The 220th anniversary of the Ratification of the Bill of Rights

Following approval by the state of Virginia, the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution, also known as the Bill of Rights became the judicial basis for the newly formed country.
In September 1789, 55 delegates of the first Congress of the United States approved 12 amendments to the U.S. Constitution and sent them to the states for ratification. The amendments were intended to protect the basic unalienable rights of each U.S. citizen, guaranteeing the freedom of speech, press, assembly, and religion, the right to fair trial and to bear arms. The powers not delegated to the federal government would be kept for the states and the people.

On December 15, 1791, Virginia became the 10th of 14 states to approve 10 of the 12 amendments, giving the Bill of Rights the two-thirds majority necessary to make the bill into law. Some notable names in the delegation were: Alexander Hamilton representing New York, Benjamin Franklin representing Pennsylvania, James Madison representing Virginia as well as George Washington representing Virginia.

The Bill of Rights holds a pivotal role in U.S law and government, and is regarded as the beacon of the freedoms enjoyed throughout our nation. To learn more about the U.S. constitution and its history check out the upcoming US Constitution For Beginners March of 2012.

Iceland Recognizes Palestine as a State

It has been three months since the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas brought his bid for statehood to the U.N., a move the U.S. strongly rejected. But despite the setback this week during a ceremony Iceland's Foreign Minister, Ossur Skarphedinsson, officially informed his Palestinian counterpart, Riyadh Al Maliki, that Iceland officially recognized Palestine as a state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. 

Icelandic parliament passed a measure without objections to recognize the state of Palestine. The vote passed with 38 votes in favor and 13 abstaining. Al Maliki cheered the resolution and proclaimed it conveys great importance to the Palestinians, and that this step will encourage other countries to do the same. The chairman of the opposition however, stated “Icelanders do not have sufficient knowledge of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to get involved. The opposition also maintains that the dispute should be resolved through bilateral negotiations.” Iceland’s Foreign Minister Össur Skarphéðinsson said in a UN address that it would be foolish to deny Palestine rights in the middle of the democratic revolution brought on by the Arab Spring.

There are more than 100 countries around the world that have recognized Palestine as a state. Which include Uruguay, Ecuador, Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile and Peru.

Well chairman of the opposition, I would highly recommend For Beginners, excellent historical viewpoint of Palestinian and Israeli culture and politics with Arabs and Israel For Beginners available now!

Happy Birthday Noam Chomsky!

Born December 7^th 1928, Noam Chomsky has become a world renowned linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist and activist. Noam Chomsky is currently a professor in the department of Linguistics and Philosophy at Massachusetts Institute of Technology where his works have influenced fields such as computer science, mathematics and psychology. While a professor at MIT, he published Syntactic Structures a theory of “generative grammar” that transformed linguistics from an indistinct discipline into a major social science.

Outside of the academic realm, Noam Chomsky is an avid political activist where he has described himself as an Anarcho-Syndicalist, which is a branch of anarchism that focuses on the labor movement. Chomsky has expressed his opinions on politics and world events, which are widely cited, publicized and discussed. His most recent activism has been with the Occupy movements where he himself has associated himself with.

To learn more about Noam Chomsky and his works check out Chomsky For Beginners