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test-health-dhghwapgd-pro01a | test-health-dhghwapgd-pro01b | The current patent system is unjust and creates perverse incentives that benefit large pharmaceutical companies at the expense of ordinary citizens The current drug patent regime is largely designed to benefit and shield the profits of large pharmaceutical companies. This is due to the fact that most of the laws on drug patents were written by lobbyists and voted upon by politicians in the pay of those firms. The pharmaceutical industry is simply massive and has one of the most powerful lobbies in most democratic states, particularly the United States. The laws are orchestrated to contain special loopholes, which these firms can exploit in order to maximize profits at the expense of the taxpayer and of justice. For example, through a process called "evergreening", drug firms essentially re-patent drugs when they near expiration by patenting certain compounds or variations of the drug1. This can extend the life of some patents indefinitely ensuring firms can milk customers at monopoly prices long after any possible costs of research or discovery are recouped. A harm that arises from this is the enervating effect that patents can generate in firms. When the incentive is to simply rest on one's patents, waiting for them to expire before doing anything else, societal progress is slowed. In the absence of such patents, firms are necessarily forced to keep innovating to stay ahead, to keep looking for profitable products and ideas. The free flow of ideas generated by the abolition of drug patents will invigorate economic dynamism. 1 Faunce, Thomas. 2004. "The Awful Truth About Evergreening". The Age. Available: | disease health general house would allow production generic drugs There is nothing unjust about the patent system. It protects everyone equally. The nature of democracy is such that people are allowed to express their opinions and to organize to further certain aims. Drug companies have a particular interest in protecting their patent rights so it is only natural that they should involve themselves in the process of how those patents should be treated legally. They are not miscreants, but rather are participants in a system that is designed to be as fair as possible for everyone. |
test-free-speech-debate-magghbcrg-con03a | test-free-speech-debate-magghbcrg-con03b | Community radio is just a platform, there is nothing innately democratic about it. To associate a medium with a particular virtue is missing the point. Radio has been used for atrocity and tyranny (Rwanda would be an obvious example) just as much as the promotion and development of democracy. Equally the suggestion that community radio has a more significant role to play in this regard as opposed to, say, the BBC world Service, is ignoring the facts. Particular media cannot be said to support democratic renewal any more than particular languages can. Equally, the revolutions of 1989 demonstrated the reality that taking control of the national radio station is, in some situations, more important than seizing the Presidential Palace. Neither the 'community' element nor the 'radio' aspect are innately democratic. Different media have, undeniably, produced different types of social change – but they all have possibilities for democratic progress [i] . [i] Sedra, Mark, Revolution 2.0: democracy promotion in the age of social media. The Globe and Mail. 2 February 2011. | media and good government house believes community radio good It is a platform, but it's a platform with history – one that has allowed small or marginalised groups to have a voice. Of course a radio station won't build democratic strength on its own but it is an important tool in normalising the concept that the voices of those communities have both worth and power. |
test-digital-freedoms-aihwbasmn-con01a | test-digital-freedoms-aihwbasmn-con01b | Blocking social networks will not work How are the police to block social networks when riots are ongoing? The idea that blocking an individual network like Twitter would stop online networking and reporting during riots is laughable and misunderstands the rapidity with which the internet community adapts to changed circumstances and attempts at censorship. Blocking Twitter might work once, but never again. This is why there have been suggestions that the police would go further and either cut off the internet or phone networks as they would effectively need to impose a communications blackout in order for it to be successful, much as the Chinese does in Tibet when there is unrest. [1] Even then the action may not work, rioters will likely simply post pictures and encouragement for the next night's rioting once the internet and mobile connections are restored as governments would have to do if they did not want to affect the law abiding majority during the day. [1] Branigan, T., "China cut off internet in area of Tibetan unrest", The Guardian, 3 February 2012. | access information house would block access social messaging networks Internet users rely on high visibility for their comments to be significant. When Twitter is shut down, or its replacement, the new sites that pop up must start again in building numbers. [1] Without sufficient numbers on the network they will be able to build up momentum for riots online. The result is a significant blunting of the network's ability to develop or act in a riot scenario; a site is not useful for directing riots if most of those who would riot or are rioting are not on that network. [1] Berger, J.M., "#unfollow", Foreign policy, 20 February 2013. |
test-education-udfakusma-con04a | test-education-udfakusma-con04b | Who will write and edit the work? You can't take the end result out of the system and assume all the rest of it will continue as usual. Journal articles don't write themselves; there will still be costs for editors, typesetters, reviewing etc., as well as the time and cost of the writer. The average cost of publishing an article is about £4000. [1] There have been two suggested forms of open access 'Gold' in which authors pay publishers article publication charges and 'Green' under which the author self-archives their papers in open access repositories. The gold option that the UK intends to implement could mean universities having to find an extra £60million a year. [2] In either case the cost is being put on the author. This is exactly the same when asking academics to put their lectures, lecture notes, bibliographies etc online. They are being asked to put in more hours grappling with technology without being paid for it. [1] Moghaddam, Golnessa Galyani, "Why Are Scholarly Journals Costly even with Electronic Publishing?" p.9 [2] Ayris, Paul, "Why panning for gold may be detrimental to open access research", Guardian Professional, 23 July 2012. | university digital freedoms access knowledge universities should make all This is trying to pull the wool over the eyes of those who fund the research in the first place; the taxpayer. The taxpayer (or in some cases private funder) pays for the research to be done and so is paying for the paper to be written. It then does not make sense that the taxpayer should pay again in order to access the research that they paid to have done in the first place. Yes there are small costs associated with checking and editing the articles but these could easily be added into research budgets especially as it would mean cutting out an extra cost that occurs due to the profit margins of the academic publishers. As Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, says "Taxpayers should not have to pay twice for scientific research". [1] [1] Kroes, Neelie, "Scientific data: open access to research results will boost Europe's innovation capacity", Europa.eu, 17 July 2012. |
test-culture-ascidfakhba-con01a | test-culture-ascidfakhba-con01b | Artists have a fundamental property right over their creative output Whatever the end product, be it music, film, sculpture, or painting, artistic works are the creations of individuals and a property right inheres within them belonging to their creators. An idea is just an idea so long as it remains locked in someone's mind or is left as an unfinished sketch, etc. But when the art is allowed to bloom in full, it is due to the artist and the artist only. The obsession, the time, the raw talent needed to truly create art is an incredible business, requiring huge investment in energy, time, and effort. It is a matter of the most basic, and one would have hoped self-evident, principle that the person who sacrificed so much to bring forth a piece of art should retain all the rights to it and in particular have the right to profit from it. [1] To argue otherwise would be to condone outright theft. The ethereal work of the artist is every bit as real as the hard work of a machine. Mandating that all forms of art be released under a creative commons license is an absolute slap in the face to artists and to the artistic endeavour as a whole. It implies that somehow the work is not entirely the artist's own, that because it is art it is somehow so different as to be worthy of being shunted into the public sphere without the real consent of the artist. This is a gross robbing of the artist's right over his or her own work. If property rights are to have any meaning, they must have a universal protection. This policy represents a fundamental erosion of the right to property, and attacks one sector of productive life that is essential for the giving of colour to the human experience. This policy serves only to devalue that contribution. [1] Greenberg, M. "Reason or Madness: A Defense of Copyright's Growing Pains". John Marshall Review of Intellectual Property Law. 2007. | arts science censorship ip digital freedoms access knowledge house believes all People deserve recompense for their work, but the stifling force of current copyright prevents the proper sharing and expansion of the artistic canon, to the intellectual and spiritual impoverishment of all. Creative commons licenses strike an important balance, by leaving artists with the power over commercial uses of their work, including selling it themselves, while permitting it to permeate the public sphere through non-commercial channels. This is the best way to weigh these competing needs in a complex society. It is not preventing the creator from profiting from his work. It is not a total abrogation of people's rights, but a giving over of some rights for the benefit of all. |
test-international-epglghbni-con03a | test-international-epglghbni-con03b | Unification would reignite civil disorder and violent factionalism among Irish communities As shown above, the Northern Irish don't want to unite with the Republic. The Irish in the Republic will also resent the new drain on their economy. Either the Republican parties in Ireland will resent having to concede some power to new political entities or the Unionists will resent being marginalized. The recent reoccurrence of violence in Belfast is being attributed to the breakdown of protestant communities and low job prospects for young protestants. Both of these problems will be exacerbated in a majority Catholic Ireland. All of these examples illustrate how unrest is likely to breakout again in a united Ireland. | europe politics government local government house believes northern ireland There are many ways to resolve some of these issues. Firstly, regarding political resentment, a system of federalism is likely to ensure some level of political autonomy on both sides. Secondly, such a huge project is likely to attract funds from the UN, EU, the IMF, from charities from private donors etc. So, the former Republic of Ireland will not be subsidizing the Northern Irish, nor will the Northerners be left without support. There will most likely to be international bodies and charities monitoring the transition too, so that any outburst of violence can be contained or reported. |
test-international-aghbfcpspr-pro02a | test-international-aghbfcpspr-pro02b | Reparations would be a step towards closing colonial scars. It is difficult for former colonies to feel as if they can move on and develop a wholly independent identity when their ties to the past, and to their former colonisers, have not been definitively ended. For example, while it is important to remember those who suffered under slavery, the overwhelming memory of it [1] overpowers the history of those countries and innately links them back to former colonial powers. Furthermore, many of the problems now faced by former colonies can be traced back to the actions of colonial-era masters, for example the birth of ethnic tensions between minorities in Rwanda [2] and Burundi [3] . In order to move on from that damaging legacy, and to conclusively prove that such prejudices are always wrong, it is necessary for former colonial powers to show a tangible move towards closing that colonial chapter of their history. In this way they can begin to move towards a fresh, equal and co-operative relationship with the developing countries which were their former colonies, without the background of history which currently warps such relationships. Italy's payment of reparations to Libya [4] allowed Libya to 'mend fences with the West' [5] and to improve international relationships. This is a step to recognise developing countries as a nation, rather than an economic opportunity. In this way, reparations would be an effective way of demonstrating a global community and spirit. [1] Accessed from on 12/09/11 [2] Accessed from on 12/09/11 [3] Accessed from on 12/09/11. [4] Time. 'Italy Pays Reparations to Libya'. Published 02/09/2008. Accessed from on 12/09/11. [5] Accessed from on 12/09/11 | africa global house believes former colonial powers should pay reparations This proposition line does not lead to a situation where developing countries forgive their colonisers and forget the suffering of the past; rather, it will lead to a situation where they identify those colonial forces as the source of their suffering, but also as the power which tried to undermine their human integrity by paying them off. Such developing countries will always view reparations as 'insufficient compensation' [1] , because there is no lump sum on money which can atone for the acts and atrocities committed against human life. This motion is not only ineffective but will exacerbate the current situation by portraying the West as a place where money has a higher value than the human lives of developing countries; as such, there is no reason for former colonies to believe that their have gained any status other then an 'opportunity' for the West. [1] Accessed from on 12/09/11 |
test-law-lghbacpsba-pro05a | test-law-lghbacpsba-pro05b | Attorney client privilege need not be sacrosanct in all situations Most obviously it seems unnecessary for there to be attorney client privilege when the defendant's interests cannot be adversely affected. For example when the confidential information just does not incriminate the client himself but it might clear somebody else, or when the client is dead. Few people will be discouraged from being candid with their lawyers if there is merely the possibility that the communications may be disclosed after their death. In addition there are situations where the client's interest may indeed be hurt but where this should be outweighed by some other very important public interest. In other words perhaps there should be 'necessity' or 'public interest' or 'in the interests of justice' balancing exceptions to the privilege. This would be the case when public safety is at risk, for example if the client holds some very vital information but is not willing to disclose it to anyone other than his lawyer. In such cases the courts should weigh up and balance the client's interests against society's and make the decision accordingly rather than rigidly sticking to attorney-client privilege. | law general house believes attorney client privilege should be abolished It is very unusual to have a case where it would be certain that disclosure would in no way affect the client. Clients want confidentiality for a wide variety of reasons, not only for reasons connected to personal criminal liability. Even if these confidences are not any sort of admission of criminal wrongdoing, they may nonetheless be matters that the client, for one reason or another, would not wish divulged. Abolishing the privilege not only violates a person's right to privacy, but a person who knows that his communications may be later revealed (even after his death, or even with 'use immunity') may well decide that it is better not to go to a lawyer in the first place – in other words, leading to an access to justice problem. This becomes even more of a problem if the privilege may be overridden when it is in the public interest as the client is not going to know when this may be considered to be the case. Better to keep the information to him/herself rather than opening the possibility that it may be used 'in the public interest' |
test-law-tlcplghwfne-con01a | test-law-tlcplghwfne-con01b | Creating needle exchange may normalise drug-taking behaviour Needle exchanges increase drug use. The state implicitly accepts that drug use is an acceptable practice when it aids drug users in practicing their habit. As such drug users feel less afraid of taking drugs. This can extend to first time users who might be encouraged by friends to take drugs using the morally grey area created by needle exchanges as an argument. Further, it is principally wrong that the state should help those who choose to take drugs to begin with. In doing so these people are choosing to firstly harm themselves and secondly cause harm to society as well as contravene the law. The state should exist in such a way that should someone contravene the law they be punished, not rewarded with extra supplies from the taxpayer with no further strings.1 1. Toni Meyer. "Making the case for opposing needle exchange". New Jersey Family Policy Council. November 16, 2007. | th law crime policing law general house would fund needle exchanges Needle exchanges do not condone drug use and in fact they actively discourage it. However, it is important to note that drug addicts are not rational actors and given that they are already taking drugs in a very hostile legal environment, it seems that taking a hard line to them is unlikely to have any real affect. What is more likely to work is winning the trust of the addict and then offering them help as and when they need it. Further, the law exists to help those who commit crimes and incarceration exists principally to allow for the rehabilitation of criminals so they may be re-released into society. As such the principal behind the law and punishment is harm reduction and needle exchanges simply exist as an extension of this principle.1 1. Franciscus, Alan. "Needle Exchange - A Matter of Public Health So why is the government playing politics with this ticking time bomb?" Hepatitis Mag, April 2003. |
test-economy-eptpghdtre-con01a | test-economy-eptpghdtre-con01b | Republicans are the best at stimulating economic growth The tax cuts proposed by President Bush and passed by a Republican Congress ensured that real, after-tax income was up 15% by 2006. The Dow Jones hit record Highs during his time in office. These tax cuts were responsible for the creation of 6.6 million jobs, primarily in the private sector – real jobs producing real goods and providing real services not tax-payer funded sinecures to mask the reality of the economic situation. [i] [i] The White House, "Fact Sheet: Job Creation Continues – More than 6.6 Million Jobs Created Since August 2003", 6 October 2006, | economic policy tax politics government house doesnt trust republicans economy George Bush announced that cutting government was one of his greatest priorities, his actions could not have been further from this ambition. As with most Republican presidents, government spending grew considerably on his watch. Indeed no president since FDR presided over a larger rate of growth in the federal budget. The largest recipient has been the military with over $5tn dollars spent on defence during his two terms. To take one example, when the Transportation Security Administration took a guess at the cost of a national computer system in 2002, it pegged the price at $1bn. A few years later the price was running at five times that [i] . [i] Jon Ward. "Big Government Gets Bigger". The Washington Times. 19 October 2008. |
test-environment-assgbatj-pro03a | test-environment-assgbatj-pro03b | It isn't necessary We don't know how we will be able to develop new drugs without animal testing until we end it. We now know how most chemicals work, and computer simulations of chemicals are very good.[6] Experimenting on tissue can show how drugs work, without the need for actual animals. Even skin left over from surgery can be experiment on, and being human, is more useful. The fact that animal research was needed in the past isn't a good excuse any more. We still have all the advancements from animal testing in the past, but it's no longer needed. [7] | animals science science general ban animal testing junior The laws that restrict animal testing only allow it where it's needed. Animal testing isn't cheap, meaning that if universities and the drug industry have a good reason to end it if they can. If we ban animal testing we won't know what it would be able to do in the future. Animal research now has better results than other ways of doing research. [8] |
test-politics-ypppdghwid-pro02a | test-politics-ypppdghwid-pro02b | Imposing democracy can be a way to support individuals unable to fight for democracy themselves. If the people within a nation want democracy, it is not wrong -- indeed it may even be morally required -- for us to assist them by imposing democracy against the will of the governing class. Often internal movements lack resources, weapons, or organization, making the fight for democracy very difficult. When individuals seek to defend their rights against an oppressive regime, other nations do them a disservice by allowing evil to win out. Thus NATO's intervention in Libya was in support of rebels often seen as part of the 'Arab spring' wave of democratization but the internal movement even if it had large amounts of support was being suppressed and would have been destroyed without outside intervention1. 1 Traub, James. "Stepping In", Foreign Policy | y political philosophy politics defence government house would impose democracy First, it is not clear whether such a position is topical. Second, it is better to support protesters in this case, rather than taking the lead. To begin with, it is not clear that assisting individuals in the fight for democracy is a valid interpretation of the phrase "imposing democracy": if the majority of people want it, perhaps it is not really an imposition. But second and more importantly, if internal movements exist, foreign nations should seek to strengthen and support those movements rather than impose a government. Democratic governments gain legitimacy through popular support: both in origin and in survival. A government chosen and filled by the citizenry is far more legitimate, and thus more likely to command respect and maintain order, than one enforced by a foreign regime. |
test-environment-aiahwagit-con02a | test-environment-aiahwagit-con02b | Fewer human deaths Fewer large beasts will lead to fewer deaths in Africa. Some endangered animals are aggressive and will attack humans. Hippopotamuses kill in excess of three hundred humans a year in Africa, with other animals such as the elephant and lion also causing many fatalities. [1] Footage released in early 2014 of a bull elephant attacking a tourist's car in Kruger National Park, South Africa demonstrated the continued threat these animals cause. [2] Tougher protection would result in higher numbers of these animals which increases the risk to human lives. [1] Animal Danger 'Most Dangerous Animals' [2] Withnall, A. 'Rampaging bull elephant flips over British tourist car in Kruger Park' | animals international africa house would african government implement tougher Most of these human deaths are caused by humans invading the territory of the animals at hand. Even giraffes, usually considered peaceful animals, will attack if they feel that humans are too close. Generally, it is the human's responsibility rather than the animal's. Increased protection may save more lives as methods such as fencing will forcibly separate humans from animals and decrease the chances of the two coming in to contact. [1] [1] Morelle, R. "Fencing off wild lions from humans 'could save them'" |
test-culture-thbcsbptwhht-pro01a | test-culture-thbcsbptwhht-pro01b | Compensation rights a wrong Compensation is a basic principle of justice in any legal system. By definition it can be given to those who have had harm to reputation or dignity, emotional distress and loss of opportunities, including potential earnings. It is important to give compensation as it provides something for those who have suffered from disadvantages as a result of someone else's actions, and it therefore helps to level out the playing field. Cultural appropriation causes clear harms – lost business, less awareness of that culture, and a feeling of inferiority. Theoretically, compensation is also beneficial as Rawls believes that it achieves 'some of the intent' of the principle of redress. This is in line with an egalitarian point of view [1]. While individual cases of cultural appropriation may not intend to harm they have an externality of harm by damaging the culture and identity as a while. This is in much the same way that those polluting often don't intend harm, just to make a profit. [1] Gaus, Gerald F., 'Does Compensation Restore Equality', Compensatory Justice, Vol.33, 1991, pp.45-81, | traditions house believes compensation should be paid those who have had their Compensation may be fundamental, but only when it is possible to quantify the harm, and decide who the harm was done to. With cultural appropriation both are often muddy. Taking a part of culture may not have a monetary benefit for the one taking that cultural item or a proportional loss for the original culture. If this is the case how is a figure put on compensation? Then who does the compensation go to; split between everyone in that culture? But who and how is it defined who is a part of that group? |
test-religion-msgfhwbamec-pro03a | test-religion-msgfhwbamec-pro03b | Women in arranged marriages in Europe are disproportionately likely to suffer abuse Arranged marriages are often different when practiced in the home countries of many immigrant families in Europe, where women often have networks of friends and relatives to rely on. The danger with allowing arranged marriages to happen in EU countries are that the women at the centre are often far more vulnerable, away from their own family, unfamiliar with the local language and fully reliant on their husband's family. This makes it easier for domestic abuses to go undetected which is simply compounding problems of underreporting. [1] It is therefore likely that there is more domestic violence within arranged marriages. [2] This is shown even amongst women who still consented to arranged marriages but faced abuse from their husbands – such as with the case of Razia Sodagar, whose husband abandoned her for another woman after she failed to fall pregnant. [3] This illustrates how it is not always easy to draw a clear division between arranged marriages and forced marriages, as the former can often bear the same characteristics as the latter. It would therefore be safer to outlaw both. [1] 'Ethnic domestic violence 'hidden'', BBC News, 20 September 2007, [2] Gotrik, Jennifer, 'India domestic abuse more common in 'arranged' marriages', Womennewsnetwork, 12 September 2011, [3] 'Fighting Arranged Marriage Abuse,' BBC, 12 July 1999 - | marriage society gender family house would ban arranged marriages eu countries Domestic violence is hardly exclusive to arranged partnerships. Surely focusing exclusively on arranged marriages is missing the point somewhat. Domestic violence, especially against women, pervades many relationships across many European countries. There are just as many arranged marriages that are abuse-free, just as is the case with non-arranged marriages. To be logically coherent, the natural conclusion of the proposition's argument would be to ban every kind of relationship so as to completely eliminate the risk of domestic violence. One can find numerous examples to illustrate this. One is that of Sai Srinivasan and Uma Viswanathan, who were brought together by their families, each with the choice of rejecting the other if they felt there was no fit, and have had a happy union ever since. [1] More resources should therefore be channelled towards addressing violence against women (and men) in relationships of any sort – not simply targeting those that have more uninformed 'western' prejudices attached to them. [1] Black, Lisa, 'Arranged – not forced - marriages a good match in many cultures,' Chicago Tribune, 27 July 2011 - |
test-digital-freedoms-piidfiphwu-pro02a | test-digital-freedoms-piidfiphwu-pro02b | A graduated response will be an effective deterrent Research has shown that consumers are likely to stop downloading from unauthorized sources when warned by their ISP. For example: Seven out of ten (72%) UK music consumers would stop illegally downloading if told to do so by their ISP, and 90 per cent of consumers would stop illegally file-sharing after two warnings from their ISP. [1] This shows that the threat of a possible disconnection together with a friendly warning is enough to stop most consumers from downloading from illegal source. The reasoning behind it is simple: consumers can now download without a cost, a graduated response mechanism first raises awareness scaring off those who are only casually downloading out of convenience and then heightens the expected cost of infringement and thus makes it more likely consumers will use legal sources. [2] [1] IFPI, Digital Music Report 2009. 2009. URL for PDF: [2] Olivier Bomsel and Heritania Ranaivoson, 'Decreasing copyright enforcement costs: the scope of a graduated response'. 2009. Review of Economic Research on Copyright Issues, Volume 6(2), p. 13 – 29. URL for PDF: | p ip internet digital freedoms intellectual property house would use Consumers will find ways to evade detection Evading detection for most of the surveillance methods are relatively easy: consumers could start relying on proxy servers to hide their IP-addresses or start encrypting everything they share online to avoid being detected by fingerprinting-software. In fact, recent experience in France with its Haute Autorité pour la diffusion des œuvres et la protection des droits sur internet (HADOPI) law suggests that despite a graduated response-policy, piracy is actually on the increase. [1] This shows that graduated response won't do what it is supposed to do; stem online piracy. [1] Torrentfreak, 'Piracy Rises In France Despite Three Strikes Law', March 9, 2010. URL: |
test-education-tuhwastua-pro01a | test-education-tuhwastua-pro01b | Standardized tests are arbitrary Standardized tests are inherently arbitrary. They reduce an applicant's entire academic career to a single one-day session. The result is an inherently unrepresentative test which fails to paint an accurate picture. What if a student has a bad day? What if they do poorly on the specific test questions? In the SAT's there is an error of measurement of about 30 points either way out of 800, this is the potential difference between where the student really is and what his or her score on the day was. [1] By contrast, looking at their entire academic record ensures that admissions officers will get a far more comprehensive picture of their actual ability. The law of averages means that bad days and tests will be balanced out with good ones, with the result that their academic record, the result of years of work, will reflect their true performance. [1] Cloud, John, 'What's Good about the New SAT Test', Time, 1 September 2006, | teaching university house would abolish standardized tests university admission A student's academic record tends to measure very different things from what a standardized test does. GPA tends to be based on repetitive assignments such as homework, and in many cases students receive at least some academic credit for simply attending class. By contrast, standardized tests reward ability, by seeing whether or not at the end of the process students actually learned the material in question. Performance under pressure is an important skill to measure, especially for top institutions, while sifting through the differing standards for what goes into the grades in different school districts is simply not possible. |
test-international-eghrhbeusli-con05a | test-international-eghrhbeusli-con05b | Lifting the ban will damage relations with the U.S. Even if it was in Europe's interest to sell arms to China, the damage from upsetting the United States by lifting the arms ban would be much greater. This is partly because America takes the human rights situation in China more seriously, but mostly because the USA has a major commitment to the freedom of Taiwan. If China did attack the island, America would almost certainly intervene. As the US State Department has said in relation to lifting the ban, "We don't want to see a situation where American forces face European technologies." [1] Congress has already threatened to restrict technology transfers to Europe if the ban is removed. [2] For fear of this, BAE Systems, one of Europe's largest defence firms, has said that it would not sell to China even if the ban was lifted. [3] [1] Brinkley, Joel, 'Rice Sounds a Theme in Visit to Beijing Protestant Church', 2005. [2] Archick, Kristin, et al., 'European Union's Arms Embargo on China', 2005, p34-5. [3] Evans, Michael et al., 'British arms firms will spurn China if embargo ends', 2005. | europe global human rights house believes european union should lift its Lifting the ban may briefly result in condemnation from the United States but it is unlikely to damage relations over the long term. The United States and Europe are strong allies in NATO and both accept that from time to time one partner will do things the other does not like. |
test-economy-bepiehbesa-con02a | test-economy-bepiehbesa-con02b | It protects rural communities People in EU are hard to convince that staying in rural areas and working as a farmer is a viable life choice. The profit is often low, the starting costs are high and work is hard. The income of a farmer is usually around half of the average wage in a given country and the number of these farmers fell by 20% in the last decade. [1] By having CAP we have an additional incentive for the people to stay in villages. The direct payments help the people with the starting of business, subsidies helps them to sell their goods at reasonable prices. The process of urbanisation is at least slowed and that, by extend, helps to preserve traditional culture of such communities and thus diversity of European culture itself. [1] Murphy, Caitriona, 'Number of EU farms drops 20pc', Independent, 29 November 2011, | business economic policy international europe house believes eu should abandon We can see from continuous decline of farms in Europe that the CAP has been ineffective in creating enough incentive for people to stay in villages and farms. And it is doubtful if even the reform of CAP can change this situation. In the last 40 years CAP was reformed in one way or another however the declining trend has still continued. It is reasonable to assume that leaving the agricultural sector without state interventions (which are basically CAP) will eventually result in some sort of stable equilibrium emerging with farmers who can make money from farming, or other activities remaining without subsidy. |
test-health-dhiacihwph-con01a | test-health-dhiacihwph-con01b | Dominance of generic drugs will reduce reinvestment and innovation in donating countries The production of high quality generic drugs endangers pharmaceutical progress. In order to export high quality generic drugs, some countries have suggested allowing generic drug manufacturers access to patented drugs. In Canada, amendments to Canada's Access to Medicine Regime (CAMR) would have forced pharmaceutical research companies to give up their patents [1] . This is problematic however as research based companies invest a large proportion of their profits back in to the industry. The requirements proposed for some Western countries for obligatory quantities of generic drugs to be given to Africa have been accused to removing any incentive to invest in research to combat disease [2] . [1] Taylor,D. 'Generic-drug "solution" for Africa not needed' [2] ibid | disease healthcare international africa censorship ip house would produce high Some countries, such as India and Thailand, have specialised in producing generic drugs. These states provide the majority of generic drugs to Africa. This removes the burden of other countries to supply Africa with their own drugs whilst potentially damaging their own research companies. India has managed to create a very profitable industry based around cheap generic drugs which it mainly exports to the African continent [1] , decreasing the necessity of other states to contribute vast resources. Providing generics to Africa will not damage development by the big pharmaceutical companies as at the moment these countries cannot afford the drugs so are not a market. The drugs are researched on the assumption that they will be sold in the developed world. What matters therefore is to ensure that generics for Africa don't get sold back to the developed world undercutting patented drugs. [1] Kumar,S. 'India, Africa's Pharma' |
test-culture-tlhrilsfhwr-con03a | test-culture-tlhrilsfhwr-con03b | Universal rights and collective compromises Cultural relativism is the philosophical belief that all cultures and cultural beliefs are of equal value and that right and wrong are relative and dependant on cultural contexts. Accordingly, relativists hold that universal human rights cannot exist, as there are no truly universal human values. If rights are relative, the laws that protect them must also be relative. If we accept proposition's contention that culturally relative values can evolve in response to conflicts and crises, then any perverse or destructive behaviour given the force of ritual and regularity by a group's conduct can be taken to be relative. If the group believes that a practice is right, if it ties into that group's conception of what is just and good or beneficial to their survival, then there can be no counter argument against it – whether that practice has been continuous for a hundred years or a hundred days. Systems of law, however, reflect the opinions, practices and values of everyone within a state's territory, no matter how plural its population may be. Similarly, objections to specific aspects of the universal human rights doctrine are fragmentary, not collective. While a handful of communities in Yemen may object to a ban on the use of child soldiers, many more throughout the world would find this a sensible and morally valuable principle. It is necessary for both the international community and individual nation states to adjust their laws to reconcile the competing demands of plural value systems. Occasionally, a value common among a majority of cultures must overrule the objections of the minority. It is perverse to give charismatic leaders who convince impoverished communities to send their sons and daughters into combat an opportunity to use cultural relativism to excuse their culpability for what would otherwise be a war crime. Officers, politicians or dissident commanders are much more likely than Yemeni tribesmen or orphaned Sudanese boys to understand the intricacies of such a defence, and much more likely to abuse it. The commanders of child soldiers are the only class of individuals who should fear the ICC. | traditions law human rights international law society family house would require As noted above, the definition of adulthood accepted within western liberal democracies is not a cultural absolute. It can be argued that the legal cut-off point- be it sixteen, eighteen or twenty-one years of age- is largely arbitrary. Children who care for disabled parents take on adult responsibilities inconceivable to many undergraduate students. Many developing world cultures would regard the under-emphasis of practical skills and physical training that exists in the education systems of knowledge-based western economies to be tantamount to neglect. In both war-torn Afghanistan and peaceful Botswana, a boy of fourteen is considered old enough and able enough to hunt; to protect his younger siblings; to marry or to be responsible for a harvest. Why should an Afghani child or his parents be condemned for allowing him to participate in the defence of his community? A family in a similar position in Botswana may never have been confronted with that choice. Although they might find the idea appalling in peace-time, the pressing necessity of war can cause opinions and beliefs to become highly flexible. This restatement of cultural relativism goes hand in hand with side proposition's concluding objection. Although a culture can quickly assimilate and normalise necessary practices- such as arming children- it need not think that they are objectively good and valuable. It may be keen to abandon the practice. A community that responds to an urgent need to arm children may not want to arm children. Side opposition regard the use of child soldiers as symptomatic of cultural depravity, of a callous attitude to suffering. This approach patronises communities subject to privations and abuses now unknown in the west. It assumes that traditions cannot be overturned and that societies in the developing world will hasten to use their children as cannon-fodder for without devoting any thought or debate to the risks involved. |
test-economy-epegiahsc-con01a | test-economy-epegiahsc-con01b | The FTAA is bad for industries in developing nations. This agreement would put farmers and workers in some of the world's most impoverished nations in direct competition with some of the richest companies in the developed world. FTAA would have small, domestic industries in countries like Bolivia or Haiti compete with massive American corporations, and prevent their governments from aiding them in any way. The disparity of power and resources would be so great in the case of such a collision, that it would mean these small industries could easily be wiped out and never develop to a level where they can sustain a healthy national economy and become competitive against giant multinational corporations. This would be disastrous for development and poverty reduction in South America [1] . [1] Robinson, Mary. "Free Trade Area of the Americas: Latin America Deserves Better." New York Times. 18 November 2003. www.nytimes.com/2003/11/18/opinion/18iht-edrob_ed3_.html?scp=1&sq= | economic policy economy general international americas house supports creation Protectionism cannot create a healthy national industry. Only by competing openly against each other on the global market, companies become truly efficient and effective. And small, local companies and industries can often have the advantage in such a confrontation. They can be more flexible and innovative than large multinational corporations, and they are better adapted to the local climate and culture. |
test-science-ascidfakhba-pro04a | test-science-ascidfakhba-pro04b | The costs of monitoring copyright by states, artists, and lawyers far outweigh the benefits, and is often simply ineffective The state incurs huge costs in monitoring for copyright infringement, in arresting suspected perpetrators, in imprisonment of those found guilty, even though in reality nothing was stolen but an idea that, once released to it, belonged to the public domain more or less. [1] Furthermore, the deterrent effect to copyright piracy generated by all the efforts of the state and firms has proven generally minimal. In fact, the level of internet piracy of books, music, and films has increased dramatically year on year for several years, increasing by 30% in 2011 alone. [2] This is because in many cases copyright laws are next to unenforceable, as the music and movie industries have learned to their annoyance in recent years, for example ninety percent of DVDs sold in China are bootlegs while even western consumers are increasingly bypassing copyright by using peer to peer networks. [3] Only a tiny fraction of perpetrators are ever caught, and though they are often punished severely in an attempt to deter future crime, it has done little to stop their incidence. Copyright, in many cases, does not work in practice plain and simple. Releasing works under a creative commons licensing scheme does a great deal to cope with these pressures. In the first instance it is a less draconian regime, so individuals are more willing to buy into it as a legitimate claim by artists rather than an onerous stranglehold on work. This increases compliance with the relaxed law. Secondly, the compliance means that artists are given the vocal crediting under the license rules that gives them more public exposure than clandestine copying could not. Ultimately this adaptation of current copyright law would benefit the artist and the consumer mutually. [1] World Intellectual Property Organization. "Emerging Issues in Intellectual Property". 2011 [2] Hartopo, A. "The Past, Present and Future of Internet Piracy". Jakarta Globe. 26 July 2011. [3] Quirk, M., "The Movie Pirates", The Atlantic, 19 November 2009, | arts science censorship ip digital freedoms access knowledge house believes all It may be costly and sometimes ineffective to police copyright, but that does not make them any less of a right worth protecting. If artists or firms feel that they might benefit from fighting infringers of their rights, they should have the right to do so, not simply be expected to roll over and give in to the pirates and law breakers. The state likewise, has an obligation to protect the rights, physical and intangible, of its citizens and cannot give up on them simply because they prove difficult and costly to enforce. Furthermore, the ensuring health of the economy is a primary duty of the state and this means aiding its domestic businesses and one of the ways it does that is by acting to enforce copyright both internally and if possible externally. |
test-environment-opecewiahw-pro04a | test-environment-opecewiahw-pro04b | A dam could make the Congo more usable While the Congo is mostly navigable it is only usable internally. The rapids cut the middle Congo off from the sea. The building of the dams could be combined with canalisation and locks to enable international goods to be easily transported to and from the interior. This would help integrate central Africa economically into the global economy making the region much more attractive for investment. | omic policy environment climate energy water international africa house would There is currently not enough traffic to justify such a large addition to the project. If it were worthwhile then it could be done without the need for building an immense dam. |
test-international-ehbfe-pro05a | test-international-ehbfe-pro05b | A federal Europe will ensure that large, multinational businesses remain accountable for their actions In a globalised economy, there is a need to tame multinational corporations, which would be otherwise capable of playing national governments off against each other in search for low wages, social costs and state protection. A federal Europe would be powerful enough to demand high standards of behaviour from such companies, because only a powerful and economically significant player can dictate restricting conditions. This would ensure fair wages, safe working conditions and - additionally - Europe would be able to force the multinational companies to implement correct and holistic policies and would also be in a position to make a greater difference on environmental issues such as global warming. Sovereignty becomes less relevant when effective independence is lost anyway as the economy and the problems faced by all nations are increasingly globalised. | europe house believes federal europe The assumptions about the multinational corporations are not actually proved. National governments close deals with such corporations if both sides have interest in it. Even if we assume such a thing existed nowadays – in a federal Europe the same problem would occur only not with countries, rather with regions. That is because every region would want the company to create more business in its area so we will end up with the assumed status quo today. The EU today is already strong enough in regards to implementing environmental policies and restrictions – the carbon tax, the cap and trade system. Dealing with the international issue of global warming is not a point of a federal Europe or the EU, but a completely different matter. |
test-international-epglghbni-pro01a | test-international-epglghbni-pro01b | Britain is morally obliged to permit the secession of northern Ireland The age of colonialism is over. We recognize that the dominance of one country over another is morally wrong. Ireland was already in the hands of the Irish people before English earls and kings invaded. The Irish had a right to the ownership of their land because they cultivated it and so put their labor into it. The use of force to seize that land from the people's control is unjust because it denies them the right they had to their land. They had no choice to voluntarily hand over their land either. To right this historical wrong, the British government should relinquish Northern Ireland, just as they have decolonized the rest of the world ending the British empire except for a few scattered outposts. Since Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997 Northern Ireland is the only remaining colony with a significant population and independent identity. | europe politics government local government house believes northern ireland The Unionists in Northern Ireland who wish to remain part of the UK should have the freedom to do so. To disown Northern Ireland would be a second involuntary decision made by an outsider. |
test-free-speech-debate-ldhwprhs-con02a | test-free-speech-debate-ldhwprhs-con02b | There is no right not to be offended, enforcing what is acceptable to be thought or said places far too much power in the hands of the state. It is impossible to ensure that nobody is ever offended and it is questionable as to whether it is even desirable [1] . There is simply no way of protecting against offence. The state clearly has a role in protecting the physical safety of citizens and in other relevant areas such as preventing dismissal from employment on the grounds of sexuality but this is not the case with speech that may cause offense. Governments that attempt to lead, ahead of public opinion, on matters such as this do little to resolve the problem. In doing so in this manner, they may well pour fuel on the fire of the very prejudice they are aiming to combat as well as creating additional problems by justifying the idea that it is okay to silence views simply because you happen to disagree with them. Banning the expression of ideas has, historically, be the recourse of those who have run out of arguments to defeat them; doing so is an acknowledgement that the proposal is a weak one. Admitting that – or appearing to do so – for the principle of equality set a dangerous precedent. [1] Harris, Mike, "It shouldn't be a crime to insult someone". Guardian.co.uk, 18 January 2012. | living difference house would penalise religious hate speech This is simply a myth. Society routinely legislates to prevent offence with restrictions on what can be said or done within a broadcast or in print. This particular case does not relate to a private conversation between friends but to a public address. As such the response of the police officers was not some Orwellian nightmare but a responsible protection of public order and a show of respect for those who, quite rightly, had taken offence at the remarks. We are rightly cautious of the state intervening too far into the private sphere but this was a public event – by the speakers own choice. |
test-free-speech-debate-nshbcsbawc-pro03a | test-free-speech-debate-nshbcsbawc-pro03b | The confession of religious faith is far more important than the rather petty rules that banned the wearing of the cross. People of faith attest that those beliefs determine the nature of their own identity and their place in the Universe. In the case of Nadia Eweida, at least, the employer's case was based on the idea that wearing a symbol of that faith might not enhance their uniform. The difference between the significance of the claims could not be greater. Indeed, British Airways, Eweida's employer, has since changed their policy to permit staff to wear religious or charitable imagery [i] in large part because of the absurdity of the position. The case against Chaplin was based on health and safety legislation - but not because the cross and chain posed a risk to others but to herself [ii] ; a risk she was, presumably, prepared to accept. On one hand there are individuals protecting their sincere beliefs in the most profound of issues and, on the other, managers applying what the Archbishop of Canterbury described as "wooden-headed bureaucratic silliness". [iii] There is no suggestion that harm to another could have been caused here and, therefore, no reason not to respect the heartfelt beliefs of the individuals involved. [i] BBC News Website. "Christian Airline Employee Loses Cross ban Appeal". 12 February 2010. [ii] Daily Mail. "It's a very bad day for Christianity: Nurse's verdict after tribunal rules she can't wear crucifix at work" [iii] The Telegraph, 'Archbishop of Canterbury hits out at cross ban', 4 April 2010, | nothing sacred house believes christians should be allowed wear cross Virtually every employee dresses differently for work than they do outside. We accept the fact that there are behaviours and attitudes that must be left at the door when we enter the workplace. Those unwilling to make such an accommodation simply don't work for organisations with those requirements. If the women concerned had such a great commitment to their faith, then they should find a different job. |
test-philosophy-pppthbtcb-con01a | test-philosophy-pppthbtcb-con01b | Harm to others is never legitimate Even in cases of suppression and deprivation of human rights, it is not justified to harm others outside the law. Considering acts of terror, there are three possible targets: civilians, political, military or other powerful authorities and their representatives, and structures such as (government) buildings, cars etc. without any causalities. In the case of the first, it is illegitimate to kill innocent civilians because not only have these people not contributed to the terrorists' marginalization, which means that hurting them will not undo the cause of harm, but this also perpetuates the harm that was the cause for violence in the first place. In the case of the second target, the attack on authorities responsible for the marginalization might be removed in some cases (if there is one), but it more often results in backlash where supporters of the authorities act against the insurgents, resulting in more harm. This happened with the Kurdish revolt against the Turkish authorities, which led to a guerilla war with over 30.000 causalities. [1] Thirdly, attacking the infrastructure of a country means disabling the population for accessing their basic capacities such as accessing healthcare by destroying roads or hospitals. Regarding the fact that the population is innocent in the crimes of the government, this is unnecessary and harmful for the whole population. [1] Washington Post. (1999). Who Are the Kurds? Retrieved August 3, 2011, from Washington Post: | political philosophy politics terrorism house believes terrorism can be In extreme cases, it is justified to harm others. It can be argued that the population of a nation is complicit in the crimes that their government commits, because they support the regime by paying tax. Osama bin Laden's 'Letter to America' justifies attacking civilians by stating that they are a complicit part in the American military actions abroad because they have chosen their government democratically, and pay taxes to fund their actions. [1] Secondly, attacks on authorities can get rid of dictators or repressive regimes. Thirdly, commodities such as infrastructure can be used by the government for the promotion of certain groups and to marginalize others. During South African Apartheid, townships were created where black people were forced to live, and which had very little amenities, while the areas where white people lived had much better provisions. [2] [1] Laden, O. B. (2002, November 24). Letter to America. Retrieved August 3, 2011, from Observer: [2] SouthAfrica.info. (n.d.). Tackling Apartheid. Retrieved August 3, 2011, from SouthAfrica.info: |
test-international-epglghbni-pro04a | test-international-epglghbni-pro04b | Uniting Ireland would bring about an end to sectarian violence A united Ireland doesn't have to marginalize the Protestant population. If they are included more in the political process there can be debate, discussion and an airing of grievances which can then be resolved. There is little sense of attachment to the UK, and British institutions. Much like the Scottish and Welsh, the Northern Irish feel Northern Irish. This shows that the ties to Britain are not emotional, but political. It is clear that Unionists just want to have power over how they run their lives. If Unionists are included in the political process in a united Ireland they will have no grievances and there will finally be a lasting peace. | europe politics government local government house believes northern ireland We are at peace now. The Good Friday Agreement has created stability, with the exception of occasional outbreaks but nothing like the horror of The Troubles. We do not need re-unification to have stability. In fact, the positive outcome that might happen is unsure and not a reason worth gambling on. It is likely that there will be conflict in the beginning. Such a huge move will come to Unionists as a shock and without knowing how much power they will have, having to answer to Dublin, it is likely that paramilitary activities will flare up again. This will, of course, spark off IRA and other Republican attacks. If escalations get worse, the British may intervene as well as the Irish army and there may be an entire repeat of The Troubles. |
test-philosophy-elhbrd-con03a | test-philosophy-elhbrd-con03b | There is a risk that even a free choice may have some coercion involved. By far the biggest worry is that a right to die will create a silent form of coercion that cannot be detected. In the West's increasingly elderly society the role of older people in that society, their value and their continuing contribution is all too likely to be masked by the issue of the cost placed on those of working age. Even where older people do not face pressure from their families, society needs to be aware of this wider narrative. Such a narrative will slowly create a norm where the elderly feel that they are a burden and it is expected that they will exercise their right to die. The 'choice' will remain and they will even think it a choice free of coercion but will exercise their right not because they really want to die but because they feel it is what they ought to do, once the right to die is completely normalised those exercising it may not even consider that what they are doing is not really of their free will. Perceiving oneself as a burden is already a common cause of suicide [i] and would certainly increase if it were to no longer be considered taboo. Not having a right to die will not stop arguments about the burden placed on the working members of society by the elderly but it will stop this going any further towards the creation of a culture where individuals consider it normal that they should die when they feel they are a burden. [i] Joiner, Thomas E. et al., 'The Psychology and Neurobiology of Suicidal Behaviour', Annual Review of Psychology, 10 September 2004, p.304 . | ethics life house believes right die This risk can be mitigated by making it clear that the elderly, disabled, and others who may feel a burden are genuinely wanted as a part of society but that the right to die is there if they feel it is too much. Any right to die being allowed is not going to be as simple as going to the doctors and getting an injection. In any system there would be checks and balances put in place. There would probably be some form of application process, checks to see if there is any coercion and that it is what the individual really wants as well as probably some form of cooling off period after which the checks would probably be redone before they finally have their chance to exercise their right to die. |
test-philosophy-pphbclsbs-con04a | test-philosophy-pphbclsbs-con04b | It impedes economic progress. Extra-security measures only impede, or halt the flow of trade [1] , make the country harder to deal with - less internationally 'friendly', and disrupt communities. Security states almost always have slower growth than freer states because there is extra red tape, transport networks are slowed down, for example airport check ins take much longer. The U.S. Travel Association, says on average, in the United States as a result of the airport security measures each person avoids two to three trips a year because of the hassles of airport-security screening. That amounts to an estimated $85 billion in lost business for hotels, restaurants, airlines and other travel suppliers. [2] And this is even before the losses caused by unproductive hours, and deterred investment. All these things will decrease incomes and GDP growth. [1] Verrue, Robert, 'Tighter Security Must Not Slow Down World Trade', The European institute, Spring 2004, [2] McCartney, Scott, 'Aiming to Balance Security and Convenience', Wall Street Journal, 1 September 2011, , accessed 9 September 2011 | political philosophy house believes civil liberties should be sacrificed Admittedly, extra-security measures do halt economic growth. But then again, so do a lot of things like inertia, or lack of consumer confidence. It is, however, a matter of degree; if the trade-off is between a lessening of economic growth and lives saved, then it is not hard to decide in which direction reason is behind. When lives are saved the economy benefits as those people will remain productive workers. And having lots of security is not all negative, the security business does very well. |
test-international-apwhbaucmip-pro02a | test-international-apwhbaucmip-pro02b | Progress in ending conflict in Africa Conflict in Africa is slowly being ended. In 1992 there were 18 conflicts in Africa; by 2009 this had been halved to 9. [1] But a decline in the number of conflicts is not the only positive trend in African conflicts: there has also been a decline in the size of wars. They have changed from wars between two organised armies to being small scale insurgencies. In 1984 the conflicts were on average causing more than 20,000 battle deaths per year, but by 2008 only around 1,000. Even the number of incidents of genocide and mass killing has been going down from 9 in the 1980s to five in the 2000s. [2] Ending war might therefore be considered to be ambitious but it is not against the trend and not inconceivable. [1] Straus, 2012, pp.183-184 [2] Straus, 2012, pp.189-191 | africa politics warpeace house believes african union can meet its pledge At that rate, war in Africa is not going to be ended by 2020. Moreover, progress in the past does not mean that the progress will continue into the future. |
test-philosophy-eppphwlrtjs-pro03a | test-philosophy-eppphwlrtjs-pro03b | Judges are better at delivering justice than juries are. Juries are not technically trained in evaluating evidence.1 Additionally, judges are trained to recognize and suppress their own prejudices, evaluate information given to them, recognize prosecutorial strategy etc., better allowing them to make objective decisions. Furthermore, some studies suggest that juries actually work against the innocent; a 1979 study found that "more than 5 per cent of defendants found guilty by juries were considered by professionals to have been convicted in questionable circumstances."2This is hardly surprising given that jurors are ordinary citizens who are forced to sit through what are often dull and protracted trials, and who may have little interest in actually listening to what is being said (Joanne Frail, a juror convicted for contempt of court stated that she 'drew more than she wrote [during the trial]').3 Perhaps we should trust in the expertise of screened and trained justices instead. 1Sir Louis Blum Cooper QC, "A Judge Can Do the Work of 12 Amateurs, and Better 2Baldwin and McConville, "Jury Trials" 3BBC, "Juror Admits Contempt of Court Over Facebook Case" | eral philosophy political philosophy house would limit right trial jury some Not only is trial by jury a very important check on the justice system, but evidence also suggests that juries are fair and effective. First of all, as explained in the Opparguments, trial by jury is an extremely important check in the criminal justice system. Eliminating it would be a grave threat to justice. But second, to address the more practical concerns raised by the Proposition, studies actually suggest that juries are fair and effective. Recent UK Ministry of Justice research found that juries tend to be objective and non-biased, and that cases based on the strongest evidence are also those cases resulting in the highest conviction rates.1 1Cheryl Thomas, "Are Juries Fair?" |
test-health-hgwhwbjfs-pro02a | test-health-hgwhwbjfs-pro02b | Schools are the best place to create lasting lifestyle changes. Schools are playing an increasingly formative role, in the sense that they're being tasked with not only knowledge transfer, but also the creation of behaviors and placing emphasis on teaching students how to apply their knowledge. [1] Given this expanded mandate, the schools are not only obliged to therefore offer choices that would go hand in hand with healthier behavior, but also the perfect pressure point for lawmakers to go about introducing healthier lifestyles. The simple reason is that our kids are increasingly looking not to their parents, but schools and the environments they provide, for advice on how to live their lives. They are also the traditional environments for youth to continuously invent and reinvent themselves and therefore hold immense potential for behavior modification. [1] Fitzgerald, E., 'Some insights on new role of schools', New York Times, 21 January 2011, , accessed 9/11/2011 | health general weight house would ban junk food schools Given all the responsibilities our society has transferred from parents onto schools and educators in the 21st century, is it really sensible to include caring for nutritional choices to this already bloated and unmanageable list? We need to ask ourselves, is it actually right that kids turn to schools and peers about lifestyle advice, when this is so clearly a domain of parents and families and so obviously a burden on an already taxed public school system. |
test-philosophy-apessghwba-con05a | test-philosophy-apessghwba-con05b | Animals involved in animal research are mostly well treated. The vast majority of animals used in research are not subjected to suffering. Where there may be pain, they are given painkillers, and when they are euthanized it is done humanely. [1] They are looked after well, as the health of the animals is usually not only required by law and good practice, but beneficial for the experimental results. Many of these animals live better lives than they might have done had they been born into the wild. Many animals, and indeed humans, die untimely deaths that are due to reasons other than old age, animal experimentation may increase these numbers slightly but so long as the animals are treated well there should be no moral objection to animal research. If the foundation of the argument for banning animal experimentation is therefore based upon the cruel treatment and pain suffered by animals then this is a reason for regulation to make sure there is very little suffering rather than an outright ban. [1] Herzog, H., "Dealing With the Animal Research Controversy", in Akins, C. Panicker, S. & Cunningham, C. L (eds.), Laboratory animals in research and teaching: Ethics, care and methods, (Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association, 2005, Ch. 1. | animals philosophy ethics science science general house would ban animal This logic assumes that one positive moral action can cancel out a negative moral action. That an animal is well treated before being involved in animal testing and its suffering during testing is kept to a minimum does not balance the very real suffering the animal experiences during the experiments themselves. Regulation would not be helpful in addressing this contradiction as the suffering during the experiments could never be eliminated as if we knew the effects the experiment will have on the animal the experiment would not be necessary in the first place. |
test-law-tahglcphsld-pro03a | test-law-tahglcphsld-pro03b | Drugs are safer when legal Currently in the UK, purity of illegal Amphetamine is normally under 5%, and some tablets sold as ecstasy contain no MDMA at all. Instead, drugs are adulterated ("cut") with substances from chalk and talcum powder to completely different drugs. [1] At least when drugs are legalised the state can regulate their sale to make sure that they are clean and not cut with other dangerous substances. This will minimise the risk to users. [1] Drugscope, 'How Pure Are Street Drugs?', updated January 2005, | th addiction health general law crime policing house supports legalisation drugs Part of the reason that drugs are illegal is because of the health ramifications, which exist even if a drug is pure. To give a brief summary of some health harms that come from unadulterated drugs: "Cocaine can cause such long-term problems as tremors, seizures, psychosis, and heart or respiratory failure. Marijuana and hashish can cause rapid heart rate and memory impairment soon after use. Long-term effects include cognitive problems, infertility, weakened immune system, and possible lung damage. Narcotics such as heroin can bring on respiratory and circulatory depression, dizziness, impotence, constipation, and withdrawal sickness. Overdoses can lead to seizures and death." [1] [1] Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, 'Effects of Alcohol and Drugs on your Health', University of North Carolina, |
test-international-iiahwagit-con03a | test-international-iiahwagit-con03b | Legalising the trade of horns, ivory, furs and pelts would be more effective Making it legal for hunters to kill these endangered animals, rather than protecting them, could prevent extinction. The protected status of endangered animals has made their pelts, horns and tusks more expensive as they are harder to obtain. [1] The current illegality of trading rhino horns has constrained supply in comparison to demand in Asia. This has driven the price of the horn to around £84,000. Softening protection for endangered animals could, in theory, reduce the price to a point where it is no longer profitable to hunt these endangered animals. [2] This would potentially increase supply by freeing up that seized by governments which is currently destroyed, and could potentially involve farming as South Africa is considering with Rhino horn. [3] [1] Welz, A. 'The War on African Poaching: Is Militarization Fated to Fail?' [2] Player, I. & Fourie, A. 'How to win the war against poachers' [3] Molewa, E., 'Statement on Rhino poaching intervention' | imals international africa house would african government implement tougher There is no guarantee that legalising the trade would satisfy demand in East Asia. [1] Nor is there any substantial evidence to suggest that prices would drop to the point where hunters could no longer sustain themselves. If neither of these factors transpires then there is a strong likelihood that endangered animals would be hunted to extinction. [1] Player, I. & Fourie, A. 'How to win the war against poachers' |
test-science-ciidfaihwc-pro01a | test-science-ciidfaihwc-pro01b | Governments have a moral duty to protect its citizens from harmful sites. In recent years, supposedly innocent sites such as social networking sites have been purposely used to harm others. Victims of cyber bullying have even led victims to commit suicide in extreme cases [1] [2] . Given that both physical [3] and psychological [4] damage have occurred through the use of social networking sites, such sites represent a danger to society as a whole. They have become a medium through which others express prejudice, including racism, towards groups and towards individuals [5] . Similarly, if a particularly country has a clear religious or cultural majority, it is fair to censor those sites which seek to undermine these principles and can be damaging to a large portion of the population. If we fail to take the measures required to remove these sites, which would be achieved through censorship, the government essentially fails to act on its principles by allowing such sites to exist. The government has a duty of care to its citizens [6] and must ensure their safety; censoring such sites is the best way to achieve this. [1] Moore, Victoria, 'The fake world of Facebook and Bebo: How suicide and cyber bullying lurk behind the facade of "harmless fun"', MailOnline, 4 August 2009, on 16/09/11 [2] Good Morning America, 'Parents: Cyber Bullying Led to Teen's Suicide', ABC News, 19 November 2007, on 16/09/11 [3] BBC News, 'England riots: Two jailed for using Facebook to incite disorder', 16 August 2011, on 16/09/11. [4] Good Morning America, 'Parents: Cyber Bullying Led to Teen's Suicide', ABC News, 19 November 2007, on 16/09/11 [5] Counihan, Bella, 'White power likes this – racist Facebook groups', The Age, 3 February 2010, on 16/09/11 [6] Brownejacobson, 'Councils owe vulnerable citizens duty of care', 18 June 2008, 09/09/11 | censorship ip internet digital freedoms access information house would censor While in a tiny minority of cases, such social networking sites can be used malevolently, they can also be a powerful force for good. For example, many social networking pages campaign for the end to issues such as domestic abuse [1] and racism [2] , and Facebook and Twitter were even used to bring citizens together to clean the streets after the riots in the UK in 2011. [3] Furthermore, this motion entails a broader move to blanket-ban areas of the internet without outlining a clear divide between what would be banned and what would not. For example, at what point would a website which discusses minority religious views be considered undesirable? Would it be at the expression of hatred for nationals of that country, in which case it might constitute hate speech, or not until it tended towards promoting action i.e. attacking other groups? Allowing censorship in these areas could feasibly be construed as obstructing the free speech of specified groups, which might in fact only increase militancy against a government or culture who are perceived as oppressing their right to an opinion of belief [4] . [1] BBC News, 'Teenagers' poem to aid domestic abuse Facebook campaign', 4 February 2011, on 16/09/11 [2] Unframing Migrants, 'meeting for CAMPAIGN AGAINST RACISM', facebook, 19 October 2010, on 16/09/2011. [3] BBC News, 'England riots: Twitter and Facebook users plan clean-up.' 9 August 2011, on 16/09/11. [4] Marisol, 'Nigeria: Boko Haram Jihadists say UN a partner in "oppression of believers"', JihadWatch, 1 September 2011, on 09/09/11 |
test-free-speech-debate-ldhwprhs-pro02a | test-free-speech-debate-ldhwprhs-pro02b | Because religion promotes certainty of belief, divinely inspired hatred is easy to use to justify and promote violent actions and discriminatory practices. Free speech must come second when there is the potential for that speech to cause harm. The mantra of "With God on our side" has been used, and continues to be used, to justify massacre and barbarity throughout history. Although it is rarely the prelates and preachers who do the killing the certainty they promote gives surety to those who do. The purpose of the Act [1] used in this particular case was an entirely practical one. It's main role was to tidy up existing legislation on rioting and public disorder but one section recognised that homophobic and racist language do lead to violence. It is all well and good to talk of freedom of speech but the reality is that homophobic speeches, particularly those of a religious nature, may well lead to violence. For example in New York there were a series of homophobic attacks after anti-gay statements by republican politicians. [2] Preventing hate speech helps prevent that violence from occurring so justifying restrictions on freedom of speech. [1] Legislation.gov.uk, 'Public Order Act 1986', The National Archives, 1986 c.64. [2] Harris, Paul, 'US shaken by sudden surge of violence against gay people', The Observer, 17 October 2010 . | living difference house would penalise religious hate speech Nobody is being forced to perform acts of violence by the words of another; it is their choice to do so. Equally, there are plenty of people who would hold views that could be considered homophobic but would be appalled by acts of violence. It is fundamental to the principles of respect for the individual that I cannot be held liable for the actions of others. There is no dividing line between the incitement Proposition claims exists and my jokingly suggesting to a broke friend that they rob a bank. Ironically, perhaps, the defence of "The Devil made me do it" is not one that is taken seriously by any credible framework of laws. |
test-politics-oepghbrnsl-con02a | test-politics-oepghbrnsl-con02b | Russia does not have true democracy The status quo in Russia is highly controversial. On the one hand it is considered a democracy – it has all the structures and norms of a democracy. On the other hand there are many attacks and proof that the Russian governance is far from democratic: The joint observer team for the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe criticised the Russian elections as "not fair and failed to meet many OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and standards for democratic elections," with "abuse of administrative resources, media coverage strongly in favour of the ruling party". The polls "took place in an atmosphere which seriously limited political competition" meaning "there was not a level political playing field". The 2007 parliamentary election resulted in United Russia gaining 64.1% of the vote. (3) Furthermore not only there isn't election freedom, there is not academic freedom either – "The European University at St Petersburg has been forced to suspend teaching after officials claimed its historic buildings were a fire risk. This forced all academic work to cease. The University had been running a program that advised Russian political parties, including how to ensure elections are not being rigged. The project they are involved in called Interregional Electoral Chains of Support was to develop and raise the effectiveness of electoral monitoring in Russia's regions. The university has also been attacked for having close ties to the west, particularly US and UK universities" (4) There are cases of murdered journalists, who were "inconvenient" to the authorities. This also raises the question whether a strong leadership is better for the people. Basic freedoms are denied to the Russian population. In the 21st century this is simply unjust. Therefore strong leadership creates more wrong than it does good. | onal europe politics government house believes russia needs strong leadership Russia has the attributes of a democracy. It is a federal state with a constitution. It has a two chamber legislature; the lower house is the Duma with 450 members elected from nationwide party lists based upon proportional representation. The Upper house; the Federation Council has two representatives from each of Russia's 89 regions and republics that are chosen by the regional governors and legislatures. Elections for the President are every four years who then appoints the prime minister who in turn appoints the government. Russia therefore appears to have the necessary structure to be a democracy as each of the branches or government are independent. What Russia is doing is combining the modern democratic governance with better control and management. Shortly after one of the reporters' death (which death is thought to be a political order) the head of the human rights organisation issued a strongly worded statement alleging the involvement of state authorities and the area's premier Ramzan Kadyrov in this particular death. This statement was not suppressed in Russia and means that there is freedom of speech. There maybe a strong amount of state control of the press similar to Italy which is a problem but the right still remains. (5) |
test-free-speech-debate-ldhwbmclg-con03a | test-free-speech-debate-ldhwbmclg-con03b | A ban will further marginalise young members of impoverished communities Hip hop is an extremely diverse musical genre. Surprisingly, this diversity has evolved from highly minimal series of musical principles. At its most basic, raping consists of nothing more than rhyming verses that are delivered to a beat. This simplicity reflects the economically marginalised communities that hip hop emerged from. All that anyone requires in order to learn how to rap, or to participate in hip hop culture, is a pen, some paper and possibly a disc of breaks – the looped drum and bass lines that are used to time rap verses. Thanks to its highly social aspect, hip hop continues to function as an accessible form of creative expression for members of some of impoverished communities in both the west and elsewhere in the world. Point 7 suggests that free speech flourishes when we respect believers but are not forced to respect their beliefs. Free Speech Debate discusses this principle in the light of religious belief and religious expression. However, it is also relevant when we consider how our appraisal of an individual's background, culture and values affects our willingness to accept or dismiss what she says. The positive case for banning- or at least condemning- hip hop often rests on its ability to reinforce the negative stereotypes of impoverished and marginalised communities that are propagated by majority communities. Critics of hip hop note that black men have often been stigmatised as violent, uncivilised and predatory. They claim that many hip hop artists cultivate a purposefully brutal and misogynist persona. The popularity of hip hop reflects the acceptance of this stereotype, and further entrenches discrimination against young black men. This line of thinking portrays hip hop artists as betrayers or exploiters of their communities, reinforcing damaging stereotypes and convincing adolescents that a violent rejection of mainstream society is a way to achieve material success. Arguments of this type fail to recognise the depth of nuance and meaning that words and word-play can convey. They are predicated on an assumption that the consumers of hip hop engage with it in a simplistic and uncritical way. In short, such arguments see hip hop fans as being simple minded and easily influenced. This perspective neglects the "recognition respect", the recognition of equality and inherent dignity that is owed to all contributors of a debate. Moreover, it also bars us from properly assessing the "appraisal respect" owed to the content of hip hop and other controversial musical genres. When hip hop is seen as being inherently harmful, and as being targeted at an especially impressionable and vulnerable part of society, we both demean members of that group and prevent robust discussion of rap lyrics themselves. Academics such as John McWhorter see only the advocacy of violence and nihilism in lyrics such as "You grow in the ghetto, living second rate/ and your eyes will sing a song of deep hate". But these are words that can also be interpreted as astute observation on the brutality that is bred by social exclusion. In point of fact, there is little in the previous verse, or those that follow it, "You'll admire all the numberbook takers/ thugs, pimps and pushers, and the big money makers", that could be interpreted as permitting, popularising or endorsing violence. That is, unless the individual reading the verse had already concluded that its intended audience lacked his own critical perspective and understanding of social norms and values. Even if an observer were ultimately conclude that a particular hip hop track had no redeeming value, a broad interpretation of point 7 suggests that he should, at the very least, credit its artists and listeners with a modicum of intelligence and reflectiveness. When we approach music with a custodial mind-set, determined to protect young listeners from what we see as harm or exploitation, we prevent those individuals from access a form of speech that may be the only affordable method of expression open to them. Just as we allow individuals the right to be heard in a language of their choosing (see point 1), we should also accept that perspectives from marginalised communities may not appear in a conventional form. Under these circumstances, it would be dangerous for us to curtail and marginalise a form of speech geared toward discussing the problems faced by impoverished young people that has, against the odds, penetrated the mainstream. We are likely to deepen existing prejudices by viewing rappers and their fans as infantile, impressionable and in need of protection. | living difference house would ban music containing lyrics glorify This argument makes a claim of bias against academics and commentators who portray the audiences that hip hop music is targeted at as vulnerable. Unfortunately, this is a viewpoint that is closer to the truth than the aspirational narrative provided in the opposition side's case. Hip hop emerged from environments that were extremely poor and that had been pushed to the margins of society. This situation has persisted until well into this century. The cyclical effects of racism and discrimination continue to be felt in minority communities. Although anti-discrimination laws now protect access to employment and government services, inequalities in cultural capital and high-impact policing have led to the exclusion of large numbers of young men from the social economic opportunities that are made available to middle class society. Under these circumstances, it is entirely appropriate to describe the adolescent inhabitants of impoverished urban communities as vulnerable. Poverty- either financial or of opportunity- breeds desperation. An individual placed in a situation of urgent need will not have the ability to reason clearly. This is especially true of young people undergoing the difficult transition to adulthood. Adolescence is characterised by a desire to test the boundaries of social norms and parental authority. Therefore, expression that legitimatises and encourages ever more dangerous forms of rebellion should be kept out of the hands of young people. They are unusually susceptible to the behavioural distortions that side opposition goes out of its way to deny. We limit the content of the media that children and young people can consume all the time, recognising that the process of education and socialisation changes the individual's relationship to wider society and their ability to which forms of behaviour will best help them to live freely and happily. Children and teenagers are more impressionable than adults. Similarly, the rate at which individuals mature and develop can vary wildly. We recognise that, for example, exposure to pornography or violent cinema could have serious behaviour consequences for young children. Objections to the restricted availability of pornography are nonsensical, given that they do a great deal to protect children, and present only a minor inconvenience to an adult's attempts to access such material. Although we do not place onerous restrictions on the ability of adults to access media of this type, we can be strict in regulating children's access. This does not constitute a permanent form of censorship, but instead fulfils the broad remit that the state is granted to protect its citizens. Moreover, classification of expression that is geared toward protecting the vulnerable also aids in protecting the primacy and utility of free speech itself. Free expression- as has been restated throughout this exchange- can harm as easily as it liberates. In some instances, the state must temporarily restrict the access of certain classes of people to certain forms of free expression, in order to ensure that free, frank and controversial discussion and expression can take place in society in general. |
test-religion-yercfrggms-pro06a | test-religion-yercfrggms-pro06b | entirely natural theories can adequately explain belief in God and the development of religions, so an existent God is superfluous to the understanding of the phenomenon: The reason people believe in God and why religions have formed can be explained perfectly well by natural processes and psychology. Religion is an outgrowth of humans' brain architecture developed through the process of evolution; it developed as a by-product of other useful cognitive processes. [1] For example, survival capability is promoted by an ability to infer the presence of potentially hostile organisms, the ability to establish causal narratives for natural occurrences, and the ability to recognize that other people are independent agents, with their own minds, desires, and intentions. [2] These cognitive mechanisms, while invaluable to human survival and communal development, have the effect of causing humans to imagine supernatural purposefulness behind natural phenomena that could not be explained by other means. No gods are required to explain religious belief, so the existence of such belief is no reason to believe in such beings. Religion was a cradle during mankind's childhood and adolescence. The time has come to grow up as a species and accept that there are no gods. [1] Henig, Robin. 2007. "Darwin's God". The New York Times. Available: [2] Pinker, Steven. 2004. "The Evolutionary Psychology of Evolution". Annual Meeting of the Freedom from Religion Foundation. Available: | y epistemology religion church faith religion general god morality secularism Not everything about religion can be explained by evolutionary psychology. The existence of the soul and the concept of an ethereal God not directly connected to the processes of the world could not simply come about by way of evolution. Rather, there must be true meaning in these concepts, or they must at least be indicative of something other than the strictly material, contradicting the denials of atheism. |
test-free-speech-debate-fsaphgiap-pro02a | test-free-speech-debate-fsaphgiap-pro02b | The people are interested in the health of their leader The health of the leader of the state is an issue that the people and the media inevitably want to know about. There will always be a lot of interest in it. Occasionally this can be played by the administration as with Kissinger saying he was ill and using time to fly to Beijing to arrange for Nixon's visit without press attention. But most of the time keeping things from the press is purely negative; it drives rumors. This was the case of John Atta Mills, people were not allowed to know about his health. The presidential staff and communication members constantly lied about his health but there were two reports that he had died. Mills spent time in a US hospital, on returning to Ghana, he was made to jog around the airport to show the media that he was healthy. 1 1 Committee for Social Advocacy, 'Who and what killed President John Evans Atta Mills?', Modern Ghana, 13 August 2012, | free speech and privacy health general international africa politics The media always want a good story; they are interested in the health of celebrities when there is no clear reason why they should have any right to this private information. The health of the leader is not something that the press or public needs to know about unless it is an illness that is likely to affect the president's capacity to make decisions. A government's decision should not be based upon the possibility that information on the leader's health will leak and should take a consistent line that it is a private matter or provide a bare minimum of information. |
test-law-cplglghwbhwd-con03a | test-law-cplglghwbhwd-con03b | The DC Handgun ban is inconsistent with other legislation in the U.S. A change in legislation in DC that is markedly different from everywhere else in the U.S. is harmful. Whilst the constitution might be amended to give a specific change for DC, the rest of the U.S. will still be able to bear arms. The point of the American constitution is that it is meant to give an even field to all citizens under the law. Minor differences between people within different states is acceptable; owing to specific needs of specific states and all state legislation must be proved to be constitutional anyway. This difference is specifically problematic because of the nature of its interactions with both the constitution and the law. This change is harmful because the state is dependent upon consistency within the law and perception of the law as being a fair mechanism for all people. Large inconsistencies within the law should not be tolerated as such inconsistencies often bring into debate the legitimacy of the state's legal code. This is problematic as such debates and inconsistencies can lead to confusion about the reach of the law as well as doubt in the legitimacy of the law. The law is dependent upon citizens understanding and subscribing to the legal code, otherwise legal systems might suffer from problems such as people simply not reporting crime to the police owing to their doubt in the legal system and its ability to protect them, or otherwise law abiding citizens from other areas of the country inadvertently breaking the law by bringing guns into D.C. | crime policing law general local government house would ban handguns washington dc Democracy is designed to be a flexible mechanism that can change based on different circumstances and at different times. The American constitution should provide a legal basis for all citizens of the U.S. However, the reason such a legal basis exists is such that citizens in the U.S. are fairly treated under the law and thus benefit through the stability that such fairness creates. However, it is also feasible that at certain points, part of the constitution could work out very badly for the state in some areas. This is why a system of amendments to the constitution exists. As such, it is feasible that the constitution should also be able to deal with transitional periods where certain areas should be allowed different rights under the constitution because each area requires different laws in order to work properly that cannot be created on a state level. Whilst this might cause some tension, most people in DC, particularly the non-criminals would probably understand the reasons behind a ban on handguns in their area, and indeed did when handguns were initially banned there.13 |
test-international-epglghbni-con02a | test-international-epglghbni-con02b | The majority of the inhabitants of Northern Ireland do not support unification The Good Friday agreement affirmed "That if, in the future, the people of the island of Ireland exercise their right of self-determination … to bring about a united Ireland, it will be a binding obligation on both Governments [UK and Ireland] to introduce and support in their respective Parliaments legislation to give effect to that wish".* However as yet the Northern Irish do not wish to exercise this right. In a recent survey conducted by The Northern Ireland Life and Times it transpired that, "Overall, 73 per cent believe the long-term policy for the North should be maintaining the union, with 58 per cent supporting devolution and 15 per cent in favour of direct rule. Just 16 per cent want a united Ireland, with 3 per favoring an independent Northern Ireland." This is not just amongst the Protestant population. The survey also showed that, "just one in three Catholics (33 per cent) wants a united Ireland, while 52 per cent want the North to stay in the UK, with 46 per cent of Catholics happy with the devolved arrangements and 6 per cent favoring a return to direct rule from Westminster."** *NIO, 1998, **Moriarty, 2011, | europe politics government local government house believes northern ireland It is highly probable that opinion will shift. Current statistics reflect the fact that this generation has lived through The Troubles. The next generation is likely to see a nation divided, which appears to so obviously belong together. There is no evidence that current opinion will not change with time. |
test-international-amehbuaisji-con03a | test-international-amehbuaisji-con03b | The rest of the world is better off with the US out The crucial role that the US plays for international security means that, for the benefit of the rest of the world, it is advantageous for the US to be outside of the ICC jurisdiction. When military intervention is needed , it will often be the US that does so. The US being in a position where its actions would be constrained by a fear of ICC prosecution. This would be even worse if the crime of aggression were to take effect, a broad definition of which could harm US interests. With the notable exceptions of the 1991 Gulf War and the invasion of Afghanistan, most recent US overseas missions could be seen as amounting to the crime of aggression. Depending on the definition used, it has been argued that every single US president since Kennedy has committed the crime of aggression. In an increasingly uncertain world, it could be necessary for the US to intervene American ratification of the ICC would therefore have the unintended consequence of constraining US actions that would otherwise save lives. If the United States does not intervene in cases where there may be considered to be a responsibility to protect then it is unlikely that any other state will either. | americas middle east house believes us and israel should join international The only effect on US freedom of action would be prohibition of clear and significant violations of international law. If the US stays within the international criminal law, they will not be affected by the ICC. It would be harmful for any state to have special treatment – if the US were to be granted such special treatment to the United States other large states could request the same due to their self-perceived international roles. Such exceptions and opt outs would mean that the International Criminal Court would be granting impunity to large states, whatever gargantuan violations of the international law are committed, and only investigate smaller ones. This would clearly be an unfair system of international justice. If a country engages in more military engagements, and is larger and more powerful, it is all the more necessary that they are held to the same standards as smaller powers. |
test-philosophy-apessghwba-con04a | test-philosophy-apessghwba-con04b | Animal research is only used where other research methods are not suitable Developed countries, including the US and all members of the EU (since EU Directive 2010/63/EU) have created laws and professional regulations that prevent scientists from using animals for research if other, non-animal research methods would produce equally clear and detailed results. The principle described above is also enshrined in the "3Rs" doctrine, which states that researchers and their employers have a duty to identify ways to refine experiments conducted on animals, so that yield better results and cause less suffering; replace animals used in research the non-animal alternatives where possible; and reduce the number of animals used in research. Not only does the 3Rs doctrine represent a practical way to reconcile the necessity of animal research with the universal human desire not to cause suffering, it also drives scientists to increase the overall quality of the research that they conduct. Governments and academic institutions take the 3Rs doctrine very seriously. In EU countries scientists are required to show that they have considered other methods of research before being granted a license for an animal experiment. There are a huge number of ways of learning about our physiology and the pathologies which affect it, including to computer models, cell cultures, animal models, human microdosing and population studies. These methods are used to complement one another, for example animal models may well produce data that creates a computer model. Nonetheless, there is some research which cannot be done any other way. It is difficult to understand the interaction of specific sets of genes without being able to change only these genes – something possible through genetically modified animals. Finally, as noted above, given the high cost of conducting animal research relative to other methods, there is a financial incentive for institutions to adopt non-animal methods where they produce as useful and accurate results. | animals philosophy ethics science science general house would ban animal The opposition's conclusions can be attacked in three ways. First, countries that are less economically developed than wealthy North American and European states are not likely to support rules or laws similar to the 3Rs doctrine or Directive 2010/63/EU. In these countries, low animal welfare standards often mean that animal research is cheaper relative to the cost of non-animal methods such as computer models or cell cultures. Second, across the world, researchers tend to specialise in certain fields. Animal researchers tend to involve animal work in most of their projects, meaning that they may be less aware of alternative methods that could be used. Essentially, an individual who has spent their entire career as an animal researcher is likely to see all scientific problems in their field of research as solvable through animal experiments. Finally, toxicology work on new drugs (and sometimes other products) still legally requires animal testing in most countries of the world. The length of time it took to introduce the EU ban on animal testing for cosmetic testing shows the difficulties faced by governments in adopting new methods of regulating animal research. |
test-politics-ypppdghwid-pro01a | test-politics-ypppdghwid-pro01b | Interventions can be successful given the right conditions. Certain factors may increase the chance of success: for example imposing democracy on a nation with which there were once colonial relationships increases the expected lifespan of the democracy. Democratic transitions in general also tend to be more successful if economic conditions are better. Obviously we are not advocating imposing democracy on every country which does not have it, but if there are strong enough institutions and conditions, imposition can work and there have been past successes like Germany and Japan post WWII that show the worth of imposing democracy1/2. 1 Enterline, Andrew J. and Greig, J. Michael."Against All Odds? Historical Trends in Imposed Democracy & the Future of Iraq & Afghanistan." 2 Przeworski et al "What Makes Democracies Endure?" Journal of Democracy. | y political philosophy politics defence government house would impose democracy Interventions are far more likely to fail than to succeed. As explained further in Opposition Argument 2, empirically and logically imposed democracy is likely to fail. Governments can try and minimize the risk of failure, but it is inherent to the nature of imposition that a government is being instated against the country's will. It is consequently very unlikely to generate support and remain stable. |
test-international-aghbfcpspr-con01a | test-international-aghbfcpspr-con01b | Time has removed the opportunity to truly make reparations to those who may have deserved it. Reparations are used to make 'amends for wrong or injury done' [1] ; it is impossible to truly achieve this when the victims of wrongdoing are long since dead. Moreover, reparations which may have been made immediately after colonisation could have had a specific purpose – for example, to rebuild property which was destroyed, or to restore items which were wrongfully taken. However, the development of both countries has led to a very different state of affairs in both, and there may no longer be an obvious end for the money from reparations. There is also no precedent for giving reparations to countries after so long a period of time. For example, Germany began paying reparations to Israel in 1952 [2] , only 7 years after World War II ended in 1945. Time also makes it very difficult to judge who the 'victims' are now. The descendants of original victims may well be independently wealthy now – would it be right to financially cripple of Western country and their people, already suffering from economic depression, to pay people who may not need it now? In any case, it would take a very long to even work out how we could pay reparations, let alone whether we should. [1] Accessed from on 12/09/11 [2] Accessed from on 12/09/11 | africa global house believes former colonial powers should pay reparations Given that many former colonies remain poor (even after so many years), it is very unlikely that these people would have no need for such money. The difference in timescale is irrelevant; what is relevant is that such former colonies have a demonstrated need for this money, and that atrocities occurred during the colonial era. If it became to hard to track down specific people, it would also be easily possible to give money to the government as Italy did to Libya [1] , in which case the potential for improved infrastructure and basic living conditions could have a nation-wide benefit. Just because it may be difficult does not overrule the many powerful arguments that we should do this. [1] Accessed from on 12/09/11 |
test-international-iwiaghbss-pro01a | test-international-iwiaghbss-pro01b | Moving is an imperative It is clear that if the Seychelles wishes to remain as a sovereign nation it will have to relocate almost all of its population and it makes sense for this to be in one place so keeping the nation together. The way to do this is through purchasing land and sovereignty from another country that has land to spare. There is clearly little other choice and some of the small island states have already accepted this. Kiribati for example has already bought land from Fiji with the intent of using it as a last resort for its people. [1] [1] Yu, Bobby, 'The Sinking Nation of Kiribati: The Lonely Stand Against Statelessness And Displacement from Rising Oceans', The Arizona Journal of Environmental Law & Policy, 11 January 2013, | imate water international africa global house believes seychelles should Unlike the Maldives or Kiribati the Seychelles will still have a small amount of land. [1] The government could establish a permanent outpost even if it does have difficulties with water supplies. The Seychelles would therefore be able to maintain sovereignty through this outpost much as mounting bases on small islets around the world provide sovereignty without acquiring new territories elsewhere. [1] Conan, 2010, |
test-law-umtlilhotac-pro02a | test-law-umtlilhotac-pro02b | Witnesses might be identified and placed in danger Televising criminal trials may cause a number of problems with witnesses. It may make individuals less likely to give evidence, make them more likely to play to the television audience, or make the already intimidating process of giving evidence in court more so. Also, television broadcasts make it more likely that the identities of anonymized witnesses would leak out – something that has already happened at the ICC in the Ruto-Sang case [1] . The ICC already has problems with witnesses, including allegations of bribing and intimidating prosecution witnesses in the Ruto case [2] , which has led to Walter Barasa, a Kenyan Journalist, being subject to an arrest warrant [3] . Ending the televising of trials may go some way to remedy those problems. [1] Lattus, Asumpta, 'Evenson: 'First time arrest warrant has been issued in Kenya case', Deutsche Welle, 2 October 2013, [2] Stewart, Catrina, 'ICC on trials along with Kenya's elite amid claims of bribery and intimidation', The Guardian, 1 October 2013, [3] 'ICC seeks Walter Barasa arrest for Kenya 'witness tampering', BBC News, 2 October 2013, | ure media television law international law house opposes televising all criminal Giving evidence is a traumatic experience, TV coverage or otherwise. TV broadcasts can already have measures brought in to protect witnesses – for instance it could be agreed that they are not directly filmed. Anonymized witnesses at the ICC currently give evidence by video-link, of which the audio is distorted and the image pixelated out, save for those who are permitted to see it, such as the judges and counsel. The ICC already enters in to arrangements with other states for the protection of witnesses in their physical safety. |
test-politics-oapdhwinkp-pro01a | test-politics-oapdhwinkp-pro01b | South Korea can handle the situation itself The two Koreas should be able to solve the situation themselves without recourse to all the neighbouring powers – whose interest does not seem to have spurred a solution to the frozen conflict anyway. With the Cold War over South Korea is more than capable of handling its own security. South Korea is economically far ahead of the North with its economy thirty seven times bigger. [1] Its military is also more capable than the North's as the International Institute for Strategic Studies argues "As measured by static equipment indices, South Korea's conventional forces would appear superior to North Korea's. When morale, training, equipment maintenance, logistics, and reconnaissance and communications capabilities are factored in, this qualitative advantage increases." [2] So should be able to deter aggression on its own and pull its own weight in negotiations without the need of a multilateral process. Moreover no one would argue that an invasion should be ignored however the South should be the one who responds to North Korean actions on its own. [1] Oh Young-Jin, 'South Korean economy 37 times bigger than NK's', The Korea Times, 5 January 2011, [2] 'The Conventional Military Balance on the Korean Peninsula', The International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2012, | onal asia politics defence house would ignore north korean provocations Pressure from other states acts as a force multiplier helping to show that the North has crossed a line with its actions. A lack of reaction from the Unites States, Japan, and other states around the world would show that these nations are no longer supporting the South as strongly as they were. The United States in particular has to be willing to engage with North Korea in order to present a united front with its South Korean ally. |
test-international-bmaggiahbl-con03a | test-international-bmaggiahbl-con03b | There is accountability without a free press Freedom of speech and the Press is not the only way of creating accountability in a country – especially a comparatively small one such as Rwanda. Rwanda has been ranked a transparent and is the least corrupt state in East Africa [1] where everyone is accountable and equal before the law. How can this be without an aggressive free press? Annually, all government officials are cross examined by locals publicly in a forum called national dialogue "Umushyikirano", to ensure that they meet the needs of citizens and assess their performance[2]. This has given Rwandans courage to express their desires and feel much valued in the process of policy making and engagement. It puts ministers and even the Prime Minister on the spot on individual issues. Restricted press and speech is therefore rendered irrelevant by such programs as people can question authorities and demand justification directly rather than relying on the press. In Africa, most countries lack transparent government systems and institutions, a factor responsible for continued corruption, poor governance and crime which in turn destroy progress in societies [3], but this is not the case with regard to Rwanda. [1] Zegabi East Africa news, 'Transparency International Ranks Rwanda the Least Corrupt Country in East Africa', 5 December 2013, zegabi.com [2] Hunt, Swanee 'Rebuilding Rwanda: Access and Accountability', inclusivesecurity.org, 30 December 2013 [3] Jones Lang Lasale, 'Sub-Saharan Africa: A region with opportunities amid transparency challenges', joneslanglasale.eu | bate media and good government international africa house believes limited It is a wrong assertion that Rwandans are valued in the process of policy making when their genuine opinions are limited to a certain level. The national dialogue is a three day event and cannot cover the concerns of more than 11 million Rwandans. Moreover when people still fear to say the truth as they go through in daily life [1], how can one expect such people to raise the right issues on a public platform with the most powerful people in the country? [1] Amnesty International, 2011 |
test-international-glilpdwhsn-con03a | test-international-glilpdwhsn-con03b | The New START treaty sets a bad approach for a changing world New START reduces US deterrence in world that is arming, not disarming. The United States has relied on deterrence for sixty years and as a result has prevented war between the great powers. A US drawdown, especially as other new powers are arming, will undermine deterrence. This will then encourage rivals to try to catch the United States while the reductions show that the United States is in decline. [1] While proponents of reducing nuclear weapons, or reaching global zero, argue that possession of nuclear weapons by the nuclear weapons states is the incentive behind proliferation, this is not true. The US has consistently taken leadership in the reduction of nuclear arms through treaties but this has so far had no effect in encouraging other nuclear powers to reduce their arsenals and indeed new powers have joined the club. Reducing nuclear arms through New START will therefore not encourage others to stop pursuing nukes. The U.S. should not be taking steps towards disarmament without all nuclear weapons states, including those not signed up to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty, also being involved. [2] New START also fails to speak to the issue of protecting and defending the U.S. and its allies against strategic attack. The treaty fails to recognize that deterrence is no longer simply between the U.S. and Russia and that the whole policy should no longer be based on just against strategic attacks on the United States or very close allies. Instead it is much more critical to deal with nuclear policy towards 'rogue' states and rising powers. [3] Finally, the US should not set a precedent that it will sacrifice its own interests to bribe Russia over issues like Iran. As the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) argues: "we are told that the real purpose of New START is to create a stronger U.S.-Russia bond in a broader international effort to restrain Iran's nuclear weapons program. Such a justification is wrong. Iran's nuclear ambitions are no secret; neither are Russia's past efforts in aiding that program. We seriously question whether Russia is serious about stopping Iran, with or without New START. There is no reason why the United States should be required to sacrifice its own defense capabilities to inspire Russia to a greater degree of diplomatic fortitude. If Russia is indeed concerned with a nuclear-armed Iran to its immediate south, it should need no extra incentive to take the action necessary to stop it." [4] If the U.S. bribes Russia over Iran China might expect to get similar treatment over North Korea. New START puts the US in a disadvantaged position in a changing world, and consequently should not be supported. [1] Brookes, Peter. "Not a new START, but a bad START". The Hill. 13 September 2010. [2] Spring, Baker. "Twelve Flaws of New START That Will Be Difficult to Fix". Heritage Foundation, The Foundry. 16 September 2010. [3] Ibid. [4] Weingarten, Elizabeth. "How did New START become a Jewish issue?". The Atlantic. 1 Decemebr 2010. | global law international law politics defence warpeace house supports new Agreements between the biggest nuclear powers are a good starting point towards disarmament. We cannot expect countries with a very small number of nuclear weapons to be disarming if the countries that have the vast majority of the world's arsenal have not already begun the process of getting rid of their own. Even the reductions in New START will not bring either Russia or the United States anywhere near the level of any other nuclear power whose nuclear weapons number in the hundreds not thousands. Both countries would need to reduce a very long way before they lose deterrence against China, let alone North Korea. As former secretaries of state argue America has "long led the crucial fight to protect the United States against nuclear dangers… The world is safer today because of the decades-long effort to reduce its supply of nuclear weapons. As a result, President Obama should remain similarly courageous with New START." [1] If linkage between the New START and Russian action on Iran exists then this would not always be a bad thing. Linkage has been used successfully in the past, and to the advantage of the U.S., for example Kissinger credited the peace agreement with North Vietnam in Paris in 1973 as being down to linkage which resulted in pressure on North Vietnam from the People's Republic of China and the USSR. If linkage could be successful in bringing Russia onside in pressurizing Iran on the issue of nuclear weapons it could be to the benefit of the United States. [1] Kissinger, Henry A. ; Shultz, George P. ; Baker III, James A' ; Eagleburger , Lawrence S. ; and Powell, Colin L. "The Republican case for ratifying New START". Washington Post. 2 December 2010. |
test-economy-thsptr-pro01a | test-economy-thsptr-pro01b | Those able to pay more should pay more into the tax system The wealthy have more disposable income and are more financially secure than are the poor and economically tenuous. For this reason, a progressive system of taxation puts the tax burden more heavily on the wealthy which has the wherewithal to pay. Progressive taxes make everyone sacrifice equally, since true equality of taxation means equality of sacrifice. [1] It is ludicrous to expect the poor and less well-off to pay the same proportional amount in taxes as the wealthy since they have to spend most of their income on essential goods like food and shelter; it is unjust to gain all state revenues from regressive taxes like VAT, since the wealthy have excess resources they can do without while not overly influencing their standard of living. [2] Progressive taxation serves to help the poor and worst off while not leaving the wealthier worse off, since they still have more money. Clearly, progressive taxation is just in terms of burdens on individual taxpayers. [1] Young, H. Peyton. 1990. "Progressive Taxation and Equal Sacrifice". The American Economic Review 80(1): 253-266. [2] Shapiro, Robert. "Flat Wrong: New Tax Schemes Can't Top Old Progressive Wrongs". Washington Post. 1996. Available: | tax house supports progressive tax rate Simply because someone can feasibly pay more does not mean he should be obligated to do so. Everyone's property rights should be considered equal; the property rights of the wealthy should not be trodden upon by the state while leaving that of the less well-off alone. Fundamentally, any amount of appropriation of what belongs to an individual for the benefit of others is a kind of theft, and if the state is going to tax people, morally it can only do so if it treats everyone equally, which progressive taxation certainly does not do. |
test-politics-dhbanhrnw-pro02a | test-politics-dhbanhrnw-pro02b | Nuclear weapons give states valuable agenda-setting power on the international stage The issues discussed in international forums are largely set by nuclear powers. The permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council, for example, is composed only of nuclear powers, the same states that had nuclear weapons at the end of World War II. If all countries possess nuclear weapons, they redress the imbalance with regard to international clout, at least to the extent to which military capacity shapes states' interactions with each other. [1] Furthermore, the current world order is grossly unfair, based on the historical anachronism of the post-World War II era. The nuclear powers, wanting to retain their position of dominance in the wake of the post-war chaos, sought to entrench their position, convincing smaller nations to sign up to non-proliferation agreements and trying to keep the nuclear club exclusive. It is only right, in terms of fairness that states not allow themselves the ability to possess certain arms while denying that right to others. Likewise, it is unfair in that it denies states, particularly those incapable of building large conventional militaries, the ability to defend themselves, relegating them to an inferior status on the world stage. [2] To finally level the international playing field and allow equal treatment to all members of the congress of nations, states must have the right to develop nuclear weapons. [1] Fearon, James D. 1994. "Signaling Versus the Balance of Power and Interests: An Empirical Test of a Crisis Bargaining Model". Journal of Conflict Resolution 38(2). [2] Betts, Richard K. 1987. Nuclear blackmail and nuclear balance. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution. | defence house believes all nations have right nuclear weapons Possessing nuclear weapons will do little to help small and poor nations set the agendas on the international stage. In the present age, economic power is far more significant in international and diplomatic discourse than is military power, particularly nuclear weapon power. States will not be able to have their grievances more rapidly addressed in the United Nations or elsewhere, since they will be unable to use nuclear weapons in an aggressive context as that would seriously threaten their own survival. Possessing nuclear weapons may at best provide some security against neighbouring states, but it creates the greater threat of accidental or unintended use or of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists and rogue states. |
test-philosophy-pphbclsbs-con03a | test-philosophy-pphbclsbs-con03b | It would be letting the terrorists win It is the aim of all terrorists to influence by violent means government policy. If we changed how our country was run we would be letting the terrorists win – they would be getting what they wanted. If we changed the way we lived [1] , greater security measures or something else, we would be shaping our society to the tune of the terrorist. So more security measures at airports limit the freedom to travel, turning the country into a surveillance society makes everyone nervous; ultimately the country is no longer the same as it was having lost the freedoms which are the best way to combat terrorism. This is something perversely wrong. [1] Symanovich, Steve, 'If you don't read this, the terrorists win', Washington Business Journal, 24 December 2001, | political philosophy house believes civil liberties should be sacrificed If the opposition's argument is correct then there is simply no way to win. The argument is illogical; they would have the terrorists pick us off slowly until we were all victims all because we simply let them. In short, governments have to do something instead of being completely irrational and holding the immature high ground – "letting them win" is a childish argument. |
test-sport-otshwbe2uuyt-pro01a | test-sport-otshwbe2uuyt-pro01b | Europe must not give approval to this regime. Viktor Yanukovych fairly came to power in 2010 however since then he has set about attacking the country's fragile democracy. There are numerous cases showing this democratic decline. For example changes to the constitution that occurred after the Orange revolution have been rolled back to give more power to the presidency. [1] Most visibly opponents of the regime such as Yulia Timoshenko have been jailed in politically motivated trials. At the same time there have been attacks on the freedom of the media and Ukraine has fallen down rankings of press freedom in 2010-11 with its score from freedom house falling from 56 to 59 with its ranking falling to 130th. [2] Ukraine, like its neighbours Russia and Belarus, has become a 'virtual mafia state' where the SBU (Ukraine's successor to the KGB) is all powerful and the elite are unaccountable. [3] It is becoming more and more corrupt as is shown by its fall down the Corruption Perceptions Index from 118th in 2007 to 152nd in 2011. [4] Ukraine is clearly going in the wrong direction and European leaders need to stand up and show that the will not allow this to continue. [1] Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, '2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices Report', U.S. Department of State, 8 April 2011. [2] Karlekar, Karin Deutsch and Dunham, Jennifer, 'Press Freedom in 2011: Breakthroughs and Pushback in the Middle East', Freedom House, 2012, pp.7, 16. [3] Luzio, Taras, 'Ukraine, Like Russia, Is Becoming a 'Virtual Mafia State'', Atlantic Council, 1 March 2012. [4] Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index 2011 , Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index 2007 . | olympics team sports house would boycott euro 2012 ukraine unless yulia timoshenko Attending football matches is not giving approval to a country's government. Leaders when attending international football matches are simply supporting their team and often hoping that they will be seen as such giving them a good photo op for the audience back home. |
test-sport-aastshsrqsar-con03a | test-sport-aastshsrqsar-con03b | Quotas can drive players away. Policies of racial quotas can have the effect of driving players abroad. Such policies have had similar affects in cricket. Kevin Pietersen stated that racial quotas in domestic competition, requiring four non-white players per team, were a key reason for his decision to leave South Africa and move to England. Eligible due to playing in England for four years and an English parent, he successfully had an England career. In rugby union, Brian Mujati left South Africa to play in England as he did not want to be selected to fill a racial quota [1] . [1] Foy, Chris, 'Last orders at the bar for master brewer – prop Mujati calls time on Saints career', MailOnline, 19 April 2013, | ational africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Kevin Pietersen isn't anything too unusual: English sporting teams have always had a number of South African and New Zealand rejects. It is natural for players to move to where they think they will be most likely to have the best prospects. |
test-law-lghbacpsba-con03a | test-law-lghbacpsba-con03b | Client-Attorney Privilege is already qualified appropriately In exceptional circumstances, solicitors are told that they may depart from the rule of confidentiality contained in Rule 4 of the Solicitors' Code of conduct. Note 9 states that there are some regulatory bodies that are entitled to be informed of apparently confidential client communications. [1] In cases of suspected money laundering, solicitors have a duty under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 [2] to inform relevant bodies of any suspected money laundering or any handling of the proceeds of crime. This means that there is flexibility in the rule of client confidentiality and client-attorney privilege which allows for justice to take its course in serious circumstances. [1] Rule 4: Confidentiality and disclosure, Solicitors' Code of Conduct 2007, accessed 18/05/11 [2] The Money Laundering Regulations 2007, legislation.gov.uk, No2157, 2007, | law general house believes attorney client privilege should be abolished The circumstances under which Note 9 allows such a break in the rule of client-attorney privilege is for the HM Revenue and other bodies that act for the benefit of the Government. It is rather archaic that a principle such as that of attorney-client privilege is loosened only for bodies that act for the benefit of the Government. This does not show that attorney-Client privilege is necessary but that it is not. If the Government is willing to do away with it for their monetary benefit, why can we not do away with it in the interest of justice for society? There should be a system that encourages the adversarial system, and attorney/client privilege but yet allows a variety of circumstances to override this principle, such as public interest and public security. These principles are often used to justify potential Human Rights breaches, so we should also be able to use them to justify the breach of attorney/client privilege. |
test-philosophy-pphbclsbs-pro02a | test-philosophy-pphbclsbs-pro02b | The apparent loss of liberty is overstated. Negative cases of security abuse are few and have been greatly exaggerated by an emphatic civil rights lobby that has no empathy for the victims of terrorism. Of course, with any wide-scale attempt to fight terrorism there are bound to be a few cases of abuse of security measures. For example in the UK terrorism suspects were originally detained without charge under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act however the detention was declared unlawful by the law lords in 2005 so the government introduced new scaled back policies such as 'control orders'. [1] Therefore government has always been willing to scale back its security legislation when the courts believe it goes too far. Nonetheless it is not a good idea to shut down all security measures under a pretext that they violate rights [2] . The majority of the measures are intended to safeguard those civil liberties instead of abusing them. [1] Hewitt, Steve, THE BRITISH WAR ON TERROR TIMELINE, Libertas, 2007, , accessed 9 September 2011 [2] Stratton, Allegra and Wintour, Patrick, 'Nick Clegg goes to war with Labour over civil liberties', guardian.co.uk, 13 April 2010, , accessed 9 September 2011 | political philosophy house believes civil liberties should be sacrificed If there is even a slight injustice, then there is a problem worth addressing. It is a fact that recent anti-terrorism legislation, in nearly all western countries, has been used for a variety of uses from international banking [1] to petty thievery. This is obviously beyond the original intentions of these measures; something that should not be taken lightly. [1] Wintour, Patrick, and Gillan, Audrey, 'Lost in Iceland: £1billion from councils, charities and police', 10 October 2008, , accessed 9 September 2011 |
test-law-tahglcphsld-con02a | test-law-tahglcphsld-con02b | More people will take drugs if they are legal Considering that drug use has so many negative consequences, it would be disastrous to have it increase. However, the free availability of drugs once they are legal will make it far easier for individuals to buy and use them. In most cases, under 1% of the population of OECD countries regularly use illegal drugs; many more drink alcohol or smoke tobacco. [1] This must at least partly to do with the illegality. Indeed, in an Australian survey, 29% of those who had never used cannabis cited the illegality of the substance as their reason for never using the drug, while 19% of those who had ceased use of cannabis cited its illegality as their reason. [2] [1] UN Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2009, [2] NSW Bureau of Crime and Statistics, 'Does Prohibition Deter Cannabis use?', 23 August 2001, $file/mr_cjb58.pdf | th addiction health general law crime policing house supports legalisation drugs When drugs are illegal, this does not stop people from using them. A Canadian report on the matter concluded, "The licit or illicit status of substances has little impact on their use." [1] In addition, even though drugs are illegal, it is not hard to access them. In a Spanish survey, 92.9% of Spanish students said that it was very easy to access illegal drugs – even though only 11.6% used cannabis, which was the most used. [2] Even using the survey quoted by opposition, it is clear that the majority of people surveyed did not view the illegality of cannabis as a reason not to use it. [1] Parliament of Canada House of Commons, Special Committee on Non-Medical Use of Drugs, report issued November, 2002, [2] Eurocare, '92.9 % of Spanish students say that access to drugs is very easy', 26 March 2010, |
test-politics-oeplhbuwhmi-pro02a | test-politics-oeplhbuwhmi-pro02b | Britain will have greater ability to respond quickly Whatever the EU is we can all agree it is not the fastest and most responsive of institutions. As a result of needing the input of 28 countries EU external policy is slow and faltering. Leaving will enable the UK greater freedom to create its own policies and to reframe them in response to changing circumstances and challenges. The UK will no longer need to take into consideration any other country's views. | onal europe politics leadership house believes uk would have more influence In the areas of policy where rapid responses are necessary even within the EU the UK retains its freedom of action. The areas where there is joint policy are issues such as trade and environment negotiations which are always slow anyway. Defence and security are areas where power remains with the member states. The only areas of foreign policy where the slow speed of the EU comes up against slow decision making are areas where joint policy is a benefit as in response to the migration crisis; no one nation could have responded alone, even Germany, who take in most migrants needed there to be a path to the country. |
test-philosophy-npppmhwup-con02a | test-philosophy-npppmhwup-con02b | Affirmative action can create social tensions Under the policy of affirmative action, there is a real danger that social tensions become inflamed. This is because in the process of benefiting minority groups it helps to disenfranchise the majority. For example in the 2001 riots in Oldham and other cities of Northern England one of the main complaints from poor white areas was alleged discrimination in council funding. [1] There was a possibility that the more privileged from minority groups such as upper-class blacks will be favoured at the expense of the marginalised within majority groups such as lower-class whites. Therefore, rather correct racial bias, affirmative action may inevitably deepen it. [1] Amin, A., 2002. 'Ethnicity and the multicultural city: living with diversity.' Environment and Planning, 34, pp.959-980, p.963 | niversity philosophy political philosophy minorities house would use positive Social tension, especial in poor areas and minority groups, does not come as a result of unfair affirmative action policies, but as a result of inadequate funds available to the communities which result in individuals struggling for limited resources. Affirmative Action creates an opportunity whereby more politicians and businesspeople rise up from humble backgrounds are given the chance to change the political and economic structure of society. By "giving back" to their community, they will be able to assist the less well-off, for example by expanding welfare systems and ensuring greater equality of opportunities, or through different hiring practices. |
test-politics-oepdlhfcefp-con02a | test-politics-oepdlhfcefp-con02b | The previous arrangement of having two foreign policy centers (in the Commission and in the Council) was arguably inefficient, but consolidating these into a single office-holder has created more complexity and at significantly greater expense. Creating a position of EU High Representative is not objectionable in itself. Previously the EU was in the ludicrous situation of having two foreign affairs spokesmen, one from the Council and the other from the Commission. Rivalry and duplication of efforts, staffs and resources results, and so focusing all the EU's external affairs work around one person makes some sense. What it does not mean is that the High Representative should lead a drive for a stronger common foreign policy position. Only when member states agree (which may not be often) will he or she have a role. In fact, by weakening the foreign affairs role within the Commission, this development may actually limit the pretensions of Brussels to develop its own agenda and dictate foreign policy to the member states. | onal europe politics defence leadership house favours common eu foreign policy Creating a common EU foreign and security policy will in fact be easier than many people suppose, because many of the 21st century's most important issues in external relations are already part of the 'normal' EU policy routine; climate change, development, trade, aid and the environment, for example. Most such issues are ones on which any single member state, even one as significant as Britain, France or Germany, cannot hope to make a real global impact alone. Only by coordinating policy at EU level will the interests of member states be advanced at all. Having a High Representative to coordinate and promote this work on behalf of the Union as a whole makes sense and actually gives all member states a greater international effectiveness – the true measure of sovereignty. |
test-environment-aiahwagit-pro04a | test-environment-aiahwagit-pro04b | Poaching is linked to terrorism Stronger protection of animals should be implemented to reduce the funding for terrorist groups. Certain terrorist organisations use the illegal ivory and horn trade as funding for their operations. Al-Shabaab, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), and the Sudanese Janjaweed all use the illicit trade as a source of income, with the former using the trade for 40% of its expenditure. [1] This enables them to carry out attacks such as the 2013 Westgate siege in Kenya. [2] Tougher protection of endangered animals would reduce the ability of these groups to fund themselves. In turn, this would decrease their operational capability, increasing stability in Africa. [1] Stewart, C. 'Illegal ivory trade funds al-shabaab's terrorist attacks' [2] Tackett,C. 'How elephant poaching helped fund Kenya terrorist attack' | animals international africa house would african government implement tougher Linking animal endangerment and poaching to terrorism as a justification for action unnecessarily securitises the issue. This will only serve to create a situation where state actors can use poaching as an excuse to exploit threats. As with the war on drugs and the war on terror, this power is apportioned to actors who are then capable of abusing it for the sake of national security. [1] [1] Crick,E. 'Drugs as an existential threat: An analysis of the international securitization of drugs' |
test-health-ppelfhwbpba-pro01a | test-health-ppelfhwbpba-pro01b | The foetus feels pain Partial-birth abortion is disgusting. Like all abortions, it involves the killing of an unborn child, but unlike first trimester abortions there is no doubt that the foetus can feel pain by the third trimester. [1] The procedure involves sticking a pair of scissors into a baby's brain, enlarging the hole, sucking the brain out with a catheter and then crushing the skull. It is entirely unacceptable to do this to a living human being. Psychological damage to the mother as a result of rape or teenage pregnancy or depression is in the end less significant than the physical damage - death - caused to the child. [1] Lee, Susan J., et al., 'Fetal Pain, A Systematic Multidisciplinary Review of the Evidence', Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol 294 (8), 2005, | pregnancy philosophy ethics life family house would ban partial birth abortions Nobody would choose to have a partial-birth abortion over a much simpler abortion in the first trimester. Partial-birth abortions are either medically or psychologically necessary. If a young mother either does not find out she is pregnant or is too scared to tell anyone, if a woman is raped and decides at any stage that she does not want the baby, if a woman is threatening suicide if she is forced to carry a baby to term, we should not make her suffer further by forbidding her from ending the pregnancy. For all sorts of reasons, many women do not seek any kind of medical help until late in their pregnancy - this should not mean they forfeit their right to an abortion. In any case, if abortion is allowed at all, and given that the foetus is not recognised in law as a human being, it should be nobody's business but the mother's whether and at what stage she chooses to have an abortion. |
test-politics-cdmaggpdgdf-pro01a | test-politics-cdmaggpdgdf-pro01b | Transparency is a good in and of itself The most essential commodity within a state is trust. Trust is essential in all sorts of aspect of our lives; we trust that the paper money we have is actually worth more than a scrap of paper, that doctors performing surgery know what they are doing, that we won't be attacked in the street, and that the government is looking after our interests. In order to create that trust there needs to be transparency so that we know that our institutions are trustworthy. It is the ability to check the facts and the accountability that comes with transparency that creates trust. And this in turn is what makes them legitimate. [1] The need for trust applies just as much to security as any other walk of life. Citizens need to trust that the security services really are keeping them safe, are spending taxpayers' money wisely, and are acting in a fashion that is a credit to the country. Unfortunately if there is not transparency there is no way of knowing if this is the case and so often the intelligence services have turned out to be an embarrassment. As has been the case with the CIA and it's the use of torture following 9/11, for which there are still calls for transparency on past actions. [2] [1] Ankersmit, Laurens, 'The Irony of the international relations exception in the transparency regulation', European Law Blog, 20 March 2013 [2] Traub, James, 'Out With It', Foreign Policy, 10 May 2013 | ch debate media and good government politics defence government digital freedoms Trust goes two ways; the people have to trust that on some issues, such as security, the government is doing the right thing to protect them even when it cannot release all relevant information. But even if the military and security services do claim to be completely transparent then how is everyone to know that it really is being as transparent as they say? Unfortunately there are information asymmetry's between members of the public and the government; the member of the public is unlikely to have the capability to find out if the government if hiding something from them. [1] Other countries too are likely to be suspicious of 'complete transparency' and simply believe that this is cover for doing something more nefarious. Trust then cannot only about being transparent in everything. [1] Stiglitz, Joseph, 'Transparency in Government', in Roumeen Islam, The right to tell: the roll of the mass media in economic development, World Bank Publications, 2002, p.28 |
test-society-asfhwapg-con02a | test-society-asfhwapg-con02b | Patenting inhibits research and therapeutics The prevailing belief is that this is an area of such great importance and potential benefit to mankind, as such there should be no, self-interested impediment to genome research. The only barriers should be those of conscience. The Human Genome Project is one of the government funded projects that makes all its research freely and publicly available. They are not driven by profit and offer information on their discoveries for free enabling others to build upon their findings. The problem with patents is that companies claim ownership without regard towards moral issues. It is purely in the pursuit of their profits that they decide not to allow others to build on their findings and make the process of discovering treatments far more difficult. An example of this is the Myriad company which, whilst holding patents on BRCA 1 & 2, genes connected with breast cancer, prevented the University of Pennsylvania from using a test for these genes which was substantially cheaper than the company's own screening procedure. 1 Instead of protecting their research investment, companies should have a moral duty to facilitate in any way they can to the development of cheap, available treatments and screenings for diseases which are so dangerous to so many people. 1. Spektor, Michelle, "Genes Are Still Patentable, Federal Appeals Court Rules", Science Progress, 17 August 2011, | aw society family house would allow patenting genes Patenting in general is creating more possibilities for patients than if there was no patenting and less competition for development. Even if treatments and diagnostics for some diseases are expensive, they are at least there and are beginning to benefit the people that need them most. If the government is that concerned for the well-being of its poor patients, the issue of private and public dis-allocations is far more troubling than patents. However, if the government does believe that such a treatment in necessary for the greater good of the country, which happens in very few cases, there still are mechanisms to loosen patent rights. The Hastings Center explains that governments and other organizations can encourage research on needed therapies, such as a malaria vaccine, by setting up prizes for innovation related to them or by promising to purchase the therapies once they are developed 1. Other measures rely on voluntary action. Patented drugs can be sold at little or no mark-up in poor countries. Scientists and their employers can decide not to patent an invention that might prove useful to other researchers, or they might patent it but license it strategically to maximize its impact on future research and its availability to people in need. For example, when the scientist Salk believed he has developed a vaccination that should be basic health care, he decided not to patent his polio vaccine, which saved millions 2.Also, companies like GlaxoSmithKline have initiatives for having drugs made more available and affordable to poor countries 3. Governments and NGOs can also contribute. Experts in research analysis (Professors Walsh, Cohen, and Charlene Cho) concluded that patents do not have a "substantial" impact upon basic biomedical research and that "...none of a random sample of academics reported stopping a research project due to another's patent on a research input, and only about 1% of the random sample of academics reported experiencing a delay or modification in their research due to patents 4."Most of the newly developed gene therapies / genes are not that essential to be for free for everyone and further on for those few, that are, there are different methods of abuse prevention. 1. Cook-Deegan R., Gene patents, The Hastings Center, , accessed 07/20/2011 2. Josephine Johnston, Intellectual Property in Biomedicine, The Hastings Center, , accessed 07/21/2011 3. IB Times, "GSK lead initiative to help poorer countries", accessed 07/20/2011 4. CRS Report for Congress, Gene Patents: A Brief Overview of Intellectual Property Issues, 2006, , accessed 07/21/2011 |
test-international-ghbunhf-con03a | test-international-ghbunhf-con03b | Many UN organs carry out valuable work around the world. The United Nations is far more than simply a debating forum; it does a massive amount of vital work around the world through its other organs. Examples of these are the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNESCO, UNICEF, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) among many others. [1] Even if the slow speed of diplomacy at the UN General Assembly can sometimes be frustrating, the idea that the United Nations as a whole has "failed" simply does not take account of all these very important bodies. Furthermore, the UN remains one of the most respected of international organisations among ordinary citizens. [1] "United Nations: Structure and Organisation". United Nations, 2011. | global house believes united nations has failed It is obviously true that some UN agencies and organs carry out valuable and useful work. However, there are two ways of looking at this. The first is that UN work often duplicates programs and programs carried out by NGOs, national governments and charities. Its work is useful, but by no means indispensable. The second way of approaching this question is to ask whether these are core functions of the UN – in other words, whether preserving world heritage or co-ordinating vaccination programmes is what the UN is really "for". We can admit that some UN agencies do good work but still believe that as a body; overall the United Nations has failed. |
test-free-speech-debate-nshbcsbawc-pro01a | test-free-speech-debate-nshbcsbawc-pro01b | Declaration of the faith is a key part of Christianity and that should be respected. The UK is a nation that claims to be tolerant of all faiths and to respect religious beliefs. If that is the case then it must be accepted that the law should respect actions in accordance with those beliefs insofar as they do not harm or infringe on the rights of others. Demonstrating one's commitment to the cross is part of that faith [i] and should, therefore be shown some respect in a religiously diverse and tolerant society. There may be more militant forms of religious profession that would be inappropriate in a workplace but wearing a simple piece of jewellery causes no harm or offence to others. Both women have stated that they felt that wearing the cross was an important part of their faith [ii] and respect for those beliefs should be shown if society's claims of tolerance and diversity are to have credibility. As with the demonstration of any right, the fact that its exercise may not be convenient does not supersede its validity. Indeed the only way of demonstrating that a society is, in fact, a tolerant one is, by definition, when it tolerates the exercise of legitimate practices which are inconvenient. [i] Galatians 6:14 among others [ii] BBC News Website. "Shirley Chaplin and Nadia Eweida Take Cross Fight to Europe." 12 March 2012. | nothing sacred house believes christians should be allowed wear cross There is no requirement within Christianity that the cross should be worn. This makes it quite different from other items of religious clothing – specifically required as articles of faith - that are accepted in the workplace. It is an entirely reasonable distinction to draw a line between iconography that the employee believes it would be a sin to go without and that which is an active choice. |
test-philosophy-pphbclsbs-pro03a | test-philosophy-pphbclsbs-pro03b | Western countries already benefit from extremely liberal laws. The USA is at present far better than most countries in their respect and regard for civil liberties. New security measures do not greatly compromise this liberty, and the US measures are at the very least comparable with similar measures already in effect in other democratic developed countries, e.g. Spain and the UK, which have had to cope with domestic terrorism for far longer than the USA. The facts speak for themselves – the USA enjoys a healthy western-liberalism the likes of which most of the world's people cannot even conceive of. The issue of the erosion of a few minor liberties of (states like the US's) citizens should be overlooked in favour of the much greater issue of protecting the very existence of that state. [1] [1] Zetter, Kim, 'The Patriot Act Is Your Friend', Wired, 24 February 2004, , accessed 9 September 2011 | political philosophy house believes civil liberties should be sacrificed The opposition does not except the importance of legalisation like the US Patriot Act, as such legislation is always used for aims it was not originally intended for example when it is being used to investigate media companies dedicated to free speech - Wikileaks [1] . The fact that western countries are already quite liberal should not be an argument for why that has to change. Should we not be moving forwards towards even more freedoms for citizens instead of backwards? [1] IBTimes Staff Reporter, 'Wikileaks: U.S. Seeks Assange Info Through Patriot Act', 24 August 2011, , accessed 9 September 2009 |
test-politics-cpegiepgh-con03a | test-politics-cpegiepgh-con03b | Losing the Queen's head on banknotes is NOT a minor issue, it symbolises Britain losing her identity and control over her own economy. This must not be dismissed as petty nostalgia, desire for outdated British tradition and fear of change. The fact that Britain does not want to lose the national symbol of her Queen on the banknotes is surely a sign that the British want to hold on to their own identity and keep control of their own economy. As explained by Alan Clark, "The European Commission Press Office chose that moment to release facsimiles of the new euro banknotes in their various denominations. The unfamiliar, but so obviously foreign, appearance made many people uneasy. Polls showed that the electorate, for most of the time indifferent to European squabbling, whose technicalities they could not be bothered to master, disliked the removal of their Sovereign's head from the currency of the realm. The sceptics took fresh heart and the likelihood of the dispute fading …became still more remote."1 This highlights the depth and strength of anti-Euro sentiment in the British psyche. It is surely unfair for both Britain and those fellow EU Member states that ARE under the Euro to enter the single currency while not entirely convinced by it. 1Alan Clarke, The Tories: Conservatives and the Nation State 1922-1997, page 435-6. | conomic policy economy general international europe politics government house The Queen's head on British money will not be entirely lost. This nostalgia is simply ridiculous; the head of Queen Elizabeth II has only appeared on English banknotes "since 1960, having been made impossible by the nationalisation of the Bank of England in 1946."1 (Moreover, Scotland and Northern Ireland have never had the reigning monarch's head on their banknotes; and so no change will incur. The Queen's head will be lost from banknotes but "By contrast, we have had the monarch's head on our coins since the Middle Ages, and that will continue. Countries in Euroland can put a symbol- such as their monarch- on one side of each coin."1 The attitude expressed alongside is irrational fear of change. 1 Anthony Browne, The Euro: Should Britain join? Page 83. |
test-international-sepiahbaaw-con02a | test-international-sepiahbaaw-con02b | Bring Africa out of poverty The African continent has the highest rate of poverty in the world, with 40% of sub-Saharan Africans living below the poverty line. Natural resources are a means of increasing the quality of life and the standard of living as long as revenues are reinvested into the poorest areas of society. There are 35 countries in Africa which already conduct direct transfers of resource dividends to the poor through technology or in person [1] . In Malawi, £650,192.22 was given out in dividends to the poorest in society ensuring that they were given $14 a month in 2013 [2] . This ensures that there is a large base of citizens profiting from natural resources which increases their income and, in turn, their Human Development Index scores [3] . [1] Devarajan, S. 'How Africa can extract big benefits for everyone from natural resources' in The Guardian 29/06/13 [2] Dzuwa,J. 'Malawi: Zomba Rolls out Scial Cash Transfer Programme' Malawi News Agency 11 June 2013 [3] Ibid | ss economic policy international africa house believes africans are worse Despite projects such as direct dividends, the gap between rich and poor is still worsened by natural resources. Investment from the profits of natural resources in human development is relatively low in Africa. In 2006, 29 of the 31 lowest scoring countries for HDI were in Africa, a symptom of low re-investment rates [1] . Generally it is only the economic elite who benefit from any resource extraction, and reinvestment rarely strays far from urban areas [2] . This increases regional and class inequality, ensuring poverty persists. [1] African Development Bank 'African Development Report 2007' pg.110 [2] Ibid |
test-international-ssiarcmhb-con02a | test-international-ssiarcmhb-con02b | In contradiction to the Catholic Church's responsibility to promote life. Many Catholic countries in Africa and South America have huge problems with AIDS and HIV with thousands of people dying as a result. In a survey carried out in 20091, it was found that in sub-Saharan Africa 22.5 million people were living with HIV/AIDS and 1.3 million people died of AIDS. An enormous number of these people contracted HIV because they did not use a condom during intercourse, under the advice of the Catholic Church. It is clear, then, that the Catholic Church's stance on barrier contraception promotes the spread of AIDS. The opposition also believes that since the Catholic Church are in a position of power over a colossal number of people, they have a responsibility to ensure the welfare of those people. They must, therefore, reduce the likelihood that the people that they have power over will die as much as they can. Their ban over the use of barrier contraception is not in line with this responsibility. 1 UNAIDS global report. | sex sexuality international africa religion church morality house believes The Catholic Church also forbids sex outside of marriage. The opposition has tried to ignore the fact that the Catholic Church actually does not allow sex outside of marriage either. It is not a case of the Church saying it is acceptable to have casual sex as long as contraception is not used but saying that neither is acceptable. If abstinence were practised, there would be no HIV epidemic. Since the Church preaches abstinence outside of marriage it cannot be held accountable for the HIV epidemic. |
test-politics-glghssi-con03a | test-politics-glghssi-con03b | Scotland needs English economic muscle as through the Barnett formula England, especially the Southeast effectively subsidizes the rest of the UK in general and Scotland in particular The Barnett established the model by which money is divided up within the regions and nations of the UK. The formula works greatly to Scotland's advantage with a net flow of funding heading north. The English taxpayer subsidizes Scots to the tune of £19bn a year (2009-10). [i] Without that subsidy The Scottish government would not have been able to give away the many benefits that have been handed out by the devolved authorities. Scotland needs English support financially just as she does in terms of diplomatic representation or political muscle. [i] McLaren, John et al., 'Financial Implications of Different Fiscal Arrangements For Scotland', CPPR Centre for Public Policy for Regions, June 2011, | government local government house supports scottish independence The Scottish budget runs at a surplus of about 1%, unlike the UK's, and so the Scots are actually subsidizing their neighbours. [i] It is also important to take into account the vast amount of wealth that has fled south in the shape of North Sea oil revenue and the talent that has been sucked up by London in terms of not only work but also with the number of Scots soldiers sent to fight English wars. Perhaps the best example of this historically is Glasgow which literally built the British Empire – mostly to English benefit – only to be discarded to some of the worst poverty in the developed world when it was no longer useful [i] Chakrabortty, 2011 |
test-education-tuhwastua-con02a | test-education-tuhwastua-con02b | Alternative factors that can be considered in the admissions process SATs are mathematical and it is therefore possible to objectively evaluate them. This is why they are so popular, they provide a benchmark of comparison across the whole education system in a way that any non-standardized assessment never could. This does not only benefit universities in providing an objective measure to compare admissions candidates but it also gives the government statistics with which to measure the progress of schools. Any other form of assessment would mean switching to much more subjective factors. Traditionally such factors, such as extracurricular activities, volunteer work, and even access to references are all more easily available to high income students. Opportunities may not even be offered in poorer school districts. Complaining that poorer and minority students do less well on the SAT ignores the fact that the test provides one of their best opportunities to impress admissions officials. | teaching university house would abolish standardized tests university admission The objectivity of SATs does not matter to individual students, many of whom are discriminated against by the tests. Subjective factors can be comparative if students' backgrounds are taken into account. By contrast, the SAT, by its very use and existence, legitimizes its results as an "objective" measure of ability and capacity, which in turn legitimizes schools in discriminating against the vast majority of poor students who do worse on the exam, even if it helps a few out on an individual level. It would be much better to offer preferences in admission to poorer students than to legitimize discrimination. Subjective criteria can also be successful in determining how successful someone will be in university. In a 1972 study by psychologist Jonathan R. Warre it was found that "Motivation was the quality most frequently cited by over 3400 college teachers" when asked what it takes to succeed in college. [1] Motivation cannot be objectively measured. [1] Elert, 'The SAT Aptitude of Demographics?', 1992 |
test-free-speech-debate-nshbcsbawc-con01a | test-free-speech-debate-nshbcsbawc-con01b | Employers impose rules relating to conduct in the workplace, it's one of the things that everyone accepts when they take and continue in a job. Put simply, if you don't like the rules, don't do the job. The fact that the world of work and the life of faith can come into conflict should hardly have come as a surprise to the women concerned. From Biblical times onward, that has been a reality. However, they chose these particular jobs and that choice comes with consequences. Their actions would seem to suggest that they prize their faith more highly than their jobs, the solution seems fairly straightforward – get another job. Religious belief is also a choice. Nobody is compelling the two women into one particular faith and nobody, including the Church, is compelling them to wear a cross as a demonstration of that decision. The problem seems to have arisen because one thing they chose to do was in conflict with another thing they chose to do. It is difficult to see how that is the responsibility of either the employer or the courts. | nothing sacred house believes christians should be allowed wear cross Both women were long-standing employees. The rules changed around them, it is, however, difficult to see how not wearing a cross was innate or fundamental to the job they were doing. Employers hire a worker's labour, not their soul. |
test-economy-epsihbdns-con02a | test-economy-epsihbdns-con02b | It is practically impossible to control people's movement One of the major problems with the proposal lies in the very fact that we are indeed dealing with developing nations. These nations have very limited capacity to manage this kind of system. What will happen instead, will be a state of confusion, where the law will be upheld in some parts while ignored in others. The case in China clearly shows that corruption follows in the wake of this kind of legislation, where urban Hukous are sold illegally or officials are frequently bribed to ignore the law. [1] Furthermore, it only causes those who choose to move to the cities, in spite of the law, to be alienated from society and live a life outside of the law. Once outside of the law, the step to other crimes is very small as these people have little to lose. [2] In short, the law will only work in some cases and where it works it will lead to increased segregation and more crime. [1] Wang, Fei-Ling. "Organising through Division and Exclusion: China's Hukou System". 2005. [2] Wu. s.l., and Treiman, The Household Registration System and Social Stratification in China: 1955-1996. Springer, 2004, Demography, Vol. 2. | economic policy society immigration house believes developing nations should No amount of confusion can compare with the nearly anarchical state of places like Nairobi, where there is no law and very little state. [1] In the current situation where there is a menacing trend that threatens the very fabric of society, even if the law would not work to its full effect, it is better for it to work partially than not to have it at all. Corruption is a separate issue that already festers in these regions under the status quo and does not need this extra policy to thrive. This must be dealt with separately, but it is indeed regrettable if a good policy is kept from being put into practice from fear of a phenomenon that is in no manner causally contingent upon the policy. [1] Maxwell, Daniel., "The Political Economy of Urban Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa." 11, London : Elsevier Science Ltd., 1999, World Development, Vol. 27, p. 1939±1953. S0305-750X(99)00101-1. |
test-international-aegmeppghw-con02a | test-international-aegmeppghw-con02b | Turkey is a highly unstable democracy in an unstable part of the world Turkey has a better history of democratic elections than a number of the former communist states currently negotiating their membership of the EU. Its election of a party with Islamist roots has led to a smooth transfer of power, with no attempt at intervention by the secularist military (as in the past). In 2010 the EU welcomed the success of a referendum on changes to the Turkish constitution which reduced the power of the military and made it fully subject to democratic authority. Turkey is near some global flash points, but its entry into the EU would not bring these potential dangers closer to current EU members. The EU is already engaged in conflicts in Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan; Turkey's inclusion would not have made that more or less likely. Turkey is already a long-standing member of NATO; this means that any security crisis on Turkey's borders, for example between Palestine and Israel, already involves its Western neighbours and the EU has had to involve Turkey over issues of planning and access. Furthermore, Turkey as a strategic gateway to the Middle East does not only involve conflict; it also provides the West with the opportunity for reconciliation and cooperation. Turkey is potentially a crucial alternative conduit for oil and gas to and from central Asia [1] , making Europe less dependent on Russian favour. Engagement between Turkey and the EU has greatly reduced historic enmity between Turkey and Greece, and held out hope for a solution to the division of Cyprus, showing the benefits of a closer relationship. The EU was created to encourage political cooperation in just such circumstances [2] , and Turkey's entry would be important for strengthening relationships with the increasingly important Muslim countries in the Middle East and breaking down the artificial barriers between 'East' and 'West'. [1] 'Turkey: still America's best ally in the Middle East?' by Joshua W Walker, 25th June 2010 [2] 'Turkey: an honest broker in the Middle East' by Bulent Kenes, 9th June 2010 | americas europe global middle east politics politics general house would Turkey does not have a stable democracy. The military has intervened three times to remove governments of which it disapproved in recent decades, most recently in 1997 [1] . The nature of the struggle between Turkey's generals - who try and keep the country as secular as possible (arguably at the expense of the right of the people to decide for themselves which party best represents their views) - and the increase in votes and influence for conservative Islamic political views paves for an unstable political environment which is vulnerable to extremism [2] . Turkey has some dangerous neighbours and its inclusion within the EU would expose Europe to a greatly increased risk of crisis and conflict. The Caucasus is very unstable, with some of its nations looking to Turkey for support for religious and cultural reasons. A Middle Eastern border would heavily involve the EU in the Israeli-Arab conflict and give it a border with an aggressive and unstable Iraq (and Iran), with whom it would share an assertive Kurdish minority seeking statehood. Turkey even has major disputes with Greece, a current EU member, over territory in the Aegean and over the divided Island of Cyprus, where it alone recognises and backs the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus, preventing a settlement. [1] Map of Freedom in The World: Turkey [2] 'Secularism and Democracy in Turkey', Editorial New York Times, 1st May 2007 |
test-religion-frghbbgi-pro05a | test-religion-frghbbgi-pro05b | The Null Hypothesis With regards to any proposition the only consistent and rational view is to assume that it is not true unless sufficient evidence is put forward to nullify that assumption. The proposition need also be falsifiable, that is to say, there must be some potential fact that could be proven in order to disprove it. God is unfalsifiable because there is nothing. | faith religion general house believes belief god irrational All beliefs rely upon some form of presupposition as their grounding. The null hypothesis presupposes a natural world – but belief in God presupposes a supernatural world. It is unfair therefore to apply the null hypothesis to religious faith. Moreover, belief in God is a different to belief in an object in the physical world that we would expect to be physically verifiable. [1] [1] Wolf, Gary. 'The Church of the Non-Believers' WIRED Magazine. November 2006. |
test-science-sghwbdgmo-con02a | test-science-sghwbdgmo-con02b | Genetically modified organisms can solve the problem of food supply in the developing world. The possible benefits from GM food are enormous. Modifications which render plants less vulnerable from pests lead to less pesticide use, which is better for the environment. Other modifications lead to higher crop yield, which leads to lower food prices for all. However, This technology really comes into its own in developing countries. Here where water is at a shortage, modifications (which lead crops to needing less water), are of vital importance. The World Health Organization predicts that vitamin A deficiency, with the use of GMOs, could be wiped out rapidly in the modern world. The scientists developed the strain of rice, called "golden rice", which produces more beta-carotene and this way produces 20 times more vitamins than other strains, creating a cure for childhood blindness in developing countries. [1] The fact that it has not is illustrative of the lack of political and economic will to solve these problems. GM food provides a solution that does not rely on charity from Western governments. As the world population increases and the environment deteriorates further this technology will become not just useful but necessary. [1] Black R., GM "golden rice" boosts vitamin A, published 03/25/2005, , accessed 09/02/2011 | science general house would ban development genetically modified organisms GM food will do nothing to help solve the problems in developing countries. The problem there is not one of food production but of an inability to distribute the food (due to wars, for example), the growing and selling of cash crops rather than staple crops to pay off the national debt and desertification leading to completely infertile land. Bob Watson, the chief scientist at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), has stated that GM technology is oversold. The problem is not that there is not enough food, but that the food that is available is not being distributed. "Today the amount of food available per capita has never been higher, how costs are still low, and yet still around 900m people go to bed hungry every night" [1] . Instead of money being invested into genetic modification, what should be looked at is which areas allow food to go to waste and which areas need food, and then a redistribution needs to occur. Better transport and roads is where money should be invested. Not with potentially hazardous GM crops. In addition, the terminator gene prevents the farmer from re-growing the same crop year after year and instead must buy it annually from the producer. Abolishing the terminator gene leads to the other problem of cross-pollination and companies demanding reparations for the "re-use" of their crops. [1] Sample I, Nearly a billion people go hungry every day – can GM crops help feed them?, published 01/23/2009 , accessed 09/05/2011 |
test-economy-epiasghbf-pro02a | test-economy-epiasghbf-pro02b | The effects of unemployment Unemployment has been linked to several health and wellbeing effects. Firstly, the psychological impact of unemployment involve a range of issues - from confidence to mental well-being. Issues of mental health problems - such as depression, suicide, anxiety, and substance abuse, need recognition in Africa. The impact of mental health may not only be on the individual, but dispersed within families and across generations. Secondly, unemployment may result in a loss of social networks and networking skills. The power of social capital, or networks, in reducing vulnerability has been widely noted. Therefore encouraging women to participate within the labour market ensures new networks are built and retained through the vital communication skills used. Finally. unemployment may affect physical health status. Unemployment may place individuals in a downward spiral, making it harder to re-enter the job market. | economic policy international africa society gender house believes feminisation Again employment needs to be contextualised with what type of jobs are provided and entered into. It remains questionable as to whether the mental health of women improves if women are employed to work within hazardous work environments, or where there is no job security. For example domestic workers remain vulnerable to different abuses - such as non payment, excessive work hours, abuse, and forced labour. Women may be vulnerable to gender based violence on their way to work. Furthermore, street traders are placed in a vulnerable position where the right to work is not respected. The forced eviction and harassment of female street-traders is a common story, underlined by political motivations. A recent example includes the eviction of street hawkers in Johannesburg [1] . [1] See further readings: WIEGO, 2013. |
test-economy-bepighbdb-pro03a | test-economy-bepighbdb-pro03b | Dictatorships can prevent social unrest Dictatorships are better at controlling discipline and order within society. They generally promote a state based on hierarchical values, through strict policies based on security. This allows them to prevent financial losses due to strikes and riots, and reduce crime rates, making the country more stable. Singapore is a de-facto one party state, in which the ruling People's Action Party, is accused of stopping the operation of opposition parties. A former Foreign Minister of Singapore has asked "How many Singaporeans really want free speech anyway? They want orderliness, a decent living" [1] . This both makes the country more competitive because there are more productive days and more attractive to invest in as expats will want to live in countries with little crime. Moreover when it comes to attracting immigration for sectors of the economy there is none of the opposition that would occur in democracies. Autocracy may be the only way to stabilize some countries that have never had a democratic government. It has been suggested by Mancur Olson, a leading economist, that "anarchy not only involves loss of life but also increases the incentives to steal and to defend against theft, and thereby reduces the incentive to produce [2] ". A dictatorship may be the only way to restore order and create a political framework stable enough for trade and investment. [1] Huff, W.G. (1994). The economic growth of Singapore: trade and development in twentieth century". Cambridge; New York; Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. p. 358 [2] Olson, M. (2000). Power and Prosperity: Outgrowing Communist and Capitalist Dictatorships. New York: Basic Books. p. 64 | business economic policy international global house believes dictatorship best Dictatorships generally focus only on supporting one element of society, which means that there are often opposition groups from other demographics ready to oppose them. When the repression fails, the state will no longer be stable. Even if a dictatorship can create economic growth, it will not necessarily permeate through all elements of society, making them more likely to object to the government. If a dictatorship manages to create an inclusive economy, demands for an inclusive political system will follow. While a dictatorship may work in the short term, political change will then result from this very success as shown by the countries like South Korea and Taiwan that grew rapidly as autocracies before having democratic revolutions. According to Adam Smith, ""[c]ommerce and manufactures can seldom flourish long in any state which does not enjoy a regular administration of justice, in which the people do not feel themselves secure in the possession of their property, in which the faith of contracts is not supported by law, and in which the authority of the state is not supposed to be regularly employed in enforcing the payment of debts from all those who are able to pay. Commerce and manufactures, in short, can seldom flourish in any state in which there is not a certain degree of confidence in the justice of government" [1] . [1] Smith, A. (2009). An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations. Digireads.com. [1776]. p. 546 |
test-digital-freedoms-efsappgdfp-pro02a | test-digital-freedoms-efsappgdfp-pro02b | You are not going to be arrested because the government has access to your communications Clearly much of the time you really do have nothing to worry about when it comes to intelligence agencies having information about you. People are not regularly arrested without just cause and we have little evidence that democratic governments use this information to put pressure on their citizens. There have been no known cases of this happening since the start of the war on terror. [1] When it comes to foreign governments this is even less of a cause for concern; while your own government might be interested in various aspects of your life to help it with the services it provides foreign governments only have one motivation; their own national security. If you are not a threat to that national security the chances of them ever taking any action against you are essentially nonexistent. [1] Posner, Eric, 'I Don't See a Problem Here', The New York Times Room for Debate, 10 June 2013, | e free speech and privacy politics government digital freedoms privacy There have been wrongful arrests during the war against terror. Riwaan Sabir was wrongfully arrested under the terrorism act in 2008 for downloading an al-Qaida training manual despite the manual having been downloaded from a US government website and been for his master's degree at the University of Nottingham. [1] Since the offence was online it is certainly possible that information from spying was a part of the cause for the arrest. It is true that we probably have less cause for concern when it is foreign governments doing the spying but this could still have consequences such as being denied entry if you wish to travel to or through the country. [1] Townsend, Mark, 'Police 'made up' evidence against Muslim student', The Guardian, 14 July 2012, |
test-international-aegmeppghw-pro02a | test-international-aegmeppghw-pro02b | Turkey has precedents, such as Romania and Bulgaria, both of whom were accepted into the EU Romania and Bulgaria, who have by far the worst human rights' records, were prioritized over Turkey when they were granted the right of accession, joining the EU in 2007. The EU rewarded states that have made a big effort to democratize and change policy in order to be allowed in to the EU. By essentially procrastinating on Turkey's case, the EU are discouraging Turkey from making the required changes to their legislature and norms and thus hindering their chances of accession. Countries such as Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic were pressurized to reform at a rapid pace after being promised by the EU they would likely be in the EU in a relatively short period of time; Turkey has been given no such promises. Turkey should have even more 'right' to be in the EU as these states, as it formally applied for membership long before these states and should thus be given priority over them. | americas europe global middle east politics politics general house would There are big differences between Romania and Bulgaria and Turkey; this is caused by the political situation regarding Turkey's support for North Cyprus. Cyprus is a member of the European Union having joined in 2005 and would be likely to block any attempt by Turkey to join so long as Turkey supports the breakaway north of the island, the European Union admitted that Cyprus would become an obstacle as soon as it joined. [1] [1] University of Miami study, 'Turkey's Membership Application: Implications for the EU', Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series, Vol 5 No 26 August 2005. |
test-international-apwhbaucmip-pro03a | test-international-apwhbaucmip-pro03b | The increasing effectiveness of the African Union The African Union has been taking a much more active stance in preventing and resolving conflict. Since 2003 responsibility for peace in Africa has been with the Peace and Security Council. This body has authorised AU interventions in Somalia, Sudan, Burundi, and the Central African Republic. [1] The African Union is not the only organisation engaged in peacekeeping; the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has also been actively engaged in peacekeeping, having been deployed in numerous conflicts since the 1990s, most recently in Mali where they took part alongside French forces in defeating an Islamist insurgency. [2] The AU is also boosting its collective capacity to respond to crises creating the African Standby Force made up of five regional brigades of 4000 soldiers. This force, when complete, will enable rapid deployment anywhere in Africa so helping to prevent crises becoming full scale wars. [3] [1] 'Peace and Security Council', peaceau.org, 23 July 2013, [2] News24, 'Ecowas urges members to send troops to Mail', 23 October 2013, [3] Cilliers, Jakkie, 'The African Standby Force An update on progress', Institute of Strategic Studies, March 2008, | africa politics warpeace house believes african union can meet its pledge Increasing the number of peacekeeping missions does not always mean that the result will be peace; clearly if there is a need for peacekeeping or even more so combat troops then peace has broken down. The United Nations has almost 70,000 peacekeepers deployed in Africa ,yet new conflicts and crises keep erupting; in 2013 there were new conflicts in Mali, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic. In the case of Southern Sudan this is despite there being 7500 UN peacekeepers in the country. [1] [1] Raghavan, Sudarsan, 'Record number of U.N. peacekeepers fails to stop African wars', Washington Post, 4 January 2014, |
test-health-ahiahbgbsp-con04a | test-health-ahiahbgbsp-con04b | Pack labelling or taxation a better alternative If it's not enforceable, enforceable solutions ought to be used instead. It would be easier to enforce pack labelling and branding requirements, from larger and clearer health warnings to even brand-free packs. Of course, American-style lawsuits by governments against tobacco manufacturers could be tried, as suggested in Nigeria 1 . 1 IRIN, "NIGERIA: Govt hits tobacco companies with whopping law suit", irinnews.org, 9 November 2007, | addiction healthcare international africa house believes ghanas ban smoking public Each has its own disadvantages. A growing form of tobacco sales in Africa – Nigeria in particular – is the "single stick" 1 . If retailers break packets of cigarettes apart, customers won't see the packets containing health warnings or similar. Cost increases can lead to increased use of rollups 2 , or even counterfeit cigarettes, 3 both of which have happened in South Africa as a result of taxation. At any rate, it's not a zero sum game – more than one policy can be introduced at the same time. 1 Kluger, 2009, 2 Olitola, Bukola, "The use of roll-your-own cigarettes in South Africa", Public Health Association of South Africa, 26 February 2014, 3 Miti, Siya, "Tobacco tax hikes 'boost illegal traders'", Dispatch Live, 28 February 2014, |
test-economy-thsptr-con01a | test-economy-thsptr-con01b | Individuals' property and income are an index of deserving achievement, and of value contributed in the market place to society A progressive taxation system essentially assumes that the property rights of the poor are more sacred than those of the wealthy. Somehow the wealthy have a less proportionate ownership right than do the less well-off simply by dint of their greater wealth. [1] This is the height of injustice. An individual's income is a measure of his overarching societal worth, by reflecting his ability to produce goods and services people find socially desirable and to signify his level of competence and desirability by his employer. The state should not punish people for this greater social worth by taxing them disproportionally to others. When it does so it expects people to work for the sake of others to an extent that is not fair, effectively consigning them to a kind of forced labor, by which parts of the wealth they work to acquire is appropriated by the state to a degree beyond which it is willing to do to others. [2] Such a regime is manifestly unjust. [1] Seligman, Edwin. "Progressive Taxation in Theory and Practice". Publications of the American Economic Association 9(1): 7-222. 1894. [2] Nozick, R. Anarchy, State and Utopia. New York: Basic Books. 1974. | tax house supports progressive tax rate Income alone is not a sufficient measure of an individual's contribution to society. Much income, and proportionally more so among wealthy people, is not the product of effort, but rather is unearned. The state is not punishing people for their contributions to society when it taxes them in a progressive manner, but rather simply acknowledges that some people are more able to pay greater amounts, namely the wealthy, and can thus be levied from accordingly. |
test-religion-grcrgshwbr-con04a | test-religion-grcrgshwbr-con04b | It is their culture and religion. Religions themselves tend to encompass their own distinctive culture and, to many of their members, this culture and its methods comes before anything secular. For this reason, Muslims should be allowed to wear personal items as it states in the ruling of their religious book to do so. Had a particular garment been required in the Christian religious book - The Bible - then no doubt those stout Christians would follow this particular ruling. The question is, would it be wrong to take away something close and meaningful to these religions? Surely, a religious symbol or method is purely personal, and, therefore, banning such symbols would be an intrusion into their individuality.1 1 Jessica Shepherd, 'Uniform Dissent', The Guardian, 9th October 2007 , accessed on 24th July 2011 | government religion church religion general secularism house would ban religious That the state is secular does not diminish the right to freedom of religion is enshrined in the UN charter, that all states have signed up to, and considered by many to be a basic human right.1 Some religions require special diets, others prayer at specific times. Why shouldn't a religious mode of dress receive as much protection as these other aspects of religious freedom? Surely equality in society is most accurately presented through allowing each individual, including their religious beliefs and modes of expression, to practice their religious traditions without hindrance. 1 'Declaration On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Intolerance And Of Discrimination Based On Religion Or Belief', 1981 Resolution of the UN Charter , accessed on 23rd July 2011 |
test-religion-wcprrgrhbmi-pro02a | test-religion-wcprrgrhbmi-pro02b | There is always a risk associated with surgery and taking such a risk for no particular reason is irresponsible A report by the Royal Dutch Medical Association noted that there was not a single medical body in the world that could point, categorically to a medical need for circumcision of infants. It further concluded that "The fact that this practice is not medically necessary and entails a genuine risk of complications means that extra-stringent requirements must be established with regard to this type of information and advice." Yet this is a practice that is performed around the world by people with little or no medical training and accepted by parents as an instruction from God. Studies from the US suggest that around 230 baby boys die in America every year as a direct result of hemorrhaging following circumcision [i] . [i] | w crime policing religion religion general religions house believes male infant There are, of course, risks in any medical procedure. However circumcision remains astonishingly safe. Furthermore, denying the parents of a child the right to raise that child in accordance with their own beliefs would represent an unacceptable intrusion by the state into its citizens' private and religious lives. By implementing the resolution, a western liberal democratic state is obliging, say, orthodox Jewish parents, to compromise some of their most important moral and cultural beliefs. Ultra-orthodox Jewish groups believe, literally and without equivocation, that whoever breaks the covenant with God by not submitting to circumcision will be condemned for all eternity. The state should not compel parents (and children) to endure the moral, psychological and ideological turmoil associated with such a compromise; ultra-orthodox Jewish parents will see the state as forcing infinite harm upon their children. There are risks to giving a child a bike or taking them on a plane. Parents are aware of this but act in what they consider to be the best interests of their child. If we were to prevent parents from every taking a decision that might be risky for their children, they would never cross the street, eat a Big Mac or take up sports. |
test-religion-yercfrggms-pro05a | test-religion-yercfrggms-pro05b | In reality there are only two theological positions, atheism and theism; agnosticism is nothing but timid atheism: God, like unicorns, has never been shown to exist, and thus it is logical to accept that He, just like unicorns, does not exist. That is why a position like agnosticism makes no sense. There are no agnostics on the subject of unicorns; there are only agnostics on the subject of God because people tend to be reticent to say they are atheists due to the prevalence of belief of God even in the most secular societies. But fantasy is fantasy, and an agnostic is really just an atheist by another name. Were someone to claim that dragons exist, the person he told it to would not be justified responding saying he did not know whether they exist and that it must be an open question until evidence is presented to corroborate the claim. [1] Rather, he would likely respond with disbelief in the absence of evidence. That is how reasoning works. Thus agnosticism is a philosophically meaningless position. There is either belief or lack of belief, atheism or theism. Opponents of atheism seeking to hide in the nebulous realm of agnosticism, or who claim that because one cannot know there is no God one must be agnostic, hold a position that is philosophically bankrupt. [1] Dawkins, Richard. 2006. The God Delusion. Ealing: Transworld Publishers. | y epistemology religion church faith religion general god morality secularism There is no strict dichotomy in theology. It is perfectly reasonable for someone unsure of whether God exists to take up a position of agnosticism, refusing to emphatically accept the existence of God or to deny it. Atheism is a positive claim insofar as it is a statement about the nonexistence of God. The burden of proof is thus not so clearly on the shoulders of theism alone. Rather, they are rival claims that each side must be supported by positive evidence. |
test-science-cpisydfphwj-con02a | test-science-cpisydfphwj-con02b | Facebook has some dangerous consequences Facebook is becoming more and more integrated into our lives, but unfortunately the uncertainty of who is at the other end of the computer is proving to be a massive threat to our mental and physical safety. First of all, undoubtedly, rape is one of the most serious and unforgiveable crimes anyone can commit, as it leaves permanent physical and mental scars on women. Unfortunately, Facebook is used by troubled men to take advantage of naive women. They use Facebook in order to get in touch with their victims (often posing as someone who he is not), and after they get to know each other, after he gained the victims trust he deceives her into meeting him, a mistake she'll regret forever. As physical integrity is one of the rights most fundamental rights, and as Facebook is facilitating the violation of this right, it is absolutely clear that these social networks are detrimental to the society.(1)(2) Secondly, another level on which Facebook is harmful is cyber bullying. It affects many adolescents and teens on a daily basis. Cyber bullying involves using technology to bully or harass another person. Sending mean Facebook messages or threats to a person, spreading rumours online or posting hurtful or threatening messages on social networking sites are just a few of the ways in which a lot of children get bullied every single day. "Despite the potential damage of cyber bullying, it is alarmingly common among adolescents and teens. According to Cyber bullying statistics from the i-SAFE foundation: Over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyber bullying. More than 1 in 3 young people have experienced cyberthreats online."(3) (1) Justin Davenport "Hunt for 'Facebook rapists' before they can strike again" London Evening Standard, 15 November 2012 (2) "Two men gang-rape girl in Kota after befriending her on Facebook", Times of India, Aug 21, 2013 (3) Bullying Statistics | computers phones internet society youth digital freedoms privacy house would join It is absolutely regrettable that men use Facebook in order take advantage of certain women, but we must not forget that because of these very situations Facebook and many NGO's initiated campaigns to prevent these kind of tragedies happening again(1). Such campaigns have informed thousands of women about the dangers of meeting strangers, both the virtual world and in the real one, and how to avoid them. These campaigns both help women avoid the threat in the first place and encourage them to make sure they are protected, for example by carrying pepper spray, so at the end of the day, a significant number of women are now more protected against being rape because of these social networks. Facebook has clearly not increased the incidence of rape as statistics (2) show that the number of rape cases has dropped dramatically since the start of the world wide web. Cyber bullying is potentially a problem. On this level too, Facebook recognized the possibility of certain teenagers posting harmful or offending information about another party so it took action in order to try and stop this from happening in the future. As Facebook officials are declaring, they will "update the training for the teams that review and evaluate reports of hateful speech or harmful content on Facebook. To ensure that our training is robust, we will work with legal experts. We will increase the accountability of the creators of content that does not qualify as actionable hate speech but is cruel or insensitive by insisting that the authors stand behind the content they create "(2). Facebook has an entire department to try to prevent such cyber bullying. Moreover Facebook is comparatively secure from cyber bullying compared to some sites; it is not anonymous and users can unfriend people and prevent people who they don't know from accessing their profile. (1) Facebook (2) Federal Bureau of Investigation (3) Facebook |
test-politics-oepdlhfcefp-con03a | test-politics-oepdlhfcefp-con03b | There have been tests on the EU's ability to create a common foreign policy that it has failed. The War in Iraq, along with previous notable failures to deal with the breakup of former Yugoslavia, has been an excellent test for the extent to which the EU can claim to have a common approach to world politics and foreign policy in particular. It has clearly pointed out a whole range of diverse and often opposed national interests, and national publics that were unwilling to make compromises along EU lines of commitment. It has also showed that the economic power of the EU is not enough to turn it into a major player on the international scene: the lack in military power and presence speaks for itself. The EU still lies very much under the umbrella of NATO and US military power and as long as this military dependency continues, the EU will not be able to have its own independent voice in world politics. 1 1. "> | onal europe politics defence leadership house favours common eu foreign policy The EU is indeed under NATO's and US's military umbrella, and while terrorist attacks on EU's territory have certainly heightened levels of anxiety, its 'foreign policy' is still based on an inclusive approach: bring threatening nations under your economic and political umbrella and provide them with incentives to collaborate. Academics such as Allen David and Michael Smith have argued that the EU's 'foreign policy' seeks to go beyond the nation state and thus treats what lies outside its borders not necessarily as 'foreign' and 'threatening' but rather as a different system.1 The EU provides a subsystem of international relations within a larger global system, in which threats and fears subside as a result of economic and military integration. The most pressing challenge is to learn how to extend this system beyond the current borders of the EU, keeping in mind that the accession process is a mechanism not to be abused. 1. Allen, David, and Smith, Michael, 'External Policy Developments', Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol 43. (2005) pp.109-26 accessed 1/8/11 |
test-health-hpehwadvoee-pro01a | test-health-hpehwadvoee-pro01b | It is a natural thing to do We are biologically programmed to want to preserve our species. As such, our offspring will often be more important to ourselves than our own persons. Many doctors hear parents tell them how they wish that they could "take over" their child's terminal illness rather than have the child suffer. [1] It is therefore natural and right for the older generation to sacrifice itself where possible to save the younger generation. As crass as this might seem, they are statistically more likely to die earlier than their offspring in any event and stand to lose less. They have had the chance to experience more of a life than their child. They are furthermore the cause of the child's existence, and owe it to the child to protect it at any cost. [1] Monforte-Royo, C. and M.V. Roqué. "The organ donation process: A humanist perspective based on the experience of nursing care." Nursing Philosophy 13.4 (2012): 295-301. | healthcare philosophy ethics house would allow donations vital organs even expense Biology is a bad way of deciding moral behaviour. If we were to do what biology tells us to do, we would be no more than animals. Every person has a right to live their life and they do not lose it simply because they have family. In modern society we do not cease to live meaningful lives at the point when we have children, as Darwinians might have us believe, but many people have more than half of their valuable lives ahead of them at the point when their children are emancipated. |
test-economy-beplcpdffe-pro04a | test-economy-beplcpdffe-pro04b | Online gambling encourages crime Human trafficking, forced prostitution and drugs provide $2.1 billion a year for the Mafia but they need some way through which to put this money into circulation. Online gambling is that way in. They put dirty money in and win clean money back [8]. Because it is so international and outside normal laws, it makes criminal cash hard to track. There is a whole array of other crime associated with online gambling; hacking, phishing, extortion, and identity fraud, all of which can occur on a large scale unconstrained by physical proximity [9]. Online gambling also encourages corruption in sport. By allowing huge sums of money to be bet internationally on the outcome of a game or race, it draws in criminals who can try to bribe or threaten sportsmen. | business economic policy law crime policing digital freedoms freedom expression Criminals will always try to exploit any system, but if governments allow legal online gambling they can regulate it. It is in the interest of gambling companies to build trustworthy brands and cooperate with the authorities on stopping any crime. Cheats in several sports have been caught because legal websites reported strange betting patterns. Betfair for example provides the authorities with an early warning system 'BetMon' to watch betting patterns. |
test-international-eghrhbeusli-con01a | test-international-eghrhbeusli-con01b | The arms ban is still necessary The European Union should stick to its principles. The arms ban was imposed for a reason - the massacre of students demonstrating for democracy and openness in 1989. Nothing China has done since shows it regrets its savage actions in Tiananmen Square - indeed many of the demonstrators are still in prison today. [1] If the ban is lifted, the EU will be implying that it should never have placed the ban on arms sales in the first place, and signalling that China can do what it likes to its own people without fear of EU objections. Indeed if there is an end to the arms ban, the next time that peaceful demonstrators are attacked by the armed forces in China, they may be able to do it with European weapons. Overall, China's human rights record is still very bad. It still hasn't ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and is regularly criticised by Amnesty International [2] and Human Rights Watch [3] for imprisoning political and religious activists without trial. This is not a state that should be rewarded with EU favours. [1] Jiang, Shao, 'List of "June Fourth Tiananmen Prisoners" still held in custody and their backgrounds', 2010. [2] Amnesty International, 'Annual Report 2011 China', 2011. [3] Human Rights Watch, 'China' | europe global human rights house believes european union should lift its The arms ban is an anachronism - only China, Myanmar and Zimbabwe are singled out by the EU in this way from all the regimes in the world. [1] China is therefore right to call this policy as showing a "political prejudice against China" [2] as many other nations have perpetrated similar human rights violations. This is pointlessly offensive to the Chinese government and people, who see it as political discrimination against them, and it should be lifted. The new code of conduct should be sufficient to prevent worries that European weaponry will be used to repress demonstrations as it prohibits exports where there is a "Risk that export would be used for internal repression or where the recipient country has engaged in serious violations of human rights". [3] [1] BBC News, 'EU China arms ban 'to be lifted'', 2005. [2] Xinhua, 'China calls for end to "prejudiced" EU arms embargo', 2010. [3] Archick, Kristin, et al., 'European Union's Arms Embargo on China', 2005, p21. |
test-politics-dhbanhrnw-pro04a | test-politics-dhbanhrnw-pro04b | Nuclear weapons serve to defuse international conflicts and force compromise Nuclear weapons create stability, described in the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). Countries with nuclear weapons have no incentive to engage in open military conflict with one another; all recognize that they will suffer destruction if they choose the path of war. [1] If countries have nuclear weapons, fighting simply becomes too costly. This serves to defuse conflicts, and reduce the likelihood of the outbreak of war. For example, the conflict between India and Pakistan was defused by the acquisition of nuclear weapons by both sides. Before they obtained nuclear weapons, they fought three wars that claimed millions of lives. Relations between the two states, while still far from cordial, have never descended into open war. The defusing of the immediate tension of war, has given the chance for potential dialogue. [2] A similar dynamic has been played out a number of times in the past, and as of yet there has never been a war between two nuclear powers. When states have nuclear weapons they cannot fight, making the world a more peaceful place. [1] Waltz, Kenneth. 1981. "The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: More May Better". Adelphi Papers 171. London: International Institute for Strategic Studies. [2] Nizamani, Haider K. 2000. The Roots of Rhetoric: Politics of Nuclear weapons in India and Pakistan. Westport: Praeger. | defence house believes all nations have right nuclear weapons The nuclear peace theory only holds when all nuclear-armed states behave rationally. This cannot be guaranteed, as rogue states exist whose leaders may not be so rational, and whose governments may not be capable of checking the power of individual, erratic tyrants. Also, international conflicts might well be exacerbated in the event that terrorists or other dissidents acquire nuclear weapons or dirty bombs, leading to greater fear that nuclear weapons will be used. A better situation is one in which nuclear weapons are reduced and ultimately eliminated, rather than increased in number. Furthermore, MAD can break down in some cases, when weapon delivery systems are improved. For example, Pakistan's military has developed miniaturized nuclear warheads for use against tanks and other hard targets on the Indian border, that will leave little nuclear fallout and thus be more likely to be employed in the event of a border skirmish. This development could well cause escalation in future conflict. [1] In addition to the risk of such smaller weapons is the risk of pre-emptive nuclear strikes, as some countries with nuclear weapons might lack second-strike capability. Clearly, possession of nuclear weapons will not guarantee peace, and if war does occur, it will be far more ghastly than any conventional war. [1] The Economist. 2011. "The World's Most Dangerous Border". The Economist. |
test-society-epiasghbf-con04a | test-society-epiasghbf-con04b | Where are the men? Is the feminisation of labour emerging with a de-masculinisation of jobs? If so, how do women cope in the work environment? Are methods being integrated to ensure a just work environment is maintained? Overa's (2007) study on gender relations within the informal economy indicates how tensions emerge with women and men being forced into similar occupations. The informal economy of retail trade in Ghana is becoming overcrowded as men enter into female jobs; competition is causing reductions in returns, and further, frustrations are rising against the state. Therefore if more women are entering male jobs, what are the reactions? | economic policy international africa society gender house believes feminisation Within Gender and Development the importance of bringing men into the picture of gender discrimination has been recognised. Therefore working with men will change enable gender roles to be changed. |
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