London, UK – Voters will select presidential nominee and convention delegates. Democrats Abroad, the official arm of the US Democratic Party for Americans living outside the US, will hold its Global Primary at 5 sites in the UK.

The Global Primary gives members of Democrats Abroad UK the opportunity to vote for a presidential candidate to represent the Democratic Party in this autumn’s election. Voters will also select delegates to represent Democrats Abroad at the party’s convention in Charlotte, North Carolina from September 3-6, 2012.

This is the only opportunity American citizens have to physically participate in the US election outside the country and its territories. The Republican Party does not hold a primary for its global members. And in the general election, all Americans living abroad must vote by absentee ballot.

Rob Carolina, Chair of Democrats Abroad UK, said, “Americans living overseas are very excited to vote in this important Presidential and Congressional election, and Democrats Abroad are proud to offer the only opportunity they will have to cast a vote for the President in person, right here in the UK. We would encourage all Americans living in the UK to join Democrats Abroad, take part in the Global Primary, register to vote at http://www.votefromabroad.org and sign-up to help us return President Obama to the White House.”

Polling places:

London – Tuesday, 1 May 6:30-9:30 pm / Sunday, 6 May 6:30-9:30 pm (live music, speeches and other entertainment provided), The Abbey Centre, 34 Great Smith Street, Westminster SW1P 3BU

Oxford – Friday, 4 May 10:00 am-6:00 pm, Rhodes House, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3RG

Cambridge – Tuesday, 1 May 6:30-8:30 pm, University of Cambridge Graduate Centre, 17 Mill Lane, Cambridge CB2 1RX

St. Andrews – Tuesday, 1 May 11:00 am-2:00 pm / Thursday, 3 May 11:00 am-6:00pm, St. Andrews Students’ Association, St. Mary’s Place, St. Andrews KY16 9UZ

Edinburgh – Wednesday, 2 May 11:00 am-6:00 pm / Friday, 4 May 11:00 am-6:00pm, NUS Scotland, 29 Forth Street, Edinburgh EH1 3LE

http://www.democratsabroad.org/uk-primary 

Image Courtesy of   Alan Hainkel / Shutterstock.com

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Dr. Scott Noren, U.S. Senate candidate, NY has decided to demonstrate against Time Warner Media of NY and it’s political show, Capital Tonight. He will be doing this by means of an aerial banner message on February 06 at 2:30 pm.

Dr. Noren was registered as the sole challenger to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in early Spring of 2011, well before Suffolk County Comptroller George Maragos declared. Time Warner and Gannett Media, influenced by his own Democratic Party, has ‘blacked-out’ his campaign in his opinion.

“If you don’t have millions of dollars to spend, you don’t get as many interviews,” says Dr. Noren. He feels that an outside the box type media campaign is the only way to reach more people at this time. “The public should know who is running and what they stand for,” says Noren.

Dr. Noren, states that “the need for a strong voice from a third party, and real grassroots candidate that is truly not Party or corporately underwritten is what ‘street’ Democrats and Independents are looking for.”

He will represent a political action movement that enables the middle class to have a truly independent voice in business, health care and reducing corporate greed. He is a registered Democrat but will be running as an Independent candidate.

Dr. Noren is focused especially on health care issues emphasizing personal responsibility, insurance premium affordability and provider ethics. “Without affordable health care, jobs in NY and nationwide will not be replaced and grow.” He is for a complete Federal ban on hydrofracking of natural gas and feels that allowing fracking could invite a major drinking water disaster as well as ruining tourism, farming and wineries in the Fingerlakes.

Dr. Noren feels one way to increase job creation is through smaller, interest-free business loans that don’t involve banks directly. He also thinks that passing more Free Trade agreements like both sides of the aisle did recently, kills jobs and takes them overseas. Dr. Noren said that “although it takes money to campaign, millions of dollars are wasted yearly on campaigns that could be used to stimulate job growth here domestically.” Overturn of Citizen’s United and getting rid of “Victory Funds” is a must. His web site is very specific on many campaign issues.

For more information see Dr. Noren’s Senate web site at: http://www.norenforsenate.com

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Who knew that posters could still stir things up? A poster recently became a topic of debate in South Africa. It was not just any debate, as the controversial term “racism” made a strong appearance. The poster displays a white man and a black woman embracing. This naughty poster is on display on over forty college and university campuses throughout South Africa.

The Democratic Alliance Student Organization (DASO) is responsible for the display of these posters. The Democratic Alliance (DA) is a South African political party which governs the Western Cape. The DA aims at creating a society in which all people are equal and are presented with equal opportunities, regardless of race and gender. On their website, the DA claims that they deliver a dream of a nation “with opportunity and recognition for all the rainbow people.”

DASO delivered these posters with the intention of highlighting racism and the frequent discrimination of interracial relationships. Following Apartheid, South Africa has been in a constant war against racism. Racism has, however, not been fully eradicated in this country, and posters like this can easily cause a stir.

The poster reads: “In OUR future, you wouldn’t look twice.” In other words, the future the DASO envisions is so blind to the race of a person that no judgments concerning interracial relationships will exist.

The stir caused by this poster was not only due to the interracial couple it displays. Although only their upper bodies are displayed, they seem to be naked. Due to the nudity of the couple, the poster has been mistaken as an ad for condoms, and it seems that the identities of the couple on the poster is unknown, even to the DA. Some believe that it even advertises colonization by portraying the more dominant male in the poster as being of the white race.

As these posters are displayed on campuses, students are outspoken about issues surrounding the poster. An economics student at the University of Stellenbosch, Kate Rich, voiced her opinion on the matter. “The fact that they’re naked almost detracts from the message because even if I saw two white people standing like that, I would look twice,” Rich explained.

As Manuel Leuenberger, a Swiss student visiting South Africa, puts it, “The intention behind the posters is good, but its execution not so much.” Some students, like South African music student Irene Kim, believe that they are only creating “more disgruntled South Africans.”

The poster’s intended message, however, does seem to reach students. There is a general consensus amongst South African students that racism is still alive and well in South Africa. Rich elaborated by stating, “South African society is still very fixated on race, and we need to get past it to be a united society… and to get past apartheid. Surely they’re trying to say that race shouldn’t be an issue.”

The effectiveness of the poster might be decreased due to debates surrounding it, or maybe these debates attract even more attention to the poster and its message. The poster ignited fresh debate surrounding the issue of racism in South Africa, and it is high time for such a debate to take place.

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According to the bureau of Labor statistics, the American economy added a shocking “zero” number of jobs in the month of August. This makes it the worst monthly job report this year, fueling doubts about economic recovery and increasing the pressure on President Obama.

Despite a big effort by the Obama administration to design a simulative fiscal policy in the recent past, the overall picture is still very negative. The greatest impact of this may be the Democrats’ ability to contest elections in 2012; in effect, the presidential approval index fell to the lowest of its time in office.

In August people who strongly approved of Obama’s performance fell 3 percent from 24 percent to 21 percent. On the other hand the number of people who strongly disapprove of the President’s performance rose to 42 percent from 38 percent.

Variations in this index show to what degree voters are satisfied with the performance of the President; if there is a rise in approval rating it shows that people’s concerns are being taken care of, or they feel happy. Likewise, if there is a fall in this index then voters are unhappy with the President.

The essential idea is that the President is in the midst of an uncertain economy and the political crisis will have major bearing on his hopes for a return to the White House in 2012. Everything depends on what the President has in store this time, but it will be far less ambitious than the $825 billion stimulus package of 2009.

Economists in the U.S. who advocated for government intervention call for a package of at least $300 billion to avoid backsliding of the economy. Overall unemployment rates are steady at 9.1 percent; anything less than 100,000 jobs a month would be catastrophic for the democratic campaign in 2012.

Economists estimated that the economy needs 150,000 jobs per month in order to keep pace with the growth rate of the population. But to reduce unemployment to below 8 percent, the economy needs to create more than 275,000 jobs in one month.

Initially President Obama had agreed to deliver the speech on his new job proposal on September 7, but incidentally (or intentionally) the Republican Party chose the same date to hold a televised debate. Just like with the debt deal, this incident became a platform for conflict between democrats and republicans, but the White House said it was just a matter of coincidence.

The Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, asked Obama to rescheduled his speech on September 8 and the White House agreed. This shows the basic idea that even in dire economic condition and undeniable uncertainty over the future of U.S economy, Republicans are enjoying their play in politics.

But all in all, the campaigning for 2012 is firing up. From the President to the presidential candidates — everyone is preparing to roll out thier agendas in order to cement their chances. They are very much concerned with what voters are concerned with, and of utmost importantly: Jobs, jobs, and jobs.

The political environment in the U.S. is driven by the unemployment agenda because ultimately it will determine the destiny of the front-runners for 2012. Everything depends on how well they sail the American citizens out of this mess.

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