Much of the world is democratic, but as with any system of administration, there needs to be people who are in charge. It is true to say that a relatively small number of people have a huge amount of influence over global affairs. In this article we’ll look at some for the most important executive jobs in the world, and who those people have influence over.

1. Barrack Obama. As the first black president, the role that barrack Obama has taken up is without question the most influential in the world. Among executive jobs, being president of the USA brings with it a huge amount of responsibility and of course power. Obama is the leader of the free world, and it took a huge amount of effort and determination to get where he is today.

He commands the most powerful military fighting force in the world, and America’s frequent use of their military might means that if the USA are in a conflict, then Europe and many other developed nations area also in the conflict. Obama has a great degree of influence over decisions made in Nato and the United Nations.

2. Bill Gates. The brand of Microsoft has become one that everyone who uses computer technology is very aware of. Microsoft create the operating systems that the vast majority of computer systems use around the world, and despite the efforts of Apple and even Google (with its OS system), Microsoft remains hugely influencial around the globe. If Microsoft make a significant change to their software, it has repercussion around the world. While there are plenty of safeguards against any wrong-doing, the fact that Microsoft can shut down your computer in order to install some update means that in theory they have a lot of power.

There is the famous instance when Windows 95 was able to scan the hard drives of its users’ machines and determine if any illegal Microsoft software is installed on it. Among executive jobs, Bill Gates has created a position for himself that is extraordinarily powerful. He has made a throne for himself while others have to go after established thrones.

3. Pope Benedict XVI – or Joseph Alois Ratzinger – became the Pope on the 24th April 2005. As the leader of one of the world’s major religions he has a huge amount of influence among those who still practice Catholicism. He also has a great degree of influence over many other people, as he is seen as a force for good. Like Obama but unlike Bill Gates, the Pope holds an office that has been around for a very long time – and holds what is surely one of the most powerful executive jobs in the world.

By: Gino Hitshopi

Around the time of Christ, the Roman Empire was known for its “Caesars”. Hundreds of years later, Russia had its own version of these leaders known as the “Czars”. Though Communism had not become a coined term at the time of Ivan the Terrible or Peter the Great, these oligarchies were eerily prophetic of what was to become of the Motherland – basically an empire run by oppressive thugs who deemed their country’s occupants as slaves and their deaths as collateral damage in exchange for world conquest and the chance to spread serfdom around the globe. Let’s face it: though Hitler is always a popular topic of choice when someone wants to try to put evil into perspective, when it comes to objective sheer numbers, Lenin and Stalin were exponentially worse. And though they were using the nineteenth-century author Karl Marx’s ideas regarding oppressive, huge government, the only difference was that they actually had a title for the type of leadership that had been practiced for centuries.

Regardless of your postion on Communism – whether you are extreme Right and think it is evil at its core and that you believe that there is a grassroots movement in America to strengthen its cause, or are extreme Left and think that its inclusion in any intelligent conversation is hyperbole and baseless fearmongering, or somewhere in the middle – most people who have looked into the system at any depth recognize that it is completely contrary to the American way of doing things, whether in theory or actuality.

Now we have a green jobs ‘Czar” in our President’s adminsitration who is a self-proclaimed Communist. Think about that for a moment: Van Jones (which is possibly not even his real name) has been designated for a good (and likely well-paying) position in Washington and is a person who makes (or at least made) no bones about his loyalties. While he was in jail for disturbances following the Rodney King case, he made friendships with rebels and anarchists (read story).

I am all for giving a person a second chance. I am a firm believer that if a person has served time for his crime and the appropriate persons have deemed him or her worthy for release, they should be able to have the right to continue life in any way a just government sees fit. But this isn’t Wal-Mart. We’re talking about the Obama Administration here! One of the places where any possibility of radical anti-American sentiment being presently or formerly conspicuously practiced should be entirely shunned. Why even flirt with rumor? Why fan the fire of the recently-increased shouts of “Socialist” toward our President?

For a person who claimed to be a unifier during the campaign, I find it quite bizarre during his short stint some of the choices President Obama has made regarding loyalties. During the campaign, though he was basically forced to sever the umbilical cord from Reverend Wright, it was easy to see that it was a difficult decision. As far as friendships go, perhaps that is a noble quality. But as far as being the Leader of the United States of America, it is an ominous characteristic – one that has already reared its head on more than one occasion.

In the 1950s, McCarthy was demonized due to all of the apparitions of “boogeymen” he saw. He was basically written off as ‘nuts’ and placed forever in the American archives of the politically insane. However, today we have a real life communist “boogeyman” – not a figment of someone’s imagination – working out in the open for a pretty penny and the Administration simply continues to function as if everything is normal. Maybe it’s me, but something just doesn’t compute.

By: Erik B Johnson

Autism is a severe developmental disorder affecting both social interaction and communication and usually begins at birth or within the first two and a half years of life. In its early stages, autism shares many of the same behaviors as Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) and Asperger’s Syndrome and can be difficult to diagnose since the majority of children with autism appear to be physically normal. In fact, when the baby boomer generation were still teenagers, autism occurred in approximately five children per 10,000 live births. Today, numerous studies have reported that number closer to one in 150 children diagnosed with autism. With autism steadily on the rise, it is important to know how the Social Security Administration (SSA) determines whether your child is disabled by autism.

SSA has a Listing of Impairments that must be met for someone to be considered disabled. Although meeting a listing can improve your disability claim, its worth noting that failing to meet the criteria under the listing does not necessarily result in the denial of your autism disability claim. The Listing of Impairments contains different criteria for various diseases and disorders and can be very different depending on whether you are a child or adult.

Under SSA’s Listing of Impairments, autism falls within Mental Disorders, section 112.10. Requirements specified in both part A and part B of Section 112.10 must be satisfied before the child can be deemed as autistic under SSA law. Part A has three different requisites, all of which must be met for the autistic child to qualify for disability. The first requirement is that there are qualitative deficits in the development of reciprocal social interaction. In other words, the child must have a deficiency or lack of desire to interact with peers. The focus here is on both the ability and the desire to interact. The second requirement is that there are qualitative deficits in verbal and nonverbal communication and in imaginative activity. There is a wide range of deficits that can occur under this requirement, but the main focus is on whether the child’s disorder makes it difficult to express themselves. The third requirement under Part A is that the child exhibits a markedly restricted repertoire of activities and interests. Once again, all three of these requirements must be met.

Section 112.10(B) must also be met to be disabled and the rules are dependent on the age of the individual. Part B holds “For older infants and toddlers (age 1 to attainment of age 3), resulting in at least one of the appropriate age-group criteria in paragraph B1 of 112.02; or, for children (age 3 to attainment of age 18), resulting in at least two of the appropriate age-group criteria in paragraphs B2 of 112.02.” SSA Listing of Impairments.

Under Part B, children between the ages of 1-3 must show records of at least one of the following: (1) Gross or fine motor development at a level generally acquired by children no more than one-half the child’s chronological age, (2) Cognitive/communicative function at a level generally acquired by children no more than one-half the child’s chronological age, (3) Social function at a level generally acquired by children no more than one-half the child’s chronological age, and (4) Attainment of development or function generally acquired by children no more than two-thirds of the child’s chronological age in two or more areas covered by 1, 2, or 3.

Also under Part B, children between the ages of 3-18 must show records of at least two of the following: (1) Marked impairment in age-appropriate cognitive/communicative function, (2) Marked impairment in age-appropriate social functioning, (3) Marked impairment in age-appropriate personal functioning, and (4) Marked difficulties in maintaining concentration, persistence, or pace.

By: Aaron Rifkind