The Cameron Ministry

On the 11th of may 2010 prime minister Gordon Brown and his Labour government resigned, giving the Downing street nr. 10 keys to the new Conservative PM David Cameron. With 36 percent of the votes, Cameron did not form his government alone. Being the first since Churchill, he formed a coalition government; he did so with the 23 percent Liberal Democrats. Foreign policy The Cameron ministry has, as most conservatives governments, a pro-NATO attitude, and has taken part in all NATO operation during the four years they have been in office. Cameron has stated that they believe in foreign intervention in order to spread "democracy and freedom", and that the terror-threat must be defeated by power.

The conservation wanted to intervene in Syria, but the Liberal Democrats voted against it in parliament, a major defeat for Cameron; one of the problems of a coalition. After the defeat Cameron stated that "I strongly believe in the need for a tough response to the use of chemical weapons but I also believe in respecting the will of this House of Commons ... It is clear to me that the British Parliament, reflecting the views of the British people, does not want to see British military action. I get that and the Government will act accordingly." The ministry is against a full EU-membership, but Cameron believes some of the policies (fishing, military) are good for the UK. Overall they have a conservative attitude on foreign policies, with NATO being an exeption. Economomy and climate Some of the Cameron administration’s most important economic goals are reduction of employment and wealth tax. The administration views this as something important because they think this will boost English companies’ ability to compete in the international market. The administration does also wish to increase tax on flying for people who uses air transport a lot as well as remove tax for people who don’t use air transport that often, the administration wish to do this to make people fly less and in that way decrease the total amount of CO2 emission in the UK.

A economy policy that the Cameron ministry focuses on is enviroment. Cameron has descibed himself as "passionate about our environment" and believe that it is our "social responsibility to the next generation". Some of the reforms Cameron would like to introduce is a fair fuel stabilizer which will keep the oil prices stable. As the price of oil goes up, the taxes will decrease, and if the price of oil goes down, the taxes will also increase. Another policy is the taxation cut. The ministry promised to reduce tax on alcohol, corporations and small businesses, as well as increasing the inheritance tax exemption.

D-Day 70th Anniversary

On June 6 1944, British , American  and Canadian forces landed on the shores of France that was Nazi occupied. The Allies invaded Normandy, France commanded by Eisenhower in a surprise sea and air assalt. The invasion included over 5000 ships,11,000 airplanes and over 150,000 service men,and took place called Normandy Beach, which is located on the northwest coast of France. By late August 1944, the Allies had defeated Germany. The Normandy landings have been called the beginning of the end of war in Europe. This invasion , known as D day, is the largest amgibious military operation in history.

This year was the 70th anniversary of the D day invasion, and it was especially centred around the date of Normany Landing which is 6th of June. To mark this historic event, a series of different major commemorations was planned. The events took  place in United Kingdom, and at other various locations along the Normandy Coast in France. The Ministry of Defence has worked closely with  the goverment and  the agencies to create a fitting remembrance. This was a  very special anniversary,not only because it is 70 years since invasion took place in Normandy, but also because it was probably the last time the remaining veterans are still alive.

The day began with a Royal British Legion service of remembrance at Bayeux Cathedral. During the service His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales took part in the inauguration of a new bell for the cathedral. The Thérèse-Bénédicte bell was created for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings and symbolises peace, liberty and reconciliation.

650 veterans were marked at the anniversary in Normandy,France, and 1,7000 personnell from the British army and the royal air force participated. Mr James Aitken which is an 89-year-old vetaran from the D day invasion held a speach.

 

Scotland's referendum-Independent or not?

A referendum on whether Scotland should be an independent country will take place on Thursday 18 September 2014. The referendums most important issues are Scotland's economic strength, defense issues, the further relations with Britain, whenever they should be an independent country or not, and particularly the European Union and NATO.

In feburary 2013, 32% of  the Scottish population wanted Scottland to be an indipendent country. 43% voted NO to this solution, and as many as 21%  were undecided.

According to the web page http://whatscotlandthinks.org/questions/should-scotland-be-an-independent-country-1#table , the statistics were quite similar one and a half year later. As much as 10% that were undecided have now changed their answer to either the yes or no-side.

The final result of the referendum is that 38% wants Scottland to be an indipendent country. 51% does not want indipendency, while 11% is still undecided the day to day.

Today in class we had a video conversation on Google Hangout with Ewan MacIntosh who is a counselor and speaker, regarded as one of Europe’s experts in digital media for public services. Everyone in class had to make up one question for Ewan to answer. I asked him what the main reason was that so many people have voted NO to the referendum.  To explain his answer, he talked about a his friend that is a marine soldier. He is stuck with an ilness that makes it hard for him to walk, so he has to use a special kind medicin that gives him the opportunity to walk, run and play with his son. The only thing this man cares about is to get his medicin that makes it possible for him to live a normal life, and he is very worried that he won't have access to the medicin if Scottland gets independent as a country. Scottland has since 1991 (when they got their parlament) been responsible for their own health care system, so most of the scottish population does not want England to limit their access to different medicin, employment opportunities and other important requirement. " It has everything to do with people's uncertainty about the existing policy" Ewan finishes. "Some voters are still not sure if it would improve things for them as an individual".

My expectation for this year

Last year I studied abroad in a small city named Dallastown, Pennsylvania in the United States.
I went to a typical American high school and practised my oral and written English by speaking and learning it every day. I had an amazing year in the States living with my crazy hostfamily consiting of host mom Ruthie and my host dad Scott Failor. I am now sitting here, a year later with a lot of great memories and experiences that I would not have if I did not choose to study abroad the second year of high school.

My expectation for this year is higher than ever before. I have promised myself to work hard in every single subject that I have choosen, by doing all  the assigments given and paying attention in class.I am currently planning to study Law in Bergen when I have finished high school, so I know have to work extremly hard by studying for tests and oral presentations. I can not wait to accurique a wider vocabulary and get a lot of knowledge about the British political system.