsessed with this one day ‘holiday’. Every year in the week leading up to February the 14th, there is a sense of excitement in most people and it is this hysteria that I have never managed to understand.

Most single people will believe that couples are simply showing off by publicly displaying their love for one another with their romantic days out, meals and their presents. There is no arguing that they definitely have a point. There is a certain level of exclusion when it comes to Valentine’s Day. For some people it may even be a huge hit to the self esteem when they realise that they’re single and nobody seems to be interested in them. Why should there only be one day dedicated to showing love? Surely if a couple are really in love with one another, they would show their feelings every day? Something about setting a single date for this to occur on takes all the spontaneity and romance out of everything. It’s a superficial holiday that is an obligation. People shouldn’t have to buy gifts to show their love and if they must buy gifts, it doesn’t have to be organised. As soon as something becomes an obligation, the fun soon becomes drained out of it.

But can couples really be to blame for the big fuss before this day? Whilst on social networking sites, I have found that most of the mentions of Valentine’s Day were by single people who were complaining about it. This means that these people are just making matters worse for themselves as they’re the ones that bring up the holiday. I find that these complaints are also somewhat meaningless and hypocritical because it’s not uncommon for these single people to hate the day purely because they can’t join in and so the next year they’ll jump on the bandwagon.

This makes me question my own faith in the human race. Since when did we all become so dependent on others? If you feel as if you need a partner then you certainly shouldn’t get one purely because it’s important to learn to love being single. If you choose to be in a relationship because you can’t stand the thought of being single then you’re more likely to hurt yourself by throwing yourself into the arms of people you may not actually want to be with. If people are able to learn that being single has many freedoms and that if they’re patient, they can find who they are looking for then they are far more likely to achieve happiness.

The only real purpose I can think of for this holiday is to give those who are afraid to confess their feelings an opportunity. Even so, I feel that if these people feel strongly enough for a person, they can find the strength and the confidence to admit their feelings.

And so I won’t be celebrating Valentine’s Day this year. I find love to be an amazing experience that should be enjoyed all year round. This event becomes less and less about romance each year as the superficiality of it increases and people become more and more infatuated and greedy.  Cupid is beginning to look less and less like a naked chubby little baby and more and more like a fat business tycoon in a suit puffing on cigars. Well, at least it’s good for the economy. 

Taj Mahal, India

Don’t get me wrong, I have no objection at all to us helping out other countries, even though we’re in pretty dire straits ourselves here in the UK.  The thing that gets my goat is the fact that India have said they don’t want the money but the UK have insisted they take it!

The good, honest people of India, instead of grasping it with both hands, actually turned down the offer that had been foisted upon them and India’s finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee even went so far as to say it was “a peanut” that wasn’t needed as India’s economy was growing with some speed and would, in all likelihood, overtake our own in the not too distant future. 

Pranab Mukherjee

There are people here desperately trying to make ends meet; homes are being repossessed, our public services and our forces are being cut back, our government benefits are being “trimmed” which means that the less well off members of our society are suffering which, in turn, affects the disabled, lesser paid adults, particularly those with families to support, and the elderly. 

It’s also been revealed that this year we’ve set aside a budget of £8.1 billion for foreign aid in general and this is due to rise to an incredible £11.5 billion in 2015.  We’ve always been inclined to help out other countries in their hour of need but, with our coffers almost down to rock bottom, it’s utterly ludicrous to give part of this budget to a country that’s already said it doesn’t need it, thanks very much.

As you can imagine, the revelation has upset numerous MPs and, of course, us hard strapped tax payers.

By all accounts, the Indian economy is growing by 10% a year and, within the next 10 years will overtake that of the UK.  In fact, India has set up its own aid budget to help out struggling countries so presumably in a couple of years time India will be helping to dig the UK out of a financial hole!

The International Development Secretary, Andrew Mitchell, has said, in defence of the “donation” to India  “there are states the size of Britain where half the children suffer from malnutrition”.  That may well be true, but if the Indian government have stated they now have plenty of money in their bank vaults I’m assuming some of this will eventually find its way to support lesser well off people.  If that isn’t the case, then rather than pump more money into an obviously financially stable government, wouldn’t it be more sensible to filter some of the money through to charities such as the Red Cross, Oxfam, Save the Children, Age Concern, etc etc so that they can actually get the money direct to those people that need it most?

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The GOP has worked overtime in the last two years to stygmy any progress to be made by the Obama administration, even at great expense to both the economy and the growth (restoration and development) thereof. Of course, the reasoning behind this is simple enough – anything they can do to discredit the “First Black President of the United States of America” would be a plus, but more important is that they unseat the Democratic Party in the next presidential elections.

It hurts when celebrities and public figures use thier popularity the wrong way – big names such as Matt Damon and Donald Trump whom one would expect to know better tend to speak with minimal information. The Donald’s attacks on Barack Obama’s viability as president was uncalled for, especially considering that the United States is essentially and literally a nation of immigrants. Matt Damon, whom I love on the other hand, is obviously speaking out of impatience in his desire to see changes made. True, change has been slow and The President does seem to take his time on some issues, but there is no denying the fact that the change experienced in the American economy has both been real and measurable over the past four years. Well, at least, Jason Bourne clearly has a passion for his country -  wonder what the real estate mogul really has to show for… anything, that is, besides a woeful credit score.

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It’s the hypocrisy of democracy, simply enough. It has little to do with the flight of the American people, but more to do with how long either party can hold on to the Oval Office and influence policy to please other wealthy people and make themselves richer! Only America can wake up and make matters right; too bad history shows that the majority is usually wrong, while an informed minority is informed enough to make the right choices. Too bad history shows that the ignorant majority tends to win the vote while the informed minority is silenced by overwhelming unpopularity. Way to change the world, America.

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The public, if it is wise, has seen the error of its ways, slowing down the rates of growth and recovery from the Great Recession by splitting the House between Democrats and Republicans. Let not forget the ills the GOP has put the economy to over the past year – risking default and ominous tax situations, all in the bid to discredit the incumbent; let not forget the nominee-apparent, an exposed money-monger who would starve out several hungry families in order to make and keep a quick buck, who would not file or reveal his tax returns, and who would shamelessly proffer a bet on national television for an amount many American homes would not see (much less spend) in a year. Oust the GOP – from the House; keep the GOP – from the Office.

Thankfully, America is learning a lesson that has come long and hard, that looks beyond racial and economic disparity, past the ignorance of subscribing to the media, and past blind argument based on feelings. Thankfully, America is learning a lesson that allows her to vote for the person who is right and on the right track, not for a party or an ideaology, but for truth, justice and the American way. Thankfully, America knows what to do next.

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Vote not the Democratic Party nor the Republican; vote not for media propaganda or wealth and affluence; vote not with your belly or your worries about the future. Vote with faith and hope that the America that once was lives still and will rise again from the ashes of a crippling Great Recession.

The 2012 Presidential Race.

In the book a test of faith it is about a lesbian couple who split up. One of the women was assaulted because of her sexuality. It shows how some people can be mean towards homosexuals. It shows what some people that are homosexual deal with living in a closed minded world.

It shows how when some people seek help because they need it they are often turned away for some reason or another. It shows how hard it is to seek needed help from professional such a a psychiatrist etc. It shows how messed up the legal system is.

In the book a test of faith it shows how messed up Christian people can be. It also shows how people do things in the name of their god which isn’t right. Such as rape people who are lesbians and assault them because it is what god wants.

In this book though it also shows how real Christians are. How people who believe in god and are really right with him will do whats right to help others.

I liked this book. I think that it was a nice story about how people really can be in different scenarios and how messed up this world it. I also like that it shows how messed up cops can be.

After Obama was elected and before he entered office he asked President Bush to attain money for a stimulus package he intended to present upon entering office. President Bush was often portrayed as a stupid man, I for one never really believed that. We all have our stupid moments however, he as well as the rest of us, his was agreeing to go ahead and do as Barack Obama requested.

I watched closely as Obama entered his presidency and tried to remain candid and unprejudiced in judging what he did for the country. It seemed the first thing he was interested in was healthcare, an issue that undoubtedly needed attention since the current system really wasn’t working. His plan was to put the system under complete government control, which earned it the nickname Obama care. According to all independent surveys at the time, the Senate did not want it, the house did not want it, and the American public did not want.

Barack Obama cared little what anyone else wanted he was determined to get Obama care. He got it through the Senate by bribing senators. Not necessarily a cash offer to them individually, although I’m not sure this did not happen. He bought these senators by promising tax breaks for their states. Nebraska was one such state. When he tried to get it through the House of Representatives he ran against a solid wall. It was going to be far more difficult to achieve his desired results in the house. Many representatives were outraged at the deals he had made in the Senate to get it passed. The promises he had made to the Nebraska senator were a particular sticking point. This was no problem to Barack Obama though, now that he no longer needed the Senate vote he didn’t need to fulfill his promises, so he simply repealed the promises made to the Nebraska senator to gain the votes he needed from the house. After such dealings I found it hard to believe that anyone could ever trust this man in any way.

By this time the money from the original stimulus package was starting to run out, no one really knew where it was but it was gone. This was not a problem however for Barack Obama, he simply asked for more, after all he was the president of hope and change, and how could he bring about change if we did not simply hand over everything he wanted.

Now that he had borrowed his second truck load of money, the entire world’s economy started to tremble. We did not cause their problems, but they had always felt that as long as US economy was strong it would help pull them back up. Now seeing that the US economy was every bit as fragile as their own they felt vulnerable. By this time we had found where much of the money had gone. A good sized bundle went to buy GM. This was a smart move on Obama’s part because it put the unions firmly in his back pocket. Another good sized wad of money went to bailout the banks.

Watching all of this I could not help but see the genius of his plan. As president he was commander-in-chief of the military, upon buying GM he pretty much had control of the country’s vast unions, and by lending banks bailout money he sought to have the country’s monetary system in his grip. These three points should give him a stranglehold on the country that would be unbreakable. The fly in the ointment however was the banks. Although they have received much bad press for stabilizing themselves and not just handing the money out everyone else, they managed to keep Barack Obama from controlling them by stabilizing themselves and paying back the money they had borrowed.

To this very day Barack Obama has had one ace in the hole to fall back on whenever he receives criticism. It’s all Bush’s fault. Bush went out of power in 2006. True he was president until 2008 but in 2006 the Democrats received majority in both the House and the Senate, bringing on the famous quote by the speaker of the house, Nancy Pelocy, Mr. Pres. there’s a new sheriff in town. This aptly illustrated that from that day forth President Bush had pretty much been politically castrated. Now it’s 2012, six years into democratic control and still everything is Bush’s fault.

In the past three years i have seen so many things toworry about with Barock Obama as Presedent that race has more or less taken a seat at the back of the bus. Today I saw a headline stating that the US deficient is now $1 trillion. I’ve worked 70 hours or more a week for the past 30 years to try to retain a tenuous grip on middle-class. In doing so I’ve earned the right to be one of the people that must pay off this debt. I will do this, not necessarily gladly, but because i love my country and wish to carry my share of the load, I will work at it probably till the day I die. In a sense I have now been enslaved by the US government, so I guess what they say is true, paybacks a bitch.

Meanwhile, the nation’s gross domestic forecasts (GDP) has also been revised down to two percent. Since the economic crisis of 2008, the U.S. budget deficit to occupy a trillion dollar mark. US economic crisis has triggered riots in the heart of the country, Movement occupy Wall Street (OWS), a protest movement that began on September 17, 2011 at Zuccotti Park, on the financial zone of Wall Street, New York, to protest the economic and social inequality, unemployment high, greed, and corruption, and influence of big corporations, especially from the financial services sector-the government. The demonstrators refer to income and wealth inequality in the U.S. between the rich and the entire U.S. population. Protest in New York that has sparked protests and occupy similar movements around the world. Movement that now has spread to many major cities in the United States and Australia, Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Portugal and other nations.

The communist who overthrew czarist Russia in 1917 had strong ideas about the future.  When they put their ideas into practice, they drastically transformed the economic geography of the region.

                The communists had been inspired by the work of Karl Marx, a German philosopher who had examined the history of economic systems.  Marx believed that the capitalist system was doomed because it concentrated wealth in the hands of a few and left everyone else in poverty.  He predicted that a communist system would replace capitalism.  In a communist society, he argued, citizens would own property together, and everyone would share the wealth.

                To move their society toward communism, Soviet leaders adopted a command economy one in which the central government makes all important economic decisions.  The government took control of the major sources of the state’s wealth, including land, mines, factories, banks, and transportation systems.  Government planners decided what products factories would manufacture, what crops farms would grow, and even what prices merchants would charge for their goods. 

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                Rapid industrialization became a major goal of soviet planning.  Even farming became an industry under Stalin.  The Soviet government created enormous collective farms on which large teams of laborers were gathered to work together.  People were moved to the farms by the thousands.  By 1939, nearly nine out of ten farms were collectives.  The Soviets had firmly established their power over the countryside. 

                Although industrial and agricultural production increased, the region’s people had to make great sacrifices for this rapid transformation.  Millions of citizens starved to death in famines caused, in part,  by the creation of collective farms.  Those who survived soon realized that only a small number of individuals had benefited from the economic changes. 

                Many people tried to do something about this betrayal, but as great risk.  Under Stalin’s rule, the police swiftly punished any form of protest.  Some historians estimate that Stalin was responsible for the deaths of more than 14 million people.

                Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, leaders in Russia and the Republics have tried to reduce the state’s monopoly on economic power and return some control to private individuals and businesses.