Italy officially the Italian Republic, is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe. The capital is Rome. The President is President Giorgio Napolitano and the Prime Minister is Silvio Berlusconi. PM Berusconi is to resign after parliament passed crucial economic reforms on Tuesday 11.8.11 aimed at stabilizing Italy's economy. There have been growing calls for the Italian leader to step down over sex scandals and Italy's financial problems that threaten to make Europe's third-largest economy the latest victim of the eurozone crisis. Mario Monti, a former top EU commissioner, has been asked by the country's president to lead Italy's new government.
The Roman empire in the 1st century [ Two thousand years ago, the world was ruled by Rome. From England to Africa and from Syria to Spain, one in every four people on earth lived and died under Roman law ].
6.15.09 President Obama met with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in the White House Oval Office to discus U.S.-Italy relations.
July 10, 09: President Barack Obama wraps up the G-8 discussion in Italy saying a full economic recover is "still a ways off" and the world must make hard choices to solve the "pressing threats facing our environment, our global economy and our international security." Continue
1. Restore economic growth and reform our international and national regulatory system. And return to fiscal responsibility after the recovery is completed.
2. Stop the spread of nuclear weapons.
3. By 2050, there will be a reduction of greenhouse gases by 80%.
4. Committment to invest in 20 million in food security - agriculture programs to help fight world hunger.
The federal government has three branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial. The executive branch of government is responsible for the day-to-day management of the state. The legislative branch is a type of representative deliberative assembly with the power to adopt laws. The The judicial branch is the system of courts which administer justice in the name of the sovereign or state, a mechanism for the resolution of disputes.
The highest judicial officer in the country, the Chief Justice leads the business of the Supreme Court and presides over the Senate during impeachment trials of the President. In modern tradition, the Chief Justice also has the duty of administering the oath of office to the President, but this is not required by the Constitution or any other law. The seventeenth and current Chief Justice is John Roberts, who was nominated by President George W. Bush, and took office on September 29, 2005 upon confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
The Justices are nominated by the President and confirmed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate. As federal judges, the Justices serve during "good behavior", meaning they essentially serve for life and can be removed only by resignation, or by impeachment and subsequent conviction.
The Supreme Court is the only court established by the United States Constitution (in Article III); all other federal courts are created by Congress: The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.
NOTE: Diversity is not a word that easily equates with the Supreme Court. Of its 110 justices over the past 220 years, all but four have been white males. The exceptions are two African-Americans (Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas) and two women (Sandra Day O'Connor and Ginsburg).
The following are on the short list as possible nominees:
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. A former assistant U.S. attorney general for civil rights under Clinton, the 52-year-old Patrick -- an early supporter of Obama's presidential candidacy -- once worked for the NAACP.
Judge Ann Claire Williams of the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Nominated to district court by President Reagan in 1985, she was elevated to her current job by President Clinton. Considered a moderate, the 59-year-old is the third African-American female appeals court judge -- and would be the first African-American woman on the high court.
Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Named a district court judge by President George H.W. Bush in 1992, she has been on the appeals bench since 1998. She'd likely have some bipartisan support. The 54-year-old is considered to have moderate-liberal views, and would be the first Hispanic justice on the high court.
California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno.
Leah Ward Sears (born June 13, 1955) is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the U.S. state of Georgia. Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears. She became the first African-American woman to become a superior court judge in 1988. When she was appointed to the Georgia Supreme Court by Governor Zell Miller in 1992, she was the youngest person to sit on the Georgia Supreme Court. On June 28, 2005 she made history again when she became the first African-American female chief justice anywhere in the United States when she was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court.
Vicki Miles-LaGrange (born 1953) is the Chief U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma. She was the first African American woman to be sworn in as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma. She was also the first African American female elected to the Oklahoma Senate.
Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in as the 111th justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the Judicial Oath in the East Conference Room at the Supreme Court of the United States.
4.12.10 Leah Ward Sears is on Pres. Obama's Short List. Born June 13, 1955 is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the U.S. state of Georgia. Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears. She became the first African-American woman to become a superior court judge in 1988. When she was appointed to the Georgia Supreme Court by Governor Zell Miller in 1992, she was the youngest person to sit on the Georgia Supreme Court. On June 28, 2005 she made history again when she became the first African-American female chief justice anywhere in the United States when she was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court.
4.21.10 On the short list is Judge Ann Claire Williams of the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Nominated to district court by President Reagan in 1985, she was elevated to her current job by President Clinton. Considered a moderate, the 59-year-old is the third African-American female appeals court judge -- and would be the first African-American woman on the high court.
Lebanon is a country in Western Asia, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south.
Lebanon is the most religiously diverse country in the Middle East. As of 2014 the CIA World Factbook estimates the following: Muslim 54% (27% Sunni Islam, 27% Shia Islam), Christian 40.5% (includes 21% Maronite Catholic, 8% Greek Orthodox, 5% Melkite Catholic, 1% Protestant, 5.5% other Christian), Druze 5.6%, very small numbers of Jews, Baha'is, Buddhists, Hindus and Mormons.
The official language is Arabic. Recognised languages are English and French.
5.22.09 Biden: U.S. aid at risk if Lebanon strays from 'principles' . He spoke shortly after arriving in Beirut, a visit that comes two weeks before a key vote there that could usher in the Shia militia group, Hezbollah-dominated government. They emerged in Lebanon in the early 1980s and became the region's leading radical Islamic movement, determined to drive Israeli troops from Lebanon. Hezbollah was conceived in 1982 by a group of clerics after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon . It was formed primarily to offer resistance to the Israeli occupation. Inspired by the success of the Iranian Revolution, the party also dreamt of transforming Lebanon's multi-confessional state into an Iranian-style Islamic state. Hezbollah's political rhetoric has centered on calls for the destruction of the state of Israel. Its definition of Israeli occupation has also encompassed the idea that the whole of Palestine is occupied Muslim land and it has argued that Israel has no right to exist. The party was long supported by Iran, which provided it with arms and money.
8.7.20: The UN agencies have warned of a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon after Tuesday's devastating blast in Beirut. Lebanon was already suffering a major economic downturn before the explosion, which left at least 154 people dead, 5,000 injured and 300,000 homeless.
Ghana, is a sub Saharan country in West Africa. It borders Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south. The word Ghana means "Warrior King," and was the source of the name "Guinea" (via French Guinoye) that is used to refer to the West African coast (as in Gulf of Guinea).
A multicultural nation, Ghana has a population of approximately 27 million, spanning a variety of ethnic, linguistic and religious groups. Its diverse geography and ecology ranges from coastal savannahs to tropical jungles. Ghana's economy is the ninth-largest on the Africa continent by purchasing power parity and nominal GDP. Ghana is a major producer of petroleum and natural gas, with the continent's fifth largest oil reserves and sixth largest natural gas reserves. It is one of the world's largest gold and diamond producers,[citation needed] and is projected to be the largest producer of cocoa in the world as of 2015. Ghana's growing economic prosperity and democratic political system has made it a regional power in West Africa.
The Statue of Liberty, officially titled Liberty Enlightening the World. Lady Liberty was a gift from France to the United States to represent the friendship between the two countries established during the American Revolution. It was dedicated in 1886. It was designated as a National Monument in 1924 and restored for its centennial on July 4, 1986.
It stands just across New York Harbor from where the Twin Towers stood.
Jordan, officially the Hashemite (the Arab descendants, either direct or collateral, of the Muḥammad), Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Middle East. It shares control of the Dead Sea with Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Jordan is a modern Arab nation, its population is mostly Sunni Muslim with a small Christian minority.
The Capital is Amman. The King is Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, a pro-American Arab leader. Hours after the death of his father on February 7, 1999, Abdullah became king of Jordan; he was officially crowned on June 9.
The kingdom is a key member of the U.S.-led military coalition against the Islamic State. Jordan joined a U.S.-led air campaign against isis in September 2014. Although Jordan initially sought to downplay its participation in the campaign, Abdullah took on a visible leadership role, and Jordan greatly increased the number of air strikes it carried out after ISIL fighters captured and brutally murdered a downed a Jordanian pilot, Moath al-Kasasbeh, in early 2015.
Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. The Capital is Cairo.
The President is Hosni Mubarak. He was ousted after 18 days of demonstration during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. He was sentenced to life in prison on 6/2/2012 for corruption and abuse of power. June 7, 1012 CNN reports his health has taken a turn for the worse. As of October 12, 2015 he is still detained in a military hospital by a Cairo court. He was acquitted on March 2, 2017 by Court of Cassation, Egypt's top appeals court. He was released on March 24, 2017. He died 2.25.2020 at the age of 91.
The new president is Mohamed Morsi. He assumed office on June 30, 2012 to July 3, 2013, when he was removed by Field Marshal Abdel Fattah el-Sisi after June 2013 Egyptian protests and 2013 Egyptian coup d'état. He was the first democratically elected head of state in Egyptian history.
Adly Mahmoud Mansour served as the acting President of Egypt from 3 July 2013 to 8 June 2014. He was succeeded by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who is the current president of Egypt. He assumed office June 8, 2014.
July 3, 2013: CAIRO — Egypt’s military officers removed the country’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, on Wednesday, suspended the Constitution and installed an interim government presided over by a senior jurist.
July 4, 2013: Adly Mansour is the acting President and a judge who currently heads the Supreme Constitutional Court. Effective June 8, 2014, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was elected president.
Egypt is one of the U.S. most important Arab allies. It is intimately involved with the Palestinian problem, acting as an intermediary between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. - BBC News
President Jimmy Carter shaking hands with Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at the signing of the Egyptian–Israeli Peace Treaty on the grounds of the White House, 1979.
The Camp David Accords were signed, establishing a framework for peace between Egypt and Israel. Egypt had been in a state of declared war with Israel since 1948, punctuated by several short but violent conflicts, including the Six-Day War in 1967. In 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Secretary of State Cyrus Vance laid the groundwork to get representatives from Egypt and Israel to meet and discuss conditions for ending hostilities and normalizing diplomatic relations. Israel agreed to withdraw its troops from the Sinai Peninsula, and Egypt agreed to officially recognize Israel as a nation. The Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty was signed in a ceremony at the White House on March 26, 1979, and the three leaders—Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, U.S. President Jimmy Carter, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin—joined hands and shared big smiles.
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leader, Yasser Arafat, told a rally in West Beirut: "Let them sign what they like. False peace will not last." He accused President Sadat of betraying the Egyptian people, and said they would eventually eliminate him.
Sadat and Begin were jointly awarded the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts even as the Arab League suspended Egypt from membership in the Arab League until 1989. On Oct. 6, 1981, Islamist military officers assassinated Sadat as he watched a victory parade in Cairo held to commemorate the anniversary of Egypt’s crossing of the Suez Canal during the 1973 war with Israel.
Following the assassination of President Anwar el-Sadat in 1981, martial (emergency) law was declared. Egypt has been under martial law ever since. Martial law gives military courts the power to try civilians and allows the government to detain for renewable 45-day periods and without court orders anyone deemed to be threatening state security. Public demonstrations are banned under the legislation. See Hosni Mubarak - the new president's profile and the protests in Egypt.
President Obama will give what could be one of the most important speeches @ the University of Cairo, of his presidency on Thursday 6.4.09 when he addresses the relationship between the United States and Muslims.
