-POLITICAL SYSTEM AND STATE STRUCTURE

OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS

Article 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus says that the Republic of Belarus is a unitary, democratic, social state based on the rule of law.

According to the Constitution the state power in the republic is exercised on the principle of divisions of power between the legislature, executive and judiciary.

The parliament, the National Assembly, is a representative and legislative body of the Republic of Belarus. It consists of two chambers – the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic. The House of Representatives includes 110 deputies. The elections of deputies is carried out in accordance with the law on the basis of universal, direct electoral suffrage. The Council of the Republic is a chamber of territorial representation. Eight deputies are elected at the meetings of local Councils of deputies, and eight other are appointed by the President of the Republic of Belarus.

The right of legislative initiative belongs to the President, members of the House of Representatives, Council of the Republic, Government.

The executive power in the Republic of Belarus is exercised by the government – the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus. The government in its activity is accountable to the President and to the National Assembly. The head of the government, the Prime Minister, is appointed by the President with the consent of the House of Representatives.

The courts exercise judicial power in the Republic of Belarus. The judicial system is based on the principle of the territorial delineation. In administering justice judges are independent and subordinate to law alone. Supervision of constitutionality of the enforceable enactments of the state is exercised by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus.

-THE USA POLITICAL SYSTEM

The United States is an indirect democracy – that is, the people rule through representatives they elect.

The United States has a federalist system. This means that there are individual states, each with its own government, and there is a federal, or national, government. The Constitution gives certain powers to the federal government, others to the state governments, and yet other powers to both.

Within the national government, power is divided among three branches: the legislative, executive and judicial branches.

The legislative branch consists of Congress, which has two parts – the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress’s main function is to make laws. There are 100 senators (two from each state) and 435 representatives (the number from each state depends on the size of the state’s population).

The President is the head of the executive branch and the country. The executive branch administers the law. In addition to the President, the Vice-President, and their staffs, the executive branch consists of departments and agencies. There are now 14 departments, each with different responsibilities. The President appoints the department heads known as Secretaries, who together make up the President’s Cabinet.

The judicial branch interprets the laws and makes sure that new laws are in keeping with the Constitution. There are several levels of federal courts. The Supreme Court is the most important. It has nine members, who are appointed for life.

-THE STATE SYSTEM OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is one of the few developed countries of the world where a constitutional monarchy has survived with its ages-old customs, traditions and ceremonies. The British Constitution, unlike that of most other countries, is not complied in any single document.

The United Kingdom is governed by Her Majesty’s Government in the name of the Queen. Although the Queen is deprived of actual power, she has retained many important, though formal, functions. These include summoning, proroguing and dissolving Parliament; giving royal assent to the bills passed by the Parliament; appointing very important office holders, including ministers, judges, diplomats, bishops. She appoints the Prime Minister (usually the leader of the political party which commands a majority in the House of Commons) to form a government of State.

Under the British Constitution the Government functions through the following bodies:

- the Legislature which makes laws;

- the Executive which puts laws into effect and plans policy;

- the Judiciary which decides on cases that arise out of law.

The legislative branch is Parliament where laws are passed. The Parliament consists of two chambers: House of Lords and House of Commons. The MPs (the members of the House of Commons) are elected for a five year term at General Elections by a majority electoral system.

The executive branch which plans prospective laws and formulates policy is the cabinet of the Government. The Prime Minister is an active member of the legislative yet he is also the leading member of the executive.

The judiciary is independent, its adjudications are not the subject of ministers’ direction or control. The Courts of the United Kingdom are the Queen’s Courts, since the Crown is the historical source of all judicial power.

- On-line/New Media

Online journalism is defined as the reporting of facts produced and distributed via the internet. Online journalism can be published in real time, updating breaking news and events as they happen. Online journalism also takes advantage of shifted time. The articles can be infinitely easier to access. Online journalism can include multimedia elements: text and graphics, music, video motion and animation. Online journalism is interactive. A work of journalism can consist of a hyperlinked set of web pages. Readers \ participants can respond instantly to material presented by online journalist; this response can take several forms. Online journalism involves a

combination of traditional journalistic and new-technology skills, although the proportions in which these two are mixed vary enormously. Much online journalism demands familiarity with ‘content management systems’, used to rapidly update web sites or broadcast SMS messages to mobile phone subscribers.

This is similar to working for an agency or wire service.

-Careers in Journalism.

When I think about a career journalist having associations - reporter, photographer, editor, writer and correspondent. These people work in the field of journalism and the media. For example, photographer is operator of electronic cameras used in video reporting of news.

As with many occupational groups, the carrier of a journalist today is uncertain and changeable. Training can help ‘smoth the bums’ and enhance the employability.

In Belarus, this type of education we can get at the Institute of Journalism at BSU. I want to focus on our department periodical press. It was created May 27, 1998. Head of the Department is Svorob Alex. Konst. At the department operates 9 teacher, 3 of them – senior lectures. All the work department aims to help students better assimilate experience wordsmiths.

In journalism there is a awards for good work. For example, The Pulitzer Prize is an American awards. It is administered by Columbia University in New York City. Prizes are awarded yearly in twenty-one categories. The winner in the Public Service category of the Journalism competition is awarded a gold medal.

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-Problems of an individual in contemporary society

Contemporary society can be marked by growing confusion and doubt in the face of materialism, rapid change and the loss of the familiar values that once formed the basis for social interaction.

Alcohol abuse is a pervasive problem: we live in a society that equates the consumption of alcohol with having fun, relaxing, making social situations, complete and reducing tension. Many students come to college having learned to drink in their high school years.

From a very young age, kids are bombarded with advertising messages depicting beautiful, young adults enjoying life – and alcohol. Plus, many parents and other adults use alcohol socially, having beer or wine with dinner, for example.

Some people drink because they think it will help them escape from their problems. Although this may seem like a good idea, drinking always leads to even bigger problems. Alcohol abuse has many behavioral and physical effects.

Behavioral effects can include: irritability, moodiness, anxieties, loss of judgment, violent behavior, impulsiveness, and inability to cope with the problems mentioned above. Physical effects can include: alterations of muscle coordination, liver damage, heart disease, gastrointestinal irritation, ulcers, etc.

Any alcohol use can result in negative social, interpersonal and legal consequences. Some consequences show up right away, and others build up over long periods of time.

Drug abuse. Young people are often introduced to drug taking by their friends. It is natural for them to wonder what it's like when their friends offer them a chance to have some "fun" with drugs, and point out that everyone else is doing it.

Many users take drugs to escape from a life that may seem too hard to bear. Drugs may seem the only answer, but they are no answer at all. They simply make the problem worse.

Depending on the type and strength of the drug, all drug-abusers are in danger of developing side effects. Drugs can bring confusing and frightening hallucinations and cause unbalanced emotions or more serious mental disorders. First-time heroin users are sometimes violently sick. Cocaine, even in small amounts, can cause sudden death in some people, due to heartbeat irregularities. Children born to drug-addicted parents can be badly affected. Some drugs can slow, even stop the breathing process, and if someone overdoses accidentally they may become unconscious or even die.

People who start taking drugs are unlikely to do so for long without being found out. Symptoms of even light drug use are drowsiness, moodiness, loss of appetite and, almost inevitably, a high level of deceit. First there's the evidence to hide, but second drugs are expensive and people are not always able to find the money to buy them. Almost inevitably, needing money to pay for drugs leads to crime.

Smoking. We are never shown pictures of real smokers coughing up their lungs early in the morning. That would never do. The advertisements always depict virile, clean-shaven young men. They suggest it is manly to smoke, even positively healthy! Smoking is associated with the great open-air life, with beautiful girls, true love and togetherness. What utter nonsense! Smoking should be banned in all public places like theatres, cinemas and restaurants. Great efforts should be made to inform young people especially of the dire consequences of taking up the habit.