France’s Troubles: Learning from US

Top Commentary Articles
1). Is Communism Dead Yet? By : David Snape There are a handful of countries that are still considered communist regimes. Yet communism doesn't really exist. These countries are more like dictatorships with authoritarian type leaders who operate under the very thin veil of non-existent communism. These groups or individual leaders that have near absolute power cause great harm to their country's populace on a continual basis.
2). Containing the United States By : Sam Vaknin European intellectuals yearned for the mutually exclusive: an America contained and a regime-changed Iraq. The Chinese are more pragmatic - though, bound by what is left of their Marxism, they still ascribe American behavior to the irreconcilable contradictions inherent in capitalism. The United States is impelled by its economy and values to world dominion, claimed in March 2003 an analysis titled "American Empire Steps Up Fourth Expansion" in the communist party's mouthpiece People's Daily.
3). A democracy? What have we wrought? By : Scott W. Clark One of the great fallacies abroad is thinking that any regime today can lay claim to being democratic. None are. Though we say they are democratic and that they are democracies, they are actually republican government—representative democracies. This means that certain people are elected to serve the interests of the people at large. These representatives make the decisions for the people rather than the people making them.
4). The Madman and the Iraqi War By : Sam Vaknin It is the war of the sated against the famished, the obese against the emaciated, the affluent against the impoverished, the democracies against tyranny, perhaps Christianity against Islam and definitely the West against the Orient. It is the ultimate metaphor, replete with "mass destruction", "collateral damage", and the "will of the international community".
5). The New Politics By : Sam Vaknin Politics, in all its forms, is bankrupt. The notion that we can safely and successfully hand over the management of our daily lives and the setting of priorities to a political class or elite is thoroughly discredited. Politicians cannot be trusted, regardless of the system in which they operate. No set of constraints, checks, and balances, is proved to work and mitigate their unconscionable acts and the pernicious effects these have on our welfare and longevity.
6). Thanks Mankind! By : Tyler I got to thinking today and i have to say, we rock! Humans I mean. For some reason, as I sat there, eating my McDonalds, I started thinking about technology. Man was I impressed! We have so much, and we dont think about it enough. I suppose it really doesnt make much of a difference to think about it anyways, but life would just be so much harder if it wasnt 2005.
7). " The Failure is Sundered Within" By : Forest Browne The failure is sundered within each of us, it festers as blame to others, a manifestation of the shame that belongs not to ourselves but of the participants of a deadlier game. Yet innately the affectation begins with our own visceral manumission of guilt, and sadly, empirically lies buried in our own personal failings. We ponder all that which seems inherently wrong.
8). Genes and the Mind By : Richard Helfant, MD People with a strong will to live understand that when they take life-enhancing measures, their health and longevity will be favorable affected, regardless of their genes. They take responsibility for their lives instead of being victims of events. Each and every one of us has the resources within to affect our health and longevity.
9). When you're down to nothing By : Saleem Rana The story of the Ugly Duckling has profound spiritual meanings. When we don't fit in, and when we're down on our luck, a greater game may be afoot.
10). Goldens and Black Labrador Retrievers, By : Ruth Bird Today I fell into a trap that I should never have allowed myself to get into. I actually trusted my dog, my Nikki, a 3 year golden retriever.

New Commentary Articles
1). Impeach Bush now By : Jason Vines Even a month ago, I was content to let the electoral system punish President George W. Bush for his incompetence in prosecuting the war in Iraq. Let him deal with more Democrats than he bargained for after the 2006 midterm elections, I thought. That would sufficiently punish him for his failures; anything more would set a dangerous precedent discouraging future presidents from launching big endeavors that might not work.
2). Why Are Politicians Corrupt? By : Sam Vaknin Most politicians bend the laws of the land and steal money or solicit bribes because they need the funds to support networks of patronage. Others do it in order to reward their nearest and dearest or to maintain a lavish lifestyle when their political lives are over. But these mundane reasons fail to explain why some officeholders go on a rampage and binge on endless quantities of lucre.
3). Heal Our Republic: Change Our Electoral System By : Jason Vines Consider the presidential election system we have today: Every state has a number of electors, equal to their amount of representatives and senators, who vote for the President of the United States. In most states, every elector goes to the candidate who achieves the most popular votes, regardless of his margin of victory. This means: 1. Presidential candidates have little reason to campaign to the whole country.
4). Gun Control Will Solve Nothing By : Jason Vines Statistics from the National Federation of State High School Associations reveal that, in 1999, 15 students perished while playing in high school football games. This fact received little to no coverage in the national media. Angry parents did not parade into Washington, D.C., in order to demand stricter regulation of high school football. Politicos feigning intense anguish did not bemoan football’s domination of most learning institutions’ sports programs.
5). America the Narcissist By : Sam Vaknin The majority of worldwide respondents to the last two global Pew enter surveys (in 2002 and 2006) regarded the United States as the greatest menace to world peace - far greater than the likes of Iraq or China. Thinkers and scholars as diverse as Christopher Lasch in "The Cultural Narcissist" and Theodore Millon in "Personality Disorders of Everyday Life" have singled out the United States as the quintessential narcissistic society.
6). " The Failure is Sundered Within" By : Forest Browne The failure is sundered within each of us, it festers as blame to others, a manifestation of the shame that belongs not to ourselves but of the participants of a deadlier game. Yet innately the affectation begins with our own visceral manumission of guilt, and sadly, empirically lies buried in our own personal failings. We ponder all that which seems inherently wrong.
7). Prohibition's Other Ending Remembered On April 7 By : John Terry While Prohibition's repeal came on December 5, 1933, American brewers celebrate the end of that era with "Brew Year's Eve" on April 7. It seems the country's brewers were back in business on this earlier date, when Americans enjoyed beer as their first legal drink in 12 years. Franklin Delano Roosevelt's support for repeal helped him win the 1932 presidential election.
8). On the Nature of Evil By : Peter Cross In psychological terms, evil is an aberration of the ego. An evil ego has a strong desire to dominate other egos. An evil person knows that terror is the most effective way to dominate other people because terror induces incapacitating fear. People who are stricken with fear cannot take effective action to defend themselves and while they are in that state, an evil person can do anything they want to do to them.
9). “Blood Extravasation: Israel’s Journey to the Precipice of Nowhere” By : Forest Browne Western civilization’s lone bastion in the Middle East has lost sight of its holistic long-term visage, and is behaving like a fracturalized cornered animal, lashing at all within its grasp. Israel fails to remember Chaim Weizmann’s precursor to entering Palestine, an inclusive benefice for both Palestinian and Israelite, while Hezbolla solidifies its political gains by building hospitals, schools, and sadly, but historically predictable, terrorism.
10). Islamic Militancy – Seed for the Next Dark Ages By : Rev. Michael Bresciani We teach our collegians well about the period known as the dark ages but do we thoroughly explain what brought on this horrible period across the globe? With little fanfare the answer to that question is an unequivocal no. Let’s do the math here. The marriage of civil and ecclesiastical power is without dispute the singular cause of the horrors of the dark ages.