Former President Soeharto Dies

Indonesia Former President Soeharto DiesGeneral (retired.) Soeharto, the second Indonesian president, who has been in a very critical condition for few weeks, has died today in the RSPP (Rumah Sakit Pustat Peramina) hospital Jakarta. Indonesian government has decided to have a  national mourning for seven days starting from now.  He will be buried tomorrow morning in Astana Giribangun of Central Java as per his request. Yet, the possibility that he’ll be buried in Jakarta is not ruled out, reports Detik.com.

As a human being he deserves our prayer and forgiveness; and to his big family our condolences. May God rest his soul in peace. As a statement and politician who ruled Indonesia for 32-long years, he might make mistakes. Let the law decides and take decision based on justice for all.
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Secularism

The term “secularism” was first used by the British writer George Holyoake in 1846. Secularism is generally the assertion that governmental practices or institutions should exist separately from religion or religious belief. Alternatively, it is a principle of promoting secular ideas or values in either public or private settings over religious ways of thought.[1]
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Far Left Politics

Far left and extreme left are terms used to discuss the position a group or person occupies within a political spectrum. The terms far left and far right are often used to imply that someone is an extremist. Some groups considered to be far left do not wish to govern within the current institutional framework, and this may be what distinguishes them from other left-leaning groups. However, these terms are controversial because the labels are considered by some to be subjective based upon the perspective of those who consider themselves “centrists” or slightly left or right of center with an underlying assumption that anything more radical than those views is ‘extreme’ or wrong. [1]
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Far Right Politics

Far right, extreme right, ultra-right, or radical right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within a political spectrum. Far right is typically used to describe a political viewpoint that advocates strong social conservatism or social authoritarianism, rejects liberalism, and rejects communism.
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Center Right Politics

The centre-right is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals, political parties or organizations (such as think tanks) whose views stretch from the centre to the right on the left-right spectrum, excluding far right stances. Centre-right can also describe a coalition of centrist and right-wing parties. Many political parties of the centre-right are known to have various factions and members who advocate right-wing policies.[1]
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Independent Politics

In politics, an independent is a politician who is not affiliated with any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between the two parties, they may hold an extremist viewpoint that goes beyond that of either major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do not feel that either party addresses.[1]

Independents have rarely been elected to the federal Parliament of Australia, although they are more commonly elected to state parliaments. In Canada Independent politicians have held considerable sway in the Canadian House of Commons. In Philippines, Noli de Castro, the Philippines’ current vice president, ran as senator in 2001 with no political party affiliation. He was an adopted candidate of the opposition Pwersa ng Masa coalition but he never joined their campaign rallies. He won in the senate race with the highest votes (then) in Philippine history. In UK, Independent Members of Parliament were once frequently elected in the United Kingdom, but they have been much less successful in the last half-century. (See List of UK minor party and independent MPs elected.)[2]

[1] Wikipedia
[2] Ibid

Liberal Politics

Liberalism emphasizes individual rights and equality of opportunity. Different forms of liberalism may propose very different policies, but they are generally united by their support for a number of principles, including extensive freedom of thought and speech, limitations on the power of governments, the rule of law, the free exchange of ideas, a market or mixed economy, and a transparent system of government. All liberals — as well as some adherents of other political ideologies — support some variant of the form of government known as liberal democracy, with open and fair elections, where all citizens have equal rights by law.
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Left Wing Politics

Meaning and definition
In politics, left-wing, the political left, or the Left are positions that advocate a society where all people have an equal opportunity, which leftists often describe as a “level playing field”. In general, the left seek to reform or abolish the existing social order in favor of a more equal distribution of wealth and privilege. Its emphasis on social change puts it in alliance with civil rights, feminist and green movements. Because of this, the left tends to support labor unions, worker cooperatives and sometimes communes.

According to Barry Clark,

“ Leftists… claim that human development flourishes when individuals engage in cooperative, mutually respectful relations that can thrive only when excessive differences in status, power, and wealth are eliminated. According to leftists, a society without substantial equality will distort the development of not only deprived persons, but also those whose priveleges undermine their motivation and sense of social responsibility. This suppression of human development, together with the resentment and conflict engendered by sharp class distinctions, will ultimately reduce the efficiency of the economy. ”

Ideologies considered part of the left include; Progressivism, Social liberalism, Social democracy, Left-libertarianism, Socialism, Syndicalism, Marxism, Communism, Autonomism and most forms of Anarchism. It should be noted that many of the far left ideologies are not supported by all leftists.[1]

In political terms, now indicative of the radical or progressive socialist spectrum, but originally literally a spatial term. In the French estates general of 1789, commoners sat on the left of the king, because the nobles were in the position of honour on his right. This is the connection with the root sense of ‘left’ as pertaining to ‘the hand that is normally the weaker of the two’, a pejorative association also found in French gauche, Latin sinister, and their derivatives. In the assemblies of the French Revolution this evolved into a custom that the radical and egalitarian members sat towards the left-hand side of the assembly, viewed from the presiding officer’s chair (and higher up, so that some of them were labelled the ‘Mountain’).

What it is to be ‘left(-wing)’ varies so much over space or time that a definition is very difficult, but the following issue orientations would normally be involved: egalitarianism, support for the (organized) working class, support for nationalization of industry, hostility to marks of hierarchy, opposition to nationalistic foreign or defence policy. ‘Left’ is used to distinguish positions within parties as well as among them. A left-wing socialist is one who takes extreme positions on (some of) the items on this list. Left-wing communism (described by Lenin in a pamphlet of 1920 as ‘an infantile disorder’) may be cynically defined as all forms of communism not supported by the prevailing leadership of the Communist Party. However, in the 1920s and 1930s, left-wing deviation meant encouraging revolution among the people without caring sufficiently about the leading role of the Party; right-wing deviation meant too much support for NEP and the market.[2]

In politics, the portion of the political spectrum associated in general with egalitarianism and popular or state control of the major institutions of political and economic life. The term dates from the 1790s, when in the French revolutionary parliament the socialist representatives sat to the presiding officer’s left. Leftists tend to be hostile to the interests of traditional elites, including the wealthy and members of the aristocracy, and to favour the interests of the working class (proletariat). They tend to regard social welfare as the most important goal of government. Socialism is the standard leftist ideology in most countries of the world; communism is a more radical leftist ideology.[3]


[1] Wikipedia
[2] Political Dictionary
[3] Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

Right Wing Politics

In politics, right-wing, the political right, and the Right are positions that seek to uphold or return to traditional authorities and/or the liberties of a civil society. Its concern is often to preserve the domestic culture usually in the face of external forces for change. Due to its link to tradition, the right has been associated with the church, business and law and order. In general, the right also advocates the preservation of personal wealth and private ownership.

The right wing tends to believe in social equity rather than social equality. It regards most social inequality as the result of ineradicable natural inequalities, and sees attempts to enforce social equality as utopian or authoritarian. Ideologies considered part of the right include; Traditionalism, Conservatism, Laissez-faire Capitalism, Right-Libertarianism, Objectivism, Reactionism, Monarchism, Aristocracy and, to some extent, Fascism and Nazism.[1]
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Wordpress.com Gives Away 3 GB Free Space

Wordpress.com Gives Away 3 GB Free SpaceIt seems that wordpress.com want to leave a landmark in the history and set the trend of free blogging service in the same way gmail.com did for the free email space capacity by giving away a three-gigabytes space to enable you to upload as much as any rich files you could imagine. In comparison to other free blog providers, wordpress describes it simply:

To get the same amount of space at our nearest competitor, Typepad, you’d pay at least $300 a year. Blogger only gives you 1GB. We’re doing the same thing for free.

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