Book: The Case against Democracy

Stimulating contribution to debate, but not very practical. But just introducing Direct Democracy would alleviate a lot of the problems in present-day politics. Thorough debate before any referendum or the threat of scrutiny in any referendum would lead to better thought-out policies.
Against Democracy, by Jason Brennan

Moaning no substitute for proper Democracy

Election Campaign promises forgotten, endless criticism in the Media disregarded - all too often the citizens feel helpless in face of poorly executed or plain wrong political decisions.

The easy solution is obvious, but very uncomfortable for the 'Elites' that are in control of Government and the Civil Servants, Bureaucracies and Quangos that often benefit from these policies.

A headline in today's Daily Telegraph illustrates this: "Foreign aid contractors that do not deliver value for money to be named and shamed under new plans"

A few questions come to mind immediately: Who decides what is 'value for money', will the naming scheme ever be implemented? by whom? and will it have any positive effect?

But the more relevant question really is: who appoints these contractors? who decides on what terms they are engaged and who supervises them?

There is zero democratic control in all this - the citizens have no opportunity to get involved.
And the REALLY important question raised by this headline is the following: Why should the citizens be forced to make donations to foreign entitites, many of them in the grip of corrupt cliques?

There is no hindrance for private citizens to donate whatever amount of money they wish to give to Mr. Mugabe or to India (which seems to be able to afford its own space programme).
The state should only do what the initiative of private citizens cannot achieve.

In addition, all government policies and their implementation, in particular the allocation of public funds, should be subject to the will of the citizens.

Brexit Fallout: Socialist but not so democratic in Germany

In an outburst that borders on what you would normally only expect from an imbecile - and not the leader of a major political party - Sigmar Gabriel 'demanded'  that young Brits should be offered German citizenship. No clearer statement could be made to demonstrate that the pampered party hacks in many western (pseudo) democracies have very little time for democratic conventions. Apart from the absurdity of this 'demand' one has to wonder if young Swiss are also offered this (dubious) 'opportunity'.

The collapse of Western Democracy

Democracy no longer exists in the West says Paul Craig Roberts. Maybe an extreme view - esp compared to those states that can really be said to be run in an autocratic fashion. But how much say do the citizens of States in the West really have?

EU: Lack of Democracy appalling

Without taking a view on the ongoing question of how to deal with the Refugee/Migrant Crisis that has several member states in its grip one can say that the way the EU rulers decided to solve (?) the problem has all the hallmarks of a dictatorial Edict.
As is always the case, the citizens of the Union were left without the opportunity to have their say on this crucial decision. Apart from that one has to wonder whether the EU should be allowed to decide this issue in the first place.
The principle of devolution should mean that all legislation is handled at the level of government that can deal with the issue at hand. Only those decisions that do not meet this criteria should be made at the next-higher level of government. If Greece, for example, is unwilling or unable to stop the influx of refugees/migrants than that is its problem. Individual member states may come to its aid if they wish to do so (but only if the citizens agree that their government steps in).
Greece having a disproportionately large army should be more than capable to control its borders. Not doing so just demonstrates a lack of willingness on the part of its leadership.

THE ONLY WAY THAT CITIZENS WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE THEMSELVES HEARD IS BY SUPPORTING DIRDEM - THE CAMPAIGN FOR DIRECT DEMOCRACY - THE WAY THE EU HAS ARRANGED FOR UNION-WIDE PETITIONS TO BE ORGANISED SEEMS TO BE DESIGNED TO REDUCE THE RISK OF INTERFERENCE IN THE DECISIONS OF ITS OFFICIALS TO AN ABSOLUTE MINIMUM

Davos: Destructive Elites ruling our Lives

Much attention is now focused on grass economic inequality. But while universal suffrage in the 'Western' democracies gives the impression of political equality this does not reflect reality. A narrow and interrelated caste of political, bureaucratic and business functionaries controls the levers of political and economic power under the fig leaf of democratic procedures. The only effective antidote is the introduction of Direct Democracy on all levels of government.
Davos's Destructive Elites (National Review)

Expensive Politicians

Given the dysfunctional state of democracy all politicans have too much discretion about how to spend (waste) taxpayer's money.
Meet the most expensive woman in Britain's history (Daily Telegraph)

I would have been a better President

Says the defeated 2012 Republican Candidate Mitt Romney. That may or may not have been the case. But this statement demonstrates that to give individuals - may they be called President, Prime Minister of Chancellor - too much discretionary power and for too long a period is contrary to the principle of democracy. Democracy after all means 'Rule of the People' [The term originates from the Greek δημοκρατία (dēmokratía) "rule of the people"]