Election 2012: Gay marriage and recreational use of marijuana voted in tonight Scroll down for video Recreational marijuana use and gay marriage became legal in some U.S. states last night in defiance of federal law, breaking new ground in the 2012 election. Altering the course of U.S social policy, Maine and Maryland became the first states to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote, while Washington state and Colorado set up a showdown with the Obama administration by legalizing recreational use of marijuana. Dating back to 1998, same-sex marriage has been rejected in all 32 states that have held popular votes on the issue. Waiting for results: Christabel Escarez, right, and Daisy Frearson, second from right - both in support of same-sex marriage - watch early election results at the Wildrose bar in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood Vote: Since 1998, same-sex marriage has been rejected in all 32 states that have held popular votes on the issue, until the streak was broken tonight in Maine Though same-sex marriage is still illegal in the state.
Civic Consciousness in a Global Age This essay was originally published in the March 2012 issue of the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice. Click here to purchase the full issue. This article asks why, in an age of global crisis, global governance still remains a low priority for the integral community. Civics entails the rights and duties of citizenship and the role citizens have in establishing, shaping, and overseeing government at any level (Altinay, 2010). If, for example, a citizen could not perceive national-scale problems, or mistook them as being of a merely local nature, she would see no need for national governance at all. I distinguish the civic from the political line of development in the Lower-Right (LR) quadrant by noting that civics is fundamentally about the perception, by citizens, of a need for governance. The Civic Holarchy Like all lines of development, the proposed civic line tetra-evolves and manifests in all four quadrants. Integral Civic Consciousness The Nationcentric Worldview Figure 1.
Defining Globalization Human societies across the globe have established progressively closer contacts over many centuries, but recently the pace has dramatically increased. Jet airplanes, cheap telephone service, email, computers, huge oceangoing vessels, instant capital flows, all these have made the world more interdependent than ever. Multinational corporations manufacture products in many countries and sell to consumers around the world. Money, technology and raw materials move ever more swiftly across national borders. Articles and Documents Key Documents Lamy Underlines Need For "Unity in Our Global Diversity" (June 14, 2011) Director-General of the WTO Pascal Lamy discusses globalization’s “fragile dominance” over our era, and argues that deglobalization should not and will not happen. Inescapably Side by Side - An Interview with David Held (February 2004) Runaway World - Reith Lectures Revisited (November 10, 1999) The Threat of Globalization (Winter 1999) Edward S. William K. Are there Alternatives?
Inspiring Stories for a Community Led Future - Ecolise Creating a Narrative that Matters We are hardwired to create and share stories; it’s how we learn and is what shapes our identity. A well-told story helps us re-imagine our lives, gives us hope and offers us a sense of what could be possible. A great majority of the stories we are exposed to appeal to values associated with consumption, status and our self-image. Transformational stories need to engage people’s ‘intrinsic’ or non-materialistic values, rather than ‘extrinsic’ or materialistic ones. Generally what is deemed to be newsworthy these days is anxiety inducing or cultivates self-doubt and apathy. We are told that to meet the targets required to avoid catastrophic global warming we must begin to consume less. We definitely need to hear more compelling stories to inspire us to transform our lives and the places we live.
Amendment 64 Passes: Colorado Legalizes Marijuana For Recreational Use The Rocky Mountain High just got a whole lot higher. On Tuesday night, Amendment 64 -- the measure seeking the legalization of marijuana for recreational use by adults -- was passed by Colorado voters, making Colorado the first state to end marijuana prohibition in the United States. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a vocal opponent to the measure, reacted to the passage of A64 in a statement late Tuesday night: The voters have spoken and we have to respect their will. This will be a complicated process, but we intend to follow through. The passage of the state measure is without historical precedent and the consequences will likely be closely-watched around the world. A common error is to believe that the Netherlands has already legalized cannabis (the preferred term for marijuana in Europe). A64 will allow adults 21 and older to purchase up to one ounce of marijuana from specialty marijuana dispensaries and grow up to six marijuana plants in their homes.
4 ways the world could actually end While humanity has survived the apocalypse on Dec. 21, which some people believe the Mayans predicted hundreds of years ago, experts say there are legitimate threats that could potentially wipe out the human race. Here’s a look at some plausible scenarios. Earth-killing asteroids News that a five-kilometre asteroid zipped past Earth last week wowed stargazers, but its hefty size gave apocalypse watchers a bit of a scare. If an asteroid measuring about one kilometre in diameter struck the Earth, the impact would be enough to leave a 10-kilometre-wide crater and kill 90 per cent of humanity, says Jay Melosh, professor of planetary sciences at Purdue University. This NASA radar image from 2011 shows asteroid 2005 YU55. "Human civilizations might suffer very badly. But Melosh says the likelihood of a space rock that size actually striking the Earth is incredibly small. "Pea size asteroids hit us — thousands a day," he told CBC News. Nuclear warfare Infectious disease Climate change
untitled Local and Regional Development | Andy Pike, Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, Joh Actors and institutions in localities and regions across the world are seeking prosperity and well-being amidst tumultuous and disruptive shifts and transitions generated by: an increasingly globalised, knowledge-intensive capitalism; global financial instability, volatility and crisis; concerns about economic, social and ecological sustainability, climate change and resource shortages; new multi-actor and multi-level systems of government and governance and a re-ordering of the international political economy; state austerity and retrenchment; and, new and reformed approaches to intervention, policy and institutions for local and regional development. Local and Regional Development provides an accessible, critical and integrated examination of local and regional development theory, institutions and policy in this changing context. Amidst its rising importance, the book addresses the fundamental issues of ‘what kind of local and regional development and for whom?’
World Reaction To 2012 Election: Barack Obama's Re-Election Elicits Strong Feelings Around The Globe (PHOTOS) President Barack Obama's re-election in the United States elicited strong feelings — from optimism to skepticism — around the world. A sampling of global reaction: "One of the first things I want to talk to Barack about is how we must do more to try and solve this crisis (in Syria). Above all, congratulations to Barack. "Your re-election is a clear choice in favor of an America that is open, unified, completely engaged in the international scene and conscious of the challenges facing our planet: peace, the economy and the environment." — French President Francois Hollande. Pope Benedict XVI sent a message to Obama expressing hope that "ideals of liberty and justice, which guided the founders of the U.S.A., may continue to shine on the road ahead for the nation." — Vatican spokesman the Rev. "When you were elected in 2008, you inspired the world with a call to take responsibility for the problems we face as global citizens. "Sandy was a climate change warning. Related on HuffPost:
Cracked Hymn How to define... Planning Local Economic Development: Theory and Practice - Nancey Green Leigh, Edward J. Blakely Bill would give president emergency control of Internet | Politics and Law Internet companies and civil liberties groups were alarmed this spring when a U.S. Senate bill proposed handing the White House the power to disconnect private-sector computers from the Internet. They're not much happier about a revised version that aides to Sen. The new version would allow the president to "declare a cybersecurity emergency" relating to "non-governmental" computer networks and do what's necessary to respond to the threat. "I think the redraft, while improved, remains troubling due to its vagueness," said Larry Clinton, president of the Internet Security Alliance, which counts representatives of Verizon, Verisign, Nortel, and Carnegie Mellon University on its board. Representatives of other large Internet and telecommunications companies expressed concerns about the bill in a teleconference with Rockefeller's aides this week, but were not immediately available for interviews on Thursday. Update at 3:14 p.m.
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