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The purpose of this article is to inform you, the reader, on how a bill becomes law in our governmental process. By knowing this information, you can better understand how the actions in congress affect you. Tracking down legislation is very easy thanks to the Internet. There are a couple websites to bookmark, Senate.gov and House.gov. Through these websites, one can track all the action in the Senate and House, including who voted on what.
The election process is alive, but not completely well in Iraq. Recently, elections where held in Iraq and as the results become known, problems began to arise. Much like the United States, losing parties started off by claiming fraud and demanding action taken. However, in Iraq they go one-step further—violence. The losing parties—a coalition of 60—warned of increased violence if new elections where not held. The main problem appears to be the Sunni’s, who reportedly make up the bulk of the present insurgency. While accounting for only 20 percent of the population, they have controlled Iraq’s government for decades. The fall of Saddam Hussein changed all of that and the Sunni’s don’t appear to like it one bit. The Shiites account for 60 percent of the population and the Kurds 20 percent.
Reality TV shows continue to grow exponentially. New reality TV shows are bubbling up all over the globe, in places such as Israel and Africa. While many shows are adaptations from the U.K. and USA, there are some successful reality shows that are homegrown. Reality TV shows are most likely a favorite for producers because there is less creative work needed to produce shows on a constant basis. Even though many shows are adaptations, most have their own local spin.
Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that’s edited by its users. It’s four years old and can be used in a variety of languages. Many schools of all levels around the country have instructors who encourage students to look things up on Wikipedia, which is thought to have reliable information. While there are staff members who check pages for errors, they can’t come close to keeping up with the level of daily edits performed to the website. The open-society feel has helped contribute to its growth, yet it is also the same thing that is contributing to hardships for the online encyclopedia.
The effort to stop violent video games from getting into the hands of children, without parental consent, is heating up this week. Democratic Senators Hillary Clinton, Joe Lieberman and Evan Bayh, who recently introduced their new bill to the senate, are spearheading the effort. Some outside parties, including Parent’s Action for Children, are already endorsing their bill entitled the Family Entertainment Protection Act. All parties have been quick to point out that this bill is not an infringement on first amendment rights because it does not prohibit the sale of any particular game. The game being credited with brining this action to a boiling point is Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas from Rockstar Games. When it was revealed that this game contained hidden illicit sexual action, Rockstar Games recalled it.