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bge-retrieval-data-ivf-query-pruning-fixed-100K

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Cyber Mercenaries There is a new form of mercenary appearing on the continent which is hired to use technology, rather than a gun, to fight. Cyber mercenaries are a relatively recent phenomenon. In 2013, British intelligence service GCHQ stated that nations were beginning to employ hackers to ‘attack their enemies’28. Kenya experienced attacks by cyber mercenaries in 2013, with 91% of its organisations coming under attack from these hired hackers29. There is potential for this to become a substantial form of mercenary work in the future. 28) The Age ‘Hackers turn into cyber-mercenaries as nations battle a virtual war’ 2013 29) Murule,R. ‘Kenya: Firms Battle Cyber Crime’ 2013
[ { "docid": "b2b570159b34d403c5f11cc98f9c62fc", "text": "africa politics defence warpeace house believes prevalence african Hired hackers don’t count as real mercenaries. While it is true that they are not a citizen of either state’s military structure and that they seek to gain profit from their venture, they do not qualify under the UN mercenary convention. To be a mercenary, one must qualify under all the conditions listed in the convention. Cyber mercenaries are not directly involved in acts of violence, which disqualifies them under Article 1, sub-section 2.A of the UN mercenary convention30. Definitions will have to be updated in the future if cyber-mercenaries are going to be considered anything other than criminals.\n\n30) United Nations ‘United Nations Mercenary Convention’ 1989\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "9ae9b33a7348165c66bf3c95dd1aa76b", "text": "africa politics defence warpeace house believes prevalence african Firstly, the emergence of the African Union (AU) as a peacekeeping force on the continent negates the need for mercenaries. The AU’s has become increasingly involved in peacekeeping since 200316. They are more willing to involve themselves in African affairs than the West, and have deployed the lion’s share of soldiers in peacekeeping operations as in the Central African Republic17.\n\nSecondly, the UN has condemned mercenary use in general and it would seem hypocritical to begin hiring them. The UN’s weaker states have been reluctant to agree to UN mercenaries for fear they could be used against them18. The UN has actively criticised humanitarian mercenaries in the past for their lack of appreciation of conflict dynamics19, making them unlikely to employ dogs of war.\n\n16) Pan,E. ‘African Peacekeeping Operations’ December 2005\n\n17) Felix,B. ‘Militia attack Muslim neighbourhoods in Central African Republic’s Capital’ 2013\n\n18) Avant,D. ‘Mercenaries’ pg.26\n\n19) Chrisafis,A. ‘UN and aid groups criticise “Humanitarian Mercenaries’ 2007\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d12e9e58b4d2d38115ff337d06fa7cb5", "text": "africa politics defence warpeace house believes prevalence african NGOs are actively discouraged from hiring mercenaries. In 2003, UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw strongly advised against the use of mercenaries by British companies on the Ivory Coast. In addition to government deterrence, many charities are more likely to depend on the United Nations to secure conflict zones before they operate. In Darfur, aid agencies relied upon the United Nations to set up refugee camps in the region rather than seek protection from mercenaries27.\n\n27) Pham,J. ‘Send in the Mercenaries’ 2006\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f483705d84e9df6157c78b42f3e2f9fc", "text": "africa politics defence warpeace house believes prevalence african Coups are becoming less frequent and less successful. The number of coups, which some mercenaries headed personally, has decreased from an average twenty per decade between 1960 and 1990 to ten a decade23. Success has also been less forthcoming; Simon Mann’s attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea was met with failure when he was arrested in Zimbabwe, and Bob Denard was eventually arrested by French forces for disgracing France’s reputation abroad with his frequent coups24.\n\n23) August,O. ‘Africa Rising: A Hopeful Continent’ 2013\n\n24) Mwagiru,C. ‘They Kill Africans, paid by Africans’ 2012\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "67c5ff0b32d1c08e735bca233a8c9379", "text": "africa politics defence warpeace house believes prevalence african The majority of these laws have done little to prevent citizens from seeking a career as a mercenary. While they are commendable on principle, mercenary specific legislation has not translated in to a high number of prosecutions for mercenarism in Africa7. Examples such as Angola and Zimbabwe are rare exceptions. Mercenaries generally operate in conflict zones, where government control is weak. This makes it difficult for the state to enforce such laws, especially as the mercenaries may be working for opposition factions.\n\n7) Fallah,K. ‘Corporate actors: the legal status of mercenaries in armed conflict’, 2006 pg. 610\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f8d4439c0fd45beace100b459aadd183", "text": "africa politics defence warpeace house believes prevalence african More than half of African countries are ruled by dictatorships. Authoritarian regimes remain numerous enough, and the opposition still prominent enough, for there to be adequate instability for mercenaries to gain employment. During the Libyan revolution, caused by the poor governance of Gaddafi’s regime, South African mercenaries attempted to extract Gaddafi from Libya with supposed Tuaregs joining his force as guns for hire14.\n\n14) Hicks,C. ‘Tuareg rebels make troubled return from Libya to Mali’ 2012\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "93175a954f9c6eb5beb1dbe607212fc0", "text": "africa politics defence warpeace house believes prevalence african There are still enough wars and rebel movements to provide opportunity for employment. By 2013 there were 23 conflicts in Africa, with many other small militia groups actively fighting low-intensity wars. This stream of conflicts has ensured revenue for mercenaries. Reports have surfaced that ex-commander for the anti-terror unit in Liberia, Benjamin Yeaten, raised a mercenary force to fight against the army of the Ivory Coast between 2012 and 201311 With the prediction of ‘forever wars’ by Gettlemen12, where rebels have no object except banditry, mercenaries could maintain their prevalence in Africa for a long time.\n\n11) Heritage ‘Liberia: UN reports- Yeaten remains a threat to peace and security in Liberia’ 2013\n\n12) Gettlement,J. ‘Africa’s Forever Wars’ Foreign Policy 2012\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "907aa80ad62cb762b835002abf1f8e5d", "text": "africa politics defence warpeace house believes prevalence african PMCs are just mercenaries under a different name, demonstrating a continued prevalence of the dogs of war in Africa. To escape the name, and the illegal status, of mercenary a PMC must only avoid one of the several clauses laid out by the United Nations Mercenary Convention4 While they are rarely hired for fighting roles, companies such as Military Professional Resources Inc. have demonstrated a willingness to engage in military operations; making them guns for hire5. Executive Outcomes’ operations in Sierra Leone equated to mercenary work, as they undertook offensive military operations with a force of foreign soldiers for profitable gain. In this sense, mercenaries still maintain their position on the continent.\n\n4) Sheimer,M. ‘Separating Private Military Companies From Illegal Mercenaries in International Law’, 2009 Pg. 624\n\n5) Milliard,S. ‘Overcoming Post-Colonial Myopia: A Call to Recognise and Regulate Private Military Companies’, 2003 Pg.16\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7612982d15e6760974845148f099db3f", "text": "africa politics defence warpeace house believes prevalence african Mercenaries still have a presence in coups\n\nAfrican Mercenaries have been crucial to the success of many coups in the 21st Century, and are a ‘ubiquitous factor in the continent’s conflicts over the years, often determining the duration or outcomes of such conflicts’20. The 2013 coup in the Central African Republic saw President Francois Bozizi ousted from power and was accomplished with support of mercenaries from Chad and the Sudan21. An attempted coup by Simon Mann against Equatorial Guinea failed in 2004 and Bob Dernard’s five coups against the Comoros22 demonstrate that mercenaries still have a role in the changing of political leaders within Africa.\n\n20) Mwagiru,C. ‘Mercenaries: Are the ‘dogs of war’ still prevalent in Africa?’ 2012\n\n21) Melly,P. ‘Central African Republic: France and the CAR- Now Comes the Hard Part’ 2013\n\n22) Mwagiru,C. ‘They Kill Africans, paid by Africans’ 2012\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "262b37b0a165f740961b4a7aa58a5de4", "text": "africa politics defence warpeace house believes prevalence african Humanitarian mercenaries\n\nMercenaries are finding a more ethical role in the form of humanitarian missions. The idea of humanitarian mercenaries is a concept of hired guns employed by governments and the United Nations to prevent genocide in the place of nation state militaries. The major benefit of using mercenaries would be the absence of a political cost should there be mercenary causalities as seen in Iraq15. There will not be waning political support from the military’s home country. Early examples include the use of mercenaries in Sierra Leone. When the Revolutionary Unified Front (RUF) was advancing on the capital Executive Outcomes and other mercenaries held back the RUF, preventing a massacre. They would later seek out and destroy elements of the rebel group. The lack of political cost makes them ideal for operations where other countries have no domestic political will to intervene.\n\n15) Raffin,R. ‘Humanitarian Mercenaries’ 2008\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "698b07a42c777c49fa88f0c30582fe83", "text": "africa politics defence warpeace house believes prevalence african Mercenaries are still hired by NGOs\n\nNon-Governmental organisations struggle to operate in conflict zones, and still hire mercenaries to protect them. Extractive industries also require security for their installations and operations in unstable regions25. The massacre of 74 civilians at a Chinese oil field in Ethiopia in 2007 and the 2013 Amenas siege demonstrate the continued need for security, which mercenaries can provide. Charities have employed mercenaries in the past to ensure better security. In 2002, mercenaries were hired by the African Rainforest and Rivers Conservation Organisation to seek out elephant poachers who they could not pursue themselves26.\n\n25) Avant,D. ‘Mercenaries’2004, pg.26\n\n26) Astill,J. ‘Charities hire gunmen to stop elephant poachers’ 2002\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4ebea26db744f6855046078ef7ba822e", "text": "africa politics defence warpeace house believes prevalence african Legislation against mercenaries\n\nNation states and the United Nations have passed laws making mercenary activity illegal. Legislation against mercenaries prevent either seeking employment as a mercenary or hiring one. Western states such as Austria and Germany have made it illegal for citizens to become mercenaries, revoking their citizenship if they choose to do so anyway6. South Africa, a major source of hired guns, passed the ‘foreign military assistance act’ in 1998 which prohibited citizens from joining foreign wars with the exception of humanitarian intervention. In international law, the United Nations has outlawed mercenaries through the UN Mercenary Convention of 1989 which bans the use of foreign soldiers from fighting for profit. Finally, many African states have passed further legislation which restricts mercenaries operating in their countries. The trial of thirteen mercenaries in Angola and the arrests of Simon Mann’s unit Zimbabwe in 2004 were both due to their mercenary status. The increased legal pressure is a symptom of changing attitudes towards the use of mercenaries in Africa.\n\n6) Mian,Q. ‘Legal status of mercenaries’\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "76c431b9d887c809460de263242943c9", "text": "africa politics defence warpeace house believes prevalence african Decreased Conflict and the end of the mercenary age\n\nThe decline of conflicts and mercenary freedom on the African continent has meant less work for mercenaries. The Congo conflict of the 1960s, is seen as the first mercenary age8. Hired guns fought on all sides of the conflict and enjoyed the freedom to act at their discretion. The 1976 execution of mercenaries in Angola was seen as a symbolic ending of this age. That said, mercenaries were still prevalent into the 1990s and early 2000s.\n\nSince the peak of the 1990s, however, there has been a noticeable decrease in the number of conflicts in Africa from 27 civil wars and 9 interstate wars to 5 major civil wars and no interstate wars9,10 . As wars and civil unrest are an obvious source of employment for mercenaries; this decrease in conflict leaves them with fewer opportunities. The African Union’s promise to end war on the continent by 2020 also puts the future prospects of mercenaries in to question.\n\n8) Keane,F. ‘There will be work for mercenaries in Africa until democracy replaces dictatorships’ 2004\n\n9) The World Bank ‘World Development Report 2011’ pg.52\n\n10) Wikipedia ‘List of ongoing armed conflicts’\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3eaa092d3b92af1cfd703ce179b30c75", "text": "africa politics defence warpeace house believes prevalence african Private corporations have replaced mercenaries\n\nPrivate Military Companies (PMCs) are independent, registered, corporate actors who have risen in prominence and replaced mercenaries in their security function. PMCs are different to mercenaries in the sense that mercenaries will fight for the highest bidder. PMCs on the other hand will only work for legitimate governments and intergovernmental organisations such as the UN1. Their main roles include; support services, logical support, humanitarian support and the upholding of law and order and defensive military action2. PMC activity has seen corporations operating on behalf of the Somalian government training coast guards to deal with the threat of piracy which peaked in 20093. The legal status of PMCs, compared with mercenaries, makes them a preferable choice for the aforementioned tasks reducing the prominence of illegal hired guns.\n\n1) Jefferies,I. ‘Private Military Companies- A Positive Role to Play in Today’s International System’, 2002 Pg.106\n\n2) Jefferies,I. ‘Private Military Companies- A Positive Role to Play in Today’s International System’, 2002 Pg.107\n\n3) Stupart,J. ‘Somalia’s PMCs: What’s the Big Deal?’, 2012\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2d085a7e8c5e2b26b01adb264e4cfbe6", "text": "africa politics defence warpeace house believes prevalence african The expansion of democracy\n\nThe increased presence of democracies on the African continent has led to greater security. Mercenary activity is usually associated with the presence of bad governance, which is most commonly featured in dictatorships. Dictatorships generally lead to corruption, unrest and economic collapse. The dispossessed in society then begin to resist, with the ensuing conflict providing employment opportunities for mercenaries. A prime example of this being Equatorial Guinea, where mercenary Simon Mann planned to use popular support to remove the infamous Teodoro Nguema13. Since the first mercenary age, however, the number of democracies has increased from 3 to 25 which has reduced instability on the continent in some regions, reducing opportunities for mercenaries.\n\n13) Keane,F. ‘There will be work for mercenaries in Africa until democracy replaces dictatorships’ 2004\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
4bca56e0b990221524ee8fc963cb0be7
Damaging to Russia The United States wants to isolate Russia economically with Kerry threatening Putting “He may find himself with asset freezes, on Russian business, American business may pull back, there may be a further tumble of the ruble.” [1] Even without economic action Russia is already suffering fallout from the markets. The Moscow stock exchange fell 11.2% - or almost $60billion. The ruble reached all-time lows against the dollar and the euro and the Central bank was forced to raise interest rates by 1.5% to prevent further losses. [2] Longer term investment is likely to be hit as US and European companies are less willing to invest in a country with an aggressive foreign policy. [1] Swaine, 2014 [2] Adomanis, Mark, ‘The Invasion Of Crimea Is Crushing Russia's Stock And Currency Markets’, Forbes, 3 March 2014
[ { "docid": "83d8889804274e16ff0c0a6003a8e62f", "text": "europe global international law politics warpeace house believes russia has While there has been some economic fallout for Russia this is likely to only be temporary, as the risk of actual conflict goes away the markets will return to normal. There is almost no chance that there will be any sanctions that do real damage because much of Europe is dependent on Russia for gas; Germany gets around 39% of its gas from Russia, and this accounts for almost 9% of its energy consumption and other smaller economies in Eastern Europe are even more dependent. [1] Impose sanctions and Russia could squeeze gas supplies.\n\n[1] Ratner, Michael et al., ‘Europe’s Energy Security: Options and Challenges to Natural Gas Supply Diversification’, Congressional Research Service, 20 August 2013, p.10\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "bc63288985f1ee07f314c5ff95f30c15", "text": "europe global international law politics warpeace house believes russia has Russia is hardly the first nation to send troops across a border without UN Security Council support, indeed there is quite a list; Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Kosovo. All undertaken by western powers. Russia is not threatening the use of force it is simply guaranteeing that its citizens will not come to harm and putting the military on standby just in case such protection is necessary.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3901f6a4971f3611349e1cc49bb06cd9", "text": "europe global international law politics warpeace house believes russia has This action by Russia shows (once again) that the consequences of violating international norms is practically zero. As such the action damages the credibility of that norm, especially when applied to a powerful state like Russia. [1] The main problem is Russia is a member of these organisations; as a Security Council member the UN can do nothing, similarly it is blocking a full scale monitoring mission by the OSCE. [2] As for the G8, a talking shop, is Putin really likely to care? [3]\n\n[1] Ku, Julian, ‘Russia Reminds the World (and International Lawyers) of the Limits of International Law’, Opinio Juris, 2 March 2014\n\n[2] AFP, 2014\n\n[3] Judah, 2014\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "420d094ea1250c4640fe7bf792db8eff", "text": "europe global international law politics warpeace house believes russia has Negotiating with the new government would mean recognising it. Russia may well recognise a new government after elections are held and the government is once more legitimate but until then there is little to negotiate. Moreover elections must be held only when there is stability. At the moment Russia won’t recognise any elections because they would be held under a situation of terror where “there is the danger that a fascist element will come to the fore, and some anti-semite will come to power.” [1]\n\n[1] Siddique, 2014\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2ad4bf4c51821f884187daf3e72fca6e", "text": "europe global international law politics warpeace house believes russia has “Ukraine is not [only] our closest neighbour, it is our fraternal nation... we will not go to war with the Ukrainian people.” [1] There have been no shots fired and the action is not a hostile act, it is simply to protect the Crimeans. Russia has not engaged in an armed attack as the forces in Crimea have not fired a shot.\n\n[1] Siddique, 2014\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1ba7b058db5f68c77ba656a96a76ca87", "text": "europe global international law politics warpeace house believes russia has Acting due to a change of government is not the prerogative of another state. Putin is within his rights not to recognise that government and to grant asylum to former president Yanukovych but not to take action within the Ukraine to change the situation.\n\nThe coup however was not a coup but an abdication. “Yanukovych has lost his legitimacy as he abdicated his responsibilities. As you know, he left Ukraine – or left Kyiv, and he has left a vacuum of leadership.” It was therefore Yanukovych who essentially decided that he was no longer in charge by leaving Kiev and not making any statements for several days. [1] Moreover the Ukrainian constitution (both 2004 and 2010 versions) gives the right to impeach the President to Parliament [2] this is what the Parliament has done.\n\n[1] Psaki, Jen, ‘Daily Press Briefing’, U.S. Department of State, 28 February 2014\n\n[2] Constitution of Ukraine, Article 85 (7 & 10), wikisource, 2004 , 2010\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "35fb1d3f64b3b888cdfc78b129f79c81", "text": "europe global international law politics warpeace house believes russia has Approval by one parliament may make the action legal within Russia but it does not make an invasion legal under international law. The Russian parliament has no legal authority over Crimea or other regions of Ukraine so cannot authorise the use of troops within that country – that is something only the Ukrainian parliament, or in extremis the UN Security Council can authorise.\n\nSimilarly the Crimean parliament cannot legally simply decide that Crimea is no longer a part of Ukraine, even a referendum does not enable such a transfer of sovereignty. Self determination should be internal, not external. [1]\n\n[1] Supreme Court of Canada, Reference re Secession of Quebec, [1998] 2 S.C.R. 217\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "de39e01cf6e1f4b57ef043caaeb10892", "text": "europe global international law politics warpeace house believes russia has “Russian mobilisation is a response to an imaginary threat. Military action cannot be justified on the basis of threats that haven't been made and aren't being carried out.” Argues US UN Ambassador Samantha Power. [1] There is little threat to Russian citizens or minorities from the new government. Putin has accused the new government of intimidating minorities and increasing anti-Semitism but Ukrainian Jewish organisations have said “does not correspond to the actual facts”. [2] Any protection of citizens should not be pre-emptive.\n\nWhile it is right that the Crimea should be consulted on its future this should be done without any Russian intervention. Having Russian soldiers on the ground biases any referendum helping to make it illegitimate. With the referendum having happened after intervention Russia cannot say it was reacting to the demonstrated will of the people.\n\n[1] Mardell, Mark, ‘Ukraine's Yanukovych asked for troops, Russia tells UN’, BBC News, 4 March 2014\n\n[2] Zisels, Josef, et al., ‘Open letter of Ukrainian Jews to Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin’, Voices of Ukraine, 4 March 2014\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "863a3374eff010fb72c532d47d78a6c5", "text": "europe global international law politics warpeace house believes russia has Historical and cultural claims are not worth much when it comes to sovereignty over territory; if they were then every country in the world would be involved in disputes with their neighbours. In 1994 Russia agreed the Budapest Memorandum with the US, UK and Ukraine in it committing “to respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine [and] reaffirm their obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine”. [1] Russia signed agreements in 1997 that recognised Crimea as a part of Ukraine in return for a lease on the base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. [2] Russia has therefore not been contesting sovereignty and so has no legal claim.\n\n[1] Presidents of Ukraine, Russian Federation and United States of America, and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, ‘Budapest Memorandums on Security Assurances, 1994’, cfr.org, 5 December 1994\n\n[2] Felgenhauer, T., ‘Ukraine, Russia, and the Black Sea Fleet Accords’, dtic.mil, 1999\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fd2f3c9043ad7a7d4b1818a1117a0b15", "text": "europe global international law politics warpeace house believes russia has This is a very different situation from a government inviting in UN peacekeepers. First the Russians are an involved party – part of the cause of the conflict due to the protests in Kiev first breaking out due to Yanukovych turning from the EU to Russia a country so involved would never be asked to be involved in a UN peacekeeping force. Secondly a UN peacekeeping force requires not only the approval of the government but of the UN Security Council. [1] This has not been forthcoming in this case.\n\nOn the other hand it is different from basing in another country as the US does as that does not involve coercion. Or for that matter taking vital strategic points such as airports and surrounding the host countries military bases. [2]\n\n[1] ‘Role of the Security Council’, United Nations Peacekeeping, accessed 4/3/2014\n\n[2] Fraser, 2014\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b5f77e911a37df6d2ec3579a2fe2df3a", "text": "europe global international law politics warpeace house believes russia has Any cross border troop movements are a violation of sovereignty\n\nStates are allowed to take measures for “self-defence if an armed attack occurs”. [1] The movement of troops across the international border from Russia into Ukraine, and from the Russian base in Sevastopol clearly is a violation of sovereignty and Ukraine if it wishes has every right to use force to defend itself even if the Russians don’t fire first. [2]\n\n[1] United Nations, ‘Article 51’, 1945\n\n[2] Deeks, 2014\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7e388850e2cfd401023cf315f38bb598", "text": "europe global international law politics warpeace house believes russia has What are the consequences of violating international norms?\n\nPresident Putin has noted the west is being hypocritical by highlighting their role in the middle east over the last decade. And it is true that violating the prohibition against force does not carry any immediate sanction, and that which it does carry are discretionary to individual powers. However that does not mean the violation does not matter; instead it means that any attempt to annex Crimea will be seen as completely illegitimate. [1] International institutions are also likely to react, albeit slowly and not very effectively. Institutions such as the Council of Europe demand “Ukraine's territorial integrity must be respected and international commitments upheld” [2] while the OSCE is sending monitors to Ukraine. [3] Some institutions may exclude Russia altogether; there have been suggestions from Secretary of State Kerry that Russia could be thrown out of the G8. [4]\n\n[1] Voeten, Erik, ‘International law and institutions look pretty weak now, but they will matter a lot down the road’, The Washington Post, 2 March 2014\n\n[2] Jagland, T., ‘Secretary General Jagland warns against escalation in Ukraine's Crimea region’, Council of Europe, 1 March 2014\n\n[3] AFP, ‘OSCE security monitors 'advance teams' in Ukraine tonight: US’, google.com, 4 March 2014\n\n[4] Swaine, Jon, ‘Russia G8 status at risk over ‘incredible act of aggression’ in Crimea says Kerry’, theguardian.com, 2 March 2014\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "be5e02265f5949bb38d5a3cfc3390b21", "text": "europe global international law politics warpeace house believes russia has It is an invasion without Security Council sanction\n\nThe legality of Russia’s invasion of Crimea is simple “Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine violates international law.” [1] The UN Charter is unambiguous “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state”. [2] Russia has both threatened the use of force by its parliament authorising the President to use force on Ukrainian territory [3] and actually done so by sending troops into Crimea. The only legal way for the UN Charter’s prohibition on force to be avoided is through a Security Council mandate. Which Russia does not have. [4]\n\n[1] Posner, Eric, ‘Russia’s Military intervention in Ukraine: International Law implications’, ericposner.com, 1 March 2014\n\n[2] United Nations, ‘Article 2’, Charter of the United Nations, 26 June 1945\n\n[3] RT, 1/3/2014\n\n[4] Deeks, Ashley, ‘Russian Forces in Ukraine: A Sketch of the International Law Issues’, Lawfare, 2 March 2014\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a26c53705f40eb97159009e35c1e71a7", "text": "europe global international law politics warpeace house believes russia has Russia should negotiate with the new government\n\nIf Putin is truly concerned about Ukraine’s government being illegitimate and unconstitutional then he should be supporting elections as soon as possible to settle the question of who the government. Putin himself accepts that Yanukovych has “no political future” and helped him for “humanitarian reasons”. [1] If this is the case then military action in Ukraine is superfluous; what Russia needs is a new government in Ukraine that is legitimate. The action in Crimea however simply unites Ukrainian opinion against him making it less likely that a pro-Russian candidate stands a chance of winning the election. Already 58% of Ukrainians support integration with the EU. [2] A rash attempt on Crimea could ensure Putin permanently loses Ukraine from Russia’s sphere of influence.\n\n[1] Siddique, 2014\n\n[2] Titchenko, Ilya, ‘The Deadly illusion of a divided Ukraine’, Kyiv Post, 2 March 2014\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f585a4efb247000f9aecbbf7076d7d66", "text": "europe global international law politics warpeace house believes russia has Necessary response to an illegal coup\n\nThe current government in Ukraine is the result of an illegal coup. On the 21st February Yanukovych and the opposition in Ukraine agreed to EU proposals that restored the 2004 Ukrainian constitution and set Presidential elections for later in 2014. The two sides were “to create a coalition and form a national unity government”. Thus Yanukovych was to remain President until the next elections. [1] The opposition however ignored this deal. As Putin puts it “They immediately seized his residence rather than giving him a chance to fulfil the agreement... He didn’t have any chance of being reelected.” The Ukrainian opposition used illegal and unconstitutional means to effect regime change. Russia therefore has a right to act to protect those who there has been an “armed seizure of power”. [2]\n\n[1] ‘Agreement on the Settlement of Crisis in Ukraine - full text’, theguardian.com, 21 February 2014\n\n[2] Siddique, Haroon, ‘Putin: Yanukovych ousting was ‘unconstitutional overthrow’’, theguardian.com, 4 March 2014 [used this link as it is more comprehensive than the Guardian’s own]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5907b0069a5382130c827a3fc8c7d299", "text": "europe global international law politics warpeace house believes russia has Approval of the Parliament\n\nThe Russian parliament has agreed to approve force “in connection with the extraordinary situation in Ukraine, the threat to the lives of citizens of the Russian Federation, our compatriots” [1] The Russian Federal Council approved the move unanimously so allowing Russian troops to be used. [2] This gives President Putting the authority to use the Russian military in Crimea, or elsewhere in the Ukraine, if he believes it is necessary.\n\nThe Crimean Parliament has also asked to join Russia and is to have a referendum to show the support of the people for this action. “From today, as Crimea is part of the Russian Federation the only legal forces here are troops of the Russian Federation, and any troops of the third country will be considered to be armed groups with all the associated consequences.” [3] This clearly gives Russian troops the right to be in Crimea.\n\n[1] Kelly, Lidia, and Polityuk, Pavel, ‘Putin ready to invade Ukraine; Kiev warns of war’, Reuters, 1 March 2014\n\n[2] RT, 1/3/2014\n\n[3] AP, ‘Crimean parliament votes to join Russia, referendum on move March 16’, FoxNews.com, 6 March 2014\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "47d4dc2478094550374bd97e1cf1880e", "text": "europe global international law politics warpeace house believes russia has Crimea should be Russian\n\nRussia has a strong claim to the Crimea; The territory was only handed over in 1954 by Nikita Krushchev for political reasons. [1] Previously it had been Russian for three hundred years. Historically Crimea is Russian not Ukrainian. Culturally Crimea is important to Russia too, it was the main Russian tourism destination during the Soviet Union and Symbolised Russia’s gains in the 18th and 19th Centuries. [2] Russia for most of the 1990s refused to accept Ukraine’s independence, let alone Crimea that Crimea should be a part of it with the Russian Parliament engaging in actions such as declaring Sevastopol a Russian city. [3] Therefore the sovereignty of the region should be considered to be contested.\n\n[1] Pravda, ‘USSR's Nikita Khrushchev gave Russia’s Crimea away to Ukraine in only 15 minutes’, 19 February 2009\n\n[2] Judah, Ben, ‘Why Russia No Longer Fears the West’, Politico, 2 March 2014\n\n[3] Minorities at Risk Project, ‘Chronology for Crimean Russians in Ukraine’, 2004\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c84d1900507235d8c610c712c3fada64", "text": "europe global international law politics warpeace house believes russia has Invited by the legitimate government\n\nPresident Yanukovych is Ukraine’s legitimate President. He is therefore perfectly at liberty to allow Russian troops into his country to keep the peace in much the same way as countries around the world welcome US troops on their soil as protection from external threats or UN peacekeepers to keep the peace domestically. Yanukovych in a letter to Putin called “on the President of Russia, Mr. Putin, asking him to use the armed forces of the Russian Federation to establish legitimacy, peace, law and order, stability and defending the people of Ukraine.” [1]\n\n[1] ‘Yanukovich sent letter to Putin asking for Russian military presence in Ukraine’, RT, 3 March 2014\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e15b17f3fd09c1d20e12ef37483afd1f", "text": "europe global international law politics warpeace house believes russia has Need to protect Russian civilians\n\nIt is the people of Crimea who are important and their interests should be considered. Putin told the Federation Council that Russia is responding to a “threat to the lives of citizens of the Russian Federation… and the personnel of the armed forces of the Russian Federation on Ukrainian territory”. [1] Russia needs to protect both the Russian citizens who are in Crimea and the ethnic Russians who look to Moscow not Kiev.\n\nThe Crimean parliament has agreed to hold a referendum on 25th May on “Autonomous Republic of Crimea has state sovereignty and is a part of Ukraine, in accordance with treaties and agreements.” [2] This was put forward to 16th March with two options; Do you support Crimea's reunification with Russia? Do you support the restoration of the Constitution of the Crimean Republic dated 1992 and Crimea's status as a part of Ukraine? [3] The 97% vote for joining Russia and 83% turnout conclusively show that this is the will of the Crimean people. [4]\n\n[1] RT, 1/3/2014\n\n[2] RT, 27/2/2014\n\n[3] Interfax-Ukraine, ‘Crimean parliament speeds up referendum, introduces question about joining Russia’, Kyiv Post, 6 March 2014\n\n[4] Hewitt, 17/3/2014\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
4aab93915b1709011453035fedf5f128
Dividing Jerusalem would harm Israeli society: Besides the aforementioned security concerns, many other harms would also result to Israeli society if Jerusalem were divided. Jerusalem is simply too important to Israeli society to be divided. Ben Gurion explain in 1937, "for the Jews, the millions of the Jews who do not know the difference between the Sharon [or the Jezre'el] and the Valley [or the difference between Rehavia and the Old City] the name Jerusalem means everything."(20) This remains true today: Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky said in 2000, "Above all, Jerusalem is the base of our identity."(21) This is why sharing Jerusalem is forbidden under Israeli law. In 1980, Israel's parliament, the Knesset, passed the "Basic Law". This proclaimed, "Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel." This makes it unlawful, under Israeli law, to now divide Jerusalem and share it as a joint capital with a Palestinian state, and shows how deep Israeli attachment to an undivided Jerusalem is.(15) Dividing Jerusalem would destroy the city, Roni Aloni-Sadovnik argued in 2006: "Yet there is a truth that has yet to be spoken: Any division of Jerusalem will bring about the city's destruction. Maybe, after 3,000 years of bloodletting and destruction, the time has come to understand that the road to peace does not run through Jerusalem."(18) A divided Jerusalem would also be less viable economically. Dividing a city in two means cutting off commerce between the two sides. It means cutting markets in half, reducing the market of suppliers for consumers and consumers for suppliers by 50%. This is highly problematic for a city that aims to become an global centre, and this is even more problematic when the city involved is considered to be a holy one by three faiths, all of whom want to see it prosperous and strong. Therefore dividing Jerusalem would be too harmful to Israeli society and to Jerusalem itself, and so it should not be divided.
[ { "docid": "57444576878204a9c60b7e61aabda18f", "text": "middle east house believes jerusalem should be divided Dividing Jerusalem will not alienate Jews from their heritage. Dennis Ross writes in the book \"the Missing Peace\", that it is a myth: \"that all of Jerusalem, including the exclusively Arab neighbourhoods of Jerusalem, must remain Israeli lest the division of East Jerusalem rob Israel of its link to its Jewish heritage.\"(22) Furthermore, splitting Jerusalem will establish needed peace for economic growth. Without peace, it is impossible for Jerusalem to thrive economically as it should. If splitting Jerusalem is the best way to establish peace, then it is also the best way to stimulate economic growth. Finally, even if it would be damaging to Israeli society or culture to lose East Jerusalem, the fact that Israel illegitimately acquired it in a war means that this is a burden the Israelis should bear, instead of forcing the harm on the Palestinians.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "0ebcc7ffd4c8f03c7e92b9beb51a202e", "text": "middle east house believes jerusalem should be divided The Palestinians will accept a peace deal that gives them East Jerusalem, and so the fears over 'Hamas' are misplaced as the conflict will end. In October 2010 Senior Palestine Liberation Organization official Yasser Abed Rabbo said that the Palestinians will be willing to recognize the State of Israel in any way that it desires, if the Americans would only present a map of the future Palestinian state that includes all of the territories captured in 1967, including East Jerusalem. “We want to receive a map of the State of Israel which Israel wants us to accept. If the map will be based on the 1967 borders and will not include our land, our houses and East Jerusalem, we will be willing to recognize Israel according to the formulation of the government within the hour. ” added Rabbo.(18) Moreover, Jerusalem has been psychologically and religiously divided since 1967. The walls may be invisible, but they are high and thick. Many Israelis never go to the Arab neighbourhoods or the Old City, because they know, even though Israel controls them, they are not welcome. Many Arabs don't go to the Jewish sections, because they too know they are not welcome. And tens of thousands of secular Israelis have fled Jerusalem for Tel Aviv, because they do not feel comfortable in a city dominated by the ultra-Orthodox.(1) Only formalizing these divisions can end the conflict.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6443ad44ddc39b3424d8f5906798c987", "text": "middle east house believes jerusalem should be divided While it is technically true that the first founders of Jerusalem were Jewish, this in no way established a de facto right to that city. While Jerusalem may have technically been founded by a Jewish king, the intervening years saw more rule by non-Jewish peoples than not. Furthermore, the communities living there, particularly the Muslim populations, also built their own religious monuments and sights there, most notably the Dome of the Rock (the site of the Prophet Muhammad's ascension to heaven is Islamic teachings). Arguing this ignores the many years of control that followed the founding of Jerusalem. It ignores centuries of cultural and religious heritage that subsequent, and more contemporary, populations have developed in Jerusalem, and it ignores the equally valid claims the Palestinians groups have to Jerusalem. While it would clearly be unfair to give the capitol entirely to the Palestinians, it must also be recognized that their claim must be recognized as having equal legitimacy as Israel's. If Israel claims it deserves the city because of history and religious significance, then the Palestinians can say the same thing right back.(19)\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1fd338b2ed5067d22d76599a2fccf8d5", "text": "middle east house believes jerusalem should be divided Israel has a better historical, moral and demographic claim to an undivided Jerusalem as its capitol than the Palestinians have a claim to East Jerusalem. This is both because Israel's historical claim is older, and indeed original, but also because Israel does govern all Jerusalem, including East Jerusalem, both fairly and democratically. Moreover, the idea that Jerusalem could be is not practical. If all Jerusalem becomes the capital of both Israel and Palestine, this would create all sorts of potential problems. If it was shared for example, would a baby born in a shared Jerusalem’s civic nationality be Israeli or Palestinian? And if an act is committed in Jerusalem which one nation's government recognises as a crime but the other doesn't, who decides what should be done? Different countries sharing a disputed territory but not dividing it is very illogical, even more so if that territory is the capital of both. Imagine what would have happened if the UK, France, and the USA decided to share Berlin with the USSR instead of dividing it!\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "625e53db66d9fed70786238097cca019", "text": "middle east house believes jerusalem should be divided The 1947 Arab invasion invalidated the \"international\" status of Jerusalem. The Arab non-acceptance of Resolution 181 and invasion of Israel immediately upon its declaration of statehood essentially reneged the resolution and the creation of an Arab state at the time.(15) Furthermore, self-determination is not an absolute right. Not every territory and region in the world that seeks independence has the right to it. This is due in no small part to the fact that such a system would be unworkable. Certain criteria must be met for a territory and people to obtain a legitimate right to self-determination, including not compromising the fundamental security or territorial integrity of the original state, which a Palestinian East Jerusalem would probably do.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "12ea27c951f7bfe1b7611264c0bb0a77", "text": "middle east house believes jerusalem should be divided Dividing Jerusalem would simply turn the city into a war zone, with the battle lines being drawn wherever the dividing lines are drawn, as the two mixed-up and opposing communities fight for control over streets, holy sites and neighbourhoods. Moreover, it is simply not true that the inhabitants of East Jerusalem necessarily want to be the inhabitants of the capitol of a new Palestinian state rather than inhabitants of Israel. An opinion poll of residents of all 19 Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem conducted in 2011 showed opposition to a transfer of control to the Palestinian Authority. 40% said that they would move to Israel if their neighbourhood was transferred to the Palestinian Authority, and 39% believed most of their neighbour’s preferred Israeli citizenship. On the other hand only 29% would move to a Palestinian neighbourhood if theirs remained in Israel, and 31% estimated that most of their neighbours preferred Palestinian citizenship. 35% prefer Israeli citizenship compared to 30% preferring Palestinian citizenship, with 30% not knowing or not answering. Residents therefore seem to be satisfied with their current situation of having Israeli identity cards which entitle them to all the rights of Israeli citizens except the right to vote in national elections. They are also all entitled to citizenship upon request, in which case they may vote in national elections.(6) This means that sharing Jerusalem will not be a simple solution and that the Palestinians can come to trust the Israeli government and its security services.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6894c0f37881eb92a715fdd68ca4a0b7", "text": "middle east house believes jerusalem should be divided Jerusalem belongs to Israel\n\nJerusalem became a city in 1010 B.C.E. when King David defeated the Jebusites. King David made that city his seat of government. In fact, King David loved Jerusalem that he brought the sacred Ark of the Covenant into that city and stripped the so-called twelve tribes of Israel of some of their spiritual and administrative functions. The Torah is the History of Israel. Jerusalem historically was created and founded by an Israeli and therefore remains the heritage of all Israelis forever, as it is irrevocably bound up not only in their history and culture but also in the Jewish religion.(19)\n\nMoreover, Israel has fought for East Jerusalem and so has no reason it should give it up. Chris Mitchell argued in 2008: \"Despite any public warnings, the private negotiations continue for the November summit...In the midst of these plans, some see an irony of history...This year, Israel celebrated the 40th anniversary of the re-unification of Jerusalem...The battle 40 years ago during the 1967 Six Day War reunited a divided city between Jordan and Israel. And for the first time in more than 2,000 years, Israel controlled the city of Jerusalem...Some fear that what Israel won on the battlefield could be lost at the negotiating table.\"(16) Moreover, Israel has not lost its legitimacy to govern East Jerusalem, as it governs it was well as it can and does so democratically. Israel is a democracy and is doing a fair job in keeping the city open to all three main monotheistic religions. Despite the Inquisition which ruined the Jews and the city, Christians today have been welcomed to the city and their holy places have been given both respect and honour by the State of Israel. Even Muslims have been given the right to maintain their Dome of the Rock - or the Al-Aksa Mosque. There is no reason why this fair religious arrangement should be changed. Even Rome, the seat of the Catholicism has accepted and appreciated the manner by which Israel is keeping Jerusalem free for all religions.(2)\n\nIt is for such reasons that a 2011 poll showed that 35% of the inhabitants of East Jerusalem prefer Israeli citizenship, 30% prefer Palestinian citizenship, and 30% didn't know or preferred not to answer. This poll, conducted in all of East Jerusalem's 19 Arab neighbourhoods, shows that Palestinians are mostly satisfied with their present conditions. Their Israeli identity cards entitle them to all the rights of Israeli citizens except the right to vote in national elections, though they can still vote in municipal elections. They are also all entitled to citizenship upon request, in which case they may vote in national elections.(6) Israel offers the opportunity for Palestinians to become representatives of their local communities, but that Palestinians reject this opportunity out of fear of being seen as sympathizing with the enemy. They shirk the opportunity to govern themselves and inflame tensions with Israel. They are, therefore, largely responsible for the poor state of East Jerusalem. Israel should not be held solely responsible.(5) Therefore Israel has a superior claim to all of Jerusalem than the Palestinians do to East Jerusalem, and so the city should not be divided.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "bcf006103857008159460b84660e9312", "text": "middle east house believes jerusalem should be divided Jerusalem cannot be neatly or peacefully divided\n\nDividing Jerusalem would simply draw up battle lines through the city. With layers of neighbourhoods so close, security is a very real concern. Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed this issue: \"We've seen what happens when we leave. It's not an Arab majority. It's Hamas. Let's be very clear. It's an Iranian base,\" he said. \"If we leave here, Hamas comes here. They start rocketing. They don't have to rocket. They can use small arms fire right into every one of these neighbourhoods. Look how intertwined it is.\" Finally he complained, \"It's hard for me to see how people cannot see that instead of being the end of conflict, it would be the beginning of a conflict we cannot even imagine.\"(16) Nadav Shragai, a foreign affairs analyst, argues: \"The moment that we re-divide Jerusalem and divide up the Old City of Jerusalem, we're going to create chaos. Look what's happening in Iraq where mosques are getting blown up and churches are being attacked. Do we really want to put that in the heart of Jerusalem, with Hamas and a Palestinian version of the Taliban?”(17)\n\nGiving the Palestinians control over the Temple Mount, the \"outlying neighbourhood\" next to the Western Wall, will mean that Jews are no longer be able to pray in peace at the Wall, or hold Memorial Day ceremonies or induction ceremonies for paratroopers there; nor will they be able to ensure the safety of the president or prime minister should either wish to participate in such ceremonies. Imagine the street battles in the alleys of Sajiyeh and Beit Hanun, in the Gaza Strip, transferred to the ancient streets of Jerusalem, which today teem with Jews. Think about how bar-mitzvah ceremonies or wedding pictures could be held at the Western Wall, or even plain old visits to place a note in the cracks, if Palestinians \"controlled\" the area a few hundred meters away.(17) The examples of Rachel's Tomb, which the Oslo Accords turned into a half-abandoned border post on the outskirts of Bethlehem, and 19 years (from 1948 until 1967) years in which Jews were forbidden to visit their holy places, even though the armistice agreement with Jordan ostensibly guaranteed such visits, are pertinent here in demonstrating that religious rights would most likely not be respected in a divided Jerusalem.(17) Dividing Jerusalem will fail like all divided cities have failed historically. In the city of Nicosia in Cyprus, for example, they decided to build a wall to separate Turkish and Greek Cypriots, but this failed to solve the economic or political aspects of the conflict between the two peoples. And in Berlin, the wall brought no positive results, and was eventually toppled by residents themselves.(18) The idea of dividing Jerusalem between the Israelis and Palestinians presupposes that Jerusalem is capable of a neat division. But it is not. Somehow, any separation of the city into component parts has to recognize that there are myriad economic and cultural links among political adversaries. Moreover, the monuments and shrines of the Old City attract visitors from all over the world: Muslims who want to worship at al-Aqsa Mosque; Jews seeking to pray at the Western Wall; Christians keen to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or follow the Stations of the Cross. Try as one might, it is not possible to count out the lanes of the Old City so that each of them is controlled by only one faith, one ethnicity. Dividing Jerusalem, says Daniel Seidemann, a lawyer and expert on Jerusalem affairs, is \"a political impossibility and a historical inevitability. It will take microsurgery, and I'm afraid the politicians will go at it with a hatchet.”(5) For all these reasons dividing Jerusalem would not be a neat, peaceful process but rather a contested and bloody one which would let forth a new conflict on the very streets of Jerusalem.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fc42677d61d155b3c548b501f41ebd4f", "text": "middle east house believes jerusalem should be divided Palestine has as valid a claim to Jerusalem as Israel does:\n\nThe Palestinians have as valid a claim to Jerusalem as the capitol of their state as the Israelis has a claim to Jerusalem as the capitol of their state. At the end of 2008, the population of East Jerusalem was 57% Muslim (Palestinian) and only 43% Jewish, sowing a clear and workable Palestinian majority in East Jerusalem.(10) Both sides have important religious sites in the city. The dome of the Rock is integral to Islam to the prophet Muhammad’s night journey to the temple making it Islam’s third holiest place after only Mecca and Medina. It is equally important for Jews to have access to the Western Wall.(1)\n\nFor the Palestinians Israel has made its claim over the whole of Jerusalem more illegitimate by misgoverning the East of Jerusalem. For example, because there are no Arab’s on the committee that chooses street names in Jerusalem in the telephone book maps of Arab neighbourhoods are blank, like unexplored parts of the Amazon in the 19th century. As a result mail is seldom delivered there, and having Arabs' become perceived to be invisible, non-existent or else branded as terrorists.(5)\n\nThroughout the Israeli occupation the demographic balance has served as the main consideration in Israeli decision making for both local and central government. This has been a deliberate attempt to forstall any attempt by the Palestinians to claim that they have an equal right to Jerusalem. Israeli policies have been directed to mainly serve spatial/demographic domination of \"Jewish Jerusalem.\" There was no attempt to \"integrate\" the Palestinian neighborhoods' functions with West Jerusalem or the settlements built in Palestinian areas. On the contrary, the policy has been to separate and isolate them.\n\nEast Jerusalem serves naturally as a metropolitan center of the entire West Bank, until the Oslo agreement in September 1993, some autonomy of Palestinian Jerusalemites was allowed especially in educational, sport, health, cultural, religious institutions and community based organizations. There has however been a movement from \"United Jerusalem\" to \"Jewish Jerusalem.\" From 2000 the Palestinian demographic threat, became the reason for \"getting rid\" of Palestinian Jerusalemites after Israel had accomplished its spacio-political goals for a \"Jewish Jerusalem.\" Israel of today is in the process of replacing the slogan of \"United Jerusalem\" with great \"Jewish Jerusalem\" with the Old City as its core. As a result of the Israeli policy, Palestinian neighborhoods (including the available land for future development) consist of only 17 percent of the entire East Jerusalem area and 7 percent of total municipal Jerusalem. Israel restricted the Palestinian construction and economic development, which led to the emigration of the Palestinians from the city to new areas developed as suburbs of the city. This territorial/demographic domination and restriction on Palestinian development affected East Jerusalem by deteriorating its functionality in disconnecting it from its hinterland and West Bank areas.(14)\n\nIsraeli officials have also not been fair or protective of Palestinians, repeatedly being highly abusive, and Israeli security forces have been accepting of abusive Israeli civilian treatment of Palestinians.(2) Moreover, Jerusalem can be shared, and thus divided in practical terms but not \"divided\" per se. It has been a Palestinian position that Jerusalem can \"remain the capital of Israel\" and can \"remain undivided\". This is a as long as that does not preclude the Palestinians from also having their capital in a \"shared\" city.(11) What matters is that it is recognised that the Palestinians have as valid a claim to their part of Jerusalem as the Israelis do to their part, and as a consequence Jerusalem should be divided in such a way as to give the Palestinians control over their area as the capitol of their new state.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a4d23ed81824c84444265f1dba2dbff7", "text": "middle east house believes jerusalem should be divided International law supports dividing Jerusalem\n\nThe Palestinian people since 1967 have demonstrated through resistance to Israeli occupation their desire for an independent state of their own.(7) An undivided Jerusalem forces the Palestinians living in East Jerusalem to live under the control of a state they do not wish to be a part of, a violation of their right to self-determination under international law. The 1993 Vienna Declaration, which reaffirmed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Charter (and so sets the standard in current international law), unequivocally gives all peoples the right to self-determination: “All people have the right to self-determination. Owing to this right they freely establish their political status and freely provide their economic, social and cultural development...World Conference on Human Rights considers refusal of the right to self-determination as a violation of human rights and emphasizes the necessity of effective realization of this right”.(12) Because Israel captured East Jerusalem during the 1967 war, it is considered occupied territory under international law, and it is illegal for Israel to annex it.(7) This is why most countries do not recognise Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem and in fact keep their diplomatic missions in Tel-Aviv today and do not consider Jerusalem the official capital of Israel.(15) The fact that Arab states initiated the 1967 war does not justify Israel responding by annexing Palestinian territory or holding on to East Jerusalem, and so international law supports the return of East Jerusalem to the Palestinians.(8)\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2c1368f3fe2793b764a7aee097f54621", "text": "middle east house believes jerusalem should be divided Sharing Jerusalem is necessary for peace\n\nThe only sustainable solution is to divide and then share Jerusalem, and the Haram-Temple Mount. No final deal will be possible if one side or the other is not willing to embrace this. Sharing Jerusalem would involve acknowledging and respecting each other’s claims which would extend to the other problems preventing agreement. (1)\n\nSharing is the only solution that leads to peace, as the Palestinians in East Jerusalem will not tolerate permanent Israeli governance. Peace will always be a trade-off; Israel needs security while the Palestinians need territory and a viable capital city which they have dreamed of having in East Jerusalem for decades. (9)(5) In any peace deal Israel will have to accept that their security forces cannot be in control of Muslim areas. The Palestinians won’t trust them as a result of decades where they have not been fair to Palestinians and have been abusive rather than protective.(2) All this means that Israeli rule in East Jerusalem can never be legitimate in the eyes of the Palestinians, and so long term peace can never emerge as long as this rule continues.\n\nFrench President Nicholas Sarkozy said in 2008: \"There cannot be peace without recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of two states and the guarantee of free access to the holy places for all religions.\"(3) There has actually been recent recognition of this fact on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides. Hady Amr, Director of Brookings Doha Center, wrote in 2007: \"At a recent closed-door gathering of former Israeli and Palestinian negotiators hosted at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution...had come to realize just how painful the issue of Jerusalem was for both sides, that neither side could feel whole without Jerusalem, and that separation arrangements were unworkable when emotions flared over a few feet of Jerusalem stone. Although it took a decade, the Israelis realized that they could not be secure from Palestinian rancor if they deprived Muslim and Christian Palestinians of sovereignty over the Muslim Noble Sanctuary and the holy Christian churches. The Palestinian negotiators also acknowledged the corollary Israeli need for sovereignty over not only the Wailing Wall, but also the Jewish Temple Mount.\"(4) A poll in 2000 showed some 40 percent of Israelis were ready to give up Arab East Jerusalem without even knowing what they would get in return.(1) While it is an unlikely solution most of the more likely methods have already been tried so new more unconventional solutions need to be tried. The division of Jerusalem could be such a solution that would kick start the rest of the peace process. The benefits of ending the conflict would be immense.(4)\n", "title": "" } ]
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It would help distinguish between levels of elections The number of different elections can be confusing; almost everyone has three, European, National, and local, and some have others added in such as Mayoral, or regional elections. As such there is much to be gained from helping to differentiate elections by not being concerned about being allowed to vote for them all at the same age. Having elections for the European Parliament at the age of 16 would clearly distinguish the elections from all the other elections within the country (with the exception of Austria). For the European Union this would be an opportunity to show that it cares for the youth vote and has their issues at heart as it is a chance to get teenagers involved in Europe before they can be involved in their own national elections. For the teenagers it provides a chance to engage with one election, and one electoral system, before all the others helping to keep things simple.
[ { "docid": "3f37117c4125fa065bf14f439b128546", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament Distinguishing between the different levels of elections is not a good thing. It would show that the European Union is different from national government so demonstrating how far away from the voter it is. Moreover European elections need to be held at the same time as, and therefore associated with, national elections if anyone is to actually vote in them.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "eb17942bb54b0af84b1429915ee25300", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament This would not stop teenagers from using their votes in the same way as a protest vote. Even people who are 16 and 17 will know the policy of their government and will be just as likely to vote on the basis of that policy regardless of whether they can influence it in national elections. Indeed teenagers tend to be rebellious against authority figures so it would seem much more likely that they would simply use their vote in protest, as a result they may well even be more likely to vote for parties that are extremist rather than simply going for the opposition to the government.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f788f224911b3c97ffa39d023bdaa3a4", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament While lowering the European Parliament voting age may provide an incentive to link in civic or political studies there is no guarantee that this will actually happen. There is also no reason why it should not happen already; there should not need to be an election to prompt schools into teaching students about their democratic rights and duties. What each democratic body does would seem to clearly be information that every student should learn as regardless of voting age it is going to be a civic duty for most of their lives.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f05b58579226773ed27083282dfb3649", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament This is in large part because we expect the people we vote for to be experienced rather than strictly representative of the population, simply lowering the voting age is unlikely to lower the age of the members of the parliament. Lowering voting age may have some impact on policy but in practice as Europe ages this gain would be rapidly eaten up by increase in the numbers of older people. It is however wrong to conclude that people vote by demographic or that the old will not support policies that benefit the young; loosening the security of permanent workers was used as an example – why should the elderly be concerned about this when they are already retired?\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0e6bbc6ec0d315c09239d3c7f86f20c6", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament By this argument we really should make eighteen the voting age for all countries so as to bring Austria into line with the rest of the European Union. It is unclear why the majority of countries should have to move their voting age to fit with the Austrians rather than the other way around.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "51206d5ced899e969172deaa74842c87", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament Different levels of government carry out different roles and have different impacts on the electorate. It therefore makes sense that they should have different voting ages to reflect the differences in their roles. While the European Union may not seem to be the most obviously Youth orientated level of government it is particularly concerned with encouraging ‘Active citizenship’ for which it makes sense that the European Union actually enable youth to exercise one of the main rights that active citizenship involves; voting. [1]\n\n[1] European Commission, ‘The Council adopts new EU youth policy framework’, ec.europa.eu, http://ec.europa.eu/youth/news/the-council-adopts-new-eu-youth-policy-framework_en.htm , accessed 3 May 2013\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "cae3d99200c594fd139bc01ccde382e0", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament This may be a good opportunity to change this impression of the European Parliament being boring. Having young people voting will in itself make the election more interesting to the media who will then talk about the issues at the same time. Europe focusing on broad brush issues may actually be a good thing as young people tend to be idealistic they may be more rather than less interested in the big issues such as carbon trading. Moreover if this fails then there is little reason to think that apathy at the European elections will spill over onto other elections\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "122f03787fee5411509a586a9e167eda", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament This at worst going to make a very marginal difference. In practice since the number of first time voters is the same because we all vote for the first time once the errors are simply going to be moved from one election to the election before. Indeed having 16 and 17 year olds have only one ballot on their first attempt at voting may help increase their experience making it easier when they have numerous ballots to fill in so overall reducing voting error.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f3f05f521545b4cebbb74764c8f4cb63", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament While such a move might embarrass some parliaments into lowering their voting age there would certainly be no compulsion. And if it happened this would not necessarily a bad thing. If national parliaments feel embarrassed by the illogic of having differing voting age then it will be up to them to change it. In practice parliaments are unlikely to change their traditions simply because their peers have done so; they will look at all the evidence (which this change would provide more of) and then decide the best way forward for their democracy.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3159194da8b179114d4b60b0910868f4", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament Votes by 16-17 year olds would not be protest votes\n\nThroughout the European Union in the Parliament elections there is a problem with protest voting. Indeed studies have found that almost 40% of votes in European Parliament elections are protest votes; [1] this is clearly bad for the European Parliament as these are not the parties that the electorate really want when it comes to creating policy. It reflects the fact that voters don’t believe that their vote for the European Parliament matters.\n\nYet because voting at 16 is two years earlier than voting in most national elections voting for the European Parliament will be 16 and 17 year olds first experience of voting; as they did not vote for the government they are much less likely to be using their vote simply as a protest against the national government. This is because it will be clear that they are not voting on the basis of national issues because they can’t vote at that level. This then represents a good chance for parties to get their European policies across to the youngest voters so that they know what their vote at the European level means.\n\n[1] Hix, Simon, and Marsh, Michael, ‘Punishment or Protest? Understanding European Parliament Elections’, The Journal of Politics, Vol. 69, No.2, May 2007, pp.495-510, http://personal.lse.ac.uk/hix/Working_Papers/Marsh-Hix-JOP2007.pdf , p.506\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "68eb0638dea68f5508542572cd94a694", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament Youth are not represented in politics\n\nYoung people are not well represented in European national parliaments either in terms of the membership of those parliaments or the policies they produce. The average age in the Bundestag is 50 [1] and it is similar in most parliaments. Youth unemployment in Europe for the fourth quarter of 2012 was 23.2%, almost twice the unemployment rate as a whole. [2] This is because many countries do not implement youth friendly policies; northern countries like Germany are determined to impose austerity which increases unemployment, while southern countries when implementing reforms are not implementing labour reforms that would loosen the security of permanent workers in return for reducing unemployment. [3] This may in part be a result of demographics in Europe. Europe is aging; in 1991 19.3% of the EU 27’s population was under 14 while 13.9% over 65, by 2011 this had changed to 15.6% under 14 and 17.5% over 65. [4] With an increasing contingent of elderly (who are anyway more likely to vote) the influence of young voters is declining. Reducing the voting age will help to redress this imbalance.\n\n[1] Deutscher Bunderstag, ‘Facts The Bundestag at a glance’, Deutscher Bunderstag, August 2011, https://www.btg-bestellservice.de/pdf/80140000.pdf\n\n[2] Eurostat, ‘Unemployment Statistics’, European Commission, http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Unemployment_statistics , accessed 3 May 2013\n\n[3] Crook, ‘Why Europe Really Must Pursue ‘Structural Reform’’, Bloomberg, 1 February 2012, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-01/why-europe-really-must-pursue-structural-reform-clive-crook.html\n\n[4] Eurostat, ‘Population structure and ageing’, European Commission, October 2012, http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Population_structure_and_ageing\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "38c7202d854e843aaad719c49f48ba8c", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament The voting age should be the same across the Union\n\nIt is ridiculous and clearly unfair that some sixteen year olds should get to vote in an election while most are barred from participating. This is the case in European Parliament elections at the moment; young people in Austria are able to vote in elections at 16 while everyone else has to wait until they are eighteen. [1] This means that a tiny minority of the Youth in the European Union get to vote before the rest something which is clearly discrimination against the majority of the European Union’s 16 and 17 year olds; ‘universal suffrage’ should be universal for the European Parliament across the whole of the Union. The age should therefore be lowered to sixteen so that voting age is universally recognised with no one group receiving the right to vote before the others.\n\n[1] European Parliament, ‘About Parliament - Members’, europarl.europa.eu, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/0081ddfaa4/MEPs.html , accessed 3 May 2013\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "53b7bf7552267b1b077400bb9d004a6b", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament An opportunity for civic studies\n\nThere would be clear advantages in having elections while young people are still in school as school could help prepare them for the elections. Schools would be able to teach their students in advance what the ballot is like, about the process of voting, and most importantly about the European Union and the function of the European Parliament. One of the biggest problems with the European Parliament is that voters don’t understand what it does. To take a couple of basics from a Eurobarometer poll in 2011, 42% of European citizens did not know MEPs were directly elected and 57% did not know that they sit in the Parliament according to ideology not nationality. [1] This shows how necessary education about the European Parliament is. Having elections at 16 provides an ideal opportunity as it means that most will participate in a European election while they are at school.\n\nTeaching about why voting matters would also help to improve turnout. When Austria reduced its voting age to 16 it was found that turnout from 16-17 year olds was significantly higher than turnout for 18-19 year olds when both groups are first time voters. [2] This suggests that 18 may simply be the wrong time to introduce people to voting for the first time. Since voting or not voting tends to be habit forming lowering the voting age could slowly increase turnout across the board.\n\n[1] EP/Eurobarometer - Public Opinion Surveys , ‘Media recall and knowledge of the EP’, European Parliament Information Office in the United Kingdom, http://www.europarl.org.uk/view/en/Food_for_Thought/Eurobarometer.html\n\n[2] Zeglovitis, Eva, ‘Votes at 16: Turnout of the Youngest Voters – Evidence from Austria’, ÖGPW Tagung “Tag der Politikwissenschaft”, Salzburg, 2 December 2011, http://www.oegpw.at/tagung2011/papers/1C_Zeglovits.pdf p.13\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9248c55a7ff5301948c2c7c2c3141f23", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament A slippery slope to forcing all countries to allow the vote at sixteen for all votes\n\nThe European Union should not be interfering with individual member’s electoral systems, it is clear that this is an area where it is up to the members to decide who can vote and when. Even when it comes to elections for the European Parliament it is up to each member to decide the form of the election within certain ground rules. [1] In this case the interference would not be direct; the European parliament would not be passing any legislation saying that national and regional parliaments must allow votes at sixteen because they don’t have the power to do that but by allowing voting at sixteen they would be making national elections look inconsistent. It would quickly be seen as illegitimate to allow sixteen and seventeen year olds the vote in some elections and not others without a good justification. As the level of election that is most distant from the individual if there were to be a discrepancy in voting ages it should logically be the other way around with the most abstract vote being granted last.\n\n[1] European Parliament, ‘About Parliament - Members’, europarl.europa.eu, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/0081ddfaa4/MEPs.html , accessed 3 May 2013\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "511354b117773611c37ed0495cb93db3", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament EU elections would put young people off voting\n\nLet’s be honest; European Union elections are hardly exciting and certainly not the most obvious elections to start young people off with. The votes are on very broad issues that don’t have a direct impact on the individual such as trade agreements or broad brush environmental legislation such as the carbon trading market. These may be important issues but they are also abstract and removed from the lives of voters. As Professor Cees Van der Eijk argues \"the media pays very little attention to European elections. EU actors are generally invisible, and the elections are labelled boring even before they take place\". [1]\n\nTo make matters worse each individual vote is worth much less in European than national elections making it more difficult to explain why the individual should vote. In Germany there are more than six times more Bundestag members than there are Germany MEPs. [2] By starting young people out on ‘boring’ elections that are about people and institutions they will never have heard of and have little relevance to young people’s daily lives lowering the voting age would be damaging to turn out. This would be damage not just for European elections but also to other levels as young people will be scared off all levels of politics by their experience of the European elections.\n\n[1] Miller, Vaughne, ‘2009 European Parliament Elections: parties, polls and recent developments’, House of Commons, 29 January 2009, http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN04954.pdf , ‎p.9\n\n[2] Deutscher Bunderstag, ‘Facts The Bundestag at a glance’, Deutscher Bunderstag, August 2011, https://www.btg-bestellservice.de/pdf/80140000.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "056cc292bc62b5e6ea8a74dd3675f401", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament There should not be different voting ages for different elections\n\nThere can be no legitimate moral reason for allowing someone to vote in one election and not another. Most of the arguments involved in when people can vote revolve around when they are mature enough, understand the issues, and are considered adult. All of these arguments make little sense if someone can vote in one election but not another on the basis of age. Why should someone be considered mature enough to understand the issues for a European election but not their own local elections? There are very few countries that have different voting ages for different elections – out of those Wikipedia lists only Germany, Israel, and Italy have differing ages for different elections. [1]\n\n[1] Wikipedia, ‘Voting age’, en.wikipedia.org, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_age , accessed 3 May 2013\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d149f4a4eda54cc9fbe75e4e5d26276c", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament Would complicate elections\n\nElections can be confusing enough already; there are numerous levels of elections which often all are voted for on the same day so that turnout is high for all the elections. As a result voters often get numerous different ballots to fill in; the system for voting in each may well be different and are often complex. Adding that sixteen year olds can vote in one election and not the other simply adds to this complexity in polling stations meaning more mistakes are likely to be made. Lack of knowledge of voting process, increased complexity of voting process, and long ballots decrease accuracy in voting. [1] The first, and possibly also the second are factors that this lowering of the voting age will influence – so this change would mean increasing the numbers of spoilt ballots.\n\n[1] Bederson, Benjamin B., et al., ‘The not so simple act of voting: An examination of voter errors with electronic voting’, University of Maryland, http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/apworkshop/herrnson2007.pdf , p.3\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
12b87c5ba29558135ca6394e8f246c41
A slippery slope to forcing all countries to allow the vote at sixteen for all votes The European Union should not be interfering with individual member’s electoral systems, it is clear that this is an area where it is up to the members to decide who can vote and when. Even when it comes to elections for the European Parliament it is up to each member to decide the form of the election within certain ground rules. [1] In this case the interference would not be direct; the European parliament would not be passing any legislation saying that national and regional parliaments must allow votes at sixteen because they don’t have the power to do that but by allowing voting at sixteen they would be making national elections look inconsistent. It would quickly be seen as illegitimate to allow sixteen and seventeen year olds the vote in some elections and not others without a good justification. As the level of election that is most distant from the individual if there were to be a discrepancy in voting ages it should logically be the other way around with the most abstract vote being granted last. [1] European Parliament, ‘About Parliament - Members’, europarl.europa.eu, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/0081ddfaa4/MEPs.html , accessed 3 May 2013
[ { "docid": "f3f05f521545b4cebbb74764c8f4cb63", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament While such a move might embarrass some parliaments into lowering their voting age there would certainly be no compulsion. And if it happened this would not necessarily a bad thing. If national parliaments feel embarrassed by the illogic of having differing voting age then it will be up to them to change it. In practice parliaments are unlikely to change their traditions simply because their peers have done so; they will look at all the evidence (which this change would provide more of) and then decide the best way forward for their democracy.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "51206d5ced899e969172deaa74842c87", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament Different levels of government carry out different roles and have different impacts on the electorate. It therefore makes sense that they should have different voting ages to reflect the differences in their roles. While the European Union may not seem to be the most obviously Youth orientated level of government it is particularly concerned with encouraging ‘Active citizenship’ for which it makes sense that the European Union actually enable youth to exercise one of the main rights that active citizenship involves; voting. [1]\n\n[1] European Commission, ‘The Council adopts new EU youth policy framework’, ec.europa.eu, http://ec.europa.eu/youth/news/the-council-adopts-new-eu-youth-policy-framework_en.htm , accessed 3 May 2013\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "cae3d99200c594fd139bc01ccde382e0", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament This may be a good opportunity to change this impression of the European Parliament being boring. Having young people voting will in itself make the election more interesting to the media who will then talk about the issues at the same time. Europe focusing on broad brush issues may actually be a good thing as young people tend to be idealistic they may be more rather than less interested in the big issues such as carbon trading. Moreover if this fails then there is little reason to think that apathy at the European elections will spill over onto other elections\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "122f03787fee5411509a586a9e167eda", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament This at worst going to make a very marginal difference. In practice since the number of first time voters is the same because we all vote for the first time once the errors are simply going to be moved from one election to the election before. Indeed having 16 and 17 year olds have only one ballot on their first attempt at voting may help increase their experience making it easier when they have numerous ballots to fill in so overall reducing voting error.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3f37117c4125fa065bf14f439b128546", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament Distinguishing between the different levels of elections is not a good thing. It would show that the European Union is different from national government so demonstrating how far away from the voter it is. Moreover European elections need to be held at the same time as, and therefore associated with, national elections if anyone is to actually vote in them.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "eb17942bb54b0af84b1429915ee25300", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament This would not stop teenagers from using their votes in the same way as a protest vote. Even people who are 16 and 17 will know the policy of their government and will be just as likely to vote on the basis of that policy regardless of whether they can influence it in national elections. Indeed teenagers tend to be rebellious against authority figures so it would seem much more likely that they would simply use their vote in protest, as a result they may well even be more likely to vote for parties that are extremist rather than simply going for the opposition to the government.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f788f224911b3c97ffa39d023bdaa3a4", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament While lowering the European Parliament voting age may provide an incentive to link in civic or political studies there is no guarantee that this will actually happen. There is also no reason why it should not happen already; there should not need to be an election to prompt schools into teaching students about their democratic rights and duties. What each democratic body does would seem to clearly be information that every student should learn as regardless of voting age it is going to be a civic duty for most of their lives.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f05b58579226773ed27083282dfb3649", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament This is in large part because we expect the people we vote for to be experienced rather than strictly representative of the population, simply lowering the voting age is unlikely to lower the age of the members of the parliament. Lowering voting age may have some impact on policy but in practice as Europe ages this gain would be rapidly eaten up by increase in the numbers of older people. It is however wrong to conclude that people vote by demographic or that the old will not support policies that benefit the young; loosening the security of permanent workers was used as an example – why should the elderly be concerned about this when they are already retired?\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0e6bbc6ec0d315c09239d3c7f86f20c6", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament By this argument we really should make eighteen the voting age for all countries so as to bring Austria into line with the rest of the European Union. It is unclear why the majority of countries should have to move their voting age to fit with the Austrians rather than the other way around.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "511354b117773611c37ed0495cb93db3", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament EU elections would put young people off voting\n\nLet’s be honest; European Union elections are hardly exciting and certainly not the most obvious elections to start young people off with. The votes are on very broad issues that don’t have a direct impact on the individual such as trade agreements or broad brush environmental legislation such as the carbon trading market. These may be important issues but they are also abstract and removed from the lives of voters. As Professor Cees Van der Eijk argues \"the media pays very little attention to European elections. EU actors are generally invisible, and the elections are labelled boring even before they take place\". [1]\n\nTo make matters worse each individual vote is worth much less in European than national elections making it more difficult to explain why the individual should vote. In Germany there are more than six times more Bundestag members than there are Germany MEPs. [2] By starting young people out on ‘boring’ elections that are about people and institutions they will never have heard of and have little relevance to young people’s daily lives lowering the voting age would be damaging to turn out. This would be damage not just for European elections but also to other levels as young people will be scared off all levels of politics by their experience of the European elections.\n\n[1] Miller, Vaughne, ‘2009 European Parliament Elections: parties, polls and recent developments’, House of Commons, 29 January 2009, http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN04954.pdf , ‎p.9\n\n[2] Deutscher Bunderstag, ‘Facts The Bundestag at a glance’, Deutscher Bunderstag, August 2011, https://www.btg-bestellservice.de/pdf/80140000.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "056cc292bc62b5e6ea8a74dd3675f401", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament There should not be different voting ages for different elections\n\nThere can be no legitimate moral reason for allowing someone to vote in one election and not another. Most of the arguments involved in when people can vote revolve around when they are mature enough, understand the issues, and are considered adult. All of these arguments make little sense if someone can vote in one election but not another on the basis of age. Why should someone be considered mature enough to understand the issues for a European election but not their own local elections? There are very few countries that have different voting ages for different elections – out of those Wikipedia lists only Germany, Israel, and Italy have differing ages for different elections. [1]\n\n[1] Wikipedia, ‘Voting age’, en.wikipedia.org, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_age , accessed 3 May 2013\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d149f4a4eda54cc9fbe75e4e5d26276c", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament Would complicate elections\n\nElections can be confusing enough already; there are numerous levels of elections which often all are voted for on the same day so that turnout is high for all the elections. As a result voters often get numerous different ballots to fill in; the system for voting in each may well be different and are often complex. Adding that sixteen year olds can vote in one election and not the other simply adds to this complexity in polling stations meaning more mistakes are likely to be made. Lack of knowledge of voting process, increased complexity of voting process, and long ballots decrease accuracy in voting. [1] The first, and possibly also the second are factors that this lowering of the voting age will influence – so this change would mean increasing the numbers of spoilt ballots.\n\n[1] Bederson, Benjamin B., et al., ‘The not so simple act of voting: An examination of voter errors with electronic voting’, University of Maryland, http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/apworkshop/herrnson2007.pdf , p.3\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0489ee182a84a0714f2ee7074b495220", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament It would help distinguish between levels of elections\n\nThe number of different elections can be confusing; almost everyone has three, European, National, and local, and some have others added in such as Mayoral, or regional elections. As such there is much to be gained from helping to differentiate elections by not being concerned about being allowed to vote for them all at the same age. Having elections for the European Parliament at the age of 16 would clearly distinguish the elections from all the other elections within the country (with the exception of Austria). For the European Union this would be an opportunity to show that it cares for the youth vote and has their issues at heart as it is a chance to get teenagers involved in Europe before they can be involved in their own national elections. For the teenagers it provides a chance to engage with one election, and one electoral system, before all the others helping to keep things simple.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3159194da8b179114d4b60b0910868f4", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament Votes by 16-17 year olds would not be protest votes\n\nThroughout the European Union in the Parliament elections there is a problem with protest voting. Indeed studies have found that almost 40% of votes in European Parliament elections are protest votes; [1] this is clearly bad for the European Parliament as these are not the parties that the electorate really want when it comes to creating policy. It reflects the fact that voters don’t believe that their vote for the European Parliament matters.\n\nYet because voting at 16 is two years earlier than voting in most national elections voting for the European Parliament will be 16 and 17 year olds first experience of voting; as they did not vote for the government they are much less likely to be using their vote simply as a protest against the national government. This is because it will be clear that they are not voting on the basis of national issues because they can’t vote at that level. This then represents a good chance for parties to get their European policies across to the youngest voters so that they know what their vote at the European level means.\n\n[1] Hix, Simon, and Marsh, Michael, ‘Punishment or Protest? Understanding European Parliament Elections’, The Journal of Politics, Vol. 69, No.2, May 2007, pp.495-510, http://personal.lse.ac.uk/hix/Working_Papers/Marsh-Hix-JOP2007.pdf , p.506\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "68eb0638dea68f5508542572cd94a694", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament Youth are not represented in politics\n\nYoung people are not well represented in European national parliaments either in terms of the membership of those parliaments or the policies they produce. The average age in the Bundestag is 50 [1] and it is similar in most parliaments. Youth unemployment in Europe for the fourth quarter of 2012 was 23.2%, almost twice the unemployment rate as a whole. [2] This is because many countries do not implement youth friendly policies; northern countries like Germany are determined to impose austerity which increases unemployment, while southern countries when implementing reforms are not implementing labour reforms that would loosen the security of permanent workers in return for reducing unemployment. [3] This may in part be a result of demographics in Europe. Europe is aging; in 1991 19.3% of the EU 27’s population was under 14 while 13.9% over 65, by 2011 this had changed to 15.6% under 14 and 17.5% over 65. [4] With an increasing contingent of elderly (who are anyway more likely to vote) the influence of young voters is declining. Reducing the voting age will help to redress this imbalance.\n\n[1] Deutscher Bunderstag, ‘Facts The Bundestag at a glance’, Deutscher Bunderstag, August 2011, https://www.btg-bestellservice.de/pdf/80140000.pdf\n\n[2] Eurostat, ‘Unemployment Statistics’, European Commission, http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Unemployment_statistics , accessed 3 May 2013\n\n[3] Crook, ‘Why Europe Really Must Pursue ‘Structural Reform’’, Bloomberg, 1 February 2012, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-01/why-europe-really-must-pursue-structural-reform-clive-crook.html\n\n[4] Eurostat, ‘Population structure and ageing’, European Commission, October 2012, http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Population_structure_and_ageing\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "38c7202d854e843aaad719c49f48ba8c", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament The voting age should be the same across the Union\n\nIt is ridiculous and clearly unfair that some sixteen year olds should get to vote in an election while most are barred from participating. This is the case in European Parliament elections at the moment; young people in Austria are able to vote in elections at 16 while everyone else has to wait until they are eighteen. [1] This means that a tiny minority of the Youth in the European Union get to vote before the rest something which is clearly discrimination against the majority of the European Union’s 16 and 17 year olds; ‘universal suffrage’ should be universal for the European Parliament across the whole of the Union. The age should therefore be lowered to sixteen so that voting age is universally recognised with no one group receiving the right to vote before the others.\n\n[1] European Parliament, ‘About Parliament - Members’, europarl.europa.eu, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/0081ddfaa4/MEPs.html , accessed 3 May 2013\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "53b7bf7552267b1b077400bb9d004a6b", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament An opportunity for civic studies\n\nThere would be clear advantages in having elections while young people are still in school as school could help prepare them for the elections. Schools would be able to teach their students in advance what the ballot is like, about the process of voting, and most importantly about the European Union and the function of the European Parliament. One of the biggest problems with the European Parliament is that voters don’t understand what it does. To take a couple of basics from a Eurobarometer poll in 2011, 42% of European citizens did not know MEPs were directly elected and 57% did not know that they sit in the Parliament according to ideology not nationality. [1] This shows how necessary education about the European Parliament is. Having elections at 16 provides an ideal opportunity as it means that most will participate in a European election while they are at school.\n\nTeaching about why voting matters would also help to improve turnout. When Austria reduced its voting age to 16 it was found that turnout from 16-17 year olds was significantly higher than turnout for 18-19 year olds when both groups are first time voters. [2] This suggests that 18 may simply be the wrong time to introduce people to voting for the first time. Since voting or not voting tends to be habit forming lowering the voting age could slowly increase turnout across the board.\n\n[1] EP/Eurobarometer - Public Opinion Surveys , ‘Media recall and knowledge of the EP’, European Parliament Information Office in the United Kingdom, http://www.europarl.org.uk/view/en/Food_for_Thought/Eurobarometer.html\n\n[2] Zeglovitis, Eva, ‘Votes at 16: Turnout of the Youngest Voters – Evidence from Austria’, ÖGPW Tagung “Tag der Politikwissenschaft”, Salzburg, 2 December 2011, http://www.oegpw.at/tagung2011/papers/1C_Zeglovits.pdf p.13\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
35d9595d16eaeed08551ad26d5ef5283
Would complicate elections Elections can be confusing enough already; there are numerous levels of elections which often all are voted for on the same day so that turnout is high for all the elections. As a result voters often get numerous different ballots to fill in; the system for voting in each may well be different and are often complex. Adding that sixteen year olds can vote in one election and not the other simply adds to this complexity in polling stations meaning more mistakes are likely to be made. Lack of knowledge of voting process, increased complexity of voting process, and long ballots decrease accuracy in voting. [1] The first, and possibly also the second are factors that this lowering of the voting age will influence – so this change would mean increasing the numbers of spoilt ballots. [1] Bederson, Benjamin B., et al., ‘The not so simple act of voting: An examination of voter errors with electronic voting’, University of Maryland, http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/apworkshop/herrnson2007.pdf , p.3
[ { "docid": "122f03787fee5411509a586a9e167eda", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament This at worst going to make a very marginal difference. In practice since the number of first time voters is the same because we all vote for the first time once the errors are simply going to be moved from one election to the election before. Indeed having 16 and 17 year olds have only one ballot on their first attempt at voting may help increase their experience making it easier when they have numerous ballots to fill in so overall reducing voting error.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "51206d5ced899e969172deaa74842c87", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament Different levels of government carry out different roles and have different impacts on the electorate. It therefore makes sense that they should have different voting ages to reflect the differences in their roles. While the European Union may not seem to be the most obviously Youth orientated level of government it is particularly concerned with encouraging ‘Active citizenship’ for which it makes sense that the European Union actually enable youth to exercise one of the main rights that active citizenship involves; voting. [1]\n\n[1] European Commission, ‘The Council adopts new EU youth policy framework’, ec.europa.eu, http://ec.europa.eu/youth/news/the-council-adopts-new-eu-youth-policy-framework_en.htm , accessed 3 May 2013\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "cae3d99200c594fd139bc01ccde382e0", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament This may be a good opportunity to change this impression of the European Parliament being boring. Having young people voting will in itself make the election more interesting to the media who will then talk about the issues at the same time. Europe focusing on broad brush issues may actually be a good thing as young people tend to be idealistic they may be more rather than less interested in the big issues such as carbon trading. Moreover if this fails then there is little reason to think that apathy at the European elections will spill over onto other elections\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f3f05f521545b4cebbb74764c8f4cb63", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament While such a move might embarrass some parliaments into lowering their voting age there would certainly be no compulsion. And if it happened this would not necessarily a bad thing. If national parliaments feel embarrassed by the illogic of having differing voting age then it will be up to them to change it. In practice parliaments are unlikely to change their traditions simply because their peers have done so; they will look at all the evidence (which this change would provide more of) and then decide the best way forward for their democracy.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3f37117c4125fa065bf14f439b128546", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament Distinguishing between the different levels of elections is not a good thing. It would show that the European Union is different from national government so demonstrating how far away from the voter it is. Moreover European elections need to be held at the same time as, and therefore associated with, national elections if anyone is to actually vote in them.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "eb17942bb54b0af84b1429915ee25300", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament This would not stop teenagers from using their votes in the same way as a protest vote. Even people who are 16 and 17 will know the policy of their government and will be just as likely to vote on the basis of that policy regardless of whether they can influence it in national elections. Indeed teenagers tend to be rebellious against authority figures so it would seem much more likely that they would simply use their vote in protest, as a result they may well even be more likely to vote for parties that are extremist rather than simply going for the opposition to the government.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f788f224911b3c97ffa39d023bdaa3a4", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament While lowering the European Parliament voting age may provide an incentive to link in civic or political studies there is no guarantee that this will actually happen. There is also no reason why it should not happen already; there should not need to be an election to prompt schools into teaching students about their democratic rights and duties. What each democratic body does would seem to clearly be information that every student should learn as regardless of voting age it is going to be a civic duty for most of their lives.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f05b58579226773ed27083282dfb3649", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament This is in large part because we expect the people we vote for to be experienced rather than strictly representative of the population, simply lowering the voting age is unlikely to lower the age of the members of the parliament. Lowering voting age may have some impact on policy but in practice as Europe ages this gain would be rapidly eaten up by increase in the numbers of older people. It is however wrong to conclude that people vote by demographic or that the old will not support policies that benefit the young; loosening the security of permanent workers was used as an example – why should the elderly be concerned about this when they are already retired?\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0e6bbc6ec0d315c09239d3c7f86f20c6", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament By this argument we really should make eighteen the voting age for all countries so as to bring Austria into line with the rest of the European Union. It is unclear why the majority of countries should have to move their voting age to fit with the Austrians rather than the other way around.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9248c55a7ff5301948c2c7c2c3141f23", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament A slippery slope to forcing all countries to allow the vote at sixteen for all votes\n\nThe European Union should not be interfering with individual member’s electoral systems, it is clear that this is an area where it is up to the members to decide who can vote and when. Even when it comes to elections for the European Parliament it is up to each member to decide the form of the election within certain ground rules. [1] In this case the interference would not be direct; the European parliament would not be passing any legislation saying that national and regional parliaments must allow votes at sixteen because they don’t have the power to do that but by allowing voting at sixteen they would be making national elections look inconsistent. It would quickly be seen as illegitimate to allow sixteen and seventeen year olds the vote in some elections and not others without a good justification. As the level of election that is most distant from the individual if there were to be a discrepancy in voting ages it should logically be the other way around with the most abstract vote being granted last.\n\n[1] European Parliament, ‘About Parliament - Members’, europarl.europa.eu, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/0081ddfaa4/MEPs.html , accessed 3 May 2013\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "511354b117773611c37ed0495cb93db3", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament EU elections would put young people off voting\n\nLet’s be honest; European Union elections are hardly exciting and certainly not the most obvious elections to start young people off with. The votes are on very broad issues that don’t have a direct impact on the individual such as trade agreements or broad brush environmental legislation such as the carbon trading market. These may be important issues but they are also abstract and removed from the lives of voters. As Professor Cees Van der Eijk argues \"the media pays very little attention to European elections. EU actors are generally invisible, and the elections are labelled boring even before they take place\". [1]\n\nTo make matters worse each individual vote is worth much less in European than national elections making it more difficult to explain why the individual should vote. In Germany there are more than six times more Bundestag members than there are Germany MEPs. [2] By starting young people out on ‘boring’ elections that are about people and institutions they will never have heard of and have little relevance to young people’s daily lives lowering the voting age would be damaging to turn out. This would be damage not just for European elections but also to other levels as young people will be scared off all levels of politics by their experience of the European elections.\n\n[1] Miller, Vaughne, ‘2009 European Parliament Elections: parties, polls and recent developments’, House of Commons, 29 January 2009, http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN04954.pdf , ‎p.9\n\n[2] Deutscher Bunderstag, ‘Facts The Bundestag at a glance’, Deutscher Bunderstag, August 2011, https://www.btg-bestellservice.de/pdf/80140000.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "056cc292bc62b5e6ea8a74dd3675f401", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament There should not be different voting ages for different elections\n\nThere can be no legitimate moral reason for allowing someone to vote in one election and not another. Most of the arguments involved in when people can vote revolve around when they are mature enough, understand the issues, and are considered adult. All of these arguments make little sense if someone can vote in one election but not another on the basis of age. Why should someone be considered mature enough to understand the issues for a European election but not their own local elections? There are very few countries that have different voting ages for different elections – out of those Wikipedia lists only Germany, Israel, and Italy have differing ages for different elections. [1]\n\n[1] Wikipedia, ‘Voting age’, en.wikipedia.org, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_age , accessed 3 May 2013\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0489ee182a84a0714f2ee7074b495220", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament It would help distinguish between levels of elections\n\nThe number of different elections can be confusing; almost everyone has three, European, National, and local, and some have others added in such as Mayoral, or regional elections. As such there is much to be gained from helping to differentiate elections by not being concerned about being allowed to vote for them all at the same age. Having elections for the European Parliament at the age of 16 would clearly distinguish the elections from all the other elections within the country (with the exception of Austria). For the European Union this would be an opportunity to show that it cares for the youth vote and has their issues at heart as it is a chance to get teenagers involved in Europe before they can be involved in their own national elections. For the teenagers it provides a chance to engage with one election, and one electoral system, before all the others helping to keep things simple.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3159194da8b179114d4b60b0910868f4", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament Votes by 16-17 year olds would not be protest votes\n\nThroughout the European Union in the Parliament elections there is a problem with protest voting. Indeed studies have found that almost 40% of votes in European Parliament elections are protest votes; [1] this is clearly bad for the European Parliament as these are not the parties that the electorate really want when it comes to creating policy. It reflects the fact that voters don’t believe that their vote for the European Parliament matters.\n\nYet because voting at 16 is two years earlier than voting in most national elections voting for the European Parliament will be 16 and 17 year olds first experience of voting; as they did not vote for the government they are much less likely to be using their vote simply as a protest against the national government. This is because it will be clear that they are not voting on the basis of national issues because they can’t vote at that level. This then represents a good chance for parties to get their European policies across to the youngest voters so that they know what their vote at the European level means.\n\n[1] Hix, Simon, and Marsh, Michael, ‘Punishment or Protest? Understanding European Parliament Elections’, The Journal of Politics, Vol. 69, No.2, May 2007, pp.495-510, http://personal.lse.ac.uk/hix/Working_Papers/Marsh-Hix-JOP2007.pdf , p.506\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "68eb0638dea68f5508542572cd94a694", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament Youth are not represented in politics\n\nYoung people are not well represented in European national parliaments either in terms of the membership of those parliaments or the policies they produce. The average age in the Bundestag is 50 [1] and it is similar in most parliaments. Youth unemployment in Europe for the fourth quarter of 2012 was 23.2%, almost twice the unemployment rate as a whole. [2] This is because many countries do not implement youth friendly policies; northern countries like Germany are determined to impose austerity which increases unemployment, while southern countries when implementing reforms are not implementing labour reforms that would loosen the security of permanent workers in return for reducing unemployment. [3] This may in part be a result of demographics in Europe. Europe is aging; in 1991 19.3% of the EU 27’s population was under 14 while 13.9% over 65, by 2011 this had changed to 15.6% under 14 and 17.5% over 65. [4] With an increasing contingent of elderly (who are anyway more likely to vote) the influence of young voters is declining. Reducing the voting age will help to redress this imbalance.\n\n[1] Deutscher Bunderstag, ‘Facts The Bundestag at a glance’, Deutscher Bunderstag, August 2011, https://www.btg-bestellservice.de/pdf/80140000.pdf\n\n[2] Eurostat, ‘Unemployment Statistics’, European Commission, http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Unemployment_statistics , accessed 3 May 2013\n\n[3] Crook, ‘Why Europe Really Must Pursue ‘Structural Reform’’, Bloomberg, 1 February 2012, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-01/why-europe-really-must-pursue-structural-reform-clive-crook.html\n\n[4] Eurostat, ‘Population structure and ageing’, European Commission, October 2012, http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Population_structure_and_ageing\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "38c7202d854e843aaad719c49f48ba8c", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament The voting age should be the same across the Union\n\nIt is ridiculous and clearly unfair that some sixteen year olds should get to vote in an election while most are barred from participating. This is the case in European Parliament elections at the moment; young people in Austria are able to vote in elections at 16 while everyone else has to wait until they are eighteen. [1] This means that a tiny minority of the Youth in the European Union get to vote before the rest something which is clearly discrimination against the majority of the European Union’s 16 and 17 year olds; ‘universal suffrage’ should be universal for the European Parliament across the whole of the Union. The age should therefore be lowered to sixteen so that voting age is universally recognised with no one group receiving the right to vote before the others.\n\n[1] European Parliament, ‘About Parliament - Members’, europarl.europa.eu, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/0081ddfaa4/MEPs.html , accessed 3 May 2013\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "53b7bf7552267b1b077400bb9d004a6b", "text": "europe politics voting house would allow voting 16 european parliament An opportunity for civic studies\n\nThere would be clear advantages in having elections while young people are still in school as school could help prepare them for the elections. Schools would be able to teach their students in advance what the ballot is like, about the process of voting, and most importantly about the European Union and the function of the European Parliament. One of the biggest problems with the European Parliament is that voters don’t understand what it does. To take a couple of basics from a Eurobarometer poll in 2011, 42% of European citizens did not know MEPs were directly elected and 57% did not know that they sit in the Parliament according to ideology not nationality. [1] This shows how necessary education about the European Parliament is. Having elections at 16 provides an ideal opportunity as it means that most will participate in a European election while they are at school.\n\nTeaching about why voting matters would also help to improve turnout. When Austria reduced its voting age to 16 it was found that turnout from 16-17 year olds was significantly higher than turnout for 18-19 year olds when both groups are first time voters. [2] This suggests that 18 may simply be the wrong time to introduce people to voting for the first time. Since voting or not voting tends to be habit forming lowering the voting age could slowly increase turnout across the board.\n\n[1] EP/Eurobarometer - Public Opinion Surveys , ‘Media recall and knowledge of the EP’, European Parliament Information Office in the United Kingdom, http://www.europarl.org.uk/view/en/Food_for_Thought/Eurobarometer.html\n\n[2] Zeglovitis, Eva, ‘Votes at 16: Turnout of the Youngest Voters – Evidence from Austria’, ÖGPW Tagung “Tag der Politikwissenschaft”, Salzburg, 2 December 2011, http://www.oegpw.at/tagung2011/papers/1C_Zeglovits.pdf p.13\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
1b37afdef97beb05d0033ae123995144
The ICC has an anti-African bias Every person indicted by the ICC so far has been an African, for events which occurred in Africa, all bar one case, the Libya situation (in which no trials have started and seem a long way off), are in sub-Saharan Africa. The ICC has not brought actions against anyone involved in conflict in Colombia, or for the conflict in Sri Lanka or for human rights abuses around the world. The ICC is simply selectively prosecuting.
[ { "docid": "acde82fe0384a7a00cd7c300387082bb", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw Almost all the cases involve self-reference – the only ones that did not are UN Security Council references, done in the same way as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda were set up. The other case, Kenya, was set up when the ICC prosecutor used its power in the Rome Statute. This only occurred after the Kenyan parliament failed to implement the recommendations of the Waki Commission, which it set up.\n\nWhile horrible events occurred in Sri Lanka, the ICC does not have the ability to prosecute unless the case is referred to the court by the UN Security Council, or the Sri Lankan government, which is unlikely – it is not a kangaroo court that can make up jurisdiction to hear a case for political reasons [1] . Colombia is still being investigated [2] .\n\n[1] Rome Statute, Article 22\n\n[2] Office of the Prosecutor, Report in to Preliminary Examination Activities, 2013, http://www.icc-cpi.int/en_menus/icc/press%20and%20media/press%20releases/Documents/OTP%20Preliminary%20Examinations/OTP%20-%20Report%20%20Preliminary%20Examination%20Activities%202013.PDF\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "8a9531bf01660a59350fa48a3819d504", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw Additional crimes in the remit of an African Criminal Court could cause more problems than they solve.\n\nDrug trafficking was rejected from the remit of the ICC [1] because it would overburden the court, which is intended to deal with international crimes. While the idea of prosecuting coups sounds good, in practice it would raise the same persecution complexes amongst leaders as the ICC does.\n\nAn AU court will also be subject to more local fractious politics and power struggles, rather than the bulk of the membership being from outside the region.\n\n[1] See , Kiefer, Heather, “Just Say No: The Case against Expanding the International Criminal Court’s Jurisdiction to Include Drug Trafficking”, Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review, 2009, http://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1646&context=ilr at p164\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "13df6515b2ea20bd09e96bd2404e3638", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw Justice is more than just a road to peace; it is a goal of its own. [1]\n\nFor most African states this should not be a cause to leave the ICC as they are unaffected by ICC indictments affecting a peace process. Even for those whom it does affect it is only transitory until a solution is reached. Such concerns moreover could be better dealt with by ensuring that the ICC puts in place a mechanism that recognises that in some instances peace can come first.\n\n[1] Human Rights Watch, “Perceptions and realities: Kenya and the International Criminal Court”, hrw.org, 14 November 2011, http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/11/14/perceptions-and-realities-kenya-and-i...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0a2b162187f55c775efc01f0c7adef50", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw The principle of complementarity means that the ICC is only a backstop court – it only takes on a case when a state is unwilling or unable to have it dealt with in its own national courts [1] .\n\nIf the ICC were a tool for external interference, it is solicited by the states in that most situations follow on from referrals by the domestic governments.\n\nReferrals by the UN Security Council can happen irrespective of if a state is a party (hence the Libya and Sudan situations) – just like the ad hoc tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda were created in 1994. Regardless this will only happen with the assent of Russia and China so ensuring that referrals are not following a ‘western imperialist’ agenda.\n\n[1] Rome Statute, Article 17\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9ba61cb4794d99b0d7718e2716839dcd", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw Impunity has occurred in some cases, due to the ICC system not leading to prosecutions, such as in Sri Lanka.\n\nAt any rate, the ICC is not needed – African courts can deal with individuals, not a foreign one.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f168a9a0bdb91f213fc7f91d29f5786c", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw Independent nations are capable of trying war crimes themselves.\n\nThe ICC is an unnecessary intrusion on national sovereignty. It should be up to each state to determine its own legal system as to how criminal matters should be prosecuted.\n\nThe principle of complementarity is no guarantee as it is up to the ICC itself to determine if the state is unable or unwilling, meaning it could take over a case for its own ends.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d41b8ec974ea2ed675a7a8e3c4af38c7", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw Is justice something to be subjected to simple financial parameters?\n\nEven so, what is the ICC cheaper than? It may be cheaper than individual criminal tribunals like the ICTY and ICTR, but that assumes that such tribunals are desirable. It should be left up to individual states to bring action.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c81e2fe2d7dfb1fdbeb5d71ab339135d", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw An African Criminal Court would be better\n\nInstead of the ICC structure, the African Union has proposed an African Criminal Court. An ACC could not only bring justice home to Africa, by creating a court which will not appear to African nations as being imposed by outsiders, but also be able to have additional remits to address other issues in Africa that the ICC does not have powers to deal with, such as coups, corruption and drug trafficking [1] . An African Criminal Court may also have a chance of being seen as more legitimate than the ICC, which had only 39% support in Kenya in July 2013 [2] .\n\n[1] IRIN, “Analysis: How Close is an African Criminal Court?”, IRIN (Integrated Regional Information Networks), 13 June 2012, http://www.irinnews.org/report/95633/analysis-how-close-is-an-african-cr...\n\n[2] Ipsos Synovate, “The ICC Issue and Raila’s Political Future”, Ipsos Synovate http://www.ipsos.co.ke/home/index.php/ipsos-kenya-news/21-the-icc-issue-and-raila-s-political-future\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c4f28222912f6294becaa40a82846e4b", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw Tool for external interference.\n\nThe ICC creates a way that foreigners, and in particular the west with its tendency towards intervention, can remove and imprison African leaders [1] .\n\nUhuru Kenyatta, the President of Kenya, who has been indicted by the court, has referred to it as a “toy of declining imperialist powers” [2] .\n\nThe court is largely funded by Western countries, with the European Union providing over half the cost. So it should not be surprising if the west has a lot of power over the court. Moreover the west is dominant in the United Nations Security Council so potentially controls both the methods of referring a country to the ICC without its permission.\n\n[1] Monbiot, George “Imperialism didn’t end. These day’s it’s known as international law”, The Guardian, 30 April 2012, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/apr/30/imperialism-didnt-e...\n\n[2] Kenyatta, Uhuru, “Uhuru: ICC is a toy of declining imperial powers”, CapitalFM Blogs, 12 October 2012, http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/eblog/2013/10/12/uhuru-icc-is-a-toy-of-declin...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b671267dbcbd006e79987252e35d58ed", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw Detriment to peace process\n\nThe ICC has not been particularly effective in dealing with the situation in Uganda, the ICC prosecutions having been a distraction to local community reconciliation and leading to further violence [1] .\n\nSimilarly, the situation in Darfur has not been helped by ICC involvement, with mass destruction of villages by people already indicted by the International Criminal Court [2] . Due to his indictment, a diplomatic solution has become harder as Rome Statute signatories are under a legal duty to arrest Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir, although many have just ignored this. [3]\n\n[1] Sinclair, Jessical, “The International Criminal Court in Uganda”, Undergraduate Transitional Justice Review, 2010, http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/undergradtjr/vol1/iss1/5\n\n[2] Human Rights Watch, “Sudan: Satellite images confirm villages destroyed”, hrw.org, June 18 2013, http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/06/18/sudan-satellite-images-confirm-villag...\n\n[3] Cooper, Belinda, “The ICC: The Politics of Criticism”, World Policy Journal, 4 December 2013, http://www.worldpolicy.org/blog/2013/12/04/icc-politics-criticism\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f005a3ca93d84d5166c68c1da534af1f", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw ICC is cheaper\n\nAfrica bears little of the cost of the ICC – by far its largest contributions come from the European Union, and its member states.\n\nThis, coupled with the fact that the ICC is cheaper than the ad hoc tribunals due to economies of scale, means that justice can be delivered to war criminals and those who commit crimes against humanity in an affordable manner – saving resources for helping the victims.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b4672107d378a3fe153c8591ee4f3558", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw No impunity\n\nThe ICC means an end to impunity. It has meant that warlords such as Germain Katanga have been able to be prosecuted for things like using child soldiers, which are universally reviled.\n\nWhat the African Union leaders are simply advocating by withdrawal from the ICC is impunity for themselves. They see one of their own – Uhuru Kenyatta, who has to face very serious allegations over his part in the mayhem after the 2007 elections which killed over a thousand people – being prosecuted and then claim it is selective. The only selection going on is that those who do not have a case to answer are not being prosecuted.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "60f80af409f0633c108d59d1714a54cc", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw ICC necessary to provide fair trials\n\nDomestic legal systems will often suffer from a lack of judicial independence and potentially politicised prosecutions, and are also open to allegations of victors’ justice, or whitewashes by a judiciary biased towards the winners of the conflict.\n\nThe ICC, as an effective court and with an independent judiciary, provides a suitable and unbiased climate for these cases to be heard in. While it is difficult to give any former head of state a fair trial, it is even more so in cases involving states divided along ethnic and political fault lines where any conviction could be seen as one based on continuing hatreds rather than evidence and criminal procedure.\n\nIn addition, the principle of complementarity means African states can prosecute on their own if they wish.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
364667e177451f5c722024723702fb29
ICC necessary to provide fair trials Domestic legal systems will often suffer from a lack of judicial independence and potentially politicised prosecutions, and are also open to allegations of victors’ justice, or whitewashes by a judiciary biased towards the winners of the conflict. The ICC, as an effective court and with an independent judiciary, provides a suitable and unbiased climate for these cases to be heard in. While it is difficult to give any former head of state a fair trial, it is even more so in cases involving states divided along ethnic and political fault lines where any conviction could be seen as one based on continuing hatreds rather than evidence and criminal procedure. In addition, the principle of complementarity means African states can prosecute on their own if they wish.
[ { "docid": "f168a9a0bdb91f213fc7f91d29f5786c", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw Independent nations are capable of trying war crimes themselves.\n\nThe ICC is an unnecessary intrusion on national sovereignty. It should be up to each state to determine its own legal system as to how criminal matters should be prosecuted.\n\nThe principle of complementarity is no guarantee as it is up to the ICC itself to determine if the state is unable or unwilling, meaning it could take over a case for its own ends.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "9ba61cb4794d99b0d7718e2716839dcd", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw Impunity has occurred in some cases, due to the ICC system not leading to prosecutions, such as in Sri Lanka.\n\nAt any rate, the ICC is not needed – African courts can deal with individuals, not a foreign one.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d41b8ec974ea2ed675a7a8e3c4af38c7", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw Is justice something to be subjected to simple financial parameters?\n\nEven so, what is the ICC cheaper than? It may be cheaper than individual criminal tribunals like the ICTY and ICTR, but that assumes that such tribunals are desirable. It should be left up to individual states to bring action.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8a9531bf01660a59350fa48a3819d504", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw Additional crimes in the remit of an African Criminal Court could cause more problems than they solve.\n\nDrug trafficking was rejected from the remit of the ICC [1] because it would overburden the court, which is intended to deal with international crimes. While the idea of prosecuting coups sounds good, in practice it would raise the same persecution complexes amongst leaders as the ICC does.\n\nAn AU court will also be subject to more local fractious politics and power struggles, rather than the bulk of the membership being from outside the region.\n\n[1] See , Kiefer, Heather, “Just Say No: The Case against Expanding the International Criminal Court’s Jurisdiction to Include Drug Trafficking”, Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review, 2009, http://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1646&context=ilr at p164\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "13df6515b2ea20bd09e96bd2404e3638", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw Justice is more than just a road to peace; it is a goal of its own. [1]\n\nFor most African states this should not be a cause to leave the ICC as they are unaffected by ICC indictments affecting a peace process. Even for those whom it does affect it is only transitory until a solution is reached. Such concerns moreover could be better dealt with by ensuring that the ICC puts in place a mechanism that recognises that in some instances peace can come first.\n\n[1] Human Rights Watch, “Perceptions and realities: Kenya and the International Criminal Court”, hrw.org, 14 November 2011, http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/11/14/perceptions-and-realities-kenya-and-i...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0a2b162187f55c775efc01f0c7adef50", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw The principle of complementarity means that the ICC is only a backstop court – it only takes on a case when a state is unwilling or unable to have it dealt with in its own national courts [1] .\n\nIf the ICC were a tool for external interference, it is solicited by the states in that most situations follow on from referrals by the domestic governments.\n\nReferrals by the UN Security Council can happen irrespective of if a state is a party (hence the Libya and Sudan situations) – just like the ad hoc tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda were created in 1994. Regardless this will only happen with the assent of Russia and China so ensuring that referrals are not following a ‘western imperialist’ agenda.\n\n[1] Rome Statute, Article 17\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "acde82fe0384a7a00cd7c300387082bb", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw Almost all the cases involve self-reference – the only ones that did not are UN Security Council references, done in the same way as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda were set up. The other case, Kenya, was set up when the ICC prosecutor used its power in the Rome Statute. This only occurred after the Kenyan parliament failed to implement the recommendations of the Waki Commission, which it set up.\n\nWhile horrible events occurred in Sri Lanka, the ICC does not have the ability to prosecute unless the case is referred to the court by the UN Security Council, or the Sri Lankan government, which is unlikely – it is not a kangaroo court that can make up jurisdiction to hear a case for political reasons [1] . Colombia is still being investigated [2] .\n\n[1] Rome Statute, Article 22\n\n[2] Office of the Prosecutor, Report in to Preliminary Examination Activities, 2013, http://www.icc-cpi.int/en_menus/icc/press%20and%20media/press%20releases/Documents/OTP%20Preliminary%20Examinations/OTP%20-%20Report%20%20Preliminary%20Examination%20Activities%202013.PDF\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f005a3ca93d84d5166c68c1da534af1f", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw ICC is cheaper\n\nAfrica bears little of the cost of the ICC – by far its largest contributions come from the European Union, and its member states.\n\nThis, coupled with the fact that the ICC is cheaper than the ad hoc tribunals due to economies of scale, means that justice can be delivered to war criminals and those who commit crimes against humanity in an affordable manner – saving resources for helping the victims.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b4672107d378a3fe153c8591ee4f3558", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw No impunity\n\nThe ICC means an end to impunity. It has meant that warlords such as Germain Katanga have been able to be prosecuted for things like using child soldiers, which are universally reviled.\n\nWhat the African Union leaders are simply advocating by withdrawal from the ICC is impunity for themselves. They see one of their own – Uhuru Kenyatta, who has to face very serious allegations over his part in the mayhem after the 2007 elections which killed over a thousand people – being prosecuted and then claim it is selective. The only selection going on is that those who do not have a case to answer are not being prosecuted.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c81e2fe2d7dfb1fdbeb5d71ab339135d", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw An African Criminal Court would be better\n\nInstead of the ICC structure, the African Union has proposed an African Criminal Court. An ACC could not only bring justice home to Africa, by creating a court which will not appear to African nations as being imposed by outsiders, but also be able to have additional remits to address other issues in Africa that the ICC does not have powers to deal with, such as coups, corruption and drug trafficking [1] . An African Criminal Court may also have a chance of being seen as more legitimate than the ICC, which had only 39% support in Kenya in July 2013 [2] .\n\n[1] IRIN, “Analysis: How Close is an African Criminal Court?”, IRIN (Integrated Regional Information Networks), 13 June 2012, http://www.irinnews.org/report/95633/analysis-how-close-is-an-african-cr...\n\n[2] Ipsos Synovate, “The ICC Issue and Raila’s Political Future”, Ipsos Synovate http://www.ipsos.co.ke/home/index.php/ipsos-kenya-news/21-the-icc-issue-and-raila-s-political-future\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c4f28222912f6294becaa40a82846e4b", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw Tool for external interference.\n\nThe ICC creates a way that foreigners, and in particular the west with its tendency towards intervention, can remove and imprison African leaders [1] .\n\nUhuru Kenyatta, the President of Kenya, who has been indicted by the court, has referred to it as a “toy of declining imperialist powers” [2] .\n\nThe court is largely funded by Western countries, with the European Union providing over half the cost. So it should not be surprising if the west has a lot of power over the court. Moreover the west is dominant in the United Nations Security Council so potentially controls both the methods of referring a country to the ICC without its permission.\n\n[1] Monbiot, George “Imperialism didn’t end. These day’s it’s known as international law”, The Guardian, 30 April 2012, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/apr/30/imperialism-didnt-e...\n\n[2] Kenyatta, Uhuru, “Uhuru: ICC is a toy of declining imperial powers”, CapitalFM Blogs, 12 October 2012, http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/eblog/2013/10/12/uhuru-icc-is-a-toy-of-declin...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7142abc5c431f4b0f5e463a0869bff92", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw The ICC has an anti-African bias\n\nEvery person indicted by the ICC so far has been an African, for events which occurred in Africa, all bar one case, the Libya situation (in which no trials have started and seem a long way off), are in sub-Saharan Africa.\n\nThe ICC has not brought actions against anyone involved in conflict in Colombia, or for the conflict in Sri Lanka or for human rights abuses around the world. The ICC is simply selectively prosecuting.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b671267dbcbd006e79987252e35d58ed", "text": "africa law international law house believes african states should withdraw Detriment to peace process\n\nThe ICC has not been particularly effective in dealing with the situation in Uganda, the ICC prosecutions having been a distraction to local community reconciliation and leading to further violence [1] .\n\nSimilarly, the situation in Darfur has not been helped by ICC involvement, with mass destruction of villages by people already indicted by the International Criminal Court [2] . Due to his indictment, a diplomatic solution has become harder as Rome Statute signatories are under a legal duty to arrest Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir, although many have just ignored this. [3]\n\n[1] Sinclair, Jessical, “The International Criminal Court in Uganda”, Undergraduate Transitional Justice Review, 2010, http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/undergradtjr/vol1/iss1/5\n\n[2] Human Rights Watch, “Sudan: Satellite images confirm villages destroyed”, hrw.org, June 18 2013, http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/06/18/sudan-satellite-images-confirm-villag...\n\n[3] Cooper, Belinda, “The ICC: The Politics of Criticism”, World Policy Journal, 4 December 2013, http://www.worldpolicy.org/blog/2013/12/04/icc-politics-criticism\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
e073b0b31765ae486d3f8935e796e26d
Proper democratic checks and balance are the only way to real problem-solving There is a fine line between enough authority to fight corruption and enough authority to oppress a population. Many corrupt, authoritarian leaders have risen to power through the promise of social reform and of wiping out drug cartels and gangsters. A society living in fear and believing that all their problems will be solved by a powerful leader will never be able to overcome its problems. Empowering individuals and accepting risk is ultimately the only true solution to such problems. Even if Putin were completely pure himself, centralising power so completely gives great influence to those advisers and ministers around him and makes corruption in government inevitable. Only by building in proper democratic checks and balances, including criticism from a free media and legal system, can accountability be created and corruption or incompetence tackled.
[ { "docid": "bfa659dceaea04b24bee2f336b602f2a", "text": "europe politics government house believes russia needs strong leadership The best possible way to tackle the corruption issue, which lets face it is one of the major problems in Russia nowadays, is through a strong leader. Eastern European democratic countries are the pure example that corruption spreads when there is no strong leadership. The corruption in these countries is an obstacle to their economic development. As a matter of fact present president Dmitry Medvedev has launched policies and new projects in order to fight back corruption – “ Fighting corruption has been a top agenda of President Dmitry Medvedev. An Anti-Corruption Council was established by Medvedev in 2008 to oversee the Russia's anti-corruption campaign. The central document guiding the effort is the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, introduced by Medvedev in 2010.” (2) In fact, increasing corruption might prove to be more dangerous than terrorist attacks since it would create powerful drug, oil and weapons cartels as well as human trafficking problems. Therefore a strong leader is necessary to cope with this critical matter.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "82dede84a39950d8fd183c837799a619", "text": "europe politics government house believes russia needs strong leadership The current president Dmitry Medvedev is working on and introducing policies toward corruption. Actually this is his main strategy. It is a well-known fact that Medvedev keeps close relations with the former president Putin and discusses Russian relations and policy with him. If the abolishment of the corruption was standing in the way of Putin, such a strategy would not have been undertaken by Medvedev. – “Speaking to a group of Russian experts and journalists, he said that corrupt officials ran Russia. \"They have the power. Corruption has a systemic nature, deep historic roots. We should squeeze it out. The battle isn't easy but it has to be fought. I don't think we can achieve tangible results in one year or two. If I am a realist we could get good results in 15.\" “(9)\n\nExactly strong leadership can deal with the difficult issue of corruption in the Russian state. And the new policies of the current president clearly present that.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "61532c31c2011ed3ddeca4aa3ad9f658", "text": "europe politics government house believes russia needs strong leadership All of these speculations are rather unreasonable and tend to create a public opinion which does not cooperate entirely with the truth. Such drastic conclusions can be made just about any other country. It is true that Vladimir Putin is a strong leader and a powerful figure in the Russian political life, but this does not mean that he is a puppet master, who decides the entire faith of Russia and the Russian population. The political life cannot go without political games, intrigues and deals, but this is just how the policy works and this is how it has been working for a long time. Political interests mix up with business interests and it is actually important to have a strong leader in the face of Putin, who, unlike a lot of politicians will not be influenced by big corporate players or at least will not be influenced as much. Putin’s political career has been successful and his rating among the population are the simplest proof - According to public opinion surveys conducted by Levada Center, Putin's approval rating was 81% in June 2007, and the highest of any leader in the world. His popularity rose from 31% in August 1999 to 80% in November 1999 and since then it has never fallen below 65%. Observers see Putin's high approval ratings as a consequence of the significant improvements in living standards and Russia's reassertion of itself on the world scene that occurred during his tenure as President.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c2380921f7d927b6133ccff1b14ef686", "text": "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.\n\nWhat Russia is doing is combining the modern democratic governance with better control and management.\n\nShortly 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)\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c27db57532f0f5f5b7a7d6a456e2434b", "text": "europe politics government house believes russia needs strong leadership Putin’s initial support was based mainly on strong promises, a series of arrests of corrupt businessmen and tough action towards Chechnya that at first seemed to give positive results. His support base, however, has been significantly damaged following his increasing tendencies to control the media and to replace elected governors with presidential appointees, and by scandals surrounding the disappearance and murder of several important journalists. He has lost the support of the NGO community and most of the intelligentsia and also the originally strong backing of the USA and President Bush.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8a19d99dc876b23b06acc82b0777079b", "text": "europe politics government house believes russia needs strong leadership History is not destiny and a highly-selective view of Russia's past should not lead us to prefer authoritarian rule today. The Tsars and their communist successors killed millions of people through brutal rule and failed policies - made possible by the same lack of consultation and accountability that we see in Russia today. Only a vigorous multi-party democracy, fully independent legal system and free media can ensure that the disasters of the past are not repeated. Nor is there any reason why such a system could not take root in Russia - it is no more diverse than many other countries and modern communications mean that mere distance is not a problem. And there is nothing in the culture or temperament that makes Russians uniquely unsuited to democracy.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4328cbc37bc195e2c3ade87e778a7b43", "text": "europe politics government house believes russia needs strong leadership Putting your hopes and trust in a single person can be fairly dangerous, particularly in a transition period. Putin is not the state and his ability to control and represent the state and the population at large is questionable. Putin is also not a saint and an example to be followed. His authoritarian tendencies do not have insignificant effects: at this point most Russian media is controlled by the state, decisions continue to be made behind closed doors without consultation, Russia has once again become the pariah of the international community, the Chechen conflict has spilled into new attacks against civilians resulting in the death of thousands of people including children (one only has to mention the horrible attacks in Beslan and the Moscow theatre), etc, etc. Putin’s stubborn refusal to accept international help in the case of the stuck submarine Kursk also resulted in the unnecessary death of tens of people.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "dcf85d1e1a970a7e5d801871874596b9", "text": "europe politics government house believes russia needs strong leadership All periods of transition have been chaotic by definition and reforms are by their nature disruptive. At the same time, it is only through these reforms that a future of freedom and prosperity is possible. While a long transition process can certainly cloud minds and turn people into distrustful and disillusioned individuals, one must keep in mind that it is precisely at these moments that the risk of authoritarian tendencies re-emerging is highest. The people of Russia agree in polls over and over again that democracy is and should be their future. We must not let the immediate chaos of reform scare us into a fake stability. Even if still Russians prefer stronger leadership the number of these people is decreasing and the tendency shows that more and more are starting to evaluate the true value of democracy - “…But that number is actually down from the last time VTsIOM conducted a similar survey in 2000, when 75 per cent of Russians said they favored order, and 13 per cent – democracy. “ (1)\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "dfaf536bb4458faea57c3660ba31f660", "text": "europe politics government house believes russia needs strong leadership Russia does not have true democracy\n\nThe 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)\n\nFurthermore 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)\n\nThere 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.\n\nBasic 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.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7b1bf2b7521533259d9269a5b9f2989b", "text": "europe politics government house believes russia needs strong leadership Corruption, an essential issue in Russia, is due to the strong leadership\n\nThere is a link between the high levels of corruption and the strong leadership of Russian president and prime minister of Russia. – “Some of Russia's most prominent opposition figures have produced a report accusing Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of presiding over a boom in corruption and enriching his inner circle over the past decade… Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev themselves have 26 \"palaces\" and five yachts, which in turn require costly state upkeep, according to the report.” (8)\n\nMany argue that if it weren’t for the power of the prime minister and ex-president Putin, also his strong authority and management, corruption would have been minimized long ago.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d1550476e229edebc1aece576a6af4a6", "text": "europe politics government house believes russia needs strong leadership The status quo reveals that several powerful and influential people are in charge of the whole state\n\nWhat is occurring in Russia now is closer to dictatorship rather than to strong leadership. Many commentators of the Russian political stage share the opinion that Medvedev is just a pawn in the hands of the former president and current prime minister – Putin. “The leading role still clearly belongs to Putin. This reflects the unspoken agreement that was reached between Putin and Medvedev,” said Yevgeny Volk, an independent political analyst in Moscow. (6) Russia’s both external and internal policy have not changed after the elections in 2008 and are following the same path, which is another argument that Putin continues to pull the strings.\n\nIn fact, the more important question is not whether or not Medvedev is a pawn, but who is actually in charge – “Kremlin-watchers say this system of interlocking and competing clans that is managed by Putin comprises the core of Russia's ruling elite. The key players, the people with decision making power, number about thirty. The inner circle, most agree, comprises about twelve people… There are something like a dozen of the most influential guys in the first circle and perhaps two dozen who are less influential in the second circle. These are not only managers but also shareholders who are not that visible or public...Not only do they manage Russia...but they also enrich themselves pretty actively.” (7) This poses the debate is such a status quo in the best interest of Russia and its people or is the exact opposite.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "77cf018f59db8cd1f3700b3f5fd48fd8", "text": "europe politics government house believes russia needs strong leadership A strong leader has more benefits than harms\n\nPutin is the strong leader that Russia has been waiting for. His electoral success and consistently high approval rates show that the people of Russia are ready for someone who can rid their society of increasing corruption and restore a sense of calm and equality. His ability to maintain a high level of support despite what some have called authoritarian tendencies shows that people are ready to sacrifice a certain degree of freedom for the promise of stability. Enthusiasm for Putin among the young also shows that he does not only appeal to those looking back to past certainties.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8d58556c5343fec22097ed3045a895d3", "text": "europe politics government house believes russia needs strong leadership A strong leader is working in the state’s best interest\n\nPutin’s authoritarian style is not a threat to democracy but rather a requirement for a successful and quicker transition. Having Putin control the media is probably healthier than having it be controlled by a corrupt few that promote their personal interests rather than the interest of the state and thus those of the population at large. Democracy is a goal and while certain countries believe themselves to have achieved it, they are constantly struggling to maintain it. As a young democracy, Russia is still working towards defining its own version of democracy and finding what works best in its case.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "77d66910d5669197c2c33e4dfd561445", "text": "europe politics government house believes russia needs strong leadership Stability is more important than reform\n\nSince the fall of communism, Russia has plunged into a deep economic recession. The introduction of market reforms and privatization has led to a swift increase in inequalities coupled with an increase in corruption. The chaos of economic and political reform, along with the chaos of the break-up of former USSR, has left the majority of the population both disillusioned and distrustful of their government. In a period of such chaos, stability seems to be much more important than reform. A strong leader is the only solution to providing such stability, setting a clear direction and pulling a country at risk of falling apart together again. This is also proven from various polls among the Russian population – “…The most eye-catching statistic is the overwhelming majority of respondents who say that order is more important for Russia than democracy – 72 per cent, with 16 per cent responding conversely.” (1)\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b142cfabcdcf261ee50c4c113b26b7e8", "text": "europe politics government house believes russia needs strong leadership Russia as a state and Russians as a nation need strong leadership\n\nHistorically, Russia has always needed strong centralised leadership for it to make progress. This was true both in imperial times under tsars such as Peter the Great (who made Russia a European power and built St Petersburg) and Alexander II (who freed the serfs), and since 1917 under Lenin and Stalin. Russia is too big, too diverse and too thinly-populated for western systems of representative democracy to be applied. Culturally its people are temperamentally suited to following the decisive lead of a strong ruler who can unite them in the face of great challenges. Without such a ruler Russia is likely to fragment with local strongmen grabbing power in the regions, religious fundamentalism dominating much of the Caucasus and Central Asia, and economic stagnation.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
81a473cae01b11ca834098a45889d7f2
A single army would enhance the political integration of EU members states The European Union has significant integration and convergence of the political and economic spheres. Integration of defence policy and the establishment of a European Defence Force should be the logical next step. The African Union took this step and has achieved success in combat missions defending the Union [1] . [1] The UN Refugee Agency (31 January, 2008) Comoros: Military invasion of Anjouan imminent, government warns. Accessed September 7, 2011 from: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,,COM,,47b4614c0,0.html
[ { "docid": "6190ac87431accab84edb3496167195a", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union We have seen variations in opinion regarding political and economic issues (e.g. monetary union) in the EU. In the far more thorny area of defence policy, the EU member-nations’ interests are even more divergent. For example, the French position on Algeria may be different from the United Kingdom’s. This difference in priorities will ultimately lead to deadlock, as no country wishes to see its soldiers dying on a battlefield that provides no direct strategic interest to itself.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "367d454b01d027bafca3b1b1ff92dd91", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union Although there is instability in neighbouring regions, most of Europe is in complete and utter peace. The new force would simply be another layer of defence in a stable continent that simply doesn’t need it. War in Europe is completely inconceivable in the 21st century, and considering the threat of war should be the primary reason for holding a standing army, it seems that an EU army has no reasonable case for existence.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ffb9395d2758f469e2b20dcfa64e3d8a", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union Even if we assume that the massive costs of a standing military force can be borne by the EU and its members, the key barriers to establishing a standing defence force are often political. Creating a European Defence Force de novo would require us to decide on several thorny questions, namely the command structure, whether the role should be merely defensive or include peacekeeping, the choice of equipment and supplier, creating a common defence policy, and choosing a language of communication. All of these questions involve political considerations or economic vested interests, all of which are likely to result in on-going wrangling that will yield a stillborn EDF.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "669922d21db5e4cf132b5dcc408cac21", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union NATO and the proposed European Defence Force are designed to address very different concerns. NATO exists to deal with situations of such magnitude that the nations of Western Europe are likely to adopt a common defence policy. In contrast, the EDF is targeted at smaller geopolitical incidents which would otherwise be ‘beneath’ the notice of NATO. Unfortunately smaller incidents by their nature do not have uniform effects on all EU member-nations, and are therefore unlikely to generate a consensus of policy among EU nations.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c1aad82aa77fc5f12cdea715b3420298", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union NATO has successfully defended the interests of Western Europe for several decades now – why rock the boat? It is hard to see a problem which NATO cannot solve, which the European Defence Force could instead. In any case, we will always have to consider Russia’s sensibilities when engaging in peacekeeping operations in Eastern Europe, and it is far better to have America’s bargaining power and geopolitical clout backing us when we negotiate with Russia. If we create a European Defence Force, we will marginalise NATO and the United States. This will lead to a reduced US engagement in Europe, which may in turn diminish our influence when having discussions with Russia over security issues in Europe and beyond.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d520c4b69e048d508c7ef80495b01471", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union The EU has managed to pass similar large amounts of apparently ‘unconstitutional’ legislation through member state legislatures. The Lisbon Treaty, for example, managed to be signed. And so, it seems that archaic constitutional convention cannot stop EU integration – the European Project is simply turning its eyes upon defence: integration has occurred in many walks of life, now it is defence policy’s turn.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "68b7171168398fc6de2edd6f58f2ae5c", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union It might not have been the original aim to integrate defence. Nevertheless, it doesn't mean that defence integration should not be done. The aims are changeable; they should be reconsidered and revised, according to requirements and demands of current situations. Few would have imagined how far Europe would come in other areas such as freedom of movement or the creation of a European Common Foreign policy from a mere industrial coalition between few countries. The EDF will be a rationally reasonable step for the EU, considering the advances that the community has made in integration in other areas of policy. To protect all its achievements, to connect its member states, and to provide its citizens with more safety the EU needs a dedicated defence force.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "42e56ecb46846e008c1c773000131c25", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union This is mostly speculation. The proposition takes a more optimistic view of US-EU relations after the creation of a European Defence Force. America will more than welcome a strong friend in the region, anything to calm the instability in the near regions of North Africa and the Middle East, not to mention the global markets.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4114f8d233653ff91229aae2f32e3961", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union The status of Germany is an irrelevant issue. What has happened in the past should have no bearing on judging the Germany of today. Their whole system of government and culture has changed with a new constitution and the maturity of an open-minded youth born after WW2. It’s simply an insult to judge those Germans who have done everything they can to make up for the past atrocities of their nation, by once again digging up the past.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "411fd1c9d0b322c97927b4958fc8618a", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union The proposition believes in a more liberal and open-minded average European soldier. There will be no communication issues in the 21st century where translators and bilingual officers are easy to come by. There will be no accountability issues when we create a proper command structure. And there will be no racism because to believe that there would be is to prejudge the whole of Europe and insult the culture-shapers’ attempts to respect and learn from Europe’s dark past, not to repeat it.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f4cb764fb7390f9f5a65dbab724779da", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union Regional instability in certain areas of continental europe necessitates the creation of an EU defence force\n\nConstant political instability and war in and near the Middle East call for a united single force charged with the defence of EU countries lying close to the volatile areas.. Turkey is a prime candidate for EU membership, and with its location on the border of both Syria and Iraq, will require support if its refugee problem is to remain manageable. The revolutions in Northern Africa also call for a stabilising force in the region, particularly in Italy where a ‘refugee crisis’ has coincided with the attempts of anti-Gaddafi Libyans to flee the country [1] . If the EU is to take its growing role upon the world stage seriously, it needs a dedicated defence force to make an impact in the region.\n\n[1] Day, M. (14 May, 2011) Flood of North African refugees to Italy ends EU passport-free travel. Accessed September 7, 2011 from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/flood-of-north-african-re...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e3e7896a600919b7fe55eaf4d2136143", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union NATO has established a precedent for multilateral military action\n\nNATO has been crucial to maintaining the balance of power during the cold war. Although there have been some arguments amongst its member states, NATO has shown us that a standing multinational defence force is possible and more importantly works well overall. The recent NATO deployment in Libya is an example of its regional influence and military flexibility [1] . Considering many members of NATO are also members of the EU, the proposed European Defence Force could follow its example and complement it.\n\n[1] BBC News (26 August, 2011) Libya conflict: Nato jets hit Gaddafi Sirte bunker. Accessed September 7, 2011 from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14677754\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8fb6ef2a3703731939a28e371950acdf", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union The EU needs a dedicated defence force\n\nIt is important for the EU to have a defence policy independent of NATO. With its origins in the Cold War, and its preponderance of American influence, NATO carries a great deal of historical and geopolitical baggage. This means that NATO cannot easily intervene in Eastern Europe without incurring the displeasure of Russia. This was best proven during the 2008 conflict between Russia and Georgia, when Georgia’s impending accession to NATO was seen as part of the incentive for Russian support to the ‘break-away’ regions in Georgia [1] . The European Defence Force will allow the EU to deal with crises in Eastern and Central Europe more effectively, as they will not have to tiptoe around Russia as much.\n\n[1] Parsons, R. (8 August, 2008). Georgia pays price for its NATO ambitions. Accessed September 7, 2011 from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/georgia/2524629/Georgia...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ffbe9cdfe7e6a23e2494598dcea49a82", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union The economic strength of the EU enables the creation of a strong military\n\nWith the growing industrial and economic maturity of the European Union and its members, it is now financially feasible for the EU to have its own standing defence force [1] . The proposed EDF would also create a great many jobs as European defence contractors could be recruited into supplying equipment and weaponry.\n\n[1] Amadeo, K.. The EU has replaced the U.S. as the world’s largest economy. Accessed September 7, 2011 from About: http://useconomy.about.com/od/grossdomesticproduct/p/largest_economy.htm\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "31b1e14d0c1f1115fae917bc50f828bf", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union A large and diverse collective defence for would be impossible to command and develop\n\nIt does not take an in-depth analysis to imagine the issues, on the ground and at HQ, such as army would face. There would be communication issues, would the force use French, Spanish or English? There would be accountability questions [1] , who would be in charge and who would pay for resources? Finally, there would be hostilities within the army and potentially inherent racism between the nations involved. Such a force would not be effective in a combat situation, and valuable lives and resources would be wasted.\n\n[1] Ioannides, I. (4 September, 2002). The European Rapid Reaction Force: Implications for Democratic Accountability. Accessed September 7, 2011 from: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1398915\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9c093de4a39373649dee9ef4286821fa", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union Germany\n\nEurope has been torn apart twice in the 20th century and on both occasions a German Army has been the aggressor. If the E.U. ever had a defence force, no doubt German troops would be at the heart of it. It is just over 60 years ago that German troops invaded many of the countries that today will be forced to fight alongside them. This, especially for the people who fought against a German Army and are alive today, is at best insulting and at worst, political provocation. This is even without mentioning the Holocaust and its ever-present artifacts that litter eastern Europe; a constant reminder to Europeans of the horrors a German Army had once committed.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "29276fc13417b0132636906f5cbc2f48", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union The creation of a standing army would be contrary to the spirit and purpose of the EU\n\nIt was not the aim of the original European Community to integrate defence. The original partnership was called the European Coal and Steel Community for a reason [1] , designed as a union for mutual economic development and the sharing of scarce resources [2] . The acceleration of the EU has therefore gotten out of hand, and it’s high time it came to an end. A defence force would be one step to far – it would signal the creation of some sort of federal super state, something that not many people in Europe want.\n\n[1] CVCE (18 April, 1951). Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community. Accessed September 7, 2011 from: http://www.cvce.eu/viewer/-/content/11a21305-941e-49d7-a171-ed5be548cd58...\n\n[2] The Irish Times (26 August, 2011). A thirst for peace. Accessed September 7, 2011 from: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/innovation/2011/0826/1224302795053.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "096486585c0abc8565f6e856c98f0634", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union Constitutional obstructions\n\nEvery EU country would have an incredibly hard time making the constitutional changes necessary for the handing over of a part of defence policy to an EU institution. In fact, for many EU countries it would be unworkable. In the U.K., constitutional issues might not be as bad as say in France – but this does not change the fact that it would require deft political skill and manoeuvring, often undemocratic and without any sort of referendum, in order to make the constitutional changes necessary to create this force [1] .\n\n[1] Wagner, W. (May 19, 2007). The Democratic Deficit in the EU’s Security and Defense Policy – why bother? . Accessed September 7, 2011 from: http://aei.pitt.edu/8061/1/wagner-w-07b.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "487a733c15a517457ca765bf938fb5e9", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union The creation of an EU army could harm diplomatic relations with the USA\n\nWe are completely ignoring the issue of geopolitics and how the creation of this entity would be a direct move to replace NATO as the primary defender of Europe. This would of course mean a rejection of the US, as the heart of NATO. What would follow from this would be an extremely unpredictable and volatile place to practice international relations. One thing that we can predict, however, will be the ‘cold shoulder’ the US would suddenly show the EU. The US would feel as if its ally had used it to gain strength after WWII (The Marshall Plan), and now that it’s back on its feet again can forget and even challenge America’s supremacy.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
0eeeef52fb016778b0a2009fc06082ce
A large and diverse collective defence for would be impossible to command and develop It does not take an in-depth analysis to imagine the issues, on the ground and at HQ, such as army would face. There would be communication issues, would the force use French, Spanish or English? There would be accountability questions [1] , who would be in charge and who would pay for resources? Finally, there would be hostilities within the army and potentially inherent racism between the nations involved. Such a force would not be effective in a combat situation, and valuable lives and resources would be wasted. [1] Ioannides, I. (4 September, 2002). The European Rapid Reaction Force: Implications for Democratic Accountability. Accessed September 7, 2011 from: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1398915
[ { "docid": "411fd1c9d0b322c97927b4958fc8618a", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union The proposition believes in a more liberal and open-minded average European soldier. There will be no communication issues in the 21st century where translators and bilingual officers are easy to come by. There will be no accountability issues when we create a proper command structure. And there will be no racism because to believe that there would be is to prejudge the whole of Europe and insult the culture-shapers’ attempts to respect and learn from Europe’s dark past, not to repeat it.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "d520c4b69e048d508c7ef80495b01471", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union The EU has managed to pass similar large amounts of apparently ‘unconstitutional’ legislation through member state legislatures. The Lisbon Treaty, for example, managed to be signed. And so, it seems that archaic constitutional convention cannot stop EU integration – the European Project is simply turning its eyes upon defence: integration has occurred in many walks of life, now it is defence policy’s turn.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "68b7171168398fc6de2edd6f58f2ae5c", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union It might not have been the original aim to integrate defence. Nevertheless, it doesn't mean that defence integration should not be done. The aims are changeable; they should be reconsidered and revised, according to requirements and demands of current situations. Few would have imagined how far Europe would come in other areas such as freedom of movement or the creation of a European Common Foreign policy from a mere industrial coalition between few countries. The EDF will be a rationally reasonable step for the EU, considering the advances that the community has made in integration in other areas of policy. To protect all its achievements, to connect its member states, and to provide its citizens with more safety the EU needs a dedicated defence force.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "42e56ecb46846e008c1c773000131c25", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union This is mostly speculation. The proposition takes a more optimistic view of US-EU relations after the creation of a European Defence Force. America will more than welcome a strong friend in the region, anything to calm the instability in the near regions of North Africa and the Middle East, not to mention the global markets.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4114f8d233653ff91229aae2f32e3961", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union The status of Germany is an irrelevant issue. What has happened in the past should have no bearing on judging the Germany of today. Their whole system of government and culture has changed with a new constitution and the maturity of an open-minded youth born after WW2. It’s simply an insult to judge those Germans who have done everything they can to make up for the past atrocities of their nation, by once again digging up the past.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6190ac87431accab84edb3496167195a", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union We have seen variations in opinion regarding political and economic issues (e.g. monetary union) in the EU. In the far more thorny area of defence policy, the EU member-nations’ interests are even more divergent. For example, the French position on Algeria may be different from the United Kingdom’s. This difference in priorities will ultimately lead to deadlock, as no country wishes to see its soldiers dying on a battlefield that provides no direct strategic interest to itself.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "367d454b01d027bafca3b1b1ff92dd91", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union Although there is instability in neighbouring regions, most of Europe is in complete and utter peace. The new force would simply be another layer of defence in a stable continent that simply doesn’t need it. War in Europe is completely inconceivable in the 21st century, and considering the threat of war should be the primary reason for holding a standing army, it seems that an EU army has no reasonable case for existence.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ffb9395d2758f469e2b20dcfa64e3d8a", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union Even if we assume that the massive costs of a standing military force can be borne by the EU and its members, the key barriers to establishing a standing defence force are often political. Creating a European Defence Force de novo would require us to decide on several thorny questions, namely the command structure, whether the role should be merely defensive or include peacekeeping, the choice of equipment and supplier, creating a common defence policy, and choosing a language of communication. All of these questions involve political considerations or economic vested interests, all of which are likely to result in on-going wrangling that will yield a stillborn EDF.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "669922d21db5e4cf132b5dcc408cac21", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union NATO and the proposed European Defence Force are designed to address very different concerns. NATO exists to deal with situations of such magnitude that the nations of Western Europe are likely to adopt a common defence policy. In contrast, the EDF is targeted at smaller geopolitical incidents which would otherwise be ‘beneath’ the notice of NATO. Unfortunately smaller incidents by their nature do not have uniform effects on all EU member-nations, and are therefore unlikely to generate a consensus of policy among EU nations.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c1aad82aa77fc5f12cdea715b3420298", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union NATO has successfully defended the interests of Western Europe for several decades now – why rock the boat? It is hard to see a problem which NATO cannot solve, which the European Defence Force could instead. In any case, we will always have to consider Russia’s sensibilities when engaging in peacekeeping operations in Eastern Europe, and it is far better to have America’s bargaining power and geopolitical clout backing us when we negotiate with Russia. If we create a European Defence Force, we will marginalise NATO and the United States. This will lead to a reduced US engagement in Europe, which may in turn diminish our influence when having discussions with Russia over security issues in Europe and beyond.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9c093de4a39373649dee9ef4286821fa", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union Germany\n\nEurope has been torn apart twice in the 20th century and on both occasions a German Army has been the aggressor. If the E.U. ever had a defence force, no doubt German troops would be at the heart of it. It is just over 60 years ago that German troops invaded many of the countries that today will be forced to fight alongside them. This, especially for the people who fought against a German Army and are alive today, is at best insulting and at worst, political provocation. This is even without mentioning the Holocaust and its ever-present artifacts that litter eastern Europe; a constant reminder to Europeans of the horrors a German Army had once committed.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "29276fc13417b0132636906f5cbc2f48", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union The creation of a standing army would be contrary to the spirit and purpose of the EU\n\nIt was not the aim of the original European Community to integrate defence. The original partnership was called the European Coal and Steel Community for a reason [1] , designed as a union for mutual economic development and the sharing of scarce resources [2] . The acceleration of the EU has therefore gotten out of hand, and it’s high time it came to an end. A defence force would be one step to far – it would signal the creation of some sort of federal super state, something that not many people in Europe want.\n\n[1] CVCE (18 April, 1951). Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community. Accessed September 7, 2011 from: http://www.cvce.eu/viewer/-/content/11a21305-941e-49d7-a171-ed5be548cd58...\n\n[2] The Irish Times (26 August, 2011). A thirst for peace. Accessed September 7, 2011 from: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/innovation/2011/0826/1224302795053.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "096486585c0abc8565f6e856c98f0634", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union Constitutional obstructions\n\nEvery EU country would have an incredibly hard time making the constitutional changes necessary for the handing over of a part of defence policy to an EU institution. In fact, for many EU countries it would be unworkable. In the U.K., constitutional issues might not be as bad as say in France – but this does not change the fact that it would require deft political skill and manoeuvring, often undemocratic and without any sort of referendum, in order to make the constitutional changes necessary to create this force [1] .\n\n[1] Wagner, W. (May 19, 2007). The Democratic Deficit in the EU’s Security and Defense Policy – why bother? . Accessed September 7, 2011 from: http://aei.pitt.edu/8061/1/wagner-w-07b.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "487a733c15a517457ca765bf938fb5e9", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union The creation of an EU army could harm diplomatic relations with the USA\n\nWe are completely ignoring the issue of geopolitics and how the creation of this entity would be a direct move to replace NATO as the primary defender of Europe. This would of course mean a rejection of the US, as the heart of NATO. What would follow from this would be an extremely unpredictable and volatile place to practice international relations. One thing that we can predict, however, will be the ‘cold shoulder’ the US would suddenly show the EU. The US would feel as if its ally had used it to gain strength after WWII (The Marshall Plan), and now that it’s back on its feet again can forget and even challenge America’s supremacy.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e4cc57b4b29cc1af13c32e293b950c71", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union A single army would enhance the political integration of EU members states\n\nThe European Union has significant integration and convergence of the political and economic spheres. Integration of defence policy and the establishment of a European Defence Force should be the logical next step. The African Union took this step and has achieved success in combat missions defending the Union [1] .\n\n[1] The UN Refugee Agency (31 January, 2008) Comoros: Military invasion of Anjouan imminent, government warns. Accessed September 7, 2011 from: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,,COM,,47b4614c0,0.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f4cb764fb7390f9f5a65dbab724779da", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union Regional instability in certain areas of continental europe necessitates the creation of an EU defence force\n\nConstant political instability and war in and near the Middle East call for a united single force charged with the defence of EU countries lying close to the volatile areas.. Turkey is a prime candidate for EU membership, and with its location on the border of both Syria and Iraq, will require support if its refugee problem is to remain manageable. The revolutions in Northern Africa also call for a stabilising force in the region, particularly in Italy where a ‘refugee crisis’ has coincided with the attempts of anti-Gaddafi Libyans to flee the country [1] . If the EU is to take its growing role upon the world stage seriously, it needs a dedicated defence force to make an impact in the region.\n\n[1] Day, M. (14 May, 2011) Flood of North African refugees to Italy ends EU passport-free travel. Accessed September 7, 2011 from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/flood-of-north-african-re...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e3e7896a600919b7fe55eaf4d2136143", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union NATO has established a precedent for multilateral military action\n\nNATO has been crucial to maintaining the balance of power during the cold war. Although there have been some arguments amongst its member states, NATO has shown us that a standing multinational defence force is possible and more importantly works well overall. The recent NATO deployment in Libya is an example of its regional influence and military flexibility [1] . Considering many members of NATO are also members of the EU, the proposed European Defence Force could follow its example and complement it.\n\n[1] BBC News (26 August, 2011) Libya conflict: Nato jets hit Gaddafi Sirte bunker. Accessed September 7, 2011 from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14677754\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8fb6ef2a3703731939a28e371950acdf", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union The EU needs a dedicated defence force\n\nIt is important for the EU to have a defence policy independent of NATO. With its origins in the Cold War, and its preponderance of American influence, NATO carries a great deal of historical and geopolitical baggage. This means that NATO cannot easily intervene in Eastern Europe without incurring the displeasure of Russia. This was best proven during the 2008 conflict between Russia and Georgia, when Georgia’s impending accession to NATO was seen as part of the incentive for Russian support to the ‘break-away’ regions in Georgia [1] . The European Defence Force will allow the EU to deal with crises in Eastern and Central Europe more effectively, as they will not have to tiptoe around Russia as much.\n\n[1] Parsons, R. (8 August, 2008). Georgia pays price for its NATO ambitions. Accessed September 7, 2011 from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/georgia/2524629/Georgia...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ffbe9cdfe7e6a23e2494598dcea49a82", "text": "europe politics defence government house would create single european union The economic strength of the EU enables the creation of a strong military\n\nWith the growing industrial and economic maturity of the European Union and its members, it is now financially feasible for the EU to have its own standing defence force [1] . The proposed EDF would also create a great many jobs as European defence contractors could be recruited into supplying equipment and weaponry.\n\n[1] Amadeo, K.. The EU has replaced the U.S. as the world’s largest economy. Accessed September 7, 2011 from About: http://useconomy.about.com/od/grossdomesticproduct/p/largest_economy.htm\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
89e7259675bc88372c0cfa5104268d84
Benefits spread across the country The benefits of these events, unlike hosting an event such as an Olympic Games (which would be outside the reach of Gabon or Equatorial Guinea, especially with the increasing trend of the IOC to select major world cities in medium or high income countries), is that more than one site in a country can host different parts of the tournament. This provides a platform for a focus on broad based development across the entire nation, rather than one-sideded development focused on one city. In Gabon’s case there was both construction of the Stade de l’Amitié-Sino-Gabonaise in the Capital and a rebuild of a stadium in Franceville for €76.2 million [1] . [1] Ballong, Stéphane, ‘Gabon’s 2012 CAN effect’, theafricareport, 7 December 2011, http://www.theafricareport.com/News-Analysis/the-2012-can-effect.html
[ { "docid": "08790d36b85f6a2d273d2a4337315c6c", "text": "africa sport team sports house believes gabon hosting africa cup nations There were only two host cities in each country, however. This is understandable: the African Cup of Nations does not use as large a number of venues as other tournaments. The 2013 edition in South Africa used a larger, fifth, venue for three matches only, and the 2015 event will revert to four venues.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "e7476bdd0a73217a78e30a9b0e05fdc7", "text": "africa sport team sports house believes gabon hosting africa cup nations This infrastructure still costs money, whatever event it is around: a state could launch an infrastructure drive without a football tournament that would be much more focused on the real needs of the people. Foreign investment can have significant costs, such as preferential access to natural resources. The work can often wind up being done by foreign contractors so that it creates no local jobs, as happened when Angola hosted the tournament [1] . In the case of the Stade de l’Amitié-Sino-Gabonaise China does not just get the benefit of the name; the finance provided was a loan, and the construction was done by the Shanghai Construction Group meaning much of the benefit went to China. [2]\n\n[1] Capstick, Alex, “Angola uses football to showcase economy”, BBC News, 2010, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8463972.stm\n\n[2] Ndenguino-Mpira, Hermanno, “The African Cup of Nations 2012 – China’s goals”, Centre for Chinese Studies, 23 January 2012, http://www.ccs.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/China-in-Gabon-23-Jan-12-Hermanno.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "17f9ac4d9c1c46961821798f9b2e1a8a", "text": "africa sport team sports house believes gabon hosting africa cup nations The African Cup of Nations brings very few tourists with it; Ghana vs Guinea had only 4,000 fans while the Zambia vs Sudan Quarter final only had a few hundred spectators. [1] Numbers like this are clearly not going to boost local shops and bars much. Even the investment does not boost local small businesses; the contracts went to big foreign firms. Those firms then make contracts with companies they already know not local ones and often employ foreign workers; the construction of the Stade de l’Amitié-Sino-Gabonaise employed a thousand workers, but only a quarter were Gabonese. [2]\n\n[1] Reuters, ‘Fans go it alone at Africa Cup of Nations’, AlJazeera, 6 February 2012, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/spotlight/2012/02/201226204133460408.html\n\n[2] Ballong, Stéphane, ‘Gabon’s 2012 CAN effect’, theafricareport, 7 December 2011, http://www.theafricareport.com/News-Analysis/the-2012-can-effect.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "55f2434aa349c328b0754b424ddbedfa", "text": "africa sport team sports house believes gabon hosting africa cup nations Aside from the cost issues, the event is short-lived, a few weeks. An event such as the African Cup of Nations will only be remembered for a while, and then it will just be a footnote in history, fading from the memory quicker than an event like a World Cup. The ACN is focused largely within Africa, when all the PR benefits are best focused towards Europe and higher income countries.\n\nThe economic effects are not always beneficial and are only temporary; even the massive building projects have failed to solve the problem with unemployment which is at 27%.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b56b78bb8d65326f1349f2cfc6d3eb0c", "text": "africa sport team sports house believes gabon hosting africa cup nations There are always other things that any sum of money could be spent on. Every nation, even ones with large economies and high development standards have other things to spend money on.\n\nThe reason why many nations desire to host prestigious sporting events, giving them varying level of government support, at local or national government levels, is to change perceptions of the nation or region by advertising it. It also leads to regeneration and infrastructure investment in the host areas – all things with good long term benefits that can be applied to the entire nation.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "aa9b21529820c759e82ff646e2ab2f63", "text": "africa sport team sports house believes gabon hosting africa cup nations Few countries in Africa meet with approval on the part of Freedom House.\n\nAt any rate, sport and politics are supposed to be separate. Also, human rights concerns could be advanced by placing these countries under the spotlight, rather than the usual position of them being ignored\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0a686223aef0e57c0272ebce3cbca8b7", "text": "africa sport team sports house believes gabon hosting africa cup nations Ticket sales, while good for revenue, are not crucial. The African Cup of Nations has never been an event with large scale sellout crowds for every match like a World Cup.\n\nDisposable incomes are lower in Africa compared to the rest of the world. This coupled with the vast size of the area covered by the confederation means lower numbers of travelling fans. Expectations should be managed: the higher demand is for matches with the host team involved. In the tournament the following year (held earlier due to CAF changing the years in which the tournament is held to odd years, to avoid clashes with World Cups and Olympics) in South Africa, the bronze medal match got 6,000 spectators [1] .\n\nEven the Olympics, when held in London, did not sell out every ticket for every football match, meaning some sections of seating were covered over [2] .\n\n[1] ESPN, “2013 African Nations Cup Fixtures and Results”, ESPN, 2013, http://espnfc.com/results/_/league/caf.nations/african-nations-cup?cc=5739\n\n[2] Magnay, Jacquelin, “”London 2012 Olympics: 500,000 football tickets removed to ensure full stadiums [sic]”, The Telegraph, 2012, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/news/9405536/London-2012-Olymp...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0e202641e89d6c2fb08b8c6689b41c7b", "text": "africa sport team sports house believes gabon hosting africa cup nations Legacy of infrastructure\n\nThe benefits of hosting these events for African nations include the ability to concentrate on infrastructure for the event. In addition to sporting infrastructure, which could last well in excess of 50 years, homes, hospitals, roads and schools have been constructed in Gabon’s host cities [1] . The Chinese government assisted funding of some of this; [2] it co-financed and helped construct the Stade de l’Amitié-Sino-Gabonaise, the biggest stadium.\n\n[1] Yilmaz, Cetin, “Gabon works hard for 2012 Cup of Nations”, Hurriyet Daily News, http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/gabon-works-hard-for-2012-cup-of-nation...\n\n[2] Murphy, Chris, “African ambition: tiny nations host football feast”, CNN, 2012, http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/20/sport/football/football-africa-cup-nat...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9bf3bc2d5c782f74eaf1a41ff77bb587", "text": "africa sport team sports house believes gabon hosting africa cup nations The ACN in Gabon shows what can be done by smaller African nations\n\nA key reason for hosting any big sporting event is that it puts the host in a shop window. Unless the event is a disaster (as, arguably, Angola’s tournament was due to the gun attack on the Togo team), which it was not, it creates an opportunity for the nation to show itself as being an advanced society, capable of big events, “getting things done” and as a place to do business. All of this is positive for the economies of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The African Development Bank notes that Economic growth was 7% in 2011 and 5.7% in Gabon in part because of “massive investments undertaken for football’s Africa Cup of Nations 2012”. [1]\n\n[1] African Economic Outlook, ‘Gabon Economic Outlook’, African Development Bank Group, accessed 28/1/2014, http://www.afdb.org/en/countries/central-africa/gabon/gabon-economic-outlook/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ff65d67a8923d0b7852f0b5bc1a9b084", "text": "africa sport team sports house believes gabon hosting africa cup nations Helps small businesses\n\nThere is a big benefit for small businesses in hosting the large sporting events. The hosting of the tournament in 2012 has been credited by African Economic Outlook with playing a role in the “robust” economic growth in the country in that year turning the country around from negative growth in 2009 [1] . The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations was credited with 10,000 jobs and helping the tourist sectors of the South African economy, [2] Gabon would have received a similar boost.\n\n[1] NN, “Gabon”, African Economic Outlook, no date, http://www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/en/countries/central-africa/gabon/\n\n[2] NN, “Africa Cup of Nations 2013 to boost SMEs in South Africa”, MSME News Network, 2013, http://www.msmenewsnetwork.com/index.php/middle-east-africa/news/item/11...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "074ae566c82a3324ea71523048a0515e", "text": "africa sport team sports house believes gabon hosting africa cup nations Empty seats\n\nOrganizers in Gabon had to hand out free tickets to fill stadia [1] . This not only makes the tournament appear unpopular to TV viewers, it reduces the revenues of the event.\n\nIt would be better for the sport if the Africa Cup of Nations was held in countries that are likely to sell out more of the matches; this means countries with bigger populations than Gabon and Equatorial Guinea that can pull in a domestic audience.\n\n[1] Sport24, “Empty seats plague AFCON”, Sport 24, 2012, http://www.sport24.co.za/Soccer/AFCON/Empty-seats-plague-AFCON-20120203\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8dca18fa2b97e43dc8b6f2f32b265825", "text": "africa sport team sports house believes gabon hosting africa cup nations Cost could be spent on other things\n\nGabon’s government invested €370 million in the games. [1] Even though it is one of the more stable West African countries, there are still many people living in grinding poverty – nearly 20% of the population, according to the World Bank [2] . While infrastructure development is welcome, it is a better use of money to lift people out of poverty rather than for three weeks of football.\n\nIt can also have other negative effects on the day to day lives of individuals, for example in South Africa when it hosted the world cup tolls were increase [3] .\n\n[1] Ndenguino-Mpira, Hermanno, “The African Cup of Nations 2012 – China’s goals”, Centre for Chinese Studies, 23 January 2012, http://www.ccs.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/China-in-Gabon-23-Jan-12-Hermanno.pdf\n\n[2] World Bank, “World Development Indicators”, World Bank Databank, http://databank.worldbank.org/ddp/home.do\n\n[3] Sands, Darren, “In South Africa, the African Cup of Nations is big business”, Black Enterprise, 2013, http://www.blackenterprise.com/money/afcon-soccer-big-business-south-afr...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "cd9b111e3c25f944b52e09f79c733f79", "text": "africa sport team sports house believes gabon hosting africa cup nations Showcasing countries with poor human rights records\n\nAllowing a country to host a major sporting event gives them a big boost in international prestige. Repressive regimes to not deserve this.\n\nEquatorial Guinea, a dictatorship run by Teoodoro Obiang, is one of the world’s worst human rights offenders, with the worst possible scores for civil liberties and political rights according to Freedom House [1] .\n\nGabon, while rated by Freedom House as better than Equatorial Guinea, also has a bad human rights record, with “harsh prison conditions, lengthy pretrial detention, ritual killings, police use of excessive force, … widespread government corruption … and forced child labor [sic]” [2] .\n\n[1] Freedom House, “Equatorial Guinea”, Freedom House http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2013/equatorial-guinea#...\n\n[2] US State Department, Gabon 2012 Human Rights Report, http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/204333.pdf\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
389c71ba915144096458ba41c1cf5a90
Cape Verde should be a beacon for Africa Rather than joining the European sphere or even looking towards Europe, Cape Verde could act as a beacon for the rest of Africa. Africa has a need for countries that are setting a good example in governance for others to follow. The country is already at the top of several sections in the Mo Ibrahim Index, notably those relating to human rights [1] . Its former President Pedro Pires has also won the Mo Ibrahim prize for “transforming Cape Verde into a model of democracy, stability and increased prosperity”. The prize is only awarded when there is a peaceful, democratic transition and is in many years not awarded to anyone, it has not been awarded since Pires in 2011. [2] Instead of abandoning it Cape Verde should help build up Africa – a rising continent, rather than taking the tempting option of moving. [1] ‘Cape Verde 3rd/52’, Mo Ibrahim Index, 2013, http://www.moibrahimfoundation.org/cape-verde/ [2] ‘President Pedro de Verona Rodrigues Pires, Cape Verde’, Mo Ibrahim Foundation, 2011, http://www.moibrahimfoundation.org/laureates/
[ { "docid": "d6e7b1159aa54958871353150865b3ce", "text": "africa europe house believes cape verdes regional future lies europe not Cape Verde should determine its own role in the world – not be beholden to the interests of a continental bloc.\n\nParadoxically by moving towards Europe Cape Verde could be a much better model for the African continent – it would show that African states, even small ones, are capable of becoming developed countries. An African country successfully joining European institutions would give hope to the rest of the continent that there could be closer integration and cooperation in the future.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "796b4fc4f4b83e5d5fed6f1ab9d950bd", "text": "africa europe house believes cape verdes regional future lies europe not Size is not necessarily a problem; it means it is much simpler for the EU to pull Cape Verde up to European standards than it would be with a larger country. It also means there will be few concerns about membership; no one is going to be worried about emigration from a country with a tiny population.\n\nThe process would also not be immediate; countries take at a minimum five years and often over a decade to join the EU. There are other potential candidates such as Moldova, with a lower GDP per capita, which has been touted as a potential member by Romania [1] . Cape Verde has a service based economy, like many EU member states. It is already a member of the WTO, and has had good solid economic growth [2] . Moreover the entire accession process is built around helping potential member states achieve these criteria, and Cape Verde, due to its small size, would not face the biggest challenges to get in.\n\nThere is no reason why Cape Verde joining the EU is somehow impractical on an economic level.\n\n[1] Nn, “Romania urges EU membership date for Moldova”, Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, 19 March 2014, http://www.rferl.org/content/moldova-eu-membership-romania/25302886.html\n\n[2] World Bank, “Cabo Verde Data”, data.worldbank.org, http://data.worldbank.org/country/cape-verde\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "24254a9dce2047415d00d2828b838bce", "text": "africa europe house believes cape verdes regional future lies europe not EU member states regularly have territories even further abroad than off the coast of West Africa – including even territory on the mainland of South America, French Guiana, a French overseas region. Cyprus is an EU member state too, in the Eastern Mediterranean sea sandwiched between Turkey and Syria. Cyprus is over 300 miles from any other EU territory, over water. In an era of telecommunications and international trade, is this distance too much of a problem?\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "16be03008b23b78aad43329f565ab43c", "text": "africa europe house believes cape verdes regional future lies europe not That’s what the status is now. If Africa is indeed rising, surely that is a better bet for Cape Verde? Cape Verde is already being integrated into Africa; it is a member of the Economic Community of West African States. There is an intention for these regional African communities to at some point merge into a market stretching across Africa; The African Economic Community. Cape Verde should increase its integration with a community it is already a member of.\n\nLooking to the European Union also ignores China, India and other important economise – including millions of fellow Portuguese speakers in Brazil, one of the much touted BRIC economies.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "03e0d95cb23da8a4badbabb6f2a55365", "text": "africa europe house believes cape verdes regional future lies europe not Schengen membership is not the same as EU membership – some non-EU states, such as Switzerland are part of Schengen, the UK and Ireland are EU member states but are not. Joining Schengen would involve the politically sensitive issue of undocumented migrants, which could not only be fatal to Cape Verde joining Schengen but to integration with Europe itself. Even if it is unlikely, is it that difficult for people to show a passport?\n\nBesides, tourism is not just from Europe to outside – a Euro move would only stop Europeans from needing to change currencies. The peg is the best of both worlds in that it means that the currency is stable.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f1fda626f9398d017179a23803d58ead", "text": "africa europe house believes cape verdes regional future lies europe not While Cape Verde may have a history and culture that is closer to Europe than all other African states this does not mean it does not have an African culture. There are of course many African states all with their own histories, culture and independence dates – from Ethiopia in time immemorial through Namibia in the 1990s to the birth of South Sudan. Some will have more in common with European states than others.\n\nCape Verde has strong links to Africa; much of its population were originally slaves brought from Africa. The World Factbook gives its ethnic groups as 71% Creole (mulatto) – mixed race, 28% African, and only 1% European. [1] With its population being descended from slavery despite its history having been controlled by Europeans its peoples’ historical experience is more in line with other African countries that were the victims of slavery.\n\n[1] Central Intelligence Agency, ‘Cabo Verde’, The World Factbook, 11 April 2014, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cv.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f2297f35c9d2cfe6e07d4d93355ff0e2", "text": "africa europe house believes cape verdes regional future lies europe not Joining Europe is unrealistic\n\nA move towards the European sphere of influence might seem logical, but success is not guaranteed. In terms of population, Cape Verde would be the second smallest EU member state after Malta meaning it would have little influence over the Union when it joins. And there is little reason for the EU to desire Cape Verde’s membership as it will provide no real gains to the Union.\n\nAlso, its human development index is lower than that of Iraq [1] , over fifty places behind that of lowest EU member state Bulgaria – which when it comes to governance and development is subject to little more than ridicule in the media of other member states. Not every European nation would get in on economic criteria – Moldova joining is not likely in the near future either.\n\nThe only success from orientating towards Europe would be a burning of continental bridges with Africa.\n\n[1] Central Intelligence Agency, ‘Iraq’, The World Factbook, 11 April 2014, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/iz.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fce59f6473d6eb40d96c979f604904cd", "text": "africa europe house believes cape verdes regional future lies europe not Geographical stretch too far\n\nCape Verde is just too far from Europe – it is 400 miles off the coast of Senegal compared to almost 1,900 miles from the Portuguese mainland. [1] The European Union has never had a member from Africa, and neither have other European institutions such as the Council of Europe. [2] The Canary Islands and similar archipelagos are not helpful as a precedent because they are integral parts of other nations that are themselves clearly positioned on the European continent.\n\nThe sole condition for EU membership is that the applicant must be a European state, something Cape Verde is not. Would the EU really be willing to have a member so far from it as a full member, when Morocco, just across the strait of Gibraltar, was rejected for that reason? [3]\n\n[1] ‘Distance from Praia to…’, timeanddate.com, http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/distances.html?n=685\n\n[2] ‘Member States’, coe.int, http://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/country-profiles\n\n[3] ‘Legal questions of enlargement’, Briefing No 23, europarl.europa.eu, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/enlargement/briefings/23a2_en.htm#F7\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8cbe21b76664ade339a1eda8b8d50e7c", "text": "africa europe house believes cape verdes regional future lies europe not Its the economy, stupid!\n\nCape Verde doesn’t dislike West Africa – it just has no real economic connection to the region. Cape Verde’s main economic partners are in Europe, with over half of imports coming from Portugal and The Netherlands, and more than three quarters of exports going to Spain and Portugal together [1] .\n\nIf Cape Verde were to join the EU Internal Market, as discussed [2] , it would give Cape Verdean exports total unfettered access to the whole market and integrate them in to the systems of standards. Joining would mean lower tariffs so in turn Cape Verde goods being exported would be cheaper in their main European market so boosting exports while imports would be cheaper for consumers in Cape Verde meaning the residents are able to buy more.\n\n[1] Central Intelligence Agency, ‘Cabo Verde’, The World Factbook, 11 April 2014, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cv.html\n\n[2] ‘Cape Verde could seek EU membership this year’, EUbusiness, 7 May 2005, http://www.eubusiness.com/europe/portugal/050507114923.9ivv9852\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "793c1d4359fda3c4c663b6272d99d044", "text": "africa europe house believes cape verdes regional future lies europe not EU membership is good for tourism\n\nTourism is a key industry for Cape Verde. The archipelago is a popular destination for many from Europe. While the country is resource poor in terms of natural resources, three quarters of the country’s GDP comes from services [1] .\n\nIntegration with Europe could see a number of advantages. The Schengen agreement allows visa free, and border control free, travel between its members so this would mean a potential boom in the tourist industry. Joining the Euro would also mean a common currency with other European nations – the Cape Verde Escudo is already pegged to the Euro, and prior to that, it was pegged to the Portuguese Escudo.\n\n[1] Central Intelligence Agency, ‘Cabo Verde’, The World Factbook, 11 April 2014, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cv.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f440a96fd2a0073416ce9a1ef0035dcb", "text": "africa europe house believes cape verdes regional future lies europe not Cultural links\n\nCape Verde is not a good fit with the much of the history of Africa. It has been joined at the hip with Europe, if other things had gone other ways this debate would not be happening as the islands could have remained an integral part of Portugal as with Madeira and the Azores. Not all Cape Verdeans do consider themselves to be Africans [1] .\n\nCape Verde culturally and historically has more in common with Europe. It has a longer standing relationship with a European state than other African nations that were colonized; it was first settled by the Portuguese in 1462 and unlike much of Africa it was uninhabited before Europeans arrived [2] . It history has therefore been one that is linked to Europe not Africa.\n\nA future orientated towards Europe would not have to be culturally exclusive. Cape Verde would not be giving up its independence, any more than Ireland gave up its independence by becoming part of the European Union. Cape Verde would still be free to explore cultural and historical links with Africa.\n\n[1] See Duarte, Diana, “Diana Duarte on Blackness and Cape Verde”, Unchain Africa Press, 2009, http://unchainafrica.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/diana-duarte-on-blackness-and-cape-verde/\n\n[2] Schultz, Colin, “These are all the places Europeans actually discovered”, Smithsonian.com, 16 August 2013, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-are-all-the-places-that-europeans-actually-discovered-139755/?no-ist\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
d51b98ecc5ecf292551587ea44f69b0f
The Gulf states want to solve the root of the refugee crisis; getting rid of Assad Gulf countries have been trying to fix the problem politically rather than taking in a few refugees, which would be beneficial to most of the Syrians? The vast majority of Syrians would prefer to go home to a Syria with the civil war over and preferably with Assad gone. The gulf starts, are the main powers working to see this happen. While the US has helped arm some rebel groups the funding for this was provided by Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states have gone further than the west in terms of providing arms. [1] [1] Mazzetti, Mark and Apuzzo, Matt, ‘U.S. Relies Heavily on Saudi Money to Support Syrian Rebels’, The New York Times, 23 January 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/24/world/middleeast/us-relies-heavily-on-saudi-money-to-support-syrian-rebels.html?_r=0
[ { "docid": "d056792684f548af5023f0e0a49a082f", "text": "middle east society immigration minorities house believes gulf states The effort to fund and arm the rebels has not shown any result, it’s been over 4 years and yet nothing has solved the problem. Rather the situation has got steadily worse with moderate opposition first losing out to Daesh, and then to Assad since Russian air support tipped the balance. Arming rebel groups simply helps to perpetuate the civil war and ensure that refugees cannot return home.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "7990de6ebc071af66c3ccd9282454392", "text": "middle east society immigration minorities house believes gulf states Refugees can’t be choosers in a situation where their country has been destroyed. A survey conducted among refugees arriving in Germany showed that around 68% of the people fled just to save themselves from the imminent threat. [1] The Gulf States may not be a model of democracy and human rights but migrants would be considerably safer than in Syria.\n\n[1] Von Martin, ‘Survey amongst Syrian refugees in Germany – Backgrounds’, adopt a revolution, 7 October 2015, https://www.adoptrevolution.org/en/survey-amongst-syrian-refugees-in-germany-backgrounds/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3aa8db187afda966d75e504e66024192", "text": "middle east society immigration minorities house believes gulf states The incidents that occurred in Europe were involving native Europeans themselves, although they did travel to and back from Syria.\n\nJust like Europe could have home grown terrorists, the same likeliness applies to the gulf states. In fact statistics even show that one of the highest number of recruits for Daesh has been those from Saudi Arabia. [1]\n\n[1] The Economist, ‘It ain’t half hot here, mum’, 28 August 2014, http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21614226-why-and-how-westerners-go-fight-syria-and-iraq-it-aint-half-hot-here-mum\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6e271959e495985dbdebef835a683d56", "text": "middle east society immigration minorities house believes gulf states Moral responsibility is not about comparisons if it were then what about those European countries that have not been open armed like in Hungary they have made it illegal to help Syrian refugees [1] . Riot police in Hungary have used teargas and water cannon to send them off. [2] Saudi Arabia has been doing enough to account for its moral responsibility; it has given residency to 100,000 Syrians. [3]\n\n[1] Frayer, Lauren, ‘Risking Arrest, Thousands of Hungarians offer help to refugees’, NPR, 29 September 2015, http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/09/29/444447532/risking-arrest-thousands-of-hungarians-offer-help-to-refugees\n\n[2] Weaver, Matthew, and Siddique, Haroon, ‘Refugee crisis: Hungary uses teargas and water cannon at Serbia border – as it happened’, theguardian.com, 16 September 2015, www.theguardian.com/world/live/2015/sep/16/first-refugees-head-for-croatia-after-hungarys-border-crackdown-live-updates\n\n[3] The Guardian, ‘Saudi Arabia says criticism of Syria refugee response ‘false and misleading’, 12 September 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/12/saudi-arabia-says-reports-of-its-syrian-refugee-response-false-and-misleading\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "48d845b4250953941ff4288fce94cf99", "text": "middle east society immigration minorities house believes gulf states Unfortunately the refugee crisis is not happening at a good time economically for the Gulf. Oil prices have slumped. As a result there is a turbulent economy with many losing their jobs. [1] There is high levels of competition for those jobs that do exist and in the gulf people often get their jobs through influence (Wasta, as it is known in gulf countries) of acquaintances/friends, which would serve to shut refugees out of the jobs market.\n\n[1] Reuters, ‘FGB announces 100 job cuts in UAE’, Gulf News, 24 November 2015, http://gulfnews.com/business/sectors/banking/fgb-announces-100-job-cuts-in-uae-1.1625342\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0c4dc7027a82849e2430d7b82517611e", "text": "middle east society immigration minorities house believes gulf states Taking in refugees is not the only thing that countries can contribute in combating the Syria refugee crisis. Gulf countries are known to have donated a total of around £589m in addition to other aid they have delivered. This is vital to make the camps that have sprung up along Syria’s borders liveable.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f312a65629e104450881e47e0db0c6b5", "text": "middle east society immigration minorities house believes gulf states The affinity as a result of joint linguistic and cultural ties between Syrians and the gulf may be of little use if the refugees are heavily restricted in where they live or can do. If they are put into camps with little contact with the outside world the refugees could simply be cut off from this social network. Syria’s neighbours have generally been unwilling to integrate refugee populations; Jordan has had Palestinian refugees for almost half a century yet nearly 370,000 are still in refugee camps. [1]\n\n[1] ‘Where we work; Jordan’ United Nations Relief and Works Agency, 1 July 2014, http://www.unrwa.org/where-we-work/jordan\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d211814abc32c512f9c7727d01f5aa47", "text": "middle east society immigration minorities house believes gulf states ISIS could infiltrate to Gulf States\n\nThe 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris show that ISIS has the ability to infiltrate countries through refugees. Although the participants in these attacks had been living in France and Brussels some had also been to fight in Syria and at least one, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, returned along the migrant route. [1] This shows that influxes of refugees could pose great threat to gulf countries and Daesh has already claimed terrorist attacks in Kuwait. [2] Even before the rise of ISIS gulf states were concerned about the security risks posed by migrant workers with Bahrain’s Minister of Labour Majid Al-Alawi stating migrant workers are a strategic threat. [3]\n\n[1] Holehouse, Matthew, and Samuel, Henry, ‘Terrorist ringleader got into EU as ‘refugee’’, The Telegraph, 20 November 2015, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/12006892/International-manhunt-underway-after-French-police-let-Paris-attacks-suspect-slip-through-their-fingers.html\n\n[2] Cafiero, Giorgio, ‘The ‘Islamic State’ Attacks Kuwait’, Huffington Post, 1 July 2015, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/giorgio-cafiero/the-islamic-state-attacks_b_7690374.html\n\n[3] Rahman, Anisur, ‘Migration and Human Rights in the Gulf’, Middle East Institute, 2 February 2010, http://www.mei.edu/content/migration-and-human-rights-gulf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7b2c96ad9faa9766e9e88d584fb2baf6", "text": "middle east society immigration minorities house believes gulf states The Gulf states are themselves not bastions of freedom\n\nSyrians are leaving Syria as a result of a civil war born out of the Arab Spring, it was an attempt to gain more freedom within a dictatorship. [1] Such a population is unlikely to wish to move to a country where freedoms are often restricted. All the countries of the Gulf are monarchies, often with only the barest touch of democracy electing rubber stamp parliaments. Organisations such as Human Rights Watch have highlighted the violence which many migrants suffer and large numbers are exploited. [2]\n\n[1] Ali, Jasim, ‘Gulf states need to aim higher on freedom parameter’, Gulf News, 4 September 2015, http://gulfnews.com/business/analysis/gulf-states-need-to-aim-higher-on-freedom-parameter-1.1578190\n\n[2] Begum, Rothna, ‘Gulf States Fail to Protect Domestic Workers From Serious Violence’, hrw.org, 16 October 2015, https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/10/16/gulf-states-fail-protect-domestic-workers-serious-violence\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "312e748daee53c8a1b184950e66ef6a0", "text": "middle east society immigration minorities house believes gulf states The Gulf states have a moral responsibility to take in Syrian refugees\n\nIt is a moral responsibility for gulf states to take in Syrian refugees both in terms of common humanity and as they all belong to the same culture and regional organisations (i.e. The Arab League). The numbers taken by the gulf states look particularly irresponsible looking it as a comparison to the number that European countries have taken in. Amnesty International has accused the gulf states of offering zero resettlement places. [1]\n\n[1] Amnesty International, ‘Facts & Figures: Syria refugee crisis & international resettlement’, 5 December 2014, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2014/12/facts-figures-syria-refugee-crisis-international-resettlement/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "cccfeeec1b51b435ba822a2879117582", "text": "middle east society immigration minorities house believes gulf states European countries have taken in a huge number of refugees while gulf states have taken none\n\nThere were 1,294,000 claims for asylum in Europe in 2015 with more than a fifth of these coming originally from Syria. [1] Although many Arab states have shouldered their share of the burden, particularly neighbouring Jordan and Lebanon, the Gulf at the same time have taken in almost nil refugees. The Gulf states are rich countries, particularly by comparison to their neighbours that are taking up the burden. Per capita income in Jordan is $5,160 compared to $25,140 in Saudi Arabia and $44,600 in UAE as such they can afford to do much more. [2]\n\n[1] BBC News, ‘Migrant crisis: Migration to Europe explained in seven charts’, 18 February 2016, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34131911\n\n[2] World Bank, data.worldbank.org, http://data.worldbank.org/country/jordan\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d280841a498b3a54bc0dbdab82f97e6f", "text": "middle east society immigration minorities house believes gulf states The Gulf states are a convenient place to settle Syrian refugees\n\nWith language being the basis of communication, and most of the gulf state’s population speaking in Arabic, which is the language widely spoken by Syrians the Gulf states are a natural choice to take in refugees. Syria and the Gulf states also have similar cultures. Both of these make it easier for refugees to interact with natives, build up a social network, and find work. Studies from the US have implied that it is best to send migrants (refugees) to places where there is such a network they can quickly plug into which improves the prospects of the migrants getting jobs. [1]\n\n[1] Beaman, Lori A., ‘Social Networks and the Dynamics of Labour Market Outcomes: Evidence from Refugees Resettled in the U.S.’, Berkeley University, 15 November 2006, http://are.berkeley.edu/documents/seminar/JMP_Social%20Networks.pdf , P.31\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a005d34992112fb5e46169270508d841", "text": "middle east society immigration minorities house believes gulf states Gulf countries could benefit from refugees\n\nJust like Gulf countries have greatly benefitted from expat immigration, the U.A.E being a great example of such growth where the expat population is estimated to be 84% of the UAE population [1] , Gulf countries in the same way can make use of Syrian refugees immigrating. Syrian refugees can provide cheap labour on the Gulf states ambitious construction projects as well as helping to provide an educated workforce that can help diversify the gulf states economies away from oil.\n\n[1] Al Qassemi, Sultan Sooud, ‘Give expats and opportunity to earn UAE citizenship’, Gulf News, 22 September 2013, http://gulfnews.com/opinion/thinkers/give-expats-an-opportunity-to-earn-uae-citizenship-1.1234167\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
dfda86f5eed2f82643d880e2c89d3957
Justice is important Justice is important in its own right, for the victims of the atrocities and for the development of Kenya. Victims have a right under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [1] to have access to justice. Being elected should not be a blanket ban from being prosecuted for your crimes. In fact, the rule of law establishes the principle that leaders are subject to the same laws as all citizens. By seeing leaders being prosecuted for crimes, everyone sees the system working, allowing citizens to trust and buy further into the democratic system. As a consequence, the pursuit of justice is the most important factor above and beyond any claims of interference. [1] Article 8, Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
[ { "docid": "7dbdf4b41bf12c552463f3962081a353", "text": "africa law international law house believes uhuru kenyatta indictment was Justice can still be sought by either local courts or after Kenyatta’s term ends. Justice should be done without ICC interference in the domestic affairs of Kenya. Even so, this does not seem like the pursuit of justice by the ICC, rather a witch hunt by the ICC for African leaders [1] .\n\n[1] ‘African Union accuses ICC of ‘hunting’ Africans’, BBC News, 27 May 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22681894\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "19f40ff4c9c9ff88fc02572ffa8b1d2a", "text": "africa law international law house believes uhuru kenyatta indictment was The Kenyan Parliament decided against creating a special tribunal, the court should not have then gone over the elected representatives’ head to hand the case to the ICC. The Parliament has since shown its displeasure at the ICC’s interference by voting to leave the ICC entirely. [1]\n\n[1] AP, ‘Kenya votes to leave ICC days before deputy president’s Hague trial’, The Guardian, 5 September 2013, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/05/kenya-icc-international-criminal-court\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "47a9f1a48c5354bdb1b92fbde562dfb8", "text": "africa law international law house believes uhuru kenyatta indictment was Justice for violence is not fundamental to peace, as can be seen by the comparatively peaceful 2013 elections. Having now established working relationship between ethnic communities, why stoke the fire by prosecuting community leaders? 60% of Kenyans say they do not believe that the case even if it runs to a conclusion will not help heal Kenya. [1]\n\n[1] Wanyama, 2014\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3fbf1cc5c704ad1ef32f766ebffa6a49", "text": "africa law international law house believes uhuru kenyatta indictment was Being leader should not allow you blanket immunity from persecution of crimes. If an agreement was able to be reached for these two men, surely a similar agreement can reached for others. Stability might be undermined more if leaders who are proven to committing war crimes are allowed to remain in power where they may do so again.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e31cbf29792ba0f997f58e89d43bf2d4", "text": "africa law international law house believes uhuru kenyatta indictment was Far from too much interference that the trial is on the point of collapse shows there has not been enough. The ICC has found itself unable to protect witnesses, with the result that there have been two withdrawals. Both the defence [1] and the prosecutor claim there has been witness intimidation in the trial. [2]\n\n[1] ‘Kenyatta lawyers demand trial scrapped, say witnesses intimidated’, reuters, 10 October 2013, http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/10/us-kenya-icc-defence-idUSBRE9990W820131010\n\n[2] Sterling, Toby, ‘Kenyatta war crimes trial: Prosecutor asks for delay after witnesses withdeaw in case against Kenyan President’, The Independent, 20 December 2013, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/kenyatta-war-crimes-trial-prosecutor-asks-for-delay-after-witnesses-withdraw-in-case-against-kenyan-president-9017339.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "afe0f960814a012e5809b63f02c9eb55", "text": "africa law international law house believes uhuru kenyatta indictment was In the five years since the violence occurred, very little action has occurred from the domestic forces; there have been only two murder convictions for the 1200 deaths. [1] Furthermore, these forces are working for the people they are meant to be investigating. The case of Kenyatta has seen accusations of witness intimidation on large scales, meaning objectivity in local courts is very unlikely to occur [2] . The result of the Waki commission was to hand over alleged perpetrators to the ICC directly, showing that Kenya felt the need to rely on this international framework [3] .\n\n[1] ‘Kenya: Prosecute Perpetrators of Post-Election Violence’, Human Rights Watch, 9 December 2011, http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/12/09/kenya-prosecute-perpetrators-post-election-violence\n\n[2] ‘Perceptions and Realities:Kenya and the International Criminal Court’, Human Rights Watch, 14 November 2013, http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/11/14/perceptions-and-realities-kenya-and-international-criminal-court\n\n[3] Wachira, Muchemi, ‘Annan did not ambush Kenya says Justice minister’, Daily Nation, 13 July 2009, http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/623306/-/ukx8q9/-/index.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "aa2ab8764cf2b733d59f54042e1276f0", "text": "africa law international law house believes uhuru kenyatta indictment was It would seem to undermine democracy to allow a president accused of violence during an election to continue to serve. Elections are only one part of a democracy; another is a functioning and respected rule of law. When the president has charges to answer he should stand down, at least temporarily. It is wrong to assume that someone who is elected as representative should have some form of immunity and that outside forces should not be able to investigate him; a president has a lot of power to repress minorities. That repression being supported by a democratic minority does not make it any less wrong. Moreover Kenyatta was elected with 50.07% of the vote, not an overwhelming endorsement. [1]\n\n[1] Gatehouse, Gabriel, ‘Kenya Supreme Court upholds Uhuru Kenyatta election win’, BBC News, 30 March 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21979298\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0cfab454b35da08b8a5f5e088a796eab", "text": "africa law international law house believes uhuru kenyatta indictment was Breaks cycles of violence\n\nWhen violence is not punished, it tends to lead to more violence – such as the lack of prosecutions following the violence occurring after the 1992 and 1997 elections, to which people attribute to the air of impunity in the 2007 elections. This is firstly because people never heal from the initial violence – when justice is not seen to be done, they remain angry and partisan. Secondly however, a lack of retribution leads to increased confidence to repeat and exacerbate acts.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7944f25c9b68919439bd28755892c601", "text": "africa law international law house believes uhuru kenyatta indictment was Kenyans wanted the investigation\n\nIt cannot be unwelcome interference in Kenya’s internal affairs when it was Kenyans who invited the ICC in. It was the Kenyan government that set up the Waki commission under Kenyan Court of Appeals Judge Philip Waki into the violence. It was then this commission that decided to pass the results of its investigation on to the ICC in order to get prosecutions due to the failure to set up a special tribunal. [1] The Kenyan government may have disliked the final outcome of its creation of such a commission but it was undoubtedly asked for by the Kenyan judiciary. Moreover until it became clear that the trial could collapse Kenyans were largely supportive with more than half the country supporting the trial. [2]\n\n[1] Justice Initiative Kenya Monitor\n\n[2] Maliti, Tom, ‘New opinion poll finds rise in support for ICC; many want Kenyatta to attend trial’, Kenya Monitor, 15 November 2013, http://www.icckenya.org/2013/11/new-opinion-poll-finds-rise-in-support-for-icc-many-want-kenyatta-to-attend-trial/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a0b37995c73d1da54e43fa3f7de1e9cf", "text": "africa law international law house believes uhuru kenyatta indictment was Having the president out of the country undermines stability\n\nWhile Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto have been visiting the ICC, they should have been leading their countries. While the indictment has occurred both have remained the leaders of their countries, but have been absent while major events such as the Westgate shootings occurred. Despite the need to strong leadership in the midst of a potentially divisive event, Ruto was only granted one week away from trial. [1] Having a clear and stable leadership is important for Kenya to develop, restrict violence and ensure that policy development is able to continue, particularly given the cross-ethnic powering sharing arrangement between Kenyatta and Ruto. Absence of leadership during the fear and uncertainty surrounding this event might lead to a fresh round of violence as supporters take to the streets in protest – this election had put former enemies Kenyatta and Ruto together, easing ethnic tensions in the region [2] .\n\n[1] Ndonga, Wamubi, ‘Kenya: Ruto Can Return to Kenya For A Week Over Westgate – ICC’, allAfrica, 23 September 2013, http://allafrica.com/stories/201309230358.html\n\n[2] ‘Will Africa pull out of the ICC?’, BBC News, 11 October 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24452288\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e759116a76326823340ca30fc9c55782", "text": "africa law international law house believes uhuru kenyatta indictment was Kenya can prosecute these crimes itself\n\nKenya has a functioning judiciary and police force. They have successfully prosecuted some individuals for these crimes and it should be left to Kenya to deliver justice for itself. There have been several cases brought before the courts. [1] Kenyans overwhelmingly see the ICC is ‘imperialist’, and 61% want the ICC to terminate its case against Kenyatta. [2] If and when Kenya’s leaders should be tried should be left to the domestic judiciary to decide.\n\n[1] Nebehay, Stephanie, ‘UN urges Kenya to probe violence after 2007 elections’, Reuters, 26 July 2012, http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/26/ozatp-kenya-un-rights-idAFJOE86P07M20120726?sp=true\n\n[2] Wanyama, Henry, ‘Kenya: 61 Percent of Kenyans Want ICC Cases Dropped – Poll’, allAfrica, 1 February 2014, http://allafrica.com/stories/201402030215.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1687b175aafeac02969131c9bb4a34df", "text": "africa law international law house believes uhuru kenyatta indictment was The ICC indictment undermines democracy\n\nUhuru Kenyatta is a sitting president of a democratic nation. This means that he was elected by the people to serve them. By indicting a sitting leader, you undermine their ability to rule the country as they will be forced to spend long periods outside their country focusing on something that is irrelevant to the governance of their country. The ICC has demanded that Kenyatta and Ruto attend the trial in person. [1] By forcing the President and Deputy President to spend long hours away from the country involved in a trial the ICC is effectively disenfranchising the people who voted from him to be their leader. Further, Kenyatta is first and foremost accountable to the Kenyan people, who have chosen him as leader despite these claims. It is clearly unwelcome interference by the ICC for the court to take the President away from his duties.\n\n[1] Statement by ICC, ‘Kenyatta case: ICC Trial Chamber V(b) reviews decision on presence of accused at trial’, whereiskenya.com, 27 November 2013, http://whereiskenya.com/icc-judges-kenyatta-case-videolink-kenyatta-must-person-5th-february/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "dffe6464cf17a7e2a1345a5a781638f8", "text": "africa law international law house believes uhuru kenyatta indictment was A pointless trial that victimizes African leaders\n\nWhile the ICC feels free to interfere with African countries it would never dare to do so in a western country; leaders such as George Bush, Tony Blair, Nicholas Sarkozy and others who have launched various armed interventions have not been put on trial. Not only is it victimization and interference the trial of Kenyatta is also likely to be pointless; it is on the point of collapse. The prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has stated “Having carefully considered my evidence and the impact of the two withdrawals, I have come to the conclusion that currently the case against Mr. Kenyatta does not satisfy the high evidentiary standards required at trial”. [1]\n\n[1] AFP, ‘'Not enough evidence for Kenyatta trial': ICC prosecutor’, Google, 19 December 2013, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gogR-q3dBDCH4lzeEEnUnA4kfGag?docId=271e8feb-da06-4fd8-a859-9cc7c1e5a0f6\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
3873b074af46231661c5e17ad4357365
The foreign aid budget can be made more effective and transparent While a second Obama administration is not going to cut back on foreign aid the Obama campaign however, does argue for pragmatic budgetary approaches to foreign aid, [1] creating transparency measures [2] to ensure that “assistance [is] more transparent, accountable and effective”. [3] The Obama administration has signed the Busan Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation [4] which makes transparency a key pillar of overseas development [5] and has succeeded in significantly increasing transparency; in 2010 the U.S. was ranked 24th [6] in Quality of Official Development Assistance rankings on transparency, by 2012 it had moved up to 9th. [7] It is also clear how beneficial transparency is for the recipients of aid; Uganda implemented Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys in 1996. Surveys had shown that only 13% of funds for schools was actually getting to the schools but the introduction of PETS increased this to between 80-90% simply because it was public that the school should have received money. [8] [1] ‘U.S. Foreign Aid By Country’, Huffington Post, 30 August 2012. [2] Foreignassistance.gov. [3] Shah, Rajiv, ‘Improving the Quality and Effectiveness of International Development Aid’, The White House Blog, 1 December 2011. [4] ‘Busan Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation’, busanhlf4.org, 29 November – 1 December 2011. [5] Atwood, Brian, ‘The Benefits of Transparency in Development’, OECD Insights, 3 April 2012. [6] Baker, Gavin, ‘U.S. Scores Poorly on Transparency of Foreign Aid Spending’, OMB Watch, 7 October 2010. [7] ‘Transparency and Learning’, Global Economy and Development at Brookings, 2012. [8] ‘Empowerment Case Studies: Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys – Application in Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana and Honduras’, World Bank.
[ { "docid": "9c48d0e72608d779e02f179d9d366bba", "text": "americas politics politics general obama vs romney should united states Everyone is for transparency when it is taxpayers’ money that is being spent however transparency does not make it a worthwhile investment. Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary General says that “Last year, corruption prevented 30 per cent of all development assistance from reaching its final destination.” [1] This means huge amounts of money is not helping development as it is meant to. Obama’s transparency initiatives will no doubt help show what the US is spending and where but will it tell us who else benefits? Moreover the administration’s record on aid transparency is very patchy; some budgets like the Millennium Challenge Corporation, created by the Republicans during the Bush Administration, are very transparent while big departments like State and Treasury are just the opposite. [2]\n\n[1] ‘At high-level discussion, UN officials highlight costs of corruption on societies’, UN News Centre, 9 July 2012.\n\n[2] ‘2011 Pilot Aid Transparency Index’, Publish What You Fund, 2012.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "5720a8b8d498f169799ef1be3a78fbc2", "text": "americas politics politics general obama vs romney should united states While it is undoubtedly true that some foreign aid money will flow into the hands of US firms it is wrong to argue that this is beneficial to the economy. What needs to be considered is not just whether some aid money ends up in the hands of Americans but whether that same money could be spent in such a way where more of it would. The answer is undoubtedly yes. The same money would benefit the economy much more if handed back to the citizen to spend themselves or directly invested in the United States. The developing world would then in turn benefit because more Americans spending means more purchasing of goods made in developing countries. The United States exports $2-3billion worth of goods to Africa every month while it imports around $6billion [1] clearly then Africa is benefiting from trade with the United States and more spending in the United States will benefit Africa.\n\n[1] ‘Trade in Goods with Africa’, U.S. Department of Commerce United States Census Bureau, 2012.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b2d132f54f82938cca576861f5ba5472", "text": "americas politics politics general obama vs romney should united states Aid does not benefit national security; there are two ways to increase national security. First is to increase spending on those agencies that maintain national security; the Department of Defense and the intelligence agencies. Second is by expanding the economy which provides the necessary wealth to maintain national security. Foreign aid clearly does not benefit national security because the recipient will spend it how they want and often this will be in ways that are detrimental to U.S. security, whether this is though the aid being spent on products from China or being lost to corruption. Aid from the United States has often not been beneficial in the past the U.S. gave Egypt $1.5 billion per year in aid [1] yet is now controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood, Pakistan received $963 million and yet supports the Taliban fighting against the US in Afghanistan. [2]\n\n[1] Holan, Angie Drobnic, ‘Egypt got more foreign aid than anyone besides Israel, says New York Times Columnist Ross Douthat’, Tampa Bay Times, 4 February 2011.\n\n[2] Bajoria, Jayshree, ‘The ISI and Terrorism: Behind the Accusations’, Council on Foreign Relations, 4 May 2011.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6c8c41686127bbf8b61fe135987480e6", "text": "americas politics politics general obama vs romney should united states It is wrong to be expanding the aid budget at a time of economic crisis when the government is dramatically failing to balance its books. The list of things that the Obama administration wants to do with aid are either things that are best left to the military and intelligence services such as combating terrorism and transnational crime, or are areas where the United States has no responsibility to be providing assistance such as global education and health. The reality is that there are not rising commitments for foreign aid; far from it. The number of people in absolute poverty (less than $1.25 per day) has declined from 1.91 billion in 1990 to 1.29 billion in 2008 despite a rapidly rising population. [1] Moreover it is not foreign aid that is bringing about this decline but trade and the resulting economic growth in developing countries. [2] It is therefore completely the wrong strategy to be increasing foreign aid to tackle these problems.\n\n[1] ‘Poverty’, The World Bank, March 2012.\n\n[2] Chandy, Laurence, and Gertz, Geoffrey, ‘With Little Notice, Globalization Reduced Poverty’, YaleGlobal, 5 July 2011.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "cbf627ba5a8880914fe9a493f9d9a08e", "text": "americas politics politics general obama vs romney should united states Foreign aid is a minute part of the US budget as Obama has correctly argued “[it is wrong to] suggest that we can somehow close our entire deficit by eliminating things like foreign aid, even though foreign aid makes up about 1% of our entire budget.” [1] So very little of the money the US is borrowing is being spent on foreign aid.\n\nIt is also wrong to assert that the US government debt is borrowing money from China as most government borrowing comes from the US private sector. [2] China owns a mere 9.3% of US government debt with the majority being owed either to US individuals and institutions (41.7%) or to the Social Security Trust Fund (17.1%). [3]\n\n[1] Geiger, Jacob, ‘Barak Obama says foreign aid makes up 1 percent of U.S. budget’, Tampa Bay Times, 13 April 2011.\n\n[2] Krugman, Paul, ‘Fear-of-China Syndrome’, The New York Times, 30 August 2012.\n\n[3] ‘Who Owns U.S. Debt’, RealClearPolicy, 2 April 2012.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "53d79e965dde55764f000f6442e2353c", "text": "americas politics politics general obama vs romney should united states The Obama administration accepts the need to maintain these global public goods. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has written “Strategically, maintaining peace and security across the Asia-Pacific is increasingly crucial to global progress, whether through defending freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, countering the proliferation efforts of North Korea, or ensuring transparency in the military activities of the region's key players.” [1] However it is wrong to maintain that this should be considered as a part of foreign aid instead the U.S. maintains the global commons because it gains most out of them, the U.S. military is the biggest beneficiary of freedom of navigation and of the maintenance of space as a global commons as they allow the military’s global reach to be maintained. [2]\n\nThe United States may not be legally obligated to provide foreign aid and international development efforts but there are moral obligations as President Kennedy recognised when creating USAID: \"There is no escaping our obligations: our moral obligations as a wise leader and good neighbor in the interdependent community of free nations – our economic obligations as the wealthiest people in a world of largely poor people, as a nation no longer dependent upon the loans from abroad that once helped us develop our own economy – and our political obligations as the single largest counter to the adversaries of freedom.\" [3] Today this is just as true as it was then; the United States is still one of the richest states on earth. Moreover there is an international target of 0.7% of GDP being spent overseas development assistance which the United States has signed up to and has been repeatedly re-endorsed since it was first adopted in 1970. [4]\n\n[1] Clinton, Hillary, ‘America’s Pacific Century’, Foreign Policy, November 2011.\n\n[2] Denmark, Abraham M., ‘Managing the Global Commons’, Washington Quarterly, 30 June 2010.\n\n[3] Kennedy, John F., ’90 – Special Message to the Congress on Foreign Aid.’, The American Presidency Project, 22 March 1961.\n\n[4] ‘The 0.7% ODA/GNI target – a history’, OSCE.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b579be350a63f448af25fe10268c5372", "text": "americas politics politics general obama vs romney should united states Yes trade can help lift people out of poverty. But in order to do so there needs to be the right conditions; there needs to be infrastructure, an educated and healthy population, and of course the country must be able to feed itself. No country is going to be able to trade its way to growth if its goods cannot reach international markets. Freer trade has not obviously been a driver of growth; poverty has fallen while the Doha round of trade liberalisation has got nowhere. [1] Instead the policies that have succeeded for China have been mercantilist policies, China may rely on trade to export its goods but it succeeded in creating its manufacturing capacity because of currency manipulation and government subsidies, things that anyone for free trade would be against. [2]\n\n[1] Chandy, Laurence, and Gertz, Geoffrey, ‘With Little Notice, Globalization Reduced Poverty’, YaleGlobal, 5 July 2011.\n\n[2] Prestowitz, Clyde, ‘China’s not breaking the rules. It’s playing a different game.’, Foreign Policy, 17 February 2012.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "aca391aab183edaebec43a97ea92855f", "text": "americas politics politics general obama vs romney should united states Foreign aid benefits the United States\n\nWhile foreign aid is obviously for the benefit of the recipient country that country is not the only one that benefits; U.S. business is often a major beneficiary. It does this in two ways: First they benefit directly through carrying out the contracts for supplying aid, for example Cargill was paid $96million for supplying food aid in 2010-11. [1] Secondly there are also indirect benefits. Through the work of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Obama administration hopes to “develop partnerships with countries committed to enabling the private sector investment that is the basis of sustained economic growth to open new markets for American goods, promote trade overseas, and create jobs here at home”. [2] Essentially, through foreign aid, both the economies of the developing world and the United States come out ahead. Even Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has been quoted as saying that the 1 percent the United States spends on foreign aid “not only saves millions of lives, it has an enormous impact on developing countries – which means it has an impact on our economy”. [3]\n\n[1] Provost, Claire, and Lawrence, Felicity, ‘US food aid programme criticised as ‘corporate welfare’ for grain giants’, guardian.co.uk, 18 July 2012.\n\n[2] ‘What we do’, USAID, 12 September 2012.\n\n[3] Worthington, Samuel, ‘US foreign aid benefits recipients – and the donor’, guardian.co.uk, 14 February 2011.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "84bd1221757e4a7d1c759ca5fe3ac714", "text": "americas politics politics general obama vs romney should united states The aid budget has to increase to meet rising commitments\n\nDespite a large national deficit, the Obama administration has stated over [1] and over [2] again that they have no plans to cut Official Development Assistance (ODA), and the 2011 budget reflects that by putting the United States on a path to double foreign assistance by 2015. [3] The Obama administration has requested $56 billion for international affairs in Fiscal Year 2013 that would go towards USAID funding and programs. [4] This would go a considerable way towards the target, first pledged in 1970, of rich countries committing 0.7% of GNP to Official Development Assistance. [5]\n\nThis increase is necessary because Obama has increasing commitments to meet. The administration wants to embrace the United Nations Millennium Development Goals [6] to cut global poverty by 2015 in hopes that foreign assistance can help countries build “healthy and educated communities, reduce poverty, develop markets, and generate wealth”. [7] The Obama administration wants to increase foreign assistance to make investments to combat terrorism, corruption and transnational crime, improve global education and health, reduce poverty, build global food security, expand the Peace Corps, address climate change, stabilize post-conflict states, and reinforce conflict prevention.\n\nIn a speech promoting good governance in Ghana, President Obama stated, “the true sign of success is not whether we are a source of aid that helps people scrape by—it is whether we are partners in building the capacity for transformational change.” [8] The goal remains to expand diplomatic and development capacity while renewing the United States as a global leader.\n\n[1] LaFranchi, Howard, ‘Obama at UN summit: foreign aid is ‘core pillar of American power’, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 September 2010.\n\n[2] Zeleny, Jeff, ‘Obama Outlines His Foreign Policy Views’, The New York Times, 24 April 2007.\n\n[3] ‘U.S. Department of State and Other International Programs’, Office of Management and Budget.\n\n[4] Troilo, Pete, ‘Ryan VP pick could yield clues on Romney’s foreign aid plans’, devex, 13 August 2012.\n\n[5] ‘The 0.7% target: An in depth-look’, Millennium Project, 2006.\n\n[6] We Can End Poverty 2015, UN.org.\n\n[7] ‘The Obama-Biden Plan’, Change.gov, 2008.\n\n[8] Wallis, William, ‘Obama calls for good governance in Africa’, Financial Times, 11 July 2009.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "bea7621a9193f885c9020a99b6fd72b5", "text": "americas politics politics general obama vs romney should united states Aid benefits National Security\n\nIn Obama’s 2012 campaign, promoting good governance through foreign aid makes sense for a range of foreign policy and development objectives. Through contributions in healthcare, education, poverty alleviation and infrastructure, investing in foreign aid and increasing the foreign aid budget will help create a more peaceful and safe global environment. Robert Gates, former US Secretary of Defense, has stated that “cutting aid jeopardizes US national security. It also creates a greater vacuum in so-called fragile states, which can easily be filled by those who do not have US interests at heart. There is no doubt that foreign assistance helps ward off future military conflicts.” [1] In much the same way as encouraging people to eat healthily will likely reduce expenditures on healthcare in the future so some spending on aid with resulting development and better perceptions of the United States can reduce conflicts in the future so saving money in the long run by preventing the need for expensive armed interventions.\n\n[1] Worthington, Samuel, ‘US foreign aid benefits recipients – and the donor’, guardian.co.uk, 14 February 2011.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1f1b69c0a34c2e90fca2e74d9b2db7ba", "text": "americas politics politics general obama vs romney should united states The focus should be on trade not on aid\n\nGovernor Romney does not prioritize encouraging good governance and stability abroad through foreign aid, and there have been no mentions of any plans to reduce global poverty, improve healthcare and engage in sustainable development. While foreign aid is not specifically mentioned in any campaign materials, “Mitt’s Plan” regarding Africa, for instance, declares, “a Romney administration will encourage and assist African nations to adopt policies that create business-friendly environments and combat governmental corruption.” Despite wanting to cut economic aid and contributions to the United Nations, World Bank and IMF, his campaign further argues, “greater market access across the continent for U.S. businesses will bolster job creation in Africa as well as in the United States.” [1] It is notable that the countries that have been most successful in reducing poverty have been those that have focused on trade to create economic growth rather than relying on aid; China has succeeded in bring its poverty down from 84% thirty years ago to 16% today through economic growth. [2] In spite of Romney’s calls for cutting foreign aid spending, his foreign policy is going to focus on international trade and job creation both domestically and abroad, which will benefit both the United States and international economies.\n\n[1] ‘Africa’, Romney Ryan.\n\n[2] Chandy, Laurence, and Gertz, Geoffrey, ‘With Little Notice, Globalization Reduced Poverty’, YaleGlobal, 5 July 2011.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "be20dbfde1c67e6eef757bd1774fe9fd", "text": "americas politics politics general obama vs romney should united states We should not be borrowing to fund foreign aid\n\nAs a fiscal conservative, Governor Mitt Romney believes that Americans and the United States economy will be better off cutting foreign aid expenses. In an October 2011 Republican primary debate, Romney passionately defended the GOP stance of questioning humanitarian assistance and foreign aid. He said, “I happen to think it doesn’t make a lot of sense for us to borrow money from the Chinese to go give to another country for humanitarian aid . . . . We ought to get the Chinese to take care of the people that are taking that borrowed money.” [1] This was a reference to the size of the deficit; currently Obama’s projected deficit for 2012 is $1.33 trillion [2] and much of that is borrowed from other countries and China has most holding $1.164 trillion as of June. [3] Romney’s campaign often compares President Barack Obama’s policies to those of Europe. He criticizes the Obama administration’s foreign assistance efforts as largely squandered by a fragmented Washington bureaucracy.\n\n[1] ‘Full Transcript CNN Western Republican Presidential Debate’, CNN, 18 October 2011.\n\n[2] ‘ Budget Overview’, Office of Management and Budget, 2012.\n\n[3] Capaccio, Tony, and Kruger, Daniel, ‘China’s U.S. Debt Holdings Aren’t Threat, Pentagon Says’, Bloomberg, 11 September 2012.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "69f4fa8845c9a3d3292be85d6fe861eb", "text": "americas politics politics general obama vs romney should united states US spending should focus on defence rather than aid\n\nRomney believes that the United States should be focusing more on national security; however this in turn does benefit other nations so could be considered aid. Governor Romney was quoted as saying “foreign aid has several elements. One of those elements is defense, is to make sure that we are able to have the defense resources we want in certain places of the world. That probably ought to fall under the Department of Defense budget rather than a foreign aid budget.” [1] When it focuses on its own national security the United States is providing public goods for the rest of the world. These include reducing the incentives for others to engage in the use of force – ‘the global policeman’, maintaining open global markets, maintaining a virtual commons in cyberspace, preventing weapons proliferation [2] and maintaining freedom of navigation just as the United States is doing in the South China Sea. [3] All of these to a greater or lesser extent need US military forces to maintain them.\n\nThe Romney campaign rejects the notion that the United States has an obligation to rely on foreign aid in its international development efforts, wanting to “[cut] the ongoing foreign aid commitments” and “[you] start everything from zero”. Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan, has proposed a budget that includes cutting international affairs and foreign assistance by 29 percent in 2012 and 44 percent by 2016, which would dramatically cut funds for USAID and their foreign aid programs. [4] The Republican party believes that cutting down all sorts of government spending, including international spending, would help bring the economy out of the deficit and back towards a balanced budget.\n\n[1] Rosenkranz, Rolf, ‘At GOP debate, presidential candidates vow to cut foreign aid’, devex, 20 October 2011.\n\n[2] Nye, Joseph S., ‘America and Global Public Goods’, Project Syndicate, 11 September 2007\n\n[3] Cronin, Dr. Patrick M., ‘Averting Conflict in the South China Sea’, Center for a New American Security, 4 September 2012.\n\n[4] Smith, Adam, et al., ‘U.S. foreign aid is not a luxury but a critical investment in global stability’, The Seattle Times, 17 April 2011.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
ef779354e96afb01b070f8842050f28f
It is unfair to new members of EU Not only are the largest recipients of CAP western countries – France, Spain and Germany - also the payments per hectare of arable lands differ significantly between new and old members of EU. The new members of EU with their economies often struggling and more dependent on agriculture (as is the case of Poland, Bulgaria or Romania) need more monetary support compared to their western counterparts to produce food of same quality and be competitive in EU market. However, the payments for hectare of land vary from 500€ in Greece to less than 100 € in Latvia. [1] These different conditions undermine the EU’s ethos of fairness and equality of countries. [1] EurActive, ‘Eastern EU states call for ‘bolder, speedier’ farm reforms’, 14 July 2011, http://www.euractiv.com/cap/eastern-eu-states-call-bolder-sp-news-506532
[ { "docid": "b809c9071a3795c1f4bb264d7c9870cf", "text": "ss economic policy international europe house believes eu should abandon The costs of starting and maintaining business in agriculture vary among European countries as well – the costs of additional materials can be much cheaper in for example Poland than in France. The costs of life vary among European countries as well. Subsidies which are sufficient for Polish farmers to live a decent life are simply not enough for French one. If one of the reasons behind this policy is to preserve traditional ways of life, then part of the role is to keep farmers out of relative poverty as well.\n\nAlso the current reform of CAP address these issues – the conditions for all countries should converge in the next years as there is a change replacing the Single Payment Scheme with a basic payment scheme. [1] It is a matter of setting the system right – not giving up on it altogether. Even for farmers in discriminated countries, it is far better that they receive some benefits than no benefits at all.\n\n[1] European Commission, ‘establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy’, Europa.eu, 19 October 2011, http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/cap-post-2013/legal-proposals/com625/625_en.pdf p.7\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "86f2f88e3183e603a1219eb3e66741c3", "text": "ss economic policy international europe house believes eu should abandon Even the larger companies can have difficulties in a market in which their consumers, the supermarkets, have so much power over prices. The result is often that supermarkets buy their produce at below the cost of production – as is happening with milk in the UK where it costs 30p per litre to produce but they are only being paid 25p per litre. [1] The costs of producing food in Europe even with mechanisation can be high because of the expensive workforce, and smaller farms on average than in the US. Therefore subsidies to larger companies are needed to keep even larger farmers in business. Often the larger companies involve smaller producers who produce the original, unique specialties and enjoy the stability of larger firm. It is hard to say that support of these companies is not useful.\n\n[1] BBC News, ‘Q&A: Milk prices row and how the system works’, 23 July 2012, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18951422\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a5f7fda73f382fa7614cb5bd3366cf4e", "text": "ss economic policy international europe house believes eu should abandon Developing countries often face a problem when the local people simply cannot afford food (for example as a result of drought or floods destroying local crops) – thus giving them food for greatly reduced price helps a lot of people to survive at day to day basis. Even for farmers they are unlikely to grow the full range of crops so benefit from being able to obtain cheap foodstuffs. These countries can also if they wish control their import tariffs to ensure that the price of European food is comparable to local one – it is not that they are entirely helpless. The local producers have other benefits given by European Union – reduced taxation on exported agricultural products and development help – which help to compensate for these possible detrimental effects. Even without these programs, EU is still the biggest importer of foodstuff from the developing world by a big margin – therefore in balance the developing countries still receive more than lose by these seldom exports from EU.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "12ca96ded9e57156dd2201f329db2b65", "text": "ss economic policy international europe house believes eu should abandon The importance of agricultural industry cannot be valued on the merit of how much percent of GDP it creates. It is one of the industries that are vital for the society as whole – without food the society cannot properly function. In the case of complicated world we are now living in food security – the ability to be self-sufficient in producing food at least to some degree – is important. Also agriculture is not the only industry which is subsidised – the subsidies to other industries such as coal and steel come directly from member states’ budget and not EU’s. Thus for example Germany subsidizes car production by about $1300 per vehicle. [1] The 40% figure is therefore deceptively high as it is the only industry through which subsidies go through the EU budget rather than individual member states.\n\n[1] Davison, Remy, ‘Far from pole on car subsidy grid’, Business Spectator, 26 July 2013, http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/7/26/industries/far-pole-car-subsidy-grid\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e84ee4571034b4760590f6a463f1cef9", "text": "ss economic policy international europe house believes eu should abandon In the current interconnected world it is hard to imagine a situation when the EU will be unable to buy enough food for its citizens on the global market. Countries of the EU are among the richest in the world and have enough soft power to negotiate favourable terms of trade from developing countries in nearly any situation. [1] Even if the subsidies created by CAP were abandoned, the agricultural industry will hardly be decimated. The numbers of farmers may decline, there would be consolidation into bigger farms, however there always will be markets where European food will be sold – due its regional specifics, high quality or simply patriotism, when people buy food produced in their own country to support it.\n\n[1] Zahrnt, Valentin, ‘Food Security and the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy: Facts against fears’, Ecipe Working paper, No. 1, 2011, http://www.reformthecap.eu/sites/default/files/Food%20Security%20Zahrnt.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "aba4b6186626233ffb65a5023baa5443", "text": "ss economic policy international europe house believes eu should abandon The standards of quality can and are checked for imports. Only food, produced without potentially harmful agents and in a certain way, can be sold on European market. The fact that food was not produced in EU does not mean that food is of lower quality, or that there are fewer checks to ensure their quality. In a recent years there were many cases when the food produced in EU was not what it should be – horse meat scandal in 2013 [1] or scandals in Poland with rotten meat. [2] The CAP and EU are not enough to ascertain the quality of produced food and therefore it is unreasonable to follow this argument.\n\n[1] Meikle, James, and McDonald, Henry, ‘Cameron tells supermarkets: horsemeat burger scandal unacceptable’, theguardian.com, 16 January 2013, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jan/16/tesco-burgers-off-shelves-horsemeat\n\n[2] UPI, ‘Europe’s food scandals multiply’, 8 March 2013, http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2013/03/08/Europes-food-scandals-multiply/UPI-38701362775293/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "511ffb4087da8037b9e470208eeac1e0", "text": "ss 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.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "092e12ae90bbbc05bd9fd5ca4b832e85", "text": "ss economic policy international europe house believes eu should abandon It harms the economies of developing world\n\nThe current model of CAP results in major oversupply of food and beverages. In 2008 the stockpiles of cereals rising to 717 810 tons while the surplus of wine was about 2.3 million hectolitres. [1] This excess of supply is then often sold to developing countries for prices so low that the local producers cannot cope with them. The low prices of European food can be attributed to the higher efficiency of producing food because of use of advanced technologies as well as the CAP. Agriculture makes a small fraction of GDP in Europe, but in developing countries of Africa or Asia it is entirely different with large numbers dependent on much smaller plots of land. Hence, the consequences of CAP and high production in the EU can be the rise of unemployment and decline of self-sufficiency of these affected countries.\n\n[1] Castle, Stephen, ‘EU’s butter mountain is back’, The New York Times, 2 February 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/world/europe/22iht-union.4.19606951.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "98f473aad267aff1d03efdbc8c778b64", "text": "ss economic policy international europe house believes eu should abandon CAP is costly and unfair to other industries\n\nCurrently CAP costs the European Union approx. 40% of its whole budget. However, this money is used to provide subsidies for industry that only employs less than 5 % of workforce and creates less than 2 % of GDP. [1] We can easily assume that nearly half of EU’s budget can be used more effectively and can, instead, be used to support other, more potential industries which can boost the currently sluggish economic growth. Moreover, the subsidies for European farmers are so high they can contribute up to 90 % of farmers’ pre-tax income. [2] No other industry has such privileges – when European coal and iron industry became uncompetitive and needed to be slimmed down, the European union did not subsidise the industry to such degree even though such action could have saved thousands of jobs.\n\n[1] Charlemagne, ‘Milking the budget’, The Economist, 22 November 2012, http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21567122-even-times-austerity-europe-spends-too-much-subsidising-rich-farmers-milking-budget?zid=309&ah=80dcf288b8561b012f603b9fd9577f0e\n\n[2] The Economist, ‘Europe’s farm follies’, 8 December 2005, http://www.economist.com/node/5278374\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8afea1ef3ddcb41256787b3c35a1250a", "text": "ss economic policy international europe house believes eu should abandon It doesn’t serve its purpose (subsidies to larger farmers)\n\nThe CAP as originally proposed was aimed to support small, local, family farmers which have difficulties with sustaining their business in competitive environment. The conference in Stresa in 1958 that helped define CAP’s objectives stated “Given the importance of family structures in European agriculture… all means should be taken in order to strengthen the economic and competitive capacity of the family enterprise.” [1] However, the current model of CAP gives direct payments to farmers according to area of their farms. That means that the major recipients of CAP are actually the biggest players in agricultural industry. According to Economist, 80 % of the subsidies go to 20 % of the richest farmers. [2] Therefore, the money is spent to support large companies and wealthy landowners who could easily compete in EU market even without such abhorrent support from EU taxpayers.\n\n[1] Knudsen, Ann-Christina, ‘Romanticising Europe? Rural Images in European Union Policies’, Kontur, no.12, 2005, http://www.hum.au.dk/cek/kontur/pdf/kontur_12/ann-christina_lauring_kndusen.pdf p.52\n\n[2] The Economist, ‘Europe’s farm follies’, 8 December 2005, http://www.economist.com/node/5278374\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5b0b70c94f85a17435254b960eb2649f", "text": "ss economic policy international europe house believes eu should abandon It protects rural communities\n\nPeople 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.\n\n[1] Murphy, Caitriona, ‘Number of EU farms drops 20pc’, Independent, 29 November 2011, http://www.independent.ie/business/farming/number-of-eu-farms-drops-20pc-26797433.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6aa77e008c2863dbaa2d80322f4c621b", "text": "ss economic policy international europe house believes eu should abandon CAP maintains European food security\n\nThe subsidies to agriculture are important for maintaining self-sufficiency to enable Europe to feed its own citizens. In the world of fluctuating markets, global climate change, commodity crisis such in 2008, the state intervention is even more important because that means that the needed goods can become unavailable. Without EU’s help the prices can fluctuate wildly which can be of concern mainly for poorer parts of EU, where the major part of household spending is still food and non-alcoholic beverages. To prevent this kind of situations only the continent-wide policy can be an effective measure. The markets of other countries can compensate losses from others and vice versa. The result of a secure supply of affordable food has been that the amount an average EU household devotes to food has halved since 1960. [1]\n\n[1] European Commission, ‘CAP – how much does it cons’ ‘Food Prices’, ec.europa.eu, http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/faq/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a83b97a54762a3f7369dd3c396ed4cc3", "text": "ss economic policy international europe house believes eu should abandon CAP protects the quality of the food in EU\n\nThe role of CAP is to produce food at affordable prices while maintaining its quality. By having policies which favour agriculture in Europe it is easier to control the quality of the food, maintain it and also support the diversity of the food produced in EU. [1] The goods imported from developing countries are often not produced under such scrutiny as are those in EU. In EU the quality standards of production are one of the highest – the hygiene, the amount of additives in products – all these are set and controlled by the EU. The result of it is that European citizens eat healthy food of high quality which is still affordable – mainly due to subsidies and payments obtained via CAP.\n\n[1] European Commission, ‘The Common Agricultural Policy A partnership between Europe and Farmers’, 2012, http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/cap-overview/2012_en.pdf\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
7b79d2f26bd83f2493daf5fd22d692bc
UK will be disentangled from EU affairs Leaving the EU would mean that Britain is no longer entangled in foreign policy issues that are of little interest to it and instead could devote itself to other more productive issues. The two main foreign policy crises for the EU at the moment are Ukraine and migration, neither of which concern the UK when not a member of the EU. Migration would be stopped at the channel while Ukraine is at the opposite end of the EU. The EU would essentially become a buffer for the UK.
[ { "docid": "6d811d98d2e32bc99470b52cc987a1e9", "text": "europe politics leadership house believes uk would have more influence Ukraine may not be a high priority itself for British foreign policy but Russia is still a major, possibly the most major, threat. The UK has had very poor relations with Russia for years with various spy incidents such as the murder of Alexander Litvinenko [1] and with Russian bombers regularly being intercepted near the UK, six times in 2015, [2] even before we get onto Russian aggression in Georgia and Ukraine and British and Russian interests in the Middle East often being at loggerheads. The migration crisis may not directly affect the UK but it's cause, Syria and Middle Eastern instability, is a major concern for the UK as a result of UK nationals joining Daesh.\n\n[1] Owen, Robert, ‘Report into the death of Alexander Litvinenko’, The Litvinenko Inquiry, January 2016, https://www.litvinenkoinquiry.org/files/Litvinenko-Inquiry-Report-web-version.pdf\n\n[2] ‘RAF jets intercept Russian bombers heading to UK’, BBC news, 17 February 2016, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35598892\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "e5702a7b2f0f95f7586b1ceaef250cca", "text": "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.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5e17eab0c66889711d707bb217d8b8eb", "text": "europe politics leadership house believes uk would have more influence As a smaller and less attractive market the UK will inevitably get a less good deal than it could have with the whole of the EU at its back. Moreover if the UK still wants free access to the EU market, which accounts for 45% of UK exports and 53%, [1] it will still not have a completely free hand economically. Norway for example may retain close economic links and freely trade with Europe but does not have any ability to make decisions on EU rules and must accept their regulations – clearly a worse position than the UK now. [2]\n\n[1] Webb, Dominic, and Keep, Matthew, ‘In brief: UK-EU economic relations’, House of Commons Library, Briefing Paper, No. 06091, 19 January 2016, p.3, www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN06091.pdf\n\n[2] Eide, Espen Barth, ‘We pay, but have no say: that’s the reality of Norway’s relationship with the EU’, The Guardian, 27 October 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/27/norway-eu-reality-uk-voters-seduced-by-norwegian-model\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3c7f6befd654668ad7be6e2ae6c590ea", "text": "europe politics leadership house believes uk would have more influence It is a misconception that any nation has complete sovereignty in the realm of international affairs, the restraints and restrictions as a result of being in or out are simply different. Every foreign policy has to operate within the context of the international system, and the capabilities with which the state has. Leaving the EU will give back certain areas with which the UK can negotiate but at the same time will ensure the UK is a lone voice rather than part of a combined negotiating position. The common foreign policy is just that; 28 countries making the same point, much more difficult for even the biggest nations to ignore. The decision making is done by all the heads of state/government so cannot be said to represent a loss of sovereignty. [1]\n\n[1] ‘Foreign & security policy at EU level’, EUR-lex, updated 8 December 2015, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=URISERV%3Aai0025\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f208152b278ecdc628ee4ea916e1fe33", "text": "europe politics leadership house believes uk would have more influence The UK has more influence as a power in the second tier being sought after rather than having its voice swamped in the EU where it is but one of 27 voices. The UK will retain its UN Security Council seat and nuclear weapons, it will remain a powerful country that is relevant across all sorts of areas, it will simply be less constrained.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ed86906bc6e64758e3dc2e78bd02b857", "text": "europe politics leadership house believes uk would have more influence The UK will still be part of Europe just not in the EU. It will still be a member of a plethora of other organisations; NATO, OSCE, Council of Europe, European free trade area. Countries like France and Germany are not going to stop listening to the UK because it is no longer a member.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "dcaefd1fd706eb66f5b900565f935ce3", "text": "europe politics leadership house believes uk would have more influence It is undeniable that in some areas the EU is a force multiplier. But many of the issues it uses this leverage on are not areas of concern to a UK that has left the EU; migrants arriving in Greece are of little national interest to the UK. Britain would instead focus its weight on areas that are of direct concern such as terrorism. In other areas the multiplier simply saves the UK a little money; could the UK have an embassy in Djibouti? Certainly if it wished, but it is not an area of primary concern to the UK.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0a834b0bb4427d4f17f0ad762fe20c87", "text": "europe politics leadership house believes uk would have more influence There are also advantages to this power shift; the UK is less threatened so better able to act. The UK is therefore free to align itself with whichever powers it wishes rather than having alignments dictated by geography and who is threatening the UK. In the past the threat from Germany, and then the USSR, forced the UK into an alliance with France and the USA. When it comes to deciding between the USA, China, and India the UK has a free hand. As a result the UK has a once in a lifetime opportunity to strike new “trade deals with the growth economies around the world”. [1]\n\n[1] Boris Johnson quoted in Erixon, Fredrik, ‘Boris and the Breziteers are talking nonsense about Britain’s trade policies’, The Spectator, 1 April 2016, http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/04/boris-and-the-brexiteers-are-talking-nonsense-about-britains-trade-policies/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c6f58a785322139eddb02c20689a7e35", "text": "europe politics leadership house believes uk would have more influence Britain will have greater ability to respond quickly\n\nWhatever 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.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "917534e30920a036d4079042b866717c", "text": "europe politics leadership house believes uk would have more influence EU economic preference will no longer bind Britain\n\nAs a customs union the EU has a common external tariff set at the EU level meaning that the UK cannot tailor its external trade policy to its own needs. Instead the UK will be free to negotiate its own free trade agreements with any power it wishes. This may be individually or joining larger trade groupings such as the currently being negotiated Trans Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership deal between the USA, Canada, and the EU. it also means the UK is free to reject such joint agreements, as many campaigning groups would like with the Trans Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership deal. [1] Countries which are not in regional blocks have not suffered as a result, South Korea has 24 free trade agreements [2] and despite an economy that is just over half the size of the UK’s has trade in goods worth similar amounts;$1,098bln $1,190bln [3] but importantly gets to negotiate each one itself and to its own terms and conditions.\n\n[1] See #noTTIP, http://www.nottip.org.uk/aboutttip/\n\n[2] ‘Free Trade Agreements’, Asia Regional Integration Centre, 2015, https://aric.adb.org/fta-country\n\n[3] Adding exports and imports of merchandise, ‘Korea, Republic of and United Kingdom’, World Trade Organisation, http://stat.wto.org/CountryProfile/WSDBCountryPFView.aspx?Language=E&Country=KR%2cGB\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "56ad27937c52e0f70d15c2e3e9f1594a", "text": "europe politics leadership house believes uk would have more influence The UK would have a completely independent foreign policy\n\nBritain’s is not completely sovereign within the European Union with the EU having a common foreign and security policy and all economic negotiations taking place under the auspices of the EU trade commissioner, it is what the EU refers to as an ‘exclusive power’, rather than the Foreign Office. [1] Exiting would give these powers back to the UK. Regardless of how these powers are used this will mean the UK has more influence and freedom to manoeuvre as it will have more options with which it can negotiate with other powers.\n\n[1] ‘Policy making: What is trade policy’, European Commission, http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/policy-making/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "accb794d64e91c012cb9f7d5f55f886d", "text": "europe politics leadership house believes uk would have more influence Power is shifting to the East\n\nGeography has a great influence on the position of nations and their foreign policies. For example it is the UK’s Island nation status that is a major reason why it is not fully committed to the European project. Attention internationally is now shifting to East Asia where the main rising powers are; China and India. This means that the UK’s position is less geographically important so to compensate the UK needs Europe; China’s leader Xi Jinping on his state visit to Britain stated China wants “a united EU, and hopes Britain… can play an even more positive and constructive role in promoting the deepening development of China-EU ties.” [1] The United States, Britain’s main ally since World War II, is much less interested in Europe.\n\n[1] ‘China wants Britain in a united European Union, Xi Jinping tells David Cameron’, South China Morning Post, 23 October 2015, http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1871455/chinas-president-xi-jinping-tells-britains-pm-david\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "04e2175ac1512521ccb9a882c63c3eb8", "text": "europe politics leadership house believes uk would have more influence Leaving the EU will mean the UK will have less regional influence\n\nLike it or not the UK is a part of Europe geographically and as such the countries that are most important to UK foreign policy are also in Europe. Leaving the EU will damage relations with those powers that are currently a part of the EU, and potentially also those who are used to dealing with the UK as part of the EU. The United States has noted it “benefits from a strong UK being part of the European Union” [1] in much the same way as the UK does. If this is the UK's strongest ally's view what would be the view of the powers from whom out would mean divorce? The UK will be outside the group trying to influence it rather than on the inside. The EU states will no longer need to listen to the UK on a wide range of issues where it has previously been a key voice.\n\n[1] Earnest, Josh, ‘Press Briefing by the Press Secretary Josh Earnest’, White House, 14 March 2016, https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/03/14/press-briefing-press-secretary-josh-earnest-3142016\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fe9a4a07b6eed3dadb0f9a875ea13238", "text": "europe politics leadership house believes uk would have more influence The UK needs to be part of a block to remain relevant\n\nHistory is moving towards bigger and bigger blocks being relevant. The US and USSR dwarfed the previous global power the UK [1] and China and India look set too be bigger again. In a world where the great powers are regions of the globe in themselves to be influential requires being part of a bigger group. The EU negotiates on equal terms with China, India and the USA. The UK on its own would be very much a second order power.\n\n[1] See Paul Kennedy’s The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, Random House, 1987\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c60f0eb564c2d99c89e80fd5d5ebcdc3", "text": "europe politics leadership house believes uk would have more influence The EU is a force multiplier\n\nThe UK gets more bang for the buck as a result of being a member of the EU. It has representation in more countries as a result of the European External Action Service (equivalent of the Foreign Office) thus extending UK influence to countries where it would not otherwise have representation. For example the EU have representation in Djibouti [1] whereas the UK individually is represented there from neighbouring Ethiopia. [2]\n\nThe UK, along with France, and to a lesser extent Germany, leads the EU on foreign policy matters, as illustrated by the first The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy being a Briton, Catherine Ashton. [3] This means the UK essentially gains from the backing of the other 26 member states giving the UK a much more influential voice globally. For example the EU has a role in the Middle East ‘quartet’ of the EU, USA, Russia and United Nations [4] giving the UK a place at the table on the key issue of Israel Palestine where otherwise it would have none.\n\n[1] ‘Délégation en République de Djibouti’, Délégation de l’Union européenne, http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/djibouti/index_fr.htm\n\n[2] ‘British Embassy Addis Ababa’, Gov.uk, https://www.gov.uk/government/world/organisations/british-embassy-addis-ababa\n\n[3] ‘The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy’, Europea Union External Action, http://www.eeas.europa.eu/archives/ashton/index_en.htm\n\n[4] ‘The Quartet’, Office of the Quartet, http://www.quartetrep.org/category.php?id=a374y41844Ya374&c_type=1\n", "title": "" } ]
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Receiving countries should not and cannot afford to further protect migrants because they often free ride on health, education, and welfare systems. Because immigrants are frequently less well off financially, and they sometimes come to a new country illegally, they cost a lot for receiving countries, and so they should not be further protected. Immigrants make heavy use of social welfare, and often overload public education systems, while frequently not pulling their weight in taxes. Illegal immigrants alone have already cost the United States “billions of taxpayer-funded dollars for medical services. Dozens of hospitals in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, have been forced to close” because they are required by law to provide free emergency room services to illegal immigrants. In addition, half a billion dollars each year are spent to keep illegal immigrant criminals in American prisons. [1] The money spent to build and maintain schools for immigrant children, and to teach them, takes away from the education of current schools, existing students, and taxpayers. This is unfair. Increasing social and economic protections and rights for migrants means increasing migration and increasing benefits that migrants receive from societies. This could be a burden that a state's welfare system is not capable of handling. [1] Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform, "Economic costs of legal and illegal immigration," accessed June 30, 2011, http://www.cairco.org/econ/econ.html .
[ { "docid": "bb90d7e6c23ccb3ed13d96ab0c901fa7", "text": "global society immigration minorities house believes nations world should The receiving countries to which most migrants move are the richest countries in the world so are able to afford increased protection. While migrants may sometimes cost these countries money in services like healthcare they are in countries that can afford to pay this cost. It should also not be assumed that migrants just take from the public purse. As most migrants are legal they also pay taxes. Even those who are illegal will still pay some taxes such as VAT or duties on cigarettes and alcohol. The UK government estimates that “in 1999/2000, first generation migrants in the UK contributed £31.2 billion in taxes and consumed £28.8 billion in benefits and public services – a net fiscal contribution of £2.5 billion”. [1] This will obviously vary from country to country but stories that immigrants are costing huge amounts and putting nothing into the collective pot are plain wrong.\n\n[1] Home Office, The Economic and Fiscal Impact of Immigration, A Cross-Departmental Submission to the House of Lords Select Committee on Economic Affairs, October 2007, p.8, http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm72/7237/7237.pdf\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "4908f54538b7682d399df5fb4b7bec7b", "text": "global society immigration minorities house believes nations world should There is plenty of international law on the books, and it is legitimate when it protects rights that ought to be universal for the individual, no matter what country you are in. The right to have a family is not a Chilean right, or a German right, or a Malaysian right; it is a human right. As is the right to work without being harassed. The huge increase in migration over the past two decades shows that individual well-being has developed into a more important concern in the world today than state sovereignty. Migrant protections are moral because they reflect this change.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "93b01d3b002fffb24183c46ef1ac388b", "text": "global society immigration minorities house believes nations world should The effect of migration on unemployment is actually positive: it provides cheap labor for receiving countries, and lowers the supply of labor in source countries where employers can often not afford to pay sufficient wages to their workers. The claim that immigrants take jobs away from native citizens is unfounded. In the United States, for example, visa applications for skilled foreign workers are extremely difficult to receive and are limited to a small number of people. Foreign students at U.S. universities even need special authorization to work a summer job. Immigrants cannot undercut U.S. workers wages, taking their job away for less money, because foreign workers must be paid a minimum salary, mandated by law. [1] Even illegal immigrants who do not follow these regulations tend to take very-low-paying jobs that are unwanted by U.S. citizens and that would not otherwise exist.\n\n[1] Farhad Sethna, “Immigrants Don’t Take Away U.S. Jobs!” Immigration Law Blog, July 9, 2009, accessed June 30, 2011, http://blog.immigration-america.com/archives/131 .\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c573e8a09fb41ad0d647153ae1f6cc0b", "text": "global society immigration minorities house believes nations world should While every state may have different issues and problems, the human rights of individuals must be protected by all of them. States may choose to protect their national identity and tradition through museums and festivals and other cultural institutions; it is not necessary that they keep migrants out, or suppress those who have already immigrated.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "84935582d29a85a3a187400b5b98d8d3", "text": "global society immigration minorities house believes nations world should Those who are being ‘drained’ from the source countries are those who are more highly skilled and so in less need of protections in the first place as these people are leaving to find much more highly skilled and therefore highly paid jobs. The ‘brain drain’ may not be a drain at all, either on the source countries or the receiving country. In fact the ‘brain drain’ might be better considered as a ‘brain gain’. This is because the lure of migration means that individuals are much more likely to increase their education or learn skills with the intention of migrating. This decision to increase their human capital is a decision that would not have been made if the possibility of migration was not present. Of course in the short term much of this gain will migrate abroad as intended some will not and others will return home later. The result is therefore that both the source country and the receiving country have more highly skilled workforces. [1]\n\n[1] Stark, Oded, ‘The New Economics of the Brain Drain’, World Economics, Vol 6, No. 2, April – June 2005, pp.137-140, p.137/8, http://ostark.uni-klu.ac.at/publications/2005/THE%20NEW%20ECONOMICS%20OF%20THE%20BRAIN%20DRAIN%20World%20Economics%20Vol.%206%20No.%202%20April-June%202005_neu.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "93a2b499ef5d26afd39049a9adb8b89c", "text": "global society immigration minorities house believes nations world should The proposed right of family reunification is too much of a burden on receiving countries, making it an obstacle to a migrant rights treaty. Indeed, states have levelled as an argument against the Migrant Workers Convention, and against other possible international migrant treaties, concerns about a robust right of family reunification to all migrant workers present in migrant-receiving countries. This could offer family members a right to migrate into the state in question, resulting in large increases in population size. And, there is no doubt that the text of the Migrant Workers Convention aims to create a \"right\" to family reunification. Even if it provides flexibility on how a nation attempts to facilitate reunification, it still requires that states reunite families in some way. Under this treaty, therefore, any migrant could sue the state for not allowing his family (and perhaps extended family) to immigrate as well. In overpopulated and strained migrant-receiving countries, particularly in Western Europe, such a proposition is untenable, which is why so many migrant-receiving nations oppose the treaty.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7ba7e533fdcdb52241ecdcdd05e4c932", "text": "global society immigration minorities house believes nations world should In most democratic, developed countries—which are those that receive the most immigrants—people share equal rights in the workplace, as long as they immigrated legally. People who broke the law to come to the country do not deserve these rights. Because they usually come to work, the workplace is even the ideal place to discover illegal immigrants. Not only are they not allowed to unionize, but they are not allowed to get paid. Workplace rights do not need to be strengthened for legal migrants, and they should not be for illegal migrants. Similarly it is impossible for the conditions for illegal migrants to be improved; if they are found they will be deported and so there is no need to improve their conditions, although of course they should be well treated while in the process of deportation. Moreover improving minimum conditions would be counterproductive as they would attract more migrants to immigrate illegally knowing that they will get minimum living conditions that may well be considerably better than those that they had in their home country.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5e577a1900b5ffea9667f45c28d26a3a", "text": "global society immigration minorities house believes nations world should Migration puts too heavy a burden on receiving countries, and it essentially means giving up on source countries. It is not a mechanism of the market, but rather an unfair system of taking money from taxpayers in certain countries and giving it to people other countries, this money is then sent abroad and spend abroad resulting in a net loss to the economy. Not all migration is bad, but legislation that would protect the right of immigrants to send money home would solidify this unfair system. Remittances are a short-term fix. If migrants are not allowed to send home remittances, it is possible that the most skilled workers would stay in their home country and work to rebuild the economy for the long-term.\n\nThe supposed intangible benefit to receiving countries of “innovation and invention” is much less important than the real cost that these countries feel as a result from the unemployment and increased cost of health, education, and welfare systems that migrants cause.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a6d94ee3894d0a63d660ef45a93cc1e8", "text": "global society immigration minorities house believes nations world should The receiving countries would not accept a regulatory body. The current international regulatory bodies such as the WTO and World Bank are essentially run by the rich countries for the benefit of the rich countries and so they accept it. Any body regulating migrants’ rights would, however, be doing the opposite-- benefiting the poorest -- meaning the rich countries would try to prevent the creation of such an organisation.\n\nIn the unlikely event that the regulatory body could be created it would face a gargantuan task. How could global migration be monitored and regulated by an international body when even national bodies in rich countries are not able to keep track of all migrants in their nations? Yet the international body would also have to monitor the conditions of migrants in many much poorer countries where the infrastructure currently does not exist.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "57b7a6181338889c816b74de6d0343fb", "text": "global society immigration minorities house believes nations world should Migrant rights are already protected under human rights law. If a nation violates existing international human rights law against a migrant, perhaps with exploitative working conditions, wrongful imprisonment, seizure of property, discrimination, or violence, existing international law already adequately protects them. There is no need to expand human rights law to create a separate category and separate protections for migrants. Even if the international community decided it wanted to better protect the human rights of migrants, an international treaty will not necessarily advance that cause, as international law has proven to be very difficult to enforce. This will continue to be a problem into the foreseeable future.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9fb5f9846281f818944ff1257b78a7b3", "text": "global society immigration minorities house believes nations world should Protection of migrants causes “brain drain,” which further damages the economies of source countries.\n\nThe countries from which workers emigrate often struggle from failing economies, and through migration they can lose their most skilled workers, who are needed at home to turn their economy around. Strengthened protections of migrants would further incentivize migration, and so brain drain would become more of a problem. India for example has seen more than 300,000 people migrate to the United States and more than 75% of these migrants had a tertiary education [1] meaning the vast majority of these migrants were among the most educated from a country where only 7% of the population is able to goes to university. [2]\n\n[1] Carrington, William J., and Detragiache, Enrica, ‘How Extensive is the Brain Drain?’, Finance and Development, Volume 36, No. 2, June 1999, http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/1999/06/carringt.htm\n\n[2] ‘When More Is Worse’, Newsweek, 8 August 2008, http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2008/08/09/when-more-is-worse.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fe7ad7fa4ac5cb8615fb6dc812be48f3", "text": "global society immigration minorities house believes nations world should Migration policy should be crafted on a state-by-state basis, allowing countries to protect their national identities.\n\nEvery state has different issues and problems related to migration. There is no monolithic economic and social crisis facing migrants around the globe. It is inappropriate, therefore, to call for all nations to improve their protections in some standard manner. Instead, immigration policy and even rights need to be approached on a case-by-case, nation-by-nation basis.\n\nThis approach would allow each state to pass a law that fits its needs, particularly those of protecting its national identity, which is a concern international law cannot approach. Maintaining an original ethnic and cultural structure is important to many states, especially those that are populated by one ethnic group. Is Israel, for example, wrong to term itself a \"Jewish state\"? There is nothing inherently wrong with its efforts to maintain this identity, even if that effort constrains the expansion of migrant rights.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fa916d4b1c6f67ce1e3d32f7348a98c9", "text": "global society immigration minorities house believes nations world should Protections of migrants will hurt the economies of receiving countries by overcrowding them and taking away jobs from citizens.\n\nIncreasing protections of migrant rights has the general effect of increasing migration. Indeed, one policy goal of many migrant rights activists is for open borders and free and unrestricted migration across them. A right to family reunification would also increase migration. This can be problematic in many countries. It may worsen overpopulation problems, increase tensions between ethnic and/or religious groups, and raise unemployment rates. The economies of many receiving countries are barely managing to fight unemployment in the status quo. If migrants receive further protection, they will take more jobs, making it harder for citizens to find employment. Everybody should have the opportunity to work in his home country, but the economic protection of migrants overcrowds receiving countries, driving up unemployment. In America, for example, between 40 and 50 percent of wage-loss among low-skilled workers is caused by immigration, and around 1,880,000 American workers lose their jobs every year because of immigration. [1] In addition to unemployment problems, overcrowding can have a variety of negative consequences affecting air pollution, traffic, sanitation, and quality of life. So, why are migrants deserving of \"protection\"? It should be the other way around: the national workers of a state deserve protection from migrant workers and the jobs they are taking.\n\n[1] Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform, “Economic Costs.” http://www.cairco.org/econ/econ.html .\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1413fc5973147281f3a17d7b736a22c4", "text": "global society immigration minorities house believes nations world should Universal migrant “protections” are an affront to state sovereignty.\n\nInternational law, like the U.N. Migrant Rights Convention, and any international regulatory body that requires the nations of the world to increase protections for migrants would be a violation of state sovereignty. Not all international law is necessarily bad, but these protections go too far, because they force a huge burden on certain nations, and not others. It is fair for an international body to say that all nations should treat their citizens with equality and respect, but it is not fair to say that certain countries should have to provide for many citizens from less-well-off ones.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "210666ea049bc7e19934a9e5c7a32ff1", "text": "global society immigration minorities house believes nations world should Migrants ought to have a right to family reunification.\n\nThe right to family is widely recognized as an essential human right. Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that the family is the fundamental unit of society. Within the right to family is the right to family reunification for migrants who are separated from their loved ones. The Human Rights Education Associates argue, “states are obliged to facilitate contacts and deal with requests to enter or leave a state party for the purpose of reunification in a humane and expeditious manner.” [1] This right is especially important for refugees, who have often been torn from their families by force, and although they have not been separated by force economic migrants are also separated from their families and at the very least should be able to visit their families, and it is not granted by many countries.\n\n[1] Asmita Naik, “The Right to Family,” Human Rights Education Associates,” Accessed June 30, 2011, http://www.hrea.org/index.php?doc_id=425 .\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "94c980a1592a184df78c64c25d414148", "text": "global society immigration minorities house believes nations world should Economic and social protections prevent the exploitation of migrants.\n\nMigrants face a number of challenges when they reach their destination, such as finding housing and in integrating into the workforce, and the opportunities to exploit them can be dangerous. According to Dr Tasneem Siddiqui, \"In 1929, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) identified the migrant workers as the most vulnerable group in the world. Seventy years have elapsed since then, but they still belong to that group.\" [1]\n\nThis is something that the U.N. Convention attempts to address creating specific changes in many countries that would make migrants less vulnerable. For example, in all of the Gulf States, migrants are prohibited or at least restricted from “participation in independent trade union activities.” [2] Protecting the right to unionize, as the U.N. Convention does with Article 40(1), allows migrants to fight for their own rights in the workplace, allowing migrants to fight and ensure their own rights is the best way to ensure that they will be protected in the long-term.\n\nMigrants have the same fundamental rights as any other segment of the population as recognised by all states when they signed the universal declaration of human rights. Yet while migrants often initially migrate due to the dream of a better life they often find themselves in terrible living conditions, even in developed countries like Britain they often end up in what are essentially shanty towns, in London for example even if they manage to stay off the streets many new immigrants are housed in sheds and garages. [3] All governments should recognise their responsibility to ensure the minimum rights of migrants when it comes to shelter, education, and health are protected.\n\n[1] Daily Star, “Ratify UN convention on migrant workers’ rights,” May 3, 2009, http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=86583 .\n\n[2] Human Rights Watch, “Saudi Arabia/GCC States.”\n\n[3] Rogers, Chris, ‘The illegal immigrants desperate to escape squalor of Britain’, BBC News, 28 February 2012, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17183171\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "795225ee18426798076fb804c5737d96", "text": "global society immigration minorities house believes nations world should An international regulatory body should exist for global migration.\n\nWith an international regulatory body, states would be held accountable for protecting migrant rights, and migrant policies and protections would be better coordinated. The international community has created a number of regulatory bodies that have helped the global economy adapt to rising globalization, such as the World Trade Organization, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. Migration is an essential part of globalization, but there is no international body regulating the flow of workers around the world. Jason Deparle of the New York Times writes, “The most personal and perilous form of movement is the most unregulated. States make (and often ignore) their own rules, deciding who can come, how long they stay, and what rights they enjoy.\" [1] Because migrant rights are a growing problem and an essential part of globalization, an international regulatory body would be an effective way of improving human rights around the world.\n\n[1] Deparle, \"Global Migration.” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/weekinreview/27deparle.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c37ced62e9c383ba945f27f72405d70f", "text": "global society immigration minorities house believes nations world should Further protections are required to grant migrants full human rights.\n\nUnless migrants receive equal social and economic rights, they will never be seen as equal in a human sense. According to Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to leave or enter a country, as well as to move within it (internal migration). This freedom of movement is often not granted under current laws.\n\nHuman rights also include fair treatment under the welfare state, and increased economic protections for migrants is necessary in many states for them to receive such treatment. Without this equal treatment, common myths about migrants will continue to be widely believed. These myths claim that immigrants are criminals and that they steal jobs from natives. The organization Migrant Rights says, “All these myths rob migrant workers and refugees of their humanity, and are aimed at portraying them as less deserving of our sympathy and help.” [1]\n\nIt is a violation of migrants’ human rights to be treated this way, and they will only be seen as equals when they are granted economic protection that allows them to work alongside natives.\n\n[1] Migrant Rights, \"Fact-checking the Israeli government’s incitement against migrants and refugees,\" October 1st, 2010 , accessed June 30, 2011, http://www.migrant-rights.org/2010/10/01/fact-checking-the-israeli-gover... .\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2e151ef718ca4f9057456bdf55b4cf12", "text": "global society immigration minorities house believes nations world should Protections would benefit the economies of receiving as well as source countries.\n\nEconomic protections are not only good for the migrants themselves, but they benefit all countries involved. Migrants move from countries that have a lot of workers but not a lot work available, to countries with a lot of work available, but not enough workers. Migration is a market mechanism, and it is perhaps the most important aspect of globalization.\n\nThe growth of the world’s great economies has relied throughout history on the innovation and invention of immigrants. This is particularly the case in the United States, which is famously a nation of immigrants, where the architect of the Apollo program Wernher von Braun immigrated from Germany and Alexander Graham Bell the inventor of the telephone was born in Scotland. More recently immigration has been instrumental in the success of Silicon Valley co-founder of Google Sergey Brin is Russian born while the co-founder of Yahoo Jerry Yang came from Taiwan. [1] The new perspective brought by migrants leads to new breakthroughs, which are some of the most important benefits to receiving countries from migration. The exploitation of migrant workers that exists in the status quo creates tensions and prejudices that hamper this essential creative ability of migrants in the workplace.\n\nSource countries are equally aided by migration. Able workers who would be unemployed in their home land are able to work in a new country, and then send money—“remittances”—back to their families. Migrants sent home $317 billion in remittances in 2009, which is three times the world’s total foreign aid, and in at least seven countries this money accounted for more than a quarter of the gross domestic product. [2] One of the important goals of migrant rights is to protect these remittances, and thus to protect the economies of source countries that require them to survive.\n\nIrene Khan shows that migrant protections are important for everybody involved: \"When business exploits irregular migrants, it distorts the economy, creates social tensions, feeds racial prejudice and impedes prospects for regular migration. Protecting the rights of migrant workers -- regular and irregular -- makes good economic and political sense for all countries -- whether source, destination or transit.\" [3] Both sides are likely to benefit more if migrants are welcomed and allowed to join the formal economy; they will be better able to work, they will pay taxes and national insurance to the host country and they themselves will be more secure so will be able to send more home. This benefit to the source state could be even greater if the benefits from paying national insurance were made portable and continue to be paid when they return.\n\n[1] Marcus Wohlson, ‘Immigration chief seeks to reassure Silicon Valley’, USA Today, 22 February 2012, http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-02-22/silicon-valley-tech-i...\n\n[2] Human Rights Watch, \"Saudi Arabia/GCC States: Ratify Migrant Rights Treaty,\" April 10th, 2003 , http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2003/04/10/saudi-arabiagcc-states-ratify-migr... .\n\n[3] Irene Khan, \"Invisible people, irregular migrants,\" The Daily Star, June 7th, 2010 , http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=141601 .\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
e59ccea7cfc93e3e43dabeef3a67d0f3
Working through many languages in the European Union costs money that could be spent on EU’s projects rather than unnecessary conversation. It is very expensive to employ translators and interpreters, and to publish all documents in French as well as English. Ireland Business News reported that the EU’s translation (excluding interpreting) costs were 800 million Euros in 2006. This money is better spent on the EU’s actual practices.
[ { "docid": "ff27ec72d9399a888f337119eb59ff7e", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language It is favourable that the EU employs people and one large way it does so is by hiring linguists and translators. Unemployment needs to be kept down and is an issue the EU claims to take seriously.\n\nThe EU has the largest translation unit in the world. It employs some 1, 650 permanent onsite linguists and 550 support staff, as well as freelance translators all over the world. [1] A Connect Euranet debate took place in France in which the EU representatives and ministers spoke of the urgent need to address the pressing issues of employment and unemployment. It is unjustifiable for the EU to fight unemployment and also render a large proportion of its staff- the linguists- out of work.\n\n[1] Nitobe Centre for language democracy, ‘FAQ – Translation/interpretation’.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "5c4b2aa6130f5fb7b160bbab2fd3596f", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language Language politics exist, and this is a consideration for any politician, not to be ignored. States may find it politically wise to encourage multilingualism. For example, Nicolas Sarkozy wants France to be a bilingual country. This is indeed a tall order, but we must not dismiss and avoid challenges simply because of the effort they entail. Sarkozy’s desire to make such efforts is commendable and other EU Member States should follow suit by becoming multilingual.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8dd8f272a879dc96d815c6f262cadc54", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language Europe is only an umbrella identity; the diverse elements that form it must not be ignored. European identity is comprised of many elements, these being the many different countries within the continent. These different countries assert their individual identities through culture, people, traditions and languages. These must be acknowledged so that the EU is aware of the identities of the very Member States that comprise it. Keeping languages alive in the face of language death is a very emotive issue. Such response to one’s own language is what makes us human. To deny people affection for their own language is to dehumanise them. In the whole, if the EU tried to strengthen its identity by choosing one language, it would harm its true identity, as a group of diverse states, joined together.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "24031b64c1516c495a5e256a0703efb7", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language Politics touches on emotional issues. Emotional issues specific to a country are best expressed by that country in their native language. If the EU Member States must communicate through a foreign language, this means there is a barrier between a) what is said and the emotion contained therein and b) the act of actually communicating it. When forced to express one’s true opinions through a foreign tongue, its true meaning or the level of its importance may become diluted, misinterpreted or otherwise compromised. It is better for EU Member States to communicate using their native languages, for this way there is a much closer emotional proximity between a) what is said and b) the emotion contained in saying it. Thus, the emotions and desires of the people are more faithfully expressed.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "51f266521b856247b2a3c89d02bce6b7", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language There are often no direct translations for indispensible EU-specific vocabulary, so Member States should refer to it in their native language. The European Union uses in its debates and practices lots of technical jargon. For such vocabulary, there is often not a direct translation. The Member States must be able to speak about such important issues effectively and, while there exists no direct translations for much EU jargon, the best way to do this is through their native languages.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4b1bfe061e3c5882ebc16c162bb09cfc", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language So many of the world’s problems stem from a lack of communication. War is often a result of two sides unable to mediate, and one side often refers to resorting violence as ‘the only language the opponent understands’. This is what prompted Sir Winston Churchill to say ‘To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war’. [1] He meant that communication and compromise are always better than resorting to conflict, not least of all because it brings with it new problems of poverty, mentally scarred people and famine.\n\nHowever, communication works both ways: what is said and how well it is heard. The EU cannot simply assume its activities will be well listened to. Its own issues and actions have little in common with the governments in the developing world who truly need help and improved strategies. For example, the EU deals with those problems facing a developed world; health, education, governmental services. By contrast, those governments in the developing world are faced with a whole array of problems that bear no resemblance to these, and far more serious ones; child soldiers, the setting up of schools, as opposed to making improvements therein. Therefore, listening to the EU will not inspire, advise or help the governments of those countries who really need it, regardless of how easily accessible and understandable the information is.\n\n[1] Platt, Suzy ed., Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations, 1989.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9352b411e862e8fed72c763cc81f3904", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language Press freedom is a separate issue from EU language politics. The press must have reasonable freedoms, and so they are perfectly within their rights to express anti-Europe opinions; provoking debate and discussion on political issues is essential to a well-informed readership. The anti-EU arguments get more coverage than pro-EU ones, but there are many arguments in favor of the EU within the British press. Freedom of the British press to express anti-EU opinion is their right and should not affect the use of English as the single working language within the EU at all. It should not impinge upon improving the strength and effectiveness of communication within the EU at all.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ac0bf3e655ae0ed2a973be30883b2d0b", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language To work through one single global language that is understood by all cultures makes perfect sense; it is a medium through which they can all communicate within the context of EU operations. The EU is not asking the MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) to address their own people nor their parliament at home through the medium of English. The use of a single working language is just to ensure effectiveness when discussing and debating EU matters between Member States.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "54ac568e842af113be72abe6138b7671", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language Prioritising translation may well have negative results. A mistranslation can lead to severe confusion and when such sensitive information is being handled, this is not at all desirable. Further, confusion can result if one entity becomes known by two different names. The practice of translation may only create tensions and divisions between bodies within the EU. Some may be angered that their literature is not being translated, when another organisation’s literature is, and is thusly getting a higher profile and receiving more attention. Therefore, one single WORKING language makes sense.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e9f3adb3b5eb832659d08ea13f747933", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language The use of English does not mean Anglo-snobbery; that is a prejudice against Anglophones. The two EU official languages are English and French. If the EU were to adopt a single WORKING language, in all likelihood it would be English, but this is not to be seen as Westminster snobbery. English is not directly synonymous with Britain. It is also the official language of the former British colonies such as America, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and is, to a large extent, a global language. Britain itself is a very Eurosceptic nation, and so the use of its official language cannot logically be taken as British rule over the EU. However, all the more Europhile countries should not feel unfairly treated in using this language to communicate; if all these pro-EU countries communicate through English i.e. a global language that is not their own, they are less likely to show any extreme bias toward their own country and culture. Embracing English, a foreign method of communication, means that in the EU debating chamber, a Member State’s arguments will not be contaminated by the connotations held within their mother tongue, and the ideas cemented within that culture. As explained by Laurence Venuti in The Translation Studies Reader, “deficiency of the receiving code has to do with…such things as individuality…and geographical origin of the speakers”. [1] Eradicating individuality reduces bias and deficiency of expression.\n\n[1] Venuti, L. (ed) The Translation Studies Reader, 2000, p.344\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "eccec3c9118aae72710233bbf3989e13", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language The status quo is impractical, because we expect MEPs to be multilingual in order to be effective.\n\nIt is highly demanding to request all MEPs to be multilingual and translation and interpreting time takes time out of the meetings when vital issues could and should be discussed and addressed and in which problems should be solved. They have been elected on the strength of their political abilities, not their language skills. If we require all MEPs to be multilingual, we are actually excluding many politicians who could be very skilled, but don’t speak enough languages for the EU.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c422d8c3e721f245130dc9e116ae2763", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language There already exists a pan-European identity across all EU Member States, and a single working language would help to strengthen that identity.\n\nThere is no need for any prefixed or specified Europeans anymore. Given that the continent of Europe is merging into one single identity, there is no need to have more than one working EU language in operation; this could create divisions and even tensions within the overall identity of ‘European’. The Euro coins are no longer specific to each nation, goods are bought and sold between EU nations without restrictions. The seams between the European nations are fast disappearing as they merge ever closer together. Therefore, one singe language for managing all the EU Member States’ communal affairs makes perfect sense.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e9937eca76a91a11f068e8a69a8a1512", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language It is more practical to work through one language that all Member States understand in order to ensure the effectiveness of communication.\n\nMultilingualism could lead to several breakdowns in communication, which only give rise to further problems. This is especially likely between French and English where there are many ‘false friends’. For example ‘actuellement’ in French translates into English as ‘currently’, not ‘actually’. Using only one working language will eradicate confusion and reduce the number of errors. This is especially important in the realm of international politics, where small errors can breed long-term consequences.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2cbcda17a912163fa72ba305ee4a6416", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language The EU ought to make English its working language in order to be a more transparent democracy for the rest of the world.\n\nIf the EU uses the global language of English as its working language, other governments, parliaments and Unions will be able to understand its activities and methods of operation. 27% of the world’s population speak English. In the EU Member States alone, there are 61, 850,000 native English speakers and 168,000,000 non- native speakers of English. [1] It is a medium that could reach so many people and through which the EU can influence other governments to take similar positive action. So many of the world’s large problems stem from a lack of communication. War is often the result of two sides being unable to communicate and mediate, and so violence is resorted to. It is often described as ‘the only language the enemy understands’ because of a failure to work out differences in a non-violent way. When fighting breaks out, it brings with it all manner of other issues such as famine and trauma. English is a global language and the EU should use this to its advantage. The EU brings democracy and should serve as a great example thereof for the rest of the world. Populations of all other countries need to be able to understand the EU’s activity and the way to operate a democracy as demonstrated by the EU, and the way to achieve this is for the EU to use the global language of English so as to render transparent the running of a democracy, so that it can spread. If the EU can communicate its good ideas successfully, it can influence other organisations, providing them with the antidotes to their own problems.\n\n[1] Wikipedia, List of countries by English-speaking population, en.wikipedia.org\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "aa65539477b6c6e1a165688967e9f4c6", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language One working language understood by all Member States is a more practical way of communicating often untranslatable yet vital EU-specific vocabulary.\n\nThe EU does use technical jargon for which there is often not a direct translation. Therefore, it makes more sense to only have one name for each concept, by which that concept shall be known, in order to economize effort and to not waste time creating translations for EU-specific jargon. It is not chauvinistic, or even a matter of preference, to use English as a working language over other languages; it just so happens to be a language that is understood throughout the EU Member States. It is better and more effective to spend the time addressing the issues rather than deciding by which names to call these entities that give rise to issues within the EU.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6f49572f9ea2693194ca4d9b25122978", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language Translation is an intercultural activity that the EU must embrace if it continues to hold “United in diversity” as its motto.\n\nErnst-August Gutt observes the use of translation “across boundaries”. [1] As a body dedicated to being “United in diversity”, the EU should practice translation in order to affect this intercultural activity. The linguist Laurence Venuti observes this: “Translation is the ‘trial of the foreign’. But in a double sense. In the first place, it establishes a relationship between the Self-Same (propre) and the foreign by aiming to open up the foreign work to us in its utter foreignness …And this trial, often an exile, can also exhibit the most singular power of the translating act: to reveal the foreign work’s most original kernel, its most deeply-buried, most self-same…most distant”. [2]\n\nGovernmental bodies such as the EU have to mediate and compromise when discussing issues and debating. Translation is simply another type of mediation. The linguist Laurence Venuti describes it as “a bilingual mediated process of communication”. [3] Translation in a political setting is therefore simply an extension of this political mediation strongly present in the European Union.\n\n[1] Venuti, L. (ed) The Translation Studies Reader, 2000, p.378\n\n[2] Ibid p.284\n\n[3] Ibid p.161\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fbd6ed871b017b259ad966d37797e7d7", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language If the EU ‘elects’ a single working language, it will be deliberately contributing to the narrow-minded, anglicising of the entire world, despite being a union of diverse cultures with the power to fight it.\n\nA “single working language” implies English, a global language, and already one of the two key EU languages, the other being the lesser understood French. That English could be the default language worries the French where they fear the rise of what the French call anglosnoberrie ; the anglicising of the world at the expense of other languages including French.\n\nThe EU would become one more example of English dominating the world at the expense of the many cultures and languages of Europe. This is indeed an extremely hypocritical stance to take, when the EU is a body that seeks to strengthen intercultural activity and give all the cultures within it a voice. This cannot be done when the overwhelming majority- twenty-six- of the languages, ‘voices’, of the Member States are silenced and only one is given a platform on which to speak.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "846e0812ad3b090c3e090530b3fbd12d", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language Britain is the country of Euroscepticism, and its official language is English. For English to be the medium, the mouthpiece for the EU communications is wholly wrong.\n\nEnglish, the language which would likely be selected as the single European language, is also the language of Euroscepticism, as perfectly demonstrated by the British press. Anderson and Weymouth explain in Insulting the public?: The British Press and the European Union, ”Even those aspects of Euroscepticism which are perceived to be founded on less mythical stuff, such as the economic arguments against the single currency, get a better coverage than any arguments in favour.” [1] Right-wing tabloids publish very anti-Europe articles, scapegoating the German Parliament, the Bundestag, for what they see as the depletion of Britain’s say in her own politics, and using vocabulary with WW2 undertones. Even The Times, the UK paper of record, has voiced highly anti-Europe sentiments. It is through such articles and press coverage as this that the derogatory term Europrat has been coined.\n\nFor English, the language of Euroscepticism, to be the official and single working language of the EU is unthinkable; it is ironic at best and ridiculous at worst.\n\n[1] Anderson, P.J, and Antony Weymouth. Insulting the Public? The British Press and the European Union. London: Longman, 1999.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a64d23a9ef636b221c48419c45053374", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language There is no need to translate absolutely everything, but prioritising translation is favourable.\n\nEU citizens do not have to translate everything; to keep the costs of interpreters and translators down, we can just interpret and translate the most important information. This policy of ‘prioritising translation’ has been adopted by the Welsh Assembly. The Assembly translates into Welsh only the information and literature that is most relevant and will actually be read. Translation IS a realistic solution and should be considered over the EU working through one single language.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
5d22ee0e805403a8e5cc3dea05142381
One working language understood by all Member States is a more practical way of communicating often untranslatable yet vital EU-specific vocabulary. The EU does use technical jargon for which there is often not a direct translation. Therefore, it makes more sense to only have one name for each concept, by which that concept shall be known, in order to economize effort and to not waste time creating translations for EU-specific jargon. It is not chauvinistic, or even a matter of preference, to use English as a working language over other languages; it just so happens to be a language that is understood throughout the EU Member States. It is better and more effective to spend the time addressing the issues rather than deciding by which names to call these entities that give rise to issues within the EU.
[ { "docid": "24031b64c1516c495a5e256a0703efb7", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language Politics touches on emotional issues. Emotional issues specific to a country are best expressed by that country in their native language. If the EU Member States must communicate through a foreign language, this means there is a barrier between a) what is said and the emotion contained therein and b) the act of actually communicating it. When forced to express one’s true opinions through a foreign tongue, its true meaning or the level of its importance may become diluted, misinterpreted or otherwise compromised. It is better for EU Member States to communicate using their native languages, for this way there is a much closer emotional proximity between a) what is said and b) the emotion contained in saying it. Thus, the emotions and desires of the people are more faithfully expressed.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "5c4b2aa6130f5fb7b160bbab2fd3596f", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language Language politics exist, and this is a consideration for any politician, not to be ignored. States may find it politically wise to encourage multilingualism. For example, Nicolas Sarkozy wants France to be a bilingual country. This is indeed a tall order, but we must not dismiss and avoid challenges simply because of the effort they entail. Sarkozy’s desire to make such efforts is commendable and other EU Member States should follow suit by becoming multilingual.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8dd8f272a879dc96d815c6f262cadc54", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language Europe is only an umbrella identity; the diverse elements that form it must not be ignored. European identity is comprised of many elements, these being the many different countries within the continent. These different countries assert their individual identities through culture, people, traditions and languages. These must be acknowledged so that the EU is aware of the identities of the very Member States that comprise it. Keeping languages alive in the face of language death is a very emotive issue. Such response to one’s own language is what makes us human. To deny people affection for their own language is to dehumanise them. In the whole, if the EU tried to strengthen its identity by choosing one language, it would harm its true identity, as a group of diverse states, joined together.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "51f266521b856247b2a3c89d02bce6b7", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language There are often no direct translations for indispensible EU-specific vocabulary, so Member States should refer to it in their native language. The European Union uses in its debates and practices lots of technical jargon. For such vocabulary, there is often not a direct translation. The Member States must be able to speak about such important issues effectively and, while there exists no direct translations for much EU jargon, the best way to do this is through their native languages.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4b1bfe061e3c5882ebc16c162bb09cfc", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language So many of the world’s problems stem from a lack of communication. War is often a result of two sides unable to mediate, and one side often refers to resorting violence as ‘the only language the opponent understands’. This is what prompted Sir Winston Churchill to say ‘To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war’. [1] He meant that communication and compromise are always better than resorting to conflict, not least of all because it brings with it new problems of poverty, mentally scarred people and famine.\n\nHowever, communication works both ways: what is said and how well it is heard. The EU cannot simply assume its activities will be well listened to. Its own issues and actions have little in common with the governments in the developing world who truly need help and improved strategies. For example, the EU deals with those problems facing a developed world; health, education, governmental services. By contrast, those governments in the developing world are faced with a whole array of problems that bear no resemblance to these, and far more serious ones; child soldiers, the setting up of schools, as opposed to making improvements therein. Therefore, listening to the EU will not inspire, advise or help the governments of those countries who really need it, regardless of how easily accessible and understandable the information is.\n\n[1] Platt, Suzy ed., Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations, 1989.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ff27ec72d9399a888f337119eb59ff7e", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language It is favourable that the EU employs people and one large way it does so is by hiring linguists and translators. Unemployment needs to be kept down and is an issue the EU claims to take seriously.\n\nThe EU has the largest translation unit in the world. It employs some 1, 650 permanent onsite linguists and 550 support staff, as well as freelance translators all over the world. [1] A Connect Euranet debate took place in France in which the EU representatives and ministers spoke of the urgent need to address the pressing issues of employment and unemployment. It is unjustifiable for the EU to fight unemployment and also render a large proportion of its staff- the linguists- out of work.\n\n[1] Nitobe Centre for language democracy, ‘FAQ – Translation/interpretation’.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9352b411e862e8fed72c763cc81f3904", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language Press freedom is a separate issue from EU language politics. The press must have reasonable freedoms, and so they are perfectly within their rights to express anti-Europe opinions; provoking debate and discussion on political issues is essential to a well-informed readership. The anti-EU arguments get more coverage than pro-EU ones, but there are many arguments in favor of the EU within the British press. Freedom of the British press to express anti-EU opinion is their right and should not affect the use of English as the single working language within the EU at all. It should not impinge upon improving the strength and effectiveness of communication within the EU at all.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ac0bf3e655ae0ed2a973be30883b2d0b", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language To work through one single global language that is understood by all cultures makes perfect sense; it is a medium through which they can all communicate within the context of EU operations. The EU is not asking the MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) to address their own people nor their parliament at home through the medium of English. The use of a single working language is just to ensure effectiveness when discussing and debating EU matters between Member States.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "54ac568e842af113be72abe6138b7671", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language Prioritising translation may well have negative results. A mistranslation can lead to severe confusion and when such sensitive information is being handled, this is not at all desirable. Further, confusion can result if one entity becomes known by two different names. The practice of translation may only create tensions and divisions between bodies within the EU. Some may be angered that their literature is not being translated, when another organisation’s literature is, and is thusly getting a higher profile and receiving more attention. Therefore, one single WORKING language makes sense.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e9f3adb3b5eb832659d08ea13f747933", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language The use of English does not mean Anglo-snobbery; that is a prejudice against Anglophones. The two EU official languages are English and French. If the EU were to adopt a single WORKING language, in all likelihood it would be English, but this is not to be seen as Westminster snobbery. English is not directly synonymous with Britain. It is also the official language of the former British colonies such as America, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and is, to a large extent, a global language. Britain itself is a very Eurosceptic nation, and so the use of its official language cannot logically be taken as British rule over the EU. However, all the more Europhile countries should not feel unfairly treated in using this language to communicate; if all these pro-EU countries communicate through English i.e. a global language that is not their own, they are less likely to show any extreme bias toward their own country and culture. Embracing English, a foreign method of communication, means that in the EU debating chamber, a Member State’s arguments will not be contaminated by the connotations held within their mother tongue, and the ideas cemented within that culture. As explained by Laurence Venuti in The Translation Studies Reader, “deficiency of the receiving code has to do with…such things as individuality…and geographical origin of the speakers”. [1] Eradicating individuality reduces bias and deficiency of expression.\n\n[1] Venuti, L. (ed) The Translation Studies Reader, 2000, p.344\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "eccec3c9118aae72710233bbf3989e13", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language The status quo is impractical, because we expect MEPs to be multilingual in order to be effective.\n\nIt is highly demanding to request all MEPs to be multilingual and translation and interpreting time takes time out of the meetings when vital issues could and should be discussed and addressed and in which problems should be solved. They have been elected on the strength of their political abilities, not their language skills. If we require all MEPs to be multilingual, we are actually excluding many politicians who could be very skilled, but don’t speak enough languages for the EU.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c422d8c3e721f245130dc9e116ae2763", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language There already exists a pan-European identity across all EU Member States, and a single working language would help to strengthen that identity.\n\nThere is no need for any prefixed or specified Europeans anymore. Given that the continent of Europe is merging into one single identity, there is no need to have more than one working EU language in operation; this could create divisions and even tensions within the overall identity of ‘European’. The Euro coins are no longer specific to each nation, goods are bought and sold between EU nations without restrictions. The seams between the European nations are fast disappearing as they merge ever closer together. Therefore, one singe language for managing all the EU Member States’ communal affairs makes perfect sense.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e9937eca76a91a11f068e8a69a8a1512", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language It is more practical to work through one language that all Member States understand in order to ensure the effectiveness of communication.\n\nMultilingualism could lead to several breakdowns in communication, which only give rise to further problems. This is especially likely between French and English where there are many ‘false friends’. For example ‘actuellement’ in French translates into English as ‘currently’, not ‘actually’. Using only one working language will eradicate confusion and reduce the number of errors. This is especially important in the realm of international politics, where small errors can breed long-term consequences.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "957315acce1bd427507fb359bb4aa4da", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language Working through many languages in the European Union costs money that could be spent on EU’s projects rather than unnecessary conversation.\n\nIt is very expensive to employ translators and interpreters, and to publish all documents in French as well as English. Ireland Business News reported that the EU’s translation (excluding interpreting) costs were 800 million Euros in 2006. This money is better spent on the EU’s actual practices.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2cbcda17a912163fa72ba305ee4a6416", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language The EU ought to make English its working language in order to be a more transparent democracy for the rest of the world.\n\nIf the EU uses the global language of English as its working language, other governments, parliaments and Unions will be able to understand its activities and methods of operation. 27% of the world’s population speak English. In the EU Member States alone, there are 61, 850,000 native English speakers and 168,000,000 non- native speakers of English. [1] It is a medium that could reach so many people and through which the EU can influence other governments to take similar positive action. So many of the world’s large problems stem from a lack of communication. War is often the result of two sides being unable to communicate and mediate, and so violence is resorted to. It is often described as ‘the only language the enemy understands’ because of a failure to work out differences in a non-violent way. When fighting breaks out, it brings with it all manner of other issues such as famine and trauma. English is a global language and the EU should use this to its advantage. The EU brings democracy and should serve as a great example thereof for the rest of the world. Populations of all other countries need to be able to understand the EU’s activity and the way to operate a democracy as demonstrated by the EU, and the way to achieve this is for the EU to use the global language of English so as to render transparent the running of a democracy, so that it can spread. If the EU can communicate its good ideas successfully, it can influence other organisations, providing them with the antidotes to their own problems.\n\n[1] Wikipedia, List of countries by English-speaking population, en.wikipedia.org\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6f49572f9ea2693194ca4d9b25122978", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language Translation is an intercultural activity that the EU must embrace if it continues to hold “United in diversity” as its motto.\n\nErnst-August Gutt observes the use of translation “across boundaries”. [1] As a body dedicated to being “United in diversity”, the EU should practice translation in order to affect this intercultural activity. The linguist Laurence Venuti observes this: “Translation is the ‘trial of the foreign’. But in a double sense. In the first place, it establishes a relationship between the Self-Same (propre) and the foreign by aiming to open up the foreign work to us in its utter foreignness …And this trial, often an exile, can also exhibit the most singular power of the translating act: to reveal the foreign work’s most original kernel, its most deeply-buried, most self-same…most distant”. [2]\n\nGovernmental bodies such as the EU have to mediate and compromise when discussing issues and debating. Translation is simply another type of mediation. The linguist Laurence Venuti describes it as “a bilingual mediated process of communication”. [3] Translation in a political setting is therefore simply an extension of this political mediation strongly present in the European Union.\n\n[1] Venuti, L. (ed) The Translation Studies Reader, 2000, p.378\n\n[2] Ibid p.284\n\n[3] Ibid p.161\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fbd6ed871b017b259ad966d37797e7d7", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language If the EU ‘elects’ a single working language, it will be deliberately contributing to the narrow-minded, anglicising of the entire world, despite being a union of diverse cultures with the power to fight it.\n\nA “single working language” implies English, a global language, and already one of the two key EU languages, the other being the lesser understood French. That English could be the default language worries the French where they fear the rise of what the French call anglosnoberrie ; the anglicising of the world at the expense of other languages including French.\n\nThe EU would become one more example of English dominating the world at the expense of the many cultures and languages of Europe. This is indeed an extremely hypocritical stance to take, when the EU is a body that seeks to strengthen intercultural activity and give all the cultures within it a voice. This cannot be done when the overwhelming majority- twenty-six- of the languages, ‘voices’, of the Member States are silenced and only one is given a platform on which to speak.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "846e0812ad3b090c3e090530b3fbd12d", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language Britain is the country of Euroscepticism, and its official language is English. For English to be the medium, the mouthpiece for the EU communications is wholly wrong.\n\nEnglish, the language which would likely be selected as the single European language, is also the language of Euroscepticism, as perfectly demonstrated by the British press. Anderson and Weymouth explain in Insulting the public?: The British Press and the European Union, ”Even those aspects of Euroscepticism which are perceived to be founded on less mythical stuff, such as the economic arguments against the single currency, get a better coverage than any arguments in favour.” [1] Right-wing tabloids publish very anti-Europe articles, scapegoating the German Parliament, the Bundestag, for what they see as the depletion of Britain’s say in her own politics, and using vocabulary with WW2 undertones. Even The Times, the UK paper of record, has voiced highly anti-Europe sentiments. It is through such articles and press coverage as this that the derogatory term Europrat has been coined.\n\nFor English, the language of Euroscepticism, to be the official and single working language of the EU is unthinkable; it is ironic at best and ridiculous at worst.\n\n[1] Anderson, P.J, and Antony Weymouth. Insulting the Public? The British Press and the European Union. London: Longman, 1999.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a64d23a9ef636b221c48419c45053374", "text": "europe house believes european union should adopt single working language There is no need to translate absolutely everything, but prioritising translation is favourable.\n\nEU citizens do not have to translate everything; to keep the costs of interpreters and translators down, we can just interpret and translate the most important information. This policy of ‘prioritising translation’ has been adopted by the Welsh Assembly. The Assembly translates into Welsh only the information and literature that is most relevant and will actually be read. Translation IS a realistic solution and should be considered over the EU working through one single language.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
6b6e1f2a453b0d4aae979e069081d4c9
The veto is wielded as an ideological tool. In the rare recent circumstances in which the veto power has been utilised, it has been hijacked by ideological demands and petty national interests. The P5 are able to use their veto powers not to enforce legality, justice and transparency in the international environment, but rather appease their allies and punish their enemies. China prevented peacekeeping operations proceeding in Guatemala and Macedonia on account of the engagement of those countries with Taiwan1. The veto is no longer applied for the maintenance of collective security, but the substantiation of internal security. 1 He, Yin, 'China's Changing Policy on UN Peacekeeping Operations', Institute for Security & Development Policy, July 2007,
[ { "docid": "d2ae04330c1982bf9f43b3728145b7a0", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The veto is not wielded as an ideological tool, but rather a tool of national interest like any other diplomatic tool. The recent case of Libya, whereby the veto power was not used by any of the P5, demonstrated the ability of the Security Council to align themselves to the cause of civilian protection. For this reason, it should also be noted that collective security is often indistinguishable from the national interests of the P5. The military might of each of the P5 members individually, and within separate groups, notably the UK and US axis within NATO, is such that the avoidance of disagreement is crucial to international peace. Even if the P5 did cast their vetoes for reasons of ideological self-interest, this cost is outweighed by the maintenance of unity that becomes ever more critical in the post-Cold War multipolar world.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "68d7428fb34325e1b01bfd12a8abe791", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The efficacy of the United Nations Security Council is dependent on the participation of the world's most powerful states, which is in large part due to the possession of the veto power. Removing the veto, or granting it only to those who contribute their fair share to the United Nations budget risks undermining the very structures that have made the Security Council the platform for co-ordinated international action. For example, whilst China is not one of the top contributors to the budget of the organization, it's economic and military strength are enormous and if the Security Council is to remain relevant, China must be encouraged to remain at the table. The veto power ensures unilateralism is a secondary thought.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e043871ba3ab42e3ca66a5e3b6a63ed3", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The veto power is still as relevant as it ever was. As the opposition notes, the veto power was granted to ensure the victors in World War II that they could prevent the escalation to world war that had so ravaged their lands and populations. The maintenance of the 'long peace' over the subsequent half-century can be at least partially attributed to the effectiveness of the Security Council veto; the P5 are tempted away from military solutions towards diplomatic feuds due to their ability to bring overbearing political power to bear on rivals. For example, fears of Iran's acquirement of a nuclear weapon have been abetted by US-sponsored efforts to impose sanctions on the regime. Without the veto power, the Security Council would not remain in its current, useful form and may not have prevented a resort to war in this case.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2d350d746d2f3a8f1c115f577eff0b3f", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The Security Council is a unifying force, regardless of its veto powers. Its history of mandating U.N. interventions to prevent humanitarian disasters is on the record and clear. Though many point to the Srebrenica massacre in the former Yugoslavia, few recall the success of the U.N. mission in bringing that conflict to a peaceful resolution. Furthermore, unilateral actions, undertaken without recourse to the Security Council, are often eventually rectified through the Council anyway. The legality of the NATO action in both Yugoslavia and Kosovo was subsequently scheduled for consideration by another organ of the UN, the International Court of Justice. Following the conflict NATO and Russia sought and achieved Security Council endorsement of the campaign. The Council then authorised the deployment of a peacekeeping force in order to police Kosovo. The Security Council thus proved to be a unifying force despite the presence of the veto power.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fcb75082bf4f183d771770d5efc29574", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto Treaties do not confer permanent and inalienable rights; they should be constantly subject to reform when their dictates conflict with the wishes of their voters. In an institution like the United Nations, which espouses self-determination, the existence of a power which is immune from reform is not a source of pride. If the veto powers had a right to the veto when they were first introduced, that right has now been lost in the chorus of disapproval found among the very same U.N. member states that granted them that right. In a political environment, if an elected official loses the will of their voters, the elected official does not get to choose whether they keep those elected powers. The power remains with they who grant the powers, the voters.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0fdb50a433ff942e87475e05245f6b9a", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto Constitutional change within the UN is possible and thus worthy of full discussion. As Richard Butler has observed, a proper debate about the defects of the veto might at the least yield a more constructive interpretation of the nature of the veto and its application1. An informed public awareness of the potential for the Security Council to be bypassed or hijacked might lead to pressure for exercise of the power in accordance with the Charter aims. Notably, China was persuaded or compelled not to cast the veto in respect of the Council measures on Kosovo. This reasonable approach prevailed in spite of vocal Chinese opposition to the bombing campaign, and the destruction of the Chinese embassy by NATO forces. 1 Butler, R. (1999, August 19). Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered. Retrieved May 13, 2011, from Chicago Tribune:\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "936c07ec3ca2bbb1c3a868568a08c378", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto Only the abolishment of the veto power would enable global action free from the political motives and inherent power politics of the veto powers. Absent of the veto, motions would be considered and passed on merit, not on the self-interest and political motives of the veto powers.As Tarik Kafala argues, 'the majority view at the Council would prevail and we might expect more resolutions passed, more situations identified as threats to world security, more cases of states being reprimanded and sanctions being imposed'1. Far from destabilising the world order, the removal of veto power would merely enshrine self-determination within the organization that purports to carry that principle to the world. 1 Kafala, T. (2003, September 17). The veto and how to use it. Retrieved May 13, 2011, from BBC News\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9cca4a12ad42e75aec7c3231537d727c", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The veto power is an anachronism that does not suit the contemporary international society and it's power relations.\n\nThe permanent five (P5) were given this privilege for two reasons that have no application in the post-Cold War world. Firstly, the Allied powers, with the addition of China, sought to bind themselves to the UN organisation that was designed to prevent the depredations of the Second World War ever recurring. Secondly, the P5 held unrivalled strategic might through their possession of nuclear weapon technology or imminent nuclear capacity. Yet, the UN is no longer in any danger of imminent collapse. The P5 will abandon neither the organisation nor the cause of global peace by loss of the veto power. Moreover, the global power balance has shifted dramatically since 1945; the P5 'do not reflect the geopolitical realities of today'1. Nuclear proliferation has accelerated in the past decade, such that inter alia India, Pakistan, North Korea, Egypt, Iraq and Iran are developing inter-continental ballistic capacity. 1 Kafala, T. (2003, September 17). The veto and how to use it. Retrieved May 13, 2011, from BBC News\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4c8595dbfdeb9621c84308706bbf45cb", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The veto power is a barrier to discourse, preventing the U.N. from acting where the majority of its member states want it to.\n\nPurported U.N. actions that would clearly antagonise a member of the P5 never even reach the Security Council; such is the awareness that the veto would stall its progress. The statistics of the numbers of vetoes passed at any particular point in UN history does not reveal the true defect of the institutional arrangement. In an attempt to circumvent this, countries and military alliances are forced to act unilaterally. NATO initiated military action against Yugoslavia, under the imprimatur of the United States and the United Kingdom, without receiving Security Council authorisation. It had become evident that any UN military involvement would be vetoed by both China and Russia. Furthermore, the silence of the Security Council whilst Russia launched a relentless and brutal campaign against Chechnya was deafening. Nevertheless, there is little that can be done such is the absolute power of the veto that Russia and the other P5 members have.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6e5ecaa9433da2ebd493e058a93f2aa2", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The Permanent Five no longer contribute to the United Nations to a degree expected of their special status.\n\nFunding contributions to the United Nations should directly relate to the influence that member organizations thereafter have on its actions; with the veto in place, this is no longer the case. The Permanent Five, as the group of nations granted the most constitutional power in the United Nations, should contribute a proportional amount of resources to the institution. Initially, this was the case – however, by 2004, Japan was contributing 19 per cent of the UN budget, second only to that of the United States [1]. In third place, contributing 8 per cent, was Germany, another state lacking a veto power and any ability to overrule the interests of P5 nations, all bar one of whom contributed less to the UN budget [2]. Furthermore, India and Brazil, whilst not contributing financially to the degree of Japan and Germany, have permitted large swathes of their armed forces to join U.N. peacekeeping operations to fulfil the mandates handed down by the Security Council. Despite these financial and military contributions, the states concerned get no greater say in the interests and actions of the organization. A fairer, more equitable model would insist on a greater proportionality between one’s contribution to the United Nations and one’s ability to influence its actions.\n\n[1] Blum, 2005\n\n[2] ibid\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "43cf31c9b4d4448ba31bfecc15e7c2d3", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The veto power has proven a success in the maintenance of peace.\n\nThe veto power has been wielded with increasing success both during and since the Cold War. Between 1945 and 1990, 240 vetoes were cast1. Yet between 1990 and 1999 the power was utilised on only 7 occasions, whilst more than 20 peacekeeping operations were mandated. This figure exceeds the total number of operations undertaken in the entirety of the preceding 45 years. The prodigious use of the veto during the Cold War period might have saved the world from the realisation of nuclear war. Now, increasing nuclear proliferation is a reason for maintaining the unity of the P5 by means of the veto. The current rhetoric concerns 'rogue states' gaining possession of nuclear weapons. These are states whose potential deployment of arms is unpredictable and with whom there is limited international dialogue. If the P5 is split on a matter of international security, any one or more of its members could become equally 'rogue'. 1 Global Policy Forum. (n.d.). Changing Patterns in the Use of the Veto in the Security Council. Retrieved May 13, 2011, from Global Policy Forum:\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ee59ca00319ae7ead4307d65232762cf", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The veto power was granted legally to the P5 by the other participating states, and therefore the P5 have a right to those powers.\n\nThere is no requirement in the UN Charter for the veto power to be distributed according to geopolitical realities. Whilst democracy and equality are the principles that direct the General Assembly, they were never intended to apply to the Security Council. The Security Council was conceived as the 'hegemonic' organ, designed to be responsible and effective. As such, the veto power was a tool to ensure the Security Council would not be encumbered by democracy. Therefore, the privileges of the P5 'appear as rights bestowed upon them' by the states who ratified the UN Charter in 19451. As a consequence, the non-permanent members of the UN Security Council have little to complain about when they themselves are responsible for their 'diminished status' under the Charter1. The price paid for their diminished status is the effectiveness of the Security Council. 1 Fassbender, B. (1998). UN Security Council Reform and the Right to Vote: A Constitutional Perspective. Hague: Kluwer Law International, p.264\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "613a0d6a896a81612ce03c65e07169c6", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto Abolition of the veto is practically impossible.\n\nThe abolition of the power of veto is simply impossible to imagine. The P5 will not willingly cede their pre-eminent position in international politics. And unsurprisingly, each member would have the constitutional power of veto over any proposal to remove the veto. Articles 108 and 109 of the United Nations Charter grants the P5 veto over amendments to the charter, requiring them to approve stripping away their own veto powers. Given the influence wielded by a veto-bearing state, it is unlikely that any of the P5 would agree to give up this privilege. Therefore, this whole debate is undermined by the sheer impossibility of it being removed, without the wholesale destruction of the United Nations as an organization or, at best, as a relevant organization.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
242761924f8f77a121cb9d0000157490
The veto power is a barrier to discourse, preventing the U.N. from acting where the majority of its member states want it to. Purported U.N. actions that would clearly antagonise a member of the P5 never even reach the Security Council; such is the awareness that the veto would stall its progress. The statistics of the numbers of vetoes passed at any particular point in UN history does not reveal the true defect of the institutional arrangement. In an attempt to circumvent this, countries and military alliances are forced to act unilaterally. NATO initiated military action against Yugoslavia, under the imprimatur of the United States and the United Kingdom, without receiving Security Council authorisation. It had become evident that any UN military involvement would be vetoed by both China and Russia. Furthermore, the silence of the Security Council whilst Russia launched a relentless and brutal campaign against Chechnya was deafening. Nevertheless, there is little that can be done such is the absolute power of the veto that Russia and the other P5 members have.
[ { "docid": "2d350d746d2f3a8f1c115f577eff0b3f", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The Security Council is a unifying force, regardless of its veto powers. Its history of mandating U.N. interventions to prevent humanitarian disasters is on the record and clear. Though many point to the Srebrenica massacre in the former Yugoslavia, few recall the success of the U.N. mission in bringing that conflict to a peaceful resolution. Furthermore, unilateral actions, undertaken without recourse to the Security Council, are often eventually rectified through the Council anyway. The legality of the NATO action in both Yugoslavia and Kosovo was subsequently scheduled for consideration by another organ of the UN, the International Court of Justice. Following the conflict NATO and Russia sought and achieved Security Council endorsement of the campaign. The Council then authorised the deployment of a peacekeeping force in order to police Kosovo. The Security Council thus proved to be a unifying force despite the presence of the veto power.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "d2ae04330c1982bf9f43b3728145b7a0", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The veto is not wielded as an ideological tool, but rather a tool of national interest like any other diplomatic tool. The recent case of Libya, whereby the veto power was not used by any of the P5, demonstrated the ability of the Security Council to align themselves to the cause of civilian protection. For this reason, it should also be noted that collective security is often indistinguishable from the national interests of the P5. The military might of each of the P5 members individually, and within separate groups, notably the UK and US axis within NATO, is such that the avoidance of disagreement is crucial to international peace. Even if the P5 did cast their vetoes for reasons of ideological self-interest, this cost is outweighed by the maintenance of unity that becomes ever more critical in the post-Cold War multipolar world.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "68d7428fb34325e1b01bfd12a8abe791", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The efficacy of the United Nations Security Council is dependent on the participation of the world's most powerful states, which is in large part due to the possession of the veto power. Removing the veto, or granting it only to those who contribute their fair share to the United Nations budget risks undermining the very structures that have made the Security Council the platform for co-ordinated international action. For example, whilst China is not one of the top contributors to the budget of the organization, it's economic and military strength are enormous and if the Security Council is to remain relevant, China must be encouraged to remain at the table. The veto power ensures unilateralism is a secondary thought.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e043871ba3ab42e3ca66a5e3b6a63ed3", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The veto power is still as relevant as it ever was. As the opposition notes, the veto power was granted to ensure the victors in World War II that they could prevent the escalation to world war that had so ravaged their lands and populations. The maintenance of the 'long peace' over the subsequent half-century can be at least partially attributed to the effectiveness of the Security Council veto; the P5 are tempted away from military solutions towards diplomatic feuds due to their ability to bring overbearing political power to bear on rivals. For example, fears of Iran's acquirement of a nuclear weapon have been abetted by US-sponsored efforts to impose sanctions on the regime. Without the veto power, the Security Council would not remain in its current, useful form and may not have prevented a resort to war in this case.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fcb75082bf4f183d771770d5efc29574", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto Treaties do not confer permanent and inalienable rights; they should be constantly subject to reform when their dictates conflict with the wishes of their voters. In an institution like the United Nations, which espouses self-determination, the existence of a power which is immune from reform is not a source of pride. If the veto powers had a right to the veto when they were first introduced, that right has now been lost in the chorus of disapproval found among the very same U.N. member states that granted them that right. In a political environment, if an elected official loses the will of their voters, the elected official does not get to choose whether they keep those elected powers. The power remains with they who grant the powers, the voters.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0fdb50a433ff942e87475e05245f6b9a", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto Constitutional change within the UN is possible and thus worthy of full discussion. As Richard Butler has observed, a proper debate about the defects of the veto might at the least yield a more constructive interpretation of the nature of the veto and its application1. An informed public awareness of the potential for the Security Council to be bypassed or hijacked might lead to pressure for exercise of the power in accordance with the Charter aims. Notably, China was persuaded or compelled not to cast the veto in respect of the Council measures on Kosovo. This reasonable approach prevailed in spite of vocal Chinese opposition to the bombing campaign, and the destruction of the Chinese embassy by NATO forces. 1 Butler, R. (1999, August 19). Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered. Retrieved May 13, 2011, from Chicago Tribune:\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "936c07ec3ca2bbb1c3a868568a08c378", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto Only the abolishment of the veto power would enable global action free from the political motives and inherent power politics of the veto powers. Absent of the veto, motions would be considered and passed on merit, not on the self-interest and political motives of the veto powers.As Tarik Kafala argues, 'the majority view at the Council would prevail and we might expect more resolutions passed, more situations identified as threats to world security, more cases of states being reprimanded and sanctions being imposed'1. Far from destabilising the world order, the removal of veto power would merely enshrine self-determination within the organization that purports to carry that principle to the world. 1 Kafala, T. (2003, September 17). The veto and how to use it. Retrieved May 13, 2011, from BBC News\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0086218ca410c13745506c1ebd114d1a", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The veto is wielded as an ideological tool.\n\nIn the rare recent circumstances in which the veto power has been utilised, it has been hijacked by ideological demands and petty national interests. The P5 are able to use their veto powers not to enforce legality, justice and transparency in the international environment, but rather appease their allies and punish their enemies. China prevented peacekeeping operations proceeding in Guatemala and Macedonia on account of the engagement of those countries with Taiwan1. The veto is no longer applied for the maintenance of collective security, but the substantiation of internal security. 1 He, Yin, 'China's Changing Policy on UN Peacekeeping Operations', Institute for Security & Development Policy, July 2007,\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9cca4a12ad42e75aec7c3231537d727c", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The veto power is an anachronism that does not suit the contemporary international society and it's power relations.\n\nThe permanent five (P5) were given this privilege for two reasons that have no application in the post-Cold War world. Firstly, the Allied powers, with the addition of China, sought to bind themselves to the UN organisation that was designed to prevent the depredations of the Second World War ever recurring. Secondly, the P5 held unrivalled strategic might through their possession of nuclear weapon technology or imminent nuclear capacity. Yet, the UN is no longer in any danger of imminent collapse. The P5 will abandon neither the organisation nor the cause of global peace by loss of the veto power. Moreover, the global power balance has shifted dramatically since 1945; the P5 'do not reflect the geopolitical realities of today'1. Nuclear proliferation has accelerated in the past decade, such that inter alia India, Pakistan, North Korea, Egypt, Iraq and Iran are developing inter-continental ballistic capacity. 1 Kafala, T. (2003, September 17). The veto and how to use it. Retrieved May 13, 2011, from BBC News\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6e5ecaa9433da2ebd493e058a93f2aa2", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The Permanent Five no longer contribute to the United Nations to a degree expected of their special status.\n\nFunding contributions to the United Nations should directly relate to the influence that member organizations thereafter have on its actions; with the veto in place, this is no longer the case. The Permanent Five, as the group of nations granted the most constitutional power in the United Nations, should contribute a proportional amount of resources to the institution. Initially, this was the case – however, by 2004, Japan was contributing 19 per cent of the UN budget, second only to that of the United States [1]. In third place, contributing 8 per cent, was Germany, another state lacking a veto power and any ability to overrule the interests of P5 nations, all bar one of whom contributed less to the UN budget [2]. Furthermore, India and Brazil, whilst not contributing financially to the degree of Japan and Germany, have permitted large swathes of their armed forces to join U.N. peacekeeping operations to fulfil the mandates handed down by the Security Council. Despite these financial and military contributions, the states concerned get no greater say in the interests and actions of the organization. A fairer, more equitable model would insist on a greater proportionality between one’s contribution to the United Nations and one’s ability to influence its actions.\n\n[1] Blum, 2005\n\n[2] ibid\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "43cf31c9b4d4448ba31bfecc15e7c2d3", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The veto power has proven a success in the maintenance of peace.\n\nThe veto power has been wielded with increasing success both during and since the Cold War. Between 1945 and 1990, 240 vetoes were cast1. Yet between 1990 and 1999 the power was utilised on only 7 occasions, whilst more than 20 peacekeeping operations were mandated. This figure exceeds the total number of operations undertaken in the entirety of the preceding 45 years. The prodigious use of the veto during the Cold War period might have saved the world from the realisation of nuclear war. Now, increasing nuclear proliferation is a reason for maintaining the unity of the P5 by means of the veto. The current rhetoric concerns 'rogue states' gaining possession of nuclear weapons. These are states whose potential deployment of arms is unpredictable and with whom there is limited international dialogue. If the P5 is split on a matter of international security, any one or more of its members could become equally 'rogue'. 1 Global Policy Forum. (n.d.). Changing Patterns in the Use of the Veto in the Security Council. Retrieved May 13, 2011, from Global Policy Forum:\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ee59ca00319ae7ead4307d65232762cf", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The veto power was granted legally to the P5 by the other participating states, and therefore the P5 have a right to those powers.\n\nThere is no requirement in the UN Charter for the veto power to be distributed according to geopolitical realities. Whilst democracy and equality are the principles that direct the General Assembly, they were never intended to apply to the Security Council. The Security Council was conceived as the 'hegemonic' organ, designed to be responsible and effective. As such, the veto power was a tool to ensure the Security Council would not be encumbered by democracy. Therefore, the privileges of the P5 'appear as rights bestowed upon them' by the states who ratified the UN Charter in 19451. As a consequence, the non-permanent members of the UN Security Council have little to complain about when they themselves are responsible for their 'diminished status' under the Charter1. The price paid for their diminished status is the effectiveness of the Security Council. 1 Fassbender, B. (1998). UN Security Council Reform and the Right to Vote: A Constitutional Perspective. Hague: Kluwer Law International, p.264\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "613a0d6a896a81612ce03c65e07169c6", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto Abolition of the veto is practically impossible.\n\nThe abolition of the power of veto is simply impossible to imagine. The P5 will not willingly cede their pre-eminent position in international politics. And unsurprisingly, each member would have the constitutional power of veto over any proposal to remove the veto. Articles 108 and 109 of the United Nations Charter grants the P5 veto over amendments to the charter, requiring them to approve stripping away their own veto powers. Given the influence wielded by a veto-bearing state, it is unlikely that any of the P5 would agree to give up this privilege. Therefore, this whole debate is undermined by the sheer impossibility of it being removed, without the wholesale destruction of the United Nations as an organization or, at best, as a relevant organization.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
c9288d546c2f595219cb2f03f4c4e437
The veto power was granted legally to the P5 by the other participating states, and therefore the P5 have a right to those powers. There is no requirement in the UN Charter for the veto power to be distributed according to geopolitical realities. Whilst democracy and equality are the principles that direct the General Assembly, they were never intended to apply to the Security Council. The Security Council was conceived as the 'hegemonic' organ, designed to be responsible and effective. As such, the veto power was a tool to ensure the Security Council would not be encumbered by democracy. Therefore, the privileges of the P5 'appear as rights bestowed upon them' by the states who ratified the UN Charter in 19451. As a consequence, the non-permanent members of the UN Security Council have little to complain about when they themselves are responsible for their 'diminished status' under the Charter1. The price paid for their diminished status is the effectiveness of the Security Council. 1 Fassbender, B. (1998). UN Security Council Reform and the Right to Vote: A Constitutional Perspective. Hague: Kluwer Law International, p.264
[ { "docid": "fcb75082bf4f183d771770d5efc29574", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto Treaties do not confer permanent and inalienable rights; they should be constantly subject to reform when their dictates conflict with the wishes of their voters. In an institution like the United Nations, which espouses self-determination, the existence of a power which is immune from reform is not a source of pride. If the veto powers had a right to the veto when they were first introduced, that right has now been lost in the chorus of disapproval found among the very same U.N. member states that granted them that right. In a political environment, if an elected official loses the will of their voters, the elected official does not get to choose whether they keep those elected powers. The power remains with they who grant the powers, the voters.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "0fdb50a433ff942e87475e05245f6b9a", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto Constitutional change within the UN is possible and thus worthy of full discussion. As Richard Butler has observed, a proper debate about the defects of the veto might at the least yield a more constructive interpretation of the nature of the veto and its application1. An informed public awareness of the potential for the Security Council to be bypassed or hijacked might lead to pressure for exercise of the power in accordance with the Charter aims. Notably, China was persuaded or compelled not to cast the veto in respect of the Council measures on Kosovo. This reasonable approach prevailed in spite of vocal Chinese opposition to the bombing campaign, and the destruction of the Chinese embassy by NATO forces. 1 Butler, R. (1999, August 19). Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered. Retrieved May 13, 2011, from Chicago Tribune:\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "936c07ec3ca2bbb1c3a868568a08c378", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto Only the abolishment of the veto power would enable global action free from the political motives and inherent power politics of the veto powers. Absent of the veto, motions would be considered and passed on merit, not on the self-interest and political motives of the veto powers.As Tarik Kafala argues, 'the majority view at the Council would prevail and we might expect more resolutions passed, more situations identified as threats to world security, more cases of states being reprimanded and sanctions being imposed'1. Far from destabilising the world order, the removal of veto power would merely enshrine self-determination within the organization that purports to carry that principle to the world. 1 Kafala, T. (2003, September 17). The veto and how to use it. Retrieved May 13, 2011, from BBC News\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d2ae04330c1982bf9f43b3728145b7a0", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The veto is not wielded as an ideological tool, but rather a tool of national interest like any other diplomatic tool. The recent case of Libya, whereby the veto power was not used by any of the P5, demonstrated the ability of the Security Council to align themselves to the cause of civilian protection. For this reason, it should also be noted that collective security is often indistinguishable from the national interests of the P5. The military might of each of the P5 members individually, and within separate groups, notably the UK and US axis within NATO, is such that the avoidance of disagreement is crucial to international peace. Even if the P5 did cast their vetoes for reasons of ideological self-interest, this cost is outweighed by the maintenance of unity that becomes ever more critical in the post-Cold War multipolar world.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "68d7428fb34325e1b01bfd12a8abe791", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The efficacy of the United Nations Security Council is dependent on the participation of the world's most powerful states, which is in large part due to the possession of the veto power. Removing the veto, or granting it only to those who contribute their fair share to the United Nations budget risks undermining the very structures that have made the Security Council the platform for co-ordinated international action. For example, whilst China is not one of the top contributors to the budget of the organization, it's economic and military strength are enormous and if the Security Council is to remain relevant, China must be encouraged to remain at the table. The veto power ensures unilateralism is a secondary thought.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e043871ba3ab42e3ca66a5e3b6a63ed3", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The veto power is still as relevant as it ever was. As the opposition notes, the veto power was granted to ensure the victors in World War II that they could prevent the escalation to world war that had so ravaged their lands and populations. The maintenance of the 'long peace' over the subsequent half-century can be at least partially attributed to the effectiveness of the Security Council veto; the P5 are tempted away from military solutions towards diplomatic feuds due to their ability to bring overbearing political power to bear on rivals. For example, fears of Iran's acquirement of a nuclear weapon have been abetted by US-sponsored efforts to impose sanctions on the regime. Without the veto power, the Security Council would not remain in its current, useful form and may not have prevented a resort to war in this case.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2d350d746d2f3a8f1c115f577eff0b3f", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The Security Council is a unifying force, regardless of its veto powers. Its history of mandating U.N. interventions to prevent humanitarian disasters is on the record and clear. Though many point to the Srebrenica massacre in the former Yugoslavia, few recall the success of the U.N. mission in bringing that conflict to a peaceful resolution. Furthermore, unilateral actions, undertaken without recourse to the Security Council, are often eventually rectified through the Council anyway. The legality of the NATO action in both Yugoslavia and Kosovo was subsequently scheduled for consideration by another organ of the UN, the International Court of Justice. Following the conflict NATO and Russia sought and achieved Security Council endorsement of the campaign. The Council then authorised the deployment of a peacekeeping force in order to police Kosovo. The Security Council thus proved to be a unifying force despite the presence of the veto power.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "43cf31c9b4d4448ba31bfecc15e7c2d3", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The veto power has proven a success in the maintenance of peace.\n\nThe veto power has been wielded with increasing success both during and since the Cold War. Between 1945 and 1990, 240 vetoes were cast1. Yet between 1990 and 1999 the power was utilised on only 7 occasions, whilst more than 20 peacekeeping operations were mandated. This figure exceeds the total number of operations undertaken in the entirety of the preceding 45 years. The prodigious use of the veto during the Cold War period might have saved the world from the realisation of nuclear war. Now, increasing nuclear proliferation is a reason for maintaining the unity of the P5 by means of the veto. The current rhetoric concerns 'rogue states' gaining possession of nuclear weapons. These are states whose potential deployment of arms is unpredictable and with whom there is limited international dialogue. If the P5 is split on a matter of international security, any one or more of its members could become equally 'rogue'. 1 Global Policy Forum. (n.d.). Changing Patterns in the Use of the Veto in the Security Council. Retrieved May 13, 2011, from Global Policy Forum:\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "613a0d6a896a81612ce03c65e07169c6", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto Abolition of the veto is practically impossible.\n\nThe abolition of the power of veto is simply impossible to imagine. The P5 will not willingly cede their pre-eminent position in international politics. And unsurprisingly, each member would have the constitutional power of veto over any proposal to remove the veto. Articles 108 and 109 of the United Nations Charter grants the P5 veto over amendments to the charter, requiring them to approve stripping away their own veto powers. Given the influence wielded by a veto-bearing state, it is unlikely that any of the P5 would agree to give up this privilege. Therefore, this whole debate is undermined by the sheer impossibility of it being removed, without the wholesale destruction of the United Nations as an organization or, at best, as a relevant organization.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0086218ca410c13745506c1ebd114d1a", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The veto is wielded as an ideological tool.\n\nIn the rare recent circumstances in which the veto power has been utilised, it has been hijacked by ideological demands and petty national interests. The P5 are able to use their veto powers not to enforce legality, justice and transparency in the international environment, but rather appease their allies and punish their enemies. China prevented peacekeeping operations proceeding in Guatemala and Macedonia on account of the engagement of those countries with Taiwan1. The veto is no longer applied for the maintenance of collective security, but the substantiation of internal security. 1 He, Yin, 'China's Changing Policy on UN Peacekeeping Operations', Institute for Security & Development Policy, July 2007,\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9cca4a12ad42e75aec7c3231537d727c", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The veto power is an anachronism that does not suit the contemporary international society and it's power relations.\n\nThe permanent five (P5) were given this privilege for two reasons that have no application in the post-Cold War world. Firstly, the Allied powers, with the addition of China, sought to bind themselves to the UN organisation that was designed to prevent the depredations of the Second World War ever recurring. Secondly, the P5 held unrivalled strategic might through their possession of nuclear weapon technology or imminent nuclear capacity. Yet, the UN is no longer in any danger of imminent collapse. The P5 will abandon neither the organisation nor the cause of global peace by loss of the veto power. Moreover, the global power balance has shifted dramatically since 1945; the P5 'do not reflect the geopolitical realities of today'1. Nuclear proliferation has accelerated in the past decade, such that inter alia India, Pakistan, North Korea, Egypt, Iraq and Iran are developing inter-continental ballistic capacity. 1 Kafala, T. (2003, September 17). The veto and how to use it. Retrieved May 13, 2011, from BBC News\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4c8595dbfdeb9621c84308706bbf45cb", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The veto power is a barrier to discourse, preventing the U.N. from acting where the majority of its member states want it to.\n\nPurported U.N. actions that would clearly antagonise a member of the P5 never even reach the Security Council; such is the awareness that the veto would stall its progress. The statistics of the numbers of vetoes passed at any particular point in UN history does not reveal the true defect of the institutional arrangement. In an attempt to circumvent this, countries and military alliances are forced to act unilaterally. NATO initiated military action against Yugoslavia, under the imprimatur of the United States and the United Kingdom, without receiving Security Council authorisation. It had become evident that any UN military involvement would be vetoed by both China and Russia. Furthermore, the silence of the Security Council whilst Russia launched a relentless and brutal campaign against Chechnya was deafening. Nevertheless, there is little that can be done such is the absolute power of the veto that Russia and the other P5 members have.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6e5ecaa9433da2ebd493e058a93f2aa2", "text": "global house would abolish security council veto The Permanent Five no longer contribute to the United Nations to a degree expected of their special status.\n\nFunding contributions to the United Nations should directly relate to the influence that member organizations thereafter have on its actions; with the veto in place, this is no longer the case. The Permanent Five, as the group of nations granted the most constitutional power in the United Nations, should contribute a proportional amount of resources to the institution. Initially, this was the case – however, by 2004, Japan was contributing 19 per cent of the UN budget, second only to that of the United States [1]. In third place, contributing 8 per cent, was Germany, another state lacking a veto power and any ability to overrule the interests of P5 nations, all bar one of whom contributed less to the UN budget [2]. Furthermore, India and Brazil, whilst not contributing financially to the degree of Japan and Germany, have permitted large swathes of their armed forces to join U.N. peacekeeping operations to fulfil the mandates handed down by the Security Council. Despite these financial and military contributions, the states concerned get no greater say in the interests and actions of the organization. A fairer, more equitable model would insist on a greater proportionality between one’s contribution to the United Nations and one’s ability to influence its actions.\n\n[1] Blum, 2005\n\n[2] ibid\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
3f6a8eccdc1d8225618c24416bd3828c
Development is about more than economic growth Amartya Sen has argued that “the removal of substantial unfreedoms […] is constitutive of development [in so far as give people] the opportunity of exercising their reasoned agency [1] ”. In a broader sense, democracy is necessary for a developed society because a precondition of a developed society is for that society to be able to decide for itself what its objectives are. It is society as a whole that needs to define what it considers to be development. The Myanmar under the junta may have considered its goals to be a strong military showing that Burma was developed. But without the citizenry agreeing this would not make Burma a strong state. Quite the opposite the lack of freedoms would show the country is not actually developed. Development means more than economic growth, it has to include other indicators as in the Human Development Index, but also things that are not even captured by that measurement such as freedom of speech. Economic growth and GDP are even worse at demonstrating which countries are developed. Development only occurs when the wealth, and the choices it brings, reaches the people which is why Equatorial Guinea is not a developed nation despite its high income. Even in the economic realm therefore it is not just the absolute growth that matters but how it is distributed. Przeworski and Limongi show that from 1951-1990 dictatorships had higher growth rates than democracies (4.42% against 3.95%) yet the growth rate in GDP per capita was higher in democracies (2.46% against 2%). [2] [1] Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom. Oxford: Oxfor University Press. p. xii [2] Przeworski, Adam and Fernando Limongi, 1997a; in M. ANTIĆ: “Democracy versus Dictatorship: The Influence of Political Regime on GDP Per Capita Growth”. EKONOMSKI PREGLED, 55 (9-10) pp. 773-803 (2004)
[ { "docid": "11408c14c738770163c4c1651ebeae5a", "text": "ss economic policy international global house believes dictatorship best Certain economic standards have to be met to genuinely satisfy individual autonomy and freedom. If economic growth is a necessity for democracy, dictatorships are better at gaining the required growth. If dictatorships grow faster while not redistributing wealth then at least there will be more wealth to redistribute when the state does eventually start to do so. It might therefore be considered once again that it is the autocratic state that sets the conditions for democracies to take over and increase development in the non-economic areas.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "4815301fca3a12915638de5ec33ae8c8", "text": "ss economic policy international global house believes dictatorship best Those cases show that the dictatorship helped the economy. Even if it did not trigger the growth, it laid the ground work for it. In Spain’s case it was a dictator who was able to change to the necessary free market policies while in South Korea it was the previous autocrats that launched the country’s miracle. While economic policy is more important than political freedoms, dictatorships are better at implementing such a framework of policies.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8c108dff98f9997171843fd4d8ff4b33", "text": "ss economic policy international global house believes dictatorship best Economic development is not exclusively bound up with regimes or institutions. Natural factors such as rivers for transport, potential land use and natural resources are key to explaining why some countries are more prosperous than others. Many countries with higher economic growth are authoritarian or unstable democracies [1] . These may have the necessary economic conditions for growth even without these inclusive political institutions.\n\n[1] GDP growth on an annual basis adjusted for inflation and expressed as a percent, CIA World Facbook, 2013. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2003rank.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4815301fca3a12915638de5ec33ae8c8", "text": "ss economic policy international global house believes dictatorship best Those cases show that the dictatorship helped the economy. Even if it did not trigger the growth, it laid the ground work for it. In Spain’s case it was a dictator who was able to change to the necessary free market policies while in South Korea it was the previous autocrats that launched the country’s miracle. While economic policy is more important than political freedoms, dictatorships are better at implementing such a framework of policies.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5764f381a6878b4f37d578af659ca6cf", "text": "ss economic policy international global house believes dictatorship best In addition to the moral concerns, it is not proven that dictatorships are sustainable in the long term. There will always be groups seeking a democratic government, which could lead to revolution.\n\nThere is a particular issue with handovers of power in dictatorships, especially those with personality cults – for example the transition to democracy after the death of Francisco Franco in 1975, or the collapse and disintegration of Yugoslavia in to ethnic conflict following the death of Tito. Many authoritarian regimes require a lot of upkeep in terms of propaganda which counterbalances the cost of elections [1] .\n\nAn election may be costly but it is also a good indicator of the performance of a government, providing a mechanism of monitoring the performance of the “social contract”. Democratic governments are accountable to their people at the ballot box, which gives those in power an incentive to perform well. If the government is not performing well they will be thrown out. In an authoritarian country if the government performs badly the people have no way to remove them and so change policies to ones that work.\n\nDictatorships have a different problem with political stability and that is on a smaller scale; it is difficult to know if an investment is safe because the government is arbitrary not bound by the rule of law. The results of this may not be the sweeping changes in economic policy found in democracies but can be more significant locally such as demands for high payments to operate, confiscation, or preferential treatment for competitors.\n\n[1] Marquand, Robert, ‘N. Korea escalates ‘cult of Kim’ to counter West’s influence’, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 January 2007 http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0103/p01s04-woap.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "56b7205c459b4d4003a42e62f3b60e98", "text": "ss 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.\n\nIf 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.\n\nAccording 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] .\n\n[1] Smith, A. (2009). An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations. Digireads.com. [1776]. p. 546\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7cb780f6787171024517a63084b70083", "text": "ss economic policy international global house believes dictatorship best This makes the assumption that dictators are rational, wise and seek to encourage development, rather than operate as kleptocrats. This is why dictatorship usually does not benefit development; the very concentration of power means when they make poor decisions the effect on the country is much greater. There is a similar result with corruption, a lack of checks and balances mean that decisions can be taken and implemented quickly but this same lack also means there is little to prevent corruption.\n\nCorruption is often rife in non-democratic societies. For example, in Cuba the healthcare system is largely reliant on bribery and is often under-resourced. One US diplomatic cable points out “[i]n one Cuban hospital, patients had to bring their own light bulbs. In another, the staff used \"a primitive manual vacuum\" on a woman who had miscarried. In others, Cuban patients pay bribes to obtain better treatment.” [1]\n\n[1] ‘Wikileaks cables highlight Cuba’s health care issues’, McClatchyDC, 29 December 2010, http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/12/29/105902/wikileaks-cables-highlight-cubas.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3b0d95c677d325e6092d939c231e4fbb", "text": "ss economic policy international global house believes dictatorship best Democratic rule of law is the best ground for political stability and growth\n\nIn order for a society to develop economically, it needs a stable political framework and dictatorships are often less stable. A dictator will have to prioritize the retention of power. As repression is inevitable, a dictator will not necessarily be entirely popular. There will regularly be a doubt about the future and sustainability of a dictatorship. Bearing in mind the messy collapses of some dictatorships, a democracy may be a more stable form of government over the long term [1] .\n\nOnly democracies can create a stable legal framework. The rule of law ensures all of society has access to justice and the government acts within the law. Free and fair elections act as a bulwark against social unrest and violence. Economic freedoms and human rights protection also have positive effects on economies. Private property rights, for example, encourage productivity and innovation so that one has control of the fruits of their labour.\n\nIt has been argued by Acemolgu and Robinson in their book Why Nations Fail? The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty that inclusive political institutions and pluralistic systems that protect individual rights are necessary preconditions for economic development [2] . If these political institutions exist then the economic institutions necessary for growth will be created, as a result economic growth will be more likely.\n\n[1] See for example the work of Huntington, S, P., (1991), The third wave: democratization in the late twentieth century, University of Oklahoma Press, http://books.google.ch/books?id=6REC58gdt2sC&printsec=frontcover&hl=de&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false\n\n[2] Acemolgu, D., and Robinson, J. (2012). Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. London: Profile Books.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a1e6d5a74059447b6116f7f8c9b0cbbb", "text": "ss economic policy international global house believes dictatorship best Democracy acts in the interest of the general population, which is good for development\n\nIt can be argued that a good economic policy, such as China’s economic policies, have helped development. But a free market policy can be done with any form of government, and cannot be exclusively attached to a dictatorship or a democracy. Any political system can use it. Although it has been noted that South Korea was an autocracy during economic ‘takeoff’ its economy has also grown significantly since democratization with GNI per capita growing from $3,320 in 1987 to $22,670 in 2012. [1]\n\nAnother example is that Spanish economic growth in the 1950-2000 period. The 1960s economic miracle in Spain was not necessarily caused by Franco’s regime – he controlled the country in the 1950s, when the country did not have such economic success. In 1959, Franco opened up the Spanish economy internationally, ending the isolationist economic policies established following the Civil War so making the country free market bringing dividends. As a result Spain also grew economically after the collapse of the Franco government, continuing on following on from EU membership.\n\n[1] The World Bank, ‘GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$)’, data.worldbank.org, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.PCAP.CD/countries/KR--XS?display=default\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "48b69d905f09435fdd8055a42a59f8ac", "text": "ss economic policy international global house believes dictatorship best Political regime has a limited impact on development\n\nIt can be argued that a good economic policy, such as China’s economic policies, have helped development. But a free market policy can be done with any form of government, and cannot be exclusively attached to a dictatorship or a democracy. Any political system can use it. Although it has been noted that South Korea was an autocracy during economic ‘takeoff’ its economy has also grown significantly since democratization with GNI per capita growing from $3,320 in 1987 to $22,670 in 2012. [1]\n\nAnother example is that Spanish economic growth in the 1950-2000 period. The 1960s economic miracle in Spain was not necessarily caused by Franco’s regime – he controlled the country in the 1950s, when the country did not have such economic success. In 1959, Franco opened up the Spanish economy internationally, ending the isolationist economic policies established following the Civil War so making the country free market bringing dividends. As a result Spain also grew economically after the collapse of the Franco government, continuing on following on from EU membership.\n\n[1] The World Bank, ‘GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$)’, data.worldbank.org, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.PCAP.CD/countries/KR--XS?display=default\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "33e93b3bbaeef0a37a276b689869cd52", "text": "ss economic policy international global house believes dictatorship best Dictatorships assure low cost political stability\n\nDue to the lack of rotation in office, a dictatorship allows for a more stable government with more ability to plan for the long term, which is crucial for attracting foreign investment.\n\nGiven that a democracy requires regular elections, each election can change the economic environment of a country. A change in government may lead to a switch in policies, partisan appointments to government bodies, and a medium term focus always set on the next election.\n\nClose elections can lead to disorder as votes are recounted and appeals lodged in the courts. After the 2006 Mexican presidential election, tight results lead to popular unrest and mass protests calling for a recount. The president elect had to deal with a large legislative faction that did not recognise him, and his opponent refused to concede defeat. [1] Without a stable framework, the lack of foreign confidence may impede development. The countries that have developed rapidly have tended to be those that have managed to attract this foreign direct investment thus in 2012 China managed to get $243 billion of FDI (18% of the total) against only $175 billion for the United States which is still a much bigger economy. [2]\n\nAdditionally the resources needed to operate a democratic society and run elections are a large expense for the state and society as a whole; the US presidential election costs $6bn, [3] money which would be much better spent investing in building infrastructure or businesses.\n\n[1] See for example the case of Mexico’s 2006 elections. ‘Mass protest over Mexico election’, BBC News, 9 July 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/5161862.stm ‘Fracas mars Mexico inauguration’, BBC News, 2 December 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6199356.stm\n\n[2] OECD, ‘FDI in Figures’, April 2013, http://www.oecd.org/daf/inv/FDI%20in%20figures.pdf\n\n[3] Hebblethwaite, Cordelia, ‘US election: How can it cost $6bn?’, BBC News, 2 August 2012, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19052054\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "dcd9ee47860ed19f4d2eab8851e0e3af", "text": "ss economic policy international global house believes dictatorship best Dictatorships can prevent social unrest\n\nDictatorships 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.\n\nSingapore 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.\n\nAutocracy 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.\n\n[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\n\n[2] Olson, M. (2000). Power and Prosperity: Outgrowing Communist and Capitalist Dictatorships. New York: Basic Books. p. 64\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "15a209b245d38dddcf82fa81b565c06e", "text": "ss economic policy international global house believes dictatorship best Dictatorships are more effective than democracies at mobilizing resources for investment.\n\nDictatorships are superior to democracies in that they can make decisions and implement policies quicker. They can easily modify institutional and legal frameworks towards development goals, as there is no need for a political consensus behind their actions. This also insulates government from special interests that must be reconciled with in democracies. This allows dictatorships to create a pro-investment legal, economic and institutional framework such as low taxes, exchange rate manipulations and import tariffs, without facing political opposition.\n\nFor example, fracking, a technique used to extract hard to obtain gas, has generated widespread opposition in the West, leading to it being banned in France [1] . An autocratic government would find it easier to allow cheap access to this energy, boosting industry, as it could disregard this opposition.\n\nDictatorships can also control resources to allow for better health and education services, by determining curricula, salaries and supplies. Cuba has one of the best healthcare systems in the world, with more doctors per capita than much of the Western world [2] , and in 2009 Shanghai came first in the PISA test [3] .\n\n[1] Castelvecchi, Davide, ‘France becomes first country to ban extraction of natural gas by fracking’, Scientific American, 30 June 2011, http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2011/06/30/france-becomes-first-country-to-ban-extraction-of-natural-gas-by-fracking/\n\n[2] The Economist, ‘Reshoring manufacturing: Coming Home’, 19 January 2013, http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21569570-growing-number-american-companies-are-moving-their-manufacturing-back-united\n\n[3] Brouwer, Steve, ‘The Cuban Revolutionary Doctor: The Ultimate Weapon of Solidarity’, Monthly Review, Vol.60 No.8, January 2009, http://www.monthlyreview.org/090112brouwer.php\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
f8bc23ecf3a848b2a7f6f7f5a53759f0
The FTAA is bad for South American Agriculture. During the FTAA negotiations, the US has consistently refused to eliminate subsidies for American farmers [1] . Because of subsidies, great agricultural surpluses are produced that are then sold on developing markets at prices lower than the cost of production. Farmers in places like Brazil or Argentina, who are much more efficient in their process of production but do not benefit from subsidies, could not compete with these low priced imports, either locally or on the American market. Farmers would soon go out of business. [1] Marquis, Christopher. “Panama Challenges Miami as Free Trade Headquarters.” New York Times. 11 November 2003. www.nytimes.com/2003/11/11/world/panama-challenges-miami-as-free-trade-h...
[ { "docid": "ca35b51d223635eb5e643b1878e781e6", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation Subsidies for farming and agriculture mean cheaper food. If Americans were forced to pay the price of production for the food they consume, poverty rates in the US would be much higher. Conversely, in developing South American countries, which have high levels of poverty and wealth disparity, driving down the price of food would actually be of great benefit to those who live below the poverty line.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "beb5663cc9b33e19b7c13e672e350c4f", "text": "ic 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.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "57da5ecd72af583b91abd68f3d2f64b0", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation Employers will always pay a premium for workers who have the necessary education, technical and language skills that are needed to do the jobs that insure the companies’ financial success. Such workers would be primarily sourced from developed countries, which have the education systems required to educate them. Meanwhile, there are numerous low skill, menial jobs that find no takers, even during high unemployment. Bringing in workers from abroad that would be willing to do those jobs and pay taxes would be mutually beneficial for everyone involved in the exchange.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0441f024b3db6ad73fbc2bcf743c4b32", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation A multinational trade agreement could equally raise environmental standards across the region. Under the status quo, nothing stops companies from moving to countries that have low environmental standards and few regulations. But if governments agreed, the US could push for higher standards across the entire continent. That way, it would ensure its business environment remained competitive in the American region.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "00d0fceee5589c9b3463c332906ef9b2", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation Latin American countries do not have the same interests to protect. There are high disparities within the region itself. It would be naïve to believe that Brazil, a country of nearly 200 million people who recently overtook the UK as the world’s 6th largest economy, and Haiti, that has 10 million people and one of the lowest GDPs in the world, have the same national interest to protect. Even among richer South American nations, there are differences. Brazil tries to protect its industry from American competition while Argentina is strongly against farming subsidies. A country like Brazil will not necessarily stand up for those most vulnerable in the region at the negotiating table.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f8af059e13613aecdd4c3c47deead5a2", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation The US has a long history of toppling unfriendly regimes in Latin America and propping up dictators who were agreeable to the US, from Panama to Nicaragua. This has made the people of Latin America very mistrustful of any American intervention in their politics and economy. In fact, many South American leaders see the FTAA as another attempt by the US at imperialist expansions in their continent. This would give them more reasons to rally around Chavez rather than isolate him.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5fbd65b975d9383d15e9dc06754f49b7", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation Free trade does not benefit everyone equally. Rich corporations from developed countries are not interested in growth in developing nations; they are interested in making profits. They just view developing nations as sources for cheap labour and materials, that can be harnessed more easily, due to low levels of environmental and labour regulation. For example, the so-called Maquiladoras in Mexico, which were put in place by NAFTA were rife with labour and environmental violations [1] . Therefore, free trade agreements between rich and poor countries can trap developing nations in the economic cycle as raw material providers, thus preventing them from developing their own national industries.\n\n[1] Human Rights Watch. ”Mexico’s Maquiladoras. Abuses Against Women Workers.” 16 August 1996. http://www.hrw.org/news/1996/08/16/mexicos-maquiladoras-abuses-against-w...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d42a7af7a0dd2da13bc8df2eebb71baf", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation FTAA is bad for labour in developed countries.\n\nLiberalizing the labour market across the entirety of the Americas would be a severe blow to workers in the US and Canada. It would put them in direct competition with workers from countries where the average salary is much lower than in the US, who would be willing to work for a fraction of what a US or Canadian worker currently makes. In order to stay competitive in such a market, they would have to accept lower salaries and a cut in benefits. This would reverse decades of progress in the direction of better protections for workers and workers’ rights, as well as lead to higher unemployment levels in developed countries [1] . This has occurred as a result of previous free trade agreements in the Americas for example the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) after it was implemented resulted in the displacement of 682,000 US jobs [2] this then gives employers a chance to reduce working conditions as there is surplus labor.\n\n[1] Suroweicki, James. “The Free-Trade Paradox.” The New Yorker. 26 May 2008. http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2008/05/26/080526ta_talk_surowiecki\n\n[2] Scott, Robert E., “Heading South: U.S.-Mexico trade and job displacement after NAFTA”, Economic Policy Institute, 3 May 2011, http://www.epi.org/publication/heading_south_u-s-mexico_trade_and_job_di...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4a0152ef7be53ebd6a3b408d2dde84a1", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation The FTAA is bad for industries in developing nations.\n\nThis 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] .\n\n[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=\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a97d638be74587aa4bfb2723446bc03e", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation FTAA is bad for the environment.\n\nFree trade creates a \"race to the bottom\", whereby developing countries lower their labor and environmental standards in an effort to attract foreign investment. Developed countries, which may have higher standards, are then forced to lower them as well in order to make sure companies don’t relocate or outsource their jobs abroad [1] .\n\n[1] Hassoun, Nicole. “Free Trade and the Environment”. Environmental Ethics, Vol. 31. http://repository.cmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1353&context=philosophy\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0f29cd8e0c0bba08bb5abebf79bf74ab", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation Multilateralism is preferable to bilateralism.\n\nIt is preferable for Latin American countries to band together when negotiating trade deals with the US and Canada, to better protect their interests. After FTAA negotiations failed, the US focused on bilateral strategies and trade deals where the imbalance of power was much greater in favour of the US, and it therefore could more easily dictate terms of the agreement that were detrimental to the interests of the developing country. For example, El Salvador, who is a member of CAFTA (Central America Free Trade Agreement), together with only five other Central American countries, has found itself under legal attacks by foreign investors when it refused to lower its environmental standards in the gold mining industry [1] . Having an emerging global power, like Brazil, be part of the agreement, would counterbalance US influence over the terms.\n\n[1] Gallager, Kevin. “Stop private firms exploiting poor states.” The Guardian. 5 February 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/feb/05/el-salvad...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e3ebdd4a93ab7aaa13f14d4af1dead63", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation Trade is good for democracy.\n\nVenezuela’s Hugo Chavez has been making sustained efforts to boost his influence in Latin America, with regional tours and substantial investments in neighbouring economies, fuelled by Venezuela’s oil money [1] . He is staunchly anti-American and a supporter of Iran. Meanwhile, he has been restricting freedom of speech in his own country, has done away with presidential term limits, and has essentially proven himself as yet another Latin American dictator in the making. If the US hopes to counterbalance his influence, it needs to become more economically connected to Latin America. Showing that the United States is willing to trade fairly with Latin America would undermine his message. This would not only be the case for the United States as it would also allow Brazil and other successful democratic Latin American states to boost their influence.\n\n[1] Carroll, Rory. “Chavez Opens His Wallet Wider to Boost Latin American Influence.” The Guardian. 9 August 2007. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/aug/09/venezuela.internationalnews\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "57705118e395e301d894996a77caa1ff", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation Free trade is good for development and growth.\n\nFree trade essentially removes barriers for companies to do business across countries and regions. This leads to competition between countries in those regions, and between companies and industries in those countries. It leads to the sharing of innovation, drives down the cost of production, and allows workers to move freely where their labour and skills are needed. This is good for all those involved in the transaction. It is good for companies, because they have more resources and markets at their disposal, good for consumers, because competition between companies drives down prices and drives the innovation that improves products, and it is good for workers, because they have greater opportunities to find employment for their labour and skills [1] .\n\n[1] DanBen-David, Håkan Nordström, LAlanWinters. “Trade, Income Disparity and Poverty”. World Trade Organization. 1999. http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres00_e/pov1_e.pdf\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
e4e2ec3257b87feb71535d454daac666
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=
[ { "docid": "beb5663cc9b33e19b7c13e672e350c4f", "text": "ic 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.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "57da5ecd72af583b91abd68f3d2f64b0", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation Employers will always pay a premium for workers who have the necessary education, technical and language skills that are needed to do the jobs that insure the companies’ financial success. Such workers would be primarily sourced from developed countries, which have the education systems required to educate them. Meanwhile, there are numerous low skill, menial jobs that find no takers, even during high unemployment. Bringing in workers from abroad that would be willing to do those jobs and pay taxes would be mutually beneficial for everyone involved in the exchange.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0441f024b3db6ad73fbc2bcf743c4b32", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation A multinational trade agreement could equally raise environmental standards across the region. Under the status quo, nothing stops companies from moving to countries that have low environmental standards and few regulations. But if governments agreed, the US could push for higher standards across the entire continent. That way, it would ensure its business environment remained competitive in the American region.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ca35b51d223635eb5e643b1878e781e6", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation Subsidies for farming and agriculture mean cheaper food. If Americans were forced to pay the price of production for the food they consume, poverty rates in the US would be much higher. Conversely, in developing South American countries, which have high levels of poverty and wealth disparity, driving down the price of food would actually be of great benefit to those who live below the poverty line.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "00d0fceee5589c9b3463c332906ef9b2", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation Latin American countries do not have the same interests to protect. There are high disparities within the region itself. It would be naïve to believe that Brazil, a country of nearly 200 million people who recently overtook the UK as the world’s 6th largest economy, and Haiti, that has 10 million people and one of the lowest GDPs in the world, have the same national interest to protect. Even among richer South American nations, there are differences. Brazil tries to protect its industry from American competition while Argentina is strongly against farming subsidies. A country like Brazil will not necessarily stand up for those most vulnerable in the region at the negotiating table.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f8af059e13613aecdd4c3c47deead5a2", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation The US has a long history of toppling unfriendly regimes in Latin America and propping up dictators who were agreeable to the US, from Panama to Nicaragua. This has made the people of Latin America very mistrustful of any American intervention in their politics and economy. In fact, many South American leaders see the FTAA as another attempt by the US at imperialist expansions in their continent. This would give them more reasons to rally around Chavez rather than isolate him.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5fbd65b975d9383d15e9dc06754f49b7", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation Free trade does not benefit everyone equally. Rich corporations from developed countries are not interested in growth in developing nations; they are interested in making profits. They just view developing nations as sources for cheap labour and materials, that can be harnessed more easily, due to low levels of environmental and labour regulation. For example, the so-called Maquiladoras in Mexico, which were put in place by NAFTA were rife with labour and environmental violations [1] . Therefore, free trade agreements between rich and poor countries can trap developing nations in the economic cycle as raw material providers, thus preventing them from developing their own national industries.\n\n[1] Human Rights Watch. ”Mexico’s Maquiladoras. Abuses Against Women Workers.” 16 August 1996. http://www.hrw.org/news/1996/08/16/mexicos-maquiladoras-abuses-against-w...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4e809bebe956c0dd5c5dbfc7623092be", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation The FTAA is bad for South American Agriculture.\n\nDuring the FTAA negotiations, the US has consistently refused to eliminate subsidies for American farmers [1] . Because of subsidies, great agricultural surpluses are produced that are then sold on developing markets at prices lower than the cost of production. Farmers in places like Brazil or Argentina, who are much more efficient in their process of production but do not benefit from subsidies, could not compete with these low priced imports, either locally or on the American market. Farmers would soon go out of business.\n\n[1] Marquis, Christopher. “Panama Challenges Miami as Free Trade Headquarters.” New York Times. 11 November 2003. www.nytimes.com/2003/11/11/world/panama-challenges-miami-as-free-trade-h...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d42a7af7a0dd2da13bc8df2eebb71baf", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation FTAA is bad for labour in developed countries.\n\nLiberalizing the labour market across the entirety of the Americas would be a severe blow to workers in the US and Canada. It would put them in direct competition with workers from countries where the average salary is much lower than in the US, who would be willing to work for a fraction of what a US or Canadian worker currently makes. In order to stay competitive in such a market, they would have to accept lower salaries and a cut in benefits. This would reverse decades of progress in the direction of better protections for workers and workers’ rights, as well as lead to higher unemployment levels in developed countries [1] . This has occurred as a result of previous free trade agreements in the Americas for example the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) after it was implemented resulted in the displacement of 682,000 US jobs [2] this then gives employers a chance to reduce working conditions as there is surplus labor.\n\n[1] Suroweicki, James. “The Free-Trade Paradox.” The New Yorker. 26 May 2008. http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2008/05/26/080526ta_talk_surowiecki\n\n[2] Scott, Robert E., “Heading South: U.S.-Mexico trade and job displacement after NAFTA”, Economic Policy Institute, 3 May 2011, http://www.epi.org/publication/heading_south_u-s-mexico_trade_and_job_di...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a97d638be74587aa4bfb2723446bc03e", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation FTAA is bad for the environment.\n\nFree trade creates a \"race to the bottom\", whereby developing countries lower their labor and environmental standards in an effort to attract foreign investment. Developed countries, which may have higher standards, are then forced to lower them as well in order to make sure companies don’t relocate or outsource their jobs abroad [1] .\n\n[1] Hassoun, Nicole. “Free Trade and the Environment”. Environmental Ethics, Vol. 31. http://repository.cmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1353&context=philosophy\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0f29cd8e0c0bba08bb5abebf79bf74ab", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation Multilateralism is preferable to bilateralism.\n\nIt is preferable for Latin American countries to band together when negotiating trade deals with the US and Canada, to better protect their interests. After FTAA negotiations failed, the US focused on bilateral strategies and trade deals where the imbalance of power was much greater in favour of the US, and it therefore could more easily dictate terms of the agreement that were detrimental to the interests of the developing country. For example, El Salvador, who is a member of CAFTA (Central America Free Trade Agreement), together with only five other Central American countries, has found itself under legal attacks by foreign investors when it refused to lower its environmental standards in the gold mining industry [1] . Having an emerging global power, like Brazil, be part of the agreement, would counterbalance US influence over the terms.\n\n[1] Gallager, Kevin. “Stop private firms exploiting poor states.” The Guardian. 5 February 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/feb/05/el-salvad...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e3ebdd4a93ab7aaa13f14d4af1dead63", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation Trade is good for democracy.\n\nVenezuela’s Hugo Chavez has been making sustained efforts to boost his influence in Latin America, with regional tours and substantial investments in neighbouring economies, fuelled by Venezuela’s oil money [1] . He is staunchly anti-American and a supporter of Iran. Meanwhile, he has been restricting freedom of speech in his own country, has done away with presidential term limits, and has essentially proven himself as yet another Latin American dictator in the making. If the US hopes to counterbalance his influence, it needs to become more economically connected to Latin America. Showing that the United States is willing to trade fairly with Latin America would undermine his message. This would not only be the case for the United States as it would also allow Brazil and other successful democratic Latin American states to boost their influence.\n\n[1] Carroll, Rory. “Chavez Opens His Wallet Wider to Boost Latin American Influence.” The Guardian. 9 August 2007. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/aug/09/venezuela.internationalnews\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "57705118e395e301d894996a77caa1ff", "text": "ic policy economy general international americas house supports creation Free trade is good for development and growth.\n\nFree trade essentially removes barriers for companies to do business across countries and regions. This leads to competition between countries in those regions, and between companies and industries in those countries. It leads to the sharing of innovation, drives down the cost of production, and allows workers to move freely where their labour and skills are needed. This is good for all those involved in the transaction. It is good for companies, because they have more resources and markets at their disposal, good for consumers, because competition between companies drives down prices and drives the innovation that improves products, and it is good for workers, because they have greater opportunities to find employment for their labour and skills [1] .\n\n[1] DanBen-David, Håkan Nordström, LAlanWinters. “Trade, Income Disparity and Poverty”. World Trade Organization. 1999. http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres00_e/pov1_e.pdf\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
bc5ead4238bc90b8d40e1d11fbe21206
These products are dangerous Skin whitening creams often contain a wide variety of harmful ingredients – in some cases, mercury. These can cause various health problems; mercury in particular causes renal (kidney) damage, major skin problems as well as mental health issues [1] . States, throughout the world, ban consumer products because they are harmful regardless of whether this is for consumption or for cosmetics. This is just another case where that is appropriate in order to prevent the harm to health that may occur. [1] World Health Organization, “Mercury in skin lightening products”, WHO.int, 2011, http://www.who.int/ipcs/assessment/public_health/mercury_flyer.pdf
[ { "docid": "bd112dfc42e427b59e5da29366d20e50", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes african nations should Skin whitening creams often contain a wide variety of harmful ingredients – in some cases, mercury. These can cause various health problems; mercury in particular causes renal (kidney) damage, major skin problems as well as mental health issues [1] .\n\nStates, throughout the world, ban consumer products because they are harmful regardless of whether this is for consumption or for cosmetics. This is just another case where that is appropriate in order to prevent the harm to health that may occur.\n\n[1] World Health Organization, “Mercury in skin lightening products”, WHO.int, 2011, http://www.who.int/ipcs/assessment/public_health/mercury_flyer.pdf\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "1bb17cf3f8a6ee1c5065db9c4dd07c93", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes african nations should Banning skin whitening on such a basis also requires the acceptance of the racial overtones. Some form of tan is popular in many societies of people of European ethnic origins – that is not a racial matter, it is more based on economic social perceptions (that of holidays to warmer climates). Ascribing a racial element to everything to do with skin tone is at best a lazy analysis.\n\nIrrespective of issues of race and perceptions of ethnic origins, and its intersection with beauty standards, some people will be given advantages in life due to their appearance. Banning a certain form of cosmetic, even if it can have some racial and ethnic undertones, won’t change that.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c4d5cc1f890407f01b6afebb05e53cdc", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes african nations should If there is a demand for it, people want it. Not only do indigenous skin-whitening products exist, they are so widespread and popular it cannot be ascribed to a “cringe” on a small area of society.\n\nIt is wrong to consider skin whitening to just be a colonial import as if being white is all about looking like a westerner. Many cultures, particularly in Asia but also some in Africa such as Egypt, valued lighter skin tones before colonisation; such tones showed that you were a woman of leisure who did not need to toil under the hot tropical sun. [1]\n\nMaintaining a desire to look lighter may therefore neither be an effect of a neo-colonial mind-set nor create neo-colonial business ties.\n\n[1] Goon, Patricia, and Craven, Allison, ‘Whose Debt?: Globalisation and Whitefacing in Asia’, Intersections: Gender, History and Culture in the Asian Context, issue 9, August 2003, http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue9/gooncraven.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c6d3c4f77964a790f7a357ee5eed1245", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes african nations should States can and do ban products that are physically or socially harmful – that’s not illiberalism, it is common sense. It clearly does not suggest that non-white women do not have the capacity; white countries such as the USA engage in similar bans for health reasons.\n\nAnyway, In a society with mass media and celebrity-lead marketing campaigns, do people really make entirely autonomous decisions? Consumers almost never have complete information about what they are buying. When they don’t the government has to prevent them from making mistakes that may be harmful to themselves.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7d90ac824e17de549ec25463b69a7215", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes african nations should Educational campaigns can and do work on many issues. However, they can only do so much in terms of making genuine progress. If you want to change attitudes – generally subconscious – more concrete action is needed. Legislation affects everyone while a campaign will only ever reach comparatively small numbers.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "00e177e90a7919e3f85461ddfb8b7fea", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes african nations should No-one is pretending that a ban on whitening products is a solution to every social ill. What is being suggested is that these products are harmful, and that the culture they create is also potentially harmful.\n\nA race-colour-class nexus exists – that is why the proposition is concerned about the normalization of skin bleaching.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "15464846737002728d4b8b87ec839cef", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes african nations should Obviously, not every policy is 100% effective. However, a ban on products that is well created and adequately enforced could at least reject a material from the mainstream, and signals disapproval. Not everyone will follow a ban but many will see that the ban is there for a good reason and will not seek alternatives.\n\nCounterfeit cosmetics are a different issue – one is the attempt to capitalize off of a brand, the other is to provide a product to achieve people’s goals.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "be6862882901747d133b49f4dbf185eb", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes african nations should They fuel colourism in society\n\nAllowing the use of racial overtones – the perception that a product will bring a person towards a “white ideal” is harmful for several reasons. It could cause communities to generate a form of inferiority complex, and it reinforces the structural difference rather than aiming to minimize it. While it may sound absurd, in the US darker-skinned African Americans (and darker skinned latinos) are less well educated and have lower incomes [1] . Elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere, such as in Brazil, race is seen as an issue of colour and socio-economic background, not ancestry highlighting a much more obvious link between whitening creams and racism [2] .\n\nIs it not the role of the state to reduce that discrimination, not to fuel it? Banning such creams would help prevent such harmful effects by discouraging the notion that people should aim to make themselves lighter skinned.\n\n[1] Hunter, Margaret L., “If you’re light you’re alright: light skin color as social capital for women of color”, Gender and Society, 2002, http://www.mills.edu/academics/faculty/soc/mhunter/If%20You%20are%20Light%20You%20are%20Alright.pdf , p.35\n\n[2] Telles, Edward, Race in Another America: The Significance of Skin Colour in Brazil, 2004, online sample chapter, http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s7846.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "78fad6d193b95c212046201c4e20734e", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes african nations should Monetizing colonialism\n\nSkin whitening can be seen as an attempt to fit in with a form of a neo-colonialist mind-set; a form of cultural imperialism driven by capitalism.\n\nThese products, often sold by big international FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) companies feed off a neo-colonialist mind-set – one of a cultural inferiority complex. These products form part of the process of tying African people into a globalised consumer world where non-westerners feel compelled to buy western products that they don’t need. They are therefore kept in a colonial situation where they are dependent on the west both mentally and in terms of the products they buy. That is reason enough for nations that have been victims of colonialism by the Global North to take action against them.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b81a6d3d5cea4fcab426fd6a0427cb05", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes african nations should Prohibition is counterproductive\n\nAs tempting as it is to feel that banning is the solution to problems, it doesn’t work. Almost all states prohibits certain drugs, but that does not stop them being used. [1] Despite being banned in Ghana, skin whitening creams are still openly advertised on billboards [2] .\n\nCounterfeit cosmetics of all types exist worldwide [3] , they are illegal for a variety of reasons, not least intellectual property abuse: banning skin lighting creams would simply give more space to the counterfeits. A ban could lead users towards either a homemade substance, or pills and injections which would almost certainly be more damaging as a result of a lack of regulation.\n\n[1] See the Debatabase debate ‘ This House supports the legalisation of drugs’\n\n[2] Al Jazeera English, “The Stream: Fair Beauty”, YouTube, 22 August 2013, http://youtu.be/paJmsuRBiBA , roughly 18 minutes in\n\n[3] RIA Novosti, “Counterfeit cosmetics: Turning beauties in to beasts”, RT, 08 November 2010, http://rt.com/news/fake-beauty-russian-cosmetics/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "81e51f906228f8a5f54c95fd4f74ab4d", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes african nations should Run education campaigns instead\n\nEducation is an alternative. Campaigns such as #darkisbeautiful (dark is beautiful) in India are the model for advancing equality and marginalizing colourism in India. The campaign has had some success attracting stars, including some such as Vishaka Sing who have modelled for fairness creams, to campaign against the prejudice against darker skin tones. [1]\n\nThe heavy hand of legislation is not the correct tool – other methods from social media campaigns to changing practices in the fashion, beauty and media industries (such as has occurred in Dakar Fashion Week [2] ) will reduce the cultural demand.\n\n[1] Krupa, Lakshmi, ‘Dark is beautiful’, The Hindu, 8 September 2013, http://www.thehindu.com/features/the-yin-thing/dark-is-beautiful/article5104215.ece\n\n[2] Reuters, “Dakar fashion week bans models who use skin lightning cream”, South China Morning Post, 01 July 2013, http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-watches/article/1271144/dakar-fashion-week-bans-models-who-use-skin-lightening\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "23259355ea770fd63ae791155c55578e", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes african nations should Personal autonomy\n\nLike many other debates, this simply boils down to personal autonomy. Individuals should be free to take actions, even ones harmful to them as long as they do not harm others, at least not without good reason. Thus things that are almost entirely harmful such as smoking are allowed.\n\nIt is a matter of personal choice – to suggest otherwise non-white women do not have the capacity to make that choice.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9db9a9d232a154958d31d1d0b8c021de", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes african nations should Banning these is papering over the issue\n\nIt would be all too tempting for governments to consider that a ban on these products would sort out issues of skin tone discrimination as they would be hidden away from public view.\n\nClass and race are both divisive issues, and are often inextricably linked. Those with lighter skin will still have advantages over those with darker skin hues. The banning of whiteners will simply reduce the ability of individuals to change how others perceive them. We can all agree that there needs to be less colourism but that has to be achieved by reducing prejudices. Only broader education on the issue of skin colour discrimination can achieve such a change.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
a154bb6c97cd139af1fbf4f015144d89
The UN charter is against it. Article 2 of the UN charter requires all member states to ‘refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state’. Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999), which authorised the deployment of an international force to Kosovo to manage security and governance, explicitly affirmed the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (the name for the Union of Serbia and Montenegro which ended in 2006) and the other States to that region. [1] Recognition of an independent Kosovo is a violation of the territorial integrity of Serbia and thus a violation of the rights of the Serbian state. [1] UN Security Council Resolution 1244 http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N99/172/89/PDF/N9917289.pdf?OpenElement
[ { "docid": "d7573534e529f55d076f63f524f5d393", "text": "global government voting house would recognise kosovo independent state This argument depends upon how one defines the ‘territorial integrity’ of a state in Article 2. Certainly it would not be legitimate for a state to simply declare based on an old treaty or historic claim that its territory encompassed that of a neighbour and to invade, therefore the requirement to respect territorial integrity must only refer to de facto integrity. Given that Serbia has no actual control over the territory of Kosovo it is not a violation of the rights of the Serbian state to recognise it as an independent nation.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "fccd3af4b544c963c3806b5b0a7cea93", "text": "global government voting house would recognise kosovo independent state In the last decade Kosovo has leveraged remittances and direct investment from the Kosovar diaspora to achieve robust growth. It has also made significant progress in developing key social and economic institutions necessary for a viable state. In adopting the Euro as legal tender it has gained a strong financial anchor. Kosovo also benefits from low public debt and a strategic cash reserve. [1] It is also wrong to argue that Kosovo would be unviable because of its size as Kosovo has a population considerably larger than many independent states in Europe today (eg Iceland, Malta, Cyprus, Estonia).\n\n[1] IMF ‘Republic of Kosovo: Concluding Statement of the 2011 Article IV Consultation Mission’. May 30 2011. http://www.imf.org/external/np/ms/2011/060111.htm\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "901e33492ee13567db139866481e2835", "text": "global government voting house would recognise kosovo independent state Whilst the ideal of Serb and Kosovar living in harmony is an honourable one, the international community should not waste energy trying to engineer such a society when both sides appear committed to exclusive, nation-state models which involve the political and social hegemony of one group over the other. Multicultural toleration is a fine liberal, democratic ideal but it does not fit every empirical reality. The tensions are too great to make such a system work.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "024aee67929270c5e97c99b44385ccbd", "text": "global government voting house would recognise kosovo independent state The uncertainty over Kosovo’s status is a cause of tension. Drawing a line under the whole issue and making it clear that Kosovo will not revert to being part of Serbia again allows for a relaxing of nationalist tension and for serious discussions to begin over land swaps that would make the border more sensible.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "16f9d56a5afbe7c504e63917ad457398", "text": "global government voting house would recognise kosovo independent state Under international law there are only two instances where secession is possible; in the case of foreign occupation and as a result of decolonisation. The third category espoused by the proposition is disputed and naturally leads to absurd consequences: how small a group of people on how small a plot of land can unilaterally declare independence?\n\nMoreover, the Kosovan claim for independence is not clear-cut. The population ratio of Kosovo-Albanian to Serb inhabitants of Kosovo is constantly in flux. In addition, the current ratio has far fewer Serbs because of enforced or fear-driven flight from the region after NATO intervention gave Kosovo-Albanians the upper hand in the region. In 1971 Serbs were 18.4% of the population. [1] The Kosovo-Albanians have suffered undeniably over the last decade. However, that should not lead us to ignore the very genuine historical significance of Kosovo to Serbia, particularly to the Orthodox faith. There is a historical tradition of both Serbs and Kosovo-Albanians inhabiting Kosovo. To effect a change in the sovereignty over a region on the basis of a temporary population ratio is to ignore the complexity of the issues that surround this territory.\n\n[1] Howe, Marvine, ‘Exodus of Serbians stirs province in Yugoslavia’, The New York Times, 12 July 1982, http://www.srpska-mreza.com/kosovo/serbian-exudos-nyt-7-82.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "de0c5d3433908e3b8d3a35f69bddb3ce", "text": "global government voting house would recognise kosovo independent state Britain does though claim sovereignty over far away locations such as the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar. The controversy of those claims is not mitigated that they are populated by ethnic Britons who immigrated on assumption of British control.\n\nEthnic nationalism has a very bad history, both around the world and in the Balkans in particular. Out of the nineteenth century explosion in popularity of nationalistic ideologies grew the bitter tensions and wars of the twentieth century. The last thing that we should be doing is promoting a continuation and an extension of this divisive and destructive way of perceiving the world. Ultimately, an independent state would be created just because it was believed that there is too much bad blood between the Serbs and Kosovo-Albanians for them to live in harmony. To create an ethnically exclusive state because of animosity with another ethnic group is not a solution; it is a recipe for disaster.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "49a3d5e86e95f35433a27da7977c6faf", "text": "global government voting house would recognise kosovo independent state Ethnic Serbs are suffering right now in Kosovo. A large portion of them have been displaced from their homes and a significant number of Serbian Orthodox churches and cemeteries have been demolished or vandalised. It is hypocritical to use to suffering of one side to justify a transfer of sovereignty while simultaneously ignoring the suffering of the other side.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ee0838315d86b1db20f45faaff641df7", "text": "global government voting house would recognise kosovo independent state An ethnic or religious difference from the rulers of one’s country is not a sufficient condition to necessitate independence. It is perfectly possible for example to be a Muslim in a predominantly Christian country, or someone of Irish heritage living in England, without calling for a separate \"state within a state\". Not just any minority group deserves to have its call for sovereign independence recognised. There have to be additional and better reasons, other than a simple difference in ethnicity or cultural heritage if a people are to ground a valid claim for sovereign independence.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4df4d0e5710dadf86e2edef759678edf", "text": "global government voting house would recognise kosovo independent state Now is not the appropriate time\n\nThere are still widely reported incidents between Kosovo-Albanians and Serbs. [1] Mafia-style gangs dominate the area, [2] many associated with the KLA paramilitaries who struggled against Serbia, and are involved in international crimes such as drug and people trafficking. Moreover, there was an effective Serb boycott of recent elections in Kosovo. The region has clearly not yet healed its wounds and to put even more strain on the already tense relations between the two communities is simply not advisable.\n\nIn Serb-dominated North Kosovo, schools utilities and municipalities are integrated into Serbia’s system, not Kosovo’s.\n\n[1] Potok, Zubin, ‘NATO soldiers wounded by gunfire in Kosovo clash’, Reuters, 28 November 2011, http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/28/us-kosovo-violence-idUSTRE7AR2...\n\n[2] Lewis, Paul, ‘Kosovo PM is head of human organ and arms ring, Council of Europe reports’, guardian.co.uk, 14 December 2010, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/14/kosovo-prime-minister-llike-...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "00d289d779bf4a7043d3359c973a69e7", "text": "global government voting house would recognise kosovo independent state It will be bad for regional stability\n\nNot only will a move toward independence be bad news for the Serb minority population and for regional relations in general. Some areas of northern Kosovo are ethnically Serb, while parts of southern Serbia have an Albanian population, so the border is likely to be in dispute. It will also increase tensions in neighbouring Macedonia. There is a large, Albanian minority in the north of Macedonia. In the aftermath of NATO intervention in Kosovo separatists attempted to put the cause of independence from Macedonia on the map. The Macedonian government is not willing to cede any of its territory and any resurgence in separatist terrorism - which would be the inevitable consequence of independence for Kosovo - would lead to bloody conflict in that region. [1] Not only Serbia but also Macedonia and Greece fear a struggle for a Greater Albania. Thus, in the interests of preserving peace and preventing loss of life, we should postpone the settlement of the question of sovereignty until tensions between the different communities subside.\n\n[1] Karon, Tony, ‘Why Macedonia Has NATO Worried’, TimeWorld, 12 March 2001, http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,102146,00.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "80cb61be42adcdc6bb6ee6545cca0f55", "text": "global government voting house would recognise kosovo independent state An independent Kosovo is not a viable state\n\nAn independent Kosovo would be too small for it to be a viable state. It is one of the poorest regions in Yugoslavia, with a per capita GDP of only $2750, [1] and needs to be a part of a larger state for it to benefit from the development subsidies, economies of scale and labour movement rights that are offered by membership of a larger state. The creation of an independent sovereign state would entail the introduction of destructive tariffs and other bureaucratic obstacles to the regeneration of the region, which must be the first priority. The avid desire of Slovenia and other former communist countries to join the political and economic project of the European Union is a clear indication of the way that Balkan people should be directed.\n\n[1] Background Note: Kosovo, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/100931.htm\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "db816d90ff4da1e332ad46df9dd16b08", "text": "global government voting house would recognise kosovo independent state Self-determination is a human right\n\nSelf-determination is a right recognised by the United Nations Charter and forms the basis of relations between all nations on earth. Thus, Kosovo-Albanians have international law on their side in their pursuit of an independent homeland. If the UN Charter is not explicitly on the side of the Kosovo-Albanians it is difficult to see which people it does support. The very credibility of international law and international society depends on support for causes like that of Kosovan independence where the people in a region have had their right to self-determination internally totally frustrated. [1]\n\n[1] Kumbaro, Dajena.‘The Kosovo Crisis in a International Law Perspective: Self-Determination, Territorial Integrity and the NATO intervention’. NATO Office of Information and Press. 2001. http://www.nato.int/acad/fellow/99-01/kumbaro.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c443575cdd5b16a53fa8e37f59c4f1aa", "text": "global government voting house would recognise kosovo independent state Reversing de-facto sovereignty would be an affront to those who suffered from ethnic cleansing\n\nThe NATO action in Kosovo was justified as a humanitarian intervention to prevent the oppression and murder of Kosovo-Albanians. It makes a mockery of that action and the liberal-internationalist, humanitarian rhetoric that underpinned it, to then deny these over a million people the right to determine their own future free from outside interference. Tony Blair for example stated “We cannot let the evil of ethnic cleansing stand. We must not rest until it is reversed.” [1] If they should then choose to seek EU membership, then that is their right and a clear opportunity for them to gain greater prosperity outside Serbia.\n\nKosovar Albanians have suffered much over the last decade at the hands of Serbia. It is offensive to suggest that they must submit to any arrangement that preserves Serbian sovereignty over Kosovo. Serbia/Yugoslavia forfeited whatever right it had to govern Kosovo when it systematically discriminated against Kosovo-Albanians. It is also in Serbia’s own interests to put its own bloody past behind it and make a clean break in the interests of improving its economic and diplomatic relationships with its neighbours, and in seeking foreign aid and perhaps one day EU membership.\n\n[1] Blair, Tony, ‘Prime Minister’s speech: Doctrine of the International community at the Economic Club, Chicago’, 24 April 1999, http://keeptonyblairforpm.wordpress.com/blair-speech-transcripts-from-19...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ead49f529ab3162d0d947bdbec41fb71", "text": "global government voting house would recognise kosovo independent state The people of Kosovo are distinct from their neighbours\n\nKosovo-Albanians are ethnically and culturally distinct from Serbs. They live in a geographically distinct location, Kosovo which is separated from Serbia by the Prokletije, Kopaonik and Zegovac mountains. They comprise 1.7 million people, living within a distinct area, who as the majority are ethnically Albanian and religiously Muslim are clearly different from the Serbs who until recently ruled over them. There was initially a peaceful resistance movement led by Ibrahim Rugova, established after the loss of autonomy and rights the region experienced in the 1990s. However once this failed to make progress in 1997 an armed resistance movement called the Kosovo Liberation Army emerged. [1] Slobodan Milosevic the Serbian leader responded with in ethnic persecution resulting in NATO intervention which in itself should be enough reason to support independence. For all these reasons, Kosovo-Albanians deserve to be allowed to govern themselves just as much as any other people.\n\n[1] Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, ‘Background Note: Kosovo’, U.S. Department of State, 16 November 2011, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/100931.htm\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e123f0960bb1f9e22085c302285e39c7", "text": "global government voting house would recognise kosovo independent state The popular sovereignty of the Kosovan people must take precedence over other considerations\n\nThe present fact of a distinct, Kosovo-Albanian people living in Kosovo must take precedence over any traditional, religious or historical claim to Serbian sovereignty over that land. It is certainly true that Kosovo is historically and culturally important to Serbia. It has a particular significance for the Orthodox faith. However, consider the following analogy. Great Britain is, officially, a Christian country. This fact gives the British no valid territorial claim to sovereignty over Bethlehem (the literal birth-place of Christianity), particularly when there are people already living in the area. Historico-religious, traditional associations with a place can never override the rights of an indigenous population to remain in possession of its land and sovereignty.\n\nThere are clear, historical precedents for granting Kosovo independence. These precedents can be seen regionally in the post-communist independence of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia, as well as of the Baltic Republics. Globally, one can see precedents in the struggle of African countries for independence from European colonial rule. The relative proximity of Serbia to Kosovo in no way makes the situation dissimilar to the struggles of India against British rule - the British would not be content to be ruled by France just because the two countries are neighbours.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
8b8efb98e2fd93b18f9259bfa54c18cf
Allows strength in numbers Russia was originally allowed in to the G8 to encourage it to reform, or rather to provide a place where Russia’s leader can be backed into reforming. The G8 is a western institution, a forum in which an aggressive Russia has no natural allies. This means that it is the perfect place for the western democracies to voice their concerns; Russia will find itself isolated at the table and on the back foot. While at its own summit it will be even more likely to give concessions in the interests of making its own summit a success. At the last G8 summit Putin hosted in 2006 Russia made some concessions to the US in order to try and obtain WTO membership. [1] [1] Rutland, Peter, ‘Russia and the WTO: deal, or no deal?’, National Bureau of Asian Research, Special Report no.12, March 2007. Pp31-36, p.32
[ { "docid": "56000c87da149664e250a50d21960de1", "text": "global politics government leadership house would throw russia out g8 While strength in numbers may seem to be useful when there are conflicts between Russia and the other G8 members this is not what the G8 should be about. Using the G8 in such a way will simply encourage Russia to dig its heels in and encourage the growth of other rival institutions. An example would be the BRIC summits between Brazil, Russia, India and China; would these have happened at all if the G8 has been more inclusive and recognised that these nations need to be involved in the G8? It is notable that the very first summit included discussion of the desire by India and Brazil to play a greater role in world affairs. [1]\n\n[1] Presidents of Russia, Brazil, China and Prime Minister of India, ‘Joint Statement of the BRIC Countries’ Leaders’, kremlin.ru, 16 June 2009\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "0e2a665c2822f8ad497e4ac4f3841cce", "text": "global politics government leadership house would throw russia out g8 The address by Putin was before Russia’s illegal intervention into Crimea and as such ‘settling regional conflicts’ almost certainly refers to Syria, not Crimea. Russia’s role in Syria has hardly been constructive, it has until recently stopped any resolutions on Syria [1] , but not so onerous as to require throwing the country out of the G8. With Putin in charge of the summit and so setting the agenda we can be sure that discussion of Crimea will be kept off the agenda so ensuring that any discussion is purely informal. Putin is hardly likely to make concessions at his own summit.\n\n[1] BBC News, ‘Syria crisis: UN Security Council agrees aid resolution’, 23 February 2014\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a01bdc20a0f125839dab5a3250c9dd01", "text": "global politics government leadership house would throw russia out g8 Getting rid of Russia would not make the G8 irrelevant; it would simply return it to its core. The remaining members would me much more likely to agree and actually come up with meaningful outcomes to the summits. It might be a less effective steering committee for the global economy but at the same time it could ensure greater unity between the western powers.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fe6e430233bfe51cd1f82afd43c427c6", "text": "global politics government leadership house would throw russia out g8 But Russia, as with any country – particularly any powerful country – is interested in symbolism and international prestige. Many analysts suggest that Putin’s takeover of Crimea may be about revenge for having ‘lost’ Ukraine, or out of a desire to set up a new greater Russia. [1] In each of these cases it is about prestige as the practical gains to Russia are small. Russia wants to be seen as a great power, kicking it out of one of the globe’s top clubs damages that ambition.\n\n[1] Speck, Ulrich, ‘Opinion Putin planning ‘Soviet Union lite’’, CNN, 4 March 2014\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3d809163ed4da9f86cf72bab3f5de56b", "text": "global politics government leadership house would throw russia out g8 The G8 countries are the world’s most powerful countries. As such most of the powers involved in the G8 have at some point been involved in aggressive foreign interventions. The Iraq invasion did not lead to calls to throw the US and UK out, neither did the bombing of Libya lead to France’s expulsion. Using Russian actions in Ukraine as an excuse would be simple hypocrisy.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f8f5649d7fde1fe2cd96d9e5ac5fcc35", "text": "global politics government leadership house would throw russia out g8 Sanctions by necessity harm both sides. However Russia is a much smaller economy than either the EU or US (both of which are seven-eight times bigger). Any economic retaliation and escalation will therefore harm Russia more. The threat to cut off gas supplies is a major threat but Russia can’t simply sell the gas elsewhere because its pipelines mostly go to Europe. In the 2009 ‘gas war’ which involved supplies to Europe being restricted (though not completely cut off) for 20 days Russia’s state gas company Gazprom lost $1.1billion in revenues. [1] A more complete cut off would have higher losses.\n\n[1] Pugliaresi, Lucian et al., ‘Is it time for Gazprom to hit the reset button?’, Oil&Gas Journal, 3 September 2009\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "43d089f36cbf27f9828d615c052ead60", "text": "global politics government leadership house would throw russia out g8 It is wrong to say that Russia is not an industrialised country, it is considered by the World Bank to be a high income country. [1] It is also a democracy that holds regular elections. President Putin is held in high regard by Russians 67.8% of Russians approve of Putin’s job performance [2] – far higher than any other member of the G8.\n\n[1] The World Bank, ‘Russian Federation’, data.worldbank.org, accessed 7 March 2014\n\n[2] Luhn, Alec, ‘Ukraine crisis and Olympics boost Vladimir Putin’s popularity in Russia’, The Guardian, 6 March 2014 , note however the pollster is state run!\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b3c86df7a3859b36a39d5a8866773d02", "text": "global politics government leadership house would throw russia out g8 If there needs to be a response to Russian actions it does not need to be this response. Much more useful would be economic sanctions against Russia; either targeted freezing of state assets and the assets of leaders, or more comprehensive sanctions that would damage Russia’s economy. Such actions would provide a real cost to aggressive action, not simply a symbolic cost. [1]\n\n[1] Verhofstadt, Guy, ‘Russia will bow to economic pressure over Ukraine, so the EU must impose it’, theguardian.com, 6 March 2014\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7d4b66a390a8fe628e3fba2be760480c", "text": "global politics government leadership house would throw russia out g8 Simply narrows the G8 making it irrelevant\n\nThe G8 has been losing its relevance with the rise of other countries economically. It can no longer claim to be the top eight economies as Canada is the world’s eleventh largest economy with India, Brazil and China all bigger. It is even lower (14th) if done by Purchasing Power Parity. [1] Newer more inclusive institutions such as the G20 that include other vital economies like China have been taking over its primacy on the economy. The G8 is no longer the best grouping to steer the global economy as was recognised during the 2008 financial crisis where the G20 took the lead. [2] Throwing out Russia would simply be making the G8 narrower and less important globally so reducing the institution’s influence.\n\n[1] The World Bank, ‘GDP (current US$)’, data.worldbank.org, 2012 figures\n\n[2] Cooper, Andrew F., ‘The G20 as an improvised crisis committee and/or a contested ‘steering committee’ for the world’, International Affairs, Vol.86, No.3, 2010 pp.741-757\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1d61915e775e81ba7f124cdac058cf10", "text": "global politics government leadership house would throw russia out g8 There needs to be a place to talk\n\nGerman Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier argues that \"The format of the G8 is actually the only one in which we in the West can speak directly with Russia\". [1] Russia’s proposed priorities for the G8 summit included “fighting the drug menace, combating terrorism and extremism, settling regional conflicts, safeguarding people's health, and establishing a global management system to address risks associated with natural and man-made disasters” [2] since Russia is clearly willing to discuss regional conflicts then it makes sense to use the summit to discuss Ukraine. Since Russia has not turned up to other suggested talks, such as a meeting of the Budapest agreement group [3] (UK, US, Ukraine, Russia – the agreement guarantees Ukraine’s territorial integrity [4] ), it makes sense to go to Russia’s summit which Russia can’t avoid.\n\n[1] kms/ccp, ‘Putin agrees to Ukraine 'fact-finding' mission after talk with Merkel’, Deutsche Welle, 2 March 2013\n\n[2] Putin, Vladimir, ‘Address by President Vladimir Putin on Russia assuming the G8 Presidency’, en.g8russia.ru, 1 January 2014\n\n[3] G uardian Staff, ‘Only talks between Russia and Ukraine can solve crisis, say US and UK’, theguardian.com, 5 March 2014\n\n[4] Presidents of Ukraine, Russian Federation and United States of America, and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, ‘Budapest Memorandums on Security Assurances, 1994’, cfr.org, 5 December 1994\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4b18cc2e75bc45436c69a574b189d79c", "text": "global politics government leadership house would throw russia out g8 Will make no difference to Russia\n\nThrowing Russia out of the G8 to punish the country – whether for aggressive acts in its near abroad, for human rights violations, or simply for corruption and economic crimes – is unlikely to make any difference to Russia. [1] Being in the G8 provides very little tangible benefit; it is all about the symbolism of it being the top club. Russia however has created its own top club in the BRICS conferences that are very similar to the G8 as a series of informal gatherings of major world leaders. Russia could rightly argue that despite having fewer members it is broader and more inclusive as it includes members from the Americas (Brazil), from Africa (South Africa), and the important players from of Eurasia (Russia, China, India). Since these powers are the rising countries why would Russia want to be associated with the declining west?\n\n[1] Judah, Ben, ‘Why Russia No Longer Fears the West’, Politico, 2 March 2014\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d9e83f2ff813c66ebac361fa930d45c4", "text": "global politics government leadership house would throw russia out g8 Aggressive acts violate the meaning of the G8\n\nThe focus of the G8 is on economic, monetary, financial and globilisation issues. Aggressive actions scare the markets – as shown by the rouble reaching new lows against the dollar and Euro – so run counter to the focus of the G8. [1] Russia has in the past also used its gas supplies as an economic weapon, this and acts of aggression such as in Crimea are repudiating the idea of globilisation. The G8 is important because there is “a good understanding among G8 members” clearly when one of those members is engaging in conflictual acts that understanding is damaged. [2] The G7 members on 2nd March 2014 in a statement responding to Russia’s aggression in the Crimea stated “Russia’s actions in Ukraine also contravene the principles and values on which the G-7 and the G-8 operate”. [3] Any member that does not follow the principles of an organisation should be suspended as a member.\n\n[1] BBC News, ‘Russian rouble hits new low against the dollar and euro’, 3 March 2014\n\n[2] Government of France, ‘The G8’, g8.fr, 2003\n\n[3] Office of the Press Secretary, ‘G-7 Leaders Statement’, whitehouse.gov, 2 March 2014\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d7092d11f84f0ea55145f6f691fc6e2b", "text": "global politics government leadership house would throw russia out g8 Russia should never have been a member\n\nThe G8 has been meant to be a group of industrialised democracies. Russia is neither particularly industrialised, nor particularly democratic. Russia remains reliant on natural resources for much of its wealth; 30% of its GDP and 70% of exports. [1] Its most recent presidential election – that voted in Putin for a third term – was not exactly free and fair. The OSCE election observers concluded “There was no real competition and abuse of government resources ensured that the ultimate winner of the election was never in doubt”. [2] Its qualifications for membership have been questioned from the very beginning, when Russia joined the G7 were able to argue inclusion would bring it closer to the west. Yet Russia remains essentially an outsider in the group, it does not share western values and goes its own way. [3]\n\n[1] Aron, Leon, ‘The political economy of Russian oil and gas’, American Enterprise Institute, 11 April 2013\n\n[2] Eschenbaecher, Jens-Hagen, ‘Russia’s presidential election marked by unequal campaign conditions, active citizens’ engagement, international observers say’, OSCE, 4 March 2012\n\n[3] Dempsey, Judy, ‘Judy Asks: Is Russia Relevant in the G8?’, Carnegie Europe, 19 June 2013\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "16ce9a8813aba448827de9bdaef2430c", "text": "global politics government leadership house would throw russia out g8 There needs to be a response to bad behaviour internationally\n\nThe intention of international institutions is to bind countries together, to ensure they speak to each other and resolve differences, and to ensure they feel they cannot engage in aggressive actions. However when a state breaks these norms there needs to be a reaction. Russia has been willing to engage in aggressive acts time and time again. The recent occupation of Crimea is very similar to Russia’s war with Georgia in 2008; in both conflicts Russia used the excuse of Russians being in danger, in both cases Russia was there as a ‘peacekeeper’, and in both cases the action was in another sovereign country whose government did not wish Russian troops there. The result is an expansion of Russian influence and some form of annexation. [1] There was no action after the Russian conflict with Georgia except a mediated peace. [2] There now needs to be a response to actions in Crimea; throwing Russia out of the G8 is the least response.\n\n[1] Friedman, Uri, ‘Putin’s Playbook: The Strategy Behind Russia’s Takeover of Crimea’, The Atlantic, 2 March 2014\n\n[2] King, Charles, ‘The Five-Day War’, Foreign Affairs, November/December 2008\n\nTraynor, Ian, Luke Harding and Helen Womack, ‘Georgia and Russia declare ceasefire’, theguardian.com, 16 August 2008\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "08aa205442f198af9006eadeaef25389", "text": "global politics government leadership house would throw russia out g8 The biggest action the west can take without sanctions\n\nEuropean states, which make up half of the members of the G8, have been reluctant to take stronger economic steps against aggressive Russian actions. Russia has warned the US “We will encourage everybody to dump US Treasury bonds, get rid of dollars as an unreliable currency and leave the US market.” [1] The European countries have more reason to be concerned because they rely on Russia for their gas supplies; 39% of German gas and 9% of total energy consumption is reliant on Russia. [2] If Russia were to retaliate to sanctions it could seriously damage the European economy. This means that throwing Russia out of the G8 or other institutions is the biggest sanction that does not have any risk of economic retaliation and escalation that damage everyone.\n\n[1] RIA Novosti, ‘Putin Adviser Urges Dumping US Bonds In Reaction to Sanctions’, 4 March 2013\n\n[2] Ratner, Michael et al., ‘Europe’s Energy Security: Options and Challenges to Natural Gas Supply Diversification’, Congressional Research Service, 20 August 2013, p.10\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
32f3c81faa1a3ee37cf8f6acaf14b231
Ethnic borders erase a wrong of history Imperialism and Colonisation is one of the great wrongs of history where much of the globe was carved up without any reference to the facts on the ground. When the west drew borders peoples were split, and kingdoms and cultures carved up. Independence may have ended some of the worst aspects of imperialism but it exacerbated the problem of borders. [1] Africa has since seen the problems that this has created and should realise the need to break from the colonial legacy. [1] Michalopoulos, 2011, p.4
[ { "docid": "72df5aee836250860ef3d54aef9359aa", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Changing borders won’t erase the wrong – it happened and that should be recognised. Borders are simply one by-product and if there are individual borders that are particularly problematic then they might need to be redrawn but there should not be a comprehensive change. To do so might simply create a new wrong with thousands of conflicts over where borders should run.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "ff375c488a754544d66e98a0676537b7", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic A great many of the world’s leading states are multicultural/ethnic rather than ethnic states. The United States, Brazil, India, and Indonesia to take just a few. These states have been able to construct national identities that are not just based upon ethnicity. For cosmopolitan democratic states the border being an accident of history does not matter [1] ; this is what African states need to do as well not carve themselves up.\n\n[1] Ratner, 1996, p.591\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e409a8cf24d746f2f2883c1ed562f9bc", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Plebiscites and consultation across the whole of Africa. The project would take years or decades to come up with agreed upon borders. Small areas state might wish to be ceded to a neighbouring state when those closer don’t creating enclaves and exclaves [1] as well as a recipe for conflict.\n\n[1] Exclave.eu\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "89b2485291e9b74191135db0bb667809", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic First changing borders encouraging development relies on the assumption that there won’t be conflict. Second if independence movements gain independence then there will be a lot more international borders and the barriers to trade these impose. Finally we need to think about this the other way around; when there are ethnic groups on both sides of the trade they are encouraging and facilitating trade between the two states – this is something to be encouraged not changed. Having the same ethnicity on both sides of the border works in the same way as having emigration in encouraging trade. Because of networks overlapping between the two countries trade will increase. In Spain for example doubling the number of immigrants leads to an increase in exports to the immigrant’s country of origin by 10%. [1] Economic development is not always stifled at borders; two of the four Nigerian states with GDP per capita of over 2000NGN are on the border with Benin. [2]\n\n[1] Peri, 2010\n\n[2] AlifArabia, 2013\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ee1f2b4143ce99b1e8f50052b39e8f87", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic That such a move will reduce conflict relies on a lot of assumptions; most notably that the changes won’t spark a lot of new conflicts. Territory is the biggest source of violent conflicts among states and this will create a large number of new such conflicts. When there is a response 76.6% of the time it will be military when territory is in dispute compared to 49% when something else is the cause, and such disputes are three times as likely to escalate to war (7.3% to 2.5%). [1] The redrawing process would also mean suffering as states attempt to pre-empt new borders by moving those of the ‘wrong’ ethnicity and as insurgencies are stepped up. The Abyei area of Sudan shows what is likely to happen; it was to have a referendum to decide whether to join the North or South but the north occupied the region before it could be carried out. [2]\n\n[1] Hensel, 1998, pp.20-1\n\n[2] Copnall, 2011\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "64a5445931bb12051a0e1e07a64f85f9", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic It has since been accepted in the 1989 Guinea-Bissau/Senegal case that a colony gaining independence need not be bound by agreements concluded by the imperial power. [1] Borders have never in the past been fixed, they have changed usually as a result of conflict but also more peaceful changes such as demarcation or unification. African states should not be binding themselves to an out of date territorial system forced upon them by their imperial oppressors.\n\n[1] Ratner, 1996, p.620\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "542e65ad2bf2a95f5e6d33d4ca90faff", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Solving the conflicts and preventing violence is the first step to real African unity and cooperation. Redrawing the borders is a radical solution that has yet to be tried as it will makes stronger and reduce the threat of secession movements it should make African leaders more willing the work with neighbours.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6bf6cc88dd0327f621bf7330ed30a931", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic There are many ‘odd borders’ around the world without problems. Not least between Belgium and the Netherlands. There are about twenty tiny enclaves at Baarle as 5732 parcels of land in a 50km border region were parcelled out separately. [1] Yet there has been no conflict between the two since Belgian independence. Odd borders don’t matter – it’s the willingness to cooperate that counts.\n\n[1] Smith\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b91367fa311e92bd4dee2e28b0a7e95c", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic In addition to meeting the demands of some independence movements, there could be a decrease in the number of such organisations due to reduced prospects. If it is unlikely to get a whole province then they may be less inclined to attempt to secede. [1]\n\nThere have been conflicts in Kivu, DR Congo, but the Banyamulenge the main group involved only makes up around 4% of the population [2] – would they desire to split from Congo if they were not likely to take the whole province?\n\n[1] Ratner, 1996, p.591\n\n[2] Wikipedia\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ff56e48406ae7ca393e19cad077aa010", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Ethnic borders allow nation states\n\nIn Africa borders are artificial often running through ethnic groupings without consideration for culture or even local geography with the exception of water courses. [1] Altering these borders to reflect ethnicities and culture would help states to create their own national identity as their identities would not be split. Having the whole of an ethnicity within one state will help prevent misappropriation of culture and history by another state.\n\n[1] Michalopoulos, 2011, p.19\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "370eae43babca5ec7f55db9570d0b547", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Redrawing could be democratic\n\nA redrawing of borders would allow for democratic participation in the building of new African states. There would have to be plebiscites in local areas to determine where borders should run and extensive consultation so that the borders are drawn based on the wishes of the people this time. The opposite of what happens at the moment. For example much of the Bakassi homeland was ceded by Nigeria to Cameroon as a result of an International Court of Justice ruling on the colonial border and many people are asking Nigeria to resettle them as they don’t share Cameroon’s culture. [1] Clearly the people would surely much prefer to have their destiny in their own hands than letting the borders be settled by an international court pouring over 19th century maps. [2]\n\n[1] Chinwo, 2012\n\n[2] Fisher, 2012\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b10451d9524c3e6ddd8f5a4edbef5f20", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Preventing conflict\n\nRedrawing borders could help resolve conflict in Africa. Michalopoulos and Papaioannou find \"civil conflict intensity, as reflected in war casualties and duration, is approximately 35% higher in areas where partitioned ethnicities reside.\" Conflict duration is 18.5% higher. [1]\n\nThey identify seven different ways in which artificial borders lead to, or intensify conflict;\n\n1, partitioning ethnicities creates irredentist demands\n\n2, partitioning makes an independence movement more likely\n\n3, when borders are not marked the ethnic group has a reason to attempt to change the border\n\n4, patronage politics leads to discrimination against minorities\n\n5, splitting ethnicities encourages smuggling and criminalisation\n\n6, splitting resources that were previously part of an ethnic group’s homeland will leave the ethnic group trying to engineer the resources return\n\n7, partitioning reduces development so increases inequality with and resentment towards the center of the state. [2]\n\nGetting rid of all of these reasons for conflict would help make Africa more peaceful in the long run.\n\n[1] Michalopoulos, 2011, p.22\n\n[2] Michalopoulos, 2011, pp.4-6\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d4121ab1c1955a54e242c700dd7f9c75", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Encouraging development\n\nUsing data from satellites measuring luminosity Michalopoulos and Papaioannou find that border areas with partitioned ethnic groups are up to 60% less developed than those towards the centre of countries so are not artificially split. Ethnicity is significant for trade. For example between Niger and Nigeria prices of millet increase at the border by 23.2% when it is also the border between ethnicities but only 9.3% when the same ethnicity is on both sides of the border for cowpea the figures are 20.2% and 14.4%. [1] Moreover internally where there is an ethnic border between markets there is a similar increase of 21% for millet and 22% for cowpea. [2] Ethnicity may also affect the ability to gain credit from other traders. [3] It therefore makes sense economically to have borders at ethnic boundaries due to the natural trading relations within an ethnic group. Splitting an ethnic group creates unnecessary hardship by making it more difficult to trade.\n\n[1] Aker, 2010, p.16\n\n[2] Ibid, p.21-2\n\n[3] Ibid, p.25\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "76ddb0835c4bdcc75c114db96f6ad943", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Encourages Secessionism\n\nThere are at least 834 different ethnicities in Africa [1] and could be as many as 3315. [2] If the ethnicities along the borders are being allowed to choose where they belong then every other ethnicity should, anything else is inconsistent. This is necessary to solve long running campaigns for independence such as by Western Sahara where the people would not want to have to choose between Morocco and Mauritania. [3] On the other hand if only groups which are already in revolt are asked whether they wish independence then such a proposal is simply hypocritical failing to take into account that groups that have been non-violent may also wish independence.\n\n[1] Michalopoulos, 2011, p.1\n\n[2] Wentzel, 2013\n\n[3] BBC News, 2013\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6536ed58b51296c5cd96a640f635599f", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Damages dreams of African unity\n\nThe African Union Constitutive Act has as an objective to “achieve greater unity and solidarity”. This is something that is damaged by making borders open to question. Borders at the moment are a settle but redrawing borders will open up disputes between African countries as every state will fear losing valuable pieces of territory. It will make that the primary international issue for decades setting back cooperation on peacekeeping or a common market.\n\nIf African unity is the ultimate objective then borders should not matter.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d4b692697eb5ab430eab785f16a18269", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Violates current states sovereignty\n\nOne of the core principles of sovereignty is that of territorial integrity. In the process of decolonisation this was expressed through the principle of uti possidetis, that the administrative divisions of the previous state should form the borders the new states so as to prevent gaps in sovereignty and the conflict that would create. [1] The OAU in 1964 went so far as to solemnly declare “that all Member States pledge themselves to respect the borders existing on their achievement of national independence.” [2] Any alteration to borders would be attacking this principle. No African state is going to accept a change that is likely to redraw many of their borders, open disputes with neighbours and possibly create new states.\n\n[1] Shaw, 1997, p.356\n\n[2] OAU, 1964\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f916d790009b2a58aa4ec1b46de4f697", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Would create odd borders.\n\nUnfortunately ethnic groups don’t all live in a block with clear dividing lines between them and the neighbouring group. Borders reflecting ethnicities will be squiggly. Often there will be enclaves. Even enclaves may not be enough to get everybody from each ethnicity in the ‘right’ nation. This is shown in the former Yugoslavia where when a nation for Kosovars was created Serbs were suddenly on the wrong side of the border.\n\nThis is the problem with not going based upon administrative borders. The question is immediately raised; how finely grained should the border be calibrated? A border cannot be moved to suit every individual.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
b6dbedf241fd15cee369fa38d1e64175
Encouraging development Using data from satellites measuring luminosity Michalopoulos and Papaioannou find that border areas with partitioned ethnic groups are up to 60% less developed than those towards the centre of countries so are not artificially split. Ethnicity is significant for trade. For example between Niger and Nigeria prices of millet increase at the border by 23.2% when it is also the border between ethnicities but only 9.3% when the same ethnicity is on both sides of the border for cowpea the figures are 20.2% and 14.4%. [1] Moreover internally where there is an ethnic border between markets there is a similar increase of 21% for millet and 22% for cowpea. [2] Ethnicity may also affect the ability to gain credit from other traders. [3] It therefore makes sense economically to have borders at ethnic boundaries due to the natural trading relations within an ethnic group. Splitting an ethnic group creates unnecessary hardship by making it more difficult to trade. [1] Aker, 2010, p.16 [2] Ibid, p.21-2 [3] Ibid, p.25
[ { "docid": "89b2485291e9b74191135db0bb667809", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic First changing borders encouraging development relies on the assumption that there won’t be conflict. Second if independence movements gain independence then there will be a lot more international borders and the barriers to trade these impose. Finally we need to think about this the other way around; when there are ethnic groups on both sides of the trade they are encouraging and facilitating trade between the two states – this is something to be encouraged not changed. Having the same ethnicity on both sides of the border works in the same way as having emigration in encouraging trade. Because of networks overlapping between the two countries trade will increase. In Spain for example doubling the number of immigrants leads to an increase in exports to the immigrant’s country of origin by 10%. [1] Economic development is not always stifled at borders; two of the four Nigerian states with GDP per capita of over 2000NGN are on the border with Benin. [2]\n\n[1] Peri, 2010\n\n[2] AlifArabia, 2013\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "ff375c488a754544d66e98a0676537b7", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic A great many of the world’s leading states are multicultural/ethnic rather than ethnic states. The United States, Brazil, India, and Indonesia to take just a few. These states have been able to construct national identities that are not just based upon ethnicity. For cosmopolitan democratic states the border being an accident of history does not matter [1] ; this is what African states need to do as well not carve themselves up.\n\n[1] Ratner, 1996, p.591\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e409a8cf24d746f2f2883c1ed562f9bc", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Plebiscites and consultation across the whole of Africa. The project would take years or decades to come up with agreed upon borders. Small areas state might wish to be ceded to a neighbouring state when those closer don’t creating enclaves and exclaves [1] as well as a recipe for conflict.\n\n[1] Exclave.eu\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ee1f2b4143ce99b1e8f50052b39e8f87", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic That such a move will reduce conflict relies on a lot of assumptions; most notably that the changes won’t spark a lot of new conflicts. Territory is the biggest source of violent conflicts among states and this will create a large number of new such conflicts. When there is a response 76.6% of the time it will be military when territory is in dispute compared to 49% when something else is the cause, and such disputes are three times as likely to escalate to war (7.3% to 2.5%). [1] The redrawing process would also mean suffering as states attempt to pre-empt new borders by moving those of the ‘wrong’ ethnicity and as insurgencies are stepped up. The Abyei area of Sudan shows what is likely to happen; it was to have a referendum to decide whether to join the North or South but the north occupied the region before it could be carried out. [2]\n\n[1] Hensel, 1998, pp.20-1\n\n[2] Copnall, 2011\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "72df5aee836250860ef3d54aef9359aa", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Changing borders won’t erase the wrong – it happened and that should be recognised. Borders are simply one by-product and if there are individual borders that are particularly problematic then they might need to be redrawn but there should not be a comprehensive change. To do so might simply create a new wrong with thousands of conflicts over where borders should run.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "64a5445931bb12051a0e1e07a64f85f9", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic It has since been accepted in the 1989 Guinea-Bissau/Senegal case that a colony gaining independence need not be bound by agreements concluded by the imperial power. [1] Borders have never in the past been fixed, they have changed usually as a result of conflict but also more peaceful changes such as demarcation or unification. African states should not be binding themselves to an out of date territorial system forced upon them by their imperial oppressors.\n\n[1] Ratner, 1996, p.620\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "542e65ad2bf2a95f5e6d33d4ca90faff", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Solving the conflicts and preventing violence is the first step to real African unity and cooperation. Redrawing the borders is a radical solution that has yet to be tried as it will makes stronger and reduce the threat of secession movements it should make African leaders more willing the work with neighbours.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6bf6cc88dd0327f621bf7330ed30a931", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic There are many ‘odd borders’ around the world without problems. Not least between Belgium and the Netherlands. There are about twenty tiny enclaves at Baarle as 5732 parcels of land in a 50km border region were parcelled out separately. [1] Yet there has been no conflict between the two since Belgian independence. Odd borders don’t matter – it’s the willingness to cooperate that counts.\n\n[1] Smith\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b91367fa311e92bd4dee2e28b0a7e95c", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic In addition to meeting the demands of some independence movements, there could be a decrease in the number of such organisations due to reduced prospects. If it is unlikely to get a whole province then they may be less inclined to attempt to secede. [1]\n\nThere have been conflicts in Kivu, DR Congo, but the Banyamulenge the main group involved only makes up around 4% of the population [2] – would they desire to split from Congo if they were not likely to take the whole province?\n\n[1] Ratner, 1996, p.591\n\n[2] Wikipedia\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ff56e48406ae7ca393e19cad077aa010", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Ethnic borders allow nation states\n\nIn Africa borders are artificial often running through ethnic groupings without consideration for culture or even local geography with the exception of water courses. [1] Altering these borders to reflect ethnicities and culture would help states to create their own national identity as their identities would not be split. Having the whole of an ethnicity within one state will help prevent misappropriation of culture and history by another state.\n\n[1] Michalopoulos, 2011, p.19\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "370eae43babca5ec7f55db9570d0b547", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Redrawing could be democratic\n\nA redrawing of borders would allow for democratic participation in the building of new African states. There would have to be plebiscites in local areas to determine where borders should run and extensive consultation so that the borders are drawn based on the wishes of the people this time. The opposite of what happens at the moment. For example much of the Bakassi homeland was ceded by Nigeria to Cameroon as a result of an International Court of Justice ruling on the colonial border and many people are asking Nigeria to resettle them as they don’t share Cameroon’s culture. [1] Clearly the people would surely much prefer to have their destiny in their own hands than letting the borders be settled by an international court pouring over 19th century maps. [2]\n\n[1] Chinwo, 2012\n\n[2] Fisher, 2012\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b10451d9524c3e6ddd8f5a4edbef5f20", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Preventing conflict\n\nRedrawing borders could help resolve conflict in Africa. Michalopoulos and Papaioannou find \"civil conflict intensity, as reflected in war casualties and duration, is approximately 35% higher in areas where partitioned ethnicities reside.\" Conflict duration is 18.5% higher. [1]\n\nThey identify seven different ways in which artificial borders lead to, or intensify conflict;\n\n1, partitioning ethnicities creates irredentist demands\n\n2, partitioning makes an independence movement more likely\n\n3, when borders are not marked the ethnic group has a reason to attempt to change the border\n\n4, patronage politics leads to discrimination against minorities\n\n5, splitting ethnicities encourages smuggling and criminalisation\n\n6, splitting resources that were previously part of an ethnic group’s homeland will leave the ethnic group trying to engineer the resources return\n\n7, partitioning reduces development so increases inequality with and resentment towards the center of the state. [2]\n\nGetting rid of all of these reasons for conflict would help make Africa more peaceful in the long run.\n\n[1] Michalopoulos, 2011, p.22\n\n[2] Michalopoulos, 2011, pp.4-6\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "dda4ea51e171c5ec0b6db922eaf64b6f", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Ethnic borders erase a wrong of history\n\nImperialism and Colonisation is one of the great wrongs of history where much of the globe was carved up without any reference to the facts on the ground. When the west drew borders peoples were split, and kingdoms and cultures carved up. Independence may have ended some of the worst aspects of imperialism but it exacerbated the problem of borders. [1] Africa has since seen the problems that this has created and should realise the need to break from the colonial legacy.\n\n[1] Michalopoulos, 2011, p.4\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "76ddb0835c4bdcc75c114db96f6ad943", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Encourages Secessionism\n\nThere are at least 834 different ethnicities in Africa [1] and could be as many as 3315. [2] If the ethnicities along the borders are being allowed to choose where they belong then every other ethnicity should, anything else is inconsistent. This is necessary to solve long running campaigns for independence such as by Western Sahara where the people would not want to have to choose between Morocco and Mauritania. [3] On the other hand if only groups which are already in revolt are asked whether they wish independence then such a proposal is simply hypocritical failing to take into account that groups that have been non-violent may also wish independence.\n\n[1] Michalopoulos, 2011, p.1\n\n[2] Wentzel, 2013\n\n[3] BBC News, 2013\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6536ed58b51296c5cd96a640f635599f", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Damages dreams of African unity\n\nThe African Union Constitutive Act has as an objective to “achieve greater unity and solidarity”. This is something that is damaged by making borders open to question. Borders at the moment are a settle but redrawing borders will open up disputes between African countries as every state will fear losing valuable pieces of territory. It will make that the primary international issue for decades setting back cooperation on peacekeeping or a common market.\n\nIf African unity is the ultimate objective then borders should not matter.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d4b692697eb5ab430eab785f16a18269", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Violates current states sovereignty\n\nOne of the core principles of sovereignty is that of territorial integrity. In the process of decolonisation this was expressed through the principle of uti possidetis, that the administrative divisions of the previous state should form the borders the new states so as to prevent gaps in sovereignty and the conflict that would create. [1] The OAU in 1964 went so far as to solemnly declare “that all Member States pledge themselves to respect the borders existing on their achievement of national independence.” [2] Any alteration to borders would be attacking this principle. No African state is going to accept a change that is likely to redraw many of their borders, open disputes with neighbours and possibly create new states.\n\n[1] Shaw, 1997, p.356\n\n[2] OAU, 1964\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f916d790009b2a58aa4ec1b46de4f697", "text": "africa middle east house would redefine african borders reflect ethnic Would create odd borders.\n\nUnfortunately ethnic groups don’t all live in a block with clear dividing lines between them and the neighbouring group. Borders reflecting ethnicities will be squiggly. Often there will be enclaves. Even enclaves may not be enough to get everybody from each ethnicity in the ‘right’ nation. This is shown in the former Yugoslavia where when a nation for Kosovars was created Serbs were suddenly on the wrong side of the border.\n\nThis is the problem with not going based upon administrative borders. The question is immediately raised; how finely grained should the border be calibrated? A border cannot be moved to suit every individual.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
780d240c916c2828e3b714d8847005cd
French interests This intervention is not all about terrorism and a humanitarian desire to end a civil war. France does have a stake in the conflict and a reason to deploy military forces. There are 6,000 French citizens living in Mali who are obviously at risk to a rebel advance; even without a full scale intervention France would almost certainly have had to deploy forces to protect an evacuation. Already there are seven French citizens being held hostage in Mali and rescuing them is one of the three main objectives for the French intervention. [1] [1] Welsh, Jennifer, ‘Sending soldiers to Mali may be the only solution’, The Globe and Mail, 14 January 2012, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/why-france-couldnt-wait-for-a-regional-solution-in-mali/article7318783/
[ { "docid": "7c13ef3ceb78aa27d8c334fa0c835080", "text": "africa politics terrorism warpeace house believes france right intervene This might be an excuse to send a few soldiers to help evacuation and possibly a commando raid to free hostages but it is not a reason for all out intervention. If it was such a justification then in almost any conflict some state would have just cause to intervene because some of their citizens were in danger.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "80d25bcec7bc6231fc11c08ef1e1bd15", "text": "africa politics terrorism warpeace house believes france right intervene If terrorism is the concern then the French intervening is one of the worst possible options. Having France fighting in Mali may well result in the internationalization of the conflict bringing in jihadists. [1] Already the islamists are saying the conflict is a holy war as “France has attacked Islam” and they will in response “strike at the heart of France”. [2]\n\n[1] Welsh, Jennifer, ‘Sending soldiers to Mali may be the only solution’, The Globe and Mail, 14 January 2012, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/why-france-couldnt-wait-for-a-regional-solution-in-mali/article7318783/\n\n[2] Bamat, Joseph, ‘Mali-based Islamists pledge attacks on French soil’, France 24, 14 January 2013, http://www.france24.com/en/20130114-mali-france-intervention-terrorist-attacks\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "231de4df27c985d44a85eced4cf02aa0", "text": "africa politics terrorism warpeace house believes france right intervene Ban Ki Moon has also stated that “I am profoundly aware that if a military intervention in the north is not well conceived and executed, it could worsen an already fragile humanitarian situation and also result in severe human rights abuses” [1] so French military intervention is not necessarily the right course to take if the intention is to be helping the people of northern Mali. Equally we can ask if this will really end the civil war? Mali has suffered from several Tuareg rebellions in the past. In particular there was a civil war between 1990 and 1996 [2] which has had over a decade of sporadic peace negotiations while a cease fire held. So while outside intervention may end the civil war unless the French propose to remain in place for decades or work instead on a diplomatic solution in the long run Mali will be no better off.\n\n[1] Tisdall, Simon, ‘UN urges caution over military intervention in Mali’, guardian.co.uk, 29 November 2012, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/29/un-caution-military-intervention-mali\n\n[2] Humphreys, Macartan, and Mohamed, Habaye ag, ‘Senegal and Mali’, January 2003, http://www.columbia.edu/~mh2245/papers1/sen_mali.pdf pp.19-28\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9ee0a521e023ee90c2d18139b95ac332", "text": "africa politics terrorism warpeace house believes france right intervene Mali should be asking for diplomatic help to resolve the crisis not asking for a military force. France meanwhile should not be accepting a request from an unelected President to attack his own people. A request to intervene in a country does not make that intervention legitimate it simply provides a fig leaf to protect France from accusations of colonialism.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1a03b47c56e0fab5b90f911645a62d48", "text": "africa politics terrorism warpeace house believes france right intervene Self-determination should first be internal rather than external. [1] In other words self-determination means autonomy within the existing state not a new state unless there is no other way of resolving the conflict. In Mali therefore the rebels need to put down their weapons and accept the authority of the central government, whose will the French and others are trying to enforce. It is clear that the people of northern Mali would prefer a solution within the state of Mali as half the population has fled to the south [2] and Ansar Dine and MNLA have walked back their declaration of independence promising “respect for Mali's national unity and territorial integrity” in December. [3]\n\n[1] “Reference re Secession of Quebec”, Supreme Court of Canada, 1998, 2 S.C.R. 217, http://scc.lexum.org/en/1998/1998scr2-217/1998scr2-217.html\n\n[2] Fessy, Thomas, ‘Mali Tuareg rebels declare independence in the north’, BBC News, 6 April 2012, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17635437\n\n[3] Agencies, ‘Mali rebels agree to respect ‘national unity’, AlJazeera, 5 December 2012, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/12/201212420515159568.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b203a4fdd45afabf323d589719de67e5", "text": "africa politics terrorism warpeace house believes france right intervene The French have rejected any parallel with Afghanistan and other quagmires. Fabius, France’s Foreign Minister, has said that \"Later on, we can come as back-up, but we have no intention of staying forever,\" [1] the handover may be slower than anticipated but there is no evidence the French will be in Mali for an extended period.\n\n[1] ‘Mali: France pledges ‘short’ campaign against Islamists’, BBC News, 14 January 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21007517\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ae0541d0192fdf898c31affebafde24c", "text": "africa politics terrorism warpeace house believes france right intervene This is ignoring both that African nations are taking a leading role in this intervention and that it is them who have asked for intervention by western states.\n\nFirst of All Nigeria is going to send 600 troops, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Togo 500 each, and Benin 300. These numbers far outweigh the 550 being sent by France and logistical support provided by other countries such as the UK and US. [1] It can therefore be said that this is an African mission.\n\nSecondly the resolution in December did call for “coordination with the European Union and other partners”. [2] ECOWAS had already in December called for the United Nations to intervene [3] and “thanks the French Government for its initiatives to support Mali.” [4]\n\n[1] ‘Mali: France pledges ‘short’ campaign against Islamists’, BBC News, 14 January 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21007517\n\n[2] Security Council 6898th meeting, ‘Security Council authorizes deployment of African-led international support mission in Mali for initial year-long period’, United Nations, Resolution 2085, 20 December 2012, http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2012/sc10870.doc.htm\n\n[3] AP, ‘ECOWAS calls for UN-backed intervention to reclaim north’, France 24, 7 August 2012, http://www.france24.com/en/20120707-mali-ecowas-tuareg-al-qaeda-rebels\n\n[4] Ouédraogo, Kadre Desiré, ‘Statement of the President of the ECOWAS Commission on the Situation in Mali’, Reliefweb, 12 January 2013, http://reliefweb.int/report/mali/statement-president-ecowas-commission-situation-mali\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2ffb4be85c0c115d2c76f4e3958470fe", "text": "africa politics terrorism warpeace house believes france right intervene Fighting terrorism\n\nWhile it was Tuareg separatists who first sparked the insurrection wanting to split Mali but now the North has been taken over by Islamists and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb presenting a terrorist threat that cannot be ignored. France’s Defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian says \"France's goal is to lead a relentless struggle against terrorist groups,\" and that \"We have to eradicate this terrorism\". [1] The United States was already clearly worried about Mali becoming a center of terrorism having on the 7th December designated the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa a terrorist organisation while other groups involved in Mali such as al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb were already designated as such. The State department highlights several terrorist attacks the group has conducted such as “a March 2012 suicide attack on a police base in Tamanrasset, Algeria, which wounded 23 people”. [2]\n\n[1] CNN Staff, ‘France determined to ‘eradicate’ terrorism in Mali, official says’, CNN, 13 January 2013, http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/13/world/africa/mali-military-offensive/index.html\n\n[2] Office of the Spokesperson, ‘Terrorist Designations of the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, Hamad el Khairy, and Ahmed el Tilemsi’, U.S. Department of State, 7 December 2012, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/12/201660.htm\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "44ee9ce14eac9e1c385e1b6a9df0457a", "text": "africa politics terrorism warpeace house believes france right intervene It is a humanitarian intervention\n\nFundamentally at its heart this is a humanitarian intervention by the French. The Islamists who took over Northern Mali have been imposing a severe, austere form of Islam demanding \"No cigarettes, no CDs, no radios, no cameras, no jewelry\" and beating those who disobey the rules. Men and women have to sit in separate areas in buses. With Sharia being more strictly enforced with increasing number of amputations despite opposition from the local population. [1] Much of the population of the North had already fled to the south with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees saying 200,000 have fled since January 2012. [2] Those who have, like Moussa from Timbuktu, clearly welcome the intervention, he told a French radio station “We have been suffocating and [France] has given us a breath of oxygen. We are ready to fly Malian and French flags alongside each other.” [3]\n\n[1] Mben, Paul Hyacinthe, ‘A Trip Through Hell Daily Life in Islamist Northern Mali’, Spiegel Online, 29 October 2012, http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/a-trip-through-hell-daily-life-in-islamist-controlled-north-mali-a-864014.html\n\n[2] Caux, Helene, ‘IDPs struggle to survive after escaping fighting in northern Mali’, UNHCR, 12 December 2012, http://www.unhcr.org/50c8d4399.html\n\n[3] Bamat, Joseph, ‘Mali-based Islamists pledge attacks on French soil’, France 24, 14 January 2013, http://www.france24.com/en/20130114-mali-france-intervention-terrorist-attacks\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "276b6817e64cb9a66e23e9a23311bd1e", "text": "africa politics terrorism warpeace house believes france right intervene France was asked to intervene by Mali’s government\n\n“France has answered… a request for assistance issued by the interim president of the Republic of Mali”. France is therefore not coming in uninvited. Mali’s President Traore directly appealed to French President Hollande to provide “French military assistance against these terrorist groups” that have “attacked our front lines of defense”. [1] As the former colonial power in much of West Africa, including Mali, France is the obvious country to turn to for help. As a result of this colonial past Mali is a member of the French led Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. [2] Mali is therefore fully within its sovereign rights to ask for assistance and Hollande is right to agree to provide it.\n\n[1] Lynch, Colum, ‘France’s U.N. envoy: French military intervention in Mali is open ended’, Foreign Policy Turtle Bay, 11 January 2013, http://turtlebay.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/01/11/france_s_un_envoy_french_military_intervention_in_mali_is_open_ended\n\n[2] ‘Welcome to the International Organisation of La Francophonie’s official website’ http://www.francophonie.org/English.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6daf77ee14a87b232bc0073009074143", "text": "africa politics terrorism warpeace house believes france right intervene African organisations should have lead the way\n\nThe United Nations charter is quite clear that it should be African Nations leading the way in this conflict. It says “The Security Council shall encourage the development of pacific settlement of local disputes through such regional arrangements or by such regional agencies” [1] and since there are several African Security Organisations there is little reason why these could not have taken the lead. The African Union in particular has undertaken interventions in similar situations before; notably in Somalia. [2] This has been recognised right up until the French intervened and the UN Security Council resolution in December mandated for “the deployment of an African-led mission to support efforts by national authorities to recover the north.” [3]\n\n[1] Article 52, http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter8.shtml\n\n[2] Jowell, Marco, ‘Kenya: Intervening in Somalia – Risky Business With No End in Sight’, All Africa, 17 January 2012, http://allafrica.com/stories/201201170950.html?page=2\n\n[3] Security Council 6898th meeting, ‘Security Council authorizes deployment of African-led international support mission in Mali for initial year-long period’, United Nations, Resolution 2085, 20 December 2012, http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2012/sc10870.doc.htm\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "26035aebb6c1d8c8345e3f1a26e47879", "text": "africa politics terrorism warpeace house believes france right intervene Western countries should not be interfering in African internal affairs\n\nWestern nations should clearly not be interfering in African affairs. Not only is this conflict outside of NATO’s remit but it is internal to an individual African state rather than a war between states. By intervening France and other nations are taking part in a civil war in which they are aiding a government that was placed in office by a military coup in March 2012 so does not have a democratic mandate. [1]\n\nThis intervention is an example of France once more playing the role of gendarme and considering that it has some kind of divine right to intervene in Africa. [2] This war is of course in large part France’s fault in the first place; it is trying to hold together a nation that should be split in two as a result of artificial colonial borders that fan conflict by dividing communities. [3] In this case France is intervening to deny a legitimate people’s, the Tuareg, their right to self-determination. The Tuaregs are divided between Algeria, Kibya, Mali, and Niger but without a majority in any. [4] The Turegs when they took control of Azawad made a declaration of independence. [5] While this has not been recognised this simply shows how existing states are worried about accepting the logic of self-determination when they themselves have groups that may want independence.\n\n[1] Felix, Bate, ‘Mali junta sees civilian government “in days”’, Reuters, 8 April 2012, http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/08/us-mali-idUSBRE8350MO20120408\n\n[2] Diop, Boubacar Boris, ‘La Vie en %$!’, Foreign Policy, July/August 2010, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/06/21/la_vie_en\n\n[3] Zachary, G. Pascal, ‘African Needs a New Map’, Foreign Policy, 28 April 2010, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/04/28/africa_needs_a_new_map\n\n[4] 10% in Mali ‘Mali’ The World Factbook, CIA, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ml.html 9.3% in Niger ‘Niger’, The World Factbook, CIA, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ng.html\n\n[5] Fessy, Thomas, ‘Mali Tuareg rebels declare independence in the north’, BBC News, 6 April 2012, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17635437\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "cd18b8076d9719a73013182535eb2cbd", "text": "africa politics terrorism warpeace house believes france right intervene Quagmire\n\nWestern states seem to so often be willing to get involved in conflicts without thinking about how to get out of them. Interventions are difficult operations that need a lot of planning and the United Nations has previously said that in the case of Mali \"Nothing could be done before September, October,\" and there should be diplomatic talks and a rebuilding of the Malian army first. [1] Unless there is a clear exit plan then there is the risk that the conflict in Mali will turn into a Quagmire from which French and other Western forces cannot easily extradite themselves.\n\nThe conflict has not resulted in many French casualties although they did have a helicopter shot down. [2] However there is still a question of how long France will have to keep a military presence in the country. The French initially said they would be pulling troops out in March; [3] the first troops did not leave until May. They said they would only have 1000 there by the end of the year [4] but in January 2014 still had 2500. [5]\n\n[1] Irish, John, ‘No military intervention in Mali before September: U.N. peacekeeping chief’, Reuters, 5 December 2012, http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/12/05/us-mali-un-idUSBRE8B415120121205\n\n[2] Chrisafis, Angelique, ‘Mali: high stakes in ‘Hollande’s war’’, The Guardian, 13 January 2013, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/13/mali-high-stakes-francois-hollande?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487\n\n[3] Schofield, Hugh, ‘France action in Mali is real war, says Le Drian’, BBC News, 6 February 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21348335\n\n[4] BBC News, ‘Mali crisis: French troops begin withdrawal’, 9 April 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22079290\n\n[5] Al Jazeera Staff, ‘Interactive: Mali Speaks’, Al Jazeera, 21 January 2013, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2013/01/201312113451635182.html\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
c1446265a36ac943f9a9c30210361b18
Palestine is a legal entity and deserves to have its voice heard on an equal footing with Israel Nobody can dispute that Palestine functions as a nation, its citizens are governed within the jurisdiction of a government that is one of the closest observed in the world. Abbas has as much right to speak for the Palestinian people as any other world leader does for theirs and that reality is reflected in the fact that he and other members of his administration negotiate with other nation states and international bodies. Palestine is for example a member of numerous International Organisations the most recent of which is joining UNESCO in November 2011. [i] If Palestine can be treated as a state for the purposes of signing international treaties and negotiating with the Israeli [ii] and other governments then it is only sensible that it should be awarded the benefits and status that come with statehood, of which recognition by the UN is one. [i] UNESCO, ‘Palestine’, unesco.org, 2011, http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/worldwide/arab-states/palestine/ [ii] Jewish Virtual Library, ‘Israel-PLO Recognition’, 9 September 1993, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/recogn.html
[ { "docid": "6fec2b03022d78dce564149188541715", "text": "global middle east thb palestinian statehood should be recognised united International negotiations take place with many organisations that are not states in their own right. When the leaders of nations meet with trades union or corporations, pressure groups or networks it does not endow those bodies with statehood.\n\nLikewise, regional governments and authorities routinely meet with national and international representatives without requiring representation at the UN. If Palestine were to be given voting rights at the General Assembly then one might as well give them to the International Olympic Committee, which already enjoys permanent observer status [i] .\n\nPut simply, having global recognition does not make an entity a state.\n\n[i] “UN General Assembly Approves Olympic truce for London Games 2012”. 17 October 2011.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "8c823832e9d2014ceed3a6737b508703", "text": "global middle east thb palestinian statehood should be recognised united In law this point was settled with the creation of the state of Israel. The map of the Middle East, as with much of the rest of the world, was redrawn at the end of the second world war. The resulting nations, many of them newly created following the collapse of the European empires, formed the constituent members of the UN. The very fact that the Palestinians have successfully mounted their case to the international community in a way that, for example, Kurds or Australian Aboriginals have not, would suggest that they have no need of a seat at the UN to be heard.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7cdce2f8674fea3e5a29f3bb072224eb", "text": "global middle east thb palestinian statehood should be recognised united Regardless of what people may wish, Palestine is not a state. It is probably the most recognised issue in twentieth century politics that the statehood of Palestine is a matter of dispute. The United Nations is the forum for those states that recognise each other’s existence to debate matters of mutual concern, it is not an opportunity from grandstanding and point-scoring over matters that are still under dispute.\n\nAbsolutely any group can design a flag, appoint a president, elect a congress, print stamps and undertake all sorts of similar activities, that does not make them a state. When squatters in a London road in 1977anounced that they were declaring a unilateral declaration of independence from the UK [i] they were not recognised as a state just because they wanted to be. Although the stakes are much higher in the case of Palestine, the principle is the same.\n\n[i] Wikipedia. Frestonia.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3acd1e0998d29e75993a11986dfb9c4e", "text": "global middle east thb palestinian statehood should be recognised united Exactly the same point could be made of any number of member states. It is highly questionable as to whether the authority of the central governments of Afghanistan or Pakistan extends into much of their territory, it certainly doesn’t in Iraq or many of the nations in central Africa.\n\nMuch of Latin America is under the control of warlords and drug barons but nobody would suggest that they should be represented at the United Nations. Effective political control is ceded to devolved authorities in many nations but they are not recognised as states. Political confusion is no reason no ignore the existence of a state.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f604c3fd1e108b1820e75da0249d7a9e", "text": "global middle east thb palestinian statehood should be recognised united Palestine is a unique case; the UN removed its statehood during the creation of Israel. They are, perhaps ironically, Ishmael and Isaac to the UN’s Abraham. One recognised and the other shunned.\n\nThe issue of statehood for Palestine was a misstep created at the inception of the UN as fallout of the decline of the British Empire and the emergence of American hegemony. If this were an entirely new issue of the world scene then many of the caveats raised by opposition would by justifiable but the reality is that this is simply a case of clearing up an old injustice.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "97390a6c676c118ead56f240b8530007", "text": "global middle east thb palestinian statehood should be recognised united The United Nations fulfills a number of roles but perhaps its foremost function is to act as an arbiter in international disputes. To do that effectively it needs to reflect the opinions of the international community and deal in realpolitik. As things stand that would make it impossible for the organisation to take what would be seen as a partisan stance.\n\nRecognising the existence of a state which could at best be described as aspirational, and at worst as a fantasy, would put an intolerable burden on the UN’s ability to act as an impartial agent in negotiations.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c860aa6bcb8a7a85fb521346a5e1f5aa", "text": "global middle east thb palestinian statehood should be recognised united The issue of Israel/Palestine has been a major one for the UN for sixty years, it is simply unfair that one of the parties represented and the other one is not\n\nThe territory claimed by both the state of Israel and the state of Palestine is contested. These matters should be settled by the UN but this is not possible when one of the parties is represented but the other is not. It is simply against the principles of natural justice – let alone the precepts of international law – for only one party in any dispute to be fully represented where the other is not.\n\nEssentially, this is a fraud that has been perpetrated for over sixty years, in the interests of politics, justice has been ignored; Israel has been given recognition when Palestine has not, which body has the right to speak for the populace of that disputed territory should not be a matter imposed from outside but for the inhabitants of the land itself.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7f579d1a3df2368fd32bd70994f37a23", "text": "global middle east thb palestinian statehood should be recognised united Palestine has its own infrastructure and government and is, in all meaningful ways a state\n\nIn any meaningful way Palestine is a state. It may well be one at war with a neighbour and in dispute over its boundaries but the only reason it has yet to be recognised is that it would be politically inconvenient for the US, Israel and their allies.\n\nThere are plenty of nations that do not function in line with European and North American concepts of statehood, Afghanistan for example, however they take their seat at the UN and add their voice to the choir of nations [i] . There are even other member states that are not recognised by every other member state, Israel is not recognised by 33 UN members [ii] and the People’s Republic of China is not recognised by 23 UN members. [iii]\n\n[i] John Quigley. “Statehood for Palestine: International law in the Middle East Conflict”. Cambridge University Press, 2010.\n\n[ii] Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, ‘Background Note: Israel’, U.S. Department of State, 10 December 2010, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/18902.htm\n\n[iii] Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, ‘Background Note: China’, U.S. Department of State, 6 September 2011, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/18902.htm\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8ac510e2febcdf0765971a04627a065a", "text": "global middle east thb palestinian statehood should be recognised united The Palestinian cause has no shortage of advocates in the UN this would add nothing to the discussion\n\nThe entire Arab League is already perfectly capable of speaking for the Palestinian cause in the United Nations. There are established nations whose leaders have not addressed a full meeting of the General Assembly as frequently as leaders of the Palestinian cause, even the leader of the PLO, Mahmoud Abbas has addressed the General Assembly as he did in September 2011. [i] It is the only geo-political issue that routinely impacts upon the conduct of the elections of other nations, the plight of the Palestinian issue is the stuff of newspaper headlines around the world while other, arguably more serious, concerns go unvoiced. It is difficult to see how admitting Palestine as a member state would bring any more focus to the issue in practical terms.\n\n[i] ‘Full transcript of Abbas speech at UN General Assembly’, Haaretz.com, 23 September 2011, http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/full-transcript-of-abbas-s...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c5af3eb125370be9a9fc804fa2711210", "text": "global middle east thb palestinian statehood should be recognised united The Gaza Strip and West Bank cannot agree on a government so who should the UN recognise, Hamas or Fatah?\n\nIf the Palestinian people cannot agree on who speaks for them then what is the rest of the world to make of the situation? One of the defining attributes of statehood is a single, stable government that can, in some meaningful way, be said to have control over the lands within that designated territory. This was set out in article 1 of the Montevideo convention that a state should possess “a ) a permanent population; b ) a defined territory; c ) government; and d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states.” [i] Only the permanent population criteria is unequivocally met by Palestine.\n\nThe Palestinian Authority can barely be said to speak for itself let alone the people it claims to represent. By recognizing one faction over another, the UN would be taking sides in an internal, domestic affair. Abbas is not asking the UN to recognize Palestine, he’s asking it to recognize him rather than Hamas.\n\n[i] International Conference of American States, ‘Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States’, 26 December 1933, http://www.cfr.org/sovereignty/montevideo-convention-rights-duties-state...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b08b7b682ee93712e9ed14141fb37f80", "text": "global middle east thb palestinian statehood should be recognised united The UN has historically recognised statehood when nations achieve it, not when they ask for it or wish it\n\nEstablishing statehood is a matter for international law and, as things stand, Palestine is not a state. Since 1990, 34 new countries have been created – mostly as a result of the collapse of the former USSR [i] . Palestine is not among them and does not look set to be any time soon. There have been many separatist movements in countries all over the world from the Basque region to Aceh. These often have similarly legitimate grievances as the Palestinians but the UN does not recognise them. Any one of those nations, or at least movements within them may have wished for recognition by the UN but they did not receive it because the UN is bound to recognise what is, not what might be.\n\n[i] Matt Rosenburg. “New Countries of the world”. 10 July 2011. About.com\n", "title": "" } ]
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439ad42a0fdf1aa5c93a46d1bccbe3e2
Conflicts and insecurity in the region will be resolved. Widening the East African Community will help provide a strong force and voice against insecurities, conflicts and insurgencies that have torn apart much of the region. The current EAC member states have been at the fore front of maintaining peace and security in the region, with Burundi, Kenya and Uganda sending troops to Somalia and Rwanda sending troops to Darfur and CAR. In March 2012, the USAID assessment on East Africa regional conflict and instability highlighted that the revival and expansion of the EAC would favour a vision of promoting peace in the region (1) pointing out the Lamu project aimed at creating a transport corridor linking South Sudan to northern Kenya and the coast. Widening the bloc will make it easy for member states to support their peacekeeping missions through the East Africa community military command and also help reduce interstate invasions like Sudan and South Sudan or Rwanda and DRC as they will now be united with more closely aligned interests. (1) USAID, ‘East Africa Regional conflict and instability Assessment, usaid.gov, March 2012, http://conflict.care2share.wikispaces.net/file/view/USAID%20East%20Africa%20Conflict%20Assessment%20March2012.pdf/393864676/USAID%20East%20Africa%20Conflict%20Assessment%20March2012.pdf
[ { "docid": "cff350605650c7e5107761c19159dc26", "text": "africa house would widen east african community The EAC is not yet ready to fully support its missions. The East African Community military command have not helped in prevention of terrorist attacks in Kenya nor has it been able to stop the prolonged insecurities and conflicts in Burundi, besides it still needs improvement. The unity between Kenya and Uganda did not stop conflicts arising over ownership of Migingo islands on lake Victoria; membership would not mean that South Sudan and Sudan suddenly have similar interests or ameliorate their conflict.\n\nRwanda and Uganda have been recently accused of supporting insecurity in Eastern Congo (1), and the peace keeping missions in Somalia and Darfur are both AU and UN initiatives not the EAC. In practice the bloc is not yet ready to embark on such wider missions.\n\n(1) Louis, Charbonneau, and Michelle, Nicholls ‘Rwanda, Uganda arming Congo rebels- UN panel’, reuters.com, 17/10/2012 http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/17/us-congo-democratic-rwanda-uganda-idUSBRE89F1RQ20121017\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "e482fbeff62ae08a7bc0c18d7cfb9737", "text": "africa house would widen east african community Pan-Africanism is more a dream than a reality. Widening the East African Community would actually alter and destroy the meaning of Pan-Africanism because of the many challenges that come with such integration (1). Currently there are disputes within the EAC itself with Tanzania and Burundi claiming to be sidelined from the other three states. People will never at any moment feel more East Africans than citizens of a particular country; recently Rwandans who had lived in Tanzania for years were forcibly deported by the government (2) despite the fact that both countries are member states of the EAC and signed free movement into law. This is enough to explain how things would be a mess if rival countries like DRC, Sudan and Somalia were to join the bloc.\n\n(1) United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, ‘Assessing regional integration in Africa’, uneca.org, Vol.V, http://www.uneca.org/publications/assessing-regional-integration-africa-v\n\n(2) Catherine, Byaruhanga, ‘Thousands deported from Tanzania to Rwanda’, bbc.co.uk, 2 Sept 2013 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/18810.stm\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9312c42f85da7f0f754582fd3e40a3a4", "text": "africa house would widen east african community Widening the EAC will affect the emerging education systems. Most of the countries with interest to join the EAC are characterised by poor education systems. Bringing Somalia, South Sudan and DRC, into the community would bring a huge challenge to the existing systems. The inter university council of education is a new established body, policies like harmonising the education curricula are still in process of implementation and this cannot be rated a success at the moment let alone be expanded to millions more children and youths. Additionally, there are still current member states like Burundi with crippled education systems (1), why not first focus internally and deepen these institutions before expanding?\n\n(1) Concern worldwide, Burundi, ‘education’, concernusa.org http://www.concernusa.org/burundi\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0e6fae8f7e5e03db93b21c588b5afe96", "text": "africa house would widen east african community Widening the bloc will also widen the burden of satisfying all member states which will affect economic development. The discovery of oil in Uganda has prompted concerns about how it will be extracted as a result of a green light to foreign companies to do the job [1], and Rwanda’s natural gas remain untouched due to a lack of skilled labour despite the EAC freedom of movement policies. Why then bring a bigger burden of un-extracted mineral resources that cannot be handled by EAC? And the fact that Kenya has been able to profit from such integration has not done much to lift Burundi from extreme poverty Or prevent Tanzania’s slow growth [2]. When all members are looking to export natural resources there are few benefits to the bloc, the members find themselves competing in export markets.\n\n[1] Oil review, ‘Uganda to sign oil drilling agreement with international oil firms’, oilreviewafrica.com, 15 April 2013, http://www.oilreviewafrica.com/exploration/exploration/uganda-to-sign-oil-drilling-agreement-with-international-oil-firms\n\n[2] IMF, ‘Truly integrated market would bring benefits to East Africa’, imf.org, 15 March 2012, https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2012/CAR031512A.htm\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b69247af600f7abc59b163b648aecc4f", "text": "africa house would widen east african community Initially the EAC comprised of only three countries but after only 7 years, Rwanda and Burundi joined the bloc [1]. The new members however did not hamper the progress of the EAC but instead increased the rate of performance and improvement. If anything the two new countries added momentum in the operations of the bloc despite the fact that they were both economically weak. It is therefore not valid to assume that enlargement would hinder progress.\n\n[1] East African Community, ‘About EAC’, eac.int, http://www.eac.int/index.php?option=com_content&id=1&Itemid=53\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3117ce786e7c984cd355e97fdd0c8cb4", "text": "africa house would widen east african community The EAC does not have a general rule that membership is only reserved for countries in the Eastern region of Africa, and the presence of the African Union does not deem other regional blocs useless. To achieve growth and integration on the continent, there is great need to unite regionally[1]. Having members that are also members of other regional organisations simply helps bring those organisations together to the benefit of all.\n\n[1] Michael, Rettig, Anne W. Kamau and Augustus, Sammy, Muluv,’ The African Union can do more to support regional integration’, brookings.edu, 17 May 2013, http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2013/05/17-african-union-support-regional-integration-kamau\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "58b8d8fa7e7553ed96e7f7811e2f362e", "text": "africa house would widen east african community Al shabaab attacks have continued to be a huge threat to both the Ugandan and Kenyan governments with the recent attack on Westgate shopping center in Nairobi [1] and the Lugogo cricket ground in Kampala [2] despite the tight immigration policies towards Somalis. FDLR has also continued to carry out attacks in Rwanda regardless Rwanda’s efforts to prevent them [3]. Tighter immigration controls therefore has been shown not to provide solution to these threats. Instead uniting all these countries would give ground for the East African Military Command to handle such threats.\n\n[1] AFP, ‘Westgate mall, Alshabaab gunmen were suicide commandos’, telegraph.co.uk,12 Nov 2013, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/kenya/10443386/Westgate-mall-al-Shabaab-gunmen-were-suicide-commandos.html\n\n[2] BBC world news, ‘Somali militants behind Kampala world cup bombings’, bbc.co.uk, 12 July 2010, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10602791\n\n[3] Reuters, ‘Rwanda says FDLR cross from Congo attack wardens’, reuters.com, 2 Dec 2012, http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/02/us-rwanda-attack-idUSBRE8B10A020121202\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "807e08e7eab8a94af8a31b33c35b01d3", "text": "africa house would widen east african community Education standards will be improved across the region\n\nimprovement of education among member states. It has policies such as the introduction of the inter University council of education to ensure the quality of University education, and an ongoing process of harmonising education curricula in all member countries (1). However, Africa still remains the continent with poorest quality of education and has the lowest skilled/educated labour. A large number of children fail to access basic education (2). Enlarging and deepening the EAC will therefore enhance education standards on a large part of the African continent; such policies will lift weak academic institutions in DRC, South Sudan and Somalia which are typical of their poor education systems.\n\n(1) East African Community Education, ‘Harmonisation of education and training curricula in East Africa’ eac.int, http://www.eac.int/education/index.php?option=com_content&id=53&Itemid=106\n\n(2) Kevin Watkins, ‘Narrowing Africa’s Education deficit’, brookings.com, January 2013, http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports/2013/01/foresight-africa-education-watkins\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2a13744b3f424914ec46a5cac6ec3e03", "text": "africa house would widen east african community Economic Development will be boosted in the entire region.\n\nWidening the East African Community, will help enlarge the common market, increase production and improve regional trade as people will be able to freely do business across more than five countries.\n\nPrior to Rwanda and Burundi’s membership to the bloc in 2004, Kenya’s exports and imports to the EAC were Kshs 64 billion and Kshs 3 billion respectively this however increased after the two countries joined creating a single market of 133.5 million people. In 2009 Kenya’s exports had risen to Kshs 90.5 billion and imports to Kshs 12.5 billion [1].\n\nEthiopia, DRC and South Sudan are all mineral rich countries and are big potential markets for East Africa. Welcoming them to the community is predicted to double the production, imports and exports among member states [2] due to policies policies like the EAC trade facilitation, customs union and competition policy and law [2].\n\n[1] Mary, Odongo,’Institute of Economic Affairs; Towards an East African Community common market’, ieakenya.or.ke, 30 Jan 2011, http://www.ieakenya.or.ke/publications/doc_details/101-towards-an-east-african-community-common-market-challenges-and-opportunities?tmpl=component\n\n[2] Ernest & Young, ‘The East Africa boom’, ey.com, http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/The_East_Africa_Boom:_Dont_be_left_behind/$FILE/130219_SGF_TL_East_email_version.pdf\n\n[3] East African Community Customs, ‘market size, access and trade policy’, eu.int, http://www.eac.int/customs/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50:eac-trade-info&catid=25:eac-customs-union\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d1d4ba0f1a7bf1d7b7274a6e9239f29f", "text": "africa house would widen east african community It will serve an example of Pan-Africanism and encourage many to join the movement.\n\nNkwame Nkurumah, one of the famous African heroes said “Africa must unite or perish”. This has been taken up by the African Union which is calling for integration across the continent (1). Widening and deepening the EAC will therefore shine a light to the ideology of Pan Africanism. Bringing more African states together under one bloc with the same vision and institutions will help people to work together regardless of ethnic or cultural differences. Citizens will feel more East Africans rather than citizens of a particular country as every citizen of the EAC member state is allowed to freely travel in the region with no difficulties or discrimination as a result of the East African Community’s freedom of movement(2). This will therefore encourage other blocs like the ECOWAS and SADC to actively perform and widen hence creating a more united Africa.\n\n(1) African Union, ‘Celebrating Pan –Africanism and African renaissance’, au.int, 10 May 2013, http://summits.au.int/50th/21stsummit/news/celebrating-pan-africanism-and-african-renaissance\n\n(2) East African Community, Towards a common market, ‘Annex on the free movement of persons’, eac.int, http://www.eac.int/commonmarket/movement-of-persons.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "820ff6f96ec70553d3dd9247ade6f3b1", "text": "africa house would widen east african community The potential entrants are still weak and pose a threat to the growing EAC\n\nMost of the countries showing interest in joining the EAC are still economically weak, politically unstable, and socially divided. Somalia is the poorest state in the world; it is unstable with a high rate of terrorism [1]. DRC has yet to fully end its civil war, and has large social divides [2]. And South Sudan is a newly independent country that has not yet finished forming its governing institutions but already faces conflicts both internal and external. Accepting all these countries to the East African community now would create instability; it would clear the way for more Al shabab attacks in both Kenya and Uganda due as the borders would be open, it would clear a path for the FDLR (a rebel group that includes some of those responsible for Rwanda’s genocide) from Congo to Rwanda, a threat that the EAC is not ready to manage.\n\n[1] Ludger, Schadomsky, ‘No stability in sight for Somalia’, dw.de, 20 June 2013 http://www.dw.de/no-stability-in-sight-for-somalia/a-16896385\n\n[2] Jason, Stearns, ‘The Congo; a revolution deferred’, sscr.org, 8 March 2012, http://forums.ssrc.org/african-futures/2012/03/08/congo-revolution-deferred/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7be60f642b2a5bb96dc96efbb276e5c2", "text": "africa house would widen east african community The EAC is not yet a strong bloc to be widened\n\nThe EAC, though a progressing bloc, is premature for widening. 48% of its budget is derived from the EU and 22% from other donor agencies and governments. Membership subscriptions barely suffice to cover staff remuneration and other administrative costs leaving no funds to support development oriented programmes [1]. 71.3% of Congolese [2] and 50.6% of South Sudanese [3] live below the poverty line; how would the EAC support such regions with a crippled budget? Creating a common market would mean bringing together poor countries that have nothing to offer or learn from each other unlike the EU which has strong economies to support weaker ones and provide role models and expertise for development.\n\nThere is a greater need to deepen the bloc by ensuring that member states are able to meet the pledged costs towards the budget. The EAC needs to make sure planned initiatives like the monetary union, customs union, and unifying education systems are well coordinated and successful before widening.\n\n[1] Dr. Khoti, Kamanga, ‘EAC Integration; progress achieved, challenges and opportunities’, ippmedia.com, 3 Nov 2013, http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/?l=61095\n\n[2] The World Bank, ‘Data; Congo,Dem Rep, world development indicators, worldbank.org, http://data.worldbank.org/country/congo-dem-rep\n\n[3] The World Bank, ‘Data;South Sudan,word development indicators,worldbank.org, http://data.worldbank.org/country/south-sudan\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4ad6f9eed327b90cedb43e08d294bca4", "text": "africa house would widen east african community The EAC is not different from the AU which aims at integrating all African states.\n\nAll countries that have shown interest in joining the EAC are member states of the AU which oversees integration in African countries; there is no reason then for them to join another bloc that has the same aim as the African Union unless it is no longer functioning.\n\nCountries like DRC and Sudan are geographically located in different regions than East Africa and this would breach the meaning of the bloc. Additionally, these individual countries are members of other regional organisations like COMESA and SADC which puts a challenge of flexibility in adopting different policies from separate blocs. [1] For example how could a customs union operate if DRC were to be a member of two separate customs unions? any external barriers between the two could be bypassed by going through the DRC.\n\n[1] Dinka,T,Kennes,W, ‘Africa’s regional integration arrangements; history and challenges’, ecdpm.org, 2007, http://www.ecdpm.org/Web_ECDPM/Web/Content/Navigation.nsf/index2?readform&http://www.ecdpm.org/Web_ECDPM/Web/Content/Content.nsf/0/0aff1ee6dde15146c12579ce004774b2?OpenDocument\n", "title": "" } ]
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Intervention would be legitimate If Syria uses, or looks as if it is about to use, chemical weapons then this would be a clear escalation that would require action. Syria has never signed the Chemical Weapons Convention [1] but it should be considered to be a part of customary international law so binding even on those who have not signed. [2] The use of chemical weapons would also clearly be an attempt to cause huge numbers of casualties and large scale suffering. In 2005 with the United Nations World Summit the nations of the world signed up to “If a State is manifestly failing to protect its populations, the international community must be prepared to take collective action to protect populations.” [3] So any intervention would be fully justifiable, and indeed should occur as Syria would be demonstrating that it is “failing to protect its populations” by using chemical weapons on them. There is no doubt that the world has a moral responsibility to prevent atrocities in Syria, these atrocities are already happening, but the world cannot stand by while the Syrian government escalates their scale through the use of chemical weapons. [1] ‘Non-Member States’, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, http://www.opcw.org/about-opcw/non-member-states/ [2] ‘United States of America Practice Relating to Rule 74. Chemical Weapons’, ICRC, 2013, http://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_cou_us_rule74 [3] Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, ‘The Responsibility to Protect’, United Nations, 2012,
[ { "docid": "531ddf219cb22349b51138bb6f10d152", "text": "asia politics defence warpeace house would intervene syria prevent or Intervention would only be legitimate if it was sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council or another country came directly under attack. What is being suggested while abhorrent does not meet either of these conditions. The Security Council is unlikely to agree to an intervention now and Syria would be very foolish to use their chemical weapons on a neighbour so inviting attack. The use of chemical weapons may be banned by international law but that does not mean that their use authorizes an intervention against a sovereign nation. [1]\n\n[1] Ku, Julian, ‘Would Syria’s Use of Chemical Weapons Change the Legality of U.S. Intervention?’, Opinio Juris, 7 December 2012, http://opiniojuris.org/2012/12/07/would-syrias-use-of-chemical-weapons-change-the-legality-of-u-s-intervention/\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "df34446cfdb97e2053ef53da93a059ee", "text": "asia politics defence warpeace house would intervene syria prevent or This is all supposition; we have no way of knowing if Syria will test any set red lines, or that they will use chemical weapons if there is no response. Instead it may be the response that causes the use of chemical weapons. The Syrian Foreign Ministry has said in the past that chemical and biological weapons “will never be used unless Syria is exposed to external aggression.” [1] Clearly an intervention aiming to stop the use of chemical weapons would constitute just such external aggression.\n\n[1] Associated Press, ‘Syrian regime makes chemical warfare threat’, guardian.co.uk, 23 July 2012, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/23/syria-chemical-warfare-threat-assad\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "434dc6652eab24de5dc1744b556ec738", "text": "asia politics defence warpeace house would intervene syria prevent or Attacking chemical weapons stores prevents a threat in itself as it runs the risk of blowing up the weapons and therefore dispersing them into the air. [1] This risk would potentially be even higher with any biological weapons as they would not become harmless through dispersal as Chemical weapons would.\n\nQuite apart from the risks of setting off the arsenals when attacking them such attacks would be very unlikely to be successful. While Syria’s chemical weapons may be held in a few large centers this would seem to be unlikely given the history of attacks on unconventional weapons programs. Syria itself has had a nuclear weapons program destroyed as a result of an Israeli air attack in 2007. [2] This would have been a powerful lesson in the need to disperse these weapons to prevent their destruction from the air.\n\n[1] ‘Preventing Syrian Chemical Weapons Threat From Becoming Deadly Reality’, PBS Newshour, 5 December 2012, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/july-dec12/syria2_12-05.html\n\n[2] Harel, Amos, ‘Five years on, new details emerge about Israeli strike on Syrian reactor’, Haaretz, 10 September 2012, http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/five-years-on-new-details-emerge-about-israeli-strike-on-syrian-reactor-1.464033\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8a559cc1405bf808107d70e65fc82708", "text": "asia politics defence warpeace house would intervene syria prevent or All killing is abhorrent and one life is worth as much as any other. But while the lives lost are the same it is not true that the use of chemical weapons to kill is the same as conventional weapons; the difference is that one is banned and the other is not, their use makes intervention possible in a way it is not during a conventional conflict. The threat from chemical weapons is also of an order of magnitude greater than that of conventional weapons. They can kill immense numbers quickly and indiscriminately. The use of chemical weapons is an escalation that must not be allowed to happen.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "490fe0c9b7a9712893d167a3b4f30c18", "text": "asia politics defence warpeace house would intervene syria prevent or According to Russia Syria has centralised its chemical weapons into just one or two locations which makes it possible to attack and destroy the weapons comparatively easily. [1] This might not destroy all Syria’s chemical weapons but would still severely restrict their access to these weapons.\n\n[1] ‘Syria ‘secures chemical weapons stockpile’’, Al Jazeera, 23 December 2012, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/12/201212221532021654.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f7358b37be52aea39ed54ea5e174e939", "text": "asia politics defence warpeace house would intervene syria prevent or The use of chemical weapons would change the Chinese and Russian positions. Syrian officials have been reported as saying they would not use chemical weapons because “We would not commit suicide” as the support from Russia and China would be lost. [1] While China and Russia do have interests in Syria these interests are nothing like those China has in maintaining the North Korean regime.\n\n[1] Blair, Charles P., ‘Why Assad Won’t Use His Chemical Weapons’, Foreign Policy, 6 December 2012, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/12/06/why_assad_wont_use_his_chemical_weapons\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e04df12fd89319df07ccce7d9468f780", "text": "asia politics defence warpeace house would intervene syria prevent or No reaction will embolden the regime\n\nNot responding to Syrian moves to use chemical weapons will be enabling the Syrian government to use chemical weapons. It has already been reported that some chemical weapons are being made ready for use such as the combining of the two chemical precursors, isopropanol and methylphosphony difluoride, needed to weaponize sarin gas. It means that “Physically, they’ve gotten to the point where the can load it up on a plane and drop it”. [1] If there is no response to this then Syria will be more likely to use weapons.\n\nIf there is no response to the limited use of chemical weapons, such as the use of Agent 15 in Homs, then there the regime will be encouraged to think that there will be no response to larger uses of chemical weapons. Syria would slowly escalate to see what it can get away with, an escalation that US officials think could “lead to a mass-casualty event” without the appropriate response. [2]\n\n[1] Shachtman, Noah, and Ackerman, Spencer, ‘Exclusive: U.S. Sees Syria Prepping Chemical Weapons for Possible Attack’, Wired Danger Room, 3 December 2012, http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/12/syria-chemical-weapons-3/\n\n[2] Rogin, Josh, ‘Exclusive: Secret State Department cable: Chemical weapons used in Syria’, Foreign Policy The Cable, 15 January 2013, http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/01/15/secret_state_department_cable_chemical_weapons_used_in_syria\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "cac77eb19f47e4e3a98a43cbc51ac7fa", "text": "asia politics defence warpeace house would intervene syria prevent or No fly zones and bombing could eliminate the threat of chemical weapons\n\nOne of the reasons why there has not been an intervention in Syria already is the difficulty of doing so. Preventing or limiting the use of chemical weapons however does represent a defined objective that is smaller, and therefore easier, than bringing peace to Syria. It however has to be accepted that if Assad’s regime is determined to use chemical weapons then some are likely to get through and how much is prevented is largely dependent on intelligence.\n\nInterdicting chemical weapons during transport and bombing the storage facilities to make it much more difficult to move the weapons would be easiest to accomplish. [1] But if chemical weapons are about to be used then attacking the delivery vehicles would be necessary; any intervention would have overwhelming air superiority so would prevent the option of aircraft and helicopters being used to deliver the weapons.\n\nMore difficult to destroy are ballistic missiles, and particularly artillery [2] but even these are much easier to hit than infantry would be. In the conflict against Gaddafi successfully used precision guided weapons to destroy tanks and artillery. [3] Moreover an intervening force would not need to destroy every missile and artillery brigade only find those that are being issued with chemical weapons.\n\n[1] Eisenstadt, Michael, ‘Chemical Reaction’, Foreign Policy, 18 January 2013, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/01/18/chemical_reaction\n\n[2] Fargo, Matthew, ‘Targeting Syria’s Chemical Weapons – A Dangerous Proposition’, Center for Strategic & International Studies, 25 July 2012, http://csis.org/blog/targeting-syrias-chemical-weapons-dangerous-proposition\n\n[3] Hebert, Adam J., ‘Libya: Victory Through Airpower’, Airforce-Magazine.com, December 2011, http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2011/December%202011/1211edit.aspx\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "023ff2bb4cba8c5059f3336e54d36d83", "text": "asia politics defence warpeace house would intervene syria prevent or The use of weapons may not change the diplomatic situation\n\nRussia and China have been vetoing U.N. action on Syria throughout the crisis. [1] It is precisely the intervention to prevent a massacre that the Russians and Chinese are trying to avoid, for fear that this would simply be a pretext for regime change as happened in Libya. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has explicitly stated “We’ll not allow the Libyan experience to be reproduced in Syria.” [2] When Obama said that chemical weapons use was a red line Xinhua, China’s state news agency, responded “Obama's \"red line\" warnings merely aimed to seek new pretext for Syria intervention” urging continued negotiations instead. [3] While the use of chemical weapons is odious and would make Assad even more of a pariah than he already is it should be remembered that China supports an equally odious regime in North Korea, so may not see Chemical weapons as sufficient reason to change position.\n\n[1] Lynch, Colum, ‘Russia, China veto U.N. action on Syria … and the blame game begins’, Foreign Policy Turtle Bay, 4 February 2012, http://turtlebay.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/02/04/russia_china_veto_un_action_on_syria_and_the_blame_game_begins\n\n[2] ‘Russia Rules Out Libyan Scenario in Syria’, RIANovosti, 9 December 2012, http://en.rian.ru/russia/20121209/178024186.html\n\n[3] Chang, Liu, ‘Obama’s “red line” warnings merely aimed to seek new pretext for Syria intervention’, Xinhua, 22 August 2012, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-08/22/c_131800638.htm\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "44983f0864cc0beab5a5d2d0ba2fb507", "text": "asia politics defence warpeace house would intervene syria prevent or Do chemical weapons really make a difference?\n\nChemical and biological weapons are among the most horrifying weapons ever created by man; it is with good cause that they are banned. However if there have already been 60,000 [1] people killed by the conflict in Syria then would the use of chemical weapons, unless it was on a massive scale, would not make much difference in terms of the numbers of people the Assad regime is killing. [2] It is morally inconsistent to consider chemical weapons somehow different if they are not changing the scale of the killing. It is human lives that matter, or rather does not matter as has been made clear by the unwillingness to do anything, not the type of weapon that kill those people. If Syria kills a few thousand more by using chemical weapons then what is the difference to killing thousands more using conventional weapons?\n\n[1] ‘Data suggests Syria death toll could be more than 60,000, says UN human rights office’, UN News Centre, 2 January 2013, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=43866#.UPbBiXcnh8E\n\n[2] Eisenstadt, Michael, ‘Chemical Reaction’, Foreign Policy, 18 January 2013, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/01/18/chemical_reaction\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3ad9e854e63dc29f3a8a280d6814c5a1", "text": "asia politics defence warpeace house would intervene syria prevent or Cannot prevent the use of chemical weapons\n\nNo intervention could prevent the use of chemical weapons of the Assad regime had decided to use them. No outside force could ever be certain they know where all Syria’s weapons are [1] and destroy them in time if they were distributed for use; even full scale air strikes might not be enough, the pentagon thinks it would require 75,000 troops to secure the arsenal in the event of Syria’s collapse. [2] The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Martin Dempsey, admits that even if acting before the use of Chemical weapons by the Syrian government the United States would not be able to stop their use. \"The act of preventing the use of chemical weapons would be almost unachievable... because you would have to have such clarity of intelligence, you know, persistent surveillance, you'd have to actually see it before it happened, and that's -- that's unlikely, to be sure,\" [3] If widespread chemical weapons use had already occurred then the intervention could hardly be to prevent their use in the first place but to punish their use. Responding to the use of chemical weapons would seem to be pointless; the deaths will have occurred already. Syria may have more chemical weapons in its arsenal still to use but an attack would simply make them more likely to use everything they have.\n\n[1] Stares, Paul B., ‘Preventing Chemical Weapons Use in Syria’, Council on Foreign Relations, 19 December 2012, http://www.cfr.org/syria/preventing-chemical-weapons-use-syria/p29701\n\n[2] Alexander, Kris, ‘Syria’s Collapse Could be a Chem Weapon Nightmare’, Wired Danger Room, 16 July 2012, http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/07/syria/\n\n[3] Rogin, Josh, ‘Exclusive: Secret State Department cable: Chemical weapons used in Syria’, Foreign Policy The Cable, 15 January 2013, http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/01/15/secret_state_department_cable_chemical_weapons_used_in_syria\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
f8cbcef78d0862bca8de458dcb9eb726
Shared experience of terrorism A shared experience of terrorism means both have long term reasons to cooperate against it. Russia already had experience with terrorism with a string of bombings in the summer of 1999 which the Russian government blamed on the Chechans. [1] As a result of this on-going Chechen terrorism the Russian government was keen to cooperate in any counter terrorist effort there may be. Russian officials such as Sergey Ordzhonikidze spoke of the grief they shared with the American people “The hearts of Russians who know first-hand what terrorism is like are also filled with grief for all those who fell victim to terrorism in other parts of the planet.” [2] President Putin himself agreed with this immediately after the 9/11 attacks “[Russia is] deeply shocked by the reports of the tragic events that occurred today in the United States. The barbaric terrorist attacks against innocent people evoked the anger and indignation of the Russian people.” [3] Both the terrorists who had been attacking Russia and the 9/11 attackers were motivated by an extremist version of Islam, this gives both Russia and the United States a mutual interest in combating this terrorism wherever it may be occurring. This continues to give both Russia and the United States an interest in solving the problems that create terrorism such as the Israel-Palestinian conflict and keeping the Taliban out of power in Afghanistan. That both understand the other’s motivations makes this link much stronger. [1] Mark Kramer, Guerrilla Warfare, Counter Insurgency and Terrorism in the North Caucuses: The Military Dimension of the Russia-Chechen conflict, Europe-Asia Studies, Vol.57, No.2, (March, 2005), pp.209-290, p.212 [2] Statement by Sergey A. Ordzhonikidze, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, on agenda item 166 of the 56 session of the UN General Assembly: Measures to eliminate international terrorism New York, October 1, 2001 [3] Russian President Vladimir Putin telegram of condolence to US President George W. Bush, September 11, 2001, http://www.kremlin.ru/eng/text/news/2001/09/136023.shtml accessed 20/4/11
[ { "docid": "a8ebdb7289e7e2a72ffb74b179af3b21", "text": "asia europe global house believes long term cooperation between russia and Even if both agree that fighting terrorism is in both their interests this is not a reason for cooperation when views about how to tackle the problem divide. While both have used military force in their attempts to defeat terrorism both have criticised the other’s force as being excessive. The United States continued to be critical of the situation in Chechnya where 45000 civilians were killed and 200000 made refugees. [1] September 11th was a gift to Putin as it transformed perceptions of the situation in Chechnya. [2] Chechnya was effectively legitimised by September 11th as it was similar to what the United States would fight in Afghanistan. [3] However the western media continued to be sceptical about terrorism in Russia for example that Chechen militants were the bombers of the apartment blocks, rather than it being rogue elements of the Russian security services, or even originated from the Kremlin. [4] Moreover the two diverged over the need to invade Iraq to fight terrorism; Russia opposed the invasion in the Security Council. In short Russia and the United States cooperate in Afghanistan but this does not translate into wider cooperation against terrorism. Terrorism is also no longer the number one foreign policy priority of the United States which is ‘pivoting’ to Asia and away from the Middle East. [5]\n\n[1] Kramer, Guerrilla, pp.210, 214.\n\n[2] Claire Bigg, Five Years After 9/11: The Kremlin's War On Terror, Radio Free Europe, 2006, http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/library/news/2006/09/sec-060908-r...\n\n[3] Oksana Antonenko, ‘Putin’s Gamble’, Survival, Vol.43, no.4, (Winter, 2001-02), pp.49-60, p.51\n\n[4] World: Europe, Russia's bombs: Who is to blame? BBC News, September 30, 1999, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/449325.stm\n\n[5] Clinton, Hillary, ‘America’s Pacific Century’, Foreign Policy, November 2011, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/10/11/americas_pacific_century\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "14f3294da12a8faac840af351f9fc937", "text": "asia europe global house believes long term cooperation between russia and A U.S. dovetailing of interests in Central Asia is unlikely to last. September 11th moved Central Asia from being an area of peripheral importance to being a central US interest. [1] There is nothing to say that it will not sink back to being peripheral in the future. The Taliban were both sheltering extremists such as al Qaeda and exporting disorder to surrounding states. [2] As George Bush put it “make no mistake about it, the new war is not only against the evildoers, themselves; the new war is against those who harbor them and finance them and feed them.” [3] But with al Qaeda diversifying, terrorism no longer so high up the agenda and the United States drawing down in Afghanistan US and Russian interests are set to diverge.\n\n[1] Boris Rumer, The Powers in Central Asia, Survival, vol. 44, no.3, (Autumn, 2002), pp.57-68, pp.63-64.\n\n[2] Rajan Menon, ‘The New Great Game in Central Asia’, Survival, vol.45, no.2, (Summer, 2003), pp.187-204, p.188.\n\n[3] At O'Hare, President Says \"Get On Board\", Office of the Press Secretary, September 27, 2001, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010927-1.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5ac7241cb7aed72b7873ef06bd12260b", "text": "asia europe global house believes long term cooperation between russia and Although the United States would like to get its hands on Russia’s vast economic resources it is not a good place to do business. Russia was accused of being a ‘virtual mafia state’ by US diplomats in a wikileaked cable. [1] According to then US Ambassador to Russia Russia needs to “support the “sanctity” of commercial contracts and agreements; create a “transparent, stable and enforceable” tax and license regime; improve and enforce intellectual property rights protection; act decisively on “pervasive bureaucratic red tape and over-regulation”; bring corruption under control; reverse the “worrying trend” in Russia towards control over the mass media” [2] before it becomes a place that the US can really do lots of business with. The economy may therefore be more of a source of conflict than cooperation as The United States tries to push Russia into being more open and less corrupt against the wishes of the Russian elites.\n\n[1] Luke Harding, WikiLeaks cables condemn Russia as ‘mafia state’, guardian.co.uk 1/12/10, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/01/wikileaks-cables-russia-mafia-kleptocracy accessed 28/4/11\n\n[2] Alexander Vershbow, “Opportunities in U.S.-Russian Economic Relations,” United States Embassy Moscow, 22 May 2003. http://www.hoover.org/publications/monographs/27207#n32\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "383feba13c5f261c633a2db4bf88f27b", "text": "asia europe global house believes long term cooperation between russia and Even assuming that US-Russian there are many areas where the US and Russia could cooperate this does not mean that it will happen. Cooperation between the United States and Russia would have been even more vital to the world at the end of World War two when both were superpowers and both had common interests in keeping Germany and Japan down yet this did not lay the ground for cooperation between the two. Instead there was a forty year cold war. Now whole Burns may consider the challenges in Europe, Asia and the Middle East to be common interests Russia may instead choose to cooperate with others such as China and consider US interests to be counter to its own\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "57439d32e0ea0b34c7eed0122db9e057", "text": "asia europe global house believes long term cooperation between russia and This is a problem with perception, not with the fundamentals on the ground. The United States can reassure Russia that missile defence and the expansion of NATO is not directed at Russia. NATO has accommodated Russia by not expanding into the Former Soviet Union (excluding the Baltic states) so there is little reason for Russia to feel encircled. On Missile defence President Obama has also listened to Russian concerns and has scaled it back. Interceptors will be on warships rather than in former Warsaw bloc countries Poland and Czech Republic this helps to show Russia that the focus of missile defence really is on defending against Iran and North Korea rather than Russia. [1]\n\n[1] Sanger, David E., and Broad, William J., ‘New Missile Shield Strategy Scales Back Reagan’s Vision’, The New York Times, 17 September 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/world/europe/18assess.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "72d1cbb520da1781b223c507891b95ae", "text": "asia europe global house believes long term cooperation between russia and No countries economic interests exactly match yet that does not lead to conflict. The European Union and United States have had several trade wars, for example over the EU giving preferential treatment for Caribbean producers of Bananas, [1] but are still close partners in NATO. The reset is having an effect in bringing Russia and the US closer together economically, Vice President Biden argues that trade between the two countries has a long way to grow and economic interests will get closer. “One way to realize the potential of that relationship is to bring Russia more fully into the international trading system. That is why we strongly support Russia’s effort to join the World Trade Organization.” [2] This would reduce and help manage any economic conflicts between both powers meaning that they will not get in the way of good relations.\n\n[1] Business:The Economy WTO approves banana sanctions, BBC News, 19/4/99, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_economy/322938.stm accessed 6/5/11\n\n[2] Joseph R. Biden Jr., ‘The Next Steps in the U.S.-Russia Reset’, The New York Times, 13/3/11, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/opinion/14iht-edbiden14.html accessed 6/5/11\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "cbd230b7fa5f29251f3c967ca2f2f74a", "text": "asia europe global house believes long term cooperation between russia and \"Kupchan: Russian Opposition to Kosovo Independence ‘Perplexing’\". (Charles A. Kupchan, CFR Senior Fellow for Europe Studies). US Council on Foreign Relations. December 18, 2007 - \"But on the question of Kosovo, direct Russian interests are difficult to discern, and therefore it appears that Russia’s backing of Serbia is part of a more muscular Russian policy, and a desire to stand up to the United States and the EU across the board. The problem with Russia’s position is that it has the potential to lead to bloodshed.\n\nThe Russian support for Serbia’s unwillingness to sign off on Kosovo’s independence makes it more likely that Serbs still in Kosovo will not accept a declaration of independence. It makes it likely that the northern part of Kosovo might secede from an independent Kosovo. It makes it more likely that paramilitaries in Serbia might resort to violence if this process moves forward. In that sense, the Russian position is quite problematic. And it remains to be seen whether the Russians follow through on their hints that they might recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia in retaliation for Kosovo’s independence. Some even suggest that they might send troops into the southern military districts of the Russian Federation, possibly precipitating violence in Georgia.\"\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b96c6814609e9a3bd96529fafad11325", "text": "asia europe global house believes long term cooperation between russia and The strategic interests of Russia and the west will not always conflict. In the post-Cold War, post-September 11 world, the political presumptions that require a substantial reliance on nuclear forces do not exist, and, in fact, cannot exist. 9/11 showed that national interests can change. The terrorist attacks instantly moved terrorism to the top of the US security agenda involving recognition of it as a global and military problem. [1] Russia and the United States now must jointly face a host of wider problems, from environmental degradation to the growth of ethnic violence, and the challenges to nation-states posed by globalization. Global problems are not decreasing, but, quite the opposite, there are new ones looming on the horizon; this will forge a long-term close economic, scientific and political relationship between Russia and the United States. The National Security Strategy of September 2002 recognised that closer relations are built on common national interests; They [Russian policy makers] understand, increasingly, that Cold War approaches do not serve their national interests and that Russian and American strategic interests overlap in many areas. [2]\n\n[1] Iver B. Neumann, ‘Russia as a Great Power’, in Jakob Hedenskog et al (eds.) Russia as a Great Power Dimensions of Security under Putin, (Routledge, London, 2005), pp.13-28, p.18\n\n[2] The National Security Strategy of the United States of America September 2002, http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/national/nss-020920.pdf pp.26-27. Accessed 20/4/11\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "72d1cbb520da1781b223c507891b95ae", "text": "asia europe global house believes long term cooperation between russia and No countries economic interests exactly match yet that does not lead to conflict. The European Union and United States have had several trade wars, for example over the EU giving preferential treatment for Caribbean producers of Bananas, [1] but are still close partners in NATO. The reset is having an effect in bringing Russia and the US closer together economically, Vice President Biden argues that trade between the two countries has a long way to grow and economic interests will get closer. “One way to realize the potential of that relationship is to bring Russia more fully into the international trading system. That is why we strongly support Russia’s effort to join the World Trade Organization.” [2] This would reduce and help manage any economic conflicts between both powers meaning that they will not get in the way of good relations.\n\n[1] Business:The Economy WTO approves banana sanctions, BBC News, 19/4/99, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_economy/322938.stm accessed 6/5/11\n\n[2] Joseph R. Biden Jr., ‘The Next Steps in the U.S.-Russia Reset’, The New York Times, 13/3/11, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/opinion/14iht-edbiden14.html accessed 6/5/11\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "17f84733f892a011df292f93157bdd1d", "text": "asia europe global house believes long term cooperation between russia and Desire to stabilize Central Asia\n\nSeptember 11th brought a change in how the United States dealt with the autocratic rulers of Central Asia, bringing policy more into line with Moscow’s interests. The US changed from promoting democracy in the region to trying to keep the region stable by supporting the incumbent regimes. For example Uzbekistan was given US political, military and economic support despite human rights violations. [1] There were also secondary US interests that were not related to terrorism such as attempting to limit the production of drugs and the corruption this causes. President Putin recognised that “Terrorism and drugs are absolutely kindred phenomena.” With Russia’s immense drug problems “We have a conspicuous growth of the share of highly concentrated drugs, and in the first place Afghan heroin” [2] The promotion of “peace and stability to Afghanistan” and the promised aid to “rebuild Afghanistan and the region economically,” were also recognised by George Bush as US interests in the region. [3] There has therefore in the aftermath of 9/11 been a dovetailing of interests in central Asia and in particular Afghanistan and on the war on drugs.\n\n[1] Lena Jonson, Vladimir Putin and Central Asia The Shaping of Russian Foreign Policy, (I.B. Tauris, London, 2004), p.64.\n\n[2] Speech by President Vladimir Putin at a Meeting of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Moscow, September 28, 2001\n\n[3] Joint Statement by President George W. Bush and President Vladimir V. Putin on Afghanistan, Office of the Press Secretary, November 13, 2001, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/11/20011113-9.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4e984ce320b1536383df18899e6301a8", "text": "asia europe global house believes long term cooperation between russia and Russian and the US have many areas where they can cooperate.\n\nIn 2009 President Obama stated “I believe that on the fundamental issues that will shape this century, Americans and Russians share common interests that form a basis for cooperation.” [1] This makes the real question ‘how to cooperate’ rather that whether there should be cooperation. Military transparency, particularly on nuclear weapons is necessary. “Russia and the United States matter to one another, and how well or how poorly we manage our interactions matters to the rest of the world. The two of us control more than 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons, and our leadership can do more than anyone else’s to help secure nuclear material globally and prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.” [2] This continued cooperation on nuclear issues in particular has been demonstrated with the signing of the ‘New START’ treaty on 8th April 2010.\n\nThere are many other areas where cooperation between the America and Russia is vital as well. As is demonstrated by the geopolitical situation “Russia sits astride Europe, Asia and the broader Middle East – three regions whose future will shape American interests for many years to come. And in an era in which common challenges” so cooperation is necessary for the United States, but also for Russia as it would not want the US acting without its cooperation. According to Undersecretary of State Burns there are also many issues “non-proliferation, climate change, energy security, the struggle against terrorism, and many more – demand common action more than at any other period in human history, the United States and Russia have a lot more to gain by working together than by working apart.” [3]\n\n[1] Barak Obama, Obama’s Speech in Moscow, President addresses New Economic School graduation, 7/7/09, http://www.america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2009/July/20090707062839abretnuh3.549922e-02.html&distid=ucs#ixzz1K4z0wqG3 accessed 20/4/11\n\n[2] William J. Burns, The United States and Russia in a New Era: One Year After \"Reset\", Remarks to the Center for American Progress, Washington DC, 14th April 2010, http://www.state.gov/p/us/rm/2010/140179.htm accessed 10/4/11\n\n[3] William J. Burns, The United States and Russia in a New Era: One Year After \"Reset\", Remarks to the Center for American Progress, Washington DC, 14th April 2010, http://www.state.gov/p/us/rm/2010/140179.htm accessed 10/4/11\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "15ad5ab6184713f1b74fae67938b6d2e", "text": "asia europe global house believes long term cooperation between russia and Economically compatible\n\nThere is a huge potential for economic cooperation between two of the biggest states in the world. Russia desperately needs investment and technology to modernize its economy. The USA can offer this and more. It has helped Russia to get into the World Trade Organization, [1] to integrate it into the global economy, put pressure on Russian companies to drop their corrupt ways and adopt modern modes of operation. Russia also has plenty of chips to bring to the table. Pumping seven million barrels a day, Russia is second only to the Saudis in oil production. The Bush team saw Russia as a source for crude oil should U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia deteriorate, this is why at the Moscow summit in May, 2002, Bush and Putin launched “an energy dialogue to strengthen the overall relationship between our countries, and to enhance global energy security, international strategic stability, and regional cooperation.” [2] The United States has invested whenever it could in Russian oil and gas despite the difficulties private companies like Yukos have faced with government tax demands. For example in October 2001, Exxon Mobil announced that the Sakhalin 1 project was profitable and outlined the company’s plans to invest $30 billion by 2030. [3]\n\n[1] Kirk, ‘Full Statement by Ambassador Kirk Regarding the Invitation to Russia to Join the WTO’, Office of the United States Trade Representative, December 2011, http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/press-releases/2011/december/u...\n\n[2] William Ratliff, ‘Russia’s Oil in America’s Future: Policy, Pipelines, and Prospects, Hoover Institution, 1/9/03, http://www.hoover.org/publications/monographs/27207 accessed 04/5/11\n\n[3] Tamara Troyakova and Elizabeth Wishnick, ‘Integration or Disintegration: Challenges for the Russian Far East in the Asia-Pacific Region, p.18. http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/coe21/publish/no1/wishnick.pdf accessed 6/5/11\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "92fd7f1f88d42e3c8e3c78634d864749", "text": "asia europe global house believes long term cooperation between russia and Russian and US economic interests conflict\n\nGood economic relations are possible only as long as long as The USA believes that Russia is genuinely trying hard to bring its economy into line with the Western world. Both Putin and Medvedev have emphasised that the country’s economic interests will always determine Russian foreign policy. Most particularly foreign policy has been driven by oil and natural gas. This has involved a conflict with the United States over the construction of pipelines. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum (BTE) gas pipelines are specifically built to diversify European energy supplies away from dependence on Russia but were only built due to unequivocal US support. [1] Building these pipelines is directly against Russian interests. Russian economic interests include, amongst other things, close trade links with autocratic regimes, particularly in the former USSR, and exporting weapons and nuclear technology to China and Iran. In the example of Iran Russian economic interests have meant that Russia has blocked US efforts to get sanctions. [2] An area of particular conflict with the US is the Russian building of an $800million nuclear reactor at Bushehr. Similarly Russia sold Iran $1.7 billion of arms between 2002 and 2005 including anti-aircraft systems so making any potential attack on Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States much more dangerous. [3] Thus, close economic cooperation between two states whose economies are driven by very different goals is improbable.\n\n[1] ‘Pipeline politics? Russia and the EU’s battle for energy’, EurActive.com, 20/8/09, http://www.euractiv.com/en/energy/pipeline-politics-russia-eu-battle-energy/article-177579 accessed 6/5/11\n\n[2] Tony Karon, ‘Iran Diplomacy: Why Russia and China Won’t Play Ball’, Time, 22/3/06, http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1175573,00.html accessed 6/5/11\n\n[3] Mark N. Katz, ‘Russian-Iranian Relations: Functional Dysfunction’, Mideast Monitor, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2009, http://www.mideastmonitor.org/issues/0907/0907_5.htm accessed 6/5/11\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "847214b90f437754dbe5b42ddbf4000c", "text": "asia europe global house believes long term cooperation between russia and Russian and US strategic interests conflict\n\nContradictions between Russian and U.S. interests will always exist. The United States is not Russia's ally, and it can be confidently predicted that it never will be. While politically the two countries sometimes temporarily need each other to face global challenges, as long as it does not harm them politically or economically, militarily they will remain positioned as strategic enemies. NATO is a good example of this. While the United States believes NATO brings peace and stability Russia feels directly threatened by NATO expansion into states that were once a part of the Soviet Union such as the Baltic states or the possibility of expansion to Ukraine or Georgia. [1] There have even been suggestions that Russia’s 2008 conflict with Georgia was to prevent Georgia proceeding down the path to NATO membership with US encouragement. A view partially substantiated by President Putin himself “it has become absolutely clear that the desire of Georgian authorities to join NATO is motivated not by their ambition to form part of a global security system and contribute to the strengthening of international peace. Tbilisi's NATO bid is determined by other considerations, namely an attempt to embroil other nations in its bloody undertakings… from a legal point of view, Russia's actions in South Ossetia are totally legitimate.” [2] As a result America's relations with Russia will never resemble its relations with France or Great Britain. U.S. strategic nuclear planning will always envisage a potential Russian nuclear attack on targets on American territory. Likewise, Russian planners will not rule out an American attack on Russian targets.\n\n[1] Neuger, James G., and Alison, Sebastian, ‘Putin Says NATO Expansion Is Direct Threat to Russia (Update 2)’, Bloomberg, 4 April 2008, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aq34xuTFCvx0&refe...\n\n[2] President Putting quoted in ‘South Ossetia – The Stakes’, globalsecurity.org, http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/south-ossetia-9.htm accessed 27/4/11\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "92fd7f1f88d42e3c8e3c78634d864749", "text": "asia europe global house believes long term cooperation between russia and Russian and US economic interests conflict\n\nGood economic relations are possible only as long as long as The USA believes that Russia is genuinely trying hard to bring its economy into line with the Western world. Both Putin and Medvedev have emphasised that the country’s economic interests will always determine Russian foreign policy. Most particularly foreign policy has been driven by oil and natural gas. This has involved a conflict with the United States over the construction of pipelines. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum (BTE) gas pipelines are specifically built to diversify European energy supplies away from dependence on Russia but were only built due to unequivocal US support. [1] Building these pipelines is directly against Russian interests. Russian economic interests include, amongst other things, close trade links with autocratic regimes, particularly in the former USSR, and exporting weapons and nuclear technology to China and Iran. In the example of Iran Russian economic interests have meant that Russia has blocked US efforts to get sanctions. [2] An area of particular conflict with the US is the Russian building of an $800million nuclear reactor at Bushehr. Similarly Russia sold Iran $1.7 billion of arms between 2002 and 2005 including anti-aircraft systems so making any potential attack on Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States much more dangerous. [3] Thus, close economic cooperation between two states whose economies are driven by very different goals is improbable.\n\n[1] ‘Pipeline politics? Russia and the EU’s battle for energy’, EurActive.com, 20/8/09, http://www.euractiv.com/en/energy/pipeline-politics-russia-eu-battle-energy/article-177579 accessed 6/5/11\n\n[2] Tony Karon, ‘Iran Diplomacy: Why Russia and China Won’t Play Ball’, Time, 22/3/06, http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1175573,00.html accessed 6/5/11\n\n[3] Mark N. Katz, ‘Russian-Iranian Relations: Functional Dysfunction’, Mideast Monitor, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2009, http://www.mideastmonitor.org/issues/0907/0907_5.htm accessed 6/5/11\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3798768b9d948ed356fbbeebd95de02e", "text": "asia europe global house believes long term cooperation between russia and Missile defence shows Russia is still suspicious of U.S. motives.\n\nRussia has been suspicious of most US actions fearing they are directed against Russia. This suspicion is in part born out of the cold war, Russia is much weaker than the USSR was and is worried about any US expansionism. The expansion of NATO to include former Soviet states such as Lithuania has resulted in one Russian news organisation declaring \"Generations of Russians feel betrayed by NATO's expansion.\" [1] The United States’ missile defence proposals have been a continuing sore in relations. In 2007 then President Putin compared the proposed siting of anti-ballistic missile systems in Eastern Europe with the Cuban Missile Crisis, “The situation is quite similar technologically for us. We have withdrawn the remains of bases from Vietnam and Cuba, but such threats are being created near our borders.” [2] It is clear from this that Russia will not be able to cooperate with many things that the United States considered to necessary. Things like NATO expansion and missile defense which the United States considers to be defensive Russia believes are aimed at Russia, either to encircle it or to negate Russia’s main strategic asset; its nuclear arsenal.\n\n[1] Russia Today \"Generations of Russians feel betrayed by NATO's expansion\" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBbq7O9w4mw&feature=player_embedded\n\n[2] President Putting quoted in Philip Coyle and Victoria Samson, ‘Missile Defence Malfunction: Why the Proposed U.S. Missile Defences in Europe Will Not Work, Ethics & International Affairs, Vol.22, No.1, (Spring 2008), http://www.carnegiecouncil.org/resources/journal/22_1/special_report/001.html#_ftnref7 accessed 6/5/11\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "85e4a3dfafd59200f8d58dff6c828114", "text": "asia europe global house believes long term cooperation between russia and Russia’s near abroad\n\nRussia and the US have a fundamental divergence over the notion of spheres of interest. Russia only accepts any other country playing a role in its near abroad very grudgingly and will attempt to get other great powers out whenever possible. In the aftermath of 9/11 Russia could not prevent American intervention in Central Asia therefore it was sensible to make sure it was co-opted to serve Russia’s own interests, namely to be against international terrorism, rather than being directed against Russia herself. By doing so Russia could preserve her influence in the region. As America was willing to take on the costs of maintaining the security of the region Russia could retrench and cut costs. [1] Yet Russia began to force the US out as soon as was possible, for example forcing the closure of a U.S. airbase in Kyrgyzstan. [2]\n\nRussia has sometimes seemed to purposefully take the opposite side to the US in Eastern Europe. An example of this occurring was over the possibility of independence for Kosovo almost a decade after the conflict that forced Serbian forces out of the country. According to Charles Kupchan “on the question of Kosovo, direct Russian interests are difficult to discern, and therefore it appears that Russia’s backing of Serbia is part of a more muscular Russian policy, and a desire to stand up to the United States and the EU across the board.” [3]\n\n[1] Lena Jonson, Vladimir Putin and Central Asia The Shaping of Russian Foreign Policy, (I.B. Tauris, London, 2004), pp.172-174\n\n[2] Schwirtz, Michael, ‘Kyrgyzstan Insists U.S. Base to Close’, The New York Times, 11 June 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/world/asia/12kyrgyz.html\n\n[3] Bernard Gwertzmann, ‘Interview Kupchan: Russian Opposition to Kosovo Independence ‘Perplexing’, Foreign Affairs, Dec 2007, http://www.cfr.org/kosovo/kupchan-russian-opposition-kosovo-independence-perplexing/p15093 accessed 27/4/11\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
56fd8faeff017b7b9348e2d63234772a
Where the US has used military force, it has largely done it to uphold human rights and international peace, security and prosperity. Examining the use of American military power following the end of the Cold War shows us that the United States has pursued an agenda of tackling serious threats to international peace, security and prosperity—whether they emanate from rogue states and sponsors of terrorism, oppressive dictators, or war criminals. Humanitarian interventions in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan and most recently Libya highlight the importance of these considerations to America’s military strategy, and the willingness of the US to put aside narrow geopolitical interests in order to pursue humanitarian goals, to the benefit of much of the world.[10] America’s military dominance and ‘command of the commons’ (sea, space and air) has also allowed it to provide global collective goods and to maintain an open international order, which is vital to international prosperity.[11] [10] Rieff, David (2003), “Liberal Imperialism”, in Andrew Bacevich (ed.), The Imperial Tense: Prospects and Problems of American Empire, (Chicago, 2003) [11] Posen, Barry R. “Command of the Commons: The Military Foundation of U.S. Hegemony”, International Security, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Summer 2003), pp. 5-46.
[ { "docid": "7873c29542f2e5840c074f757355fd79", "text": "americas global house believes united states benign hegemon On closer inspection, it is evident that while many of these interventions espoused humanitarian principles, they were primarily designed to advance US strategic and geopolitical interests. Critics have been right to argue that the Iraq war was fought to gain strategic control of Middle Eastern oil and to dismantle the state-dominated economic structures of the region. No Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) were found in Iraq, and overthrowing a dictatorship could not have been a primary consideration, given America’s support for authoritarian regimes and dictatorships across the world (such as Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia). These contradictions can be seen in the recent Libya conflict, where the US suddenly endorsed regime change despite years of supporting Colonel Gaddafi. Other ‘humanitarian interventions’ have similarly been motivated in large part by self-interested strategic and geopolitical considerations.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "344200aa6f9d74812921de000df0549d", "text": "americas global house believes united states benign hegemon The United States has far too often relied on the use of force and coercion. For much of the Cold War and thereafter, America covertly and openly helped overthrow and wage war on governments that it perceived to be hostile to its national interests. From Latin America to Southeast Asia and the Middle East, coercion and war has often been America’s primary foreign policy tool. Moreover, this continues to the present time. Not only has Iraq highlighted America’s propensity to use force, but even the more internationally backed “war on terror” has featured unilateralism and controversial military practices such as “drone attacks,” which many say are counterproductive and undermine the importance of a law-based rather than militaristic approach to tackling terrorism.[6] Even in nominally ‘multilateral’ bodies such as the WTO and the UN, the US has often gotten its way through bribes, backdoor deals and coercive measures.[7]\n\n[6] Howard, Michael (2002), ‘What’s in a name? How to Fight Terrorism’, Foreign Affairs, January/February 2002.\n\n[7] Wade, Robert (2004), ‘The Ringmaster of Doha’, New Left Review 25, January-February 2004.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "32241b8c209d924032ba4a2432ec62d5", "text": "americas global house believes united states benign hegemon Rather than promoting a progressive global agenda, the United States has often undermined effective cooperation and coordination between countries as a result of unilateralist and self-interested policies. Thus, it has often regarded the United Nations as an ineffectual rival to its national interests – leading the country to disasters such as the Iraq war and undemocratically vetoing internationally-backed initiatives in the UN Security Council, such as those critical of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. Rather than showing leadership, the US has also obstructed international efforts to tackle climate change, as seen by George W. Bush’s refusal to sign the Kyoto Protocol and President Obama’s signing of the deeply flawed Copenhagen Accord.[8]. Many instances have also shown America’s willingness to pursue its own commercial interests at the expense of vital international issues. One example of this was George W. Bush’s protectionism in protecting the “intellectual property rights” and the high price of drugs (including Anti-AIDS drugs) of US pharmaceuticals, which damaged the international fight against AIDS.\n\nFurthermore with regards to international terrorism, the UNSC worked through the Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC) which had a minor US presence and was set up to tackle terrorism from the root causes rather than using military might.\n\n[8] On the Copenhagen Accord, see The Independent, ‘Obama’s climate accord fails the test’, 19 December, 2009. http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/obamas-climate-accord-fails-the-test-1845090.html , Accessed 13th May, 2011.\n\n[9] Mann, Michael (2003), Incoherent Empire, (London), pp. 58-59.\n\nMokhiber, Russell and Robert Weissman (2003), ‘The Two Faces of Bush in Africa’, Common Dreams, July 2003. http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0711-14.htm , Accessed 14th May 2011.\n\nUnited Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee. http://www.un.org/en/sc/ctc/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8dc8d9810196f588be421ce299eef54c", "text": "americas global house believes united states benign hegemon While the liberal order the US has constructed has benefited its allied economies in Western Europe and Japan, for much of the developing world the benefits have been few and far between. For example, many African and Asian nations have suffered tremendously from the spread of free market capitalism and the “structural adjustment programmes” imposed on them by the American-dominated International Monetary Fund (IMF). Rather than helping poorer nations, the West (led by America) has often practiced selective freed trade, whereby the markets of the developing world were opened up to foreign companies as the United States and its Western allies subsidized and provided unfair advantages to sectors of their own economies that were not as globally competitive, such as farming. This crippled the agricultural industries of many developing countries and made them dependent on importing food, directly contributing to many recent food crises. What is more, the US and its allies have manipulatively achieved this through nominally “multilateral” and “fair” institutions such as the IMF, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization (WTO).[3] Many countries have not received the benefits of this so-called “benign” open, liberal order.\n\n[3] Bello, Walden (2005). Dilemmas of Domination: The Unmaking of the American Empire, (London),\n\nStiglitz, Joseph E. (2002), Globalization and its Discontents (New York: W.W. Norton).\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "560c367cb316a5336d15b9612460de8d", "text": "americas global house believes united states benign hegemon US support for democracy has been at best hugely inconsistent, and at worst criminally apathetic. During the Cold War, the US overthrew various democratic governments (for example Iran and Guatemala in the 1950s) and supported dictatorial regimes. This has continued into the post-Cold War era, as the US support for the coup attempt against President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela in 2002 demonstrated. While the US professes support for democratic forces in the Arab world, it has also continued to give vital assistance to the strategically-important dictatorships of the Gulf, primarily Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, which have been responsible for grave human rights abuses in response to recent peaceful protests[14].The US also continues to support states such as Israel which violate international law, and also routinely flouts international law itself—as seen by wars such as Iraq, the treatment of terrorist suspects and breaches of the Geneva convention [15], the undermining of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the violation of countries’ sovereignty with ‘drone’ attacks. Clinical realpolitik, and not the pursuit of democracy and human rights, determines the use of US power.\n\n[14] Goodman, Amy (2011), ‘Barack Obama must speak out on Bahrain bloodshed’, The Guardian: Comment is Free, April 2011. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/apr/13/barack-obama-bahrain-bloodshed , Accessed 14th May 2011.The US is not a hegemon at all, but an imperialist power-an empire.\n\n[15] Chatham House, ‘Extraordinary Rendition: A summary of the Chatham House International Law Discussion’. http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/files/11390_il270308.pdf , Accessed 15th May 2011.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "874d3c52d8e757e82ee459952334ef71", "text": "americas global house believes united states benign hegemon It is true that the US sometimes resorts to unilateral action to advance its national security interests. However, its commitment to multilateralism is more than just instrumental and cynically selective. Even George W. Bush’s unilateralism—criticized as imperialist by even mainstream analysts—was restricted to certain issues, such as arms control, nonproliferation, and the use of force against certain threatening states. Unilateral military action was only used against Iraq, and even other “rogue” states (specifically Iran and North Korea) were dealt with through diplomatic and multilateral channels.[30] As John Ikenberry argues, the “foundational” multilateralism—as seen in the liberal, open international order the US built following World War II—is still a core part of US foreign policy.[31] Moreover, George Bush Sr.’s painstaking coalition building for the first Gulf War and more recently President Obama’s commitment to working through the UN Security Council for the intervention in Libya demonstrates America’s preference for consensus-based international action.\n\n[30] Robbins, Carla Anne (2007). “Bush Foreign Policy: Grand Vision and its Application” in Fortier, John C. and Ornstein, Norman J. (eds.), Second-Term Blues: How George W. Bush Has Governed, (Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 2007), pp. 89-108.\n\n[31] Ikenberry, John G. (2003), ‘Is American Multilateralism in Decline?’, Perspective on Politics, Vol. 1. http://www.princeton.edu/~gji3/Decline.pdf , Accessed 17th May, 2011.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b576c4e96fbdc6e1b73bb3e3ad7c11e5", "text": "americas global house believes united states benign hegemon This argument misleadingly presents the nature of US influence as essentially coercive. In fact, it is America’s “soft power”—or the ability to get what it wants through the attractiveness of its culture and political institutions—that has been instrumental in spreading American values.[25] People across the globe—from Singapore, South Korea, and Japan to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait—are fascinated by and have emulated what John Agnew terms America’s “Market-Place society,” defined by mass consumerism, the influx of American cultural products and the displacement of traditional social standards.[26] In this context, arguments of “cultural imperialism” exaggerate the level of control the US has over the process, as well as the extent to which conflicts arise.[27] The desirability of American culture and institutions in the eyes of many of the world’s people ensures that soft, and not hard, power has universalized American values.\n\n[25] Nye, Joseph (2004), “Soft Power and American Foreign Policy”, Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 119, No. 2 (2004), pp. 255-270.\n\nNye, Joseph (2004). Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (New York: Basic Books, 2004)\n\n[26] Agnew, John (2005). Hegemony: The New Shape of Global Power (Philadelphia)\n\n[27] Sardar, Ziauddin and Merryl Wyn Davies (2003), Why Do People Hate America? (Cambridge: Icon Books Ltd.), p. 130.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5138bfe445cbc972679f9e412b9e64da", "text": "americas global house believes united states benign hegemon While the US does have a long history of intervening in various countries across the globe, this has mostly been in response to genuine threats to national security, international peace, and basic human rights in line with the UN Charter. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, a new global discourse has emerged where state sovereignty is no longer regarded as absolute in instances where states endanger international peace and commit human rights abuses.[22] Post-Cold War US interventions (Haiti, Somalia, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya) have largely followed this discourse. Thus, rather than malignly intervening in other countries, the US has relatively benignly sought to apply pressure on violent and dictatorial regimes, with international law and the will of the international community being central to many of the actions taken. The carefully undertaken Libyan intervention demonstrates this.\n\n[22] Annan, Kofi (1999), ‘Two concepts of sovereignty’, The Economist, 18th September 1999. http://www.un.org/News/ossg/sg/stories/kaecon.html , Accessed 16th May, 2011.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d5930147b8b6aa5510b8cc04ee21d291", "text": "americas global house believes united states benign hegemon It is a hyperbole to suggest that American-led globalization and the spread of free and open markets has been “imposed” on developing countries; globalisation has been a far more impersonal and voluntary process. Moreover, rather than being exploited, the spread of free trade and open markets has benefited developing countries; one only needs to see the success of China, and India after 1991 when it embraced neoliberal reforms to find evidence of this. More generally too, World Bank reports have suggested that poorer countries that are “more globalized” have grown faster than even developed countries, while those that are “less globalized” have seen their GDPs drop.[34] The purportedly “hub and spoke” system the US has employed has also benefited many countries, which have received security guarantees from America, and can often count on the US to help tackle regional threats and ensure stability. Middle Eastern states that cooperate with the US to tackle terrorism and a resurgent and nuclear Iran provide examples of this.\n\n[34] Meredith, Robyn and Suzanne Hoppough (2007), ‘Why Globalization is Good’, Forbes, March, 2007. http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2007/0416/064.html , Accessed 17th May, 2011.\n\nSchonwald, Josh (2002), ‘Johnson, economic development expert, discusses globalization and its benefits,’ The University of Chicago Chronicle, February 21, 2002, Vol. 21, No. 10. http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/020221/globalization.shtml , Accessed 17th May, 2011.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0ea9954f4f2cb5709b4bf5a9f2a97d69", "text": "americas global house believes united states benign hegemon The US had led the world through consent rather than coercion.\n\nAn important part of the liberal international order the US maintains is that power is diffused and is based on negotiation, strategic bargaining and the exercise of power through mutually-agreed rules and institutions. Globalization and the liberalization of the global economy has been actively supported by many nations in the world, some of whom—such as China, Japan, and Germany—have even used it to compete economically with the United States. Other states have also enjoyed significant decision-making powers in international institutions. For example, the World Trade Organization (WTO) decisions are made on the basis of a ‘one country, one vote’ system.[4] This consensus-based exercise of power has provided the US with a relatively large degree of legitimacy in world opinion, often outstripping the global approval ratings of other major powers.[5]\n\n[4] Ikenberry, G. John. “Illusions of Empire: Defining the New American Order”, Foreign Affairs, March/April (2004), 144-156\n\nMark Beeson & Richard Higgott (2005), “Hegemony , Institutionalism and US Foreign Policy : theory and practice in comparative historical perspective” Third Word Quarterly , Vol.26, No. 7.\n\n[5] Gallup, ‘Worldwide Appeal of U.S. Leadership Tops Major Powers’, March 24, 2011. http://www.gallup.com/poll/146771/worldwide-approval-leadership-tops-major-powers.aspx , Accessed 12th May 2011.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7daf93bbf6db6b42cfc406b84632ca3a", "text": "americas global house believes united states benign hegemon The US has provided global leadership in tackling important issues such as terrorism.\n\nAmerica’s hegemonic power has enabled it to provide global leadership on important international concerns. Because the US is affected by the same problems as many other countries in an increasingly inter-connected world (for example climate change, terrorism, epidemics, oil crises, economic recessions, the illegal drugs trade, and nuclear proliferation) it is in its interests to promote policies that are broadly globally beneficial. The US is able to utilize its considerable economic and diplomatic clout to convince its allies to back important multilateral international initiatives. One example of this was George W. Bush’s initiative on HIV/AIDS in the developing world. The United States has also used its power to unify the global effort against terrorism and provide collective security and considerable aid to various nations, as well as leading the international effort to prevent failed or weak states (such as Somalia and Yemen) falling into the hands of terrorists.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "cb7d4d3a9c978ccf6892d08515f82dfd", "text": "americas global house believes united states benign hegemon The US used its power to establish a set of open global institutions which have been broadly beneficial.\n\nAs Robert Cox argues, American hegemony has been successful because the US has been able to maintain its dominance through a high level of global consensus by establishing a broadly accepted rules-based liberal international economic order, and has been able to shape other states’ preferences in a manner that has awarded sufficient benefits to these states while ensuring the dominance of the US.[1] This has been what John Ikenberry terms America’s “liberal grand strategy,”* which has enabled the US to construct a relatively benign and highly institutionalized multilateral system based on open markets, free trade, and the provision of ‘public goods’, such as collective security and an open international trading regime.[2] This has allowed other countries to prosper economically and also in terms of their security; the rebuilding and success of Japan and Germany provides important examples of this.\n\n[1] Cox, Robert. ‘Gramsci, Hegemony and International Relations, Millennium, Vol. 12, No. 2, 1983, pp. 162-175.,\n\nCox, Robert. “Social Forces, States and World Orders: Beyond International Relations Theory”, in R.O. Keohane (ed.) NeoRealism and its Critics, (New York: Columbia University Press, 1986)\n\nWhere the US has used military force, it has largely done it to uphold human rights and international peace, security and prosperity.[2] Ikenberry, John G. (2002), ‘America’s Imperial Ambition’, Foreign Affairs, September/October 2002.\n\n*liberal grand strategy is a terminology that describes the USA’s long term policy goal- to promote its system to other countries.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1f4fe69a36c7cda2184ce556816c284c", "text": "americas global house believes united states benign hegemon The US has established an unjust system of unequal relationships in order to exploit developing countries.\n\nWhile Western Europe and Japan may have been awarded a privileged position in the international order the US constructed following the end of World War II, developing countries were incorporated as “subordinate elements in the global capitalist system.”[32] The global South has in effect been controlled and exploited through nominally multilateral institutions such as the IMF, the World Bank and WTO, which are designed in a way that provides wealthy countries with de facto control. The United States has also set up a “hub and spoke” system to deal with subordinate states, which is built around bilateralism, client states, ‘special relationships’, and patronage-oriented foreign policy, which serves to translate America’s power advantage into concessions from other states.[33] When subordinate states have failed to comply, they have often faced US intervention—from Guatemala, to Iran, to Chile, to Iraq. Through this system of unequal relationships the US has gained access to markets for its corporations, and enjoyed geopolitical and political control of key strategic areas. Developing countries on the other hand have often faced economic stagnation, food crises, and various attacks on their sovereignty.\n\n[32] Bello, Walden (2005). Dilemmas of Domination: The Unmaking of the American Empire, (London), pp. 153.\n\n[33] For an elaboration of how a “hub and spokes” system works, see Ikenberry, John G. (2004), “Liberalism and empire: logics of order in the American unipolar age”, Review of International Studies, 30, pp. 609-630\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0598900be966bad94ad2ca650d78a113", "text": "americas global house believes united states benign hegemon The US has used its power to undermine the sovereignty of other nations, often through coercion and violence.\n\nAs Samuel P. Huntington has written, the US suffers from “benign hegemon syndrome.”[19] Its self-perception as an exceptional, virtuous superpower is at odds with the violent history of its foreign policy. Since the end of World War II, it has sought to overthrow over forty governments, and to destroy numerous populist-nationalist movements.[20] Its interventions in other countries have substantially increased following the end of the Cold War and the absence of a rival power balancing against it; one study has shown a 60% increase with an average of two interventions per year.[21] In addition, the US often interferes in the internal affairs of other countries; including through perverting elections, applying sanctions to change behaviour or influence domestic politics, propping up opposition forces, and even trying to assassinate foreign leaders (for example, Fidel Castro and more recently, arguably, Colonel Gaddafi). Therefore, while it may see itself as a benign hegemon, many see America as a rogue superpower.\n\n[19] Huntington, Samuel P. (1999), ‘The Lonely Superpower’, Foreign Affairs, March/April 1999. http://raider.mountunion.edu/~grossmmo/PS%20270/articles/lonely%20superpower.pdf , Accessed 17th May, 2011.\n\n[20] Blum, William (2002). Rogue State: A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower (London).\n\n[21] In Sardar, Ziauddin and Merryl Wyn Davies (2003), Why Do People Hate America? (Cambridge: Icon Books Ltd.), pp. 67-68.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d849fe3b0cb91cfc8c3226fc557195d5", "text": "americas global house believes united states benign hegemon The US eschews multilateralism and prefers unilateralism.\n\nRather than working through international institutions and gaining the consent of the international community as a ‘benign’ hegemon would be expected to do, the United States far too often undermines multilateralism and exercises its power unilaterally. President Clinton’s military interventions during the 1990s, George W. Bush’s unilateral launching of the Iraq War, and President Obama’s use of covert drone attacks illustrate this propensity to shun multilateralism in favour of the “imperial logic” of unilateralism.[28] Indeed, since the end of the Cold War the United Nations has frequently been ignored or devalued as an institution by America. Most American policymakers are what Robert Kagan refers to as “instrumental multilateralists.” They engage with multilateral institutions for pragmatic reasons, but act unilaterally when it serves the interests of the United States. This is in contrast to many European leaders, who Kagan describes as “principled multilateralists” that are interested in multilateralism as a cornerstone of world order.[29]\n\n[28] Ikenberry, John G. (2003), ‘Is American Multilateralism in Decline?’, Perspective on Politics, Vol. 1. http://www.princeton.edu/~gji3/Decline.pdf , Accessed 17th May, 2011.\n\n[29] Kagan, Robert (2002), ‘Multilateralism, American Style’, The Washington Post, September 2002. http://www.newamericancentury.org/global-091302.htm , Accessed 17th May, 2011.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7799feab1ceb24e88988cd915badab68", "text": "americas global house believes united states benign hegemon The US is not a hegemon at all, but an imperialist power-an empire.\n\nWhile the US may not have formal colonies like the empires of the past, it is still able to pursue imperialism through its massive military juggernaut and control of the world’s financial institutions. America possesses what Chalmers Johnson called an “empire of military bases,” which are located in dozens of countries across the world and provide the US with, as Jonathan Freedland puts it, ‘the same global muscle it would enjoy if it ruled those countries directly.’[16] This coupled with its entrenched military-industrial complex allows the US to contain rivals, maintain strategic control of resources (particularly oil), and to militarily intervene in countries that threaten its imperial “interests.” The US has also shaped and structured the international political economy in a way that has given it effective control of the global institutions which ensure it remains the pre-eminent power. This is not indicative of a ‘benign’ hegemon, but a modern Rome.[17]\n\n[16] Freedland, Jonathan (2002). “Rome, AD... Rome, DC?”, The Guardian, September 18, 2002. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/sep/18/usa.comment , Accessed 16th May, 2011.\n\n[17] Wade, Robert (2002), “The American Empire,” The Guardian, 5th January, 2002.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "35825d6ebc3d937e78f17216bc54f824", "text": "americas global house believes united states benign hegemon The US has arrogantly (and dangerously) sought to reshape the world in its own image.\n\nA commitment to American ‘exceptionalism’ has led US policymakers to view the United States as the political and cultural centre of the world. Consequently, they expect others to follow their own standards on political, economic and cultural issues, with free and open markets, liberal democratic structures, and individualistic cultural norms serving as models for other countries to follow. This is not simply propaganda; the US has used considerable resources to influence other nations in this respect, including military interventions, coercive austerity measures through the IMF/World Bank/WTO, economic sanctions, and the categorization of certain countries as “rogue states” for not following American standards.[23] American corporations have also been responsible for a form of cultural imperialism by exporting consumerist and materialistic ways of life around the world, often threatening indigenous cultures. In some instances this has caused what Samuel P. Huntington calls a ‘clash of civilizations,’[24] leading other cultures to respond violently to the introduction of American cultural exports, as is the case in some conservative Muslim societies and in India, where a major political party (BJP) actively orchestrates opposition to Western ideals of sexual permissiveness and individualism.\n\n[23] Huntington, Samuel P. (1999), ‘The Lonely Superpower’, Foreign Affairs, March/April 1999. http://raider.mountunion.edu/~grossmmo/PS%20270/articles/lonely%20superpower.pdf , Accessed 17th May, 2011.\n\n[24] Huntington, Samuel P. (1993), ‘The Clash of Civilizations’, Foreign Affairs, September 1993. http://www.bintjbeil.com/articles/en/d_huntington.html , Accessed 17th May 2001.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
f6664cc4473121e501bf16cedbe82915
Will the investigation get anywhere; who should be prosecuted? The biggest problem facing an investigation by a prosecutor is whether there is any point in the investigation. Who could be relevant witnesses? Would any of them cooperate? [1] Ultimately who do you prosecute? Germany might be able to bring some of the US staff in Germany who conducted the surveillance to trial but it seems most unlikely that they would be able to get anyone higher up the chain. Is the person who authorised the surveillance really likely to be extradited? It seems unlikely, so why bother? [1] Spiegel Staff, ‘Probing America: Top German Prosecutor Considers NSA Investigation’, Spiegel Online, 20 January 2014, http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/nsa-syping-scandal-a-944415.html
[ { "docid": "910d3ad284566802900b5ef84d5cec6b", "text": "europe politics terrorism computers phones house believes german There is a big difference between justice not being done because the United States refuses to cooperate and justice not being done because German prosecutors could not get the evidence to bring charges. If the former there is at least a chance of a trial, possibly in abstention, where all the evidence can come out.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "f1af9e51700e2b33eb27f79a6d211ec4", "text": "europe politics terrorism computers phones house believes german A failure by the United States to agree to a no spy agreement already damages relations. One of the leaders of the SPD, Thomas Oppermann, has said “failure of the agreement would be unacceptable” and would “change the political character of relations.” [1] If the US is willing to damage relations by stonewalling then should the Germans really be considering US diplomatic feelings in the matter? The United States gains from its relations with Germany as well as the other way around. Stopping intelligence sharing as a result of a prosecution would be acting against US interests in fighting terrorism.\n\n[1] Deutsche Welle, ‘Impasse at US-Germany ‘no-spying’ talks?’, dw.de, 14 January 2014, http://www.dw.de/impasse-at-us-germany-no-spying-talks/a-17361318\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c842c3952a6d3a6ca49286c3bdc3bc77", "text": "europe politics terrorism computers phones house believes german If countries will not act on narrow issues involving privacy freedoms and internet surveillance even when their head of government is on the receiving end then what hope is there for the broader picture? There is no point in proclaiming everyone should follow the law then we would have no crime if there is no mechanism to punish those who commit crime. Germany should not let the NSA get away with its actions or it will surely do the same again in the future.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "31756307297a6511e08406c10291689e", "text": "europe politics terrorism computers phones house believes german Officially talks are ongoing so an agreement is still possible. Moreover a failure to reach an agreement does not mean that Germany should act unilaterally. Restraint will in the long term mean Germany is much more likely to negotiate an agreement with the United States as they will be more willing to listen to an ally who has not tried to prosecute US intelligence officials.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f38699b2b50e4dbfb2e81a8b0b39a778", "text": "europe politics terrorism computers phones house believes german Politics is about action. The German government has to take some action on the issue of NSA surveillance and German privacy or it will look weak. Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich went to Washington in July but was accused of “returning empty-handed” and having “not moved a single step forward on any of the key points”. [1] The stonewalling by the United States provides an opportunity for opponents to Damage Merkel’s new government as well as potentially to show gaps between the SDP and CSU. Merkel has been invited to visit Washington at some point in 2014 by President Obama, [2] Merkel can’t afford for her own diplomacy to have as little result as Friedrich’s.\n\n[1] Deutsche Welle, ‘SPF, Greens slam Interior Minister Friedrich after US surveillance talks in Washington’, dw.de, 13 July 2013, http://www.dw.de/spd-greens-slam-interior-minister-friedrich-after-us-surveillance-talks-in-washington/a-16949123\n\n[2] Reuters, ‘Obama invites Merkel to visit during call about trade, NATO’, 8 January 2014, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/08/us-usa-germany-obama-merkel-idUSBREA071CR20140108\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "83c3e41a7066012934f33672d5cba4f0", "text": "europe politics terrorism computers phones house believes german Of course spying on another country is illegal, but everyone does it. Le Monde in July had a report on The Direction Générale de la Securité Extérieure (DGSC) having systematically collected “the electromagnetic signals transmitted by computers and phones in France, as well as the digital streams going back-and-forth between the French and abroad. All communications are being spied on: emails, SMS messages, phone records, Facebook and Twitter updates, which are all then stored for years”. [1]\n\n[1] Follorou, Jaques, and Johannès, Franck, ‘Exclusive: French Intelligence Has Its Own Version Of PRISM’, Worldcrunch, 4 July 2013, http://www.worldcrunch.com/world-affairs/exclusive-french-intelligence-has-its-own-version-of-prism/dgse-prism-secret-service-france-big-brother-/c1s12643/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "72cdc7fc2d974ba14218019fbdda88b0", "text": "europe politics terrorism computers phones house believes german Damages US-German relations\n\nAn investigation would have serious repercussions for German-American relations which would be seriously against German interests. Germany needs the United States as an ally in NATO and both are currently disengaging from deployments in Afghanistan. Much more important might be the impact on intelligence sharing between Germany and the United States. Intelligence officials are concerned “They could simply shut off the faucet,” with the Americans simply no longer providing intelligence to Germany. This would immediately impact German security by making it more likely terrorists could attack German interests. [1] Germany should accept the Obama’s assurances “As long as I am the President of the United States, the German Chancellor need not worry about that [surveillance of Merkel]”. [2]\n\n[1] Spiegel Staff, ‘Probing America: Top German Prosecutor Considers NSA Investigation’, Spiegel Online, 20 January 2014, http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/nsa-syping-scandal-a-944415.html\n\n[2] Reuters, ‘Obama Tells Merkel, Germans He Will Not Wiretap’, Huffington Post, 18 January 2014, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/18/obama-tells-merkel-germa_n_4624463.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a4965ce3f40ae74ae1f68e8d372a07eb", "text": "europe politics terrorism computers phones house believes german Investigating a sideshow\n\nThe issue of the United States bugging Merkel and whether Germany can reach an agreement to prevent spying in the future is really a sideshow. The bugging of one person no matter how important does not matter. Much more important is the protection of the internet and internet freedom. This German Interior Minister de Maiziere [1] says is what is most important and Germany can work with the USA on it “There are organized criminals, who are interested in our transactions. There are business models that aim to sell individuals' profile images, and so on… The protection of the Internet, against whomever, that is our common purpose, and not just this fixation on the NSA.” [2] Germany should not be fixing on what the NSA has done but be looking at the broader picture.\n\n[1] NB the German government changed on 17th December with a resulting reshuffle\n\n[2] Deutche Welle, ‘German Interior Minister de Maiziere warns over NSA 'fixation'’, dw.de, 10 January 2014, http://www.dw.de/german-interior-minister-de-maiziere-warns-over-nsa-fixation/a-17373037\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a3afe9e68d1b6704541b919db9f93a5a", "text": "europe politics terrorism computers phones house believes german No chance of an agreement with the USA\n\nThe German government has been working towards a ‘no-spy agreement’ with the United States. It however looks unlikely that such a deal will every become a reality with officials saying “we won't get anything” and “the Americans lied to us” about the chances of an agreement. [1] German officials have also been disparaging of Obama’s new announcements on restrictions of the NSA; Roettgen, a member of Merkel’s party says “The fundamental question is, should security services be able to do everything they’re technically able to do, Obama essentially said ‘yes’”. [2] If Germany can’t get an agreement then it has no choice but to act unilaterally.\n\n[1] Medick, Veit, and Meiritz, Annett, ‘’The Americans Lied’: Trans-Atlantic ‘No-Spy’ Deal on the Rocks’, Spiegel Online, 15 January 2014, http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/us-german-no-spy-deal-in-danger-of-failure-a-943614.html\n\n[2] Donahue, Patrick, ‘Germany Says Obama’s Spying Pledges Fail to Address Concerns’, Bloomberg, 20 January 2014’, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-20/germany-says-obama-s-spying-pledges-fail-to-address-concerns.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0b61c6a5b6c0536582a2e85e7e5fd546", "text": "europe politics terrorism computers phones house believes german Doing nothing makes Merkel and Germany look weak\n\nPolitics is about action. The German government has to take some action on the issue of NSA surveillance and German privacy or it will look weak. Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich went to Washington in July but was accused of “returning empty-handed” and having “not moved a single step forward on any of the key points”. [1] The stonewalling by the United States provides an opportunity for opponents to Damage Merkel’s new government as well as potentially to show gaps between the SDP and CSU. Merkel has been invited to visit Washington at some point in 2014 by President Obama, [2] Merkel can’t afford for her own diplomacy to have as little result as Friedrich’s.\n\n[1] Deutsche Welle, ‘SPF, Greens slam Interior Minister Friedrich after US surveillance talks in Washington’, dw.de, 13 July 2013, http://www.dw.de/spd-greens-slam-interior-minister-friedrich-after-us-surveillance-talks-in-washington/a-16949123\n\n[2] Reuters, ‘Obama invites Merkel to visit during call about trade, NATO’, 8 January 2014, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/08/us-usa-germany-obama-merkel-idUSBREA071CR20140108\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e5bfc929c67172f8b492dec9948ec8dc", "text": "europe politics terrorism computers phones house believes german Illegal under German law\n\nMonitoring communications in Germany’s capital – including the communications of government leaders like Merkel would be illegal under German law. Numerous politicians, such as then interior minister Hans-Peter Friedrich have stated that those “responsible must be held accountable”. [1] There are even those, such as Gregor Gysi from the far left Left Party who say “The fact that the German government and the Federal Prosecutor isn't acting shows that their fear of the US government is greater than their respect for our legal system.” [2] When an act is illegal the state has a moral responsibility to prosecute that act. It should not be OK for another state to break the law simply because it is an ally and there is a desire to keep relations cordial.\n\n[1] McGuinness, Damien, ‘US bugged Merkel's phone from 2002 until 2013, report claims’, BBC News, 27 October 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24690055\n\n[2] Spiegel Staff, ‘Probing America: Top German Prosecutor Considers NSA Investigation’, Spiegel Online, 20 January 2014, http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/nsa-syping-scandal-a-944415.html\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
95a024a52700a8a1da1571df6363638f
Has made little difference in the past The precedent of the Line Item Veto Act under President Clinton should warn against a constitutional amendment. The sums saved were laughably small, $355 million, in the context of the entire federal budget, $1.7 trillion, (0.02% of spending)1 but nonetheless provoked considerable friction between elected representatives and the White House. There was unhappiness that the large majority of his cuts were of earmarks requested by Republican members, and an allegation that the Administration had threatened a Congressman with the veto of an item dear to them unless they supported an unrelated piece of legislation. 1Virginia A. McMurty, 'Enhancing the President's Authority to Eliminate Wasteful Spending and Reduce the Deficit', Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services and International Security Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Committee Hearing 15/3/2011, p.9
[ { "docid": "11ea94d8b863cfba808f4732d52ef0d1", "text": "americas politics government house wants line item veto amendment The use of the line-item veto power by President Clinton in 1997 demonstrates the advantages of such authority. Although the power was declared unconstitutional in 1998 by the Supreme Court, while he held it Clinton demonstrated what could be achieved. He acted cautiously, only cancelling 82 appropriations, but these totalled nearly $2 billion1– a useful contribution in itself to reducing the federal deficit, and one that suggested that much bigger savings could be achieved by a more determined President. The Congressional Budget Office agreed according to the Congressional Budget Office \"The 1997 cancellations had a relatively small impact on the budget's bottom line, but that outcome may have resulted in part from temporary factors, such as last year's balanced budget agreement.\"2 This period also demonstrated that Congress would still retain the power of the purse, as it was able to overrule one of Clinton’s deletions, on the Military Construction bill worth $287billion, by majority vote in both houses.3\n\n1 It is time for congress to kill the pig, Center for individual freedom, 11/11/04, accessed 6/5/11\n\n2 The line item veto act after one year’, Congressional Budget Office, April 1998, accessed 6/5/11\n\n3 Marc Lacey, ‘Senate Votes 1st Override of Clinton Line-Item Vetos, Los Angeles Times, 26/2/1998, accessed 6/5/11\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "52697c86b08c91ed5bec00024657c08b", "text": "americas politics government house wants line item veto amendment This amendment would only give the President a limited power for a limited but worthwhile purpose. The media and interest group scrutiny that accompanies the Presidency will ensure that the White House will have to justify every line-item decision made. It does not affect the Congress's power regarding policy-making, entitlement programmes or taxation. Indeed, it is little different to the existing convention of executive \"Signing Statements\" whereby the President can sign legislation while making it clear his intention not to fully implement aspects of it. It would create a budgetary separation of powers between the president and congress so introducing checks and balances against the abuse of power.1\n\n1 Ferro, Lucas and De Magalhaes, Leandro M. 'Budgetary Separation of Powers in the American States and the Tax Level: A Regression Discontinuity Design', Bristol University, Oct 2009,accessed 5/5/11\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fe121916b3c9b839bf96070053e98713", "text": "americas politics government house wants line item veto amendment We should always be cautious of altering the United States’ Constitution. Once an amendment is passed, it is extremely hard to overturn, even if its consequences are clearly negative (as the experience of constitutionally-mandated prohibition of alcohol should make clear). It would be both difficult and unnecessary. There are problems of wording and interpretation. The 1996 Act covered 22 pages and went into great detail to define the extent and limits of Presidential authority under the legislation, including the exact meanings of “single item of appropriation”, ''direct spending'' and ''limited tax benefit'', as well as the means by which Congress could override his decisions.1 It is hard to believe that a one-paragraph amendment to the Constitution could achieve such precision, opening the budgetary process up to confusion, shifting interpretation and constant legal challenge. It is also unnecessary. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia argues \"The short of the matter is this: Had the Line Item Veto Act authorized the president to 'decline to spend' any item of spending ... there is not the slightest doubt that authorization would have been constitutional… What the Line Item Veto Act does instead -- authorizing the president to 'cancel' an item of spending -- is technically different.\"2 Thus the act could simply have been worded differently in order to make it constitutional. This would not change the substance of the ability of the ‘veto’ to cut spending.\n\n1 One hundred fourth Congress of the United States of America at the second session, “Line Item Veto Act”, 3/1/1996, The Library of Congress, accessed 6/5/11\n\n2 Supreme Court Justice Scalia quoted in Michael Kirkland, ‘Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Like the South, will line item veto rise again?’, upi.com, 17/4/11 accessed 6/5/11\n\nimprove this\n\nCOUNTERPOINT\n\n\"I do not take these matters lightly in amending the Constitution. However, I am convinced in this case it is the only way to provide the President with the same authority that 44 Governors already have to influence spending.\"1It would in general be preferable to make such a change through normal legislation, but that was attempted in 1996 and found unconstitutional. Supreme Court Justice Stevens in his majority opinion for the Supreme Court argued that it was necessary for there to be an amendment to make it constitutional, \"If there is to be a new procedure in which the president will play a different role in determining the text of what may \"become a law\", such change must come not by legislation but through the amendment procedures set forth in Article V of the Constitution.\"2\n\n1 Item veto constitutional amendment hearing before the subcommittee on the constitution of the Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives, 23/3/00, accessed 5/5/11\n\n2 Clinton, President of the United States, et al. v. City of New York et al. No.97-1374, United States Supreme Court, 1998,accessed 5/5/11\n\nimprove this\n\nAPPENDIX\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "04a597d25f198db93d40c74a92d4496b", "text": "americas politics government house wants line item veto amendment There are other means by which cutting earmarks could be achieved, without the drastic step of mutilating the work of the Founding Fathers. For a start, Congress could just ban the use of earmarks, unfortunately an attempt in 2010 was defeated 39-56 in the Senate.1 Existing rescission powers could be toughened by requiring Congress to hold a prompt vote on Presidential requests for appropriations cuts, rather than ignoring them as invariably happens now. The Impoundment power removed in 1974 could be restored. The convention that spending items in committee reports should be binding on the executive could be challenged. And the practice of legislating massive omnibus spending bills could be ended; more, smaller and more focused bills would make pork more obvious and make it more viable for a President to veto a whole bill without causing the federal government to collapse for want of funding.\n\n1 Rushing , J. Taylor, 'Senate votes down ban on earmarks 39-56', The Hill, 30/11/10,accessed 5/5/11\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6d6c094a992bc34103c12fdbfe1c79af", "text": "americas politics government house wants line item veto amendment The constitution should not be amended\n\nWe should always be cautious of altering the United States’ Constitution. Once an amendment is passed, it is extremely hard to overturn, even if its consequences are clearly negative (as the experience of constitutionally-mandated prohibition of alcohol should make clear). It would be both difficult and unnecessary. There are problems of wording and interpretation. The 1996 Act covered 22 pages and went into great detail to define the extent and limits of Presidential authority under the legislation, including the exact meanings of “single item of appropriation”, ''direct spending'' and ''limited tax benefit'', as well as the means by which Congress could override his decisions.1 It is hard to believe that a one-paragraph amendment to the Constitution could achieve such precision, opening the budgetary process up to confusion, shifting interpretation and constant legal challenge. It is also unnecessary. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia argues \"The short of the matter is this: Had the Line Item Veto Act authorized the president to 'decline to spend' any item of spending ... there is not the slightest doubt that authorization would have been constitutional… What the Line Item Veto Act does instead -- authorizing the president to 'cancel' an item of spending -- is technically different.\"2 Thus the act could simply have been worded differently in order to make it constitutional. This would not change the substance of the ability of the ‘veto’ to cut spending.\n\n1 One hundred fourth Congress of the United States of America at the second session, “Line Item Veto Act”, 3/1/1996, The Library of Congress, accessed 6/5/11\n\n2 Supreme Court Justice Scalia quoted in Michael Kirkland, ‘Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Like the South, will line item veto rise again?’, upi.com, 17/4/11 accessed 6/5/11\n\nimprove this\n\nCOUNTERPOINT\n\n\"I do not take these matters lightly in amending the Constitution. However, I am convinced in this case it is the only way to provide the President with the same authority that 44 Governors already have to influence spending.\"1It would in general be preferable to make such a change through normal legislation, but that was attempted in 1996 and found unconstitutional. Supreme Court Justice Stevens in his majority opinion for the Supreme Court argued that it was necessary for there to be an amendment to make it constitutional, \"If there is to be a new procedure in which the president will play a different role in determining the text of what may \"become a law\", such change must come not by legislation but through the amendment procedures set forth in Article V of the Constitution.\"2\n\n1 Item veto constitutional amendment hearing before the subcommittee on the constitution of the Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives, 23/3/00, accessed 5/5/11\n\n2 Clinton, President of the United States, et al. v. City of New York et al. No.97-1374, United States Supreme Court, 1998,accessed 5/5/11\n\nimprove this\n\nAPPENDIX\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2bb151f98c61d207fbf6b5bb5f38b6cf", "text": "americas politics government house wants line item veto amendment \n\nA President would be able to abuse the power given to them in a line-item veto authority, leveraging it into undue influence over other elements of the legislative process. By threatening to veto items dear to particular Congressmen, they could obtain assent to bills, treaties and appointments that otherwise would not be forthcoming. Such intimidation would be subtle and hard to prove, but it would erode checks on the executive and fundamentally alter the balance of power within the constitution. This means that budgets are politicised even more than is currently the case. When the line item veto was previously used by Clinton republicans such as Rick Santorum argued that every decision \"has political overtones, but that's fine, it comes with the territory,\" Senator Ted Stevens went further \"We're dealing with a raw abuse of political power by a president who doesn't have to run again\".1\n\n1 Hugliotta, Guy and Pianin, Eric, 'Line-Item Veto Tips Traditional Balance of Power', Washington Post, 24/10/97,accessed 5/5/11\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "de162017cf4198905ddb4c475a4f46c6", "text": "americas politics government house wants line item veto amendment \n\nThe present system of earmarking in Congress is wide open to abuse. The party leaderships in each house can use the offer of pork, or the threat to withhold it to enforce party discipline. “Logrolling” occurs whereby an earmark is obtained in return for support on an unrelated piece of legislation. All this leads to legislators who put party above country and vote for bad legislation in pursuit of their own vested interest. They basically “are federal dollars that members of Congress dole out to favor seekers — often campaign donors. In the process, lawmakers advocate for the companies, helping them bypass the normal system of evaluation and competition.”1Forcing pork out in the open by making Congress vote to defend it after a Presidential line-item veto is the best way to remedy matters. Overall the President is more accountable to the people as a whole than individual representatives, and with their national mandate, more able to stand up to powerful interest groups.\n\n1 David Heath and Hal Bernton, $4.5 million for a boat that nobody wanted, The Seattle Times, 15/10/07 , accessed 5/5/11\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8991a756e933f0d198a894b52e259f14", "text": "Religious pluralism is part of more general pluralism and tolerance. Where one occurs so it is likely that other forms of tolerance will also occur with the most religiously tolerant states being pluralistic democracies. The reason democratic peace has gained in popularity is the difficulty of finding conflicts where two democracies have fought each other. This is less difficult when considering two religiously tolerant societies. One difficulty would be working out when a society is tolerant when the UK and Argentina fought over the Falklands Argentina was certainly not a democracy but was it particularly intolerant? [1]\n\nIt is notable that Europe’s most tolerant period of history prior to the second half of the 20th century was the late 18th century when the enlightenment spread religious tolerance as far as Russia [2] but the French Revolution’s declaration “No one should be disturbed for his opinions, even in religion, provided that their manifestation does not trouble public order as established by law” certainly did not usher in an era of peace. [3]\n\nFinally while the spread of democracy can explain the increase in interstate peace in the modern era it does not have a long history through which it can fall down. However religious tolerance has often been a norm before the idea of an exclusive god came along; Buddhism merged with Shinto and Daoism in Japan and China, the Roman empire regularly added gods from its conquests, and some of the world’s greatest conquerors such as Akbar in India have been open to all religions.\n\n[1] ‘Religious intolerance in Argentina’, Report presented to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief on the occasion of his visit to Argentina, 6 April 2001\n\n[2] Corwin, Julie, ‘Russia: Catherine The Great’s Lessons On Religious Tolerance’, Radio Free Europe, 30 August 2006\n\n[3] Hunt, Lynn, ‘The enlightenment and the origins of religious toleration’, Burgerhart Lectures, Nummer 4, 2011, p.9\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "eff15b2336b2dfc49d1d48f364f3ee69", "text": "Collective bargaining has been recognised as an enforcable right\n\nCollective bargaining is a right. If the state allows freedom of association, individuals will gather together and exchange their ideas and views as a natural consequence of this freedom. Further, free association and free expression allows groups to then select a representative to express their ideas in a way that the individuals in the group might not be able to. In preventing people from using this part of their right to assembly, we weaken the entire concept of the right to assembly. The point of the right to assembly is to allow the best possible representation for individuals. When a group of individuals are prevented from enjoying this right then it leads to those individuals feeling isolated from the rest of society who are able to enjoy this right.\n\nThis is particularly problematic in the case of public sector workers as the state that is isolating them also happens to be their employer. This hurts the way that people in the public sector view the state that ideally is meant to represent them above all as they actively contribute to the well being of the state.1\n\nBloomberg, Michael. “Limit Pay, Not Unions.” New York Times. 27/02/2011 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/opinion/28mayor.html?_r=1\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "cff781b1895c175fc8977a71387a346f", "text": "Provides autonomy for developing countries\n\nRwanda has been trying to increase the size of remittances in order to increase its autonomy. The President Paul Kagame has said “aid is never enough and we need to complement it with homegrown schemes to accelerate growth.” He wants “a higher level of direct ownership in the nation’s projects” and wants it because western donors had suspended aid. [1] A change to remittances would reduce this vulnerability; it would be much more difficult for ‘donors’ to suspend the tax breaks they provide for remittances to individual countries than it is to cut aid. Indeed remittances are noticeably stable with money still being sent home during recessions and can even be countercyclical as migrants will send more if they know things are bad back home. [2] This then takes the issue out of the hands of the politicians and puts it into the hands of the people.\n\n[1] Procost, Claire, ‘Rwanda seeks diaspora investment to cut reliance on foreign aid’, global development guardian.co.uk, 11 October 2012\n\n[2] Ratha, Dilip, ‘Remittances: Funds for the Folks Back Home’, International Monetary Fund\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "55d87b7e7d2313d6114e41e15e02cfb8", "text": "There is no causal link between having children and being supported later in life. After children leave home they become fully independent individuals. They haven’t chosen to be born and so they shouldn’t be burdened by the parents. If kids do look after their parents it should be out of choice as it is not their duty to do so. It is government’s responsibility to take care of its citizens, so that the elderly can spend their last years in fair conditions with the possibility to live in decent old people’s homes if necessary.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "573e99e02b63eb21f2c3f136f1865c47", "text": "Superior human intellect and sentience only means that we should make sure we consider the moral ramifications of our actions, not that we should take any particular action as a result. It is entirely in keeping with this for us to conclude that human life and enjoyment are more important than animal life and species survival, and so for us to decide not to protect endangered species when this (as it by definition always will) infringes upon human benefits and enjoyment.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "58f85940aa369e04a4e89942a74d2520", "text": "In most democratic, developed countries—which are those that receive the most immigrants—people share equal rights in the workplace, as long as they immigrated legally. People who broke the law to come to the country do not deserve these rights. Because they usually come to work, the workplace is even the ideal place to discover illegal immigrants. Not only are they not allowed to unionize, but they are not allowed to get paid. Workplace rights do not need to be strengthened for legal migrants, and they should not be for illegal migrants. Similarly it is impossible for the conditions for illegal migrants to be improved; if they are found they will be deported and so there is no need to improve their conditions, although of course they should be well treated while in the process of deportation. Moreover improving minimum conditions would be counterproductive as they would attract more migrants to immigrate illegally knowing that they will get minimum living conditions that may well be considerably better than those that they had in their home country.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "feb211e5726164141938021120187e37", "text": "ICC is cheaper\n\nAfrica bears little of the cost of the ICC – by far its largest contributions come from the European Union, and its member states.\n\nThis, coupled with the fact that the ICC is cheaper than the ad hoc tribunals due to economies of scale, means that justice can be delivered to war criminals and those who commit crimes against humanity in an affordable manner – saving resources for helping the victims.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "bee785680e2f3ac382fe6051580f6fe8", "text": "There is a growing imbalance between developing and developed countries representation in the Council.\n\nThere is a growing imbalance between developing and developed countries representation in the Council. Four out of five permanent members are industrialized and four out of five are “European”. The four-fifths of humankind that live in developing countries have only one spokesman among the permanent five. Giving Africa, Asia and Latin America a permanent seat is a step forward in North-South balance – “Currently, four out of five veto-bearing members are industrialized countries and the fifth, China, is rapidly approaching industrialized status. Many in the rest of the world seethe at their exclusion from this elite group. Africa, Latin America, and the Islamic world, for example, have no permanent voice on the council. Without a voice, it is understandable why many countries are unwilling to send troops or aid whenever the Security Council demands it. This imbalance, highlighted by the Iraq war, has made Security Council reform a hot topic of debate.” [1]\n\n[1] ) Teng, Michael. 'United Nations Security Council Reform Autumn 2003' http://www.stanford.edu/class/e297a/United%20Nations%20Security%20Council%20Reform.doc\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3925859bdf80dffeebb3332bf314a123", "text": "Traditional and religious beliefs\n\nMore than 90% of Uganda’s population believe that homosexuality is not part of their culture and should never be accepted[1], its seen as indecency, criminality and a taboo in the community. This is something the government did not invent and not something it can simply wash out of society. Shelving the bill would not suddenly create tolerance from Ugandan society towards the gay community but instead would isolate and impose a threat to the LGBT community.\n\nOthers would have tried to create laws anti-gay laws. This ‘kill the Gays bill’ was originally intended to include the death penalty for some homosexual acts such as when one of the participants is a minor, HIV-positive, disabled or a \"serial offender\".[2] The bill is therefore considerably better than what the alternative could have been – the government has done its duty and moderated it. Any wider change to the culture of the country is not the duty of the government.\n\n[1] Patience Akumu, ‘It pains me to live in a country, Uganda, that hates gay people and 'indecent' women’, thegurdian.com, 22 December 2013, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/22/uganda-gay-laws-target-gays-women\n\n[2] BBC News, ‘Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill: MPs drop death penalty’, 23 November 2012, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20463887\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "644e8a9c2bb06c4d216f62ec1920da37", "text": "Mexico is poor; it is the economic conditions that drive conflict not the U.S.\n\nDeclining real income drives social unrest and instability. Real incomes for workers in Mexico's manufacturing sector declined by a cumulative 2.6 percent between 1995 and 2005. It is likely that the decline in the informal economy is larger. The Government keeps a tight control over the minimum wage preventing it from rising. Although this does not affect many Mexicans directly a lot more have their wages set at a multiple of the minimum wage. At the same time there has been high unemployment and lower benefits. [1] In 1994-5 Mexico was hit hard by a financial crisis known as the ‘peso’ or ‘Tequila’ crisis. The peso depreciated by 47%, inflation went up to 52% and GDP fell by 6% not reaching its 1993 level until 1997. Unsurprisingly household income fell substantially; by 31% between 1994 and 1996, those in poverty rose from 10.4% of the population to 17% [2] Since 1996 although Mexico has experienced growth not only has it been slower than most developing countries this has been significantly cut into in real per capita terms by population growth. Mexico has large disparities in income between urban and rural areas and the gap between rich and poor has been widening. [3] The inequality leads people to be more willing to engage in the potentially lucrative drugs trafficking and the informal economy. Unemployment meanwhile makes them more likely to take drugs themselves as an escape.\n\n[1] Gundzik, Jephraim P. , ‘As Elections Approach, Mexico Faces Internal Instability', Power and Interest News report.\n\n[2] Baldacci, Emanuele, Luiz de Mello and Gabriela Inchauste, Financial crises, Poverty and Income distribution, IMF Working paper, pp.20-21.\n\n[3] Economy Watch, ‘Mexico Economy’, 24 March 2010.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
3741fb4f56860530c48b2fedabf3395d
The current Security Council doesn't reflect the economic reality of the 21st century. The current Security Council doesn’t reflect the economic reality of the 21st century. France and Great Britain have clearly lost their position among the most powerful nations and their role was long ago taken over by Germany and Japan. They are the 3rd and 4thworld economies. Furthermore these two countries are the second and third largest contributors to the UN budget and deserve a permanent seat in the Council. Moreover, as permanent members pay an extra share for their seat, Japan and Germany’s contributions would bring considerable amounts to the UN budget – “The three largest contributors to the United Nations, the US (22.000% of the UN budget), Japan (12.530%) and Germany (8.018%) thus together finance some 43% of the entire UN budget.” [1] Meanwhile Brazil and India have emerged as major economies and stable democracies over the past decade, and deserve recognition for their global importance. [1] Contributions to the United Nations budget http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/Aussenpolitik/Friedenspolitik/VereinteNationen/StrukturVN/Finanzen/Uebersicht.html
[ { "docid": "082494f95a63cea9a2021c35eb72d9b5", "text": "global house would expand united nations security council Giving Germany a permanent seat would hardly be a step forward in an endeavour for a more equitable distribution of seats in the Council. The UK and France hold a veto power over any amendments and aren’t willing to give up their seats, so adding Germany would mean that the EU would have three permanent seats in the Council. That wouldn’t be a fair geographical distribution and wouldn’t, for that matter, be a equitable distribution either.\n\nJapan in particular is not as deserving as has been suggested; although it is rich Japan has been struggling economically for a decade while other countries (including the UK and France) have continued to grow. The Japanese economy has been recently hit by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and Fukushima nuclear disaster “Before Japan's 2011 earthquake, its economy was just starting to emerge from its deepest recession since the 1970s(…)Japan's economy is still challenged by rising commodity prices -- the country imports most of its food and oil -- and a shrinking labor pool, as its population ages. Japan's worst challenge is a national debt that is twice as big as its annual economic output.” [1]\n\nCompared to other nations, both Germany and Japan are military insignificant. Germany spends only 1.27% of its GDP on military defence, in comparison to 2.32% for UK and France. [2] This is important as the Permanent 5's status currently reflects great power realities - they are the countries most able to project power abroad and so have the ability to implement (or block) UN security decisions.\n\n[1] Amadeo, Kimberly. 'Japan's Economy', 26/08/2011 http://useconomy.about.com/od/grossdomesticproduct/a/Japan_Recession.htm\n\n[2] 'Military of the European Union' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_the_European_Union\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "20512e419cd85fdd0761316a88cb2492", "text": "global house would expand united nations security council Expansion is not the right way to increase transparency, as the number of informal consultations of smaller groups (such as permanent members or only industrialised permanent members) in order to try and push though resolutions would probably rise. Reforms to enhance transparency and improve working methods are already taking place – At a 19 July 2007 informal meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on an Increase in Membership of the Security Council, some suggested a more analytical report that would, among other things, provide rationales for the Council's major decisions. [1]\n\n[1] 'Efforts to Reform Council Working Methods 1993-2007', 18/10/2007, http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/site/c.glKWLeMTIsG/b.3506555/k.DA5E/Special_Research_ReportbrSecurity_Council_Transparency_Legitimacy_and_Effectivenessbr18_October_2007_No_3.htm\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5ff162c37dcae26a4b6e78c6018cd78e", "text": "global house would expand united nations security council In any case, France and the UK are still amongst the world's foremost military powers, with the world's largest nuclear arsenals after the USA and Russia, and the world's highest military expenditure after the USA and China. By contrast, the EU has no significant military to speak of, and is thus unable to project power across the globe. Given the mission of the UNSC to maintain international peace and security, eligibility for a permanent seat should be based on military power, not just economic or demographic power.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "93cb77b47bb644c47d8744c6c8e43d4a", "text": "global house would expand united nations security council There is a lack of consensus among developing countries themselves on who should get permanent seats. Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa all claim their right to an African one. The most logical candidate for an Asian seat – India – is opposed by Muslim countries, who want a permanent seat for themselves – “Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesman has politely opposed the endorsement (India’s candidacy in the UNSC), saying it will complicate the process of expanding the UN Security Council and increasing the number of its permanent members. He has referred, as has been done on several past occasions, to India’s bad record on human rights, unsatisfactory relations with its neighbours etc.” [1] Spanish speaking neighbours oppose Brazil’s candidacy because it speaks Portuguese.\n\n[1] 'A permanent UN SC seat for India?', 9/11/2010 http://tribune.com.pk/story/74621/a-permanent-un-sc-seat-for-india/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "20076186fd1ac5583150aaadc0606d8e", "text": "global house would expand united nations security council Non-permanent members are selected to represent voices of entire regions already. Increasing the size of the Council would only make it more unwieldy as it would be extremely difficult to negotiate in such an expanded forum. The nature of the Council's work requires swift action and expansion could negatively impact on its ability to provide quick solutions for world peace.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a934c2db23e91b15d9e1c605d64588af", "text": "global house would expand united nations security council There should be no differentiation between old and new permanent members and the new ones should get the veto power in order to preserve the interests of the regions they represent. Veto power is not as problematic with potential permanent members as it is with the current ones, as all the candidates are known for their multilateral approach and cooperation, while the same cannot be said for the current ones.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "cdf7cfa8da22a72e2ba78e9266541b22", "text": "global house would expand united nations security council The EU might function as an economic union, but its original goal was to prevent war from ever happening again on the European continent. Economic integration is a means to this goal, by making member states economically too dependent on each other for them to want to declare war on each other. Given this history, the EU can contribute a lot of knowledge and experience on how to use ‘soft power’ in a foreign policy context, and given its goal of (and success in) creating everlasting peace on the continent, it should have a seat at the world’s foremost foreign policy institution. Furthermore the EU is ever closer to a political union – “German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has said his country is willing to discuss greater harmonisation of eurozone tax policy, adding that the next decade is likely to see Europe take significant steps towards closer political union.” [1] Therefore it is simply a normal step for the EU to have a say in the international affairs.\n\n[1] Willis, Andrew. 'Germany predicts EU 'political union' in 10 years', 13/12/2010, http://euobserver.com/19/31485\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a85389eccae3f79b0e4cbf5f7a830ee1", "text": "global house would expand united nations security council By including more developing countries in the Security Council, more issues of their concern would get on the Security Council's agenda. As we all know the major issues in the status quo nowadays occur mainly in developing countries. For example the consequences from global warming are worse in the developing regions. There are also the rebels in the Arab countries. There are a lot of concerns and the developed countries should give the developing ones the opportunity to participate in the process of their discussion and solution.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a280c98e3fc25d9058aadf0fee6e0fed", "text": "global house would expand united nations security council It is widely recognised that the current Security Council set-up lacks legitimacy and requires reform. Major states such as Japan, and rising powers such as Brazil, South Africa and India deserve recognition and giving them permanent status would provide representation for a much broader cross-section of humanity. It maybe hard to achieve consensus on what exactly to be the change in the UNSC, but the new international environment requests that. This is supported by a lot of leading politicians and leaders in a global aspect. \"The United States is open to UN Security Council reform and expansion, as one element of an overall agenda for UN reform\" 1\"The UN must rationally adapt itself to new world realities. It should also strengthen its influence and preserve its multinational nature and integrity of the UN Charter provisions. The reform of the UN Security Council is an essential component of its revitalization.\" 1 (Dmitry Medvedev)\n\n1 \"The reform of the United Nations Security Council: What role for the European Union?\" Bureau of Public Affairs (USA) , June 20, 2005,\n\n2 Address to the 64th Session of the UN General Assembly 23/09/2009,\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d6f32c8c9fc05ba5adefc4400c1ada3c", "text": "global house would expand united nations security council The Security council needs to be more democratic.\n\nAt the moment many countries are not heard in the council and some states may never gain a chance of being elected to the Security Council. This leaves billions of the world's population without representation in the world's highest body. How can India with over a sixth of the world's population be left out? Security Council expansion would make the UN much more democratic as there would be more participants representing more of the people of the world present in closed meetings and informal consultations. Expansion would increase the transparency and therefore the accountability of the Council – something that even countries sometimes considered to be against democracy believe is necessary “he (Seyed Mohammad Ali Mottaghi Nejad) said Iran believed that the links between the issues comprised the “basic objective” of a comprehensive reform towards a Council that was more democratic, inclusive, equitably representative, transparent, effective and accountable. “ [1]\n\n[1] 'Concluding Annual Debate on Security Council Reform, General Assembly', 12/11/2010, http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2010/ga11023.doc.htm\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c54dd334a8a702d6f04768a4c34b5dd1", "text": "global house would expand united nations security council The EU is one of the world's largest trade blocs, has the world's largest GDP, and represents almost half a billion people.\n\nThe EU is one of the world’s largest trade blocs, has the world’s largest GDP, and represents almost half a billion people. A permanent seat for the EU would reflect those new power dimensions. The permanent seats for France and the UK are based on the fact that they were among the great powers and victors of World War II. However, the global balance of powers has shifted significantly since then: France and the UK have declined and at the same time, the EU has emerged as a major player in the international arena.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b903b8d0ce180e2b150738af8f762164", "text": "global house would expand united nations security council A rise in UN membership should be reflected also in an increase in Security Council members.\n\nIn 1945 there were only 51 UN members, so eleven Council members were adequately representing all voices. Today the UN membership has risen to almost four times the number of the original one, yet there are only fifteen voices in the Council. This means that there are many countries who do not have anyone on the security council that has similar priorities to them, their views may well be unrepresented.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "585f957584a62e92b30d39a229dec80e", "text": "global house would expand united nations security council There is a growing imbalance between developing and developed countries representation in the Council.\n\nThere is a growing imbalance between developing and developed countries representation in the Council. Four out of five permanent members are industrialized and four out of five are “European”. The four-fifths of humankind that live in developing countries have only one spokesman among the permanent five. Giving Africa, Asia and Latin America a permanent seat is a step forward in North-South balance – “Currently, four out of five veto-bearing members are industrialized countries and the fifth, China, is rapidly approaching industrialized status. Many in the rest of the world seethe at their exclusion from this elite group. Africa, Latin America, and the Islamic world, for example, have no permanent voice on the council. Without a voice, it is understandable why many countries are unwilling to send troops or aid whenever the Security Council demands it. This imbalance, highlighted by the Iraq war, has made Security Council reform a hot topic of debate.” [1]\n\n[1] ) Teng, Michael. 'United Nations Security Council Reform Autumn 2003' http://www.stanford.edu/class/e297a/United%20Nations%20Security%20Council%20Reform.doc\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "dba7f8a439d3b7d64de92066ce15f13f", "text": "global house would expand united nations security council A UNSC reform is very hard to achieve due to the many different interests and demands.\n\nReforming the UN Security Council is very difficult as no one can agree which new powers deserve representation, whether they should have a veto, and even whether permanent membership should continue to exist in any form. Japan and India seem obvious candidates for permanent status, but their candidacies are fiercely opposed by a variety of other Asian countries, while Nigeria and Egypt both feel they have a good claim to an \"African\" seat. The EU also considers it deserves a separate place. Furthermore Brazil as a very fast developing country and turning into a world power claims it also has a right in the UNSC as a permanent member. All these different demands opinions make an eventual reform or expansion of the UNSC very hard to achieve.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b59db69d7646ef53499f4314192e946c", "text": "global house would expand united nations security council In regards to an eventual separate place on the UNSC for the European Union – the EU might be an economic powerhouse and might want to coordinate foreign relations in regards to external economic policy, but at heart it is intended to be an economic union\n\nIn regards to an eventual separate place on the UNSC for the European Union – the EU might be an economic powerhouse and might want to coordinate foreign relations in regards to external economic policy, but at heart it is intended to be an economic union, not a political union. Most of its founding treaties and the daily workings of its institutions focus on creating and maintaining a single market, not on creating a shared foreign and military policy. Giving the EU representation at what is an institution for foreign and military policy is misreading what the EU was intended to be.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2f20a823906fd0334e2af8d789f81178", "text": "global house would expand united nations security council By giving five more countries veto power, the Council could come to a stalemate.\n\nThis could mean that the council ends up deadlocked more often than not as was the case during the Cold war when the two blocs almost always opposed each other. Up until 1991 (from the UN founding in 1946) there were only 700 security council resolutions due to the deadlocked nature of the council. In the 20 years since there have been over 1300 resolutions.1 The negotiation process would also be significantly longer. As a result the peace and security of the world could be endangered by this step.\n\n1 Wikipedia, United Nations Security Council resolution,\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "dfc2b6d74f2d0c0b5bcc008319d8eb3f", "text": "global house would expand united nations security council The bulk of operations approved by the Security Council are financed by industrialised nations.\n\nAs the bulk of operations approved by the Security Council are financed by industrialised nations, both because they are the main contributors to the budget1 and because the Security Council members pay more towards peacekeeping2 they should have the main role in deciding on action. Developing countries already have a voice in the Council but should not have a veto power over decisions that they do not finance. Developed countries would not agree to pay for something they are not happy with. In the contemporary world economy and business are fundamental and they are the ones who drive the world.\n\n1 Contributions to the United Nations budget\n\n2 United Nations, 'Financing Peacekeeping',\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
a07d1f884074cca9e844a44fa76373bc
Sex work is legitimate work. Sex work is employment, and therefore requires legal protection. It remains the government responsibility to provide security for their productive workforce and enable them to organise, and unionise. Sex work empowers women and men by providing a means of income, independence and control over sexual practices, and flexible employment. A legal framework will enable sex workers to be able to unionise. Unions remain a source of power in politics. Recognising sex work as legitimate work enables positive intervention. Firstly, taxes can be collected by the state; and social security schemes established. Pensions can be set up and a safety-net for if workers become ill and or infected provided. Sex workers will be recognised as citizens, contributing to national wealth. Secondly, labour laws - such as minimal wages, hours, and safety, can be implemented. Labour laws are a means of regulating conditions of employment and workplaces preventing exploitation [1] . [1] ILO (2013) defines ‘decent work’ as productive work; work whereby rights are guaranteed and social protection provided; and work that promotes social organisations.
[ { "docid": "4fb4c8802a39724f560314d748cf4189", "text": " sex sexuality international africa house would legalize sex work order Legalising sex work means legalising the trading of bodies as a commodity. The practice is disempowering and undermining human rights, not vice-versa. It remains immoral that the state should grant such transactions and introduce prostitution as a career path. By legalising sex work to control HIV, the state becomes an active agent in illegitimate practices. Further, the state makes money while no gains are made for workers. Who really benefits from legalisation?\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "a1be6b531ef74535b35dd31dd3013493", "text": " sex sexuality international africa house would legalize sex work order Gender inequality, hierarchies and violence, will become legalised [1] . Across Africa, women account for a higher proportion of the population living with HIV - gender inequalities are a key driver of the epidemic. For example, patriarchal structures encourage polygamy in marriage; and women’s roles in the reproductive sphere forces them into the caregiver role when someone in the household gets HIV/AIDS.\n\nThe legalisation of sex work will ensure the epidemic continues to ‘feminise’. Women will become commodified, meeting male demands and desires, within a unequal gender society.\n\n[1] Further readings on the debate of gender and sex work see: Richter, 2012.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fcc5ab4af93664bc7587561414db04cc", "text": " sex sexuality international africa house would legalize sex work order The inclusion of youths and children misses out a crucial component - poverty. Busza (2006) identifies three forms of ‘sexual exchange’: sex work, transactional sex, and survival sex. Children are often recruited into the sex trade as a result of poverty, desires for consumption, and a lack of social support.\n\nThe ”sugar daddy” phenomenon across Africa is a case in point. Older men are able to entice young women, and children, through false promises and material products [1] .\n\nWithout providing key necessities, and alternatives to meet needs, practices will be driven further underground and youngsters placed at greater risk.\n\n[1] For examples see: IRIN, 2013a; 2013b.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c518a76db57d88b82c9a23696ab60036", "text": " sex sexuality international africa house would legalize sex work order Introducing new ‘good’ laws can drive sex work activities underground, and contradictorily reduce access to necessary health care services. Legislation does not ensure universal access: legalising sex work does not stop unequal politics.\n\nFirst, the provision of HIV/AIDS treatment and care is dependent on the global-economy and influenced by investor faiths, ethics, and motives [1] . Therefore access to ART (Antiretroviral treatment) among sex workers is controlled by who is providing aid and distributing resources. Second, the most effective prevention strategy is believed to be ABC (Abstinence, Be faithful, and use a Condom). Such mottos exclude sex workers, and directly place the burden of HIV/AIDS to the individual. Such mottos are founded on strong Christian beliefs - legalising sex work cannot easily change traditional structures.\n\n[1] A decline in global AID funding has been noted with the global economic downturn (World Bank, 2011). Further, the impact of faith-based institutions, and PEPFAR’s ‘anti-prostitution pledge’, on HIV/AIDS has been discussed (NSWP, 2011 Avert, 2013).\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "594721e801306554cecb7dd8b8391f6d", "text": " sex sexuality international africa house would legalize sex work order The reality of a causal relation between legalising sex work and decriminalisation remains questionable. Accepting sex work within the legal framework does not ensure the practice is de-stigmatised or becomes regulated. Such contradictions indicate the depth of social stigmatisation towards sex work.\n\nTaking the case of Senegal, where prostitution has been legalised, police abuse continues and sex workers actively choose to work in unregulated environments. In Senegal’s booming sex trade industry, prostitutes are required to register with the police and granted a identity card confirming health requirements have been met. However, their identification places sex workers open to discrimination by the police and social stigma [1] . Further, the legalisation of the industry in Senegal has attracted immigrants and refugees to work within the industry. They lack citizenship rights; therefore legal protection is limited and abused. Clandestine sex work remains prevalent. Sex workers represent around 18% of HIV prevalence, particularly higher amongst women (Aids Alliance, 2013).\n\nSex workers rights will only emerge once sex work is de-stigmatised, the act of selling sex is no longer taboo, and corrupt laws changed to provide sex workers with respect and protection beyond the law. The stigma of sex work is the basis of illegality and criminalisation.\n\n[1] Senegal has a predominantly muslim population.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "92a67d0e1ee9439585826b3ba066c5ac", "text": " sex sexuality international africa house would legalize sex work order Legalising sex work means control and regulation can be imposed on all aspects of the industry. Legalization ensures the sex workers are recognised as citizens, and workers, with rights. It does not preclude similar action relating to the demand aspect.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "02c0fa466cb71d43fe6e2d07e655b468", "text": " sex sexuality international africa house would legalize sex work order By legalising sex work the duty, and ethics, of care are granted to national bodies. The state is able to intervene and act when the rights of sex workers are identified as being breached. The individual self becomes empowered, and integrated into, a legal framework.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "285ed0c2dd397c5b8c465e45604765ad", "text": " sex sexuality international africa house would legalize sex work order Criminalising HIV transmission puts human rights in greater jeopardy. The stigmatisation of HIV/AIDS will remain prominent. The acceptance, and inclusion, of sex workers will become further marginalised as they become symbols of risk, disease, and transmission. This is something no sex worker would want. Countless articles from Ghana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa suggest public support legalising sex work (i.e. see Ghana Web, 2013).\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a5b8863ad0b66c0c11bd276882c97526", "text": " sex sexuality international africa house would legalize sex work order Gender equality.\n\nEngaging in sex work is a choice; a reflection of individual agency, whereby control is granted over their own body. One has the right to choose how they use their body; therefore legalising sex work legitimising a woman’s, or man’s, right over their body and sexuality.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b6b92d85f48b7695fbc89468dcd21c27", "text": " sex sexuality international africa house would legalize sex work order Legalising ensures health care and safe sex.\n\nLegalising sex work will enable regulation. Responsive laws can promote safe sex practices and enable access to health services [1] .\n\nFirstly, sex workers fear asking for health assistance, and treatment in public services, due to the illegal and criminalised nature of sex work. WHO (2011) predicted 1 in 3 sex workers received adequate HIV prevention; and less are able to access additional health services. Access is limited due to the criminalised status, but also cost of treatment and transport, inconvenient opening hours, and humiliation [2] . Secondly, the illegal nature of sex work has been attached to safe-practice tools. In Namibia, where prostitution remains commonly practiced but illegal, the criminalisation of accessing condoms enhances vulnerabilities. Following stop and searches by the police 50% of sex workers reported their condoms were destroyed (OSF, 2012). Within the 50%, 75% subsequently had unprotected sex. Being defined as illegal puts workers at greater risk.\n\nThrough legalisation sex workers can access tests and openly seek treatment, care and support.\n\n[1] ICASA, 2013, has argued national responses need to enable inclusive, and universal, access to health care treatment to combat HIV/AIDS.\n\n[2] See further readings: Mtewwa et al, 2013.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fa989ef489a8ec62c695846b67a86b7c", "text": " sex sexuality international africa house would legalize sex work order Decriminalising increses sex workers’ rights.\n\nSex workers remain stigmatised across Africa. Legalising sex work enables the practice to be decriminalised, and rights provided.\n\nBeing a sex worker where it is illegal creates additional risks and vulnerabilities. Reports from South Africa show that criminalizing sex workers makes them more likely to be victims of inhuman police action [1] . Sex workers are raped, abused, and harassed. The risk of unsafe sex is therefore practiced outside of their occupation as no legal rights are provided. Legalising, and subsequently decriminalising, sex work will first, tackle corrupt police soliciting sex. Secondly, a new rights framework is provided. Sex workers are able to fight exploitation and claim rights for protection by prosecuting perpetrators if raped or abused.\n\nSex work will continue either way - but legalising it means legal safety, protection, and negotiation, is provided.\n\n[1] The legalisation of sex work has been introduced by the ANC Women's League (ANCWL) in South Africa. See further readings: BBC, 2012; Daily News, 2013)\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "95462eda15590562ca6a7e46d7908974", "text": " sex sexuality international africa house would legalize sex work order Monitoring who enters the sex trade.\n\nBy including sex workers under a legal framework regulatory rules can be imposed on who enters the profession, such as is found in Senegal. The introduction of Senegal’s Identity Card means frequent health checks are required upon registration to be a prostitute. Additionally, the use of children and youths within the sex industry can be controlled.\n\nGlobal estimations of HIV/AIDS show young people are at highest risk. The UNDP (2013) called for a legal framework able to ensure the protection of children and youths. Regulation and monitoring is the only way to do so.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "829b9741fafdd719e8cacc3b600e270c", "text": " sex sexuality international africa house would legalize sex work order The causality is wrong.\n\nLegalisation doesn’t prevent HIV/AIDS transmission, safe sex, or effective regulation. Workers need to be taught about safe sex; safe sex needs to be legalised; and HIV transmission criminalised. National governments need to concentrate on providing access to prevention tools - such as condoms.\n\nLegalisation should not suddenly be announced by government but only done if it is what sex workers want and is the best option for them, this can be done through consolations with groups such as the Global Network of Sex Workers Projects(see NSWP, 2013), to help formulate policy that will work for everyone\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b039fcdbbde1268be15e54357e76aa86", "text": " sex sexuality international africa house would legalize sex work order The market framework: sex work is an industry.\n\nSex work needs to be understood as a market-based industry. Sex workers are influenced by supply and demand [1] . It needs to be questioned both who, what, and why sex workers are forced into sexual exchanges and alternatively, why demand is found.\n\nThe legalisation of sex work focuses on the supply-side - potentially ensuring safer, and just, practices for sex workers. However, demand is not resolved. First, legalization does not ensure customers are tested for HIV/AIDS and take precautions. Legalisation may not change behaviour or attitudes. Second, legalization may increase demand through sex tourism, commercial trafficking or exploitation. What drives the sex industry? Legalisation will result in expanding the sex industry, as seen in the 25% increase in the Netherlands following legalisation (Daley, 2001). In Uganda, condom use declines with more regular customers (Morris et al, 2009).\n\nWe need to ask what should be included within a legal framework - supply, demand; brothels, customers, or sex workers?\n\n[1] The ‘Swedish model’ rolled out in Europe is based on tackling demand. The legal reforms have been set to target the demand for prostitution through its criminalisation.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2cca9c129b2c72f03fc94c5c7f91d10c", "text": " sex sexuality international africa house would legalize sex work order Legalization leaves ‘risk’ in the hands of the worker.\n\nLegalising sex as work, puts the burden of risk to the sex workers themselves; and having its basis from European law models raises questions over applicability across Africa. Although, in theory, a legal framework will enhance a duty of rights and a voice for workers, it also becomes the individual who need to be aware of rights, safe practices, and security risks. Legalisation means individuals become responsible. However, when considering how youths are lured into cities, and workers enter the profession following promised opportunities, is that ‘just’? Before legalising the profession individuals need to be granted choices to not engage in such practices. The family relations forcing migration and prostitution need evaluation. How much power can national legislation have when traditional, local, and family power relations limit choices to enter sex work? Will state actors follow laws when sex work remains culturally unacceptable? Further, legalization needs to be met with opportunities to exit the industry.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
116d46f4c2e792472d334adc22f99849
Radical action needed for racial equality in South Africa It is plain for all to see how unrepresentative rugby union in South Africa is. While there is not necessarily a deliberate policy of racism, it is very easy for biases to creep in. Across the division where the quotas will come in only about 6% of players are black, a number that should increase to 33%. [1] Quotas could help concentrate the mind to ensure that the best team is picked. At grass roots level, there have been some cases of flat-out racial abuse of non-white players, including using racial terms that are particularly offensive in a South African context. [1] Peacock, James, ‘Peter de Villiers says racial quotas are ‘waste of time’, BBC Sport, 15 August 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/23713530
[ { "docid": "7b3e47f8495ae5d12f8d36a511f6b090", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Even if action is needed to create racial equality, are quotas the solution? There is no doubt that rugby is a sport where South Africa could be stronger if it was popular in all racial groups, but they are a blunt instrument: the way to pick the best team is to simply pick the best team. Racial equality comes when no one is picked as a result of race whether that is through negative or positive discrimination.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "94b6f40e2ced72c35034a1230bf49b2c", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Changing the demographics on the field will not be likely to change the demographics in the stands. Economic equality is still an issue – which means the change that is needed are changes in matters such as ticket prices, in order to bring in a broader base of spectators.\n\nThe way to broaden the talent pool is through policies to make it larger, not to distribute positions within it. In other words, what’s needed is resources, and a commitment to take the game in to communities where it is not so popular currently – the best players will rise to the top no matter their ethnicity.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "50ffb02ec311a19160a784add9da2d3f", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby 2006 was a while ago, at a time when quotas were in force. Even so, popular support does not mean that something is a good idea. Sport should be distanced from the popular will. Most rugby fans are white, a group that had in the survey only 14% of people in favour of a quotas. Among the people that might be considered the electorate of the sport, the fans, quotas are not wanted\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6505145b1c8c7d71c7c5f4b0718a58dc", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby In a society where race affects everything, can there ever be such a thing as a legitimate meritocracy? Not everyone will get the same opportunities in life. You cannot pretend factors are not there when they are. Positive discrimination such as racial quotas helps to counter act some of these factors that are weighed heavily against non-whites in playing rugby helping to create a much truer meritocracy.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "39f75a89631035ce32d054a1d08d5554", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Even if it doesn’t increase the numbers at the grass roots and youth levels, it will create more players who can be selected by the provinces for Currie Cup competition. This, in turn, could give more non-white players the development and the experience they need to make it in to the national team.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "80a4642fa297d249b14bd1609132329d", "text": "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.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "55c2002104e13011105f45469365f82f", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby The IRB did not take action against the previous system of quotas: why would they be likely to take action against a new system?\n\nAlso, there is a clear difference between the sort of racial discrimination that occurred in the sport during the apartheid era, and affirmative action policies. Positive discrimination does not prevent anyone from having a chance at playing; it simply gives those who are less fortunate a leg up.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3ba619f308ab400aee8e658dc69d017c", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Broadening participation\n\nThe talent pool in South African rugby is not as racially diverse as one would expect from the “Rainbow Nation” – some commentators have argued that England and France produce more top level black players than South Africa [1] . This is because top level players are a result of development from the grassroots up.\n\nTargets or quotas could not only improve the talent pool of today, but could broaden it for the future. A new generation of youth across all races in South Africa would be able to see that rugby union is a sport that accepts people from their backgrounds, making them more likely to participate in rugby union, either as players, coaches, referees or as a general part of the rugby fraternity.\n\n[1] Blackwell, James, ‘South African Rugby Quotas – Right or Wrong?’, Sporting Mad, 16 September 2013, http://www.sportingmad.com.au/south-african-rugby-quotas-right-wrong/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e8ace491b5cbc8d7a53d3a2182ba4f67", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Most South Africans support quotas\n\nIn 2006, the South African Social Attitudes Survey revealed that most South Africans (56%) support a quota system [1] . This support remained roughly the same over a four year period. Sport should reflect the will of the population of the country, if the population wants quotas then there should be quotas. There is particularly strong support from quotas among black people (63%) implying they feel that something needs to be done in order to let them into the sport. Doing nothing will simply ensure the status quo with very few non-white rugby players remains indefinitely.\n\n[1] Struwig, Jare, and Roberts, Ben, ‘The numbers game Public support for sports quotas’, South African Social Attitudes Survey, p.13, http://www.hsrc.ac.za/uploads/pageContent/1607/The%20Numbers%20Game.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ccf2b802ec217e9f432fdc7edf18cb43", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby IRB rules\n\nRacial quotas are a breach of the views of the world governing body of Rugby Union, the International Rugby Board [1] . If this were found to be the case then it would have a large negative impact on South African rugby.\n\nAn IRB intervention would lead to at least interference by the governing body, which would be highly embarrassing for the SARU (as well as difficult for a sport which has had major political rows before), or even worse, some form of sanction or expulsion – things that could lead to long term instability in the sport, which should be avoided.\n\n[1] SARugbymag.co.za, ‘Saru quotas ‘breach IRP rules’’, 3 December 2013, http://www.sarugbymag.co.za/blog/details/saru-quotas-breach-irb-rules\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9eaa28481d63c8adc21b2de37300cbf7", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Racial quotas don’t develop new players\n\nThe quota system could lead to moving players from the regional teams who generally have less non-white players pilfering them from other unions, rather “Home growing” them [1] .\n\nFormer Springboks coach Peter de Villiers, the first non-white person in that role, has described quotas as a “waste of time [2] ”.\n\nDepending on the exact phraseology of the rules, this could even allow black players from outside South Africa (from, for example, England) to be used to fill the quota.\n\n[1] McGregor, Liz, ‘New Year, new model for SA Rugby? Here’s hoping’, Books Live, 30 December 2013, http://lizmcgregor.bookslive.co.za/blog/2013/12/30/new-year-new-model-for-sa-rugby-heres-hoping/\n\n[2] Peacock, James, ‘Peter de Villiers says racial quotas are ‘waste of time’, BBC Sport, 15 August 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/23713530\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "db8d9051c71f9b8c4b1c45593292a079", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Meritocracy\n\nIt is a value of sport in general that it should be outside the sphere of social ills like racial, religious and political tensions. Sport should be based on merit only; those who play best get onto the team.\n\nRacial quotas will lead to any non-white player in a team in a competition where quotas are being employed to being under a suspicion that they are not good enough and were only selected due to their race. As Peter de Villiers, the first black coach of the Springboks, says “Everybody will believe that these players will be picked because people are looking out for them.” [1] The result could be more racial abuse of players, not less.\n\n[1] Peacock, James, ‘Peter de Villiers says racial quotas are ‘waste of time’, BBC Sport, 15 August 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/23713530\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "dfef86db3ceb6e1b88a51f39fe69e893", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Quotas can drive players away.\n\nPolicies 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] .\n\n[1] Foy, Chris, ‘Last orders at the bar for master brewer – prop Mujati calls time on Saints career’, MailOnline, 19 April 2013, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-2311854/Brian-Mujati-play-game-Northampton-Saints-weekend.html\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
ef3b30f8dd4330c827f99aa8b56f568f
IRB rules Racial quotas are a breach of the views of the world governing body of Rugby Union, the International Rugby Board [1] . If this were found to be the case then it would have a large negative impact on South African rugby. An IRB intervention would lead to at least interference by the governing body, which would be highly embarrassing for the SARU (as well as difficult for a sport which has had major political rows before), or even worse, some form of sanction or expulsion – things that could lead to long term instability in the sport, which should be avoided. [1] SARugbymag.co.za, ‘Saru quotas ‘breach IRP rules’’, 3 December 2013, http://www.sarugbymag.co.za/blog/details/saru-quotas-breach-irb-rules
[ { "docid": "55c2002104e13011105f45469365f82f", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby The IRB did not take action against the previous system of quotas: why would they be likely to take action against a new system?\n\nAlso, there is a clear difference between the sort of racial discrimination that occurred in the sport during the apartheid era, and affirmative action policies. Positive discrimination does not prevent anyone from having a chance at playing; it simply gives those who are less fortunate a leg up.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "6505145b1c8c7d71c7c5f4b0718a58dc", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby In a society where race affects everything, can there ever be such a thing as a legitimate meritocracy? Not everyone will get the same opportunities in life. You cannot pretend factors are not there when they are. Positive discrimination such as racial quotas helps to counter act some of these factors that are weighed heavily against non-whites in playing rugby helping to create a much truer meritocracy.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "39f75a89631035ce32d054a1d08d5554", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Even if it doesn’t increase the numbers at the grass roots and youth levels, it will create more players who can be selected by the provinces for Currie Cup competition. This, in turn, could give more non-white players the development and the experience they need to make it in to the national team.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "80a4642fa297d249b14bd1609132329d", "text": "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.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "94b6f40e2ced72c35034a1230bf49b2c", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Changing the demographics on the field will not be likely to change the demographics in the stands. Economic equality is still an issue – which means the change that is needed are changes in matters such as ticket prices, in order to bring in a broader base of spectators.\n\nThe way to broaden the talent pool is through policies to make it larger, not to distribute positions within it. In other words, what’s needed is resources, and a commitment to take the game in to communities where it is not so popular currently – the best players will rise to the top no matter their ethnicity.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "50ffb02ec311a19160a784add9da2d3f", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby 2006 was a while ago, at a time when quotas were in force. Even so, popular support does not mean that something is a good idea. Sport should be distanced from the popular will. Most rugby fans are white, a group that had in the survey only 14% of people in favour of a quotas. Among the people that might be considered the electorate of the sport, the fans, quotas are not wanted\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7b3e47f8495ae5d12f8d36a511f6b090", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Even if action is needed to create racial equality, are quotas the solution? There is no doubt that rugby is a sport where South Africa could be stronger if it was popular in all racial groups, but they are a blunt instrument: the way to pick the best team is to simply pick the best team. Racial equality comes when no one is picked as a result of race whether that is through negative or positive discrimination.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9eaa28481d63c8adc21b2de37300cbf7", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Racial quotas don’t develop new players\n\nThe quota system could lead to moving players from the regional teams who generally have less non-white players pilfering them from other unions, rather “Home growing” them [1] .\n\nFormer Springboks coach Peter de Villiers, the first non-white person in that role, has described quotas as a “waste of time [2] ”.\n\nDepending on the exact phraseology of the rules, this could even allow black players from outside South Africa (from, for example, England) to be used to fill the quota.\n\n[1] McGregor, Liz, ‘New Year, new model for SA Rugby? Here’s hoping’, Books Live, 30 December 2013, http://lizmcgregor.bookslive.co.za/blog/2013/12/30/new-year-new-model-for-sa-rugby-heres-hoping/\n\n[2] Peacock, James, ‘Peter de Villiers says racial quotas are ‘waste of time’, BBC Sport, 15 August 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/23713530\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "db8d9051c71f9b8c4b1c45593292a079", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Meritocracy\n\nIt is a value of sport in general that it should be outside the sphere of social ills like racial, religious and political tensions. Sport should be based on merit only; those who play best get onto the team.\n\nRacial quotas will lead to any non-white player in a team in a competition where quotas are being employed to being under a suspicion that they are not good enough and were only selected due to their race. As Peter de Villiers, the first black coach of the Springboks, says “Everybody will believe that these players will be picked because people are looking out for them.” [1] The result could be more racial abuse of players, not less.\n\n[1] Peacock, James, ‘Peter de Villiers says racial quotas are ‘waste of time’, BBC Sport, 15 August 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/23713530\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "dfef86db3ceb6e1b88a51f39fe69e893", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Quotas can drive players away.\n\nPolicies 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] .\n\n[1] Foy, Chris, ‘Last orders at the bar for master brewer – prop Mujati calls time on Saints career’, MailOnline, 19 April 2013, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-2311854/Brian-Mujati-play-game-Northampton-Saints-weekend.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3ba619f308ab400aee8e658dc69d017c", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Broadening participation\n\nThe talent pool in South African rugby is not as racially diverse as one would expect from the “Rainbow Nation” – some commentators have argued that England and France produce more top level black players than South Africa [1] . This is because top level players are a result of development from the grassroots up.\n\nTargets or quotas could not only improve the talent pool of today, but could broaden it for the future. A new generation of youth across all races in South Africa would be able to see that rugby union is a sport that accepts people from their backgrounds, making them more likely to participate in rugby union, either as players, coaches, referees or as a general part of the rugby fraternity.\n\n[1] Blackwell, James, ‘South African Rugby Quotas – Right or Wrong?’, Sporting Mad, 16 September 2013, http://www.sportingmad.com.au/south-african-rugby-quotas-right-wrong/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e8ace491b5cbc8d7a53d3a2182ba4f67", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Most South Africans support quotas\n\nIn 2006, the South African Social Attitudes Survey revealed that most South Africans (56%) support a quota system [1] . This support remained roughly the same over a four year period. Sport should reflect the will of the population of the country, if the population wants quotas then there should be quotas. There is particularly strong support from quotas among black people (63%) implying they feel that something needs to be done in order to let them into the sport. Doing nothing will simply ensure the status quo with very few non-white rugby players remains indefinitely.\n\n[1] Struwig, Jare, and Roberts, Ben, ‘The numbers game Public support for sports quotas’, South African Social Attitudes Survey, p.13, http://www.hsrc.ac.za/uploads/pageContent/1607/The%20Numbers%20Game.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "678805b6a76d2e63bdb6ea55d3650e62", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Radical action needed for racial equality in South Africa\n\nIt is plain for all to see how unrepresentative rugby union in South Africa is. While there is not necessarily a deliberate policy of racism, it is very easy for biases to creep in. Across the division where the quotas will come in only about 6% of players are black, a number that should increase to 33%. [1] Quotas could help concentrate the mind to ensure that the best team is picked.\n\nAt grass roots level, there have been some cases of flat-out racial abuse of non-white players, including using racial terms that are particularly offensive in a South African context.\n\n[1] Peacock, James, ‘Peter de Villiers says racial quotas are ‘waste of time’, BBC Sport, 15 August 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/23713530\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
432fd92d234616f346a54fe875ece304
Meritocracy It is a value of sport in general that it should be outside the sphere of social ills like racial, religious and political tensions. Sport should be based on merit only; those who play best get onto the team. Racial quotas will lead to any non-white player in a team in a competition where quotas are being employed to being under a suspicion that they are not good enough and were only selected due to their race. As Peter de Villiers, the first black coach of the Springboks, says “Everybody will believe that these players will be picked because people are looking out for them.” [1] The result could be more racial abuse of players, not less. [1] Peacock, James, ‘Peter de Villiers says racial quotas are ‘waste of time’, BBC Sport, 15 August 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/23713530
[ { "docid": "6505145b1c8c7d71c7c5f4b0718a58dc", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby In a society where race affects everything, can there ever be such a thing as a legitimate meritocracy? Not everyone will get the same opportunities in life. You cannot pretend factors are not there when they are. Positive discrimination such as racial quotas helps to counter act some of these factors that are weighed heavily against non-whites in playing rugby helping to create a much truer meritocracy.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "39f75a89631035ce32d054a1d08d5554", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Even if it doesn’t increase the numbers at the grass roots and youth levels, it will create more players who can be selected by the provinces for Currie Cup competition. This, in turn, could give more non-white players the development and the experience they need to make it in to the national team.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "80a4642fa297d249b14bd1609132329d", "text": "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.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "55c2002104e13011105f45469365f82f", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby The IRB did not take action against the previous system of quotas: why would they be likely to take action against a new system?\n\nAlso, there is a clear difference between the sort of racial discrimination that occurred in the sport during the apartheid era, and affirmative action policies. Positive discrimination does not prevent anyone from having a chance at playing; it simply gives those who are less fortunate a leg up.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "94b6f40e2ced72c35034a1230bf49b2c", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Changing the demographics on the field will not be likely to change the demographics in the stands. Economic equality is still an issue – which means the change that is needed are changes in matters such as ticket prices, in order to bring in a broader base of spectators.\n\nThe way to broaden the talent pool is through policies to make it larger, not to distribute positions within it. In other words, what’s needed is resources, and a commitment to take the game in to communities where it is not so popular currently – the best players will rise to the top no matter their ethnicity.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "50ffb02ec311a19160a784add9da2d3f", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby 2006 was a while ago, at a time when quotas were in force. Even so, popular support does not mean that something is a good idea. Sport should be distanced from the popular will. Most rugby fans are white, a group that had in the survey only 14% of people in favour of a quotas. Among the people that might be considered the electorate of the sport, the fans, quotas are not wanted\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7b3e47f8495ae5d12f8d36a511f6b090", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Even if action is needed to create racial equality, are quotas the solution? There is no doubt that rugby is a sport where South Africa could be stronger if it was popular in all racial groups, but they are a blunt instrument: the way to pick the best team is to simply pick the best team. Racial equality comes when no one is picked as a result of race whether that is through negative or positive discrimination.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ccf2b802ec217e9f432fdc7edf18cb43", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby IRB rules\n\nRacial quotas are a breach of the views of the world governing body of Rugby Union, the International Rugby Board [1] . If this were found to be the case then it would have a large negative impact on South African rugby.\n\nAn IRB intervention would lead to at least interference by the governing body, which would be highly embarrassing for the SARU (as well as difficult for a sport which has had major political rows before), or even worse, some form of sanction or expulsion – things that could lead to long term instability in the sport, which should be avoided.\n\n[1] SARugbymag.co.za, ‘Saru quotas ‘breach IRP rules’’, 3 December 2013, http://www.sarugbymag.co.za/blog/details/saru-quotas-breach-irb-rules\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9eaa28481d63c8adc21b2de37300cbf7", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Racial quotas don’t develop new players\n\nThe quota system could lead to moving players from the regional teams who generally have less non-white players pilfering them from other unions, rather “Home growing” them [1] .\n\nFormer Springboks coach Peter de Villiers, the first non-white person in that role, has described quotas as a “waste of time [2] ”.\n\nDepending on the exact phraseology of the rules, this could even allow black players from outside South Africa (from, for example, England) to be used to fill the quota.\n\n[1] McGregor, Liz, ‘New Year, new model for SA Rugby? Here’s hoping’, Books Live, 30 December 2013, http://lizmcgregor.bookslive.co.za/blog/2013/12/30/new-year-new-model-for-sa-rugby-heres-hoping/\n\n[2] Peacock, James, ‘Peter de Villiers says racial quotas are ‘waste of time’, BBC Sport, 15 August 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/23713530\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "dfef86db3ceb6e1b88a51f39fe69e893", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Quotas can drive players away.\n\nPolicies 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] .\n\n[1] Foy, Chris, ‘Last orders at the bar for master brewer – prop Mujati calls time on Saints career’, MailOnline, 19 April 2013, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-2311854/Brian-Mujati-play-game-Northampton-Saints-weekend.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3ba619f308ab400aee8e658dc69d017c", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Broadening participation\n\nThe talent pool in South African rugby is not as racially diverse as one would expect from the “Rainbow Nation” – some commentators have argued that England and France produce more top level black players than South Africa [1] . This is because top level players are a result of development from the grassroots up.\n\nTargets or quotas could not only improve the talent pool of today, but could broaden it for the future. A new generation of youth across all races in South Africa would be able to see that rugby union is a sport that accepts people from their backgrounds, making them more likely to participate in rugby union, either as players, coaches, referees or as a general part of the rugby fraternity.\n\n[1] Blackwell, James, ‘South African Rugby Quotas – Right or Wrong?’, Sporting Mad, 16 September 2013, http://www.sportingmad.com.au/south-african-rugby-quotas-right-wrong/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e8ace491b5cbc8d7a53d3a2182ba4f67", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Most South Africans support quotas\n\nIn 2006, the South African Social Attitudes Survey revealed that most South Africans (56%) support a quota system [1] . This support remained roughly the same over a four year period. Sport should reflect the will of the population of the country, if the population wants quotas then there should be quotas. There is particularly strong support from quotas among black people (63%) implying they feel that something needs to be done in order to let them into the sport. Doing nothing will simply ensure the status quo with very few non-white rugby players remains indefinitely.\n\n[1] Struwig, Jare, and Roberts, Ben, ‘The numbers game Public support for sports quotas’, South African Social Attitudes Survey, p.13, http://www.hsrc.ac.za/uploads/pageContent/1607/The%20Numbers%20Game.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "678805b6a76d2e63bdb6ea55d3650e62", "text": "africa sport team sports house supports racial quotas south african rugby Radical action needed for racial equality in South Africa\n\nIt is plain for all to see how unrepresentative rugby union in South Africa is. While there is not necessarily a deliberate policy of racism, it is very easy for biases to creep in. Across the division where the quotas will come in only about 6% of players are black, a number that should increase to 33%. [1] Quotas could help concentrate the mind to ensure that the best team is picked.\n\nAt grass roots level, there have been some cases of flat-out racial abuse of non-white players, including using racial terms that are particularly offensive in a South African context.\n\n[1] Peacock, James, ‘Peter de Villiers says racial quotas are ‘waste of time’, BBC Sport, 15 August 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/23713530\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
a5da56015285a7c527369e4e4d4eb8fe
The network approach: promoting learning The use of ICT and creating a network of professional experts enables learning and knowledge transfer between health workers and academics. In addition to the brain-drain, whereby skilled health professionals continue to emigrate from Zambia, Zambia also shows a slow rate of training of new health workers. Therefore the VDP provides a vital learning tool. VDP provides practical skills by healthcare workers to learn from first-hand experience while having access to a field of experts, or advisers, able to answer any questions. The quality of healthcare will be improved as workers in remote locations are given access to information and correct answers for diagnosis. A global pool of skills can be drawn upon, and utilised, when required.
[ { "docid": "ba7ba16a1db035400144c2b5fab98ff8", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Although the use of virtual networks and doctors may provide solutions to share knowledge it creates other difficulties. The use of VDP as an educational tool clearly has downsides. First it is not designed for training; if it were why not use a tool specifically for training? As the VDP is not any educational benefits have to be considered secondary. Unlike with a specifically educational tool there is no way for the experts to test that the knowledge they are passing on is being learnt or that their advice is being followed.\n\nAdditionally, if the use of virtual doctors is educating medical officers on the ground does it ensure the newly trained professional will stay in Zambia? The bigger picture of what the officers do, and whether the government implement competitive labour policies, requires consideration.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "1d2f15e8ccaa4f12c58870f912f0bd83", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Can the VDP go beyond basic needs and rights when the scale, and scope, of basic need is so large? Figures show a negative image not only of physical health, also the environment in which people live in. The maternal mortality ratio is calculated at around 590 per 100,000 and infant mortality (under 1) stands at 53 per 1,000 live births. However, only 61% of the population have access to improved drinking water; and 48% are able to access improved sanitation facilities (UNICEF, 2013).\n\nCan we rely on NGO’s providing the VDP to fulfil basic needs when the challenges are so large?\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "86c4da433b0b5c41dc40b0d64e9ef92e", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project A study carried out by Masiye (2007) indicates only around 40% of Zambia’s hospitals can be defined as efficient. There remains a significant problem of resource wastage in Zambia’s hospitals and the hospitals are technically inefficient in producing, and delivering, services. Health goals cannot be achieved in Zambia if hospitals continue to function inefficiently. This raises concern as to how the hospitals cope once referrals are sent? Is the wider health system adequate?\n\nOutsourcing of medical professions into rural areas, and making improvements in the speed and quality of referrals does not resolve the issue of hospital quality. Although VDP’s can act to significantly reduce the number of inappropriate referrals investment, training, and improved management, is still required within Zambia’s hospital system. Additionally, improved access to drugs is needed. Drug shortages have been reported due to corruption scandals - funding provided to supply drugs in the health sector have previously gone missing [1] . Generic drugs are in short-supply, and high demand. Without doctors being able to access vital drugs, whether they are located in hospitals or remote areas, treatment cannot be provided.\n\n[1] See further readings: IRIN, 2011.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fdb183df1a6a8b1a172b1ab36b46d36b", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Mobility remains a key issue across Africa. The WDR (2009) identifies three key sources for effective integration: institutions, infrastructure, and interventions. Infrastructure includes systems that facilitate the geographical movement of goods, services, people, and ideas - such as roads. The reality of a mobile clinic therefore relies heavily on having the infrastructure to support flexibility, mobility, and frequent movement.\n\nMobile clinics still won’t be able to reach all patients that need their help; public investment is required into infrastructure such as roads and railways first. The project can only work if mobile clinics are able to be mobile. Further, even if they are mobile it doesn’t necessarily ensure people become ill when the medical officer happens to be visiting.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c2445b5bbe3ee30c2fce9ebf00359ecb", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Zambia needs to improve its health care system in general, not work on implementing a virtual programme. Physical contact is still necessary for diagnosis and treatment.\n\nAlternative schemes are being used to meet health needs and improve the structure of Zambia’s health system. For example, the Clinton Foundation and DFID [1] have invested in the provision of community health workers. These programmes invest in training community health workers across Zambia’s rural regions. The health workers trained are therefore physically located within the regions. This is much more important than having virtual doctors on call.\n\n[1] See further readings: Clinton Foundation, 2013.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "adde5b6f937b5e52d003d031cc172824", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Today the inclusion of private stakeholders in providing access to health is proving to be a sustainable approach. To achieve developmental impact the public sector is no longer the key source or actor. Although increased support by the government - both financial and political - may be required in the future it is not fundamental for the implementation stage. The VDP can continue to grow and be sustainable through the work of private organisations and funders. The state can later step in and expand the system nationwide when it is fully demonstrated. Private partnerships are changing how health-care is provided and its sustainability.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7a61b4746d1c6024aaa99a96df8c2117", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Figures showcasing the popular use of traditional practices, and medicine, do not show the reasons behind use. It fails to recognise the degree of choice and the nature of treatment provided. If people don’t have access to modern medicine then they will go to that which is available. The answer then is to increase access to modern medicine to provide the alternative.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "bd80d736d58d3656fb53c3b6ad403847", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Technology will only be required within the mobile clinics, to enable the VDP networks to be used. It is a key component, but not the only foundation of which the VDP is based on. This means that the clinics can carry equipment to ensure access to the internet remains – such as a satellite connection. Furthermore, significant developments have been made in Zambia’s technological revolution. Internet connectivity has improved in rural areas; and pioneering movements across rural areas - such as the implementation of solar-powered internet - means connectivity is spreading into rural, remote, Zambia.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6ac57132e189cb755e32011661fb6710", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project The VDP is providing a number a solution to the lack of human resources within Zambia’s health sector. VDP is enabling the growth of local jobs, for Zambian nationals. Although there are no current figures to estimate the amount of jobs that will be provided within the health sector, the VDP has currently been rolled out into six sites and continues to expand. New clinics will be set-up across Zambia, as well as Tanzania, Malawi and Kenya. A growing body of health workers will be required to maintain the VDP network; reducing the doctor to population disparity in Zambia.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a866fa82f58db9d889b32957952972f1", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Taking healthcare beyond basic needs\n\nNot only does VDP improve access to primary health care but the networks developed between different health advisers mean changing health demands can be met. Across Africa there is now a shift in the type of diseases prevalent. Increasing rates of non-communicable disease are being recorded - for which advisers can provide ongoing support. Additionally, there remains a need to improve understanding and treatment of mental health issues within rural areas in particular. Concern with mental health requires greater recognition across Africa. Finally, data can be collected on health issues affecting rural areas for targeted intervention.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7feaa2e987344ce4362c778936551bb6", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Flexibility of mobile clinics\n\nThe use of mobile clinics and ICT in health not only tackles issues around location accessibility to health, by travelling into remote areas, but also the flexibility provided through the clinics mobility means a larger population can be seen and treated.\n\nVirtual doctors are flexible; one doctor can be providing his or her expertise through numerous local doctors and nurses at any time. They can help staff with much less training make the correct decisions. By using mobile clinics the location is flexible - and can be altered depending on variations in social need and seasons -, and the time individuals can access the clinic is flexible. Mobile clinics are more responsive to demand.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0f9905710647dd5284b255f35e80f2e1", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Tackling access: working in rural areas\n\nZambia’s human resource crisis in healthcare is most prominent in rural areas. Poverty remains widespread and despite Zambia’s high economic fortune as a result of copper during the 1960s it has become a heavily-indebted poor country. The World Bank (2013) classifies 76% of Zambia’s poor as residing in rural areas. With disparities in access to health prevalent, Zambia needs to train new doctors and nurses to ensure the population can access health care. The VDP is therefore tackling the issue of access within rural, and remote, areas.\n\nAccess to health is a human right, and the VDP is ensuring such rights are become a reality in rural areas and rural populations. Mortality and morbidity can be reduced as rural health workers are able to diagnose and treat a wider range of conditions.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "226684a79fa5d93e6a6b27450f65975e", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Speeding up referral\n\nEach mobile clinic will be equipped with vital tools and equipment, and staffed with a medical assistant, a midwife/nurse, and project officer. Furthermore, the presence of a medical staff team means a number of services can be provided for women, men, and children. The team are able to carry out tests on the ground, and if required refer the patient to a hospital. Referrals are made by the staff, with all required information passed on to the hospital and an appropriate appointment made.\n\nThe VDP makes each actor within the referral and treatment process aware of their position and role. The VDP appropriately delegates jobs; thus improving the system of hospital referrals and minimising unnecessary costs from inappropriate referrals.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "68880cb2d1481b67d2a9d51f673ecb33", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Resolving the health service crisis?\n\nTo what extent does the VDP resolve the lack of health service professionals in Zambia? Two caveats emerge.\n\nFirstly, the project shows how intervention from international organisations can work against trade union demands and employment issues. The project is introducing a model of outsourcing. The medical staff do not need to be based in hospitals so reducing government costs and decentralising employees. Recent strikes by nurses [1] shows dissatisfaction with work conditions and overwork. It raises concern over the motives of the VDP. Is the VDP encouraging social protection and an ethical work environment for all medical professionals? Or is the VDP an escape mechanism to keep wages low and neglect demands made by working nurses? A majority of the expert ‘virtual doctors’ employed are volunteers. Ultimately then the government might consider the VDP a good excuse not to invest in training Zambian doctors.\n\nSecondly, does the VDP resolve the issue of brain drain? Improved incentives and increased salaries are required for trained medical professionals, to motivate them to stay. The VDP may help educated doctors but it does not provide them with reasons to remain in Zambia, rather it gives them contacts with outside healthcare systems where their skills will be much better rewarded.\n\n[1] See further readings: Kunda, 2013.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "91c9ae7b37f072ce01c1ec65788f0280", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Will virtual doctors be used?\n\nEven if VDPs do improve access to health services we cannot assume the health services will be used. The use of traditional healers, and practices, remains popular across rural Zambia [1] . If the population is unwilling to use modern medicine then providing better access to that medicine will be of little benefit. If formally trained doctors and medicines are not accepted, or trusted, by communities then the resources being spent on VDPs would be much better spent on education to encourage people to make better use of the facilities they already have than introducing new technology based solutions that will simply be more likely to be rejected.\n\n[1] See further readings: Bansal, 2012.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2ecb9d5f3bacd6a6aa802817ef228235", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project How sustainable?\n\nA key issue that needs to be raised is funding. Currently the VDP is funded by a range of corporate partners - including Microsoft and Google. However, for the project to be sustainable in the long-run investment is required from a wider range of bodies, and further partnerships need to be formed with the public sector. The government needs to be included as a funder and supporter. The neglect, and exclusion, of the government within discussion on health projects - such as VDP - only acts to remove their responsibility and obligation to tackle the social dilemma. Healthcare is the responsibility of government, not the NGOs and private firms that are providing VDP.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "28aa581d9e93b1c3a1906f71cc0d4560", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project A dangerous reliance on technology?\n\nICT is providing innovative solutions to resolve many social problems across Africa. However, is there now a dangerous reliance on technology? Not everyone has access to mobiles and signal remains precarious. When answers, diagnosis, and treatment, are reliant on using technology in the field it needs to be ensured that the service fitted in mobile clinics will remain reliable for field health workers. Additionally, it needs to be ensured that the network of global professionals frequently check messages for updates and respond as quickly as possible. The quality of health service cannot be improved if the response time remains low due to insufficient technology or connectivity. The scheme requires partnerships to telephone and information technology companies.\n\nThe reliance on technology is also danger when we consider what information the technology used is actually providing. The VDP will mainly involve text-based emails and messages to provide patient information. Expanding to use images and videos - such as through Skype - will ensure the virtual doctor is more involved in the process, reducing error.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
44243f75c50f4417b68effc720a7b9db
Tackling access: working in rural areas Zambia’s human resource crisis in healthcare is most prominent in rural areas. Poverty remains widespread and despite Zambia’s high economic fortune as a result of copper during the 1960s it has become a heavily-indebted poor country. The World Bank (2013) classifies 76% of Zambia’s poor as residing in rural areas. With disparities in access to health prevalent, Zambia needs to train new doctors and nurses to ensure the population can access health care. The VDP is therefore tackling the issue of access within rural, and remote, areas. Access to health is a human right, and the VDP is ensuring such rights are become a reality in rural areas and rural populations. Mortality and morbidity can be reduced as rural health workers are able to diagnose and treat a wider range of conditions.
[ { "docid": "c2445b5bbe3ee30c2fce9ebf00359ecb", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Zambia needs to improve its health care system in general, not work on implementing a virtual programme. Physical contact is still necessary for diagnosis and treatment.\n\nAlternative schemes are being used to meet health needs and improve the structure of Zambia’s health system. For example, the Clinton Foundation and DFID [1] have invested in the provision of community health workers. These programmes invest in training community health workers across Zambia’s rural regions. The health workers trained are therefore physically located within the regions. This is much more important than having virtual doctors on call.\n\n[1] See further readings: Clinton Foundation, 2013.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "ba7ba16a1db035400144c2b5fab98ff8", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Although the use of virtual networks and doctors may provide solutions to share knowledge it creates other difficulties. The use of VDP as an educational tool clearly has downsides. First it is not designed for training; if it were why not use a tool specifically for training? As the VDP is not any educational benefits have to be considered secondary. Unlike with a specifically educational tool there is no way for the experts to test that the knowledge they are passing on is being learnt or that their advice is being followed.\n\nAdditionally, if the use of virtual doctors is educating medical officers on the ground does it ensure the newly trained professional will stay in Zambia? The bigger picture of what the officers do, and whether the government implement competitive labour policies, requires consideration.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1d2f15e8ccaa4f12c58870f912f0bd83", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Can the VDP go beyond basic needs and rights when the scale, and scope, of basic need is so large? Figures show a negative image not only of physical health, also the environment in which people live in. The maternal mortality ratio is calculated at around 590 per 100,000 and infant mortality (under 1) stands at 53 per 1,000 live births. However, only 61% of the population have access to improved drinking water; and 48% are able to access improved sanitation facilities (UNICEF, 2013).\n\nCan we rely on NGO’s providing the VDP to fulfil basic needs when the challenges are so large?\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "86c4da433b0b5c41dc40b0d64e9ef92e", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project A study carried out by Masiye (2007) indicates only around 40% of Zambia’s hospitals can be defined as efficient. There remains a significant problem of resource wastage in Zambia’s hospitals and the hospitals are technically inefficient in producing, and delivering, services. Health goals cannot be achieved in Zambia if hospitals continue to function inefficiently. This raises concern as to how the hospitals cope once referrals are sent? Is the wider health system adequate?\n\nOutsourcing of medical professions into rural areas, and making improvements in the speed and quality of referrals does not resolve the issue of hospital quality. Although VDP’s can act to significantly reduce the number of inappropriate referrals investment, training, and improved management, is still required within Zambia’s hospital system. Additionally, improved access to drugs is needed. Drug shortages have been reported due to corruption scandals - funding provided to supply drugs in the health sector have previously gone missing [1] . Generic drugs are in short-supply, and high demand. Without doctors being able to access vital drugs, whether they are located in hospitals or remote areas, treatment cannot be provided.\n\n[1] See further readings: IRIN, 2011.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fdb183df1a6a8b1a172b1ab36b46d36b", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Mobility remains a key issue across Africa. The WDR (2009) identifies three key sources for effective integration: institutions, infrastructure, and interventions. Infrastructure includes systems that facilitate the geographical movement of goods, services, people, and ideas - such as roads. The reality of a mobile clinic therefore relies heavily on having the infrastructure to support flexibility, mobility, and frequent movement.\n\nMobile clinics still won’t be able to reach all patients that need their help; public investment is required into infrastructure such as roads and railways first. The project can only work if mobile clinics are able to be mobile. Further, even if they are mobile it doesn’t necessarily ensure people become ill when the medical officer happens to be visiting.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "adde5b6f937b5e52d003d031cc172824", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Today the inclusion of private stakeholders in providing access to health is proving to be a sustainable approach. To achieve developmental impact the public sector is no longer the key source or actor. Although increased support by the government - both financial and political - may be required in the future it is not fundamental for the implementation stage. The VDP can continue to grow and be sustainable through the work of private organisations and funders. The state can later step in and expand the system nationwide when it is fully demonstrated. Private partnerships are changing how health-care is provided and its sustainability.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7a61b4746d1c6024aaa99a96df8c2117", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Figures showcasing the popular use of traditional practices, and medicine, do not show the reasons behind use. It fails to recognise the degree of choice and the nature of treatment provided. If people don’t have access to modern medicine then they will go to that which is available. The answer then is to increase access to modern medicine to provide the alternative.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "bd80d736d58d3656fb53c3b6ad403847", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Technology will only be required within the mobile clinics, to enable the VDP networks to be used. It is a key component, but not the only foundation of which the VDP is based on. This means that the clinics can carry equipment to ensure access to the internet remains – such as a satellite connection. Furthermore, significant developments have been made in Zambia’s technological revolution. Internet connectivity has improved in rural areas; and pioneering movements across rural areas - such as the implementation of solar-powered internet - means connectivity is spreading into rural, remote, Zambia.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6ac57132e189cb755e32011661fb6710", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project The VDP is providing a number a solution to the lack of human resources within Zambia’s health sector. VDP is enabling the growth of local jobs, for Zambian nationals. Although there are no current figures to estimate the amount of jobs that will be provided within the health sector, the VDP has currently been rolled out into six sites and continues to expand. New clinics will be set-up across Zambia, as well as Tanzania, Malawi and Kenya. A growing body of health workers will be required to maintain the VDP network; reducing the doctor to population disparity in Zambia.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c26a9696aab96a900ee6a52d47d52cd3", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project The network approach: promoting learning\n\nThe use of ICT and creating a network of professional experts enables learning and knowledge transfer between health workers and academics. In addition to the brain-drain, whereby skilled health professionals continue to emigrate from Zambia, Zambia also shows a slow rate of training of new health workers. Therefore the VDP provides a vital learning tool. VDP provides practical skills by healthcare workers to learn from first-hand experience while having access to a field of experts, or advisers, able to answer any questions. The quality of healthcare will be improved as workers in remote locations are given access to information and correct answers for diagnosis. A global pool of skills can be drawn upon, and utilised, when required.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a866fa82f58db9d889b32957952972f1", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Taking healthcare beyond basic needs\n\nNot only does VDP improve access to primary health care but the networks developed between different health advisers mean changing health demands can be met. Across Africa there is now a shift in the type of diseases prevalent. Increasing rates of non-communicable disease are being recorded - for which advisers can provide ongoing support. Additionally, there remains a need to improve understanding and treatment of mental health issues within rural areas in particular. Concern with mental health requires greater recognition across Africa. Finally, data can be collected on health issues affecting rural areas for targeted intervention.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7feaa2e987344ce4362c778936551bb6", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Flexibility of mobile clinics\n\nThe use of mobile clinics and ICT in health not only tackles issues around location accessibility to health, by travelling into remote areas, but also the flexibility provided through the clinics mobility means a larger population can be seen and treated.\n\nVirtual doctors are flexible; one doctor can be providing his or her expertise through numerous local doctors and nurses at any time. They can help staff with much less training make the correct decisions. By using mobile clinics the location is flexible - and can be altered depending on variations in social need and seasons -, and the time individuals can access the clinic is flexible. Mobile clinics are more responsive to demand.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "226684a79fa5d93e6a6b27450f65975e", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Speeding up referral\n\nEach mobile clinic will be equipped with vital tools and equipment, and staffed with a medical assistant, a midwife/nurse, and project officer. Furthermore, the presence of a medical staff team means a number of services can be provided for women, men, and children. The team are able to carry out tests on the ground, and if required refer the patient to a hospital. Referrals are made by the staff, with all required information passed on to the hospital and an appropriate appointment made.\n\nThe VDP makes each actor within the referral and treatment process aware of their position and role. The VDP appropriately delegates jobs; thus improving the system of hospital referrals and minimising unnecessary costs from inappropriate referrals.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "68880cb2d1481b67d2a9d51f673ecb33", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Resolving the health service crisis?\n\nTo what extent does the VDP resolve the lack of health service professionals in Zambia? Two caveats emerge.\n\nFirstly, the project shows how intervention from international organisations can work against trade union demands and employment issues. The project is introducing a model of outsourcing. The medical staff do not need to be based in hospitals so reducing government costs and decentralising employees. Recent strikes by nurses [1] shows dissatisfaction with work conditions and overwork. It raises concern over the motives of the VDP. Is the VDP encouraging social protection and an ethical work environment for all medical professionals? Or is the VDP an escape mechanism to keep wages low and neglect demands made by working nurses? A majority of the expert ‘virtual doctors’ employed are volunteers. Ultimately then the government might consider the VDP a good excuse not to invest in training Zambian doctors.\n\nSecondly, does the VDP resolve the issue of brain drain? Improved incentives and increased salaries are required for trained medical professionals, to motivate them to stay. The VDP may help educated doctors but it does not provide them with reasons to remain in Zambia, rather it gives them contacts with outside healthcare systems where their skills will be much better rewarded.\n\n[1] See further readings: Kunda, 2013.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "91c9ae7b37f072ce01c1ec65788f0280", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project Will virtual doctors be used?\n\nEven if VDPs do improve access to health services we cannot assume the health services will be used. The use of traditional healers, and practices, remains popular across rural Zambia [1] . If the population is unwilling to use modern medicine then providing better access to that medicine will be of little benefit. If formally trained doctors and medicines are not accepted, or trusted, by communities then the resources being spent on VDPs would be much better spent on education to encourage people to make better use of the facilities they already have than introducing new technology based solutions that will simply be more likely to be rejected.\n\n[1] See further readings: Bansal, 2012.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2ecb9d5f3bacd6a6aa802817ef228235", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project How sustainable?\n\nA key issue that needs to be raised is funding. Currently the VDP is funded by a range of corporate partners - including Microsoft and Google. However, for the project to be sustainable in the long-run investment is required from a wider range of bodies, and further partnerships need to be formed with the public sector. The government needs to be included as a funder and supporter. The neglect, and exclusion, of the government within discussion on health projects - such as VDP - only acts to remove their responsibility and obligation to tackle the social dilemma. Healthcare is the responsibility of government, not the NGOs and private firms that are providing VDP.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "28aa581d9e93b1c3a1906f71cc0d4560", "text": " healthcare international africa house would implent virtual doctor project A dangerous reliance on technology?\n\nICT is providing innovative solutions to resolve many social problems across Africa. However, is there now a dangerous reliance on technology? Not everyone has access to mobiles and signal remains precarious. When answers, diagnosis, and treatment, are reliant on using technology in the field it needs to be ensured that the service fitted in mobile clinics will remain reliable for field health workers. Additionally, it needs to be ensured that the network of global professionals frequently check messages for updates and respond as quickly as possible. The quality of health service cannot be improved if the response time remains low due to insufficient technology or connectivity. The scheme requires partnerships to telephone and information technology companies.\n\nThe reliance on technology is also danger when we consider what information the technology used is actually providing. The VDP will mainly involve text-based emails and messages to provide patient information. Expanding to use images and videos - such as through Skype - will ensure the virtual doctor is more involved in the process, reducing error.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
5f1130e7bf737727111f80754ef2cc9f
As long as the United States works unilaterally to quell violent conflict, progress is not being made towards a better, internationally coordinated system. The United States spends approximately $700 trillion annually on its military; China, the world’s second largest military spender, spends $114 trillion. [1] The US outpaces other possible peacekeepers by such a large gap that these other powers have little incentive to even try to keep up. Unilateral US intervention undermines international actors such as UN troops because it communicates the US’s refusal to submit to the interests of the international community. Thus US military intervention becomes a “quick fix” which prevents genuine long-term stability [1] “SIPRI Military Expenditure Database,” Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, 2011.
[ { "docid": "935f93fd0d265d447ea7b70f04e9b70e", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power The Pro’s perspective is backwards; as long as other nations do not move towards providing viable alternatives to US military dominance, the US cannot afford to reduce its own defenses. The US should not have to provide an incentive for other nations to improve their defense systems; their own self-preservation should be a sufficient incentive. In June 2011, then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates warned that European NATO members’ reluctance to fund their share of NATO operations could be negative impacts for the alliance’s future. The New York Times related Gates’ words; “[Gates] warned of a ‘dim if not dismal future’ for the alliance unless its European members increased their participation, and he said that Washington would not forever pay for European security when the Europeans could do that for themselves.” [1] The US may be able to alter its role to be less unilateral, but it cannot do so until after other military entities improve their defense systems.\n\n[1] Erlanger.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "e738e16c8734f35aa15ec36564241baa", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power The Opposition acknowledges that the US government’s obligation to act in its own nation’s best interest reflects a flaw in the US’s international role. However, this flaw is outweighed by the benefits of US protection. First, other countries can use soft power to prevent the US from abusing its military power. In 2010, US exports exceeded $1.8 trillion and imports exceeded $2.3 trillion; international trade accounted for 14% of US GDP. [1] The US is vulnerable to economic sanctions. Furthermore, the US enjoys the position it holds in international relations; were it to lose respect and bargaining power in the international community, Americans would strongly question the wisdom of government decisions. Furthermore, Americans are strongly attached to an ideal of American morality. This ideal places a check on the nation’s willingness to engage in foreign combat without any moral justification. Thus there are checks in place to keep the US from acting only in self-interest.\n\n[1] William Baumol and Alan Blinder, Macroeconomics: Principles and Policy 12th Edition, (Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning), 2011, 23.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "03b20081604ef2d688b870138ace2d2d", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power There are currently no viable alternatives to US military dominance. All would simply lead to more strife; dominance by another, probably less peaceful power, no dominance at all leading to anarchy or a balance of power, which usually leads to war as in the 18th Century. All of these options would create considerably more conflict than there is at the moment.(See Opposition argument)\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d61378a3a7d64fe03601e0eb44b15977", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power The Pro only identifies US military failures; there are also many occasions of US military success. The Opposition case details examples of military success in Panama, Kuwait, and Bosnia. The recent success of Libyan rebel attempts to overthrow Gaddafi is partially attributable to US military assistance. [1] Furthermore, US military strategy is constantly changing and adapting. The rules of international engagement change relatively quickly; when the rise of the Soviet threat rendered isolationism impossible, the US adapted its foreign policy to a bipolar world in which mutually assured destruction was an effective means of preventing direct conflict. The fall of the USSR created a multi-polar world in which MAD became a more complex and less reliable strategy. Today, the US is adjusting to the increasing threat of Islamic terrorism. These constant changes render perfect implementation of military force impossible- this impossibility is not unique to the US. But with constant reevaluation and assistance from the international community, the US can be a reasonably effective peacekeeper.\n\n[1] Steven Erlanger, “Panetta Urges Europe to Spend More on NATO or Risk a Hollowed-Out Alliance,” New York Times, October 5, 2011\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7565f07cbbf85fe46336b9fa745996a6", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power All conflicts are a threat to the entire international community.\n\nAs is discussed in the Opposition’s arguments, conflicts have the ability to spill over into other regions and to destabilize governments. Such conflicts endanger the international community because they increase the risk of irrational/non-state actors attaining weapons of mass destruction. This is problematic because irrational actors do not necessarily have a sense of self-preservation, and thus cannot be deterred by threats of mass retaliation. Thus if such an actor attains nuclear weapons, there is little that can stop them from using such weapons. Non-state actors are problematic because governments do not know with whom they are negotiating or where/how to find them. Thus the US is justified in intervening in such conflicts as a means of self-preservation.\n\nThe Pro’s argument is based on a theory of sovereignty that is already violated in most of the conflicts in which the US interferes.\n\nThe Pro’s argument is based on the notion that the proper agent to act on behalf of a group of people is a legitimate government that has earned the right to sovereignty. The Opposition does not dispute this theory. However, many of the conflicts in which the US intervenes involve abusive governments or invading nations that violate human rights on massive scales. The people that the US seeks to protect often do not have a legitimate government to represent their interests. US protection may not be the ideal means of protecting global human rights, but it is better than not protecting them at all.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5be4c03992c876d69c4032301233502f", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power The variety of checks upon the US military may prevent it from total global domination, but these checks are not sufficient to make the US a genuinely altruistic actor. The US justifies intervention on the grounds of promoting democracy, but selectively intervenes. The US has supported non-democratic regimes in Chile and Iran, [1] and Guatemala, and has relatively close relations with Saudi Arabia. The US rarely criticizes the Israeli government for expanding settlements, while at the same time providing support to rebel forces in Libya. The Pro does not contend that the US is a completely amoral actor. However, ideologically inconsistent foreign policy demonstrates that the US is willing to prioritize its own interests over the rights of other nations’ citizens. Thus the US is not an appropriate entity to protect global human rights or international stability.\n\n[1] James Risen, “Secrets of History: the C.I.A. in Iran,” New York Times, 2000.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f26a49f86a62593d5d924321799a8c32", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power US unilateral intervention is a form of the Western imperialism that has caused so much of the strife that exists in the modern world. There are alternatives –while some may contend they will be worse we do not know that this is the case. The United States would remain dominant but it would not need to use its military power in the overbearing way that it does now but rather in a much more constructive way that relies on diplomacy rather than military force. (See proposition argument)\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ed578090eb956de31e82f50784432f5f", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power Brute force is not sufficient to maintain global security. Just as one cannot simply strike a stone repeatedly and expect to replicate Michelangelo’s David, one cannot simply produce more tanks and train more soldiers and expect to resolve the complex problems that create modern global threats. The US has failed to establish a stable and safe environment in Iraq and Afghanistan despite almost 10 years of occupation. The Pro’s arguments point to failed or misguided intervention in Vietnam, Chile, Somalia, Lebanon, Grenada, Libya, and Haiti. These examples demonstrate that the US is not receiving much benefit from the vast resources it puts into its military. The US is only one country, and thus does not have the capability to view global conflicts from an international perspective. The world would be better served by greater investment in international military entities, such as NATO or UN peacekeepers. An international response to global conflict has greater perceived legitimacy than a unilateral response by one nation; perceived legitimacy reduces backlash from groups that feel victimized. Thus US military intervention is not a very effective means of attaining sustainable peace.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "092d5fcb0e3a9b91bfdc3b90ced52800", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power The Opposition correctly identifies the threat, which is nuclear war. However, hegemonic US military power is not the solution to this threat. The first nuclear arms race began during the Cold War; because neither the US nor the USSR wanted the other to have the upper hand in nuclear capacity, each produced enough weapons to destroy the entire world. In the 1970s, Pakistan developed nuclear weapons; Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto argued that “the Christians have the bomb, the Jews have the bomb, the Hindus have the bomb, why not Islam?” [1] As the US continues to increase its military strength, other nations that are not sure they can rely on the US as an ally feel compelled to increase their strength in response. This leads to a perpetual armaments race. Armaments races are a waste of resources that would be better spent on civil services, and create widespread paranoia that the other country may attack at any time. Furthermore, continuously increasing military capacity is not an effective way of combating non-state actors. Terrorist groups operate underground; because they are difficult to detect, they are most effectively addressed through community engagement with government security. Thus excessive military development puts the US and other nations at risk without effectively addressing security threats.\n\n[1] Sijo Joseph Ponnatt, “The Normative Approach to Nuclear Proliferation,” International Journal on World Peace, March 1, 2006. [ http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-152972617.html]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7edfc413be4bed5f7aa9fd0846023a9f", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power The US government’s obligation to its own people is mutually exclusive to acting on behalf of the international community.\n\nA government derives its sovereignty from a social contract with its citizens. Citizens surrender some of their freedoms in exchange for government protection; if a government does not serve its people’s best interests, it is not legitimate. Thus in any situation where the interests of the American public are not aligned with those of the global population, the US military cannot serve the international community without failing to meet its obligation to its own citizenry. Because the American public has the ability to oust a leader that does not promote their interests, the military is much more likely to choose the option of serving American interests. This may not be unreasonable behavior, but it is indicative of the need for other entities- either other nations or international organizations- to have comparable military power to that of the United States.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4c0d505ca26f04f60724af431b733eb9", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power Failure after failure has made it clear that the US military is not an effective actor for maintaining international stability.\n\nThe US military makes problems worse just as often as it makes them better. The US intervened in Vietnam on the grounds of protecting the free world from communism; over 58,000 American soldiers and approximately 2 million Vietnamese civilians were killed while the US failed to subdue the Vietcong. The United States provided covert support to Augusto Pinochet after his military coup d’etat over Chile’s democratically elected government under Salvadore Allende because the US feared Allende, a socialist, would promote communism. [1] , [2] Today, Pinochet is remembered as a bloody dictator that ruled through terror for 17 years. US intervention in Somalia in 1992-94 resulted in little more than the loss of American lives. [3] The US experienced similarly negatively results during its intervention in Beirut (1982-84), Grenada (1983), Libya (1986), and Haiti (1994). [4] More recently, the US has occupied Iraq and Afghanistan for nearly ten years without brining long-term stability to the region. The United States military needs to step down from its self-assumed role as world police officer because it is not effective and its failed attempts lead to huge civilian casualties.\n\n[1] Reel and Smith.\n\n[2] “Covert Action in Chile,” U.S. Department of State, December 19, 1975.\n\n[3] Richard W. Stewart, “The United States Army in Somalia: 1992-1994,” U.S. Army Center of Military History.\n\n[4] “A Chronology of U.S. Military Interventions: From Vietnam to the Balkans,” PBS Frontline\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "98b1f786cc58b347e924077f92172f06", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power The United States is not an appropriate agent for monitoring international security because it is only representative of one nation.\n\nThe U.S. is an independent nation, not an international entity. Thus 96% of the world population has no voice in its’ government’s decisions. [1] The US government has authority over its own citizens, and it is justified in engaging in war if its citizens are under direct threat. However, citizens of other nations have no means of expressing their opinion in the US government. If the US government abuses its power, these people have no reliable legal means of recourse. Consequently, the US government has no authority to intervene in their affairs.\n\n[1] “Country Comparison: Population,” The World Fact Book, Central Intelligence Agency.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3076f041c2154193b8b86f0fd73d8b97", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power US unilateral intervention is a form of the Western imperialism that has caused so much of the strife that exists in the modern world.\n\nWestern domination is not the answer to political conflict; it is the cause of many predicaments that result in the violation of human rights in countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East today. Former CIA analyst Michael Scheuer, who led the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, wrote in his 2005 book, Imperial Hubris, that “[Bin Laden] could not have his current- and increasing- level of success if Muslims did not believe their faith, brethren, resources, and lands to be under attack by the United States and, more generally, the West. Indeed, the United States, and its policies and actions, are Bin Laden’s only indispensable allies.” [1] The United States’ unwavering support for Israel and its dubious grounds for invading Iraq are further source of anger in the Arab world. [2] The US justifies its military dominance by arguing that terrorist groups pose a serious threat to American society, and then this military dominance increases support for such terrorist groups. America cannot act as the world police because such a system will never lead to peace.\n\n[1] Scheuer, iii.\n\n[2] Ibid.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d55efbb90124437d89807bd9029c4a6e", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power The United States is entitled to take measures to protect its citizens.\n\nIn a nuclear world, it is impossible to dismiss another nation’s instability as “their problem.” If a government with nuclear weapons collapses, irrational actors (such as ideological terrorist groups) may attain control of such weapons. Nuclear war has the potential to destroy all of humanity- even in the case of a limited conflict. Alexis Madrigal of Wired Science explains, “Imagine that the long-simmering conflict between India and Pakistan broke out into a war in which each side deployed 50 nuclear weapons against the other country’s megacities […] Beyond the local human tragedy of such a situation, a new study looking at the atmospheric chemistry of regional nuclear war finds that the hot smoke from burning cities would tear holes in the ozone layer of the Earth. The increased UV radiation resulting from the ozone loss could more than double DNA damage, and increase cancer rates across North America and Eurasia.” [1] Thus it is impossible for the US to turn a blind eye to conflicts and instability in other regions. Furthermore, the stakes of nuclear fallout are so high that very few chances can be taken. Even if the chance of a conflict ending in nuclear war is very small, the damages that would occur are so great that even small chances cannot be taken. Thus the US military is justified in intervening in international conflicts because such intervention can be decisively linked to the welfare of its citizens.\n\n[1] Madrigal.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "70b127b3adaa95d4f05b3311ea9de005", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power There are currently no viable alternatives to US military dominance.\n\nThe 2011 Libyan revolution demonstrates the world’s dependence on US military support. Although NATO unanimously agreed to intervene in the revolution, less than half participated, and even fewer actually conducted airstrikes. In August 2011, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told the Wall Street Journal “The fact is that Europe couldn’t have done this on its own […] the lack of defense investment will make it increasingly difficult for Europe to take on responsibility for international crisis management beyond Europe’s borders.” [1] Other prosperous nations criticize the US on the grounds that it needs to share military power, but these nations are not actually willing to increase their own involvement in order to share responsibility. The second largest military in the world belongs to China; because China is an emerging power, the international community cannot be sure how they will wield this power. Until US allies increase their military participation so that there are viable alternatives to US military involvement, the US cannot safely step down from its active military role.\n\n[1] Filer and MacDonald.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fe5b4d5a85a90f98ca1bd068a502e4e3", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power The United States has several qualities that allow it to act honorably on behalf of the international community.\n\nIt is essential that there is some agent in the international community that is able to step into situations that threaten global security, such as a collapsed government in a state with nuclear capacity. The US is an appropriate agent because its internal checks prevent it from abusing its military capacity. First, the US government contains a system of checks and balances that prevent an individual corrupt leader from going to war. Second, the US is a democracy; few civilians are eager to send their sons off to die in unnecessary wars. Thus political leaders must fear repercussions for engaging in excessive conflict. Third, the US is a relatively open economy; it is not unimpressionable to external influence. The Opposition does not contend that everything the US military does is perfect. However, the myriad of checks listed above ensures that excessive use of US military force will not go unchallenged, either domestically or internationally.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "46b1bfcf04d887b0950731d772214a4a", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power The United States has greater military capacity than any other entity in the world.\n\nThe US accounts for 43% of global expenditures on military. [1] The US has greater capacity to prevent global security threats than any other entity. Furthermore, the US has used limited military intervention successfully in the recent past. In 1989, the US sent 27,000 troops to Panama to protect the lives of 35,000 Americans in Panama and to protect Panama’s own citizens. The invasion led to the removal of the dictatorial leader Manuel Noriega and the implementation of an elected government. [2] In the Persian Gulf War of 1990-91, the US successfully forced Iraqi troops to retreat from Kuwait. [3] In 1995 the US used limited military tactics to protect civilians in Sarajevo from Bosnian Serb forces, leading to a peace agreement between the warring parties. [4] The Opposition does not contend that every US military intervention is or will be successful, or that military intervention is all that is necessary in addressing conflicts. The Opposition also promotes constant reevaluation of military tactics so that past tragedies are not repeated. But despite its drawbacks, US military intervention has the potential to be a source of stability and protection in the modern world from nuclear threats, terrorist attacks, and other large-scale violations of human rights.\n\n[1] “SIPRI Military Expenditure Database,” Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, 2011.\n\n[2] “A Chronology of U.S. Military Interventions: From Vietnam to the Balkans,” PBS Frontline.\n\n[3] Ibid.\n\n[4] Ibid.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
42ae906dd9cadb61d5609847d80dd8bb
There are currently no viable alternatives to US military dominance. The 2011 Libyan revolution demonstrates the world’s dependence on US military support. Although NATO unanimously agreed to intervene in the revolution, less than half participated, and even fewer actually conducted airstrikes. In August 2011, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told the Wall Street Journal “The fact is that Europe couldn’t have done this on its own […] the lack of defense investment will make it increasingly difficult for Europe to take on responsibility for international crisis management beyond Europe’s borders.” [1] Other prosperous nations criticize the US on the grounds that it needs to share military power, but these nations are not actually willing to increase their own involvement in order to share responsibility. The second largest military in the world belongs to China; because China is an emerging power, the international community cannot be sure how they will wield this power. Until US allies increase their military participation so that there are viable alternatives to US military involvement, the US cannot safely step down from its active military role. [1] Filer and MacDonald.
[ { "docid": "f26a49f86a62593d5d924321799a8c32", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power US unilateral intervention is a form of the Western imperialism that has caused so much of the strife that exists in the modern world. There are alternatives –while some may contend they will be worse we do not know that this is the case. The United States would remain dominant but it would not need to use its military power in the overbearing way that it does now but rather in a much more constructive way that relies on diplomacy rather than military force. (See proposition argument)\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "5be4c03992c876d69c4032301233502f", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power The variety of checks upon the US military may prevent it from total global domination, but these checks are not sufficient to make the US a genuinely altruistic actor. The US justifies intervention on the grounds of promoting democracy, but selectively intervenes. The US has supported non-democratic regimes in Chile and Iran, [1] and Guatemala, and has relatively close relations with Saudi Arabia. The US rarely criticizes the Israeli government for expanding settlements, while at the same time providing support to rebel forces in Libya. The Pro does not contend that the US is a completely amoral actor. However, ideologically inconsistent foreign policy demonstrates that the US is willing to prioritize its own interests over the rights of other nations’ citizens. Thus the US is not an appropriate entity to protect global human rights or international stability.\n\n[1] James Risen, “Secrets of History: the C.I.A. in Iran,” New York Times, 2000.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ed578090eb956de31e82f50784432f5f", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power Brute force is not sufficient to maintain global security. Just as one cannot simply strike a stone repeatedly and expect to replicate Michelangelo’s David, one cannot simply produce more tanks and train more soldiers and expect to resolve the complex problems that create modern global threats. The US has failed to establish a stable and safe environment in Iraq and Afghanistan despite almost 10 years of occupation. The Pro’s arguments point to failed or misguided intervention in Vietnam, Chile, Somalia, Lebanon, Grenada, Libya, and Haiti. These examples demonstrate that the US is not receiving much benefit from the vast resources it puts into its military. The US is only one country, and thus does not have the capability to view global conflicts from an international perspective. The world would be better served by greater investment in international military entities, such as NATO or UN peacekeepers. An international response to global conflict has greater perceived legitimacy than a unilateral response by one nation; perceived legitimacy reduces backlash from groups that feel victimized. Thus US military intervention is not a very effective means of attaining sustainable peace.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "092d5fcb0e3a9b91bfdc3b90ced52800", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power The Opposition correctly identifies the threat, which is nuclear war. However, hegemonic US military power is not the solution to this threat. The first nuclear arms race began during the Cold War; because neither the US nor the USSR wanted the other to have the upper hand in nuclear capacity, each produced enough weapons to destroy the entire world. In the 1970s, Pakistan developed nuclear weapons; Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto argued that “the Christians have the bomb, the Jews have the bomb, the Hindus have the bomb, why not Islam?” [1] As the US continues to increase its military strength, other nations that are not sure they can rely on the US as an ally feel compelled to increase their strength in response. This leads to a perpetual armaments race. Armaments races are a waste of resources that would be better spent on civil services, and create widespread paranoia that the other country may attack at any time. Furthermore, continuously increasing military capacity is not an effective way of combating non-state actors. Terrorist groups operate underground; because they are difficult to detect, they are most effectively addressed through community engagement with government security. Thus excessive military development puts the US and other nations at risk without effectively addressing security threats.\n\n[1] Sijo Joseph Ponnatt, “The Normative Approach to Nuclear Proliferation,” International Journal on World Peace, March 1, 2006. [ http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-152972617.html]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e738e16c8734f35aa15ec36564241baa", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power The Opposition acknowledges that the US government’s obligation to act in its own nation’s best interest reflects a flaw in the US’s international role. However, this flaw is outweighed by the benefits of US protection. First, other countries can use soft power to prevent the US from abusing its military power. In 2010, US exports exceeded $1.8 trillion and imports exceeded $2.3 trillion; international trade accounted for 14% of US GDP. [1] The US is vulnerable to economic sanctions. Furthermore, the US enjoys the position it holds in international relations; were it to lose respect and bargaining power in the international community, Americans would strongly question the wisdom of government decisions. Furthermore, Americans are strongly attached to an ideal of American morality. This ideal places a check on the nation’s willingness to engage in foreign combat without any moral justification. Thus there are checks in place to keep the US from acting only in self-interest.\n\n[1] William Baumol and Alan Blinder, Macroeconomics: Principles and Policy 12th Edition, (Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning), 2011, 23.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "935f93fd0d265d447ea7b70f04e9b70e", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power The Pro’s perspective is backwards; as long as other nations do not move towards providing viable alternatives to US military dominance, the US cannot afford to reduce its own defenses. The US should not have to provide an incentive for other nations to improve their defense systems; their own self-preservation should be a sufficient incentive. In June 2011, then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates warned that European NATO members’ reluctance to fund their share of NATO operations could be negative impacts for the alliance’s future. The New York Times related Gates’ words; “[Gates] warned of a ‘dim if not dismal future’ for the alliance unless its European members increased their participation, and he said that Washington would not forever pay for European security when the Europeans could do that for themselves.” [1] The US may be able to alter its role to be less unilateral, but it cannot do so until after other military entities improve their defense systems.\n\n[1] Erlanger.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "03b20081604ef2d688b870138ace2d2d", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power There are currently no viable alternatives to US military dominance. All would simply lead to more strife; dominance by another, probably less peaceful power, no dominance at all leading to anarchy or a balance of power, which usually leads to war as in the 18th Century. All of these options would create considerably more conflict than there is at the moment.(See Opposition argument)\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d61378a3a7d64fe03601e0eb44b15977", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power The Pro only identifies US military failures; there are also many occasions of US military success. The Opposition case details examples of military success in Panama, Kuwait, and Bosnia. The recent success of Libyan rebel attempts to overthrow Gaddafi is partially attributable to US military assistance. [1] Furthermore, US military strategy is constantly changing and adapting. The rules of international engagement change relatively quickly; when the rise of the Soviet threat rendered isolationism impossible, the US adapted its foreign policy to a bipolar world in which mutually assured destruction was an effective means of preventing direct conflict. The fall of the USSR created a multi-polar world in which MAD became a more complex and less reliable strategy. Today, the US is adjusting to the increasing threat of Islamic terrorism. These constant changes render perfect implementation of military force impossible- this impossibility is not unique to the US. But with constant reevaluation and assistance from the international community, the US can be a reasonably effective peacekeeper.\n\n[1] Steven Erlanger, “Panetta Urges Europe to Spend More on NATO or Risk a Hollowed-Out Alliance,” New York Times, October 5, 2011\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7565f07cbbf85fe46336b9fa745996a6", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power All conflicts are a threat to the entire international community.\n\nAs is discussed in the Opposition’s arguments, conflicts have the ability to spill over into other regions and to destabilize governments. Such conflicts endanger the international community because they increase the risk of irrational/non-state actors attaining weapons of mass destruction. This is problematic because irrational actors do not necessarily have a sense of self-preservation, and thus cannot be deterred by threats of mass retaliation. Thus if such an actor attains nuclear weapons, there is little that can stop them from using such weapons. Non-state actors are problematic because governments do not know with whom they are negotiating or where/how to find them. Thus the US is justified in intervening in such conflicts as a means of self-preservation.\n\nThe Pro’s argument is based on a theory of sovereignty that is already violated in most of the conflicts in which the US interferes.\n\nThe Pro’s argument is based on the notion that the proper agent to act on behalf of a group of people is a legitimate government that has earned the right to sovereignty. The Opposition does not dispute this theory. However, many of the conflicts in which the US intervenes involve abusive governments or invading nations that violate human rights on massive scales. The people that the US seeks to protect often do not have a legitimate government to represent their interests. US protection may not be the ideal means of protecting global human rights, but it is better than not protecting them at all.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d55efbb90124437d89807bd9029c4a6e", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power The United States is entitled to take measures to protect its citizens.\n\nIn a nuclear world, it is impossible to dismiss another nation’s instability as “their problem.” If a government with nuclear weapons collapses, irrational actors (such as ideological terrorist groups) may attain control of such weapons. Nuclear war has the potential to destroy all of humanity- even in the case of a limited conflict. Alexis Madrigal of Wired Science explains, “Imagine that the long-simmering conflict between India and Pakistan broke out into a war in which each side deployed 50 nuclear weapons against the other country’s megacities […] Beyond the local human tragedy of such a situation, a new study looking at the atmospheric chemistry of regional nuclear war finds that the hot smoke from burning cities would tear holes in the ozone layer of the Earth. The increased UV radiation resulting from the ozone loss could more than double DNA damage, and increase cancer rates across North America and Eurasia.” [1] Thus it is impossible for the US to turn a blind eye to conflicts and instability in other regions. Furthermore, the stakes of nuclear fallout are so high that very few chances can be taken. Even if the chance of a conflict ending in nuclear war is very small, the damages that would occur are so great that even small chances cannot be taken. Thus the US military is justified in intervening in international conflicts because such intervention can be decisively linked to the welfare of its citizens.\n\n[1] Madrigal.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fe5b4d5a85a90f98ca1bd068a502e4e3", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power The United States has several qualities that allow it to act honorably on behalf of the international community.\n\nIt is essential that there is some agent in the international community that is able to step into situations that threaten global security, such as a collapsed government in a state with nuclear capacity. The US is an appropriate agent because its internal checks prevent it from abusing its military capacity. First, the US government contains a system of checks and balances that prevent an individual corrupt leader from going to war. Second, the US is a democracy; few civilians are eager to send their sons off to die in unnecessary wars. Thus political leaders must fear repercussions for engaging in excessive conflict. Third, the US is a relatively open economy; it is not unimpressionable to external influence. The Opposition does not contend that everything the US military does is perfect. However, the myriad of checks listed above ensures that excessive use of US military force will not go unchallenged, either domestically or internationally.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "46b1bfcf04d887b0950731d772214a4a", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power The United States has greater military capacity than any other entity in the world.\n\nThe US accounts for 43% of global expenditures on military. [1] The US has greater capacity to prevent global security threats than any other entity. Furthermore, the US has used limited military intervention successfully in the recent past. In 1989, the US sent 27,000 troops to Panama to protect the lives of 35,000 Americans in Panama and to protect Panama’s own citizens. The invasion led to the removal of the dictatorial leader Manuel Noriega and the implementation of an elected government. [2] In the Persian Gulf War of 1990-91, the US successfully forced Iraqi troops to retreat from Kuwait. [3] In 1995 the US used limited military tactics to protect civilians in Sarajevo from Bosnian Serb forces, leading to a peace agreement between the warring parties. [4] The Opposition does not contend that every US military intervention is or will be successful, or that military intervention is all that is necessary in addressing conflicts. The Opposition also promotes constant reevaluation of military tactics so that past tragedies are not repeated. But despite its drawbacks, US military intervention has the potential to be a source of stability and protection in the modern world from nuclear threats, terrorist attacks, and other large-scale violations of human rights.\n\n[1] “SIPRI Military Expenditure Database,” Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, 2011.\n\n[2] “A Chronology of U.S. Military Interventions: From Vietnam to the Balkans,” PBS Frontline.\n\n[3] Ibid.\n\n[4] Ibid.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7edfc413be4bed5f7aa9fd0846023a9f", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power The US government’s obligation to its own people is mutually exclusive to acting on behalf of the international community.\n\nA government derives its sovereignty from a social contract with its citizens. Citizens surrender some of their freedoms in exchange for government protection; if a government does not serve its people’s best interests, it is not legitimate. Thus in any situation where the interests of the American public are not aligned with those of the global population, the US military cannot serve the international community without failing to meet its obligation to its own citizenry. Because the American public has the ability to oust a leader that does not promote their interests, the military is much more likely to choose the option of serving American interests. This may not be unreasonable behavior, but it is indicative of the need for other entities- either other nations or international organizations- to have comparable military power to that of the United States.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "195e9e5c9b57c83469710e625057353c", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power As long as the United States works unilaterally to quell violent conflict, progress is not being made towards a better, internationally coordinated system.\n\nThe United States spends approximately $700 trillion annually on its military; China, the world’s second largest military spender, spends $114 trillion. [1] The US outpaces other possible peacekeepers by such a large gap that these other powers have little incentive to even try to keep up. Unilateral US intervention undermines international actors such as UN troops because it communicates the US’s refusal to submit to the interests of the international community. Thus US military intervention becomes a “quick fix” which prevents genuine long-term stability\n\n[1] “SIPRI Military Expenditure Database,” Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, 2011.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4c0d505ca26f04f60724af431b733eb9", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power Failure after failure has made it clear that the US military is not an effective actor for maintaining international stability.\n\nThe US military makes problems worse just as often as it makes them better. The US intervened in Vietnam on the grounds of protecting the free world from communism; over 58,000 American soldiers and approximately 2 million Vietnamese civilians were killed while the US failed to subdue the Vietcong. The United States provided covert support to Augusto Pinochet after his military coup d’etat over Chile’s democratically elected government under Salvadore Allende because the US feared Allende, a socialist, would promote communism. [1] , [2] Today, Pinochet is remembered as a bloody dictator that ruled through terror for 17 years. US intervention in Somalia in 1992-94 resulted in little more than the loss of American lives. [3] The US experienced similarly negatively results during its intervention in Beirut (1982-84), Grenada (1983), Libya (1986), and Haiti (1994). [4] More recently, the US has occupied Iraq and Afghanistan for nearly ten years without brining long-term stability to the region. The United States military needs to step down from its self-assumed role as world police officer because it is not effective and its failed attempts lead to huge civilian casualties.\n\n[1] Reel and Smith.\n\n[2] “Covert Action in Chile,” U.S. Department of State, December 19, 1975.\n\n[3] Richard W. Stewart, “The United States Army in Somalia: 1992-1994,” U.S. Army Center of Military History.\n\n[4] “A Chronology of U.S. Military Interventions: From Vietnam to the Balkans,” PBS Frontline\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "98b1f786cc58b347e924077f92172f06", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power The United States is not an appropriate agent for monitoring international security because it is only representative of one nation.\n\nThe U.S. is an independent nation, not an international entity. Thus 96% of the world population has no voice in its’ government’s decisions. [1] The US government has authority over its own citizens, and it is justified in engaging in war if its citizens are under direct threat. However, citizens of other nations have no means of expressing their opinion in the US government. If the US government abuses its power, these people have no reliable legal means of recourse. Consequently, the US government has no authority to intervene in their affairs.\n\n[1] “Country Comparison: Population,” The World Fact Book, Central Intelligence Agency.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3076f041c2154193b8b86f0fd73d8b97", "text": "americas global politics warpeace house opposes us hegemonic military power US unilateral intervention is a form of the Western imperialism that has caused so much of the strife that exists in the modern world.\n\nWestern domination is not the answer to political conflict; it is the cause of many predicaments that result in the violation of human rights in countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East today. Former CIA analyst Michael Scheuer, who led the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, wrote in his 2005 book, Imperial Hubris, that “[Bin Laden] could not have his current- and increasing- level of success if Muslims did not believe their faith, brethren, resources, and lands to be under attack by the United States and, more generally, the West. Indeed, the United States, and its policies and actions, are Bin Laden’s only indispensable allies.” [1] The United States’ unwavering support for Israel and its dubious grounds for invading Iraq are further source of anger in the Arab world. [2] The US justifies its military dominance by arguing that terrorist groups pose a serious threat to American society, and then this military dominance increases support for such terrorist groups. America cannot act as the world police because such a system will never lead to peace.\n\n[1] Scheuer, iii.\n\n[2] Ibid.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
e009ebefacb93ac950e21a8682b31954
Giving up the rebate would mean better relations with the Europe Union It is worth giving up the rebate to remove a constant source of tension and ill-feeling between Britain and its European partners. Until the rebate is abandoned, Britain will never be at the heart of Europe. This limits our ability to promote our other interests in Europe, as every argument always ends up back at the rebate, and weakens our moral authority. Denmark for example is similarly Euro sceptic but is fiercely opposed to the UK rebate and aims to scrap it during Denmark’s next EU Presidency in 2012. [1] Because preserving the rebate has always been the Prime Minister’s priority, every other British goal has been given up instead. This led to bad deals for Britain over the ERM, at Maastricht, and in 2002 when Tony Blair accepted a Franco-German agreement to leave the CAP unreformed until 2013. This is because Britain is inevitably on its own in any possible change to the rebate whereas on almost any other issue Britain has allies. So when Britain’s opponents can link the rebate to an issue Britain may be able to keep the rebate but will in other respects be on the losing side. [2] [1] Jensen, Arne Nis, ‘The UK rebate – or rethinking the EU budget?’, 2011, p.27 [2] Rennie, David, and Helm, Toby, ‘Blair is all alone in Britain’s EU rebate row’, 2005
[ { "docid": "b62cec7f34ff3fd2057b4a9c2387230b", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate Britain does not want to be at the heart of Europe - it wants to be in the EU, but not run by the EU. Even if the rebate went, the UK would remain outside any EU “core group” of countries, as it has chosen not to join the Schengen agreement on passport free movement, and to stay outside the Euro. Both these decisions have very wide political and popular support in the UK, and neither will be changed even if the rebate was weakly given away. So tensions will continue between Britain and its European partners, but at least by defending the rebate they will know that the UK is prepared to stand up for its interests and respect it.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "310fea9154c4fa91b48498071d139d16", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate Britain should not feel sorry for the new EU members and give up its rebate out of pity for them. They chose to enter the EU and accepted the terms of membership - including the rebate arrangements. Indeed, it could be argued that membership was not necessarily good for the former communist states - having escaped one bureaucratic and ideological superstate, they have now chosen to be ruled by another, exchanging Moscow for Brussels. EU membership will impose thousands of unnecessary regulations upon them and tie them to a “European social model” which is clearly failing in the western states - both these things could hold back their economic growth and leave them poorer than they could have been outside the EU. Even the development aid they will receive will largely be wasted because it has to be spent in ways Brussels demands rather than in locally productive investment.\n\nAnd if Britain did wish to be nice to the new member states, it could do so without giving up the principle of the rebate. Tony Blair agreed to alter the rebate in December 2005. Britain would not seek rebate payments linked to new member states agricultural and regional aid spending, but should keep the rebate in terms of spending of the original 15 EU countries who agreed .\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "df84b778f08b935b7576ece9e7f1892f", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate Britain can be on good terms with the East European states without dropping the rebate. Tony Blair in his deal on the rebate in 2005 gave a good deal to the new members of the EU which gave much more in structural funds to these members and at the same time reduced the British rebate. [1]\n\n[1] White, Michael, and Watt, Nicholas, ‘Blair clinches deal with offer of big rebate cut’, 2005\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8dab95816cdb84ac5c31f1700e13106d", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate It might be worth giving up the British rebate for serious CAP reform, but it is unnecessary. If the CAP were abolished, Britain’s net payments to the EU would automatically be much smaller anyway, so the rebate (66% of the difference between the UK’s contributions to the EU and its receipts from it) would also shrink away to insignificance. CAP reform is worth doing for its own sake, and other EU countries will only agree to it once they realise that fact - offering up the rebate will make no difference. In any case, even if the rebate was a useful bargaining chip to be cashed in, there is no chance of individual countries such as France (or Eire, Spain, Greece, Italy, Belgium, etc.) agreeing to changing the CAP at present and any one country could prevent it, so Britain should hold on to the rebate card.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "59cc83297841b553802bd70d97f6e374", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate While the UK is the only country to have so far received a rebate the Commission pointed out that the Fontainbleu agreement was based on the principle that ‘….any Member State sustaining a budgetary burden which is excessive in relation to its relative prosperity may benefit from a correction at the appropriate time.’ [1] This could clearly apply to many other countries apart from Britain, Germany and other countries could therefore ask for a rebate if they wish. While there is no other compensation mechanism like the rebate there are lump sum payments to the Netherlands and Sweden [2] while Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and Austria all have reduced rates of the European portion of VAT, [3] and the same states also pay less towards the rebate. [4]\n\n[1] Patterson, Ben, ‘The UK rebate issue’, p.2 (link downloads pdf)\n\n[2] Europa, ‘Where does the money come from?’, 2010\n\n[3] Notenboom, Harry, ‘Structure and composition of the European Union own resources System’, 2009, p.17\n\n[4] Ibid, p.15\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9a9118cbff5cc0b83dc5627ff389f142", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate With the expansion of the European Union it is no longer justified that Britain should not be paying more towards the European Union, and in particular the much poorer Eastern European states which have joined. Britain cannot expect to get as much back from the European Union as it puts in. Britain should accept being one of the biggest contributors and in return would get a bigger influence one the EU, rather than being constantly frozen out of decisions by France and Germany.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c7aecd355002f9fd66ce56d373e5c3f8", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate There may be bigger problems but the rebate is symptomatic of many of them. The reason for many of Europe’s problems is the determination for member states to take from the EU but not give and to haggle over everything rather than working together. The rebate is a prime example of one state believing that it deserves a small amount of money more than others and as such should be scrapped in order to help show that both big and small problems can be tackled through one state being willing to give up something important to it in return for others doing the same on other issues.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8b5fd8a22be4f32ff0f347f1932e8514", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate When the rebate was agreed over twenty years ago, Britain was poor after decades of decline. In fact it was the third poorest state in the then European Economic Community (after Ireland and Greece) [1] , so the size of its net contribution to the budget was clearly unfair. Now the UK is one of the EU member countries and the rebate is no longer justifiable in the way it was originally justified. The sums involved are small compared to the overall UK budget - much less than the margin of error in the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s tax and spending plans, in 2003 for example Gordon Brown had to borrow £10 billion more than expected. [2] It is partly (perhaps largely) because of Margaret Thatcher’s achievements in power that the UK is so strong economically, so agreeing that the rebate is no longer necessary is a tribute to her legacy, not a betrayal.\n\n[1] OECD, ‘1984, Gross domestic product: Per head, US $, constant prices, constant PPPs, OECD base year’, 2011\n\n[2] Schifferes, Steve, ‘Chancellor to squeeze wages’, 2003\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "901c874faeb5abd2d8494323c8c3c18f", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate The rebate is bad for Britain and the EU as it leads to a complacency in the UK about the way the EU is run. Knowing that two-thirds of Britain’s net contribution will be returned anyway, British politicians and civil servants have not had to be serious about tackling waste and corruption at Brussels. Giving the rebate up would focus British minds much more clearly upon how the EU operates and would lead them to demand higher standards, both of the Commission and of their own elected representatives in the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7ada26a87cfba199529583453847ef23", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate New member states are much poorer than the UK\n\nBritain should give up the rebate in solidarity with the new member states. Most of the ten recent entrants to the EU are still struggling to overcome the legacy of communist rule and are much poorer than the previous 15 member states. In 2009 Bulgaria and Romania had less than half the average EU GDP per capita whereas the UK was about 120% EU average. [1] As one of the richest EU members, Britain has a moral responsibility to contribute its share of the money needed to allow the new member states to make a success of EU membership. It also has a self-interest in contributing to their economic development, for as they become richer their citizens will increasingly buy the services and media exports in which Britain specialises. Indeed, because the rebate is paid for by all member states the new member states will be contributing payments towards Britain’s rebate - clearly something which Britain cannot attempt to defend given the disparity in wealth.\n\n[1] Eurostat, ‘European economic statistics’, 2010, p.31\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8ba72c25ba4106ddd23d1148d3e9c352", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate Enlargement could mean a new start\n\nBritain should not alienate its natural allies among the new member states by insisting on the rebate. Like Britain, the new member states are largely economically liberal, anti-federalist regarding the future of the EU, and are pro-American in terms of foreign policy. As a result Britain is much more likely to be able to work with Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary on these issues. [1] They also recognise that Britain promoted the cause of their membership throughout the 1990s and appreciate its willingness to grant immediate free movement to their citizens who wish to work in Britain. In all these ways they are closer to Britain than to France or Germany, the two big states who have traditionally dominated EU decision-making. Enlargement presents Britain with a great opportunity to influence the future direction of Europe in partnership with these new states, but this opportunity will be lost if British insists on the rebate regardless of Central and Eastern European opinion.\n\n[1] Number 10, ‘Transcript of press conference given by the Prime Minister David Cameron at the EU Summit in Brussels on 17 December 2010’, 2010\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0935a8ff6cd94e63924134514bde207b", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate The rebate should go in exchange for CAP reform\n\nIt is worth giving the rebate up in exchange for serious reform of the EU budget, particularly of the Common Agricultural Policy which spends 40% of the EU’s budget [1] on 3% of its population. [2] The CAP not only wastes taxpayers’ money, it also raises the cost of food for European consumers, ruins the environment and prevents poor farmers in the developing world from trading their way out of poverty. Even in its own terms it is a disaster, for most CAP money goes to a small number of rich landowners running huge agribusiness estates, not to small-scale peasant farmers preserving the traditional rural way of life. If offering to give up the British rebate helps to get agreement on reform, then it is a sacrifice well worth making. Britain on the other hand favors using CAP more to protect the environment rather than encourage food production. [3]\n\n[1] Europa, ‘Budget 2011 in figures’, 2011\n\n[2] Eurobarometer, ‘Europeans, Agriculture and the Common Agricultural Policy’, 2007, p.9\n\n[3] Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, ‘The Common Agricultural Policy after 2013’, 2011\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1428d006e454420fbff3a54352707f26", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate The Rebate is not justified\n\nThe British rebate is an undeserved anomaly - no other country has a similar arrangement to pay back part of its contribution to the EU budget. Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden all make a bigger net contribution to the EU than Britain does (in proportion to the size of their populations), [1] yet they do get special treatment. Britain knew how the EU operated when it chose to join more than thirty years ago - if it didn’t like the structure of the budget, whereby rich countries pay more than poor ones, it could have stayed outside. In any case, a few billion Euros a year is a small sum to pay for access to a huge continent-wide market, the department for Business Innovation & Skills estimated that GDP in 2006 was 2.2% higher than it would have been without a single market, [2] in Britain this would be almost $50billion.\n\n[1] BBC News, ‘EU Budget’, 2007\n\n[2] BIS, ‘The Benefits and Achievements of EU Single Market’\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b8a9dd779f97f5a2fa2f23a8d53cf4cf", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate The Rebate makes membership acceptable to the British people\n\nThe EU is a vast wasteful bureaucracy, for example creating a ‘House of European History’ for €14 million, [1] and is beyond reform. Anything to limit Britain’s contribution to this monster with pretensions to becoming a super-state is desirable. Many in the UK, between 35 and 65% of the population, [2] would prefer that we withdrew altogether, but if we can’t at least we should “starve the beast” by limiting the amount of money we give it to do harm with. Even if you think Britain should stay in the EU, you must recognise that the rebate is one of the only things that makes EU membership acceptable to ordinary people. Giving up the rebate is likely to swing British opinion strongly in favour of withdrawal.\n\n[1] Banks, Martin, ‘Parliament hits back at claims of ‘wasteful’ spending plans’, 2011\n\n[2] Hannan, Daniel, ‘Would Britain vote to leave the EU?’, 2009\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ac68d861ecd854ad9c04dfc18d69926d", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate Europe needs to tackle much bigger problems\n\nThose EU leaders who are most critical of the rebate are ignoring the EU’s real and serious problems by spending large amounts of time in rows with Britain over the rebate. Europe has immense problems such as persistent 10% unemployment, which has gone up as a result of the financial crisis, the rejection of the EU constitution by voters, the challenge of globalisation, the failure to make the single market in services work fairly, corruption and waste at Brussels, etc. This is even before the immense difficulties with the Euro which the Eurozone is currently suffering from. All these issues are much more important than the rebate for the future of the European Union. If Europe can once again become competitive economically then the financial gains for Europe will be much greater than persuading Britain to drop the rebate.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f9ed2d0d4f5c619c7b8cbb5f63f1af47", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate Britain should not pay more than other countries\n\nBritain’s rebate is completely justified. Without it Britain would pay far more into the EU than it ever received back. The UK government argues “Without the rebate, the UK's net contribution as a percentage of national income would be twice as big as France's, and 1.5 times bigger than Germany's.” [1] This is because most of the EU’s budget goes to pay for the costs of the Common Agricultural Policy and regional aid programmes. The UK’s farming sector is a very small part of the economy, and very few of its regions count as poor in Europe-wide terms, so Britain receives little funding back from the EU. Meanwhile as a result of new members joining the EU development funding has been taken away from poorer areas of Britain, many of which will no longer be eligible, to be redirected to Eastern and Central European countries which need it much more, [2] Britain’s net contribution to the EU budget will go up .The rebate recognises this and returns two-thirds of the UK’s net EU contribution (payments less receipts) every year. Even with the rebate, the UK is still the second biggest net contributor (proportional to population) of all the EU states. Over the past ten years Britain has contributed 2½ times as much to the EU budget as France has [3] - and without the rebate it would have been 15 times as much!\n\n[1] BBC News, ‘EU budget commissioner calls for UK rebate to end’, 2010\n\n[2] European Union Committee, ‘Future Financing of the European Union’, 2005, p.154\n\n[3] The Economist, ‘About a rebate’, 2005\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6fb8f4d1aa93790215f9a2f0ec8a9801", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate The rebate could never be regained\n\nMargaret Thatcher fought for four years to win the rebate for Britain, famously wielding her handbag at EU summits until it was agreed. Giving it up is a clear betrayal of Thatcher’s legacy and shows the present government’s unwillingness to stand up for Britain’s interests in Brussels. With the situation now different due to there being more members there is no chance of any future British Prime Minister being able to repeat Mrs Thatcher’s achievement of 1984, so once the rebate is given up, it can never be regained.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
ef8a8d5d9f4873948184567b6adec614
The rebate could never be regained Margaret Thatcher fought for four years to win the rebate for Britain, famously wielding her handbag at EU summits until it was agreed. Giving it up is a clear betrayal of Thatcher’s legacy and shows the present government’s unwillingness to stand up for Britain’s interests in Brussels. With the situation now different due to there being more members there is no chance of any future British Prime Minister being able to repeat Mrs Thatcher’s achievement of 1984, so once the rebate is given up, it can never be regained.
[ { "docid": "8b5fd8a22be4f32ff0f347f1932e8514", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate When the rebate was agreed over twenty years ago, Britain was poor after decades of decline. In fact it was the third poorest state in the then European Economic Community (after Ireland and Greece) [1] , so the size of its net contribution to the budget was clearly unfair. Now the UK is one of the EU member countries and the rebate is no longer justifiable in the way it was originally justified. The sums involved are small compared to the overall UK budget - much less than the margin of error in the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s tax and spending plans, in 2003 for example Gordon Brown had to borrow £10 billion more than expected. [2] It is partly (perhaps largely) because of Margaret Thatcher’s achievements in power that the UK is so strong economically, so agreeing that the rebate is no longer necessary is a tribute to her legacy, not a betrayal.\n\n[1] OECD, ‘1984, Gross domestic product: Per head, US $, constant prices, constant PPPs, OECD base year’, 2011\n\n[2] Schifferes, Steve, ‘Chancellor to squeeze wages’, 2003\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "9a9118cbff5cc0b83dc5627ff389f142", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate With the expansion of the European Union it is no longer justified that Britain should not be paying more towards the European Union, and in particular the much poorer Eastern European states which have joined. Britain cannot expect to get as much back from the European Union as it puts in. Britain should accept being one of the biggest contributors and in return would get a bigger influence one the EU, rather than being constantly frozen out of decisions by France and Germany.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c7aecd355002f9fd66ce56d373e5c3f8", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate There may be bigger problems but the rebate is symptomatic of many of them. The reason for many of Europe’s problems is the determination for member states to take from the EU but not give and to haggle over everything rather than working together. The rebate is a prime example of one state believing that it deserves a small amount of money more than others and as such should be scrapped in order to help show that both big and small problems can be tackled through one state being willing to give up something important to it in return for others doing the same on other issues.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "901c874faeb5abd2d8494323c8c3c18f", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate The rebate is bad for Britain and the EU as it leads to a complacency in the UK about the way the EU is run. Knowing that two-thirds of Britain’s net contribution will be returned anyway, British politicians and civil servants have not had to be serious about tackling waste and corruption at Brussels. Giving the rebate up would focus British minds much more clearly upon how the EU operates and would lead them to demand higher standards, both of the Commission and of their own elected representatives in the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "310fea9154c4fa91b48498071d139d16", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate Britain should not feel sorry for the new EU members and give up its rebate out of pity for them. They chose to enter the EU and accepted the terms of membership - including the rebate arrangements. Indeed, it could be argued that membership was not necessarily good for the former communist states - having escaped one bureaucratic and ideological superstate, they have now chosen to be ruled by another, exchanging Moscow for Brussels. EU membership will impose thousands of unnecessary regulations upon them and tie them to a “European social model” which is clearly failing in the western states - both these things could hold back their economic growth and leave them poorer than they could have been outside the EU. Even the development aid they will receive will largely be wasted because it has to be spent in ways Brussels demands rather than in locally productive investment.\n\nAnd if Britain did wish to be nice to the new member states, it could do so without giving up the principle of the rebate. Tony Blair agreed to alter the rebate in December 2005. Britain would not seek rebate payments linked to new member states agricultural and regional aid spending, but should keep the rebate in terms of spending of the original 15 EU countries who agreed .\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "df84b778f08b935b7576ece9e7f1892f", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate Britain can be on good terms with the East European states without dropping the rebate. Tony Blair in his deal on the rebate in 2005 gave a good deal to the new members of the EU which gave much more in structural funds to these members and at the same time reduced the British rebate. [1]\n\n[1] White, Michael, and Watt, Nicholas, ‘Blair clinches deal with offer of big rebate cut’, 2005\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b62cec7f34ff3fd2057b4a9c2387230b", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate Britain does not want to be at the heart of Europe - it wants to be in the EU, but not run by the EU. Even if the rebate went, the UK would remain outside any EU “core group” of countries, as it has chosen not to join the Schengen agreement on passport free movement, and to stay outside the Euro. Both these decisions have very wide political and popular support in the UK, and neither will be changed even if the rebate was weakly given away. So tensions will continue between Britain and its European partners, but at least by defending the rebate they will know that the UK is prepared to stand up for its interests and respect it.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8dab95816cdb84ac5c31f1700e13106d", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate It might be worth giving up the British rebate for serious CAP reform, but it is unnecessary. If the CAP were abolished, Britain’s net payments to the EU would automatically be much smaller anyway, so the rebate (66% of the difference between the UK’s contributions to the EU and its receipts from it) would also shrink away to insignificance. CAP reform is worth doing for its own sake, and other EU countries will only agree to it once they realise that fact - offering up the rebate will make no difference. In any case, even if the rebate was a useful bargaining chip to be cashed in, there is no chance of individual countries such as France (or Eire, Spain, Greece, Italy, Belgium, etc.) agreeing to changing the CAP at present and any one country could prevent it, so Britain should hold on to the rebate card.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "59cc83297841b553802bd70d97f6e374", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate While the UK is the only country to have so far received a rebate the Commission pointed out that the Fontainbleu agreement was based on the principle that ‘….any Member State sustaining a budgetary burden which is excessive in relation to its relative prosperity may benefit from a correction at the appropriate time.’ [1] This could clearly apply to many other countries apart from Britain, Germany and other countries could therefore ask for a rebate if they wish. While there is no other compensation mechanism like the rebate there are lump sum payments to the Netherlands and Sweden [2] while Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and Austria all have reduced rates of the European portion of VAT, [3] and the same states also pay less towards the rebate. [4]\n\n[1] Patterson, Ben, ‘The UK rebate issue’, p.2 (link downloads pdf)\n\n[2] Europa, ‘Where does the money come from?’, 2010\n\n[3] Notenboom, Harry, ‘Structure and composition of the European Union own resources System’, 2009, p.17\n\n[4] Ibid, p.15\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b8a9dd779f97f5a2fa2f23a8d53cf4cf", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate The Rebate makes membership acceptable to the British people\n\nThe EU is a vast wasteful bureaucracy, for example creating a ‘House of European History’ for €14 million, [1] and is beyond reform. Anything to limit Britain’s contribution to this monster with pretensions to becoming a super-state is desirable. Many in the UK, between 35 and 65% of the population, [2] would prefer that we withdrew altogether, but if we can’t at least we should “starve the beast” by limiting the amount of money we give it to do harm with. Even if you think Britain should stay in the EU, you must recognise that the rebate is one of the only things that makes EU membership acceptable to ordinary people. Giving up the rebate is likely to swing British opinion strongly in favour of withdrawal.\n\n[1] Banks, Martin, ‘Parliament hits back at claims of ‘wasteful’ spending plans’, 2011\n\n[2] Hannan, Daniel, ‘Would Britain vote to leave the EU?’, 2009\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ac68d861ecd854ad9c04dfc18d69926d", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate Europe needs to tackle much bigger problems\n\nThose EU leaders who are most critical of the rebate are ignoring the EU’s real and serious problems by spending large amounts of time in rows with Britain over the rebate. Europe has immense problems such as persistent 10% unemployment, which has gone up as a result of the financial crisis, the rejection of the EU constitution by voters, the challenge of globalisation, the failure to make the single market in services work fairly, corruption and waste at Brussels, etc. This is even before the immense difficulties with the Euro which the Eurozone is currently suffering from. All these issues are much more important than the rebate for the future of the European Union. If Europe can once again become competitive economically then the financial gains for Europe will be much greater than persuading Britain to drop the rebate.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f9ed2d0d4f5c619c7b8cbb5f63f1af47", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate Britain should not pay more than other countries\n\nBritain’s rebate is completely justified. Without it Britain would pay far more into the EU than it ever received back. The UK government argues “Without the rebate, the UK's net contribution as a percentage of national income would be twice as big as France's, and 1.5 times bigger than Germany's.” [1] This is because most of the EU’s budget goes to pay for the costs of the Common Agricultural Policy and regional aid programmes. The UK’s farming sector is a very small part of the economy, and very few of its regions count as poor in Europe-wide terms, so Britain receives little funding back from the EU. Meanwhile as a result of new members joining the EU development funding has been taken away from poorer areas of Britain, many of which will no longer be eligible, to be redirected to Eastern and Central European countries which need it much more, [2] Britain’s net contribution to the EU budget will go up .The rebate recognises this and returns two-thirds of the UK’s net EU contribution (payments less receipts) every year. Even with the rebate, the UK is still the second biggest net contributor (proportional to population) of all the EU states. Over the past ten years Britain has contributed 2½ times as much to the EU budget as France has [3] - and without the rebate it would have been 15 times as much!\n\n[1] BBC News, ‘EU budget commissioner calls for UK rebate to end’, 2010\n\n[2] European Union Committee, ‘Future Financing of the European Union’, 2005, p.154\n\n[3] The Economist, ‘About a rebate’, 2005\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7ada26a87cfba199529583453847ef23", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate New member states are much poorer than the UK\n\nBritain should give up the rebate in solidarity with the new member states. Most of the ten recent entrants to the EU are still struggling to overcome the legacy of communist rule and are much poorer than the previous 15 member states. In 2009 Bulgaria and Romania had less than half the average EU GDP per capita whereas the UK was about 120% EU average. [1] As one of the richest EU members, Britain has a moral responsibility to contribute its share of the money needed to allow the new member states to make a success of EU membership. It also has a self-interest in contributing to their economic development, for as they become richer their citizens will increasingly buy the services and media exports in which Britain specialises. Indeed, because the rebate is paid for by all member states the new member states will be contributing payments towards Britain’s rebate - clearly something which Britain cannot attempt to defend given the disparity in wealth.\n\n[1] Eurostat, ‘European economic statistics’, 2010, p.31\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8ba72c25ba4106ddd23d1148d3e9c352", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate Enlargement could mean a new start\n\nBritain should not alienate its natural allies among the new member states by insisting on the rebate. Like Britain, the new member states are largely economically liberal, anti-federalist regarding the future of the EU, and are pro-American in terms of foreign policy. As a result Britain is much more likely to be able to work with Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary on these issues. [1] They also recognise that Britain promoted the cause of their membership throughout the 1990s and appreciate its willingness to grant immediate free movement to their citizens who wish to work in Britain. In all these ways they are closer to Britain than to France or Germany, the two big states who have traditionally dominated EU decision-making. Enlargement presents Britain with a great opportunity to influence the future direction of Europe in partnership with these new states, but this opportunity will be lost if British insists on the rebate regardless of Central and Eastern European opinion.\n\n[1] Number 10, ‘Transcript of press conference given by the Prime Minister David Cameron at the EU Summit in Brussels on 17 December 2010’, 2010\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0935a8ff6cd94e63924134514bde207b", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate The rebate should go in exchange for CAP reform\n\nIt is worth giving the rebate up in exchange for serious reform of the EU budget, particularly of the Common Agricultural Policy which spends 40% of the EU’s budget [1] on 3% of its population. [2] The CAP not only wastes taxpayers’ money, it also raises the cost of food for European consumers, ruins the environment and prevents poor farmers in the developing world from trading their way out of poverty. Even in its own terms it is a disaster, for most CAP money goes to a small number of rich landowners running huge agribusiness estates, not to small-scale peasant farmers preserving the traditional rural way of life. If offering to give up the British rebate helps to get agreement on reform, then it is a sacrifice well worth making. Britain on the other hand favors using CAP more to protect the environment rather than encourage food production. [3]\n\n[1] Europa, ‘Budget 2011 in figures’, 2011\n\n[2] Eurobarometer, ‘Europeans, Agriculture and the Common Agricultural Policy’, 2007, p.9\n\n[3] Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, ‘The Common Agricultural Policy after 2013’, 2011\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1428d006e454420fbff3a54352707f26", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate The Rebate is not justified\n\nThe British rebate is an undeserved anomaly - no other country has a similar arrangement to pay back part of its contribution to the EU budget. Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden all make a bigger net contribution to the EU than Britain does (in proportion to the size of their populations), [1] yet they do get special treatment. Britain knew how the EU operated when it chose to join more than thirty years ago - if it didn’t like the structure of the budget, whereby rich countries pay more than poor ones, it could have stayed outside. In any case, a few billion Euros a year is a small sum to pay for access to a huge continent-wide market, the department for Business Innovation & Skills estimated that GDP in 2006 was 2.2% higher than it would have been without a single market, [2] in Britain this would be almost $50billion.\n\n[1] BBC News, ‘EU Budget’, 2007\n\n[2] BIS, ‘The Benefits and Achievements of EU Single Market’\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5be81e834dd678efbad4029bc73debb3", "text": "europe house believes britain should give its eu rebate Giving up the rebate would mean better relations with the Europe Union\n\nIt is worth giving up the rebate to remove a constant source of tension and ill-feeling between Britain and its European partners. Until the rebate is abandoned, Britain will never be at the heart of Europe. This limits our ability to promote our other interests in Europe, as every argument always ends up back at the rebate, and weakens our moral authority. Denmark for example is similarly Euro sceptic but is fiercely opposed to the UK rebate and aims to scrap it during Denmark’s next EU Presidency in 2012. [1] Because preserving the rebate has always been the Prime Minister’s priority, every other British goal has been given up instead. This led to bad deals for Britain over the ERM, at Maastricht, and in 2002 when Tony Blair accepted a Franco-German agreement to leave the CAP unreformed until 2013. This is because Britain is inevitably on its own in any possible change to the rebate whereas on almost any other issue Britain has allies. So when Britain’s opponents can link the rebate to an issue Britain may be able to keep the rebate but will in other respects be on the losing side. [2]\n\n[1] Jensen, Arne Nis, ‘The UK rebate – or rethinking the EU budget?’, 2011, p.27\n\n[2] Rennie, David, and Helm, Toby, ‘Blair is all alone in Britain’s EU rebate row’, 2005\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
8e45d171f11ff682bfaf2703bf9e745c
Neo-functionalism explains the cause of integration Spill-over is the following concept – in order to enjoy the full benefits of integration of the first sector you need to integrate the related sectors. An example of this is the ECSC (European Coal and Steel Community) evolving into other energy sectors and forming Euratom. There are three types of spill-over – functional spill-over, political spill-over and cultivated spill-over. Firstly, functional spill-over, which regards spill-over in an economic context. For example, this might involve integrating coal and steel, then integrating transport systems so that coal and steel are moved around more easily. Secondly, there is Political spill-over, where political actors shift their allegiance to a new centre, for example from the national parliament to Brussels. Thirdly, there is cultivated spill-over, which is the idea that institutions drive further integration by being in practice; for example the European Commission’s growing autonomy. [1] [1] Tranholm-Mikkelsen, Jeppe "Neo-functionalism: Obstinate or Obsolete? A Reappraisal in the Light of the New Dynamism of the EC Millennium - Journal of International Studies, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp.1-22, http://www.df.lth.se/~cml/spill-over.txt
[ { "docid": "39cf72f5e67d83d749814e23ceafe970", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political The counter theory to spill-over is the logic of diversity. Neo-functionalism is flawed as it assumes that integration in low politics (economic) will lead to integration in areas of high politics. This is not possible as issues of high politics are integral to the national interest; so integration will only be possible when national interests coincide, which is possible but unlikely. Neo-functionalism believes areas of high politics can be cultivated into integration, whereas intergovernmentalism believes that the fate of the nation-state should never be subject to the decisions of others.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "3c326f9faaa6808383e47641187ad2b0", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political Neo-functionalism believes in building a community Europe, but then the question is raised, what is the purpose of this new entity? There is no common outlook and getting the major powers of Europe to agree what this should be will be near impossible. Intergovernmentalists would also argue that economic determinism regarding integration is wrong. As they believe national governments have to consciously make these decisions and will not be economically driven alone, ‘Extensive cooperation is not at all ruled out: on the contrary, such cooperation will benefit all participants as long as it corresponds to and enhances mutual interests’. It will always be politics that drive integration, while the motive may be economic – to solve a crisis or even just to profit – the key decisions by all actors will be political. [1]\n\n[1] Martell, Luke, ‘Globalisation and Economic Determinism’, Paper given at Global Studies Association conference, Challenging Globalization, September 2009, www.sussex.ac.uk/Users/ssfa2/globecdet.pdf , p.4\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "72c37fd9e93dd8b02a4d79dee6194475", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political The role of elites acting in their national interest better explains the logic behind integration. Key players such as Charles De Gaulle and his untiring opposition to British membership and Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) in the Council of Ministers and his success in gaining what he set out to achieve through the Luxembourg compromise demonstrates that the true power actually lay with him and the state. Another example to contradicting the role Delors played was that of Margaret Thatcher. Her relentless demand for a British rebate (1979) and general demeanour in the European Council demonstrated a powerful state elite getting her way. The single market came about because Thatcher wanted it more than most and was thus willing to compromise on certain areas of the Single European Act (i.e. on QMV in the Council of Ministers). [1] It is because of this that the role of individual elites is far superior to that of supranational entrepreneurs.\n\n[1] Dinan, Desmond, ‘The Single European Act’, European Union Centre of Excellence, http://euce.dal.ca/Files/Dinan_SEA_paper.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d6f9181959df3b82db6c75cde1efdd5a", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political Neo-functionalism is too simple, it does not account for external forces well, as some states have better defined their international position more towards US hegemony than towards each other. “Whereas in economic issues (soft power) the EU has been able to respond to the US in trade disputes, in political and security affairs (hard power) the panorama is mostly discouraging“. [1] Intergovernmentalism rejects economic determinism and therefore rejects Neo-functionalism’s ability to predict. Neo-functionalism may provide a starting point for analysis but it requires much more to be able to explain other pressures of integration.\n\n[1] Dominguez-Rivera, Roberto, ‘Dealing with the U.S. hegemony: soft and hard power in the external relations of the EU’, 8th International Conference of the European Union Studies Association, 27 March 2003, http://aei.pitt.edu/6481/1/000459_1.PDF\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d3502b65200b89d21913c68e92b85eb7", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political Intergovernmentalism assumes states to be the core actors, this is difficult to deny as most economic boundaries and policies are administered by the nation state. It believes that the logic of diversity will prevail in areas of high politics (e.g. security), however it does accept the logic of integration in low politics, that when interests coincide integration is possible (when there is consensus among elites, similar external situations and domestic politics situations). Intergovernmentalism does not allow for the idealist aim of transforming the regional system to a ‘better’ order as what qualifies as ‘better’? The logic of diversity denies the possibility of states agreeing on what is ‘better’.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ff957070ac37f47af3d4a83e2e7e9e0c", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political Ernst B. Haas was the founder of Neo-functionalism in 1951, Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen identified the 3 types of spill-over within the theory. However neither author placed a time limit on how long the integration process would take. The revival of European integration in 1985 shows it may be many years between instances when Neo-functionalism is an adequate theory for explaining integration. This may be equally coming true in the financial crisis as the Euro is necessitating further reforms and may well lead to much greater integration in order to have the tools prevent members being forced out. The political spill-over concept makes account for the fact that national elites 'will undergo a learning process, developing the perception that their interests will be better served by seeking supranational than national solutions'. [1]\n\n[1] Tranholm-Mikkelsen, Jeppe, ‘Neo-functionalism: Obstinate or Obsolete? A Reappraisal in the Light of the New Dynamism of the EC’, Millennium - Journal of International Studies, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp.1-22, http://mil.sagepub.com/content/20/1/1.extract\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ca0cea532dc88e2efdae3c3448a9d77f", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political Neo-functionalism has a liberal view of the international system; whereby agreements can be easily reached.\n\nActually the European Union has proven the exact opposite of the statement – “Nations prefer the certainty, or the self-controlled uncertainty, of national self-reliance, to the uncontrolled uncertainty of the untested blender” as they give more and more power to the united institutions of the European Union – the European Commission and the European Parliament. The most recent treaty, the Lisbon treaty, proves this as it gives more rights to the EU on account of national power Lisbon’ gives the European Parliament a much greater say in the EU’s decision-making process, it reduced national vetos, created a president and a representative for foreign affairs. [1]\n\n[1] Europa, ‘Treaty of Lisbon: The Treaty at a glance’, Europa.eu, http://europa.eu/lisbon_treaty/glance/index_en.htm\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "83857a1b8385b92049fc31e83d632ae2", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political The Empty Chair Crisis of 1965 may lead some to presume that National governments are all powerful, but it may have just been a ‘speed-bump’ on the road of spillover. Ben Rosamond (2005) [1] did a reassessment of Haas and concluded that he never abandoned Neofunctionalism; he just changed it and accepted more the view of ‘Complex Interdependence’. The revival of integration since 1985 including the Treaty of Maastricht 1991 led to co-decision procedures which are an example of Political spillover as political decisions and procedure moved to the supranational level.\n\n[1] Rosamond, Ben, 'The Uniting of Europe and the Foundations of EU Studies: Revisiting the Neofunctionalism of Enrst B. Haas', Journal of European Public Policy, Vol. 12, No. 2, 2005, pp. 237-254, http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/1076/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "dab2398d98e56c1e39c3c95f16b44df6", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political Intergovernmentalism too has proved 'out of date'. It fails to pay enough attention to supranational institutions; its focus is too exclusively on big treaty negotiations and fails to understand to increasing importance of economic issues. Intergovernmentalism as a theory collapses in the view of actual integration taking place: the revival of integration from mid-1980s onwards. In the 1990s Intergovernmentalism was supplanted by 'Liberal Intergovernmentalism' from the scholar Andrew Moravcsik in his work 'Preferences and Power in the European Community: A liberal Intergovernmentalist Approach' (1993). [1]\n\n[1] Moravcsik, Andrew, ‘Preferences and Power in the European Community: A Liberal Intergovernmentalist Approach’, Journal of Common Market Studies (30th Anniversary Edition) (December 1993). http://www.princeton.edu/~amoravcs/library/preferences1.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d60152b7f3d3828e9b601a924421ff3d", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political Neo-functionalism proposes a purpose to EU integration.\n\nNeo-functionalism proposed building a community Europe, through the concept of spillover the theory proposes economic determinism. Spill-over will eventually lead to a completely integrated Europe with a strong central government. This has not yet been proved true, as EU integration has become a long and difficult process. This is understandable since it is not exactly easy to integrate together all those policies, economies and people. However this would most probably be the eventual result, which is already visible: The experience of the European Union (EU) is widely perceived as not just an example, but the model for regional integration. In recent years, the EU has also been pursuing an increasing number of trade agreements which may in turn lead to spillover. [1] Furthermore the recent enlargements of the EU in Eastern Europe, as well as the ongoing negotiations with Croatia and Turkey have renewed the academic and political interest in the effects of European Economic integration. [2]\n\nOne of the theory’s strengths is to predict the outcome of integration and an eventual conclusion to the process, allowing for political and economic aims to be made and realised. For example ‘Larger companies have been acting on the assumption that the internal market will eventually be established’. [3]\n\n[1] Bilal, Sanoussi, ‘Can the EU Be a Model of Regional Integration?’, Paper to be presented at the CODESRIA - Globalisation Studies Network (GSN), 29-31 August 2005, http://www.ecdpm.org/Web_ECDPM/Web/Content/Download.nsf/0/52D667FD6C95057DC125719D004B65F6/$FILE/Bilal%20-%20Can%20EU%20be%20a%20model%20of%20RI%20Draft%20for%20comments.pdf\n\n[2] Lafourcade, Miren, and Paluzie, Elisenda, ‘European Integration, FDI and the Internal Geography of Trade: Evidence from Western-European Border Regions’, 23 December 2004, www.cepr.org/RESEARCH/Networks/TID/Paluzie.pdf\n\n[3] Tranholm-Mikkelsen, Jeppe, ‘Neo-functionalism: Obstinate or Obsolete? A Reappraisal in the Light of the New Dynamism of the EC’, Millennium - Journal of International Studies, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp.1-22, http://mil.sagepub.com/content/20/1/1.extract\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "81805ebbd6d4796e7fbec4787364b9c6", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political Supranational Entrepreneurs played a crucial role in integration\n\nThe role of supranational entrepreneurs within the development of integration within Europe has been crucial. Characters such as Jean Monnet envisaged and worked continuously towards uniting Europe. As the head of France's General Planning Commission, Monnet was the real author of what has become known as the 1950 Schuman Plan to create the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), forerunner of the Common Market. Later a similar role was played by Jacques Delors with the creation of the Single European Act (SEA) and the all-important 1992 project that would see the single market and eventually fully Economic and Monetary Union complete. These characters act in support of integration within Europe and represent an empirical example of cultivated spill-over. Unmitigated pressure from Delors in pushing for the single market ensured that it became a reality in the time it did.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "109739b2841e728c9d976ad4c3aa1a20", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political Neo-functionalism - liberal theory of regional integration\n\nNeo-functionalism is an example of a liberal theory of regional integration. Its focus is on human welfare needs, not political conflict and law. Its focus is on individuals aggregated into interest groups as the main actors in integration, so the focus is on low politics and the areas which become integrated in the European Union reflect that. As such there has been much more progress on economic integration than there has on creating a common foreign and security policy. [1]\n\nIt also accepts the independent role of international organisations and that the transformation of the international regional system towards a better order is feasible so making the European Union a project worth investing effort in.\n\n[1] Center for European studies, ‘European Union –Common Foreign and Security Policy’, unc.edu, http://www.unc.edu/depts/europe/conferences/eu/Cfsp/cfsp1.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3f33d0e7464867498458d549818b74a6", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political Neo-functionalism provides a good starting point for EU analysis.\n\nNeo-functionalism is an accessible theory which provides a good starting point for analysis. As a theory it has the advantages of being able to predict the outcome of integration and clearly explains which actors must be studied in order to explain integration. Haas and Lindberg’s “main thesis was that sectorial integration was inherently expansive - integration of some functional tasks would tend to spill over into\n\nintegration of other tasks(…) In the basis of this analysis, Haas argued that an acceleration of the\n\nintegration process could be 'safely predicted' and that it might lead to a 'political community of Europe' within a decade”. [1]\n\n[1] Tranholm-Mikkelsen, Jeppe \"Neo-functionalism: Obstinate or Obsolete? A Reappraisal in the Light of the New Dynamism of the EC Millennium - Journal of International Studies, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp.1-22, http://www.df.lth.se/~cml/spill-over.txt\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "03b342116cd79f5b5fbef32a3744b2be", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political The Founder of Neo-functionalism abandoned his own Theory (Haas).\n\nThe Founder of Neo-functionalist theory Ernst B. Haas later abandoned his own theory; According to Tranholm-Mikkelsen (1991)- “By the mid-1970 s, Ernst Haas had effectively abandoned the neo-functionalist theory by assimilating it within general interdependence theories of international relations”. [1] The theory proved a success in the economic realm but a fiasco in high politics; “…at the time of the ‘empty chair’ crisis [see next point] neo-functionalism was considered too incapable of describing the process of integration in general because of its extreme Eurocentric nature. Rosamond states that it is emerged from the process of complex web of actors pursuing their interests within a pluralist political environment.” [2] Neo-functionalism remained a partial theory, good at explaining particular parts of integration but required supplanting by other theories to keep it relevant.\n\n[1] Tranholm-Mikkelsen, Jeppe, ‘Neo-functionalism: Obstinate or Obsolete? A Reappraisal in the Light of the New Dynamism of the EC’, Millennium - Journal of International Studies, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp.1-22, http://mil.sagepub.com/content/20/1/1.extract\n\n[2] ‘European Political Theories: Neo – functionalism’, May 2011, http://testpolitics.pbworks.com/w/page/25795541/Neo%20-%20functionalism\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fcabe03ef6e7f11d3807a41d38cf4f01", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political The international system is characterised by anarchy and the distribution of economic and military capabilities\n\nStanley Hoffman used a Neo-Realist view of International relations to build the theory of intergovernmentalism. In a neo-realist understanding the international system is characterised by anarchy and the distribution of economic and military capabilities is of primary importance. States will not trust each other but can still reach agreement, but the agreement will be characterised by bargaining and negotiation (not an automatic process!) ‘Nations prefer the certainty, or the self-controlled uncertainty, of national self-reliance, to the uncontrolled uncertainty of the untested blender’. [1]\n\n[1] Wikipedia, ‘Intergovernmentalism’, en.wikipedia.org, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intergovernmentalism\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "844cf7655fc87653add2d073c2ea151f", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political The assumption of the automaticity of Spill-over is wrong.\n\nThe core of Neo-functionalism that spill-over being the main driving force behind continuing integration assumed the automaticity of integration. Once integration has started it will be a self-continuing force that will eventually integrate the whole of Europe - is clearly wrong. Supranational functionalism 'assumed first, that national sovereignty, already devalued by events, could be chewed up leaf by leaf like an artichoke'. [1] The functional method of spill-over is very limited, its success in the relatively painless area in which it works relatively well lifts the participants to the level of issues to which it does not apply well any more. For example no common defence or foreign policy within the community project has been successful. This failure in high politics is fundamental, without a coordinated foreign and security policy the role of the EU in the world is open to question. Opposition too much further enlargement reduces the role the EU can play outside the union unless a common foreign policy can be agreed. [2]\n\n[1] Hoffmann, S. ‘Obstinate or obsolete? The fate of the nation-state and the case of Western Europe.’, Daedalus, Vol. 95, No. 3, 1966, pp. 862-915, p882\n\n[2] Pabst, Adrian, ‘The EU as a Security/Defence Community?’, Luxembourg Institute for European and International Studies, 2/3 July 2004, http://www.ieis.lu/CONTENT%20of%20new%20Website/NEW%20Executive%20Summaries/PDF-Format/exs%204,%20EU%20as%20Security-Defence%20Community.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "635c361f26065d6c43460a7a1d806e06", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political The Empty Chair Crisis 1965\n\nIn 1965 during the Empty Chair Crisis brought integration came to a halt and shifted the institutional balance of power away from the commission to the Council of Ministers, it shows that spillover will not always occur. [1] It was caused by President de Gaulle of France being in conflict with other member states, specifically Germany and Italy. France wanted a deal on the Common Agricultural Policy but was unwilling to agree to further integration through creating majority voting in the Council of Ministers. When France took on the Presidency the normal system of mediation was lost. Bonn and Rome were unwilling to give way. [2] De Gaulle pulled his ministers out of the Council of Ministers thus reasserting the power of national governments. This showed that states would not automatically be prepared to give up their national sovereignty and might of helped lead to the abandonment of Neo-functionalism in the 1970s.\n\n[1] Moga, Teodor Lucian, ‘The Contribution of the Neofunctionalist and Intergovernmentalist Theories to the Evolution of the European Integration Process’, Journal of Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences, Vol. 1, No. 3, 2009 pp.796-807, http://www.japss.org/upload/14._Mogaarticle.pdf , p.799\n\n[2] Ludlow, N. Piers, ‘De-commissioning the Empty Chair Crisis : the Community institutions and the crisis of 1965-6’, LSE Research Online, 2007, http://web.archive.org/web/20071025203706/http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/2422/01/Decommisioningempty.pdf\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
9afba0a0bb597775cfd008e8b4cddb87
The international system is characterised by anarchy and the distribution of economic and military capabilities Stanley Hoffman used a Neo-Realist view of International relations to build the theory of intergovernmentalism. In a neo-realist understanding the international system is characterised by anarchy and the distribution of economic and military capabilities is of primary importance. States will not trust each other but can still reach agreement, but the agreement will be characterised by bargaining and negotiation (not an automatic process!) ‘Nations prefer the certainty, or the self-controlled uncertainty, of national self-reliance, to the uncontrolled uncertainty of the untested blender’. [1] [1] Wikipedia, ‘Intergovernmentalism’, en.wikipedia.org, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intergovernmentalism
[ { "docid": "ca0cea532dc88e2efdae3c3448a9d77f", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political Neo-functionalism has a liberal view of the international system; whereby agreements can be easily reached.\n\nActually the European Union has proven the exact opposite of the statement – “Nations prefer the certainty, or the self-controlled uncertainty, of national self-reliance, to the uncontrolled uncertainty of the untested blender” as they give more and more power to the united institutions of the European Union – the European Commission and the European Parliament. The most recent treaty, the Lisbon treaty, proves this as it gives more rights to the EU on account of national power Lisbon’ gives the European Parliament a much greater say in the EU’s decision-making process, it reduced national vetos, created a president and a representative for foreign affairs. [1]\n\n[1] Europa, ‘Treaty of Lisbon: The Treaty at a glance’, Europa.eu, http://europa.eu/lisbon_treaty/glance/index_en.htm\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "ff957070ac37f47af3d4a83e2e7e9e0c", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political Ernst B. Haas was the founder of Neo-functionalism in 1951, Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen identified the 3 types of spill-over within the theory. However neither author placed a time limit on how long the integration process would take. The revival of European integration in 1985 shows it may be many years between instances when Neo-functionalism is an adequate theory for explaining integration. This may be equally coming true in the financial crisis as the Euro is necessitating further reforms and may well lead to much greater integration in order to have the tools prevent members being forced out. The political spill-over concept makes account for the fact that national elites 'will undergo a learning process, developing the perception that their interests will be better served by seeking supranational than national solutions'. [1]\n\n[1] Tranholm-Mikkelsen, Jeppe, ‘Neo-functionalism: Obstinate or Obsolete? A Reappraisal in the Light of the New Dynamism of the EC’, Millennium - Journal of International Studies, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp.1-22, http://mil.sagepub.com/content/20/1/1.extract\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "83857a1b8385b92049fc31e83d632ae2", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political The Empty Chair Crisis of 1965 may lead some to presume that National governments are all powerful, but it may have just been a ‘speed-bump’ on the road of spillover. Ben Rosamond (2005) [1] did a reassessment of Haas and concluded that he never abandoned Neofunctionalism; he just changed it and accepted more the view of ‘Complex Interdependence’. The revival of integration since 1985 including the Treaty of Maastricht 1991 led to co-decision procedures which are an example of Political spillover as political decisions and procedure moved to the supranational level.\n\n[1] Rosamond, Ben, 'The Uniting of Europe and the Foundations of EU Studies: Revisiting the Neofunctionalism of Enrst B. Haas', Journal of European Public Policy, Vol. 12, No. 2, 2005, pp. 237-254, http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/1076/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "dab2398d98e56c1e39c3c95f16b44df6", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political Intergovernmentalism too has proved 'out of date'. It fails to pay enough attention to supranational institutions; its focus is too exclusively on big treaty negotiations and fails to understand to increasing importance of economic issues. Intergovernmentalism as a theory collapses in the view of actual integration taking place: the revival of integration from mid-1980s onwards. In the 1990s Intergovernmentalism was supplanted by 'Liberal Intergovernmentalism' from the scholar Andrew Moravcsik in his work 'Preferences and Power in the European Community: A liberal Intergovernmentalist Approach' (1993). [1]\n\n[1] Moravcsik, Andrew, ‘Preferences and Power in the European Community: A Liberal Intergovernmentalist Approach’, Journal of Common Market Studies (30th Anniversary Edition) (December 1993). http://www.princeton.edu/~amoravcs/library/preferences1.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3c326f9faaa6808383e47641187ad2b0", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political Neo-functionalism believes in building a community Europe, but then the question is raised, what is the purpose of this new entity? There is no common outlook and getting the major powers of Europe to agree what this should be will be near impossible. Intergovernmentalists would also argue that economic determinism regarding integration is wrong. As they believe national governments have to consciously make these decisions and will not be economically driven alone, ‘Extensive cooperation is not at all ruled out: on the contrary, such cooperation will benefit all participants as long as it corresponds to and enhances mutual interests’. It will always be politics that drive integration, while the motive may be economic – to solve a crisis or even just to profit – the key decisions by all actors will be political. [1]\n\n[1] Martell, Luke, ‘Globalisation and Economic Determinism’, Paper given at Global Studies Association conference, Challenging Globalization, September 2009, www.sussex.ac.uk/Users/ssfa2/globecdet.pdf , p.4\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "72c37fd9e93dd8b02a4d79dee6194475", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political The role of elites acting in their national interest better explains the logic behind integration. Key players such as Charles De Gaulle and his untiring opposition to British membership and Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) in the Council of Ministers and his success in gaining what he set out to achieve through the Luxembourg compromise demonstrates that the true power actually lay with him and the state. Another example to contradicting the role Delors played was that of Margaret Thatcher. Her relentless demand for a British rebate (1979) and general demeanour in the European Council demonstrated a powerful state elite getting her way. The single market came about because Thatcher wanted it more than most and was thus willing to compromise on certain areas of the Single European Act (i.e. on QMV in the Council of Ministers). [1] It is because of this that the role of individual elites is far superior to that of supranational entrepreneurs.\n\n[1] Dinan, Desmond, ‘The Single European Act’, European Union Centre of Excellence, http://euce.dal.ca/Files/Dinan_SEA_paper.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d6f9181959df3b82db6c75cde1efdd5a", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political Neo-functionalism is too simple, it does not account for external forces well, as some states have better defined their international position more towards US hegemony than towards each other. “Whereas in economic issues (soft power) the EU has been able to respond to the US in trade disputes, in political and security affairs (hard power) the panorama is mostly discouraging“. [1] Intergovernmentalism rejects economic determinism and therefore rejects Neo-functionalism’s ability to predict. Neo-functionalism may provide a starting point for analysis but it requires much more to be able to explain other pressures of integration.\n\n[1] Dominguez-Rivera, Roberto, ‘Dealing with the U.S. hegemony: soft and hard power in the external relations of the EU’, 8th International Conference of the European Union Studies Association, 27 March 2003, http://aei.pitt.edu/6481/1/000459_1.PDF\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d3502b65200b89d21913c68e92b85eb7", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political Intergovernmentalism assumes states to be the core actors, this is difficult to deny as most economic boundaries and policies are administered by the nation state. It believes that the logic of diversity will prevail in areas of high politics (e.g. security), however it does accept the logic of integration in low politics, that when interests coincide integration is possible (when there is consensus among elites, similar external situations and domestic politics situations). Intergovernmentalism does not allow for the idealist aim of transforming the regional system to a ‘better’ order as what qualifies as ‘better’? The logic of diversity denies the possibility of states agreeing on what is ‘better’.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "39cf72f5e67d83d749814e23ceafe970", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political The counter theory to spill-over is the logic of diversity. Neo-functionalism is flawed as it assumes that integration in low politics (economic) will lead to integration in areas of high politics. This is not possible as issues of high politics are integral to the national interest; so integration will only be possible when national interests coincide, which is possible but unlikely. Neo-functionalism believes areas of high politics can be cultivated into integration, whereas intergovernmentalism believes that the fate of the nation-state should never be subject to the decisions of others.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "03b342116cd79f5b5fbef32a3744b2be", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political The Founder of Neo-functionalism abandoned his own Theory (Haas).\n\nThe Founder of Neo-functionalist theory Ernst B. Haas later abandoned his own theory; According to Tranholm-Mikkelsen (1991)- “By the mid-1970 s, Ernst Haas had effectively abandoned the neo-functionalist theory by assimilating it within general interdependence theories of international relations”. [1] The theory proved a success in the economic realm but a fiasco in high politics; “…at the time of the ‘empty chair’ crisis [see next point] neo-functionalism was considered too incapable of describing the process of integration in general because of its extreme Eurocentric nature. Rosamond states that it is emerged from the process of complex web of actors pursuing their interests within a pluralist political environment.” [2] Neo-functionalism remained a partial theory, good at explaining particular parts of integration but required supplanting by other theories to keep it relevant.\n\n[1] Tranholm-Mikkelsen, Jeppe, ‘Neo-functionalism: Obstinate or Obsolete? A Reappraisal in the Light of the New Dynamism of the EC’, Millennium - Journal of International Studies, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp.1-22, http://mil.sagepub.com/content/20/1/1.extract\n\n[2] ‘European Political Theories: Neo – functionalism’, May 2011, http://testpolitics.pbworks.com/w/page/25795541/Neo%20-%20functionalism\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "844cf7655fc87653add2d073c2ea151f", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political The assumption of the automaticity of Spill-over is wrong.\n\nThe core of Neo-functionalism that spill-over being the main driving force behind continuing integration assumed the automaticity of integration. Once integration has started it will be a self-continuing force that will eventually integrate the whole of Europe - is clearly wrong. Supranational functionalism 'assumed first, that national sovereignty, already devalued by events, could be chewed up leaf by leaf like an artichoke'. [1] The functional method of spill-over is very limited, its success in the relatively painless area in which it works relatively well lifts the participants to the level of issues to which it does not apply well any more. For example no common defence or foreign policy within the community project has been successful. This failure in high politics is fundamental, without a coordinated foreign and security policy the role of the EU in the world is open to question. Opposition too much further enlargement reduces the role the EU can play outside the union unless a common foreign policy can be agreed. [2]\n\n[1] Hoffmann, S. ‘Obstinate or obsolete? The fate of the nation-state and the case of Western Europe.’, Daedalus, Vol. 95, No. 3, 1966, pp. 862-915, p882\n\n[2] Pabst, Adrian, ‘The EU as a Security/Defence Community?’, Luxembourg Institute for European and International Studies, 2/3 July 2004, http://www.ieis.lu/CONTENT%20of%20new%20Website/NEW%20Executive%20Summaries/PDF-Format/exs%204,%20EU%20as%20Security-Defence%20Community.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "635c361f26065d6c43460a7a1d806e06", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political The Empty Chair Crisis 1965\n\nIn 1965 during the Empty Chair Crisis brought integration came to a halt and shifted the institutional balance of power away from the commission to the Council of Ministers, it shows that spillover will not always occur. [1] It was caused by President de Gaulle of France being in conflict with other member states, specifically Germany and Italy. France wanted a deal on the Common Agricultural Policy but was unwilling to agree to further integration through creating majority voting in the Council of Ministers. When France took on the Presidency the normal system of mediation was lost. Bonn and Rome were unwilling to give way. [2] De Gaulle pulled his ministers out of the Council of Ministers thus reasserting the power of national governments. This showed that states would not automatically be prepared to give up their national sovereignty and might of helped lead to the abandonment of Neo-functionalism in the 1970s.\n\n[1] Moga, Teodor Lucian, ‘The Contribution of the Neofunctionalist and Intergovernmentalist Theories to the Evolution of the European Integration Process’, Journal of Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences, Vol. 1, No. 3, 2009 pp.796-807, http://www.japss.org/upload/14._Mogaarticle.pdf , p.799\n\n[2] Ludlow, N. Piers, ‘De-commissioning the Empty Chair Crisis : the Community institutions and the crisis of 1965-6’, LSE Research Online, 2007, http://web.archive.org/web/20071025203706/http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/2422/01/Decommisioningempty.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d60152b7f3d3828e9b601a924421ff3d", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political Neo-functionalism proposes a purpose to EU integration.\n\nNeo-functionalism proposed building a community Europe, through the concept of spillover the theory proposes economic determinism. Spill-over will eventually lead to a completely integrated Europe with a strong central government. This has not yet been proved true, as EU integration has become a long and difficult process. This is understandable since it is not exactly easy to integrate together all those policies, economies and people. However this would most probably be the eventual result, which is already visible: The experience of the European Union (EU) is widely perceived as not just an example, but the model for regional integration. In recent years, the EU has also been pursuing an increasing number of trade agreements which may in turn lead to spillover. [1] Furthermore the recent enlargements of the EU in Eastern Europe, as well as the ongoing negotiations with Croatia and Turkey have renewed the academic and political interest in the effects of European Economic integration. [2]\n\nOne of the theory’s strengths is to predict the outcome of integration and an eventual conclusion to the process, allowing for political and economic aims to be made and realised. For example ‘Larger companies have been acting on the assumption that the internal market will eventually be established’. [3]\n\n[1] Bilal, Sanoussi, ‘Can the EU Be a Model of Regional Integration?’, Paper to be presented at the CODESRIA - Globalisation Studies Network (GSN), 29-31 August 2005, http://www.ecdpm.org/Web_ECDPM/Web/Content/Download.nsf/0/52D667FD6C95057DC125719D004B65F6/$FILE/Bilal%20-%20Can%20EU%20be%20a%20model%20of%20RI%20Draft%20for%20comments.pdf\n\n[2] Lafourcade, Miren, and Paluzie, Elisenda, ‘European Integration, FDI and the Internal Geography of Trade: Evidence from Western-European Border Regions’, 23 December 2004, www.cepr.org/RESEARCH/Networks/TID/Paluzie.pdf\n\n[3] Tranholm-Mikkelsen, Jeppe, ‘Neo-functionalism: Obstinate or Obsolete? A Reappraisal in the Light of the New Dynamism of the EC’, Millennium - Journal of International Studies, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp.1-22, http://mil.sagepub.com/content/20/1/1.extract\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "81805ebbd6d4796e7fbec4787364b9c6", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political Supranational Entrepreneurs played a crucial role in integration\n\nThe role of supranational entrepreneurs within the development of integration within Europe has been crucial. Characters such as Jean Monnet envisaged and worked continuously towards uniting Europe. As the head of France's General Planning Commission, Monnet was the real author of what has become known as the 1950 Schuman Plan to create the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), forerunner of the Common Market. Later a similar role was played by Jacques Delors with the creation of the Single European Act (SEA) and the all-important 1992 project that would see the single market and eventually fully Economic and Monetary Union complete. These characters act in support of integration within Europe and represent an empirical example of cultivated spill-over. Unmitigated pressure from Delors in pushing for the single market ensured that it became a reality in the time it did.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "109739b2841e728c9d976ad4c3aa1a20", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political Neo-functionalism - liberal theory of regional integration\n\nNeo-functionalism is an example of a liberal theory of regional integration. Its focus is on human welfare needs, not political conflict and law. Its focus is on individuals aggregated into interest groups as the main actors in integration, so the focus is on low politics and the areas which become integrated in the European Union reflect that. As such there has been much more progress on economic integration than there has on creating a common foreign and security policy. [1]\n\nIt also accepts the independent role of international organisations and that the transformation of the international regional system towards a better order is feasible so making the European Union a project worth investing effort in.\n\n[1] Center for European studies, ‘European Union –Common Foreign and Security Policy’, unc.edu, http://www.unc.edu/depts/europe/conferences/eu/Cfsp/cfsp1.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "256954ac608f09c8e8bdb3ca3f678a16", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political Neo-functionalism explains the cause of integration\n\nSpill-over is the following concept – in order to enjoy the full benefits of integration of the first sector you need to integrate the related sectors. An example of this is the ECSC (European Coal and Steel Community) evolving into other energy sectors and forming Euratom. There are three types of spill-over – functional spill-over, political spill-over and cultivated spill-over. Firstly, functional spill-over, which regards spill-over in an economic context. For example, this might involve integrating coal and steel, then integrating transport systems so that coal and steel are moved around more easily. Secondly, there is Political spill-over, where political actors shift their allegiance to a new centre, for example from the national parliament to Brussels. Thirdly, there is cultivated spill-over, which is the idea that institutions drive further integration by being in practice; for example the European Commission’s growing autonomy. [1]\n\n[1] Tranholm-Mikkelsen, Jeppe \"Neo-functionalism: Obstinate or Obsolete? A Reappraisal in the Light of the New Dynamism of the EC Millennium - Journal of International Studies, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp.1-22, http://www.df.lth.se/~cml/spill-over.txt\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3f33d0e7464867498458d549818b74a6", "text": "ic policy economy general international europe philosophy political Neo-functionalism provides a good starting point for EU analysis.\n\nNeo-functionalism is an accessible theory which provides a good starting point for analysis. As a theory it has the advantages of being able to predict the outcome of integration and clearly explains which actors must be studied in order to explain integration. Haas and Lindberg’s “main thesis was that sectorial integration was inherently expansive - integration of some functional tasks would tend to spill over into\n\nintegration of other tasks(…) In the basis of this analysis, Haas argued that an acceleration of the\n\nintegration process could be 'safely predicted' and that it might lead to a 'political community of Europe' within a decade”. [1]\n\n[1] Tranholm-Mikkelsen, Jeppe \"Neo-functionalism: Obstinate or Obsolete? A Reappraisal in the Light of the New Dynamism of the EC Millennium - Journal of International Studies, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp.1-22, http://www.df.lth.se/~cml/spill-over.txt\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
2f871bfe554f8096c89c310d192fc979
The military operations were proportionate to the threat: Operation Cast Lead was justified as it was proportionate to Hamas' rocket attacks against Israel. It should be remembered that 250,000 Israelis living in the southern part of the country had lived under years of terrorism before Operation Cast Lead was launched, often in bomb shelters, and the economy has suffered. The world's media may only have paid attention when Israel responded to Hamas' barrage, but this does not mean that Israel was not already under severe attack by this point.(1) Moreover, the Israeli strikes were rightly measured to disable Hamas rocket attacks.(11) Terror groups fire indiscriminately at innocent Israelis and then complain of excessive or disproportionate force when Israel fires back. But according to internationally accepted laws of war, Israel is permitted to respond with the force necessary to end the conflict.(2) Israel was legitimate in using full force to win its war on Hamas; Israel was under no obligation to restrain itself in what is, on Hamas' own terms, an existential war. Provoked by Hamas, Israel had every right to wage a disproportionate and overwhelming response. Hamas has repeatedly stated that its objective is to destroy Israel. Such an existential threat goes beyond simply Hamas' rocket attacks, as it portends much more destructive attacks in the future. This justifies defensive attacks from Israel that go beyond responding merely to the Hamas rockets, and would even justify Israeli efforts to fully demobilize or destroy Hamas.(12) In spite of this, Israel was actually far more restrained and proportionate than it was obligated to be. Israeli precision strikes sought to minimize civilian deaths, as Benjamin Netanyahu argued: "In launching precision strikes against Hamas rocket launchers, headquarters, weapons depots, smuggling tunnels and training camps, Israel is trying to minimize civilian casualties."(13) Unlike Hamas, Israeli strikes targeted military sites, not civilians. As Gary Grant argued: "Even if you target your action at military sites, civilians are inevitably going to get killed...these need to be contrasted with the actions of Hamas where every single rocket is designed to attack civilian populations, so every single act of Hamas in firing these rockets is clearly an illegal act without any legal justification."(2) Israel may have been justified in acting disproportionately, but instead chose to respond in a proportionate and limited manner which minimized civilian deaths in Gaza, and thus the Israeli military operations were certainly justified.
[ { "docid": "7872beaa60c5dd6b335ac5214b77295f", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 Under the same logic, over 1 million residents of Gaza have been under occupation since 1967, facing limited rights of movement, regular air raids, military checkpoints, random searches and seizures, random arrests, the destruction of sanitation facilities, homes, schools, roads, shops, markets, and health facilities, and therefore Hamas has the right act in its own self-defense by whatever means it sees fit. If Palestinians do not have an army to call to its defense, how can the entire population be punished for the actions of non-state military groups?\n\nIsrael’s right to take positive steps of some kind in the interests of its own safety does not mean it has the right to do anything it wishes in order to protect itself. It is also evident that Israel violated international law and committed war crimes, was was reported in the Goldstone Report.\n\nBetween the time when the shelling from Gaza started in 2001 and Operation Cast Lead, 20 Israeli civilians were killed by rockets or mortars, according to estimates by Israeli human rights groups. That doesn’t justify an all-out ground invasion that killed more than 1,400 people.(10) As Javier Solana, chief of foreign policy for the European Union, said in late December 2008, \"the current Israeli strikes are inflicting an unacceptable toll on Palestinian civilians.\"(14)\n\nIt is a widely accepted principle of international law that actions taken pursuant to a state’s right to defend itself must be proportionate to the danger that the state faces. While the 20 deaths that resulted from the actions of Hamas and its associates were tragic, the nature of these attacks did not justify a full scale military invasion of the Gaza strip, or the mass destruction of infrastructure essential to life in the strip.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "b2ade609d0dae103a918e3ff34a1a9b6", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 The long-term security of Israel rests in a stable peace agreement with the Palestinians, not in attempting to bludgeon Hamas into a truce 'on Israel's terms'. To the extent that Israel's large scale assault on Gaza eliminated the hopes of such an agreement, the attacks worsened Israel's long-term security.\n\nA crucial step towards peace is to bring Hamas to the bargaining table. Israel's levelling of Gaza emboldened Hamas' message of resistance, and allowed Gazans to continue to rely on Hamas. As long as Israel continues to justify Arab and Palestinian anger through its disproportionate response, it is unlikely that enough trust can be established to reach a peace deal.\n\nEven Israelis recognize that this assualt has created an even larger barrier to peace. “This policy [Operation Cast Lead] is not strengthening Israel,” noted Sari Bashi, the executive director of Gisha, an Israeli human rights group that works on Gaza issues. “The trauma that 1.5 million people have been undergoing in Gaza is going to have long-term effects for our ability to live together.\"(10)\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "727aa389183eb89f64faa7a545b56747", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 Israel similarly violated the ceasefire prior to 2008, and had unlawfully kidnapped and imprisoned hundreds of Palestinians. Furthermore, Israel's attack on Gaza was not an act of last resort. Israel could and should have tried to negotiate a truce with Hamas based on the following principle: an end to the Israeli siege on Gaza in exchange for an end to Hamas-led rocket attacks on Israel. This is the deal Hamas offered Israel before Operation Cast Lead was launched. Israel should have accepted Hamas’s offer and assessed whether Hamas’s intention to be bound by its terms was genuine before launching a military attack.(6) If an action isn't truly an act of last resort, it cannot be legitimately termed 'self-defense', and so is not justified. Hamas were prepared to enter into negotiations with Israel and it was prepared to discuss the more intricate details of the deal it had proposed. Its attempts to avoid conflict were committed and consistent enough to suggest that Gaza’s leaders were not engaged in diplomatic posturing or sabre rattling. Israel targeted more than just military targets, including UN warehouses holding medical and food supplies, UN schools, and hospitals. Its imprecise tactics and refusal to allow access of humanitarian workers show that it was not merely self-defense.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2bd19e1940ffc2a9af7e28a5ff605db0", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 None of these arguments change that fact that 250,000 Israelis in southern Israel lived under constant fear of Hamas rocket attacks, which Hamas escalated after a ceasefire which it refused to extend. It is notable that Syria, an implacable enemy of Israel, actually played a significant role in triggering he conflict. The Damascus office of Hamas, which operates under the aegis of the regime of Bashar al Assad, vetoed the efforts of Hamas leaders in Gaza to extend the cease-fire and insisted on escalating rocket attacks.(4) The role of foreign powers in proving the conflict through Hamas has been recognized outside of Israel was well: Egypt's Foreign Minister, Ahmed Abul Gheit, assailed Israel's air strikes but also held Hamas responsible. The Egyptian government understood that Hamas, like Hezbollah, is increasingly allied with Iran and its goals for fomenting regional instability.(1) Israel could not possibly have been expected to thus not take military action to defend itself when coming under rocket fire from a terrorist government dedicated to Israel's destruction and under the direction of foreign states which are mortal enemies of Israel's existence. There was simply no other way to stop the rocket attacks. Moreover, Israel's blockade of Gaza was not a justified reason for Hamas' rocket attacks. Israeli control of Gaza’s borders was a response to Hamas’ exploitation of Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza to turn it into an armed, Islamic state dedicated to the destruction of Israel above all else, even its own economy. Hamas was not provoked. Quite the contrary. Hamas’ arms smuggling was the provocation. Then, on top of this provocation, Hamas fired rockets indiscriminately into Israel. The idea that Hamas was provoked leapfrogs the facts.(27)\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "85b7e18366f6fe00aefd946fc0391798", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 It is indisputable that Hamas has launched violent attacks against civilian targets. Israel, on the other hand, conducts its operations exercising all due care to limit civilian casualties. Hamas terrorists, however, set up their headquarters and store weapons in private homes, schools, colleges and mosques. Both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit have blamed Hamas for provoking the Israeli attack on Hamas targets embedded in civilian areas.(28) Israel's air assault has resulted in more Palestinian casualties, but that is in part because Hamas deliberately locates its security forces in residential neighborhoods. This is intended both to deter Israel from attacking in the first place as well as to turn world opinion against the Jewish state when it does attack. By all accounts, however, the Israeli strikes hit their targets precisely enough to do significant damage to Hamas forces.(1)\n\nIsrael actually put its own troops in harm’s way to minimize civilian casualties during Operation Cast Lead.(13) This shows Israel's commitment to preventing civilian casualties and thus the justification of Operation Cast Lead. The disparity between Israeli and Palestinian casualties can be explained by the fact that Israel has early warning systems and hospitals. Israel invests significantly more in stable buildings that do not crumble when subjected a blast, systems that can detect incoming rocket fire, and an extensive and modern network of hospitals and emergency response teams. This, and the fact that Israel does not attempt to shield its military installations behind civilian homes and businesses, helps lower the number of civilian casualties as compared to in Gaza.(2)\n\nThe claim that Israel violated the principle of proportionality, by killing more Hamas terrorists than the number of Israeli civilians killed by Hamas rockets, is absurd. There is no legal equivalence between the deliberate killing of innocent civilians and the deliberate killings of Hamas combatants. Under the laws of war, any number of combatants can be killed to prevent the killing of even one innocent civilian.(29) Moreover, if Israel were to be 'proportional' and respond to the Hamas attacks in the same way, what would that mean? Would this require that it launch rocket attacks back against Gazan civilians? Obviously not (this would result in even more civilian deaths), and this is where the logic of proportionality against terrorist attacks makes little sense.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "16f30c86cb4831701102ac0032a411ef", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 The most important thing for regional peace in the long run is not the belief among Israelis that there is a 'military solution' to the conflict, but rather the belief of Hamas and its backers in Syria and Iran that Israel can be 'solved' militarily. It is this belief that causes them to constantly return to using force against Israel, as they did with the rocket attacks. Therefore to establish peace in the long run, Israeli deterrent and demonstration that its citizens cannot be targeted with impunity are the most important factors, and these are exactly what Operation Cast Lead re-established. Moreover, Hamas may promotes itself as the legitimate power in Gaza, but in reality, Hamas is at its core a terrorist organization that refuses to renounce violence or recognize Israel's right to exist. Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. Hamas came to power in Gaza through a violent coup against the Palestinian Authority government. Since Hamas refuses to live in peace with Israel, the Israeli government has no choice but to seek Hamas' replacement.(2)\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b6acdc5661e4941f7371989c0d910922", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 The military operations were necessary for long term peace:\n\nAs Michael Oren and Yossi Klein Haleviargue explain, “the Israeli public will not make territorial concessions on the West Bank or the Golan Heights if Gaza is allowed to become a neighboring terrorist state that can launch attacks with impunity. Israel had already had a bad enough experience letting that happen with Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon.”(1) Without the assurance that they will be allowed to protect their homes and families following withdrawal, Israelis will rightly perceive a two-state solution as an existential threat. They will continue to share the left-wing vision of coexistence with a peaceful Palestinian neighbor in theory, but in reality will heed the right's warnings of Jewish powerlessness.(4)\n\nMeanwhile, the stronger Hamas becomes, the more resistance moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will face to making any concessions to Israel.(1) Therefore damaging Hamas, via Operation Cast Lead, actually aided the peace process in the long run, and was necessary in order to make an eventual two-state peace solution possible. The Israeli attacks may also eventually help force Hamas to accept a more durable ceasefire. Unlike the botched invasion of Lebanon in 2006, when Israel set itself the unattainable goal of eliminating the military capability of Hezbollah, during Operation Cast Lead it was made clear that the objective was not to wipe out Hamas, but instead to force the radical group to accept a durable cease-fire on Israel's terms.(8) This was necessary as prior to Operation Cast Lead Hamas showed no interest in peace, opting instead to pursue its political objectives through the use of terrorism. When Hamas came to power in Gaza in January 2006, it failed to control the rocket fire from the variety of miltary brigades, including its own al-Qassam brigade, into Israel and failed to establish internal stability. The widespread violence between Fatah and Hamas, which ended in June 2007, when Hamas took control of Gaza and ousted leaders of President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement, made Israel more wary of the security threat an unstable Gaza could pose.(9)\n\nIn Israel's view, Hamas' behavior and its reliance on terror tactics will never change if it thinks it can attack with impunity, and so the Israeli military operations were necessary and justified in the name of restoring Israel's deterrent and weakening Hamas, both of which make long term peace more likely.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0a7362b9ca5b6c8e6a6bf41588be0608", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 The military operations were legitimate as Israeli self-defense:\n\nThe military operations were a legitimate use of the Israeli state’s right to defend itself and its citizens: To quote then-President-elect Barack Obama - \"If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I would do everything to stop that, and would expect Israel to do the same thing.\"(1)\n\nPrior to Israel's 2008-2009 military operations, Hamas had consistently violated the terms of the ceasefire between Gaza and Israel. It launched a total 6,300 rockets during an agreed hiatus in the confrontation, killing 10 and wounding more than 780. Hamas refused to extend the truce past 19 December 2008 and subsequently resumed attacks, firing nearly 300 more missiles, rockets and mortars.(1) Hamas was the first to actually escalate the conflict after the ceasefire expired, with a systematic increase in rocket attacks to a magnitude of hundreds of rockets fired daily in late December.(2) The 250,000 Israelis who lived in the southern part of the country were under constant threat, often in bomb shelters, and the economy suffered as a result.(1) Israel went to great lengths to avoid its military escalation. Just a few days before Israel's military operations, outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made an appeal on the Arab television station Al-Arabiya asking Gaza residents to stop the firing of rockets and mortar shells so that a military response could be avoided.(3) This appeal was apparently ignored by Hamas and the other militant groups in Gaza, and so Israel proceeded to respond militarily to remove the capacity of Gaza to launch rocket and mortar attacks – Israel was left with no other way to ensure that the inhabitants of the country’s southern regions would not have to live in fear of rocket fire.\n\nGaza was also a test case, intended to prove that Israel remained a legitimate and authoritative actor in the region. Much more was at stake than merely the military outcome of Israel's operation. The issue, rather, was Israel's ability to restore its deterrence power and uphold the principle that its citizens cannot be targeted with impunity.(4) Israel's military operations were a good tool to fulfill this need for self-defense and did so effectively. The Israeli strikes hit their targets precisely enough to do significant damage to Hamas forces, both to its leadership and to the tunnels from Gaza to Egypt that Hamas uses to smuggle in weapons and build its growing army.(1) Doing this damage was necessary as Israel could never be safe with a strong terrorist regime in control of Gaza. As David Harris, Executive Director for the American Jewish Committee, argued: \"Israel could not tolerate a terrorist regime on its border that was launching repeated rocket and mortar attacks against Israeli towns and villages.\"(5) Therefore there can be no debate that Israel had the right to defend itself as well as the right to determine how best to do so.\n\nWhile it is easy for countries and foreigners to state their opinions about Israel's security interests and how its actions may or may not fulfill them, Israel's right to make that judgment itself must be respected. Therefore Israel's military operations against Gaza were justified as legitimate self defense against Hamas and militant aggression which was putting the lives of Israeli citizens in jeopardy.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6a5f6c9a56d6aa85185ada23f84c0a5e", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 Israel's military operations harmed the chances of peace in the long term:\n\nThe long-term security of Israel rests with a stable peace agreement with the Palestinians, not in attempts to bludgeon Hamas into a truce 'on Israel's terms'. To the extent that Israel's large scale assault on Gaza eliminated the hopes of such an agreement, the attacks worsened Israel's long-term security.(10)\n\nOperation Cast Lead ignored history, which teaches that there is no military solution to peace with the Palestinians. As a Daily Star Editorial argued, \"For the Israelis, once they have exercised this latest spasm of gratuitous bloodletting, there will be yet another opportunity to accept the oft-proved impossibility of a military solution. The Palestinian people will not be battered into submission, no amount of air strikes will make the core issues in the moribund peace process go away, and all of the same difficult decisions will still be waiting when the dust settles.\"(18) Thus Operation Cast Lead actually undermined future peace by once more making Israelis believe they can fight their way to a solution, which they cannot. As Nicholas Kristoff argues, \"What we’re seeing in the Middle East is the Boomerang Syndrome. Arab terrorism built support for right-wing Israeli politicians, who took harsh actions against Palestinians, who responded with more terrorism, and so on. Extremists on each side sustain the other.\"(10)\n\nIsrael cannot stop rocket attacks by military action alone; eventually a political deal will be needed.(19) Operation Cast Lead emboldened the anti-negotiation side of Israeli politics, however, which focus on their claim that Israel should not negotiate with Hamas. However, Hamas was democratically elected, and so Israel must make peace with them. If Hamas was an authoritarian regime, Israel could possible attempt to get rid of it and make peace with the Palestinians in Gaza separately. But, because Hamas was democratically elected, any efforts by Israel to destroy them will be seen in Gaza as an effort to destroy the Palestinians and their democratic will. This would not enable any long-term peace with the Palestinians. Therefore, a long-term peace depends on working with Hamas, rather than attempting to destroy them.(20) Instead, Israel pursued Operation Cast Lead, which included an Israeli ground assault in Gaza, the excessive force of which is likely to create more terrorists in the long run.(10) The fact that Hamas was always going to survive Israel's assault meant that Operation Cast Lead was always going to help to consolidate the legitimacy of the Hamas movement, and to ensure that all the efforts of Israel to eliminate that fundamental pillar of resistance will produce the reverse result.(22)\n\nIsrael's offensive gave Iran and its allies a way to pressure Egypt, Jordan and other Arab 'moderates'. Like the Lebanon war of 2006, Israel's battle with Hamas in Gaza produced a schism among Muslim states. Iran and its Lebanon based ally Hezbollah have joined Hamas's Damascus-based leadership in calling for a new intifada, or uprising, against Israel -- and also against the governments of Egypt and Jordan, which are accused of silently supporting Israel's air attacks.(23) Israel’s ruthless attack on Gaza and the massive civilian casualties it has inflicted has severely damaged the nation's moral stature in the world. This moral deficit will cause problems for Israel in its future engagements in the world. Therefore long term peace in the region was harmed by Operation Cast Lead, and so it was not justified.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5e2d24447893519fe5f0495937e4b6b3", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 Israel's military operations were aggression, not self defense:\n\nIsrael has sought to justify its military attacks on Gaza by stating that they amounted to an act of 'self-defense' as recognized by Article 51, United Nations Charter. This contention should be rejected: the rocket attacks on Israel by Hamas deplorable as they were, did not, in terms of scale and effect amount to an armed attack entitling Israel to rely on self-defense. Under international law, self-defense is an act of last resort and is subject to the customary rules of proportionality and necessity.\n\nOperation Cast Lead caused the deaths of over 1,400 Palestinians, over 300 of whom were children, injured 4,500 more and resulted in the destruction of schools, mosques, houses, UN facilities and government buildings. If, as Israel has stated, Cast Lead was carried out in accordance with the terms of international law, and the safeguards incorporated into the contemporary law of war, then Israeli forces had a duty to protect civilian infrastructure under the fourth Geneva Convention. The death and destruction that Israeli forces wrought throughout the Gaza Strip was not commensurate with the losses caused by Hamas rocket fire, no matter how horrific those attacks may have been.\n\nIsrael’s actions amount to aggression, not self-defense, not least because its assault on Gaza was unnecessary. Israel could have agreed to renew the truce with Hamas.(15) Israel's attack on Gaza was also not an act of last resort. Israel could and should have tried to negotiate a truce with Hamas based on the principle that Hamas stop firing rockets at Israel in return for Israel lifting its siege on Gaza. This is the deal Hamas offered Israel before it started Operation Cast Lead, and Israel should have taken it then and seen how went before resorting to military force.(6)\n\nIsrael arguably provoked the entire conflict by targeting Palestinian civilians with its blockade on Gaza. According to Hebrew University international law expert Yuval Shani, \"It is my opinion that in this situation, and given the question marks regarding Israel's status in Gaza and Gaza's long-standing dependency on Israel, cutting off its water and electricity supplies would be equivalent to a direct attack on a civilian target, especially given that the motive for doing so is one of collective punishment, which is, in itself, a problematic motive.\"(26) Hamas had offered to renew the ceasefire if Israel reopened Gaza's border crossings. The strip had been sealed by Israel in an economic siege aimed at toppling Hamas. The blockade had brought the territory near economic collapse.(21) Therefore this blockade must be seen as the true cause of the conflict, and thus Operation Cast Lead was not a legitimate act of self-defense.\n\nThe lack of efficacy of Operation Cast Lead also undermines its legitimacy as 'self-defense': while Hamas's offensive capacities were blunted for a while, the likelihood, as with Hezbollah after Lebanon in 2006, is that it will quickly rebuild its military strength. Indeed, the assassinations of its leaders by Israel over the years- and the raids on its weapons workshops- did little to limit its rise to power.(16) Israel's overall strategy, moreover, is not one of 'self-defense' against Hamas, but rather to make ordinary Palestinians suffer in hopes of creating ill will toward their Hamas government. This is why, beginning in 2007, Israel cut back fuel shipments for Gaza’s utilities, and why, in the aftermath of the bombings, 800,000 Gaza residents were deprived running water. As Sari Bashi, the executive director of Gisha, an Israeli human rights group that works on Gaza issues, argued: “The Israeli policy on Gaza has been marketed as a policy against Hamas, but in reality it’s a policy against a million-and-a-half people in Gaza.”(10) Rashid Khalidi added to this argument: \"This war on the people of Gaza isn’t really about rockets. Nor is it about 'restoring Israel’s deterrence,' as the Israeli press might have you believe. Far more revealing are the words of Moshe Yaalon, then the Israeli Defense Forces chief of staff, in 2002: 'The Palestinians must be made to understand in the deepest recesses of their consciousness that they are a defeated people.'\"(17)\n\nIsraeli internal politics may also have played a role in determining the size and scope of Cast Lead. Israel was preparing for general elections on 10 February 2009. The prospect of a return to power by the hawk Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the right-wing Likud party, promising tough action against Hamas, hardened the positions of Israel's more moderate political leaders, and may have caused them to launch such an operation to 'look tough', rather than judging its proportionality on its own merits.(21)Therefore Operation Cast Lead should be regarded not as legitimate self-defense, but rather as an act of aggression against the Palestinian people of Gaza, and consequently w\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "be5ca4e2aa0c04eb77d236cfcc189921", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 Israel's military operations were disproportionate and harmed too many civilians:\n\nThe killing of over 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and more than 4,500 injuries, accompanied by the destruction of schools, mosques, houses, UN compounds and government buildings, which Israel has a responsibility to protect under the Fourth Geneva Convention, is not commensurate to the deaths caused by Hamas rocket fire. For 18 months Israel had imposed an unlawful blockade on the coastal strip that brought Gazan society to the brink of collapse. In the three years after Israel’s redeployment from Gaza, 11 Israelis were killed by rocket fire. And yet in 2005-8, according to the UN, the Israeli army killed about 1,250 Palestinians in Gaza, including 222 children. Throughout this time the Gaza Strip remained occupied territory under international law because Israel maintained effective control over it.(15) The targeting of civilians, whether by Hamas or by Israel, is potentially a war crime. Every human life is precious, but the numbers speak for themselves: 800 Palestinians, most of them civilians, were killed during Operation Cast Lead. In contrast, around a dozen Israelis were killed, many of them soldiers.(17) Precision strikes which avoided civilian deaths were never going to be possible in the crowded Gaza Strip. As Akiva Eldar argued: \"The tremendous population density in the Gaza Strip does not allow a 'surgical operation' over an extended period that would minimize damage to civilian populations. The difficult images from the Strip will soon replace those of the damage inflicted by Qassam rockets in the western Negev. The scale of losses, which works in 'favor' of the Palestinians, will return Israel to the role of Goliath.\"(24)\n\nIt is notable that Israel is more culpable for the civilian deaths it causes than Hamas is with its rockets, as Israel had options (such as ending the blockade and negotiating with Hamas) which could have caused fewer civilian deaths, whereas Hamas did not. Rather Hamas responds as the disproportionately weaker party; the Palestinians were compelled to use the crude means at their disposal to free their lands from Israeli occupation, even if this meant being unable to target them well and some civilian deaths resulting.(25) Israel's Operation Cast Lead was less legitimate as it was not Israel's only option, and so cannot be regarded as proportionate. Furthermore, Israel's use of white phosphorous in Gaza was a humanitarian crime. The use of white phosphorous by Israel to shield its military movements in Gaza was a humanitarian crime, as the chemical causes serious health problems to civilians that inhale it. And, by all accounts, the chemical was inhaled by many Gazan civilians.(25)\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
78140d30a3735ee76706097ab562d600
Israel's military operations were aggression, not self defense: Israel has sought to justify its military attacks on Gaza by stating that they amounted to an act of 'self-defense' as recognized by Article 51, United Nations Charter. This contention should be rejected: the rocket attacks on Israel by Hamas deplorable as they were, did not, in terms of scale and effect amount to an armed attack entitling Israel to rely on self-defense. Under international law, self-defense is an act of last resort and is subject to the customary rules of proportionality and necessity. Operation Cast Lead caused the deaths of over 1,400 Palestinians, over 300 of whom were children, injured 4,500 more and resulted in the destruction of schools, mosques, houses, UN facilities and government buildings. If, as Israel has stated, Cast Lead was carried out in accordance with the terms of international law, and the safeguards incorporated into the contemporary law of war, then Israeli forces had a duty to protect civilian infrastructure under the fourth Geneva Convention. The death and destruction that Israeli forces wrought throughout the Gaza Strip was not commensurate with the losses caused by Hamas rocket fire, no matter how horrific those attacks may have been. Israel’s actions amount to aggression, not self-defense, not least because its assault on Gaza was unnecessary. Israel could have agreed to renew the truce with Hamas.(15) Israel's attack on Gaza was also not an act of last resort. Israel could and should have tried to negotiate a truce with Hamas based on the principle that Hamas stop firing rockets at Israel in return for Israel lifting its siege on Gaza. This is the deal Hamas offered Israel before it started Operation Cast Lead, and Israel should have taken it then and seen how went before resorting to military force.(6) Israel arguably provoked the entire conflict by targeting Palestinian civilians with its blockade on Gaza. According to Hebrew University international law expert Yuval Shani, "It is my opinion that in this situation, and given the question marks regarding Israel's status in Gaza and Gaza's long-standing dependency on Israel, cutting off its water and electricity supplies would be equivalent to a direct attack on a civilian target, especially given that the motive for doing so is one of collective punishment, which is, in itself, a problematic motive."(26) Hamas had offered to renew the ceasefire if Israel reopened Gaza's border crossings. The strip had been sealed by Israel in an economic siege aimed at toppling Hamas. The blockade had brought the territory near economic collapse.(21) Therefore this blockade must be seen as the true cause of the conflict, and thus Operation Cast Lead was not a legitimate act of self-defense. The lack of efficacy of Operation Cast Lead also undermines its legitimacy as 'self-defense': while Hamas's offensive capacities were blunted for a while, the likelihood, as with Hezbollah after Lebanon in 2006, is that it will quickly rebuild its military strength. Indeed, the assassinations of its leaders by Israel over the years- and the raids on its weapons workshops- did little to limit its rise to power.(16) Israel's overall strategy, moreover, is not one of 'self-defense' against Hamas, but rather to make ordinary Palestinians suffer in hopes of creating ill will toward their Hamas government. This is why, beginning in 2007, Israel cut back fuel shipments for Gaza’s utilities, and why, in the aftermath of the bombings, 800,000 Gaza residents were deprived running water. As Sari Bashi, the executive director of Gisha, an Israeli human rights group that works on Gaza issues, argued: “The Israeli policy on Gaza has been marketed as a policy against Hamas, but in reality it’s a policy against a million-and-a-half people in Gaza.”(10) Rashid Khalidi added to this argument: "This war on the people of Gaza isn’t really about rockets. Nor is it about 'restoring Israel’s deterrence,' as the Israeli press might have you believe. Far more revealing are the words of Moshe Yaalon, then the Israeli Defense Forces chief of staff, in 2002: 'The Palestinians must be made to understand in the deepest recesses of their consciousness that they are a defeated people.'"(17) Israeli internal politics may also have played a role in determining the size and scope of Cast Lead. Israel was preparing for general elections on 10 February 2009. The prospect of a return to power by the hawk Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the right-wing Likud party, promising tough action against Hamas, hardened the positions of Israel's more moderate political leaders, and may have caused them to launch such an operation to 'look tough', rather than judging its proportionality on its own merits.(21)Therefore Operation Cast Lead should be regarded not as legitimate self-defense, but rather as an act of aggression against the Palestinian people of Gaza, and consequently w
[ { "docid": "2bd19e1940ffc2a9af7e28a5ff605db0", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 None of these arguments change that fact that 250,000 Israelis in southern Israel lived under constant fear of Hamas rocket attacks, which Hamas escalated after a ceasefire which it refused to extend. It is notable that Syria, an implacable enemy of Israel, actually played a significant role in triggering he conflict. The Damascus office of Hamas, which operates under the aegis of the regime of Bashar al Assad, vetoed the efforts of Hamas leaders in Gaza to extend the cease-fire and insisted on escalating rocket attacks.(4) The role of foreign powers in proving the conflict through Hamas has been recognized outside of Israel was well: Egypt's Foreign Minister, Ahmed Abul Gheit, assailed Israel's air strikes but also held Hamas responsible. The Egyptian government understood that Hamas, like Hezbollah, is increasingly allied with Iran and its goals for fomenting regional instability.(1) Israel could not possibly have been expected to thus not take military action to defend itself when coming under rocket fire from a terrorist government dedicated to Israel's destruction and under the direction of foreign states which are mortal enemies of Israel's existence. There was simply no other way to stop the rocket attacks. Moreover, Israel's blockade of Gaza was not a justified reason for Hamas' rocket attacks. Israeli control of Gaza’s borders was a response to Hamas’ exploitation of Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza to turn it into an armed, Islamic state dedicated to the destruction of Israel above all else, even its own economy. Hamas was not provoked. Quite the contrary. Hamas’ arms smuggling was the provocation. Then, on top of this provocation, Hamas fired rockets indiscriminately into Israel. The idea that Hamas was provoked leapfrogs the facts.(27)\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "85b7e18366f6fe00aefd946fc0391798", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 It is indisputable that Hamas has launched violent attacks against civilian targets. Israel, on the other hand, conducts its operations exercising all due care to limit civilian casualties. Hamas terrorists, however, set up their headquarters and store weapons in private homes, schools, colleges and mosques. Both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit have blamed Hamas for provoking the Israeli attack on Hamas targets embedded in civilian areas.(28) Israel's air assault has resulted in more Palestinian casualties, but that is in part because Hamas deliberately locates its security forces in residential neighborhoods. This is intended both to deter Israel from attacking in the first place as well as to turn world opinion against the Jewish state when it does attack. By all accounts, however, the Israeli strikes hit their targets precisely enough to do significant damage to Hamas forces.(1)\n\nIsrael actually put its own troops in harm’s way to minimize civilian casualties during Operation Cast Lead.(13) This shows Israel's commitment to preventing civilian casualties and thus the justification of Operation Cast Lead. The disparity between Israeli and Palestinian casualties can be explained by the fact that Israel has early warning systems and hospitals. Israel invests significantly more in stable buildings that do not crumble when subjected a blast, systems that can detect incoming rocket fire, and an extensive and modern network of hospitals and emergency response teams. This, and the fact that Israel does not attempt to shield its military installations behind civilian homes and businesses, helps lower the number of civilian casualties as compared to in Gaza.(2)\n\nThe claim that Israel violated the principle of proportionality, by killing more Hamas terrorists than the number of Israeli civilians killed by Hamas rockets, is absurd. There is no legal equivalence between the deliberate killing of innocent civilians and the deliberate killings of Hamas combatants. Under the laws of war, any number of combatants can be killed to prevent the killing of even one innocent civilian.(29) Moreover, if Israel were to be 'proportional' and respond to the Hamas attacks in the same way, what would that mean? Would this require that it launch rocket attacks back against Gazan civilians? Obviously not (this would result in even more civilian deaths), and this is where the logic of proportionality against terrorist attacks makes little sense.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "16f30c86cb4831701102ac0032a411ef", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 The most important thing for regional peace in the long run is not the belief among Israelis that there is a 'military solution' to the conflict, but rather the belief of Hamas and its backers in Syria and Iran that Israel can be 'solved' militarily. It is this belief that causes them to constantly return to using force against Israel, as they did with the rocket attacks. Therefore to establish peace in the long run, Israeli deterrent and demonstration that its citizens cannot be targeted with impunity are the most important factors, and these are exactly what Operation Cast Lead re-established. Moreover, Hamas may promotes itself as the legitimate power in Gaza, but in reality, Hamas is at its core a terrorist organization that refuses to renounce violence or recognize Israel's right to exist. Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. Hamas came to power in Gaza through a violent coup against the Palestinian Authority government. Since Hamas refuses to live in peace with Israel, the Israeli government has no choice but to seek Hamas' replacement.(2)\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b2ade609d0dae103a918e3ff34a1a9b6", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 The long-term security of Israel rests in a stable peace agreement with the Palestinians, not in attempting to bludgeon Hamas into a truce 'on Israel's terms'. To the extent that Israel's large scale assault on Gaza eliminated the hopes of such an agreement, the attacks worsened Israel's long-term security.\n\nA crucial step towards peace is to bring Hamas to the bargaining table. Israel's levelling of Gaza emboldened Hamas' message of resistance, and allowed Gazans to continue to rely on Hamas. As long as Israel continues to justify Arab and Palestinian anger through its disproportionate response, it is unlikely that enough trust can be established to reach a peace deal.\n\nEven Israelis recognize that this assualt has created an even larger barrier to peace. “This policy [Operation Cast Lead] is not strengthening Israel,” noted Sari Bashi, the executive director of Gisha, an Israeli human rights group that works on Gaza issues. “The trauma that 1.5 million people have been undergoing in Gaza is going to have long-term effects for our ability to live together.\"(10)\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7872beaa60c5dd6b335ac5214b77295f", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 Under the same logic, over 1 million residents of Gaza have been under occupation since 1967, facing limited rights of movement, regular air raids, military checkpoints, random searches and seizures, random arrests, the destruction of sanitation facilities, homes, schools, roads, shops, markets, and health facilities, and therefore Hamas has the right act in its own self-defense by whatever means it sees fit. If Palestinians do not have an army to call to its defense, how can the entire population be punished for the actions of non-state military groups?\n\nIsrael’s right to take positive steps of some kind in the interests of its own safety does not mean it has the right to do anything it wishes in order to protect itself. It is also evident that Israel violated international law and committed war crimes, was was reported in the Goldstone Report.\n\nBetween the time when the shelling from Gaza started in 2001 and Operation Cast Lead, 20 Israeli civilians were killed by rockets or mortars, according to estimates by Israeli human rights groups. That doesn’t justify an all-out ground invasion that killed more than 1,400 people.(10) As Javier Solana, chief of foreign policy for the European Union, said in late December 2008, \"the current Israeli strikes are inflicting an unacceptable toll on Palestinian civilians.\"(14)\n\nIt is a widely accepted principle of international law that actions taken pursuant to a state’s right to defend itself must be proportionate to the danger that the state faces. While the 20 deaths that resulted from the actions of Hamas and its associates were tragic, the nature of these attacks did not justify a full scale military invasion of the Gaza strip, or the mass destruction of infrastructure essential to life in the strip.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "727aa389183eb89f64faa7a545b56747", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 Israel similarly violated the ceasefire prior to 2008, and had unlawfully kidnapped and imprisoned hundreds of Palestinians. Furthermore, Israel's attack on Gaza was not an act of last resort. Israel could and should have tried to negotiate a truce with Hamas based on the following principle: an end to the Israeli siege on Gaza in exchange for an end to Hamas-led rocket attacks on Israel. This is the deal Hamas offered Israel before Operation Cast Lead was launched. Israel should have accepted Hamas’s offer and assessed whether Hamas’s intention to be bound by its terms was genuine before launching a military attack.(6) If an action isn't truly an act of last resort, it cannot be legitimately termed 'self-defense', and so is not justified. Hamas were prepared to enter into negotiations with Israel and it was prepared to discuss the more intricate details of the deal it had proposed. Its attempts to avoid conflict were committed and consistent enough to suggest that Gaza’s leaders were not engaged in diplomatic posturing or sabre rattling. Israel targeted more than just military targets, including UN warehouses holding medical and food supplies, UN schools, and hospitals. Its imprecise tactics and refusal to allow access of humanitarian workers show that it was not merely self-defense.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6a5f6c9a56d6aa85185ada23f84c0a5e", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 Israel's military operations harmed the chances of peace in the long term:\n\nThe long-term security of Israel rests with a stable peace agreement with the Palestinians, not in attempts to bludgeon Hamas into a truce 'on Israel's terms'. To the extent that Israel's large scale assault on Gaza eliminated the hopes of such an agreement, the attacks worsened Israel's long-term security.(10)\n\nOperation Cast Lead ignored history, which teaches that there is no military solution to peace with the Palestinians. As a Daily Star Editorial argued, \"For the Israelis, once they have exercised this latest spasm of gratuitous bloodletting, there will be yet another opportunity to accept the oft-proved impossibility of a military solution. The Palestinian people will not be battered into submission, no amount of air strikes will make the core issues in the moribund peace process go away, and all of the same difficult decisions will still be waiting when the dust settles.\"(18) Thus Operation Cast Lead actually undermined future peace by once more making Israelis believe they can fight their way to a solution, which they cannot. As Nicholas Kristoff argues, \"What we’re seeing in the Middle East is the Boomerang Syndrome. Arab terrorism built support for right-wing Israeli politicians, who took harsh actions against Palestinians, who responded with more terrorism, and so on. Extremists on each side sustain the other.\"(10)\n\nIsrael cannot stop rocket attacks by military action alone; eventually a political deal will be needed.(19) Operation Cast Lead emboldened the anti-negotiation side of Israeli politics, however, which focus on their claim that Israel should not negotiate with Hamas. However, Hamas was democratically elected, and so Israel must make peace with them. If Hamas was an authoritarian regime, Israel could possible attempt to get rid of it and make peace with the Palestinians in Gaza separately. But, because Hamas was democratically elected, any efforts by Israel to destroy them will be seen in Gaza as an effort to destroy the Palestinians and their democratic will. This would not enable any long-term peace with the Palestinians. Therefore, a long-term peace depends on working with Hamas, rather than attempting to destroy them.(20) Instead, Israel pursued Operation Cast Lead, which included an Israeli ground assault in Gaza, the excessive force of which is likely to create more terrorists in the long run.(10) The fact that Hamas was always going to survive Israel's assault meant that Operation Cast Lead was always going to help to consolidate the legitimacy of the Hamas movement, and to ensure that all the efforts of Israel to eliminate that fundamental pillar of resistance will produce the reverse result.(22)\n\nIsrael's offensive gave Iran and its allies a way to pressure Egypt, Jordan and other Arab 'moderates'. Like the Lebanon war of 2006, Israel's battle with Hamas in Gaza produced a schism among Muslim states. Iran and its Lebanon based ally Hezbollah have joined Hamas's Damascus-based leadership in calling for a new intifada, or uprising, against Israel -- and also against the governments of Egypt and Jordan, which are accused of silently supporting Israel's air attacks.(23) Israel’s ruthless attack on Gaza and the massive civilian casualties it has inflicted has severely damaged the nation's moral stature in the world. This moral deficit will cause problems for Israel in its future engagements in the world. Therefore long term peace in the region was harmed by Operation Cast Lead, and so it was not justified.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "be5ca4e2aa0c04eb77d236cfcc189921", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 Israel's military operations were disproportionate and harmed too many civilians:\n\nThe killing of over 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and more than 4,500 injuries, accompanied by the destruction of schools, mosques, houses, UN compounds and government buildings, which Israel has a responsibility to protect under the Fourth Geneva Convention, is not commensurate to the deaths caused by Hamas rocket fire. For 18 months Israel had imposed an unlawful blockade on the coastal strip that brought Gazan society to the brink of collapse. In the three years after Israel’s redeployment from Gaza, 11 Israelis were killed by rocket fire. And yet in 2005-8, according to the UN, the Israeli army killed about 1,250 Palestinians in Gaza, including 222 children. Throughout this time the Gaza Strip remained occupied territory under international law because Israel maintained effective control over it.(15) The targeting of civilians, whether by Hamas or by Israel, is potentially a war crime. Every human life is precious, but the numbers speak for themselves: 800 Palestinians, most of them civilians, were killed during Operation Cast Lead. In contrast, around a dozen Israelis were killed, many of them soldiers.(17) Precision strikes which avoided civilian deaths were never going to be possible in the crowded Gaza Strip. As Akiva Eldar argued: \"The tremendous population density in the Gaza Strip does not allow a 'surgical operation' over an extended period that would minimize damage to civilian populations. The difficult images from the Strip will soon replace those of the damage inflicted by Qassam rockets in the western Negev. The scale of losses, which works in 'favor' of the Palestinians, will return Israel to the role of Goliath.\"(24)\n\nIt is notable that Israel is more culpable for the civilian deaths it causes than Hamas is with its rockets, as Israel had options (such as ending the blockade and negotiating with Hamas) which could have caused fewer civilian deaths, whereas Hamas did not. Rather Hamas responds as the disproportionately weaker party; the Palestinians were compelled to use the crude means at their disposal to free their lands from Israeli occupation, even if this meant being unable to target them well and some civilian deaths resulting.(25) Israel's Operation Cast Lead was less legitimate as it was not Israel's only option, and so cannot be regarded as proportionate. Furthermore, Israel's use of white phosphorous in Gaza was a humanitarian crime. The use of white phosphorous by Israel to shield its military movements in Gaza was a humanitarian crime, as the chemical causes serious health problems to civilians that inhale it. And, by all accounts, the chemical was inhaled by many Gazan civilians.(25)\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b6acdc5661e4941f7371989c0d910922", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 The military operations were necessary for long term peace:\n\nAs Michael Oren and Yossi Klein Haleviargue explain, “the Israeli public will not make territorial concessions on the West Bank or the Golan Heights if Gaza is allowed to become a neighboring terrorist state that can launch attacks with impunity. Israel had already had a bad enough experience letting that happen with Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon.”(1) Without the assurance that they will be allowed to protect their homes and families following withdrawal, Israelis will rightly perceive a two-state solution as an existential threat. They will continue to share the left-wing vision of coexistence with a peaceful Palestinian neighbor in theory, but in reality will heed the right's warnings of Jewish powerlessness.(4)\n\nMeanwhile, the stronger Hamas becomes, the more resistance moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will face to making any concessions to Israel.(1) Therefore damaging Hamas, via Operation Cast Lead, actually aided the peace process in the long run, and was necessary in order to make an eventual two-state peace solution possible. The Israeli attacks may also eventually help force Hamas to accept a more durable ceasefire. Unlike the botched invasion of Lebanon in 2006, when Israel set itself the unattainable goal of eliminating the military capability of Hezbollah, during Operation Cast Lead it was made clear that the objective was not to wipe out Hamas, but instead to force the radical group to accept a durable cease-fire on Israel's terms.(8) This was necessary as prior to Operation Cast Lead Hamas showed no interest in peace, opting instead to pursue its political objectives through the use of terrorism. When Hamas came to power in Gaza in January 2006, it failed to control the rocket fire from the variety of miltary brigades, including its own al-Qassam brigade, into Israel and failed to establish internal stability. The widespread violence between Fatah and Hamas, which ended in June 2007, when Hamas took control of Gaza and ousted leaders of President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement, made Israel more wary of the security threat an unstable Gaza could pose.(9)\n\nIn Israel's view, Hamas' behavior and its reliance on terror tactics will never change if it thinks it can attack with impunity, and so the Israeli military operations were necessary and justified in the name of restoring Israel's deterrent and weakening Hamas, both of which make long term peace more likely.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "866e088595a96e8294366313eb737a79", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 The military operations were proportionate to the threat:\n\nOperation Cast Lead was justified as it was proportionate to Hamas' rocket attacks against Israel. It should be remembered that 250,000 Israelis living in the southern part of the country had lived under years of terrorism before Operation Cast Lead was launched, often in bomb shelters, and the economy has suffered. The world's media may only have paid attention when Israel responded to Hamas' barrage, but this does not mean that Israel was not already under severe attack by this point.(1) Moreover, the Israeli strikes were rightly measured to disable Hamas rocket attacks.(11)\n\nTerror groups fire indiscriminately at innocent Israelis and then complain of excessive or disproportionate force when Israel fires back. But according to internationally accepted laws of war, Israel is permitted to respond with the force necessary to end the conflict.(2)\n\nIsrael was legitimate in using full force to win its war on Hamas; Israel was under no obligation to restrain itself in what is, on Hamas' own terms, an existential war. Provoked by Hamas, Israel had every right to wage a disproportionate and overwhelming response. Hamas has repeatedly stated that its objective is to destroy Israel. Such an existential threat goes beyond simply Hamas' rocket attacks, as it portends much more destructive attacks in the future. This justifies defensive attacks from Israel that go beyond responding merely to the Hamas rockets, and would even justify Israeli efforts to fully demobilize or destroy Hamas.(12) In spite of this, Israel was actually far more restrained and proportionate than it was obligated to be. Israeli precision strikes sought to minimize civilian deaths, as Benjamin Netanyahu argued: \"In launching precision strikes against Hamas rocket launchers, headquarters, weapons depots, smuggling tunnels and training camps, Israel is trying to minimize civilian casualties.\"(13) Unlike Hamas, Israeli strikes targeted military sites, not civilians. As Gary Grant argued: \"Even if you target your action at military sites, civilians are inevitably going to get killed...these need to be contrasted with the actions of Hamas where every single rocket is designed to attack civilian populations, so every single act of Hamas in firing these rockets is clearly an illegal act without any legal justification.\"(2)\n\nIsrael may have been justified in acting disproportionately, but instead chose to respond in a proportionate and limited manner which minimized civilian deaths in Gaza, and thus the Israeli military operations were certainly justified.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0a7362b9ca5b6c8e6a6bf41588be0608", "text": "middle east politics terrorism warpeace house believes israels 2008 2009 The military operations were legitimate as Israeli self-defense:\n\nThe military operations were a legitimate use of the Israeli state’s right to defend itself and its citizens: To quote then-President-elect Barack Obama - \"If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I would do everything to stop that, and would expect Israel to do the same thing.\"(1)\n\nPrior to Israel's 2008-2009 military operations, Hamas had consistently violated the terms of the ceasefire between Gaza and Israel. It launched a total 6,300 rockets during an agreed hiatus in the confrontation, killing 10 and wounding more than 780. Hamas refused to extend the truce past 19 December 2008 and subsequently resumed attacks, firing nearly 300 more missiles, rockets and mortars.(1) Hamas was the first to actually escalate the conflict after the ceasefire expired, with a systematic increase in rocket attacks to a magnitude of hundreds of rockets fired daily in late December.(2) The 250,000 Israelis who lived in the southern part of the country were under constant threat, often in bomb shelters, and the economy suffered as a result.(1) Israel went to great lengths to avoid its military escalation. Just a few days before Israel's military operations, outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made an appeal on the Arab television station Al-Arabiya asking Gaza residents to stop the firing of rockets and mortar shells so that a military response could be avoided.(3) This appeal was apparently ignored by Hamas and the other militant groups in Gaza, and so Israel proceeded to respond militarily to remove the capacity of Gaza to launch rocket and mortar attacks – Israel was left with no other way to ensure that the inhabitants of the country’s southern regions would not have to live in fear of rocket fire.\n\nGaza was also a test case, intended to prove that Israel remained a legitimate and authoritative actor in the region. Much more was at stake than merely the military outcome of Israel's operation. The issue, rather, was Israel's ability to restore its deterrence power and uphold the principle that its citizens cannot be targeted with impunity.(4) Israel's military operations were a good tool to fulfill this need for self-defense and did so effectively. The Israeli strikes hit their targets precisely enough to do significant damage to Hamas forces, both to its leadership and to the tunnels from Gaza to Egypt that Hamas uses to smuggle in weapons and build its growing army.(1) Doing this damage was necessary as Israel could never be safe with a strong terrorist regime in control of Gaza. As David Harris, Executive Director for the American Jewish Committee, argued: \"Israel could not tolerate a terrorist regime on its border that was launching repeated rocket and mortar attacks against Israeli towns and villages.\"(5) Therefore there can be no debate that Israel had the right to defend itself as well as the right to determine how best to do so.\n\nWhile it is easy for countries and foreigners to state their opinions about Israel's security interests and how its actions may or may not fulfill them, Israel's right to make that judgment itself must be respected. Therefore Israel's military operations against Gaza were justified as legitimate self defense against Hamas and militant aggression which was putting the lives of Israeli citizens in jeopardy.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
004bc7728a9453f3db75c3db9545eb63
Sacrifice of sovereignty Guinea-Bissau would have to sacrifice its autonomy if it became the new front for the war on drugs. In order to receive assistance from the US, a state must adhere to US policy on drugs. If it fails to do so, like Bolivia did in 2009, then aid is severed under the certification system1. This restricts the recipient state’s ability to respond to the drug threat in a way that they deem suitable to their own circumstances. As a state should be free to form domestic policy without influence by external actors, the USA’s certification process is a violation of national sovereignty. 1) Walsh,J. ‘U.S. Decertification of Bolivia: A Blast from the Past’, Washington Office on Latin America, 17 September 2009
[ { "docid": "f7b845e693f6df5950cd32f5d0ea784b", "text": "africa law crime policing house believes guinea bissau should not let It is only fair that the US should have some say on domestic drug policy considering the extent of their military assistance. The offers of assistance are optional and the conditions of compliance are known by both parties. The US gave $6,495 million in military assistance to the Columbian government between 1998 and 2008 to counter the narcotics trade and the rebels who were reliant on the business1. Since this funding comes from the USA’s federal budget, the US should be able to dictate how the money is spent.\n\n1) Acevedo,B. ‘Ten Years of Plan Colombia: An Analytical Assessment’, The Beckley Foundation Drug Policy Programme, September 2008\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "c46f52714c16f2580a7e53bd5435d879", "text": "africa law crime policing house believes guinea bissau should not let There is a stronger focus on alternative development in drugs policy compared to the beginning of the drug war. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), historically influenced by US drug policy, has taken an increasingly alternative development-orientated stance. The UNODC has committed itself to effective alternative incomes, gender mainstreaming and community participation which demonstrates a global shift towards beneficial development1.\n\n1) United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime ‘Making a difference through Alternative Development’ data accessed 30 January 2014\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b14ad2c4604fb4b3276b06890e11f686", "text": "africa law crime policing house believes guinea bissau should not let The judicial system is not capable of handling narcotics cases fairly. Corruption and civil war have left Guinea-Bissau’s judicial system broken. Military leader General Antonio Indaj, who has alleged links to the drugs trade, has vetted all political and judicial appointments1. Considering that Guinea-Bissau has no prison, it is unlikely that those in the drug trade will be properly prosecuted. The US’ judicial system is seen as far more impartial and is, therefore, a more logical choice.\n\n1) Reitano,T. & Shaw,M. ‘Arrest of Guinea-Bissau’s Drug Lords Just the First Step in the Battle Against Trafficking’, Institute for Security Studies, 12 August 2013\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "cc356cc584279ca322c0be03df3dd80d", "text": "africa law crime policing house believes guinea bissau should not let Part of the financial assistance received by countries on the front line of the drug war is a fund for ‘strengthening of democratic institutions’. Plan Columbia, the USA’s attempt to reduce drug cultivation, saw 27% of all funding going towards democratic initiatives1. In a review by the Congressional Research Service of US drug control policy, the strengthening of the rule of law and democratic institutions is a priority for the US2. If the US drug war was brought to Guinea-Bissau then funding would most likely go towards promoting democratic institutions and a transition of power from the military to the civilians.\n\n1) Acevedo,B. ‘Ten Years of Plan Colombia: An Analytical Assessment’, The Beckley Foundation Drug Policy Programme, September 2008\n\n2) Wyler,L. ‘International Drug Control Policy: Background and U.S. Responses’, Congressional Research Service, 13 August 2013\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e90c6b0a78110f0b49b53a5dbabcf611", "text": "africa law crime policing house believes guinea bissau should not let Interdiction rarely works. If Guinea-Bissau were to remove illicit drug operations from within its territories then the cartels would move elsewhere. Known as the hydra effect, once one potential drug route is cut off then another one is found and the trade continues1. This was the case for interdiction efforts between the US and Mexico. Initial government operations were successful at interdicting drugs being shipped between South American and Florida. In retaliation, traffickers began to use the US-Mexico border. The border witnesses large volumes of trade and interdicting the drugs proved to be nearly impossible2. It is logical to conclude that traffickers would find a new way to ensure drugs reached the Western markets if Guinea-Bissau sought US assistance.\n\n1) Boaz,D. ‘The Hydra-Headed Drug Business’, CATO institute, 30 June 1998\n\n2) Morton,D. ‘The War on Drugs in Mexico: a failed state?’, Third World Quarterly,39:3, pg.1639\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "baf4a91e0099ba1236bb3cddc3149e6d", "text": "africa law crime policing house believes guinea bissau should not let Considering that many of the military leaders have an invested interest in the drug trade, it is unlikely that Guinea-Bissau will seek help on these grounds. Antonio Indaj, the army’s Chief of Staff, was accused in 2013 of acting as a middle man in transactions between the South American cartels and the Western markets1. Not only has he been involved in drugs transactions, but Indaj has also been accessed of supplying weaponry to the FARC. This makes it unlikely that these leaders would want US assistance which would disrupt their profits and possibly leave them open to prosecution.\n\n1) Hoffman,M. ‘Guinea-Bissau and the South Atlantic Cocaine Trade’, Centre for American Progress, 22 August 2013\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0259d96d744245cd3a58d247c4fc120d", "text": "africa law crime policing house believes guinea bissau should not let Corruption is still present in many states which have joined the US drug war. The war on drugs has done little, and perhaps exacerbated, Columbia’s corruption despite US assistance. In 2011, Columbian ex-government ministers were jailed and prosecuted for corruption and co-operation with paramilitaries.1Judicial reforms have also met with varied success. The Merida Initiative in Mexico, designed at removing the corruption of the cartels, has failed to address corruption in the judicial system which is still rampant. 2\n\n1) Bogota,S. ‘Closer and closer to the top’, The Economist, 29 July 2011\n\n2) Corcoran,P. ‘Mexico Judicial Reforms Go Easy On Corrupt Judges’, In Sight Crime, 16 February 2012\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "286374df120edbe1c0438f3a103e66f0", "text": "africa law crime policing house believes guinea bissau should not let US assistance does not guarantee success against illicit drug organisations. Despite the militarisation of the drug war in the Reagan-era, armed gangs are still prominent throughout the drug world. In Columbia, the left wing FARC still remains despite decades of war against the Columbian and USA governments1. The FARC, who use drugs for much of its income, still control large territories in the South Eastern territories. The effectiveness of military aid is consequently uncertain.\n\n1) Acosta,N. ‘Colombia’s FARC rebels end holiday ceasefire’, Reuters, 15 January 2014\n\n2) Vulliamy,E. ‘How a tiny West African country became the world’s first narco state’, The Guardian, 9 March 2008\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "dbce0502b01f953ad04622050cd7f235", "text": "africa law crime policing house believes guinea bissau should not let Judiciary are undermined\n\nShould Guinea-Bissau become the new front of the US drug war then their judiciary will be furthered undermined. The US has frequently tried offenders from other countries in the US, superseding the local judiciary1. While this is usually due to formal agreements between states, extradition can cause indignation amongst the local population. Guinea-Bissau’s ex Naval chief Na Tchuto was arrested by American forces and, rather than allowing his home state to prosecute him, was tried by the New York District Court. This caused resentment in Guinea-Bissau towards the US2.\n\n1) Aronofsky,D. & Qin,J. ‘U.S. International Narcotics Extradition Cases’\n\n2) Reitano,T. & Shaw,M. ‘Arrest of Guinea-Bissau’s Drug Lords Just the First Step in the Battle Against Trafficking’, Institute for Security Studies, 12 August 2013\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c835d433d0323fd6a0f7496c13bee164", "text": "africa law crime policing house believes guinea bissau should not let Gives power to military coup leaders\n\nAssistance from the US would ensure that the coup leaders of Guinea Bissau remain in power. The securitisation of issues such as drugs and ‘terror’ is encouraged by the United States. A major problem with this policy is that it provides undue power and legitimacy to those countering the threat1. In early 2014, the military were still unconstitutionally ruling over the country. The drug war provides an external threat for the military to justify their leadership position. Considering the military has refused to allow democratic elections to occur and has regularly committed coups2, the US drug war could be a perfect excuse for to remain in power until the ‘threat’ subsides.\n\n1) Crick,E. ‘Drugs as an existential threat: An analysis of the international securitization of drugs’, International Journal of Drug Policy, 2012\n\n2) BBC, ‘Guinea-Bissau drug trade ‘rises since coup’, 31 June 2012\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "287954e1aadefa3c528112c250efd074", "text": "africa law crime policing house believes guinea bissau should not let War on the poor\n\nThe war on drugs has turned in to a war on the poorest in society. Through heavy handed techniques of enforcement and militarisation, the American war on drugs has failed to identify to key motivating factor for many of those involved in the trade; poverty1. Guinea-Bissau is the 5th poorest nation in the world, and other primary exports such as cashew nuts are starting to fail1. Due to lucrative profits, many of the poorer in society turn to the drug trade. US policy does not put enough of a focus on alternative development projects which can provide a livelihood through licit means. Instead they are treated as criminals and, in turn, are pushed further away from reconciliation.\n\n1) Falco,M. ‘Foreign Drugs, Foreign Wars’, Daedalus, 121:2, 2007, pg4\n\n2) The Guardian, ‘Guinea-Bissau’s dwindling cashew nut exports leave farmers facing hardship’, 23 August 2012\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1e23239726bcecbefa39e4187c9b95e8", "text": "africa law crime policing house believes guinea bissau should not let US will provide equipment\n\nGuinea-Bissau should join the US drug war as they do not have the means to fight the war themselves. The local law enforcement is underfunded and ill-equipped to deal with the international threat. Guinea Bissau has one ship which patrols 350km of coastline, their officers have little in the way of land transport, petrol, phones or hand cuffs1. The limited reach of the law has allowed the cartels and gangs to prosper which, in turn, further damages law and order in Guinea Bissau. US military assistance will therefore help restore law and order to Guinea Bissau.\n\n1) Parkinson,C. ‘LatAm Drug Traffickers Set Up in Guinea-Bissau, Expand in Africa’, In Sight Crime, 29 August 2013\n\n2) Acevedo,B. ‘Ten Years of Plan Colombia: An Analytical Assessment’, The Beckley Foundation Drug Policy Programme, September 2008Shirk,D. ‘The Drug War in Mexico’, Council of Foreign Relations, March 2011\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "bb2a1eca9f8ba3be8c20411323dcb92f", "text": "africa law crime policing house believes guinea bissau should not let Becoming a narco-state\n\nGuinea-Bissau’s social fabric is being destroyed by the presence of the drug trade and requires international support. Guinea-Bissau has been named as Africa’s first Narco-state; a country controlled by drug cartels and gangs. Violence committed by these gangs has escalated since the arrival of the Columbian cartels in 20071. Addiction, a consequence of the cocaine and heroin use, is prevalent throughout much of the country. It was estimated in 2012 that around 20-30% of the population use crack, an extremely addictive form of cocaine, and there is only one clinic in the country2. The only people who are visibly profiting from the presence of drugs are the Columbian drug lords who have extravagant mansions and modern cars3. Guinea-Bissau cannot hope to fight the prominence of these gangs by themselves and require aid.\n\n1) Time, ‘Guinea-Bissau: World’s First Narco-State’, data accessed 28 January 2014\n\n2) Hatcher,J. ‘Guinea-Bissau: How Cocaine Transformed a Tiny African Nation’, Time, 15 October 2012\n\n3) Vulliamy,E. ‘How a tiny West African country became the world’s first narco state’, The Guardian, 9 March 2008\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "414c3df5acfdf07d8223e511ba95f65c", "text": "africa law crime policing house believes guinea bissau should not let Prevent drugs from reaching Western markets\n\nBy joining the war on drugs, Guinea-Bissau will be in a better position to thwart the transportation of cheap cocaine and heroin to Europe and North America. Guinea-Bissau’s position makes it ideal for the cocaine trade, where drugs can be unloaded from Latin America and then distributed more easily to the West1. Around 18 tons of cocaine (worth $1.25 billion) passes through West Africa annually, most of it travelling through the state2. US assistance and interdiction operations would help prevent illicit drugs from reaching the profitable Western markets.\n\n1) Smoltczyk,A. ‘Africa’s Cocaine Hub: Guinea-Bissau a “Drug Trafficker’s Dream”, Spiegel, 8 March 2013\n\n2) Hoffman,M. ‘Guinea-Bissau and the South Atlantic Cocaine Trade’, Centre for American Progress, 22 August 2013\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1901982ad146164dbded8dbe4326d75f", "text": "africa law crime policing house believes guinea bissau should not let Deal with Corruption\n\nGuinea-Bissau’s institutions have become too corrupt to deal with the drug problem and require support. The police, army and judiciary have all been implicated in the drug trade. The involvement of state officials in drug trafficking means that criminals are not prosecuted against. When two soldiers and a civilian were apprehended with 635kg (worth £25.4 million in 2013), they were detained and then immediately released with Colonel Arsenio Blade claiming ‘They were on the road hitching a ride’1. Judges are often bribed or sent death threats when faced with sentencing those involved in the drug trade. The USA has provided restructuring assistance to institutions which have reduced corruption, such as in the Mexico Merida Initiative, and could do the same with Guinea Bissau.\n\n1) Vulliamy,E. ‘How a tiny West African country became the world’s first narco state’, The Guardian, 9 March 2008\n\n2) Corcoran,P. ‘Mexico Judicial Reforms Go Easy On Corrupt Judges’, In Sight Crime, 16 February 2012\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
8cf1c902c85ca03ece637578298cc102
The West is reliant on Russia’s Gas reserves NATO’s European members have an additional reason not to offend Russia by continuing to expand the alliance in defiance of Moscow. Much of Europe depends on imports of Russian gas for their energy needs, Russia currently supplies 25% of European gas and this may rise to as high as 55% by 2020. [1] Unfortunately the Kremlin has made clear over the past three years that it is prepared to use its control of energy as a political weapon. It has already limited the flow of energy to states (e.g. Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia) who have annoyed it on several occasions, and may well be prepared to turn lights, heating and factories off across Europe in retaliation for interference in its near abroad. [2] Russia’s energy riches in a time of high oil prices also mean that it is far richer and self-confident than at any time since the fall of communism. The profits of its energy wealth have also enabled its military to be strengthened. This means that even if Moscow backed down in response to western assertiveness in the past, it is now determined to overturn past humiliations. [1] Paillard, Christophe-Alexandre, ‘Rethinking Russia: Russia and Europe’s Mutual Energy Dependence’, Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 63, No.2, Spring/Summer 2010, pp.65-84, http://jia.sipa.columbia.edu/russia-and-europe%E2%80%99s-mutual-energy-dependence [2] Weir, Fred, ‘Why Russia is cutting off gas supplies to Belarus’, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 June 2010, http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/0621/Why-Russia-is-cutting-off-gas-supplies-to-Belarus
[ { "docid": "54e39034401a496c0b3d9d2d64d196fd", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and Russian strength is illusory – the country’s wealth is highly dependent on the energy exports and its economy is very vulnerable to a fall in oil and gas prices. Russia needs to sell its oil at $115 per barrel for the budget to balance. [1] Despite recent hostility to foreign oil firms attempting to operate in Russia, in the long term the country also needs western investment and technology if it is to maintain its energy output by opening and exploiting new fields. Indeed, Europe cannot be held hostage to Russian energy policy – who else could Russia sell its oil and gas to? Russia’s apparent military strength is also deceptive – its army and air force actually performed badly in Georgia and are no match for the modern forces available to NATO.\n\n[1] Nikishenkov, Oleg, ‘Oil muddles Russia’s budget debate’, themoscownews, 16 May 2011, http://themoscownews.com/business/20110516/188670156.html\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "49b3ab9f760f8c9cfc99107075462ea3", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and We do not need to buy Russia cooperation by sacrificing Georgian and Ukrainian sovereignty. The West would like Russian cooperation in a whole range of areas, but this isn’t a zero sum game where if one side wins the other must lose out. Russia should also worry about issues such as terrorism, nuclear proliferation, climate change, and the threat posed by failed states, so it is in its own interests to work with international partners to find global solutions. It also wants World Trade Organisation membership to continue its economic growth, especially if oil and gas prices should fall. For these reasons Russia will not make its whole foreign policy dependent on the expansion of NATO, but can be relied upon to continue existing partnerships because they are of mutual benefit.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c065a3808d39d2aac69f41508f254a3f", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and Dramatic and depressing as events in Georgia in 2008 were, the loss of Abkhazia and South Ossetia actually make Georgia better suited to NATO membership than before. There would have been a clear danger of allowing Georgia into NATO if the status of these breakaway regions was unsettled, with the obvious potential for conflict with their Russian patron. Once Georgia can be brought to accept the permanent loss of these territories to Russia, then it becomes a much more united country, without any other obvious grounds for Russia’s future interference. This is similarly the case with Crimea; The Russian Black Sea Fleet based in a NATO member would have clearly been a risk.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "df79872ec12ada708c0b60b686b405e0", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and Further expansion is not in NATO’s interests. The alliance is based on the principle that the security of one is the security of all, so that all members will go to war if any one member is attacked. This is a very serious commitment and should not lightly be extended to new nations. The irresponsible manner in which Georgia provoked a conflict with Russia, ignoring US warnings, shows the danger of being sucked into quarrels in which most NATO members have no strategic interest. It was obvious from this conflict that Georgia could not defend itself so the burden would fall on NATO. [1] Like the breakaway regions of Georgia, Ukraine also contains many Russian-speakers who look to Moscow for protection, especially in the Crimea which hosts Russia’s Black Sea fleet. [2] If Ukraine had been a member of NATO when Russia moved troops into Crimea then NATO would be a dangerous confrontation with Russia.\n\n[1] Tayler, Jeffrey, ‘Russia: Back to the Future’, the Atlantic, September 2008, http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/09/russia-back-to-the-future/7029/\n\n[2] Varettoni, William, ‘Crimea’s Overlooked Instability’, The Washington Quarterly, Vol.34, No.3, Summer 2011, pp.87-99, https://csis.org/files/publication/twq11summervarettoni.pdf , p.89\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0faebc2e76401ce151873fc7ceb616a5", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and In retrospect, the decision to welcome the former Soviet states in the Baltic into NATO appears foolish. They continue to have a prickly relationship with Russia, which has some legitimate concerns about the treatment of large Russian minorities in Latvia and Estonia, and about the siting of US nuclear defences. Their entry into NATO was forced upon Russia, which naturally saw it as an aggressive move designed to humiliate it, and marked the point when its pro-western policy shifted to a more nationalist and confrontational approach. [1] It also weakened the unity of NATO as there are quite legitimate doubts as to whether all the alliance’s members would really go to war with Russia over the integrity of, say, Estonia. Given this history, it would be madness to compound the problem by extending NATO membership to Georgia and Ukraine.\n\n[1] Fraser, Malcolm, ‘Ukraine: there’s no way out unless the west understands its past mistakes’, theguardian.com, 3 March 2014, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/03/ukraine-theres-no-way-out-unless-the-west-understands-its-past-mistakes\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8cdc17c53fd06c3aa66f4e20d6d57068", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and It is far from the settled will of the Georgian and Ukrainian peoples that they wish to join NATO. Georgia’s President Saakashvili did wish to join, but after his disastrous attempt to regain control of South Ossetia was unable to bring his country with him. Saakashvilli was defeated in parliamentary elections and ran up against his term limit at the end of 2013 [1] opening the way towards better relations with Russia. Public opposition to NATO membership in Ukraine since the US-led war in Iraq 2003 outweighed support for joining the alliance. [2] Ukraine is split over NATO membership, with most of the Russian-speaking East of the country firmly opposed to the idea, and only about 30% support overall. [3] The crisis of Ukraine’s pro-western coalition over how to respond to the conflict in Georgia showed how divisive the question is; the President firmly supported Georgia while the PM kept quiet. [4] In any case, NATO membership should not automatically be extended to every nation which wishes it, but only offered when the current members of the alliance judge it to be in their strategic interest to do so.\n\n[1] Traub, James, ‘The Georgia Syndrome’, ForeignPolicy, 13 August 2010, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/08/13/the_georgia_syndrome\n\n[2] Katchanovski, Ivan, ‘The Orange Evolution? The “Orange Revolution” and Political Changes in Ukraine.” Post-Soviet Affairs, 24 (4), 2008, p. 376.\n\n[3] Atwell, Kyle, ‘Two Different Paths to NATO: Georgia and Ukraine’, Atlantic Review, 7 November 2008, http://atlanticreview.org/archives/1206-Two-Different-Paths-to-NATO-Georgia-and-Ukraine.html\n\n[4] Arel, Dominique, ‘Ukraine Since the War in Georgia’, Survival, Vol.50, No.6, pp.15-25, http://www.ukrainianstudies.uottawa.ca/pdf/Arel%20Survival%20Final.pdf , p.16\n\n[4] Arel, Dominique, ‘Ukraine Since the War in Georgia’, Survival, Vol.50, No.6, pp.15-25, http://www.ukrainianstudies.uottawa.ca/pdf/Arel%20Survival%20Final.pdf , p.16\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c7b914a441ea5c793a19f0716619dfa0", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and The West needs to deal with Russia\n\nWestern countries should seek to compromise with Russia, as they need its cooperation in a whole range of areas. Global efforts against terrorism, nuclear proliferation, climate change, energy security and organised crime will all fail without Russian participation. Russia’s veto power on the United Nations Security Council also means that alienating Moscow could frustrate international efforts to bring security and freedom to states such as Sudan, Myanmar, Zimbabwe and Iraq. In particular the west needs Russian help in Syria; the UNSC has only been able to get humanitarian resolutions on the country when Russia has been cooperative. [1] And NATO depends on Russian goodwill to allow supplies into Afghanistan via the safer northern route, [2] cooperation that is likely to be withdrawn if Georgia and Ukraine remain candidates for membership.\n\n[1] BBC News, ‘Syria crisis: UN Security Council agrees aid resolution’, 23 February 2014, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-26311212\n\n[2] Cullison, Alan, ‘Russia Considers Blocking NATO Supply Routes’, The Telegraph, 28 November 2011, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204753404577066421106592452.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8169cb21dd28d4130fbc4380d3b60ffe", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and NATO is divided on how to deal with Georgia\n\nThe conflict in Georgia showed how NATO is already badly divided over how to respond to Russia. Old European states such as Germany and Italy are much readier to accommodate Russian interests than America, [1] which is supported by newer NATO members such as Poland and the Czech Republic. The same fault has been seen in relation to the response to Russian moves in Crimea; Germany has been much more cautious. [2] The United States faces a danger that if it pushes for NATO expansion in the face of Russian objections, it will split the alliance completely.\n\n[1] Traynor, Ian, ‘Nato allies divided over Ukraine and Georgia’, guardian.co.uk, 2 December 2008, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/02/ukraine-georgia\n\n[2] Dempsey, Judy, ‘Europe Is Completely Divided Over How to Respond to Russia’, Carnegie Europe, 4 March 2014, http://carnegieeurope.eu/2014/03/04/europe-is-completely-divided-over-how-to-respond-to-russia/h2gi\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ec53852b3285c9ac40cc74c910a9d1f6", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and Expansion is in the interests of NATO\n\nExpansion to include Georgia and Ukraine is in the interests of NATO. After more than a decade without a clear role, the alliance now once again stands for the principle of solidarity between western liberal democracies. The hopes of the 1990s for a new world order in which a democratic and liberalising Russia would see partnership with NATO and other western clubs as strongly in its own interest died during the Presidency of Vladimir Putin. Russia once again poses a threat to Europe and needs to be contained or at least shown that NATO has not forgotten about it. This is shown by President Putin’s continuing lashing out at foreign countries for funding NGOs and plans to boost defense spending. [1] Extending NATO up to Russia’s southern border will signal the West’s strength and determination and force Russia to respect the alliance and its members.\n\n[1] Cullison, Alan, ‘Putin Warms West on Interference’, The Wall Street Journal, 28 November 2011, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204753404577064260032325868.html?mod=googlenews_wsj\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e2de333a1882899d553af2bad82a2706", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and There is a strong precedent for expansion\n\nThere is a strong precedent for letting Ukraine and Georgia join NATO. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are also former Soviet states, and Russia objected to their entry into NATO quite as much as it objects today about its Black Sea neighbours. [1] Yet Russia was not allowed a veto over their futures, and it soon got over its annoyance, continuing to participate in joint forums with NATO and to cooperate with the USA over Afghanistan, North Korea and nuclear non-proliferation. So NATO is already committed to the defence of states in Russia’s near-abroad, and should not fear further expansion.\n\n[1] Black, Stephen J., ‘NATO Enlargement and the Baltic States: What Can the Great Powers Do’, Strategic Studies Institute, November 1997, http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/summary.cfm?q=146\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9662ec68b70c90020086c76ba5c82979", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and The people of Ukraine and Georgia want to join\n\nMany people in both Ukraine and Georgia wish to join NATO, and that is the best reason for welcoming them into the alliance. NATO is an alliance of democratic states and should respond positively to the request of a sovereign nation. In Georgia a non-binding referendum on whether to join NATO showed 77% of voters in favor of joining. [1] Polls show that some 50% of Ukrainians in 2002 said that would support Ukraine’s membership in NATO if a referendum on this issue were held. [2]\n\nBoth states are at risk of being pushed around by Russia, partly because their desire to adopt “western” democratic values is at odds with the more autocratic values of Russia’s leadership. They also fear that Russia has designs on their territory and sovereignty, knowing that many in the Russian elite have never fully accepted the collapse of the old Soviet Union. These fears have been realised with Russian forces in South Ossetia, Abkhazia, and Crimea. Joining NATO offers Georgia and Ukraine the protection of a proven alliance and a clear route to European Union membership that has already been travelled by other former Soviet states. Ukraine and Georgia as European states have a right to join NATO if they would satisfy all criteria for NATO membership. [3]\n\n[1] NATO, ‘Backgrounder, Deepening relations with Georgia’, NATO Public Diplomacy Division, 2011, p.15, http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_publications/20111109_backgrounder_nato_georgia-eng.pdf\n\n[2] Katchanovski, Ivan, ‘The Orange Evolution? The “Orange Revolution” and Political Changes in Ukraine.” Post-Soviet Affairs, 24 (4), 2008, p. 376.\n\n[3] Katchanovski, Ivan, ‘Puzzles of EU and NATO Accession of Post-Communist Countries.’ Perspectives on European Politics and Society, 12 (3), 2011, p 309.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
202a97d022125246d54a148e748c0339
The West needs to deal with Russia Western countries should seek to compromise with Russia, as they need its cooperation in a whole range of areas. Global efforts against terrorism, nuclear proliferation, climate change, energy security and organised crime will all fail without Russian participation. Russia’s veto power on the United Nations Security Council also means that alienating Moscow could frustrate international efforts to bring security and freedom to states such as Sudan, Myanmar, Zimbabwe and Iraq. In particular the west needs Russian help in Syria; the UNSC has only been able to get humanitarian resolutions on the country when Russia has been cooperative. [1] And NATO depends on Russian goodwill to allow supplies into Afghanistan via the safer northern route, [2] cooperation that is likely to be withdrawn if Georgia and Ukraine remain candidates for membership. [1] BBC News, ‘Syria crisis: UN Security Council agrees aid resolution’, 23 February 2014, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-26311212 [2] Cullison, Alan, ‘Russia Considers Blocking NATO Supply Routes’, The Telegraph, 28 November 2011, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204753404577066421106592452.html
[ { "docid": "49b3ab9f760f8c9cfc99107075462ea3", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and We do not need to buy Russia cooperation by sacrificing Georgian and Ukrainian sovereignty. The West would like Russian cooperation in a whole range of areas, but this isn’t a zero sum game where if one side wins the other must lose out. Russia should also worry about issues such as terrorism, nuclear proliferation, climate change, and the threat posed by failed states, so it is in its own interests to work with international partners to find global solutions. It also wants World Trade Organisation membership to continue its economic growth, especially if oil and gas prices should fall. For these reasons Russia will not make its whole foreign policy dependent on the expansion of NATO, but can be relied upon to continue existing partnerships because they are of mutual benefit.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "c065a3808d39d2aac69f41508f254a3f", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and Dramatic and depressing as events in Georgia in 2008 were, the loss of Abkhazia and South Ossetia actually make Georgia better suited to NATO membership than before. There would have been a clear danger of allowing Georgia into NATO if the status of these breakaway regions was unsettled, with the obvious potential for conflict with their Russian patron. Once Georgia can be brought to accept the permanent loss of these territories to Russia, then it becomes a much more united country, without any other obvious grounds for Russia’s future interference. This is similarly the case with Crimea; The Russian Black Sea Fleet based in a NATO member would have clearly been a risk.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "54e39034401a496c0b3d9d2d64d196fd", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and Russian strength is illusory – the country’s wealth is highly dependent on the energy exports and its economy is very vulnerable to a fall in oil and gas prices. Russia needs to sell its oil at $115 per barrel for the budget to balance. [1] Despite recent hostility to foreign oil firms attempting to operate in Russia, in the long term the country also needs western investment and technology if it is to maintain its energy output by opening and exploiting new fields. Indeed, Europe cannot be held hostage to Russian energy policy – who else could Russia sell its oil and gas to? Russia’s apparent military strength is also deceptive – its army and air force actually performed badly in Georgia and are no match for the modern forces available to NATO.\n\n[1] Nikishenkov, Oleg, ‘Oil muddles Russia’s budget debate’, themoscownews, 16 May 2011, http://themoscownews.com/business/20110516/188670156.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "df79872ec12ada708c0b60b686b405e0", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and Further expansion is not in NATO’s interests. The alliance is based on the principle that the security of one is the security of all, so that all members will go to war if any one member is attacked. This is a very serious commitment and should not lightly be extended to new nations. The irresponsible manner in which Georgia provoked a conflict with Russia, ignoring US warnings, shows the danger of being sucked into quarrels in which most NATO members have no strategic interest. It was obvious from this conflict that Georgia could not defend itself so the burden would fall on NATO. [1] Like the breakaway regions of Georgia, Ukraine also contains many Russian-speakers who look to Moscow for protection, especially in the Crimea which hosts Russia’s Black Sea fleet. [2] If Ukraine had been a member of NATO when Russia moved troops into Crimea then NATO would be a dangerous confrontation with Russia.\n\n[1] Tayler, Jeffrey, ‘Russia: Back to the Future’, the Atlantic, September 2008, http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/09/russia-back-to-the-future/7029/\n\n[2] Varettoni, William, ‘Crimea’s Overlooked Instability’, The Washington Quarterly, Vol.34, No.3, Summer 2011, pp.87-99, https://csis.org/files/publication/twq11summervarettoni.pdf , p.89\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0faebc2e76401ce151873fc7ceb616a5", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and In retrospect, the decision to welcome the former Soviet states in the Baltic into NATO appears foolish. They continue to have a prickly relationship with Russia, which has some legitimate concerns about the treatment of large Russian minorities in Latvia and Estonia, and about the siting of US nuclear defences. Their entry into NATO was forced upon Russia, which naturally saw it as an aggressive move designed to humiliate it, and marked the point when its pro-western policy shifted to a more nationalist and confrontational approach. [1] It also weakened the unity of NATO as there are quite legitimate doubts as to whether all the alliance’s members would really go to war with Russia over the integrity of, say, Estonia. Given this history, it would be madness to compound the problem by extending NATO membership to Georgia and Ukraine.\n\n[1] Fraser, Malcolm, ‘Ukraine: there’s no way out unless the west understands its past mistakes’, theguardian.com, 3 March 2014, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/03/ukraine-theres-no-way-out-unless-the-west-understands-its-past-mistakes\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8cdc17c53fd06c3aa66f4e20d6d57068", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and It is far from the settled will of the Georgian and Ukrainian peoples that they wish to join NATO. Georgia’s President Saakashvili did wish to join, but after his disastrous attempt to regain control of South Ossetia was unable to bring his country with him. Saakashvilli was defeated in parliamentary elections and ran up against his term limit at the end of 2013 [1] opening the way towards better relations with Russia. Public opposition to NATO membership in Ukraine since the US-led war in Iraq 2003 outweighed support for joining the alliance. [2] Ukraine is split over NATO membership, with most of the Russian-speaking East of the country firmly opposed to the idea, and only about 30% support overall. [3] The crisis of Ukraine’s pro-western coalition over how to respond to the conflict in Georgia showed how divisive the question is; the President firmly supported Georgia while the PM kept quiet. [4] In any case, NATO membership should not automatically be extended to every nation which wishes it, but only offered when the current members of the alliance judge it to be in their strategic interest to do so.\n\n[1] Traub, James, ‘The Georgia Syndrome’, ForeignPolicy, 13 August 2010, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/08/13/the_georgia_syndrome\n\n[2] Katchanovski, Ivan, ‘The Orange Evolution? The “Orange Revolution” and Political Changes in Ukraine.” Post-Soviet Affairs, 24 (4), 2008, p. 376.\n\n[3] Atwell, Kyle, ‘Two Different Paths to NATO: Georgia and Ukraine’, Atlantic Review, 7 November 2008, http://atlanticreview.org/archives/1206-Two-Different-Paths-to-NATO-Georgia-and-Ukraine.html\n\n[4] Arel, Dominique, ‘Ukraine Since the War in Georgia’, Survival, Vol.50, No.6, pp.15-25, http://www.ukrainianstudies.uottawa.ca/pdf/Arel%20Survival%20Final.pdf , p.16\n\n[4] Arel, Dominique, ‘Ukraine Since the War in Georgia’, Survival, Vol.50, No.6, pp.15-25, http://www.ukrainianstudies.uottawa.ca/pdf/Arel%20Survival%20Final.pdf , p.16\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "31d9d2b276b9d11de7a4e541fb5a96ac", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and The West is reliant on Russia’s Gas reserves\n\nNATO’s European members have an additional reason not to offend Russia by continuing to expand the alliance in defiance of Moscow. Much of Europe depends on imports of Russian gas for their energy needs, Russia currently supplies 25% of European gas and this may rise to as high as 55% by 2020. [1] Unfortunately the Kremlin has made clear over the past three years that it is prepared to use its control of energy as a political weapon. It has already limited the flow of energy to states (e.g. Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia) who have annoyed it on several occasions, and may well be prepared to turn lights, heating and factories off across Europe in retaliation for interference in its near abroad. [2]\n\nRussia’s energy riches in a time of high oil prices also mean that it is far richer and self-confident than at any time since the fall of communism. The profits of its energy wealth have also enabled its military to be strengthened. This means that even if Moscow backed down in response to western assertiveness in the past, it is now determined to overturn past humiliations.\n\n[1] Paillard, Christophe-Alexandre, ‘Rethinking Russia: Russia and Europe’s Mutual Energy Dependence’, Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 63, No.2, Spring/Summer 2010, pp.65-84, http://jia.sipa.columbia.edu/russia-and-europe%E2%80%99s-mutual-energy-dependence\n\n[2] Weir, Fred, ‘Why Russia is cutting off gas supplies to Belarus’, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 June 2010, http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/0621/Why-Russia-is-cutting-off-gas-supplies-to-Belarus\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8169cb21dd28d4130fbc4380d3b60ffe", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and NATO is divided on how to deal with Georgia\n\nThe conflict in Georgia showed how NATO is already badly divided over how to respond to Russia. Old European states such as Germany and Italy are much readier to accommodate Russian interests than America, [1] which is supported by newer NATO members such as Poland and the Czech Republic. The same fault has been seen in relation to the response to Russian moves in Crimea; Germany has been much more cautious. [2] The United States faces a danger that if it pushes for NATO expansion in the face of Russian objections, it will split the alliance completely.\n\n[1] Traynor, Ian, ‘Nato allies divided over Ukraine and Georgia’, guardian.co.uk, 2 December 2008, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/02/ukraine-georgia\n\n[2] Dempsey, Judy, ‘Europe Is Completely Divided Over How to Respond to Russia’, Carnegie Europe, 4 March 2014, http://carnegieeurope.eu/2014/03/04/europe-is-completely-divided-over-how-to-respond-to-russia/h2gi\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ec53852b3285c9ac40cc74c910a9d1f6", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and Expansion is in the interests of NATO\n\nExpansion to include Georgia and Ukraine is in the interests of NATO. After more than a decade without a clear role, the alliance now once again stands for the principle of solidarity between western liberal democracies. The hopes of the 1990s for a new world order in which a democratic and liberalising Russia would see partnership with NATO and other western clubs as strongly in its own interest died during the Presidency of Vladimir Putin. Russia once again poses a threat to Europe and needs to be contained or at least shown that NATO has not forgotten about it. This is shown by President Putin’s continuing lashing out at foreign countries for funding NGOs and plans to boost defense spending. [1] Extending NATO up to Russia’s southern border will signal the West’s strength and determination and force Russia to respect the alliance and its members.\n\n[1] Cullison, Alan, ‘Putin Warms West on Interference’, The Wall Street Journal, 28 November 2011, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204753404577064260032325868.html?mod=googlenews_wsj\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e2de333a1882899d553af2bad82a2706", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and There is a strong precedent for expansion\n\nThere is a strong precedent for letting Ukraine and Georgia join NATO. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are also former Soviet states, and Russia objected to their entry into NATO quite as much as it objects today about its Black Sea neighbours. [1] Yet Russia was not allowed a veto over their futures, and it soon got over its annoyance, continuing to participate in joint forums with NATO and to cooperate with the USA over Afghanistan, North Korea and nuclear non-proliferation. So NATO is already committed to the defence of states in Russia’s near-abroad, and should not fear further expansion.\n\n[1] Black, Stephen J., ‘NATO Enlargement and the Baltic States: What Can the Great Powers Do’, Strategic Studies Institute, November 1997, http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/summary.cfm?q=146\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9662ec68b70c90020086c76ba5c82979", "text": "europe politics defence house would extend nato membership georgia and The people of Ukraine and Georgia want to join\n\nMany people in both Ukraine and Georgia wish to join NATO, and that is the best reason for welcoming them into the alliance. NATO is an alliance of democratic states and should respond positively to the request of a sovereign nation. In Georgia a non-binding referendum on whether to join NATO showed 77% of voters in favor of joining. [1] Polls show that some 50% of Ukrainians in 2002 said that would support Ukraine’s membership in NATO if a referendum on this issue were held. [2]\n\nBoth states are at risk of being pushed around by Russia, partly because their desire to adopt “western” democratic values is at odds with the more autocratic values of Russia’s leadership. They also fear that Russia has designs on their territory and sovereignty, knowing that many in the Russian elite have never fully accepted the collapse of the old Soviet Union. These fears have been realised with Russian forces in South Ossetia, Abkhazia, and Crimea. Joining NATO offers Georgia and Ukraine the protection of a proven alliance and a clear route to European Union membership that has already been travelled by other former Soviet states. Ukraine and Georgia as European states have a right to join NATO if they would satisfy all criteria for NATO membership. [3]\n\n[1] NATO, ‘Backgrounder, Deepening relations with Georgia’, NATO Public Diplomacy Division, 2011, p.15, http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_publications/20111109_backgrounder_nato_georgia-eng.pdf\n\n[2] Katchanovski, Ivan, ‘The Orange Evolution? The “Orange Revolution” and Political Changes in Ukraine.” Post-Soviet Affairs, 24 (4), 2008, p. 376.\n\n[3] Katchanovski, Ivan, ‘Puzzles of EU and NATO Accession of Post-Communist Countries.’ Perspectives on European Politics and Society, 12 (3), 2011, p 309.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
6b800989f1ac1b2c7c50107137ef5ae2
Encouraging film entrepreneurs The Nollywood industry is providing solutions to pressing issues - including high rates of unemployment. The dynamic industry provides an opportunity for youths to explore interests and invest in their talents and creativity. The recognition gained for Nollywood has shown how Nigeria's youths can initiate, and develop, a sustainable industry. Rather than seeing the rising young population as a potential threat [1] , the rise of Nollywood showcases the talent of the young population and helps overthrow perceptions of Africa just being about natural resources. Additionally, the growth of Nollywood is continuing to encourage individuals to enter the creative industry – whether to work in production, acting or distribution, the rise of Nollywood is creating an entrepreneurial spirit, drive, and motivation to create change. Individuals are no longer relying on the government or international community to provide funds, support and infrastructure, but moulding their own futures. [1] See further readings: Urdal, 2006.
[ { "docid": "18d504368a0579e002e3576e2245d735", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be Although the industry has encouraged entrepreneurialism we need to recognise it is also promoting risky businesses. Firstly, the individuals working in the industry are required to produce a quick turnover. The fact that no security and support is provided by the government or state means the risk of failed entrepreneurial strategies falls on the individual. The producers and directors may be forced to borrow money from loan sharks and at high interest-rates to get capital quickly; and need to be able to ensure profits are generated rapidly. Such a tenuous industry is clearly not in a position to change opinions of Africa and may instead be creating a negative perception of risk-taking and cutthroat capitalism.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "daab9c4ea2eac1495a413a3a1b555237", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be Fundamentally, the topics raised by Nollywood are commercialising accepted views. The industry is building a business founded on distributing images of witchcraft, abuse, and domestic violence.\n\nFirst, a majority of the films are politically incorrect and provide negative portrayals of women and sexuality. Gender roles are reinforced as women become sexualised objects, male possession, and the source of trouble - required to be put in their ‘place’. In the case of LGBT representations, homosexuality has been represented as Satanic in films such as 2010’s ‘Men in Love’ [1] . Second, in the case of witchcraft, dramas have made society more accepting of, and open to, sorcery. The films show how it remains prevalent in society and can provide a tool to access riches. With the audience interested in watching stories on witchcraft the industry is feeding such demands. Witchcraft sells; and continues to remain a prominent theme justifying why people make their decisions and action.\n\nThis is not the kind of perception change Africa needs.\n\n[1] In Nigeria homosexuality is illegal and continues to be criminalised.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c99a7aec0121871dff9d8f6a66e2bfba", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be First, the narrative of whether Africa is 'rising' has been debated, and requires reflection. Second, if Africa were rising will Nollywood push Nigeria to rise in the wrong direction? Nollywood is a private-sector organisation, with concentrated profits. Inequality in Nigeria has continued to rise since 1985 as shown by the GINI coefficient (Aigbokhan, 2008); and with lavish lifestyles being created for famous actresses and directors who hit ‘big money’ will Nollywood only act to benefit elites and create a new elite class? Economic growth and revenue production cannot solve the issue of poverty without tackling inequality.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "385dd7c197ce1db372b8fcb39e7d9b2f", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be Opportunities for development are limited as the industry continues to function informally. The informal structure means there is no legal institution controlling transactions, there is no governing body ensuring taxation is paid and revenues collected, and finally, there is little security to the workers within the industry. Financial records are limited in the industry, which makes it hard to predict the developmental scope of Nollywood and the real revenues produced.\n\nInformality prevents legitimacy; capability to assist national development; and fundamental capital losses. It also prevents it becoming a force for changing perceptions of those outside Africa. Formalisation is required for the industry to assist developmental potential [1] .\n\n[1] See further readings: McCall, 2012.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b36ca032b0e93fceabdc2fcbbc2439ef", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be The issue of piracy is being tackled. Recognising the potential benefits Nollywood can bring to Nigeria and the scale of the piracy problem, investments are being made to stop piracy in the growing industry.\n\nInvestments have been proposed by the World Bank to tackle piracy, and ensure profits are not lost. Further, Nollywood UP, the Nollywood Upgrade Project, is providing funding to control piracy. Nollywood UP is improving the capacity of the innovative industry - by providing solutions for distribution and vital training in high-quality film making.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ad11081e3efb64ca9a9cf1f98016589e", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be New funding sources are emerging. The diasporic community for example are playing a central role in funding the long-term growth of the industry. Recognising potential, and being a major consumer base for the films produced, the African diaspora is investing in Nollywood.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d291bfc16d836f59e43a25662aa88e84", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be Nollywood films are viewed globally. Channels are dedicated to the films - such as South Africa’s MultiChoice and BSkyB’s Nollywood Movies. BSkyB distributes programmes and films directly to airlines, instantly broadening the audience. Furthermore, YouTube subscribers have sought to enhance the global viewing popularity; and recently developed iROKO Partners is ensuring internet users can access Nollywood films. iROKO Partners shows the biggest markets are based in the US, UK, Canada, Italy and Germany (Kermeliotis, 2012).\n\nNew partnerships are being formed with Hollywood and global film festivals [1] , which show the future shift of broadcasting Nollywood films in cinemas. A recent film produced by Pat Nebo - ‘Dead broke’ - is set to be premiered in Lagos, Accra, and London.\n\n[1] Cannes (2013) recently showcased ‘La Pirogue’; and in the summer of 2013 France hosted its first Nollywood Week in Paris, showcasing seven of the best Nollywood films.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1a997ac63621096068a9add98c3301ed", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be A new perspective, raising topical issues\n\nThe first film created in Nollywood - ‘Living in Bondage’ - raised fundamental issues concerning marriage, wealth and spirituality. The film indicates the need to be aware of cults and what they can drive individuals to do. Furthermore films such ‘Street Girls’ and ‘Mama’s Girls’ provide insight into the lives of prostitutes and the sex industry. ‘Street Girls’ is enabling awareness of why girls are forced into prostitution and why they may be forced to commit criminal offences. Poverty is identified as a key driving factor.\n\nThe range of topics covered - from immigration, women, witchcraft, corruption, terrorism, and infrastructure deficits - counteract historic silences in the public sphere. The films are raising awareness to viewers by presenting the stories in a new light - understandable, humorous, and relatable; and will encourage citizens to demand change.\n\nNollywood is showing the limits of believing in a single perspective, the Western perspective, to stories on Africa.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f59746b9cc4153907d9ff4d83dd2f8ad", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be Development from within\n\nNollywood is showcasing Nigeria’s capability to sustain, build, and finance its own economy. Recent estimates suggest around 50 films are produced weekly, selling between 20,000 to 200,000 units, and creating jobs for around one million individuals (Moudio, 2013). The industry is initiating vital development, enabling Nigeria to have capital to change perceptions.\n\nNollywood is following previous cultural industry paths. Hollywood developed from low-budget films, and in 2013 the entertainment industry generated around $522bn in revenue, and is continuing to be one of America’s biggest sources of tourism (Statista, 2013). In Nollywood’s case, the industry is already proving to be of vital importance for regional and domestic tourism.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d6579e0b4ed1cd6822d2b8cd3d56754f", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be Epitomising rising Africa\n\nNollywood epitomises Africa, and life in African spaces. The fast-pace nature of production shows how quickly things changes and everything is on the move. The structure of production shows the dynamic nature of everyday life, action, and flow of ideas. As Rem Koolhaas’ (2002) film documentary - Lagos - showed the congestion, informality, and buzz of the city needs to be viewed positively and a sign of entrepreneurialism. The documentary suggested African cities were setting a new trend to be followed by the West, and developing a rising economy. Africa is not simply in need of assistance, but rather a fast-pace environment that needs greater understanding.\n\nAfrica is rising [1] and Nollywood acts to reinforce this reality. With more films being produced, bigger revenues made, and new investors emerging, Nollywood shows Africa's economies are changing, growing, and emerging. Interest and collaborative investments being made by the World Bank shows the industry will continue to rise. Nollywood’s growth provides an alternative to the dominant Afro-pessimism.\n\n[1] See further readings: The Economist, 2013.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f81b748332bb6a9303f1c701bba0bb63", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be Small audience viewings\n\nIn reality, Nollywood’s audience is constrained - questioning the extent to which stereotypes can be changed. First, language acts as a barrier. 56% of Nollywood films are produced in local languages - such as Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa (UNESCO, 2009). Although English accounts for 44% of films produced, the linguistic diversity may limit who sees which film and what issues are therefore discussed. Second, a majority of the films are sold in hardcopy - whether on cassette or pirate DVDs.\n\nFinally, the industry is characterised by fast and cheap production. Quantity over quality limits popularity and audience viewings. Further, the limited attention to quality means Nollywood remains at the bottom of the global value chain for film production. It is difficult to change perceptions with poor quality films.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "48b6486b481f48e1aff110222dc401c7", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be The problem of piracy\n\nPirated copies of Nollywood films are a key issue. Piracy emerges as an issue for two key reasons. First, the lack of the lack of legal structure - the lack of formal regulation. Legal systems and strict copyright controls are needed to ensure piracy is stopped. Second, the production system is slow - therefore alternative means of production are used to meet the growing demand for films released. New methods for distribution are required.\n\nCalls have been made for the government to take action against piracy. However, with corruption prevalent little action has been made. Half of the film profits are lost through piracy (CNN, 2009), and piracy acts to reinforce the image of bad governance, and inadequate structures, within African states. The industry is being undermined and undervalued, through the piracy market, with high costs to the entrepreneurs.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "02105345cc25415e788ae43f3e7677ab", "text": "modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be Short term hype\n\nDespite the boom in Nollywood’s industry it remains hard to get investment. With funding issues prevalent the hype surrounding Nollywood is temporary.\n\nThe difficulties in getting funding, mean films produced are often safe and politically popular - aware that funds can be gained for backing. For example, the controversial film – Boko Haram – aimed to provide an alternative perspective into the Islamist extremist group. The core subject matter was to explore terrorism; however, following the controversial story and topic, marketers dropped out, fearing a political backlash. Titles had to be changed and the film adapted to be more sensitive. The ideas behind the films, and the stories told, are being altered due to funding constraints [1] . Perspectives, on and in Africa, cannot be changed if the topics raised are altered to meet sensitivity regulations. Hegemony will persist.\n\n[1] See further readings: Hirsch, 2013.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
8fe75201b873040b4ad2145aabc90b66
Land titles are being granted in high-risk areas. Land title provision for women across Africa is occurring in informal settlements and slums - therefore the question is whether titles provide an ability to relocate through the property market. First, land titles in the case of South Africa have left inhabitants stuck on the lower-end of the property market [1] . Lemanski (2010) shows homeownership, in Cape Town, does not bring the hoped for financial return. Low-income households are unable to trade their asset (land or home) due to low returns, preventing movement into upgraded houses and areas. Second, dangers emerge as to the degree of future sustainability when considering climate change and the hazardous nature of environments. In Mathare slum, Kenya, landslides are a frequent occurrence. The provision of titles in such areas does not have sustainable. [1] Lemanski, 2010.
[ { "docid": "0bca10f5d71db237a1cf6e686275c22f", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Real empowerment needs to enable strategic, and practical, gender needs (Moser, 1989). Land titling for women enables women to change their position in society and thus how they are viewed by the state and communities. Having a land title means women in high-risk areas can demand changes to be made by the state.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "b8aa8fee18a367a00ed5682eed5d2103", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house The possession of a formally recognised entitlement to land presents a win-win scenario - being an indicator of good governance and enabling the promotion of good governance. Land titles represent an effective economic institution in society, of which enables democratic, political institutions, such as an accountable state. Land titles mean corruption and rent-seeking behaviour can be monitored.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "54b3cc602013d6a0af82146cae528e88", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Renting holds fewer benefits for women than ownership. For empowerment more women need to become home, and landowners. The provision of land titles to women means they have a sense of stability. In the case of Johannesburg, South Africa, a majority of young, female renters engage in different forms of transactional sex due to the expense of renting [1] . Equality in land titling will ensure women are able to save and seek safer livelihood options.\n\n[1] See further readings: Action Aid, 2012.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4e0e544e16b3b0606ceb9693e398c6d3", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Female-headed households are not the poorest of the poor, and taxation is required. Taxation is vital resource to enable the government to mobilise key services and as a redistributive tool. By developing an effective functioning taxation system, social policies can be put on the agenda in Africa - providing social support and security to those in need.\n\nHaving access to titles will reduce poverty by encouraging entrepreneurialism, productive use of land, security, better health, and opportunity to enter property markets.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4750d605602bc8ff03688a4eb78f7d25", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Programmes implemented have taken action to reduce costs. The recent government program in Ethiopia has been government-sponsored and used a participatory model to ensure affordability across a large-scale.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "106395bce56063aefe81f69f0e7fe58a", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Although titles may initiate slum upgrading the quality and time-scale of services provided remains questionable. Services can be of poor-quality as states rush to meet demands, and the area whereby women are given titles may remain unsafe and unhealthy spaces. Titling therefore does not fundamentally improve, or provide, services and infrastructure.\n\nFurther, women are given the burden (time and physical) of building decent homes. The provision of land titling transfers responsibility from the state to women.\n\nIn many cases across Africa land is not owned by the state, but rather private actors and international organisations. Such realities have implications in whether women are able to invest in, and build, homes as land titles need to be respected, and recognised, by multiple actors not only the state.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ff5866d4e8bd2d29386816787f1824ea", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Having rights does not ensure there will be an awareness of how to use rights and education on what such rights do. To ensure land titles contribute to promoting gender equalities women, and girls, need to be made aware of the meaning of rights and how to use them. Land titles are not the means of providing inter-generational equality, but rather one piece of the puzzle. To ensure equality education and awareness is required.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4aa1d4371f14987b4c6929ed9962da2b", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house The case of Kenya is not representative of evidence across all African nations. In Rwanda, where post-conflict recovery has put gender equality as a fundamental objective, underlying tensions are emerging. Land titles have been distributed to women however male counterparts are beginning to raise doubts over the extent of gender 'equality', arguing policies reflect a gender bias in favour of women. [1]\n\nIn societies where women live in a ‘man’s world’ land titles are not the means of safety and security. Rape, harassment, and abuse occur in public spaces across cities, due to fear, police relations, and social acceptance.\n\n[1] Bikorimana, 2012.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2dfd5e7502c09e9f97aa909aa53f34b2", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Are women really able to access credit and finance, and should they be able to enter such markets if there is an inability to return payments or get equal profits? Accessing credit with a high interest rate may put women are greater risk. We need to think about the credit lenders, what they charge, and if it can be paid back. Women may be less willing to use their primary asset to gain credit due to the potential risk of loss.\n\nStudies in Madagascar [1] have shown limited differences in the degree of plot investment on land whereby titles were held, or not. The provision of a title has minimal impact in the case of rural Madagascar, suggesting women will be no more ‘entrepreneurial’ than initially believed [2] . Land speculation may become more of a concern with the provision of titles, as land is believed to be of value and thus occupied, but with minimal investments made.\n\n[1] Jacoby and Minten, 2007.\n\n[2] See further readings: Fenske, 2011.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d305d1267e39bf4f10b48d31e87711fd", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Land titles mean women will be recognised as citizens, with rights. Women will be included in the system of justice and their rights to occupy, build, and use, land, recognised. Titles will provide bottom-up empowerment. A physical and psychological sense of security will be provided; and a sense of social belonging, and place, is enabled. Legal security has benefits for health (mental and physical) and reduces risk. For example, access to titles will reduce the vulnerability of women to ‘property grabbing’.\n\nIn the case of Ethiopia, the introduction of joint land-titling and household registration in 2003 [1] has been shown to have changed women’s perception of tenure security. Previously, the prevalence of polygamous relationships meant only the first wife was granted legal rights and recognition, leaving other wives and households without rights to land. The provision of land titles ensures women equal security within a legal framework. Women are entitled to rights; and titles provide the security to use the legal system.\n\n[1] The Joint titling program in Ethiopia was a implemented as a partnership between the government and World Bank, see further readings: Girma and Giovarelli, 2013; Barne, 2010; and Deninger, 2008.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ad0043483d4c7f75a2e5c1467b1d5fcb", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Land titles are not affordable to poor women\n\nThe cost of obtaining land titles is higher than the benefits sought. Research has shown that although there is a desire, by women, to obtain land titles the reality is land titles remain unaffordable. To empower land titles need to be more affordable to include a diverse range of women able to obtain titles and rights [1] . Having expensive titles limits empowerment to the comparatively wealthy. To make matters worse the provision of titles increases the burden on women - introducing additional costs, time commitments, and worries on top of normal activities.\n\nCheaper, and more effective, alternatives are available to provide rights and security of tenure for women. For example Toulmin (2009) emphasises the potential role of using local institutions to register rights. Community organisations, for saving (etc) as in South Africa which prevent the need to go to loan sharks, are a positive alternative to empower women. [2] For real empowerment women need to be included in the process of designing land titles.\n\n[1] See further readings for the case of Dar-es-Salaam: Ayalew et al, 2013.\n\n[2] Frederikse 2011\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2c29d0c5303ad8e09a7eec5f1c852000", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Land titles do not solve the main issue for women - rental markets.\n\nAbout 50% of the poor across Africa, including women, used rental accommodation [1] , many are landless. Although it remains debatable as to whether women enter the rental market by choice or not, renting has been noted to provide a greater degree of flexibility. Renting provides flexibility to relocate and manage finances effectively over a short-term. Land titles may therefore increase immobility to those using the rental markets; and enable landlords to raise prices of renting. Titles don’t help those who rent.\n\n[1] Edwards, 1990, p.255\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4268c1702afc3429177e807c74cb9ec8", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Land titles, and markets, in Africa remain corrupt.\n\nOn the one hand, land titles do not provide increased tenure security for women and will legitimise gentrification. In urban areas, if women are granted rights over a desired plot of land holding titles may be more of a curse. Poor women may be forced, and enticed, to sell their homes at prices under their market value. Titles often results in urban gentrification, as the spaces become legally mapped and property markets work for the elite.\n\nOn another hand, land titles in African states are based on bad governance, rent-seeking, and corrupt desires. The idea land titles will provide empowerment, security and poverty reduction is based on a Western model of the state. However, the boundary between what is legal and illegal in African states remains less clear-cut. The case of Zimbabwe’s ‘Operation Murambatsvina’ (‘Restore Order’) in 2005 is a case in point. Mass evictions occurred despite the homes being classified as ‘legal’ and titles being held. Livelihoods were destroyed as a result. The ability for land titles to empower in a repressive or mercurial state is questionable. Propositions for land titling are based on inadequate blueprints and ideas of the state.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "682ce6f3a2d1853162a18fb3ea2e8af5", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Land titling will increase female poverty.\n\nTitles provide a path for the state to gain, and mobilise, resources - such as taxation. Therefore the provision of land titles to women will mean they are forced to pay taxes (including land tax and additional government taxes). Such a reality has major consequences for single female-headed households who represent a disproportionate number of the poor [1] . Increased expenses will impact multiple dimensions of their livelihoods.\n\n[1] For debates on Female-Headed Households in Africa as the ‘poorest of the poor’ see further readings: Chant, 2007.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a412db4eb0d8feb07039b498e582c34b", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Land titles mean single women can build decent homes.\n\nDue to a lack of access to formal titling women have been pushed into acquiring, and living in, slums [1] . Land titling programmes benefit slum dwellers and inhabitants living in informal housing across African cities. Titles for women mean a sense of security to inhabit space is provided; and women will be encouraged to invest in their land. Titling provision has resulted in slum upgrading, investing in changing the structure of urban Africa.\n\nSecond, being recognised as title holders means women are able to demand new services - such as access to water, sanitation, and lights. Such demand will ensure improved health for women. Women are able to use the law to interact with the state and change their future by demanding crucial services.\n\n[1] Slums are officially defined as a group of individuals living in a household which lacks safe housing, sufficient living space, access to water, adequate sanitation, and/or security of tenure (UN-Habitat, 2003).\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7651ae57da560525f5ed05a64da77096", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Land titles for women today will provide inter-generational equalities for the future.\n\nGiving women the right to land will provide the path for gender equality in the present and future. Girls will be granted equal access rights to family land and inheritance in the future, and decisions around marriage dowry can be changed.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1f90b54e1c75ac296baf7787f03baa1f", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Land titles will develop entrepreneurial women.\n\nAccess to titles is a means of poverty alleviation for female-headed households and women. Having recognised land rights means first, their land becomes exchangeable and profits can be gained through different strategies. Second, women are able to access credit and finance with the granting of a formal land title. Women are able to become entrepreneurs establishing businesses, agricultural cultivation, and the ability to sell property and land. Such investments have positive benefits for the whole economy. For example by encouraging crop cultivation to small-scale farmers food security can be provided, and the agrarian market revitalised. [1]\n\nIn the case of Ethiopia, the economy remains highly dependent on agricultural production. The security land titles provides has encouraged agricultural cultivation to women nationwide. Women are able to build a new food market and earn an income to sustain their livelihoods.\n\n[1] See further readings: Oseni, 2013.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0736c422deb37b8cbb1e989790e7d87a", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Land titles provide a voice in the legal system.\n\nLand titles mean women will be recognised as citizens, with rights. Women will be included in the system of justice and their rights to occupy, build, and use, land, recognised. Titles will provide bottom-up empowerment. A physical and psychological sense of security will be provided; and a sense of social belonging, and place, is enabled. Legal security has benefits for health (mental and physical) and reduces risk. For example, access to titles will reduce the vulnerability of women to ‘property grabbing’.\n\nIn the case of Ethiopia, the introduction of joint land-titling and household registration in 2003 [1] has been shown to have changed women’s perception of tenure security. Previously, the prevalence of polygamous relationships meant only the first wife was granted legal rights and recognition, leaving other wives and households without rights to land. The provision of land titles ensures women equal security within a legal framework. Women are entitled to rights; and titles provide the security to use the legal system.\n\n[1] The Joint titling program in Ethiopia was a implemented as a partnership between the government and World Bank, see further readings: Girma and Giovarelli, 2013; Barne, 2010; and Deninger, 2008.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b3dbfb1b763d43442b9c6b5140f53f95", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Land titles will help end violence against women.\n\nOne of the main forms of gender-based violence includes violent acts carried out by husbands or partners [1] . Evidence shows the provision of land titles reduce risks to female health and vulnerabilities to violence. Women become accepted as, and confident, decision makers within their homes as titling redistributes power within households. Furthermore possessing a land title enables safer sexual relations by offering legal protection. Research in Kenya has shown titles will reduce the risk of spreading HIV/AIDS and rape [2] . Due to gender norms widows are forced into traditional ‘cleansing’ rituals, rape and forced marriage, in order to hold onto physical assets and inherit their rightful land from in-laws. Land titles are therefore a means of tackling gender discrimination and providing freedom of choice on how women can act. Women are less likely to be forced into unsafe sex, following the death of their husband or divorce, to occupy the land.\n\nAdditionally, returning to the case of Kenya, FIDA have reported how a woman's choice to divorce her partner often leaves many property-less [3] . Women may be more likely to remain in an unhappy, dangerous, marriage without changes in property legal systems.\n\n[1] Defined by WHO, 2013.\n\n[2] Sweetman, 2008.\n\n[3] Migiro, 2013.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
af40389145e8c7f586dc55a4a4aeeb11
Land titling will increase female poverty. Titles provide a path for the state to gain, and mobilise, resources - such as taxation. Therefore the provision of land titles to women will mean they are forced to pay taxes (including land tax and additional government taxes). Such a reality has major consequences for single female-headed households who represent a disproportionate number of the poor [1] . Increased expenses will impact multiple dimensions of their livelihoods. [1] For debates on Female-Headed Households in Africa as the ‘poorest of the poor’ see further readings: Chant, 2007.
[ { "docid": "4e0e544e16b3b0606ceb9693e398c6d3", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Female-headed households are not the poorest of the poor, and taxation is required. Taxation is vital resource to enable the government to mobilise key services and as a redistributive tool. By developing an effective functioning taxation system, social policies can be put on the agenda in Africa - providing social support and security to those in need.\n\nHaving access to titles will reduce poverty by encouraging entrepreneurialism, productive use of land, security, better health, and opportunity to enter property markets.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "b8aa8fee18a367a00ed5682eed5d2103", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house The possession of a formally recognised entitlement to land presents a win-win scenario - being an indicator of good governance and enabling the promotion of good governance. Land titles represent an effective economic institution in society, of which enables democratic, political institutions, such as an accountable state. Land titles mean corruption and rent-seeking behaviour can be monitored.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "54b3cc602013d6a0af82146cae528e88", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Renting holds fewer benefits for women than ownership. For empowerment more women need to become home, and landowners. The provision of land titles to women means they have a sense of stability. In the case of Johannesburg, South Africa, a majority of young, female renters engage in different forms of transactional sex due to the expense of renting [1] . Equality in land titling will ensure women are able to save and seek safer livelihood options.\n\n[1] See further readings: Action Aid, 2012.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4750d605602bc8ff03688a4eb78f7d25", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Programmes implemented have taken action to reduce costs. The recent government program in Ethiopia has been government-sponsored and used a participatory model to ensure affordability across a large-scale.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0bca10f5d71db237a1cf6e686275c22f", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Real empowerment needs to enable strategic, and practical, gender needs (Moser, 1989). Land titling for women enables women to change their position in society and thus how they are viewed by the state and communities. Having a land title means women in high-risk areas can demand changes to be made by the state.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "106395bce56063aefe81f69f0e7fe58a", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Although titles may initiate slum upgrading the quality and time-scale of services provided remains questionable. Services can be of poor-quality as states rush to meet demands, and the area whereby women are given titles may remain unsafe and unhealthy spaces. Titling therefore does not fundamentally improve, or provide, services and infrastructure.\n\nFurther, women are given the burden (time and physical) of building decent homes. The provision of land titling transfers responsibility from the state to women.\n\nIn many cases across Africa land is not owned by the state, but rather private actors and international organisations. Such realities have implications in whether women are able to invest in, and build, homes as land titles need to be respected, and recognised, by multiple actors not only the state.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ff5866d4e8bd2d29386816787f1824ea", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Having rights does not ensure there will be an awareness of how to use rights and education on what such rights do. To ensure land titles contribute to promoting gender equalities women, and girls, need to be made aware of the meaning of rights and how to use them. Land titles are not the means of providing inter-generational equality, but rather one piece of the puzzle. To ensure equality education and awareness is required.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4aa1d4371f14987b4c6929ed9962da2b", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house The case of Kenya is not representative of evidence across all African nations. In Rwanda, where post-conflict recovery has put gender equality as a fundamental objective, underlying tensions are emerging. Land titles have been distributed to women however male counterparts are beginning to raise doubts over the extent of gender 'equality', arguing policies reflect a gender bias in favour of women. [1]\n\nIn societies where women live in a ‘man’s world’ land titles are not the means of safety and security. Rape, harassment, and abuse occur in public spaces across cities, due to fear, police relations, and social acceptance.\n\n[1] Bikorimana, 2012.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2dfd5e7502c09e9f97aa909aa53f34b2", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Are women really able to access credit and finance, and should they be able to enter such markets if there is an inability to return payments or get equal profits? Accessing credit with a high interest rate may put women are greater risk. We need to think about the credit lenders, what they charge, and if it can be paid back. Women may be less willing to use their primary asset to gain credit due to the potential risk of loss.\n\nStudies in Madagascar [1] have shown limited differences in the degree of plot investment on land whereby titles were held, or not. The provision of a title has minimal impact in the case of rural Madagascar, suggesting women will be no more ‘entrepreneurial’ than initially believed [2] . Land speculation may become more of a concern with the provision of titles, as land is believed to be of value and thus occupied, but with minimal investments made.\n\n[1] Jacoby and Minten, 2007.\n\n[2] See further readings: Fenske, 2011.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d305d1267e39bf4f10b48d31e87711fd", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Land titles mean women will be recognised as citizens, with rights. Women will be included in the system of justice and their rights to occupy, build, and use, land, recognised. Titles will provide bottom-up empowerment. A physical and psychological sense of security will be provided; and a sense of social belonging, and place, is enabled. Legal security has benefits for health (mental and physical) and reduces risk. For example, access to titles will reduce the vulnerability of women to ‘property grabbing’.\n\nIn the case of Ethiopia, the introduction of joint land-titling and household registration in 2003 [1] has been shown to have changed women’s perception of tenure security. Previously, the prevalence of polygamous relationships meant only the first wife was granted legal rights and recognition, leaving other wives and households without rights to land. The provision of land titles ensures women equal security within a legal framework. Women are entitled to rights; and titles provide the security to use the legal system.\n\n[1] The Joint titling program in Ethiopia was a implemented as a partnership between the government and World Bank, see further readings: Girma and Giovarelli, 2013; Barne, 2010; and Deninger, 2008.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "644b193de402b60c1b25ad2fd4fefd54", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Land titles are being granted in high-risk areas.\n\nLand title provision for women across Africa is occurring in informal settlements and slums - therefore the question is whether titles provide an ability to relocate through the property market. First, land titles in the case of South Africa have left inhabitants stuck on the lower-end of the property market [1] . Lemanski (2010) shows homeownership, in Cape Town, does not bring the hoped for financial return. Low-income households are unable to trade their asset (land or home) due to low returns, preventing movement into upgraded houses and areas. Second, dangers emerge as to the degree of future sustainability when considering climate change and the hazardous nature of environments. In Mathare slum, Kenya, landslides are a frequent occurrence. The provision of titles in such areas does not have sustainable.\n\n[1] Lemanski, 2010.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ad0043483d4c7f75a2e5c1467b1d5fcb", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Land titles are not affordable to poor women\n\nThe cost of obtaining land titles is higher than the benefits sought. Research has shown that although there is a desire, by women, to obtain land titles the reality is land titles remain unaffordable. To empower land titles need to be more affordable to include a diverse range of women able to obtain titles and rights [1] . Having expensive titles limits empowerment to the comparatively wealthy. To make matters worse the provision of titles increases the burden on women - introducing additional costs, time commitments, and worries on top of normal activities.\n\nCheaper, and more effective, alternatives are available to provide rights and security of tenure for women. For example Toulmin (2009) emphasises the potential role of using local institutions to register rights. Community organisations, for saving (etc) as in South Africa which prevent the need to go to loan sharks, are a positive alternative to empower women. [2] For real empowerment women need to be included in the process of designing land titles.\n\n[1] See further readings for the case of Dar-es-Salaam: Ayalew et al, 2013.\n\n[2] Frederikse 2011\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2c29d0c5303ad8e09a7eec5f1c852000", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Land titles do not solve the main issue for women - rental markets.\n\nAbout 50% of the poor across Africa, including women, used rental accommodation [1] , many are landless. Although it remains debatable as to whether women enter the rental market by choice or not, renting has been noted to provide a greater degree of flexibility. Renting provides flexibility to relocate and manage finances effectively over a short-term. Land titles may therefore increase immobility to those using the rental markets; and enable landlords to raise prices of renting. Titles don’t help those who rent.\n\n[1] Edwards, 1990, p.255\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4268c1702afc3429177e807c74cb9ec8", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Land titles, and markets, in Africa remain corrupt.\n\nOn the one hand, land titles do not provide increased tenure security for women and will legitimise gentrification. In urban areas, if women are granted rights over a desired plot of land holding titles may be more of a curse. Poor women may be forced, and enticed, to sell their homes at prices under their market value. Titles often results in urban gentrification, as the spaces become legally mapped and property markets work for the elite.\n\nOn another hand, land titles in African states are based on bad governance, rent-seeking, and corrupt desires. The idea land titles will provide empowerment, security and poverty reduction is based on a Western model of the state. However, the boundary between what is legal and illegal in African states remains less clear-cut. The case of Zimbabwe’s ‘Operation Murambatsvina’ (‘Restore Order’) in 2005 is a case in point. Mass evictions occurred despite the homes being classified as ‘legal’ and titles being held. Livelihoods were destroyed as a result. The ability for land titles to empower in a repressive or mercurial state is questionable. Propositions for land titling are based on inadequate blueprints and ideas of the state.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a412db4eb0d8feb07039b498e582c34b", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Land titles mean single women can build decent homes.\n\nDue to a lack of access to formal titling women have been pushed into acquiring, and living in, slums [1] . Land titling programmes benefit slum dwellers and inhabitants living in informal housing across African cities. Titles for women mean a sense of security to inhabit space is provided; and women will be encouraged to invest in their land. Titling provision has resulted in slum upgrading, investing in changing the structure of urban Africa.\n\nSecond, being recognised as title holders means women are able to demand new services - such as access to water, sanitation, and lights. Such demand will ensure improved health for women. Women are able to use the law to interact with the state and change their future by demanding crucial services.\n\n[1] Slums are officially defined as a group of individuals living in a household which lacks safe housing, sufficient living space, access to water, adequate sanitation, and/or security of tenure (UN-Habitat, 2003).\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7651ae57da560525f5ed05a64da77096", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Land titles for women today will provide inter-generational equalities for the future.\n\nGiving women the right to land will provide the path for gender equality in the present and future. Girls will be granted equal access rights to family land and inheritance in the future, and decisions around marriage dowry can be changed.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1f90b54e1c75ac296baf7787f03baa1f", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Land titles will develop entrepreneurial women.\n\nAccess to titles is a means of poverty alleviation for female-headed households and women. Having recognised land rights means first, their land becomes exchangeable and profits can be gained through different strategies. Second, women are able to access credit and finance with the granting of a formal land title. Women are able to become entrepreneurs establishing businesses, agricultural cultivation, and the ability to sell property and land. Such investments have positive benefits for the whole economy. For example by encouraging crop cultivation to small-scale farmers food security can be provided, and the agrarian market revitalised. [1]\n\nIn the case of Ethiopia, the economy remains highly dependent on agricultural production. The security land titles provides has encouraged agricultural cultivation to women nationwide. Women are able to build a new food market and earn an income to sustain their livelihoods.\n\n[1] See further readings: Oseni, 2013.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0736c422deb37b8cbb1e989790e7d87a", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Land titles provide a voice in the legal system.\n\nLand titles mean women will be recognised as citizens, with rights. Women will be included in the system of justice and their rights to occupy, build, and use, land, recognised. Titles will provide bottom-up empowerment. A physical and psychological sense of security will be provided; and a sense of social belonging, and place, is enabled. Legal security has benefits for health (mental and physical) and reduces risk. For example, access to titles will reduce the vulnerability of women to ‘property grabbing’.\n\nIn the case of Ethiopia, the introduction of joint land-titling and household registration in 2003 [1] has been shown to have changed women’s perception of tenure security. Previously, the prevalence of polygamous relationships meant only the first wife was granted legal rights and recognition, leaving other wives and households without rights to land. The provision of land titles ensures women equal security within a legal framework. Women are entitled to rights; and titles provide the security to use the legal system.\n\n[1] The Joint titling program in Ethiopia was a implemented as a partnership between the government and World Bank, see further readings: Girma and Giovarelli, 2013; Barne, 2010; and Deninger, 2008.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b3dbfb1b763d43442b9c6b5140f53f95", "text": "ic policy international africa society gender family immigration house Land titles will help end violence against women.\n\nOne of the main forms of gender-based violence includes violent acts carried out by husbands or partners [1] . Evidence shows the provision of land titles reduce risks to female health and vulnerabilities to violence. Women become accepted as, and confident, decision makers within their homes as titling redistributes power within households. Furthermore possessing a land title enables safer sexual relations by offering legal protection. Research in Kenya has shown titles will reduce the risk of spreading HIV/AIDS and rape [2] . Due to gender norms widows are forced into traditional ‘cleansing’ rituals, rape and forced marriage, in order to hold onto physical assets and inherit their rightful land from in-laws. Land titles are therefore a means of tackling gender discrimination and providing freedom of choice on how women can act. Women are less likely to be forced into unsafe sex, following the death of their husband or divorce, to occupy the land.\n\nAdditionally, returning to the case of Kenya, FIDA have reported how a woman's choice to divorce her partner often leaves many property-less [3] . Women may be more likely to remain in an unhappy, dangerous, marriage without changes in property legal systems.\n\n[1] Defined by WHO, 2013.\n\n[2] Sweetman, 2008.\n\n[3] Migiro, 2013.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
992d53608f6fe571752ffebf14bf5cba
Celebrities, like athletes, enhance the nation’s image and generate revenue The South Korean government issues occasional exemptions to athletes who have won an Olympic gold medal or achieved a similar feat. If we accept that the law ought to be consistent then there is no reason why entertainers should not be proffered the same opportunity. Both professions tend to favour the young and the requirement that military service needs to be completed before the age of thirty mean that either career would be interrupted just at the point when the individual is likely to be at the height of their skills. Equally both groups bring prestige for Korea as a nation. Entertainers like Jung-Ji Hoon (Rain) have just as much of a following as athletes such as Park Ji-Sung who, along with his team mates on the Korean national team was exempted from military service for reaching the semi-finals of the world cup [1] . Indeed Rain predominantly works in Korea and has a following throughout the country and the region whereas Park has spent most of his career playing for foreign teams. [1] Arsenal Forum , August 30 2011
[ { "docid": "3e834ed02b73288142373282fb9594be", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service Celebrities, unlike athletes, work for themselves whereas athletes represent the country. Military service means representing the nation to the rest of the world as does being an athlete, that’s the reason for the exemption, not simply a matter of celebrity.\n\nThe psychologist Hwang Sang-Min [1] has made clear that “Entertainers are thought to work for their own sakes. That’s the difference.”\n\nPark Ji-Sung and his teammates were representing their country and achieved a national first. Granting an exemption recognised their accomplishment on behalf of the country. In a very literal meaning of the phrase they performed national service.\n\nEquating such an accomplishment with a performer who is simply doing their job – for which they are well paid – misses the point of the exemptions. Singers and actors happen to be Korean; they are not acting or singing for Korea. Indeed given the speed with which some performers have given up their nationality in a bid to avoid national service, comparing it to a genuine national accomplishment seems absurd.\n\nWhen actors such as Song Seung-heon attempted to avoid national service they were rightly decried and their actions have far more in common with the sons of politicians and businessmen who seek to use their status to avoid the draft.\n\n[1] Salon.com , Jim Lee, Pop Sensation Rain Joins the South Korean Army\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "d8fafa99116d954be483e4c06989c4a6", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service Anyone setting out on such a career is aware of the legal requirement to undertake service in the armed forces. There is absolutely nothing to stop them doing it before they start their career. There are plenty of jobs where it is inconvenient to have to take an extended break. Anything relating to technology or research, for example, where there is a need to keep up to date with the latest developments in the field is fairly unforgiving of such a break and so people build their careers around it, knowing that at some point they will be out of the loop for 24 months or so.\n\nTo suggest that it is more important that a pop star is able to keep on recording but that it is for scientist and technicians in the most wired country in the world to keep up with changes in technology is as inconsistent as it is unfair. The case of the performer is clearly weaker it’s simply that they have the status and fame to mean that they can make a big fuss about it and people will notice.\n\nWhatever the vanity of celebrity may suggest it’s just another job and it’s questionable as to how much benefit it actually provides to society at large.\n\nFurther pandering to that vanity by suggesting that society can’t cope without a particular singer or actor for two years is ridiculous. There is no shortage of people wanting to do the job.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7d1b155c8b99485cc2a5ccd275978027", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service Again, there is nothing to stop celebrities doing their military service before they start performing but, even were that not the case, military service is not something that is undertaken because it is convenient or easy but rather something that is done because it is necessary. The country is at risk of invasion, it is still technically at war with the North and in the last Kim Jong-Il has become increasingly erratic.\n\nOf all professions surely performers, with their peculiar interest in the combination of a consumer society and the right to freedom of expression have the greatest interest in insuring that the north doesn’t invade. Neither wars nor dictatorships are particularly known for encouraging the performing arts.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0a6cae6bda5a1ca87b8b080ded5c6c3c", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service It could be done in much the same way as with sportsman where ‘exceptional achievement’ is recognised concept and, while difficult to define, is easy to apply. As long as the whole process takes place transparently it should ensure that it is not abused. The issue is not so much introducing exemptions to the universality of the current system but, rather, ensuring the transparency of the process.\n\nThere are already abuses of the system with the children of the powerful, the so called ‘sons of gods’ often finding ways around the law. That is not a difficulty of definition, it’s simple corruption.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "00e9e24e54d032f155bf4c4433fb3fae", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service It seems, frankly unfair to ask people to destroy their careers on the basis that it will encourage others to do something that the law already requires of them. The legislation for national service was structured on the basis of a country that was very different from modern day Korea. In 1953 Korea was the poorest country in the world and national service was, among other things, a useful tool for training and providing employment for the young. That is simply no longer the case. The legislation and the principals that underpin it are simply not designed to deal with a Korean in their twenties who is already recognised around the world and has a staggeringly successful career.\n\nIt’s clear that the framers acknowledged that there was at least one profession where people could excel while still young – hence the exemption for highly successful athletes. The fact is that 60 years ago the idea of a rapper, singer or actor who could genuinely promote Korea around the world was simply not there.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2f5f155b814cc5275f03226e18cd7742", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service There may well be a case to be made that certain other professions or groups should be given exemptions. That does not, however, demonstrate that celebrities should not. This simply reflects the fact that, by definition, celebrities are not typical citizens.\n\nThey provide a valuable role in society and that should be recognised. They provide entertainment and glamour in peoples’ lives, they promote Korea around the world and they are also very few in number.\n\nNews reports whenever a celebrity undertakes national service are always keen to stress that they will not receive special treatment, it is difficult to see why. Historically, entertainers serving in military forces around the world are always used to build national morale and yet in South Korea they are not. It is this instance that is the exception to the rule.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a5872e3e9252cd6b59f4c75ea8b00197", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service Celebrities fulfill two important roles that allow them to demonstrate that they are better serving the national interests by pursuing their careers. The first is the unifying and moral building effect on the nation. It is even possible to argue as some scholars have [1] that in an increasingly fractured society, celebrities may be the only people who can have a unifying effect.\n\nThe second role is taking an international profile. They act as a constant reminder to the world of the existence of South Korea and that it is a free country with a thriving arts scene. These roles make a far greater difference to the process of protecting the state and the freedoms for which it stands than they could ever do as just another man in fatigues.\n\n[1] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2007.00380.x/full\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "71f5d510a300f7527fcfc5a0539234a6", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service Celebrities are in the unusual position of requiring constant media attention\n\nThe career path of celebrities is unusual in that it accretes over time on the basis of the performers standing in the public mind. Unlike other professions this does not lend itself to taking two years out of the limelight, especially years when fame is coming to its height.\n\nThe media is notoriously fickle and equally well-known for having a short memory. It generally struggles to stay interested in a celebrity if they’re out of the limelight for more than a few weeks. It is simply unfeasible that they would remain interested when someone has been out of the spotlight for over two years. In effect this means that for a Korean musician or actor their career will finish at the age of 29.\n\nIn other profession it is possible to build a career around national service and employers know that at some point any young man they employ will need to undertake their military service but celebrities simply aren’t employed in this way.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1b4f61f079b3286dd1deddc5c8c773b1", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service Having the age of 30 as the cut-off point is uniquely unfair to performers as this is the age when they are likely to be at the height of their fame and towards the end of their career.\n\nFor most professions, getting military service out of the way early in one’s career makes sense. Nobody would suggest that members of other professions should be expected to interrupt it when they are at the height of their profession. In reality for most people this would be when they are in their fifties. For professions like acting and music this tends to be the late twenties and early thirties. Indeed, for pop singers in particular their career is likely to be over when they are 35.\n\nIn the light of this setting the age limit where it is is uniquely unfair to performers – just as it is to athletes.\n\nMilitary service anywhere in the world is considered to be something you undertake before your career, not in the middle of it. Regulations should reflect reality, in this instance that means allowing performers to get on with their careers.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f78d976442a172bb2e9bd3fea90ac392", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service One of the great strengths of national service is that it demonstrates that everyone is equal\n\nBoth the Constitution and the National Security Act [1] make it explicitly clear that there are occasions when individuals in South Korea must surrender some of their liberty in the interests of preserving the state. These pieces of legislation and others reflect the reality of living next door to North Korea. The whole point of legislation that preserves the state is that it applies to everybody.\n\nParticularly in the instance of national service, the moment it becomes optional it ceases to work. No doubt many of those who have been arrested under the NSA took the attitude that it really didn’t, or shouldn’t, apply to them. It does.\n\nEven if a compelling case could be made for celebrities to have the right not to serve, it is inconceivable that such a case could be made exclusively for celebrities. It is hard to see how the national interest is well served by having someone appear in a soap opera or a record sleeve but not by having someone in an emergency room or classroom.\n\n[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Act_(South_Korea)#cite_note-2\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e2218b7ae712b37754f52eb46b50e3c9", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service Celebrities are respected by young people and this is a way in which they can act as a role model and set a positive example.\n\nAt a time when the 1950-53 war is becoming less relevant to peoples’ daily lives and all generations, particularly the youngest, are becoming reluctant to fulfil their duty in a country that is still at war, celebrities have a powerful opportunity to act as role models for others to fulfil their national service obligations.\n\nAllowing them an opt out would set a terrible example. By definition they are of a generation with others entering the military and there is a powerful symbolism in their doing so as well.\n\nBy contrast allowing them an exemption would encourage others to try and find a way out of serving.\n\nAlthough it seems probable that in the event of a conflict the main protagonists would be the USA and China rather than the conscript armies of North and South Korea, there would seem to be a definite benefit in having the male population trained sufficiently well to take on civil defence duties and to be able to ensure their own safety and that of their families.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6f15a1aad461230868f19c52de1672de", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service In practical terms how would you define who should be given an exemption and how do you prevent abuse?\n\nThe advantage of the current system is its universality, it does not require any interpretation of who is and is not included. Who exactly is a celebrity? How do you define that and how do you insure that it isn’t used to cover the children of law makers and other influential individuals?\n\nCelebrity, almost by its nature, is impossible to define and the moment you attempt to do so – ‘all professional singers’ for example – you create a loophole that people will rush through.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fc3087a79b599438cb497484f2108d3b", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service There are many professions that could more sensibly be given exemption such as teachers\n\nOnly in a world truly and unhealthily obsessed with the cult of celebrity would pop singers and soap stars be at the top of the list for exemptions to military service. Surely scientists and surgeons would have a better claim. Indeed with shortages of professionals reported in both science and technology [1] it would seem to make far more sense to offer opt outs there in an effort to encourage more people to study the subjects at university and to make their careers in those areas.\n\nOn the basis that people are not even given an exemption on the basis of religious or moral conviction, it seems perverse to give exemptions on the basis of fame [2] .\n\n[1] http://www.prospects.ac.uk/south_korea_job_market.htm\n\n[2] http://www2.gol.com/users/quakers/korea_solidarity_for_CO.htm\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
89abd6009c73f391ab0edd80a5c3faf0
There are many professions that could more sensibly be given exemption such as teachers Only in a world truly and unhealthily obsessed with the cult of celebrity would pop singers and soap stars be at the top of the list for exemptions to military service. Surely scientists and surgeons would have a better claim. Indeed with shortages of professionals reported in both science and technology [1] it would seem to make far more sense to offer opt outs there in an effort to encourage more people to study the subjects at university and to make their careers in those areas. On the basis that people are not even given an exemption on the basis of religious or moral conviction, it seems perverse to give exemptions on the basis of fame [2] . [1] http://www.prospects.ac.uk/south_korea_job_market.htm [2] http://www2.gol.com/users/quakers/korea_solidarity_for_CO.htm
[ { "docid": "2f5f155b814cc5275f03226e18cd7742", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service There may well be a case to be made that certain other professions or groups should be given exemptions. That does not, however, demonstrate that celebrities should not. This simply reflects the fact that, by definition, celebrities are not typical citizens.\n\nThey provide a valuable role in society and that should be recognised. They provide entertainment and glamour in peoples’ lives, they promote Korea around the world and they are also very few in number.\n\nNews reports whenever a celebrity undertakes national service are always keen to stress that they will not receive special treatment, it is difficult to see why. Historically, entertainers serving in military forces around the world are always used to build national morale and yet in South Korea they are not. It is this instance that is the exception to the rule.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "0a6cae6bda5a1ca87b8b080ded5c6c3c", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service It could be done in much the same way as with sportsman where ‘exceptional achievement’ is recognised concept and, while difficult to define, is easy to apply. As long as the whole process takes place transparently it should ensure that it is not abused. The issue is not so much introducing exemptions to the universality of the current system but, rather, ensuring the transparency of the process.\n\nThere are already abuses of the system with the children of the powerful, the so called ‘sons of gods’ often finding ways around the law. That is not a difficulty of definition, it’s simple corruption.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "00e9e24e54d032f155bf4c4433fb3fae", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service It seems, frankly unfair to ask people to destroy their careers on the basis that it will encourage others to do something that the law already requires of them. The legislation for national service was structured on the basis of a country that was very different from modern day Korea. In 1953 Korea was the poorest country in the world and national service was, among other things, a useful tool for training and providing employment for the young. That is simply no longer the case. The legislation and the principals that underpin it are simply not designed to deal with a Korean in their twenties who is already recognised around the world and has a staggeringly successful career.\n\nIt’s clear that the framers acknowledged that there was at least one profession where people could excel while still young – hence the exemption for highly successful athletes. The fact is that 60 years ago the idea of a rapper, singer or actor who could genuinely promote Korea around the world was simply not there.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a5872e3e9252cd6b59f4c75ea8b00197", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service Celebrities fulfill two important roles that allow them to demonstrate that they are better serving the national interests by pursuing their careers. The first is the unifying and moral building effect on the nation. It is even possible to argue as some scholars have [1] that in an increasingly fractured society, celebrities may be the only people who can have a unifying effect.\n\nThe second role is taking an international profile. They act as a constant reminder to the world of the existence of South Korea and that it is a free country with a thriving arts scene. These roles make a far greater difference to the process of protecting the state and the freedoms for which it stands than they could ever do as just another man in fatigues.\n\n[1] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2007.00380.x/full\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d8fafa99116d954be483e4c06989c4a6", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service Anyone setting out on such a career is aware of the legal requirement to undertake service in the armed forces. There is absolutely nothing to stop them doing it before they start their career. There are plenty of jobs where it is inconvenient to have to take an extended break. Anything relating to technology or research, for example, where there is a need to keep up to date with the latest developments in the field is fairly unforgiving of such a break and so people build their careers around it, knowing that at some point they will be out of the loop for 24 months or so.\n\nTo suggest that it is more important that a pop star is able to keep on recording but that it is for scientist and technicians in the most wired country in the world to keep up with changes in technology is as inconsistent as it is unfair. The case of the performer is clearly weaker it’s simply that they have the status and fame to mean that they can make a big fuss about it and people will notice.\n\nWhatever the vanity of celebrity may suggest it’s just another job and it’s questionable as to how much benefit it actually provides to society at large.\n\nFurther pandering to that vanity by suggesting that society can’t cope without a particular singer or actor for two years is ridiculous. There is no shortage of people wanting to do the job.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7d1b155c8b99485cc2a5ccd275978027", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service Again, there is nothing to stop celebrities doing their military service before they start performing but, even were that not the case, military service is not something that is undertaken because it is convenient or easy but rather something that is done because it is necessary. The country is at risk of invasion, it is still technically at war with the North and in the last Kim Jong-Il has become increasingly erratic.\n\nOf all professions surely performers, with their peculiar interest in the combination of a consumer society and the right to freedom of expression have the greatest interest in insuring that the north doesn’t invade. Neither wars nor dictatorships are particularly known for encouraging the performing arts.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3e834ed02b73288142373282fb9594be", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service Celebrities, unlike athletes, work for themselves whereas athletes represent the country. Military service means representing the nation to the rest of the world as does being an athlete, that’s the reason for the exemption, not simply a matter of celebrity.\n\nThe psychologist Hwang Sang-Min [1] has made clear that “Entertainers are thought to work for their own sakes. That’s the difference.”\n\nPark Ji-Sung and his teammates were representing their country and achieved a national first. Granting an exemption recognised their accomplishment on behalf of the country. In a very literal meaning of the phrase they performed national service.\n\nEquating such an accomplishment with a performer who is simply doing their job – for which they are well paid – misses the point of the exemptions. Singers and actors happen to be Korean; they are not acting or singing for Korea. Indeed given the speed with which some performers have given up their nationality in a bid to avoid national service, comparing it to a genuine national accomplishment seems absurd.\n\nWhen actors such as Song Seung-heon attempted to avoid national service they were rightly decried and their actions have far more in common with the sons of politicians and businessmen who seek to use their status to avoid the draft.\n\n[1] Salon.com , Jim Lee, Pop Sensation Rain Joins the South Korean Army\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f78d976442a172bb2e9bd3fea90ac392", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service One of the great strengths of national service is that it demonstrates that everyone is equal\n\nBoth the Constitution and the National Security Act [1] make it explicitly clear that there are occasions when individuals in South Korea must surrender some of their liberty in the interests of preserving the state. These pieces of legislation and others reflect the reality of living next door to North Korea. The whole point of legislation that preserves the state is that it applies to everybody.\n\nParticularly in the instance of national service, the moment it becomes optional it ceases to work. No doubt many of those who have been arrested under the NSA took the attitude that it really didn’t, or shouldn’t, apply to them. It does.\n\nEven if a compelling case could be made for celebrities to have the right not to serve, it is inconceivable that such a case could be made exclusively for celebrities. It is hard to see how the national interest is well served by having someone appear in a soap opera or a record sleeve but not by having someone in an emergency room or classroom.\n\n[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Act_(South_Korea)#cite_note-2\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e2218b7ae712b37754f52eb46b50e3c9", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service Celebrities are respected by young people and this is a way in which they can act as a role model and set a positive example.\n\nAt a time when the 1950-53 war is becoming less relevant to peoples’ daily lives and all generations, particularly the youngest, are becoming reluctant to fulfil their duty in a country that is still at war, celebrities have a powerful opportunity to act as role models for others to fulfil their national service obligations.\n\nAllowing them an opt out would set a terrible example. By definition they are of a generation with others entering the military and there is a powerful symbolism in their doing so as well.\n\nBy contrast allowing them an exemption would encourage others to try and find a way out of serving.\n\nAlthough it seems probable that in the event of a conflict the main protagonists would be the USA and China rather than the conscript armies of North and South Korea, there would seem to be a definite benefit in having the male population trained sufficiently well to take on civil defence duties and to be able to ensure their own safety and that of their families.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6f15a1aad461230868f19c52de1672de", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service In practical terms how would you define who should be given an exemption and how do you prevent abuse?\n\nThe advantage of the current system is its universality, it does not require any interpretation of who is and is not included. Who exactly is a celebrity? How do you define that and how do you insure that it isn’t used to cover the children of law makers and other influential individuals?\n\nCelebrity, almost by its nature, is impossible to define and the moment you attempt to do so – ‘all professional singers’ for example – you create a loophole that people will rush through.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "71f5d510a300f7527fcfc5a0539234a6", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service Celebrities are in the unusual position of requiring constant media attention\n\nThe career path of celebrities is unusual in that it accretes over time on the basis of the performers standing in the public mind. Unlike other professions this does not lend itself to taking two years out of the limelight, especially years when fame is coming to its height.\n\nThe media is notoriously fickle and equally well-known for having a short memory. It generally struggles to stay interested in a celebrity if they’re out of the limelight for more than a few weeks. It is simply unfeasible that they would remain interested when someone has been out of the spotlight for over two years. In effect this means that for a Korean musician or actor their career will finish at the age of 29.\n\nIn other profession it is possible to build a career around national service and employers know that at some point any young man they employ will need to undertake their military service but celebrities simply aren’t employed in this way.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1b4f61f079b3286dd1deddc5c8c773b1", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service Having the age of 30 as the cut-off point is uniquely unfair to performers as this is the age when they are likely to be at the height of their fame and towards the end of their career.\n\nFor most professions, getting military service out of the way early in one’s career makes sense. Nobody would suggest that members of other professions should be expected to interrupt it when they are at the height of their profession. In reality for most people this would be when they are in their fifties. For professions like acting and music this tends to be the late twenties and early thirties. Indeed, for pop singers in particular their career is likely to be over when they are 35.\n\nIn the light of this setting the age limit where it is is uniquely unfair to performers – just as it is to athletes.\n\nMilitary service anywhere in the world is considered to be something you undertake before your career, not in the middle of it. Regulations should reflect reality, in this instance that means allowing performers to get on with their careers.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d559120c8e9558c2326ff08c700c289e", "text": "culture general politics defence house would exempt celebrities national service Celebrities, like athletes, enhance the nation’s image and generate revenue\n\nThe South Korean government issues occasional exemptions to athletes who have won an Olympic gold medal or achieved a similar feat. If we accept that the law ought to be consistent then there is no reason why entertainers should not be proffered the same opportunity. Both professions tend to favour the young and the requirement that military service needs to be completed before the age of thirty mean that either career would be interrupted just at the point when the individual is likely to be at the height of their skills.\n\nEqually both groups bring prestige for Korea as a nation. Entertainers like Jung-Ji Hoon (Rain) have just as much of a following as athletes such as Park Ji-Sung who, along with his team mates on the Korean national team was exempted from military service for reaching the semi-finals of the world cup [1] .\n\nIndeed Rain predominantly works in Korea and has a following throughout the country and the region whereas Park has spent most of his career playing for foreign teams.\n\n[1] Arsenal Forum , August 30 2011\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
9d457778917d8b1060b043bf2dc5b885
Casinos create positive economic effects in the communities that host them Casinos can revive entire areas and regions. They create jobs and cause money to be spent on transport infrastructure. The jobs are not just in the casino itself. More jobs are created in hotels and other parts of the tourism industry. In an article for nwjob.com Sandra Miedema, ‘Snoqualmies’ employment coordinator is quoted saying that at any one time there are an average of 20 vacancies, from chefs to table dealers.1 In the United States commercial casinos employed more than 350,000 people in 2003.2 Casinos have helped to regenerate many places that previously had considerable poverty and social problems, e.g. Atlantic City, New Jersey5. 1 Libraryindex.com, ‘Casinos: The Effects of Casinos – Employment’ 2 Associated Press, Atlantic City to be transformed by 2012, November 20 2007
[ { "docid": "12f641e01e23bc17c3696937a2f3a881", "text": "culture general law law general house would ban gambling The economic benefits of casinos are exaggerated.1 They generally only create low-paid jobs for local people – the casino companies usually bring in managers from elsewhere. The problems associated with casinos (e.g. crime, gambling addiction) outweigh the economic benefits. In any case, an immoral industry is not justified by the fact that it creates employment.\n\n1 John Warren Kind, \"The Business-Economic Impacts of Licensed Casino Gambling in West Virginia: Short-Term Gain but Long-Term Pain\", PBS, 1994\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "fbd0acfbb4ee3458816a52ae9ac86c52", "text": "culture general law law general house would ban gambling Gambling is a harmful activity and could have harmful effects on not only to individuals but also on their friends and family. Gamblers may win money from time to time, but in the long run, the house always wins. Why should governments allow an activity that helps their citizens lose the money they have worked so hard to earn? Surely it is the responsibility of the government to protect its citizens from harming themselves, just as harmful substances are illegal, gambling should also be illegal.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "68b4ba9cda58b9d88c38155a99de557e", "text": "culture general law law general house would ban gambling Gambling is quite different from buying stocks and shares. With the stock market investors are buying a stake in an actual company. This share may rise or fall in value, but so can a house or artwork. In each case there is a real asset that is likely to hold its value in the long term, which isn’t the case with gambling. Company shares and bonds can even produce a regular income through dividend and interest payments. It is true that some forms of financial speculation are more like gambling – for example the derivatives market or short-selling, where the investor does not actually own the asset being traded. But these are not types of investment that ordinary people have much to do with. They are also the kinds of financial activity most to blame for the financial crisis, which suggests we need more government control, not less.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "507bfd1dc9da6f6cde3cbb2ff2a65da9", "text": "culture general law law general house would ban gambling Gambling is not impossible to ban, although it will not be easy such examples of states that have banned it show that it is possible and although illegal activity may arise from the ban this can also be stopped by though rules. If government did not ban activities where some may find a way around it, nothing would be banned at all.\n\nMaking an activity more difficult to pursue will still reduce the number of those who take it up. It is not impossible to put effective deterrent steps in place, such as the recent US ban on American banks processing credit card payments to internet gambling sites.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2f944eef02cca57ae7385fe71572d140", "text": "culture general law law general house would ban gambling Treatment programs can address the problems of those who are addicted, and many casinos offer “Self-Exclusion Programs”, where individuals can effectively “ban” themselves from casinos. This could be the initiative of either the gambler or their family or friends.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "34525b708437f30654be1f765fe28cc8", "text": "culture general law law general house would ban gambling Gambling effects every person in the same way, everyone have the free will to decide to gamble and each may win or lose despite of their wealth or position in society, thus gambling cannot affect poor people to a greater extent. Gambling is only regressive because more poor people choose to gamble.\n\nGambling does also have good effects on all member of society- Gambling is often used to raise money for the state or good causes. Many governments tax gambling. Some even run their own lotteries. Charities use prize draws to raise funds. Because people will gamble anyway, the best that governments can do is to pass rules to make it safe and try to get some social good out of it. If the government uses the revenue to help people on lower-incomes, it is not necessarily true that taxes on gambling are regressive and target the poor.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "04de551fa352fcb2ab086cc0941cc06a", "text": "culture general law law general house would ban gambling People committing crimes should be prosecuted. The existence of criminals does not make nearby businesses (including casinos) immoral. It is perverse to punish people who just want to gamble (and not take drugs or use prostitutes) by taking away their chance to do so.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6804c75aff8f4086fcf4ed08a8f2b87e", "text": "culture general law law general house would ban gambling Internet gambling is in fact less dangerous than normal gambling. It is free from the pressures to gamble that casinos can create through free food and entertainment, glitzy surroundings and peer pressure. And as children can’t get credit cards, they should not be able to gamble online anyway. Stolen credit cards can be used to commit fraud in any number of ways - online gambling is not a specific problem here. It is also in the interest of internet gambling sites to run a trustworthy, responsible business. Whatever they are looking for online, internet users choose trusted brands that have been around for a while. If a gambling site acts badly, for example by changing its odds unfairly, word will soon get around and no one will want to use it.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7407bdc911145cb56de5378f888bdf8a", "text": "culture general law law general house would ban gambling Unlike drugs, gambling is not physically or metabolically addictive. Most gamblers are not addicts, simply ordinary people who enjoy the excitement of a bet on a sporting event or card game. Only a small percentage of gamblers have an addiction. Many more get enjoyment from gambling without problems. The risks of gambling addiction are well known. People can make a conscious choice to start gambling, and are aware of the risks of addiction.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e17c54fb0558d786a26db0d3fbceeadf", "text": "culture general law law general house would ban gambling There is no evidence that gambling makes people not care about others. People do not gamble because they expect to win lots of money. Most gamble as a form of entertainment. Also, there are many areas of life where success is not the result of merit or hard work. Someone born to well-off parents may get many advantages in life without merit or hard work. There are therefore no grounds for thinking that gambling promotes these undesirable values. The desire for wealth one that stems from society as a whole, not casinos.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ff087ca1f801442c1ec2cc10c252e474", "text": "culture general law law general house would ban gambling It is impossible to effectively ban gambling\n\nWhen gambling has been banned, people have just found a way round the ban. They use internet sites based in other countries. A good example being the Ukraine, who in May 2009 made gambling illegal, this included internet gambling. By July 2009, over 500 illegal gambling operations were established, where 6,000 slot machines were confiscated and 216 criminal charges were made in connection to illegal gambling.1 This illustrates how banning gambling can creates a thriving underground market.\n\nIt is better to legalize and regulate online gambling than to drive gamblers to poorly-regulated foreign operators. Regulation can reduce the problems identified by the proposition. For example, online gamblers can be required to give personal details when registering (e.g. occupation, income). If this information suggests he or she is spending more than they can afford, the company can block their credit card.\n\n1 Kyiv Post, ‘Governmental checks expose over 500 facts of illegal operation of gambling establishments’, 20 July 2009.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2302df078ba323c22c6e9f1b1cd9801f", "text": "culture general law law general house would ban gambling Many activities directly comparable to gambling are already legal and regulated\n\nWhat is the difference between gambling and playing the stock market? In each case people are putting money at risk in the hope of a particular outcome. Gambling on horse-racing or games involves knowledge and expertise that can improve your chances of success. In the same way, trading in bonds, shares, currency or derivatives is a bet that your understanding of the economy is better than that of other investors. Why should one kind of online risk-taking be legal and the other not?\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2074418681092c1775ef225ba7d5b512", "text": "culture general law law general house would ban gambling Gambling is simply a leisure pursuit\n\nPeople have free will and should be allowed to spend their money on which ever leisure pursuits they choose. Gamblers know that, overall, they are likely to lose money. They gamble because it is a leisure pursuit that they enjoy.\n\nThere is nothing irrational about this. Some people get an enjoyable thrill from the remote possibility that they might win a huge prize – even if he or she loses, they enjoy the experience. Some forms of gambling are highly sociable. For example, many people are involved in ‘social gambling’ and go to bingo halls (or equivalent) to spend time with friends, and some types of gambling are interlinked with other leisure pursuits such as horse racing.* Society accepts people spending money on other leisure pursuits with no material benefits (e.g. cinema tickets, watching sport) – gambling should not be any different. It is patronizing to suggest that people should not be able to choose how they spend their money or their leisure time.\n\n1 The General Education Centre of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, ‘Report on A Study of Hong Kong People’s Participation in Gambling Activities’, Home Affairs Bureau, March 2002, p.4\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "182621a5408a81413c6fda7a6b19cf79", "text": "culture general law law general house would ban gambling Gambling leads to the disintegration of families\n\nGambling can have a devastating effect on families. The most obvious effect is financial as one partner uses all their money on gambling the other needs to support the whole family or the gambler may even gamble away joint savings. Psychologically there is a relationship between gambling and various psychiatric and alcohol disorders. This is also an impact on friends, who do not want to be tied into supporting gambling financially or even just emotionally. Lesieur and Custer estimated that for each problem gambler there were 10-15 other people adversely impacted by the gambling of that person.1 As with drugs, it is harmful to the individual concerned and their family and friends, and it is better to ban gambling to stop people getting started in the first place.\n\n1 Shaw, Martha C. et al., ‘The Effect of Pathological Gambling on Families, Marriages , and Children’, CNS Spectrums, Vol. 12, No. 8, 2007, pp.615-622.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "703e06dc6992a6f419d432a9ff2b6e94", "text": "culture general law law general house would ban gambling Gambling affects poor people disproportionately\n\nPoor people are more likely to gamble, in the hope of getting rich. In 1999, the National Gambling Impact Commission in the United States found that 80 percent of gambling revenue came from lower-income households1. It is immoral for the state or charities to raise money by exploiting people’s stupidity and greed. Taxing gambling is a regressive tax (this means that the poor pay a greater proportion of their income in tax than the rich), and regressive taxation is deeply unfair. Gambling attracts people with little money who are desperate for a windfall. These are the people who can least afford to lose money.\n\n1 Mark Lange, The Gambling Scan on America’s Poor, Allnet.com, May 3 2007.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ecfff3b02e4330cb200b2c684e40e863", "text": "culture general law law general house would ban gambling Online gambling has increased the incidence of gambling addiction\n\nSomeone can become addicted very easily – they don’t even need to leave their home, and online gambling sites are available at all hours. This also means that they are gambling in private. They may therefore be less reluctant to wager very large sums they cannot afford. In the United States in 1999 the National Gambling Impact Study stated \"the high-speed instant gratification of Internet games and the high level of privacy they offer may exacerbate problem and pathological gambling\",1 and it is estimated that 75% of internet gamblers are problem gamblers, compared with 20% of those who visit casinos.\n\nIt is very hard to know the identity of an online gambler – there have been several cases of people (including children) using stolen credit cards to gamble online.\n\nOnline gambling sites can also get around government regulations that limit the dangers of betting. Because they can be legally sited anywhere in the world, they can pick countries with no rules to protect customers.\n\n1 Skolnik, Sam, High Stakes: the Rising Cost of America’s Gambling Addiction, Beacon Press, 2011, Chapter 5\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f7f00b6f381f11bce2a6722492f1490a", "text": "culture general law law general house would ban gambling Gambling is associated with other forms of addiction and harmful behaviour\n\nGambling makes people concentrate of winning money. Religious leaders of all denominations see gambling as eroding family values1 because it implies that material goods should be valued above other things like friendships and families. It also sends out the message that success should not necessarily be the result of merit and effort. As a philosophy, ‘gambling culture’ is incredibly dangerous. Those in society who most need to self-improve, never do. Instead, they tie their hopes and dreams to the lottery. There may be the possibility of winning a big prize, but the overwhelming likelihood is that a gambler will lose money. Instead, governments should be promoting values like thrift, hard work and self-reliance rather than encouraging or even allowing gambling to promote its own negative values.\n\n1 Holahan, Catherine, ‘Online Gambling Still in the Cards’, Bloomberg Businessweek, 3 October 2006.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "15f28f90e12e85b76c516c83fe02ced9", "text": "culture general law law general house would ban gambling Gambling is addictive and psychologically harmful\n\nGambling can become a psychologically addictive behavior in some people. According to the Emotional Neuroscience Centre in Massachusetts, “Monetary reward in a gambling-like experiment produces brain activation very similar to that observed in a cocaine addict receiving an infusion of cocaine.”1 Because of this addictive nature, many people end up gambling to try to recover money they have already lost. This is known as ‘chasing losses’. It results in people staking more and more money, most of which they will lose, and sinking deeper and deeper into debt. People start to gamble without thinking that they will become addicted. Once that happens, it is often too late. A gambling addiction, in addition to the long term effects it has, can result in financial ruin in a few short hours.\n\n1 Johannes Hedwig, Hypersensitivity to Reward in Problem Gamblers, Biological Psychiatry, April 15 2010. .\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "03e77509d48467c0fef3451a7d181795", "text": "culture general law law general house would ban gambling Casinos are often used to mask criminal activity\n\nCasinos are often associated with crime, particularly organized crime. When it comes to local crimes a study has found that only larceny(theft) liquor violations increased significantly with a small increase in prostitution.1 But comparing statistics probably does not show the real harm; drug dealers and prostitutes operate near casinos – they know that there are a large number of potential clients in the area. Moreover when a gambler is in debt and wishes to continue gambling due to its addictive nature, he or she often turns to loan sharks as no bank would lend to them. Casinos can therefore be devastating to neighborhoods. It would of course be wrong to assume all gamblers are criminals, although there is an increased possibility that gamblers in debt could turn to criminality through illegal borrowing. These loan sharks themselves usually have links to organized crime, in some cases are actually run by organized crime,2 and use brutal methods to reclaim their money. By banning gambling the opportunities for loan sharks to offer their services is greatly reduced due to a lesser amount of gamblers in debt, as are the opportunities for prostitutes therefore reducing criminal activity in the areas surrounding casinos.\n\n1 Stitt, Grant, et al., ‘Does the Presence of Casinos Increase Crime? An Examination of Casino and Control Communities’, Crime & Delinquency, Vol. 49, No. 2, April 2003, pp.253-284, P.279\n\n2 Jordan, Mary, ‘Mafia loan sharks making a killing’, Washington Post, 15 March 2009.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
1c7fcd1a90d062dd55bf8ee47047a985
The public can always just turn reality programmes off, or watch something else Television provides a wide mixture of programmes, including reality television. For those who want it, there is high quality drama such as "The Sopranos" or "Pride and Prejudice" whilst the BBC, CNN, Al-Jazeera and other international broadcasters also cover news and current affairs in great depth. Wildlife programmes on the National Geographic or Discovery bring the wonders of the natural world into our living rooms. More sports are covered in more detail than ever before. So, ultimately, reality shows have not ruined television as a whole, they have merely added another option for viewers. Indeed, because they make a lot of money for broadcasters to spend on other types of programmes, they are actually good for all viewers, regardless of personal taste for genres.
[ { "docid": "bb15b502131d3b613dc9caa8af92623c", "text": "culture general media modern culture television house believes reality television Reality shows are driving out other sorts of programmes, so that often there is nothing else to watch. Reality TV is cheap and series can go on for months on end, providing hundreds of hours of viewing to fill schedules. TV bosses like this and are cutting back on comedy, music, drama and current affairs in favour of wall to wall reality rubbish. This is even worse when reality shows crowd the schedules of public service broadcasters. Stations such as the BBC in the UK, France Télévisions, or Rai in Italy have a duty to inform and educate the public. They should be made to meet that responsibility – as Rai has by saying it won’t have any more reality shows.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "8f79642c4fc28ce7fac388b9b73f8ff8", "text": "culture general media modern culture television house believes reality television Reality television is not what audiences want, it is watched simply because it is ‘there’. It is what John Humphrys calls ‘carbohydrate television’, it ‘probably hasn’t done you much harm and if it leaves you feeling a bit bloated…well you can search out of a bit of quality stuff’. [1] With tens of television channels and twenty-four hours of programming to fill, reality is simply a cheap means to ensure there is always something on TV to watch. In Italy, the evidence supports such claims, with the state broadcaster Rai deciding to scrap reality programmes in 2008 due to low demand. [2] As Rai’s President stated, ‘I don’t believe they are the type of shows the majority of our viewers expect or want from a public service broadcaster’. [3]\n\n[1] Humphrys, John. “Take this oath: First, do no harm.” 28 August 2004. The Guardian. 4 July 2011.\n\n[2] Fraser, Christian. “Italian TV bins reality shows.” 3 April 2007. BBC News. 4 July 2011.\n\n[3] Fraser, Christian. “Italian TV bins reality shows.” 3 April 2007. BBC News. 4 July 2011.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7cde82fed3fda1e779f472bdb901b27d", "text": "culture general media modern culture television house believes reality television Reality TV is less about exposing society and allowing us to evaluate our own behaviour than it is about 're-inforcing particular social norms'1. As such, it is deliberately misleading. If it is portrayed as being real, it implies authenticity and honesty, two things that most reality TV programmes are not. They serve not to challenge our views of society, but reinforce the often false notions we already collectively hold. For example, the US reality show \"Are You Hot?\" asks competitors to submit to appearance-rating by judges, only re-inforcing the false premise that one is defined solely by the way they look2. Furthermore, even if accepted that reality shows do present a 'real' image of society, programmes like Big Brother and Survivor erode the distinction between public and private, turning 'people with real lives and real problems and real children (into) entertainment'3. Society's entertainment cannot be allowed to come at the expense of the privacy that protects families and children. 1 Sanneh, K. (2011, May 9). The Reality Principle. Retrieved July 4, 2011, from The New Yorker 2 Becker, A. (2003, March 1). Hot or Not: Reality TV can be harmful to women. Retrieved July 4, 2011, from Pyschology Today 3 Humphrys, J. (2004, August 28). Take this oath: First, do no harm. Retrieved July 4, 2011, from The Guardian:\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "973dd549e50ea1e1f47ad0d677e0e44e", "text": "culture general media modern culture television house believes reality television The few reality TV programmes that are educational and beneficial do not balance the bad majority. The majority are not educational, either to the public or the participants, and the insight they purport to offer into the human psyche are misguided. As Vanessa Feltz, a contestant on the British Big Brother series, describes, contestants and viewers alike 'subscribe to this utterly specious notion that fame is entirely desirable' (BBC News, 2001), whilst Narinda Kaur, another contestant on the show, admitted \"I came away from this experience thinking 'oh my God, did I really say that?\" (BBC News, 2001). As Claudio Petruccioli, head of the Italian state broadcaster Rai, notes, 'reality TV shows put people into environments that are both unrealistic and coercive'1 Any lessons learned are therefore inapplicable to real-world situations. 1 Fraser, C. (2007, April 3). Italian TV bins reality shows. Retrieved July 4, 2011, from BBC News:\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e0b504a3af444536b7749cade7edb3fa", "text": "culture general media modern culture television house believes reality television Reality TV does not discourage hard work or education, rather it creates a society whereby we have shared experiences and a strong sense of community. As such, reality TV provides an important social glue. Once upon a time there were only a few television channels, and everybody watched the same few programmes. The sense of a shared experience helped to bind people together, giving them common things to talk about at work and school the next day – “water cooler moments”. Reality programs like ‘Survivor’ play that role in contemporary society with viewership being ‘almost a cultural imperative’, the experience shared simultaneously with friends and family.1\n\nFurthermore, even if it were the case that the moral lessons of reality programmes are not always advisable, just as viewers can empathize with characters in the Godfather without wanting to be them, the same applies to questionable characters and actions in reality shows.2\n\n1 Sanneh, K. (2011, May 9). The Reality Principle. Retrieved July 4, 2011, from The New Yorker\n\n2 Poniewozik, J. (2003) All the News That Fits Your Reality Retrieved July 4, 2011, from TIME MAGAZINE\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f29beee877287e2b2fd4b92c7cc813bc", "text": "culture general media modern culture television house believes reality television Reality shows are real; they are real people operating without scripts and often, live. The fact that characters are often cast to encourage disagreements or tension does not take away from the reality of the program, in fact it only adds to it. The unrealistic settings of shows like Big Brother and Survivor do not take away from the educational value of observing how they cope. In fact, without such shows, most people would have little concept of how a group of strangers would be able to survive, co-operate and develop in such environments. As Time describes, 'they provoke, they offend but at least it's trying to do something besides help you get to sleep'. The insight therefore into the human condition is invaluable, and it is little surprise that viewers are eager to watch such programs. What is real is not always the same as what is normal, the events on Survivor Island are no less real for being in an unrealistic setting.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8df0ee034f7d219f05edd6bcf492be6b", "text": "culture general media modern culture television house believes reality television Reality TV programmes are not corrupting. They do reflect our society, which isn't always perfect, but we should face up to these issues rather than censor television in order to hide them. When Adam Lambert, an openly gay contestant on American Idol, lost in the final of the show despite being widely regarded as the best singer, many rightfully pointed out what it demonstrated about the homophobia of American society. To deride reality shows as 'corrupting' therefore is misguided; it is society who is corrupt and reality shows that offer a potential solution. To solve a problem first requires accepting one exists, and reality shows provide a means to do that; they are a window into society, permitting everyone to reflect on the issues that are most harmful to society. As such, reality show producers should not be accused of a lack of creativity or laziness for their programmes, but congratulated for drawing attention to important issues.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b621749425dcd58c9f45f1f1f6cfb8b6", "text": "culture general media modern culture television house believes reality television Reality shows are not becoming more corrupt or more filthy. What has changed is rather what the public defines as acceptable viewing. In other words, the gap between what is actually real and what is presented as reality is closing thanks to modern reality programs. And the gap is closing due to popular demand to see reality on their TV screens. For example, the sex shown on Scandinavian episodes of Big Brother is not shocking or unrealistic, it is only unusual in the context of what we expect to see on television. The fact it was shown only illustrates that the gap between what is actually real and what is presented as reality on television is closing. If the proposition has an issue therefore with what modern reality shows are presenting, they have an issue with society at large, not reality programs. Even if were the case that reality programmes are getting more corrupt and filthy, viewers should take the advice of former U.S. President Bush Jr. and 'put the off button on.'\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0f03ddac1ca81cf5df5d4b38e9d4f0d2", "text": "culture general media modern culture television house believes reality television Reality TV can be educational and have real effects in society in a way other television programmes do not\n\nReality TV can be very educational. They educate people by displaying disastrous consequences of someone's behaviour, thus deterring others from doing unplanned and silly actions. Programmes such as \"The Apprentice\" have made people think about business. Jamie Oliver has raised issues of youth unemployment and poor diet, and \"Fit Club\" has got people thinking about health and fitness. Jamie Oliver's inaugural reality show, 'Jamie's Kitchen', offered jobless youngsters the 'chance to train and lead a nationwide campaign to improve the quality of school meals'1. Without the TV show's popularity funding the initiative, the youngsters involved would not have had such an opportunity and school meals would still reflect what kids want to eat, not what they should be eating. Such effects on society are beneficial and should be encouraged, not restricted. 1 Jury, L. (2007, January 4). The Big Question: Has reality television had its day, or are audiences still attracted to it? Retrieved July 4, 2011, from The Independent\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "62442d95622eb3429cfaa3c6b0099651", "text": "culture general media modern culture television house believes reality television Reality television forces us to analyse our own behaviour as a society\n\nReality TV actually has a lot of value to our society; they are effectively anthropological experiments, allowing the public to study people and societies from the comfort of their living rooms1. Humans are endlessly different and endlessly interesting to other humans. In these programmes we see people like us faced with unusual situations. Shows like Survivor, which place a group of strangers in remote environments, make us think about what we would do in their place, and about what principles govern human behaviour in general. It also shows us people who look and act very different from us, and helps us see that actually we have a lot in common with them. MTV's reality show 'Making the Band 2', a 'hip-hop American Idol', gives centre stage to inner-city kids who would be portrayed as criminals or victims on a cop drama. There is nothing immoral about reality shows, merely the society which demands them; these shows are just a product of our values and desires. We should face up to these issues rather than censor television in order to hide them. 1 Sanneh, K. (2011, May 9). The Reality Principle. Retrieved July 4, 2011, from The New Yorker\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5b990f3fe6e391a72433e809e7aed82c", "text": "culture general media modern culture television house believes reality television Reality television is popular and TV producers should give audiences what they want\n\nReality television programmes are very popular with audiences of all ages and types. They may not be high culture but most people do not want that from television. Most viewers want to be entertained and to escape for a while from the worries and boredom of their everyday life. American Idol rejectees who stubbornly insist that they have talent provide such escapism. [1] Furthermore, and importantly, such contestants are good natured in doing so, they are not exploited but offer themselves to reality shows. [2] Therefore, there is no harm in giving the people what they want – that is what the free market is all about. Reality shows are also popular because they exploit new technology so that millions of people can participate in the programme – typically by voting. Britain is believed to have had as many as 176 reality TV shows in a single year. [3] Such supply can only be driven by excessive demand.\n\n[1] Poniewozik, James. “Why Reality TV is Good for Us.” 12 February 2003. Time. 5 July 2011.\n\n[2] Poniewozik, James. “Why Reality TV is Good for Us.” 12 February 2003. Time. 5 July 2011.\n\n[3] Jury, Louise. “The Big Question: Has reality television had its day, or are audiences still attracted to it?” 4 January 2007. The Independent. 4 July 2011.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d0c1b831cff85ae0e46db7dd49196c84", "text": "culture general media modern culture television house believes reality television Reality TV encourages people to pursue celebrity status, and discourages the value of hard work and an education\n\nReality shows send a bad message and help to create a cult of instant celebrity. They are typically built about shameless self-promotion, based on humiliating others and harming relationships for the entertainment of each other and the viewers at home. These programmes suggest that anyone can become famous just by getting on TV and \"being themselves\", without working hard or having any particular talent. Kids who watch these shows will get the idea that they don't need to study hard in school, or train hard for a regular job. As John Humphrys points out, 'we tell kids what matters is being a celebrity and we wonder why some behave the way they do' 1 As American lawyer Lisa Bloom fears, 'addiction to celebrity culture is creating a generation of dumbed-down women.'2 Reality shows encourage such addictions and promote the generally misguided belief that they should aspire to be the reality stars they watch on their televisions. 1 Humphrys, J. (2004, August 28). Take this oath: First, do no harm. Retrieved July 4, 2011, from The Guardian: 2 Becker, A. (2003, March 1). Hot or Not: Reality TV can be harmful to women. Retrieved July 4, 2011, from Pyschology Today\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1a2e5497a3aff5aec7763e7c79028747", "text": "culture general media modern culture television house believes reality television Reality shows make for bad, lazy and corrupting television, encouraging such behaviour in society\n\nReality shows are bad, lazy and corrupting television. They mostly show ordinary people with no special talents doing very little. If they have to sing or dance, then they do it badly – which doesn’t make for good entertainment. They rely on humiliation and conflict to create excitement. Joe Millionaire, where a group of women competed for the affections of a construction worker who they were told was a millionaire, was simply cruel. The emotions of the contestants were considered expendable for the sake of making viewers laugh at their ignorance. Furthermore, the programmes are full of swearing, crying and argument, and often violence, drunkenness and sex. This sends a message to people that this is normal behaviour and helps to create a crude, selfish society. One American reality show, “Are You Hot?”, in which competitors submit to a panel of judges for ‘appearance-rating’, was blamed by eating disorder experts as encouraging the notion that ‘appearance is the most important thing’ (Becker, 2003).1 Furthermore, Paul Watson, a former reality TV show producer, believes they are ‘predictable and just creates more of the same and makes our film makers lazy’ (Jury, 2007).\n\n1 Becker, A. (2003, March 1). Hot or Not: Reality TV can be harmful to women.Retrieved July 4, 2011, from Pyschology Today\n\n2 Jury, L. (2007, January 4). The Big Question: Has reality television had its day, or are audiences still attracted to it? Retrieved July 4, 2011, from The Independent\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "40a0f8e432450e9034b03111af201bd5", "text": "culture general media modern culture television house believes reality television The sheer number of reality programmes is now driving TV producers to create filthier, more corrupt reality shows\n\nReality TV is actually getting worse as the audience becomes more and more used to the genre. In a search for ratings and media coverage, shows are becoming ever more vulgar and offensive, trying to find new ways to shock. When the British Big Brother was struggling for viewers in 2003, its producers responded by attempting to shock the audience that little bit more1. \"Big Brother\" programmes have also shown men and women having sex on live TV in a desperate grab higher ratings to justify their continued existence. Others have involved fights and racist bullying. Do we let things continue until someone has to die on TV to boost the ratings?\n\nWhen reality is \"constructed\" then it substitutes the \"natural\" reality. This in turn has adverse effect on the natural growth of the children who are either actively involved into it or as audience become a passive recepient. We therefore in a pursuit of commercialization are taking away an inalienable right of children i.e. full personality development in a natural environment which is not contaminated by \"constructed\" reality.\n\n1 Humphrys, J. (2004, August 28). Take this oath: First, do no harm. Retrieved July 4, 2011, from The Guardian:\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4816d3718839282c101244633ec1eec8", "text": "culture general media modern culture television house believes reality television Reality shows are not 'real', therefore they have no education value\n\nReality TV is dishonest – it pretends to show “reality” but it actually distorts the truth to suit the programme makers. The shows are not really “real” – they are carefully cast to get a mix of “characters” who are not at all typical. Mostly they show a bunch of young, good-looking self-publicists, who will do anything to get on TV. Usually the programme makers try to ensure excitement by picking people who are likely to clash with each other. They then place them in unnatural situations, such as the Big Brother house or the Survivor island, and give them strange challenges in order to provoke them into behaving oddly. In The Bachelor, where a group of women compete for the affections of an eligible male, the ‘intimate dates’ they go on are filmed in front of any number of camera; that is not reality (Poniewozik, 2003).1 Finally the makers film their victims for hundreds of hours from all angles, but only show the most dramatic parts. Selective editing may be used to create “storylines” and so further manipulate the truth of what happened.\n\n1 Poniewozik, J. (2003) All the News That Fits Your Reality Retrieved July 4, 2011, from TIME MAGAZINE\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
038367cb0d7f5ee2ab5b9cadc40ca7a8
To ban music that encourages violence against women would be done with the intention of protecting women; if it is necessary to paint them as the victims of violence that they are, that is a small price to pay. Furthermore, bans on child pornography would Many of those who argue that censorship of music depicting violence towards women would be a bad thing do so on libertarian grounds. That is, they believe that to restrict the creation, circulation and consumption of this type of music would result in a restriction of people's freedom of speech/ expression. As some people enjoy and relate to the type of music that depicts these images, to deny people the right to listen to this music is to unfairly restrict their enjoyment and marginalise their tastes. Some people take this further to say that morbidity is part of the human condition. A consequence of our highly developed brains is that we become very conscious of our mortality, we become fascinated with violence as well because it is so closely linked to death, and we all want to understand death, we all want to know what happens after we die. So people end up seeking different ways of dealing with their fear of death, and one common way is desensitizing ourselves to the idea, perhaps through subjecting ourselves to an environment awash with death, i.e. music that depicts violence. This obviously extends to the creative aspect of humanity as well. We all spend a lot of time thinking about violence, so it is not really surprising that the most creative of us end up making art about it. From paintings, to music, to theatre, we are obsessed with violence in our entertainment, even gratuitous violence. We have famous painters like Francisco Goya who invoke gruesome violence for effect1 and who also receive critical acclaim; Stanley Kubrick won an Oscar nomination for directing A Clockwork Orange, a movie rampant with violence, sexuality and misogyny. Both these examples show violent art which have had both critical and commercial success. Therefore for the proposition argument to successfully defend the banning of music depicting violence towards women it would seem that we would equally have to ban films and paintings that display similar themes. This would result in a huge restriction of expression and society would potentially loose a vast amount of creative output. Furthermore from the examples given above it would seem that a ban would go against popular desire. 1 Francisco Jose de Goya. 'Saturn Devoursing his Son.' Wikipedia.
[ { "docid": "cba6dca599ab8a293f57277962abf4f9", "text": "arts modern culture gender house believes music glorifies violence against women However, while freedom of expression is definitely an important concept to consider, such freedoms can only go so far. When it comes to language that promotes violence then freedom of expression is no longer sufficient reason not to ban something as a physical harm outweighs the right to freedom of expression. Many countries such as Canada, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa, Australia and India ban hate speech because it has severely damaging effects injuring people's dignity, feelings and self-respect and potentially promoting violence.1 Similarly, if we accept the arguments in the proposition arguments above, and we believe that this type of music can be harmful, then it seems that perhaps freedom of speech can be over ridden in order to protect those that this music injures (i.e. some women). Furthermore the banning of music which glorifies violence towards women may perhaps overtime lead to people's attitude toward this style of lyrics changing, and therefore any harmful attitude that arise from it may begin to be unacceptable by the majority.\n\n1 Liptak, Adam, ‘Hate speech or free speech? What much of West bans is protected in U.S.’, The New York Times, 11 June 2008\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "11244686265c6ee6d972d740c11dd66b", "text": "arts modern culture gender house believes music glorifies violence against women None of these arguments pose a significant problem. While setting criteria may be difficult and there will always be cases where it is a matter of interpretation this is not a reason not to create a strict and detailed set of criteria. There could be an appeals process to make sure that a song is not banned based purely on one individual's opinion.\n\nThat a ban on recording and selling the music could be avoided through pirating or songs being passed down orally does not matter as if this was happening the ban would already have enough of an impact. The ban does not have to be totally comprehensive in order to have the desired effect of reducing violence towards women simply that it prevents many people listening to the music. The audience would be reduced to a tiny minority and those who remain would be aware of the lyrics as they would have to specifically seek out the music rather than simply being exposed to it with little thought of what it may contain.\n\nFinally there is unlikely to be a large forbidden fruit effect, some people may want to try it in order to find out what it is like. But unlike for example drugs there are direct substitutes that would be almost exactly the same but without the violent lyrics so there is little point in going to the extra effort to get illegal versions.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1fe405183e5dc0858ddbc294e8b58049", "text": "arts modern culture gender house believes music glorifies violence against women No 'slippery slope' situation exists. It would be clear that the ban only applies to music that glorifies violence. This is not a justification that could be infinitely expanded to cover more and more music and art. It could not be considered a precedent to ban music with a political message as most political messages do not promote violence.\n\nFar from stifling creativity it is likely to stimulate it. Artists would need to find new styles of music and would attempt to find ways around the ban while still keeping their music as near to its previous style as possible.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6d9540c6ae71e393e51b5d1ec413309a", "text": "arts modern culture gender house believes music glorifies violence against women To ban music that encourages violence against women would be done with the intention of protecting women; if it is necessary to paint them as the victims of violence that they are, that is a small price to pay. Furthermore, bans on child pornography would not be met with claims that their ban merely encourages the view of children as victims (as an argument against the practise). Why is that any different in this case?\n\nimprove this\n\nWe desire freedom of expression.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2c572ce98107f40a6f7da9d601b08736", "text": "arts modern culture gender house believes music glorifies violence against women Violence towards women is a common and world-wide phenomenon, occurring on every continent and throughout history. Therefore it seems crazy to suggest that levels of domestic violence are related to this small sub-culture of music that depicts violence towards women. If we are arguing that it exposes people to situations where they hear (in lyrics) or see (in music videos) then it could be countered that if anything this music is just highlighting these incidences of violence that are still occurring and we might as well ban the news or television drama as they expose people just as much without an age reference.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4c57b8f730a719334cbef8734e2ee47c", "text": "arts modern culture gender house believes music glorifies violence against women The music is not the reason for the lack of respect for women; rather it is a much broader problem that cannot be prevented simply by targeting music. Within the part of that culture that is music the problem is not that music depicting violence toward women provides negative role models but rather that there are no positive role models to balance this. Banning music depicting violence towards women would not solve the problem as it still would not provide positive role models in order to replace the previous depiction. Therefore rather than putting energy into banning music depicting violence towards women, we should create a counter culture of strong, independent women who will not stand by domestic abuse or violence.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d0f26a90b4eb1c565e1071eb4adb646b", "text": "arts modern culture gender house believes music glorifies violence against women The difficulty with this is that games, DVD's and films are all very visual medium, whereas music is audible and arguably a more imaginative medium. Other non-visual mediums, such as literature, are not restricted by age ratings and therefore it seems unfair to restrict music on these grounds.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "dc7900f3d4df7055ee0abf5237e396ab", "text": "arts modern culture gender house believes music glorifies violence against women The issue of whether music is degrading to women or any other demography in society is irrelevant to the question of whether it encourages violence or aggression towards women. In fact, the proposition undermines itself through this claim by suggesting that this music should encourage violence to all segments of society; should we therefore ban all music?\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3cbab7e3af9cd92b085e827d3a06ee07", "text": "arts modern culture gender house believes music glorifies violence against women To ban this type of music encourages the viewing of women as helpless, victim figures.\n\nMany feminists criticise the idea of banning music that glorifies violence against women, as they perpetuate the idea of women as helpless victims who cannot cope with male criticism or violent language. One such group of people are 'power feminists'1 These power feminists believe that by complaining that men are depicting violent language towards women, and attempting to get this banned, the gender stereotype of women as a victim is reinforced; thus undoing any feminist progress that tries to assert men and women are equals. Power feminists believe that instead women should take this language in hand, assert/ defend themselves and retaliate in order to state that women are equals to those who produce this violent music.\n\n1 Campbell , R. L. Part I: Power Feminist or Victim Feminist? 24 March 2004.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c8da5ef3e81ea860e28c75765ce92d58", "text": "arts modern culture gender house believes music glorifies violence against women The 'Slippery-Slope' Argument\n\nBanning music that glorifies violence is at risk of the 'slippery-slope' of censorship, which occurs on two levels. Firstly that while music depicting violence towards women may be banned for the best intentions, this censorship may end up extending to other unpopular pieces of art, literature, film or news stories. It may follow that once music depicting violence is banned, that definition of violence may be expanded, afterwards that it is easier to ban songs that contain a political message as there is already precedent. While it is unlikely that it would ever be carried to such an extreme this could continue, until simply anything that is disliked by those in control of the banning is prohibited. It may also discourage people to say or publish expressions of their own for fear of them being considered pornography and being prosecuted1. Equally likely would be the spread of such bans to other forms of media as mentioned in opposition argument one.The second concern of the 'slippery slope' argument is that banning this type of music may cause a stagnation of creative output as people are scared to produce any music that might be considered offensive. This might result in no new styles of music being created and thus styles of music may begin to become torpid.\n\n1Schauer, Frederick F, Free Speech: A Philosophical Enquiry, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982)\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d09daed3ea93fab7055cfd2e3c9655a9", "text": "arts modern culture gender house believes music glorifies violence against women It would be highly impractical to ban this music glorifying violence.\n\nThere are many reasons it would be impractical to ban certain types of music: First, who would choose what music counts as inappropriate and on what criteria? This would include concerns such as the Rolling Stone's song, 'Brown Sugar' which depicts sexual violence towards a slave by a slave owner (see scrapbook). It would be up to this censor to assert whether this song is highlighting and mocking a distressing moment in history, or whether it is glorifying this incident or merely describing it with no moral judgement. The censor would also have to then choose which of these where fitting reasons to ban the song. This is just a matter of opinion and thus no-one can be unbiased in making a decision. If this is true then it seems that no-one should have the right of it over someone else's opinion.\n\nSecond while there could be a ban made on recording or selling songs that depict violence towards women, or prohibit them being played on the radio, with current technological advances it would be very difficult to enforce a total ban. Music is widely available on thousands of websites via video/internet radio etc. More basically, music is a very communal activity and people may sing in crowds or to each other. Country songs (as a genre) have one of the highest percentages of music depicting violence towards women, and these songs tend to have an oral history. Thus even if there was a ban on new songs being recorded, these old songs would continue to be heard and new songs may be heard to a smaller audience. Thus people would still be exposed to these lyrics of women being abused in music.\n\nThe final reason it would be difficult to ban music that depicts violence towards women is that this runs a risk that this will only encourage musicians to write such songs, which become more popular for being 'forbidden fruit'.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b5b167ff8c41df01a896499209ac3232", "text": "arts modern culture gender house believes music glorifies violence against women Music depicting violence to women causes and sustains the cycle of violence.\n\nMusic depicting violence to women causes and sustains the cycle of violence. The Scottish Home Affairs correspondent Lucy Adams reported in 2005 the levels of domestic abuse committed by 16-18 year olds grew by around 70%. One of the reasons suggested for this dramatic raise is the culture of music that depicts and glorifies violence towards women [1] (heraldscotland.com). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology reports that a study conducted in a variety of US states illustrated that music that depicted acts of violence 'led to more aggressive interpretations of ambiguously aggressive words, increased the relative speed with which people read aggressive vs. nonaggressive words, [...]The violent songs increased feelings of hostility without provocation or threat'. Although they are quick to assure that it is NOT the music type that has this affect, it is simply the lyrics, as even humorous aggressive songs have this effect. They conclude with the idea that 'Repeated exposure to violent lyrics may contribute to the development of an aggressive personality' and thus lead to more aggressive behaviour. While currently there is little to no research specifically on the link between domestic violence and lyrics that depict abuse to women, the current information that we have on violence and music lyrics suggests we can expect a similar effect. Thus if we were to ban music depicting violence towards women, people could not be influenced by it and levels of violence would drop.\n\n[1] Adams, L. Why rap drives teenagers to domestic abuse; Songs blamed for 70-per cent increase in young victims. Herald Scotland 7 October 2005\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "afeca537ca14fe6bc188ebb643497d48", "text": "arts modern culture gender house believes music glorifies violence against women It would be easy to apply restrictions on music.\n\nWe already give films, DVD's and games an age appropriate rating. In the United States, the Motion Picture Association of America is charged with the responsibility of providing ratings to consumers [1] .\n\nIt would seem that it would be simple to stretch these criteria to a similar music body. Therefore people would only be subjected to violent lyrics when it is deemed they are old enough to hear or buy this material, and it would stop younger people from being exposed to this kind of music. This also means that no new state-run institution needs to be created; it would operate, like the MPAA, independently of government control. As such, claims that any form of music censorship would suffer from practical problems are short-sighted, we simply need to extend the medium that already exists.\n\n[1] Motion Picture Association of America\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1ecd8a501636e5e0d165e647693e9eea", "text": "arts modern culture gender house believes music glorifies violence against women This type of music is degrading to everyone, not just women.\n\nWhile music depicting violence towards women appears on the surface to only demean women, it can be offensive and degrading to a range of people. One popular culture reference to a situation like this comes from the British television show called The Office, in the episode 'Merger'1. In this episode the character David Brent tells a racist joke and while this did not offend the black character present, many other characters were still offended by this joke.\n\nPeople may be offended by the ideas behind the music, as it seems that people who glorify violence towards women in song appear to think that this violence is acceptable. Men could be offended by these ideas just as much as women might. As songs like this become 'mainstream' in some cultures, everybody in that culture becomes affected by it, and some men and women may feel degraded by this association. Finally some people may argue that the person who writes and/or sings lyric that depict violence towards women degrade themselves in this act.\n\n1 DailyMotion. The Office (U.K.) - Explaining a Joke. Retrieved August 23, 2011.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ebff5e204011b38ae39aafa0c5ade640", "text": "arts modern culture gender house believes music glorifies violence against women Music depicting violence against women encourages men (and women) not to respect women.\n\nAsha Jennings began a boycott of misogynistic music in hip-hop, resulting in the 'take back the music' campaign supported by essence magazine. Jennings claims that this type of rap/ hip hop music is 'telling people [black women] are bitches and hos and sluts and not worthy of respect [...] And that's exactly how society is treating us'1. She continues that images of women 'tends to be objectified, degrading, very stripper-like' or as nagging vicious and manipulative money grabbers1. Jennings' worry is that in these videos women are depicted as menial, subservient and purely as the object of men's entertainment. The lyrics that go with these music videos compound these ideas of women as undeserving of male respect e.g. 'wouldn't piss on fire to put you out' (Eminem), 'Then I straight smoked the ho [...] and she thanked me' (NWE) (All lyrics in full are in the scrapbook). These images in themselves are violence towards women, as they dehumanise them. As this becomes a dominant image in society, young people who look up to these rappers mimic their behaviour and believe it is ok to disrespect women,2 as that is what they have been exposed to. This works in the same way for young girls, who cannot relate to the male rappers and so instead mimic the women they talk about, while also following their views on women. This idea that women are not deserving of respect must affect the levels of violence towards women as if you abuse someone you cannot fully respect them. Therefore if music depicting violence (and for this argument, disrespect) towards women was banned, then violence towards women in the real world would be reduced and this must be seen as a good thing.\n\n1 CNN, Hip-Hop Portrayal of Women Protested, 2005\n\n2 Burnham, L. Nightmares of Depravity. Durland 21 June 1995.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
5f2b3456d52d45e55f633ec14b6caea6
Our world cultural heritage is extremely important and its destruction would constitute a crime against humanity. Cultural property is important for many reasons. In this argument, its significance as part of our world cultural heritage will be assessed, while in the second argument, its local significance is examined. Sites of cultural heritage often carry a large degree of aesthetic value. Renowned World Heritage sites like the Coliseum in Rome or the Pyramids of Giza or the Forbidden City in Beijing are truly stunning and constitute a masterpiece of architecture and a celebration of what the human mind and human culture are capable of. Their stunning beauty alone is sufficient to warrant their protection. However cultural property is more than just aesthetically valuable – they tell a story of human existence. Everything that makes up our society (our moral and aesthetic values, our language, our traditions, our way of life etc.) derives from our ancestors. Cultural property – be it in the form of archaeological sites, monuments or texts and art, provide our only means of connecting with our past. This is invaluable because of the enormous potential for understanding different cultures around the world and how they interact and often conjoin with each other. It offers opportunities for us to learn from the past and forge a better future. Recent atrocities such as the looting of museums in Bagdad and the damage caused to parts of ancient Babylon during the recent Iraq War are hugely harmful to the international community. The loss of part of our world heritage is even greater when one realises that the harms do not only affect our present day society, but all of future humanity. The far-reaching and global nature of this harm is sufficient for it to be considered a crime against humanity. Indeed, ‘international practice in this field indicates deliberate extensive destruction of cultural heritage may be included among international crimes’. [1] The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), for example, ‘places the destruction of buildings dedicated to religion, or of historical and artistic monuments among war crimes (that are part of the broader concept of crimina juris gentium , or crimes against the peace and the security of mankind’. [2] It is therefore evident that despite the lack of a global mechanism (such as the ICC) that currently condemns the destruction of cultural property as crimes against humanity, international precedent with the ICTY suggests it would be perfectly reasonable to do so. [1] Francioni, Francesco and Lanzerini, Federico: “The Destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan and International Law”, EJIL (2003), Vol. 14 No. 4, 619–651, Oxford Journals, http://ejil.oxfordjournals.org/content/14/4/619.full.pdf [2] ibid
[ { "docid": "26b37530f341f7f2d22b50bedb8d2bb2", "text": "culture general traditions law international law house would treat desecration The proposition are not contentious in their claims that our world cultural heritage is valuable. However it is not true that if an item or site of cultural heritage is destroyed, it ceases to have any educational value. If the Taj Mahal were destroyed, of course it would be a great loss in terms of aesthetic value, but its footprint in the world would still exist in the form of the myriad of photographs and academic literature on it. The Dodo may be extinct, but we have sufficient academic records to still have in depth knowledge of how it lived, what it looked like etc. It is evident that the proposition are exaggerating the harms that would result from the destruction of cultural property.\n\nRegarding the ICTY, the precedent it sets is not the one identified by the proposition. Rather than supporting the prosecution of destruction of cultural property as a crime against humanity by the ICC, it suggests that such issues should be dealt with on a case by case basis. This is the case with the ICTY which was set up specifically to deal with crimes committed during the breakup-war of Yugoslavia. This is particularly important with respect to the protection of cultural heritage, because the issues vary immensely in each situation. The looting of museums in Yugoslavia is a very different crime in nature and motive to that committed by the Taliban in their destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan and the damage caused to ancient Babylon by US forces in Iraq. Damage to cultural property should be looked on a case by case basis; it should not fall under a blanket-protection of crimes against humanity by the ICC.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "d63394a789792240b34b766a6a23e453", "text": "culture general traditions law international law house would treat desecration Obviously the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan was an atrocity, it may have been aimed at a particular group, Buddhists, but it is hard to see how their destruction was crime against humanity because of this. It may have come as a grave harm and insult to Buddhists around the world, however none can be said to have been physically harmed in any meaningful way that would constitute a crime against humanity. The oppression during the Chinese Cultural Revolution may be a better example for the proposition, however even in this case it is hard to compare the crime of destroying old Chinese art and monuments, to the mass killing and imprisonment of Chinese civilians during the same period!\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "72e87b74f60c2a76ee5356356ebc5d7a", "text": "culture general traditions law international law house would treat desecration The kinds of people or groups that attack and destroy sites of cultural heritage are not likely to care much about international law. If anything, making the destruction of cultural property a crime against humanity would further radicalise extremist groups. One only has to look at the proposition’s example of the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas to see this point. The Taliban ordered their destruction in direct defiance of international law, but what’s more, they did it as a direct response and retaliation to sanctions imposed upon them by the international community for hosting and fostering terrorist training camps. [1] A similar sort of retaliation may occur if threats were to be made explicitly regarding the treatment of cultural property. This would then put more precious cultural property in danger.\n\nIn respect to the example of US forces in Iraq, their actions would not actually fall under crimes against humanity even under this proposition anyway. Setting up a base in an archaeological site would not be a crime against humanity, while small scale damage would not either, so it is unclear what effect the proposition will have.\n\n[1] Francioni, Francesco and Lanzerini, Federico: “The Destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan and International Law”, EJIL (2003), Vol. 14 No. 4, 619–651, Oxford Journals, http://ejil.oxfordjournals.org/content/14/4/619.full.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fb0492837f0bd81f13a9cb5fb82f0201", "text": "culture general traditions law international law house would treat desecration Making the destruction of cultural property a crime against humanity is mainly targeted at the wanton destruction of sites of immense value or the systematic destruction on a gross scale, such as that witnessed in the 1960s in China. For the majority of cases, the current UNESCO conventions regarding the protection of cultural property in times of conflict would apply. It is not as though insurgents would be able to hide inside any mosque or museum or ancient site and be totally untouchable.\n\nIt is true, however, that situations are conceivable where military necessity would normally dictate an attack on a high value site or object of cultural heritage, but the proposed legislation would not allow. This is not as peculiar as the opposition suggest. International law has created a vast number of limits on warfare that could potentially be used to gain a vital strategic advantage. There are existing limits on what constitute legitimate military targets (civilian populations are not, for example), and with respect to the kind of weapons that can be used (chemical weapons, cluster bombs etc. are banned). Given the immense cultural value of certain sites and objects, they deserve to receive special protection, even in times of war.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1ae878487629b70e21a10219e3bf2750", "text": "culture general traditions law international law house would treat desecration Firstly, it is not true that human beings are not harmed with the destruction of cultural property. When committed on a systematic and large scale as was seen in China during the 1960s, such attacks are very harmful. The harm comes more from the motivation and symbolism of the acts of desecration and destruction, rather than from the acts themselves. This is because such acts are committed in a highly discriminatory manner. They attack peoples’ culture, their beliefs, their traditions and their very identity and brand them as illegitimate and often as enemies of the state. This is a form of oppression could certainly class as serious “mental injury” which the ICC holds as a criterion for an act to be a crime against humanity.\n\nFurthermore, the fact that the prosecution of such crimes does not under the status quo fall under the duties of the ICC is not a reason for why this should not be changed to include them within their duties. The kind of crimes the proposition has been talking about are sufficiently serious and sufficiently harmful to humanity as a whole such that they should be classified as crimes against humanity and they should be prosecuted by the ICC.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c3d87847ceab3641e5e2af65f2e45cab", "text": "culture general traditions law international law house would treat desecration The opposition present us with a false dichotomy here. It is not true that we have to make a choice between saving lives and protecting cultural property. The hypothetical situation where a site of high cultural and historical value would have to be destroyed in order to provide famine relief or prevent genocide seems slightly far-fetched.\n\nHowever, even if such a choice had to be made, we should still ensure that the destruction of cultural property was a crime against humanity. It is important to set an international precedent for rules of conduct during warfare in order to minimise harms on a large scale, despite the possibility of small, minority cases where going against that law would be beneficial. This is the case, for example, with the laws about targeting civilians in warfare. In order to safeguard the precedent, the law must apply to all situations despite the fact that in certain cases a war could be won more easily by targeting civilians.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "bf4540525c6a068a116a22ee026d6bcc", "text": "culture general traditions law international law house would treat desecration The desecration and destruction of cultural property is often discriminatory and attacks peoples’ identity.\n\nItems and sites of cultural heritage are often destroyed for discriminatory and oppressive reasons. The Maoist onslaught on all “old” aspects of Chinese culture is a prime example while the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan by the Taliban in 2001 is another recent example. These were violent, ideologically driven attacks on the part of the state against segments of that states own society. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were destroyed by the Taliban simply because they were not part of the Islamic society they were trying to create. Such explicitly discriminatory attacks are particularly harmful to cultures that are the victims of the attacks for two reasons. Firstly because the cultural property in question has increased cultural, religious or historical value for them, and secondly because such discriminatory acts attack the very identity of people part of that cultural group. The international community has a duty to protect cultural groups (especially minority groups) from discrimination. The international community in the form of the United Nations General Assembly has recognised attacks on religious sites as being discrimination based upon belief.[1] Moreover, the ICTY treated discriminatory attacks against cultural property during the break-up of Yugoslavia, as a crime against humanity. Once again, therefore, international precedent facilitates the prosecution of those responsible of those responsible for the desecration or destruction of cultural property.\n\n[1] United Nations General Assembly, ‘Elimination of all forms of intolerance and of discrimination based on religion or belief’, 19 December 2006, Resolution 61/161, http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/r61.htm\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "841cc8098706275af7db50d17876ce87", "text": "culture general traditions law international law house would treat desecration Making destruction of cultural property a crime against humanity would ensure it is protected.\n\nWere the desecration and destruction of items and sites of cultural heritage to be an internationally recognised crime against humanity, people would be more reluctant in causing either intended or collateral damage (in a conflict) to them. Under the status quo, UNESCO conventions alone are insufficient to protect cultural property. Firstly, it provides insufficient protection, since even high-value cultural property under “enhanced protection” can be legally targeted in a conflict, if it is being used by opposition forces. Moreover, the current conventions lack sufficient deterrents to back-up its protective measures. For example, US forces set up military bases in and around ancient Babylon during the Iraq war and even used parts of the ancient site to make sandbags. This constitutes a violation of the UNESCO conventions, because US forces actively caused damage to the cultural property and also, in locating their forces there, made the site of ancient Babylon a legitimate military target for opposing forces. [1] US forces were not concerned with potentially damaging cultural property or going against UNESCO conventions, simply because there were insufficient penalties in place to deter them from doing so. By treating the destruction of cultural property as a crime against humanity, rather than simply a violation of UNESCO conventions, the protection of cultural heritage is seen as an increased moral imperative. Making such crimes punishable by the ICC alongside crimes like genocide would add a deterrent factor and make it less likely people would deliberately destroy cultural property.\n\n[1] CENTCOM Historical/ Cultural Advisory Group: “The Impact of War on Iraq’s Cultural Heritage: Operation Iraqi Freedom”, accessed 20/9/12, http://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/chp04-12iraqenl.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "dc83b2af645ff075449bc8666be44e03", "text": "culture general traditions law international law house would treat desecration Military objectives are more important than that of protecting cultural property.\n\nUltimately the debate between conservation of cultural heritage and the need to secure a military advantage in times of conflict, comes down to a comparison of two different kinds of goods. One the one hand we have cultural goods that are beneficial for aesthetic and educational purposes, and on the other we have more tangible goods that are often sough through military endeavours. When the latter are particularly pressing and important goods, such as the need to prevent genocide, or distribute famine relief or defend one’s security, these benefits far outweigh the benefits of preserving our world cultural heritage. Although it is regrettable that cultural property of significant value may be damaged, it is incomparable to the damage caused by mass killing of individuals or mass curtailing of human rights. The safeguarding of basic human rights such as the right to life, the right to be free from fear, enslavement or torture etc. is a prerequisite for one to be able to appreciate and learn from items, sites and monuments of high cultural and historical value. For these reasons, military and humanitarian objectives must come first, ahead of the need to safeguard cultural property.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e80cab26c159f1e59466fccd49b46bb2", "text": "culture general traditions law international law house would treat desecration Making destroying cultural heritage a crime against humanity would create severe strategic disadvantages for our armed forces.\n\nThe current UNESCO conventions are correct in allowing for the possibility of a waiver on our international duty to protect cultural property should a case of military urgency arise. The Proposition argue for the implementation of overly-rigid international legislation. Although, of course, world cultural heritage should be protected, it is short-sighted to not even allow the possibility of military necessity to outweigh our duty to protect high-value cultural property. The UNESCO conventions already dictate that one can only be justified in attacking or targeting a site of cultural heritage if ‘there is no feasible alternative available to obtain a similar military advantage’ [1] Therefore, the proposition are only making a difference to cases where there is no feasible alternative available. This could prove disastrous and create a significant limitation on the capacity of a state’s armed forces.\n\nThe danger becomes increasingly apparent when one considers that it is highly unlikely that extremist opposing forces and insurgents like the Taliban will adhere to such international law. This is particularly crucial given that the majority of wars fought now by the west are against insurgencies. Such opposing forces will disregard the new international law and endeavour to exploit this to gain a strategic advantage over Western forces. Insurgents may deliberately choose to hide, locate their base or just pass through sites of high cultural value to ensure their safety from western airstrikes and attacks. Allowing this to take place would severely hamper the ability of the west to fight against insurgencies (an already incredibly difficult task in itself). For example in 2000 Lashkar-e-Toiba militants attacked the Red Fort, which was at the time was in part a barracks for the Indian army, killing three in a shootout within the fort. [2] The Red Fort is itself today a world heritage site; would this mean that were a similar attack to happen the Indian security services could do nothing to counter the attack? [3]\n\n[1] UNESCO, “Declaration Concerning the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage”, 17 October 2003, accessed 20/9/12, http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=17718&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html\n\n[2] BBC News, ‘Police hunt Red Fort raiders’, 23 December 2000, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1083710.stm\n\n[3] UNESCO, “Red Fort Complex”, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/231\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8f5bb9f573a2f6098183cb18a4b84c39", "text": "culture general traditions law international law house would treat desecration The protection of cultural property is not within the scope of the ICC.\n\nThough it is true the international Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutes and investigates crimes against humanity, the destruction and desecration of cultural property cannot be categorised as a crime against humanity. This is quite simply because human beings are not directly harmed when cultural property like ancient monuments or old scripts are destroyed. According to the ICC, the following would consist of crimes against humanity: ‘Murder, extermination; enslavement; deportation or forcible transfer of population; imprisonment; torture; rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity; persecution against an identifiable group on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious or gender grounds; enforced disappearance of persons; the crime of apartheid; other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering or serious bodily or mental injury’ [1]. The common factor with all these crimes is that they are committed as part of a ‘widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population’. [2] Thus, it is evident that crimes against humanity possess a very real human element to them. This is simply because the ICC and the international community recognise that the most serious crimes that fall under the category of crimes against humanity are crimes of this nature that violently and systematically attack the wellbeing of civilians on a gross scale. The destruction or damage to any property, be it homes, government buildings, or sites of cultural heritage may well be a crime and a heinous act, but cannot come under the category of crimes against humanity.\n\n[1] ICC website: “What are crimes against humanity?”, accessed 20/9/12, http://www.icc-cpi.int/menus/icc/about%20the%20court/frequently%20asked%20questions/12\n\n[2] ibid\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
22658febd1a7575eec2c2638edaaba5d
Beauty contests objectify women Women in beauty contests are judged on their physical appearance rather than on any other qualities they may possess (the existence of a ‘talent’ element in many such contests is all very well, but ugly women simply aren’t going to win). Judging women, but not men, primarily on their looks contributes to the subjugation of women because other qualities, such as intelligence, are not seen as part of ideal femininity and therefore not as things to which women should aspire. Ideal masculinity, while in itself potentially damaging to men, tends to be construed in much wider and less restrictive terms - it is notable that male beauty contests, judging men on their physical appearance, are much less popular than female ones.
[ { "docid": "3177fd4d61c95e7b520aebf7a4247bb5", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests There is nothing wrong with judging people primarily on their physical prowess - we do this all the time in competitive sport, where fitness and strength are major determinants of success. Moreover doing so is little different from judging people on non-physical qualities such as intellect. Every competition, of every kind, values certain qualities over others - we recognise that being able to lift heavy weights isn’t the prime definition of human worth, but we can still give prizes for weightlifting; similarly, we can give a prize to a beautiful woman for her beauty without implying that beauty is all that matters about anyone.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "1aa55f5e9a9d8a00c0785add8f31ee22", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Riots often have many causes and it is only the spark that is picked up upon. The example of the riots in Kaduna is misleading; there were serious underlying tensions that were the root cause. [1]\n\nBeauty contests, like sport, can be an important focus of national or regional pride. Despite the declining popularity of competitions such as Miss World in the UK, they hold an important cultural place in many parts of the world. The victories in recent years of Miss India, Miss Turkey and Miss Nigeria in Miss World competitions made many Indians, Turks and Nigerians proud, and were seen as symbolic of those countries’ progress in competing with more powerful countries on their own terms.\n\n[1] Astill, James, ‘The truth behind the Miss World riots’, The Guardian, 30 November 2002\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "08750df617af2a9fdc642ff6288df395", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty contests are part of the system that values women solely on their appearance. It is better to break down that system than seek to work within it.\n\nBeauty contests fail to challenge harmful political attitudes to women. Despite paying lip-service to feminist keywords such as empowerment and self-confidence, they do nothing concrete to aid the liberation of women; indeed, by reinforcing looks as the most important feminine quality, they harm women’s liberation in general. The fact that the organisers of Miss World 2002 had no problem with holding the contest in Nigeria at the same time as a high-profile case in which a woman was due to be stoned for adultery exposes the competition’s hypocrisy. [1]\n\nAssigning scholarship funds based on physical appearance rather than academic merit is unfair because it neuters the aspirations of many regardless of how hard they might work.\n\n[1] Bloom, Alexis and Cassandra Herrman, Frontline World, ‘Nigeria – The Road North’, PBS, January 2003.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4e237390d71fad614f7398c87a5cf26a", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty Pageants do limit the choice of others due to putting pressure on women to conform to this ideal of beauty which is promoted. This is limiting the lifestyle choices of many more women than choose to take part in the pageants.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "860e28d5cc2965c4ee18e8ae6ab64895", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests This is a red herring – beauty pageants are primarily about physical attractiveness. Broadcasting data shows that viewers turn off Miss America for the talent and interview portions of the show while continuing to watch the swimsuit portion. [1]\n\n[1] Peterson, Ivan, ‘A Challenge for Miss America in Reality TV Era’, The New York Times, 9 April 2005\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a1e61991662c010a4efcc8fcfef09fcd", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty contests are culturally insensitive\n\nThe image of female beauty promoted by beauty contests is culturally specific and western - it doesn’t matter how many Asian women win Miss World, they can still only do so if they take part in the swimsuit competition, which may well not be considered appropriate dress in their culture. This clash of cultures has led to numerous protests, demonstrations and even violence when beauty contests are going on. There were demonstrations against Miss World by feminists and Hindu nationalists when it was held in Bangalore in 1996. Riots in Kaduna in northern Nigeria over Miss World 2002 left more than 200 dead and led to the contest being moved to London. [1]\n\n[1] CNN, ‘Obasanjo blames media for Miss World riots’\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8e70003b1406f483229066c6e452bd74", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty contests are patriarchal\n\nBeauty contests promote an ideal of female beauty to which only a minority of women can realistically aspire, but which adds to the pressure on all women to conform to it. This can be harmful to women by encouraging dieting, eating disorders and cosmetic surgery, or simply by making them feel inadequate and ugly by comparison to this ‘ideal’ that is promoted. Moreover, these contests force the models and contestants to look even slimmer and perfect all the time, thus encouraging anorexia and bulimia.\n\nNaomi Wolf argues that \"in terms of how we feel about ourselves physically, we may actually be worse off than our un-liberated grandmothers.\" Why? Because of how \"cruelly images of female beauty have come to weigh upon us.\" [1] This pressure has therefore forced a backwards step that reduces freedom of women when in almost every other area of life there have been great advances.\n\n[1] Naomi Wolf, ‘The Beauty Myth’.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f4378599f4d27612b583f768953cde9e", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty pagents are about moral than physical aesthetics\n\nModern Beauty pageants have mandatory talent portions and are more about establishing and striving for an ‘ideal’ than rating physical beauty. This was specifically made mandatory by Lenora Slaughter in the 1938 Miss America Pageant in order to attract “ladies” to participate in the competitions. The modern form of the beauty pageant was designed by women in order to attract women. [1]\n\n[1] Hilary Levey Friedman, ‘There She Goes: A Trailblazing Feminist Beauty Queen’, Huffington Post, 15 March 2011\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d34b5b0fed690a585838053b62ef047c", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty contests are an avenue of opportunity that women are entitled to pursue\n\nIn an environment where women are valued on solely on their appearance, and in which there are more opportunities for men, beauty contests give women an opportunity to improve their situations. Winning a beauty contest can be a first step toward a successful life in the future; the most attractive earn 12% more. [1] Many Hollywood actresses are former beauty queens, and they would not have reached their success without the beauty contests they won. In addition, the winners of high-profile beauty contests are able to publicize charities and causes they feel strongly about - they have a public platform they could not otherwise have gained.\n\nBeauty pageants can also empower in other ways: The Miss America competition is the largest provider of scholarship assistance for women in the world [2] , indeed it pioneered assistance for women in higher education in the 40’s and 50’s. [3]\n\n[1] Day, Elizabeth, ‘Honey Money: The Power of Erotic Capital by Catherine Hakim – review’, The Observer, 28 August 2011.\n\n[2] Miss America, 'Purpose'\n\n[3] Hilary Levey Friedman, ‘There She Goes: A Trailblazing Feminist Beauty Queen’, Huffington Post, 15 March 2011\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9ed42ecf90a9ab150dc8b141d134e3f2", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Self defined feminists do not have the right to dictate how other women relate to their femininity\n\nA ban is a very blunt instrument with which to attack a practice. Banning beauty contests would do little to destroy the ideal of beauty as it is prevalent in many other areas of society which are unrelated to Beauty Pageants such as advertising, fashion and the entertainment industry. The only result of a ban will simply be to reduce the choice of women – who of course do choose to participate. Choice is fundamentally a good thing and everyone should have as much choice as possible so long as they are not limiting the choice of others.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "edbbe62c4dc24b60d06fab671625397f", "text": "That such a move will reduce conflict relies on a lot of assumptions; most notably that the changes won’t spark a lot of new conflicts. Territory is the biggest source of violent conflicts among states and this will create a large number of new such conflicts. When there is a response 76.6% of the time it will be military when territory is in dispute compared to 49% when something else is the cause, and such disputes are three times as likely to escalate to war (7.3% to 2.5%). [1] The redrawing process would also mean suffering as states attempt to pre-empt new borders by moving those of the ‘wrong’ ethnicity and as insurgencies are stepped up. The Abyei area of Sudan shows what is likely to happen; it was to have a referendum to decide whether to join the North or South but the north occupied the region before it could be carried out. [2]\n\n[1] Hensel, 1998, pp.20-1\n\n[2] Copnall, 2011\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5aa63cf1ec965eb09c142ea9ddf50815", "text": "Democratic states have an obligation to not bolster repression abroad\n\nIt is common for Western democracies to make sweeping statements about the universality of certain rights, and that their system of government is the one that should be most sought after in the world, that democracy is the only legitimate form of government. As when Obama in Cairo proclaimed “These are not just American ideas; they are human rights. And that is why we will support them everywhere.” [1] They claim to work in the United Nations and other organizations toward the improvement of rights in other countries and clamour about the need for building governments accountability around the world, using their liberal-democratic paradigm as the model. Yet at the same time democratic governments and companies sell technologies to non-democratic allies that are used to systematically abuse the rights of citizens and to entrench the power of those avowedly illegitimate regimes. These hypocrisies read as a litany of shame. A telling example is the Blair government in the United Kingdom selling weapons to an oppressive regime in Indonesia for the sake of political expediency even after proclaiming an ‘ethical foreign policy’. [2]\n\nEven if democracies do not feel it is a defensible position to actively seek to subvert all non-democratic states, and that non-democracies should be considered semi-legitimate on the basis of nations’ right to self-determination, they should still feel morally obliged not to abet those regimes by providing the very tools of oppression on which they rely. [3] To continue dealing in these technologies serves only to make democratic countries’ statements hollow, and the rights they claim to uphold seem less absolute, a risk in itself to freedoms within democracies. Respect for rights begins at home, and actively eroding them elsewhere reduces respect for them by home governments.\n\n[1] Obama, Barack, “Remarks by the President on a new beginning”, Office of the Press Secretary, 4 June 2009, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Cairo-University-6-04-09\n\n[2] Burrows, G. “No-Nonsense Guide to the Arms Trade”. New Internationalist. 2002, http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Weapons/Arms_Trade.html\n\n[3] Elgin, B. “House Bill May Ban US Surveillance Gear Sales”. Bloomberg. 9 December 2012. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-09/house-bill-would-ban-surveillance-gear-sales-by-american-firms.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a0ecc8eecf80ab7c0551839c83603523", "text": "New START is about national politics, not about the interests of the world or peace. As George Will argued in 2010: \"The (Obama) administration's ardor for ratification is understandable, as is Russia's. The president needs a success somewhere; Russia needs psychotherapy. It longs to be treated as what it no longer is, a superpower, and it likes the treaty's asymmetries.\" [1] New START is about serving these domestic political interests, not securing peace, which it will not achieve as the inspections it puts in place are highly flawed, and there remains a high probability that Russia will cheat on the treaty and augment its nuclear capabilities regardless. All this treaty does is weaken the US, and a situation where one power weakens and the other grows stronger is not good for world peace.\n\n[1] Will, George. \"Obama's time-warp focus on the New START treaty\". Washington Post. 2 December 2010. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/01/AR2010120104728.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "52307aa0dc08c29941aa8754c1906f01", "text": "Even though polls may alter public dialogue, an explanation of what stifles debate is not sufficiently provided by the proposition. They seem to infer that ‘stifling’ by opinion polls suggests a that debate shuts down whereas we claim that a politician’s responses to public opinion is exactly what is sought by the public to make them better informed. The stifling of debate does not occur. So even though, the prop suggests that stifling debate is hindering debate, this has not been proven since responses by politicians to opinion polls are simply part of dialogue and not necessarily hindering discussion.\n\nThe observation that voter behaviour is some- how unfairly influenced through strength of numbers doesn’t include all of the close results which are often reported between platforms or candidates. The assumption that voters feeling outnumbered will often occur and will change their vote as a result cannot be made. Most citizens are already aware of their political leanings regardless of opinion polls or popular opinion. The undecided voter is not necessarily waiting on opinion polls but more likely the continuing debate occurring through the election cycle. Apathy among voters occurs for many other reasons besides the publication of opinion polls. We cannot be certain that the exclusion of public polls to protect apathetic voters will significantly outweigh the value of a more informed public. That democracy is harmed through opinion polls has not been established.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "071b08293006cf0fc572a7063775cd16", "text": "Terrorists are engaged in war, which much remain subject to the Geneva Conventions lest it become unrestrained\n\nTerrorists are engaged in a war like any other: they unite as a political actor to undertake military action in favour of a specific cause. The fact that they do not represent one individual nation and that they are not at war with a specific list of states does not undermine this: Al Qaeda, for example, has clear goals including eliminating American influence within Muslim nations, destroying Israel and re-establishing the Caliphate (Blanchard, 2007). The fact that we may not view these causes as worthy or legitimate is irrelevant: we do not assess the merits or legitimacy of a conflict between states before deciding whether to apply the Geneva Convention. It should therefore apply equally to soldiers and terrorists. The Geneva Conventions were formed to ensure that future wars would not result in the barbarity and wanton violence that mired World War II; to deny it to terrorists would risk the undermining of norms that have developed to restrain warfare. If we don’t treat terrorists as prisoners of war therefore, we risk a return to the barbarity of warfare in the first half of the 20th century.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3dda44fa525444d7a5c09b0536335812", "text": "Opposition claims that monitoring is ‘laziness’. Admittedly, monitoring makes digital parenting more efficient and comprehensive. But, such technology makes parenting practical, not ‘lazy’. As it is, many people blame technology for their own shortcomings. [1] Thus, parents need to know that monitoring will not do all the work for them. It is not lazy to monitor your children, it is clearly essential that children are monitored when involved in activities such as sports. The internet is a dangerous environment just as the sports field is and should have similar adult supervision.\n\n[1] Bradley, Tony. “Blaming Technology for Human Error: Trying To Fix Social Problems With Technical Tools.” About. About. 30 Mar 2005.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ef49630e9a6904324d3f30ddf7dc5873", "text": "Providing the choice to donate at expense of one’s life will simply increase the pressure on those who do not wish to donate as they now are presented with a much bigger burden when their loved one dies as they could lawfully have prevented it. Moreover the person who is receiving the donation would also have that sense of guilt of living with the knowledge that someone actively chose to sacrifice their life for them. This guilt may well be larger than having the possibility of saving someone but not acting. [1]\n\n[1] Monforte-Royo, C., et al. “The wish to hasten death: a review of clinical studies.” Psycho-Oncology 20.8 (2011): 795-804.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6bed1de7296a67d7d59c675484321c58", "text": "It was not the powerful arguments that are made in Mein Kampf that led to the atrocities of Nazi Germany, mostly because there are none.\n\nThe content of the book is not grounds for supressing its publication or use and so, all other things being equal, there should be a presumption in favour of publication. There is an entirely understandable interest in the publication of the book in a country where it is so notorious. It’s important to bear in mind that this is not a bomb making manual and most experts feel that the arguments are weak to the point of absurdity [i] – and the commentary will serve to enforce that point. The content of the book, in and of itself, were not therefore grounds for continued suppression of the text.\n\nGenerally speaking, it seems a relatively sensible rule of thumb that if there is no direct harm that can be shown as a result of publication and there is sufficient interest to merit doing so then it would normally be published [ii] . By doing so ahead of the end of the copyright, the state will prevent commercial publishers making a profit and this should dampen down the impact of its arrival.\n\nIt is standard to take such a presumption in favour of publication in many other circumstances, even where some groups may find doing so offensive – the Satanic Verses being a case in point. [iii]\n\nThere is no doubt that the book also has an iconic significance but that might also be said of Das Kapital and, more explicitly, the works of Lenin and Mao but they remain in print for both scholarly and popular consumption.\n\nIt seems sensible to treat Mein Kampf as just another book. If this were a recently discovered autobiography by another significant historical figure, it would almost certainly be published - even if it wasn’t very good.\n\n[i] Mein Kampf: Bavaria plans first German edition since WWII. BBC Website. 25 April 2012.\n\n[ii] Viewpoint: Let Germans read Mein Kampf. Stephen J Kramer. BBC News. 10 May 2012.\n\n[iii] Devji, Faisal, ‘Does Salman Rushdie exist?’, Free Speech Debate, 13 March 2012, http://freespeechdebate.com/en/discuss/rushdie-redux/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "550e2864d0c0aa7a6bf7f8fcc4836878", "text": "Forcing Israel to act would remove the United States from direct responsibility for the consequences, and allow the US to strategically “condemn” Israel’s actions.\n\nIran and Israel already have a terrible relationship, so a lot of the harms here are already sunk costs.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "346fd8b763a692f59fe6a69b5d009198", "text": "The current arrangement means that a handful of small states have a massively disproportionate impact on the primary campaigns. A genuinely national primary would even that out. Grassroots campaigns would also have a reasonable basis for operating on the national stage right up to the event.\n\nStretching the process out ultimately play to the biggest pockets. Unless grassroots candidates get an extraordinary result early, they’re knocked out. Trying to fight their way through several, effectively national campaigns, means that they only really have one chance at the moment.\n\nIt’s only sensible to make that fact reality with a structure that means all candidates are in an all or nothing race rather than a financial endurance test.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
45d806edfb1cc46158fdbdcfdd7ce74b
Beauty contests are patriarchal Beauty contests promote an ideal of female beauty to which only a minority of women can realistically aspire, but which adds to the pressure on all women to conform to it. This can be harmful to women by encouraging dieting, eating disorders and cosmetic surgery, or simply by making them feel inadequate and ugly by comparison to this ‘ideal’ that is promoted. Moreover, these contests force the models and contestants to look even slimmer and perfect all the time, thus encouraging anorexia and bulimia. Naomi Wolf argues that "in terms of how we feel about ourselves physically, we may actually be worse off than our un-liberated grandmothers." Why? Because of how "cruelly images of female beauty have come to weigh upon us." [1] This pressure has therefore forced a backwards step that reduces freedom of women when in almost every other area of life there have been great advances. [1] Naomi Wolf, ‘The Beauty Myth’.
[ { "docid": "3177fd4d61c95e7b520aebf7a4247bb5", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests There is nothing wrong with judging people primarily on their physical prowess - we do this all the time in competitive sport, where fitness and strength are major determinants of success. Moreover doing so is little different from judging people on non-physical qualities such as intellect. Every competition, of every kind, values certain qualities over others - we recognise that being able to lift heavy weights isn’t the prime definition of human worth, but we can still give prizes for weightlifting; similarly, we can give a prize to a beautiful woman for her beauty without implying that beauty is all that matters about anyone.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "1aa55f5e9a9d8a00c0785add8f31ee22", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Riots often have many causes and it is only the spark that is picked up upon. The example of the riots in Kaduna is misleading; there were serious underlying tensions that were the root cause. [1]\n\nBeauty contests, like sport, can be an important focus of national or regional pride. Despite the declining popularity of competitions such as Miss World in the UK, they hold an important cultural place in many parts of the world. The victories in recent years of Miss India, Miss Turkey and Miss Nigeria in Miss World competitions made many Indians, Turks and Nigerians proud, and were seen as symbolic of those countries’ progress in competing with more powerful countries on their own terms.\n\n[1] Astill, James, ‘The truth behind the Miss World riots’, The Guardian, 30 November 2002\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "08750df617af2a9fdc642ff6288df395", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty contests are part of the system that values women solely on their appearance. It is better to break down that system than seek to work within it.\n\nBeauty contests fail to challenge harmful political attitudes to women. Despite paying lip-service to feminist keywords such as empowerment and self-confidence, they do nothing concrete to aid the liberation of women; indeed, by reinforcing looks as the most important feminine quality, they harm women’s liberation in general. The fact that the organisers of Miss World 2002 had no problem with holding the contest in Nigeria at the same time as a high-profile case in which a woman was due to be stoned for adultery exposes the competition’s hypocrisy. [1]\n\nAssigning scholarship funds based on physical appearance rather than academic merit is unfair because it neuters the aspirations of many regardless of how hard they might work.\n\n[1] Bloom, Alexis and Cassandra Herrman, Frontline World, ‘Nigeria – The Road North’, PBS, January 2003.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4e237390d71fad614f7398c87a5cf26a", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty Pageants do limit the choice of others due to putting pressure on women to conform to this ideal of beauty which is promoted. This is limiting the lifestyle choices of many more women than choose to take part in the pageants.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "860e28d5cc2965c4ee18e8ae6ab64895", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests This is a red herring – beauty pageants are primarily about physical attractiveness. Broadcasting data shows that viewers turn off Miss America for the talent and interview portions of the show while continuing to watch the swimsuit portion. [1]\n\n[1] Peterson, Ivan, ‘A Challenge for Miss America in Reality TV Era’, The New York Times, 9 April 2005\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6525e80b1aa020d960d128daa1e15bf9", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty contests objectify women\n\nWomen in beauty contests are judged on their physical appearance rather than on any other qualities they may possess (the existence of a ‘talent’ element in many such contests is all very well, but ugly women simply aren’t going to win). Judging women, but not men, primarily on their looks contributes to the subjugation of women because other qualities, such as intelligence, are not seen as part of ideal femininity and therefore not as things to which women should aspire. Ideal masculinity, while in itself potentially damaging to men, tends to be construed in much wider and less restrictive terms - it is notable that male beauty contests, judging men on their physical appearance, are much less popular than female ones.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a1e61991662c010a4efcc8fcfef09fcd", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty contests are culturally insensitive\n\nThe image of female beauty promoted by beauty contests is culturally specific and western - it doesn’t matter how many Asian women win Miss World, they can still only do so if they take part in the swimsuit competition, which may well not be considered appropriate dress in their culture. This clash of cultures has led to numerous protests, demonstrations and even violence when beauty contests are going on. There were demonstrations against Miss World by feminists and Hindu nationalists when it was held in Bangalore in 1996. Riots in Kaduna in northern Nigeria over Miss World 2002 left more than 200 dead and led to the contest being moved to London. [1]\n\n[1] CNN, ‘Obasanjo blames media for Miss World riots’\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f4378599f4d27612b583f768953cde9e", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty pagents are about moral than physical aesthetics\n\nModern Beauty pageants have mandatory talent portions and are more about establishing and striving for an ‘ideal’ than rating physical beauty. This was specifically made mandatory by Lenora Slaughter in the 1938 Miss America Pageant in order to attract “ladies” to participate in the competitions. The modern form of the beauty pageant was designed by women in order to attract women. [1]\n\n[1] Hilary Levey Friedman, ‘There She Goes: A Trailblazing Feminist Beauty Queen’, Huffington Post, 15 March 2011\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d34b5b0fed690a585838053b62ef047c", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty contests are an avenue of opportunity that women are entitled to pursue\n\nIn an environment where women are valued on solely on their appearance, and in which there are more opportunities for men, beauty contests give women an opportunity to improve their situations. Winning a beauty contest can be a first step toward a successful life in the future; the most attractive earn 12% more. [1] Many Hollywood actresses are former beauty queens, and they would not have reached their success without the beauty contests they won. In addition, the winners of high-profile beauty contests are able to publicize charities and causes they feel strongly about - they have a public platform they could not otherwise have gained.\n\nBeauty pageants can also empower in other ways: The Miss America competition is the largest provider of scholarship assistance for women in the world [2] , indeed it pioneered assistance for women in higher education in the 40’s and 50’s. [3]\n\n[1] Day, Elizabeth, ‘Honey Money: The Power of Erotic Capital by Catherine Hakim – review’, The Observer, 28 August 2011.\n\n[2] Miss America, 'Purpose'\n\n[3] Hilary Levey Friedman, ‘There She Goes: A Trailblazing Feminist Beauty Queen’, Huffington Post, 15 March 2011\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9ed42ecf90a9ab150dc8b141d134e3f2", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Self defined feminists do not have the right to dictate how other women relate to their femininity\n\nA ban is a very blunt instrument with which to attack a practice. Banning beauty contests would do little to destroy the ideal of beauty as it is prevalent in many other areas of society which are unrelated to Beauty Pageants such as advertising, fashion and the entertainment industry. The only result of a ban will simply be to reduce the choice of women – who of course do choose to participate. Choice is fundamentally a good thing and everyone should have as much choice as possible so long as they are not limiting the choice of others.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a6f72d89cfc4069b30d3344d5c38cae5", "text": "The majority of products that are advertised treat currently under-treated conditions. Drugs dealing with diseases such as depression, diabetes, and high cholesterol are some of the most frequently advertised. These advertisements can help inform viewers about their conditions, and prompt visits to physicians, who can help treat the problem early on.\n\nAdditionally, informed citizens are good for society, as physicians do not always recommend necessary or helpful drugs. In the status quo, patients do not visit their doctors often enough to be diagnosed. Only approximately half the patients in America get beta blockers after a heart attack. Clearly, an advertisement for beta blockers would be informational, rather than harmful.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "91df68c04f736406d8fe17c988fe56e5", "text": "The major corporations, which seem to exercise the opposition so greatly, are also major employers and major investors. In addition to which counterfeiting is a much greater threat to small corporations that are dependent on one good idea and lack the financial muscle to protect that idea, for example Ifttt, an internet startup was cloned by a Chinese company, Linggan, while it was still in beta. [i] The people that have something to fear from this agreement are those with no ideas seeking to skim a profit off the energy and effort of others [ii] .\n\nImportantly protecting intellectual property rights can also encourage innovation, by ensuring that start-ups keep creating new ideas and are sure they can profit from them. We need to ensure that there are sufficient incentives for entrepreneurs, of which intellectual property is one important component.\n\n[i] Sam, ‘Speedy Chinese Clone Copies Startup Still in Beta’, TechinAsia, 23 August 2011.\n\n[ii] A list of supporters\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c2f1896e6b7fb78923f0817299cfd8c8", "text": "The United States has consistently demonstrated that it is a true partner in the war on organized crime in Northern Mexico. For instance, it has used unmanned drones like the ones in Pakistan to gather intelligence on Mexican drug lords.1 The relationship is healthy and Mexican officials frequently cooperate; it is certainly possible that there are underlying domestic political motivations for those politicians to be making such strong statements, and we should not necessarily take them at face value as representing the best picture of Mexican-American relations.\n\n1 Defense News. \"US Drones Track Drug Lords Over Mexic\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0bca5d07b5ebb9e7fab0736f1d1b407e", "text": "Slums are not simply an articulation of inadequate supply of, and a hyper-demand for, housing. Alternatively, slums emerge through deterioration, crime, globalisation, and poverty. Therefore provision of housing does not provide the means for all solutions and may themselves again deteriorate into slums. Slums are heterogeneous; therefore their emergence is far from a universal causality.\n\nSecondly, it remains debatable as to whether the needs of informal settlement dwellers are met through housing schemes, such as PAHF. In previous cases, such as in South Africa’s NUSP [1] , inhabitants have been forced to relocate, causing disruptions to livelihoods. Finally, emphasis needs to be placed on building ‘homes’, not ‘houses’.\n\n[1] See further readings: NUSP, 2013.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7d999c372f7466dbf6a299ee2b8d7d4e", "text": "Referendums are not a right. Parliament has passed no law governing when referendums must be held. Because Parliament has set itself no guidelines on when to call referendums, the public has no right to one even if similar situations in the past have warranted them. Moreover, a system of representative democracy means referendums are not necessary -- it is MPs' job to make decisions. The public have the right to vote for leaders and hold those leaders accountable, not a right to vote on individual issues.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3ad04d179a3744ff2f25e1012b8523a3", "text": "People put up all those unflattering things about themselves online without being forced to. Those are true, even if not full, representations of them. But that one-sided representation is exactly how the person wanted to be seen. They always have an option of showcasing a better image of themselves (through photos, videos, blogs, etc.) online, but nobody owes them the right to undo something they themselves freely shared. It might be a mistake they realise later on, but mistakes do not create a right to erase everything about that mistake. Nothing in real worlds works like that – you might have made a mistake by getting to drunk at a company Christmas party, but you can't insist on co-workers pretending that never happened and not telling anyone.\n\nMoreover, there is plenty of information about how to act on the internet [5]. So we should not grant such a right to someone who did not learn how to act on the internet - they'll have to learn the hard way.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d90a534146a20bdbc4057db2adda5691", "text": "Far from rationalising the system the European Parliament elections will become more irrational with a single constituency. Everyone will find it very odd that they can potentially vote for parties from the other side of the continent that they have never heard of. It may make the system the same everywhere but this does not mean it is a sensible system for European elections. The number of parties makes it complex, as does the concept of an international parliament where all votes go into one central pool rather than being based on nationality.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a2d95b9a9f67bbce4c0709aa91592113", "text": "Each country should tackle its own problems\n\nEvery country is going to be affected by climate change in one way or another developed countries included. Australia has often been singled out as being a country that is “anti-climate” [1] but Australia is already being hit by bigger bushfires and sudden floods and the cost on Australian infrastructure is estimated to rise to $9billion per year by 2020 and continue rising, [2] and this is only one small slice of the costs such as crop failures due to drought, health problems – there have already been increases in dengue fever and malaria in Australia. [3] Developed countries which are also going to be severely affected by climate change have a responsibility to their own people first and should not be paying for other countries to adapt.\n\n[1] Readfearn, Graham, ‘Australia slides down to bottom on climate change performance index’, theguardian.com, 18 November 2013, http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/18/australia-climate-change-un-warsaw\n\n[2] The Climate Institute, ‘Coming Ready or Not: Can Australia's infrastructure handle climate change?’, 29 October 2012, http://www.climateinstitute.org.au/articles/media-releases/coming-ready-or-not-can-australias-infrastructure-handle-climate-change.html\n\n[3] Buckley, Ralf et al., ‘Climate response Issues, costs and liabilities in adapting to climate change in Australia.’, Griffith University, 2007, http://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/300643/Climate_Response_Issues.pdf , p.24\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "34d6ad133cd336ad9b2b6ff4df3232e0", "text": "The idea that free markets are innately linked to democracy in some way is simply untrue. Equally there is a difference between markets that are free and those that are unfettered.\n\nFree markets are good to the extent that they create jobs and generate wealth. They cease to be good when they become an end in themselves, indeed when that happens, it very rarely encourages democracy.\n\nIn a situation where corporations are, by law, required to maximise profits no matter what there is clearly a role for government in setting some parameters in terms of what terms of what can be considered acceptable behaviour for corporate citizens within a civilized society.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6c5ed5e9d58c6be0f8cc505203c7d711", "text": "The artistic drive to create is rarely stifled by having been successful. Individuals deserve to profit from their success and to retain control of what they create in their lifetime, as much as the founder of a company deserves to own what he or she creates until actively deciding to part with it. However, even patents, novel creations in themselves, have far less protection than copyright. While most patents offer protection for a total of twenty years, copyright extends far beyond the life of its creator, a gross overstretch of the right of use. [1]\n\n[1] Posner, Richard A., “Patent Trolls Be Gone”, Slate, 15 October 2012, http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/view_from_chicago/2012/10/patent_protection_how_to_fix_it.html\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
ea55d0becfda7bc84140ec85a7afc665
Beauty pagents are about moral than physical aesthetics Modern Beauty pageants have mandatory talent portions and are more about establishing and striving for an ‘ideal’ than rating physical beauty. This was specifically made mandatory by Lenora Slaughter in the 1938 Miss America Pageant in order to attract “ladies” to participate in the competitions. The modern form of the beauty pageant was designed by women in order to attract women. [1] [1] Hilary Levey Friedman, ‘There She Goes: A Trailblazing Feminist Beauty Queen’, Huffington Post, 15 March 2011
[ { "docid": "860e28d5cc2965c4ee18e8ae6ab64895", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests This is a red herring – beauty pageants are primarily about physical attractiveness. Broadcasting data shows that viewers turn off Miss America for the talent and interview portions of the show while continuing to watch the swimsuit portion. [1]\n\n[1] Peterson, Ivan, ‘A Challenge for Miss America in Reality TV Era’, The New York Times, 9 April 2005\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "08750df617af2a9fdc642ff6288df395", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty contests are part of the system that values women solely on their appearance. It is better to break down that system than seek to work within it.\n\nBeauty contests fail to challenge harmful political attitudes to women. Despite paying lip-service to feminist keywords such as empowerment and self-confidence, they do nothing concrete to aid the liberation of women; indeed, by reinforcing looks as the most important feminine quality, they harm women’s liberation in general. The fact that the organisers of Miss World 2002 had no problem with holding the contest in Nigeria at the same time as a high-profile case in which a woman was due to be stoned for adultery exposes the competition’s hypocrisy. [1]\n\nAssigning scholarship funds based on physical appearance rather than academic merit is unfair because it neuters the aspirations of many regardless of how hard they might work.\n\n[1] Bloom, Alexis and Cassandra Herrman, Frontline World, ‘Nigeria – The Road North’, PBS, January 2003.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4e237390d71fad614f7398c87a5cf26a", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty Pageants do limit the choice of others due to putting pressure on women to conform to this ideal of beauty which is promoted. This is limiting the lifestyle choices of many more women than choose to take part in the pageants.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3177fd4d61c95e7b520aebf7a4247bb5", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests There is nothing wrong with judging people primarily on their physical prowess - we do this all the time in competitive sport, where fitness and strength are major determinants of success. Moreover doing so is little different from judging people on non-physical qualities such as intellect. Every competition, of every kind, values certain qualities over others - we recognise that being able to lift heavy weights isn’t the prime definition of human worth, but we can still give prizes for weightlifting; similarly, we can give a prize to a beautiful woman for her beauty without implying that beauty is all that matters about anyone.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1aa55f5e9a9d8a00c0785add8f31ee22", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Riots often have many causes and it is only the spark that is picked up upon. The example of the riots in Kaduna is misleading; there were serious underlying tensions that were the root cause. [1]\n\nBeauty contests, like sport, can be an important focus of national or regional pride. Despite the declining popularity of competitions such as Miss World in the UK, they hold an important cultural place in many parts of the world. The victories in recent years of Miss India, Miss Turkey and Miss Nigeria in Miss World competitions made many Indians, Turks and Nigerians proud, and were seen as symbolic of those countries’ progress in competing with more powerful countries on their own terms.\n\n[1] Astill, James, ‘The truth behind the Miss World riots’, The Guardian, 30 November 2002\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3177fd4d61c95e7b520aebf7a4247bb5", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests There is nothing wrong with judging people primarily on their physical prowess - we do this all the time in competitive sport, where fitness and strength are major determinants of success. Moreover doing so is little different from judging people on non-physical qualities such as intellect. Every competition, of every kind, values certain qualities over others - we recognise that being able to lift heavy weights isn’t the prime definition of human worth, but we can still give prizes for weightlifting; similarly, we can give a prize to a beautiful woman for her beauty without implying that beauty is all that matters about anyone.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d34b5b0fed690a585838053b62ef047c", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty contests are an avenue of opportunity that women are entitled to pursue\n\nIn an environment where women are valued on solely on their appearance, and in which there are more opportunities for men, beauty contests give women an opportunity to improve their situations. Winning a beauty contest can be a first step toward a successful life in the future; the most attractive earn 12% more. [1] Many Hollywood actresses are former beauty queens, and they would not have reached their success without the beauty contests they won. In addition, the winners of high-profile beauty contests are able to publicize charities and causes they feel strongly about - they have a public platform they could not otherwise have gained.\n\nBeauty pageants can also empower in other ways: The Miss America competition is the largest provider of scholarship assistance for women in the world [2] , indeed it pioneered assistance for women in higher education in the 40’s and 50’s. [3]\n\n[1] Day, Elizabeth, ‘Honey Money: The Power of Erotic Capital by Catherine Hakim – review’, The Observer, 28 August 2011.\n\n[2] Miss America, 'Purpose'\n\n[3] Hilary Levey Friedman, ‘There She Goes: A Trailblazing Feminist Beauty Queen’, Huffington Post, 15 March 2011\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9ed42ecf90a9ab150dc8b141d134e3f2", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Self defined feminists do not have the right to dictate how other women relate to their femininity\n\nA ban is a very blunt instrument with which to attack a practice. Banning beauty contests would do little to destroy the ideal of beauty as it is prevalent in many other areas of society which are unrelated to Beauty Pageants such as advertising, fashion and the entertainment industry. The only result of a ban will simply be to reduce the choice of women – who of course do choose to participate. Choice is fundamentally a good thing and everyone should have as much choice as possible so long as they are not limiting the choice of others.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6525e80b1aa020d960d128daa1e15bf9", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty contests objectify women\n\nWomen in beauty contests are judged on their physical appearance rather than on any other qualities they may possess (the existence of a ‘talent’ element in many such contests is all very well, but ugly women simply aren’t going to win). Judging women, but not men, primarily on their looks contributes to the subjugation of women because other qualities, such as intelligence, are not seen as part of ideal femininity and therefore not as things to which women should aspire. Ideal masculinity, while in itself potentially damaging to men, tends to be construed in much wider and less restrictive terms - it is notable that male beauty contests, judging men on their physical appearance, are much less popular than female ones.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a1e61991662c010a4efcc8fcfef09fcd", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty contests are culturally insensitive\n\nThe image of female beauty promoted by beauty contests is culturally specific and western - it doesn’t matter how many Asian women win Miss World, they can still only do so if they take part in the swimsuit competition, which may well not be considered appropriate dress in their culture. This clash of cultures has led to numerous protests, demonstrations and even violence when beauty contests are going on. There were demonstrations against Miss World by feminists and Hindu nationalists when it was held in Bangalore in 1996. Riots in Kaduna in northern Nigeria over Miss World 2002 left more than 200 dead and led to the contest being moved to London. [1]\n\n[1] CNN, ‘Obasanjo blames media for Miss World riots’\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8e70003b1406f483229066c6e452bd74", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty contests are patriarchal\n\nBeauty contests promote an ideal of female beauty to which only a minority of women can realistically aspire, but which adds to the pressure on all women to conform to it. This can be harmful to women by encouraging dieting, eating disorders and cosmetic surgery, or simply by making them feel inadequate and ugly by comparison to this ‘ideal’ that is promoted. Moreover, these contests force the models and contestants to look even slimmer and perfect all the time, thus encouraging anorexia and bulimia.\n\nNaomi Wolf argues that \"in terms of how we feel about ourselves physically, we may actually be worse off than our un-liberated grandmothers.\" Why? Because of how \"cruelly images of female beauty have come to weigh upon us.\" [1] This pressure has therefore forced a backwards step that reduces freedom of women when in almost every other area of life there have been great advances.\n\n[1] Naomi Wolf, ‘The Beauty Myth’.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
c5763b518aa6aacb52f81113eae45b1f
Beauty contests are an avenue of opportunity that women are entitled to pursue In an environment where women are valued on solely on their appearance, and in which there are more opportunities for men, beauty contests give women an opportunity to improve their situations. Winning a beauty contest can be a first step toward a successful life in the future; the most attractive earn 12% more. [1] Many Hollywood actresses are former beauty queens, and they would not have reached their success without the beauty contests they won. In addition, the winners of high-profile beauty contests are able to publicize charities and causes they feel strongly about - they have a public platform they could not otherwise have gained. Beauty pageants can also empower in other ways: The Miss America competition is the largest provider of scholarship assistance for women in the world [2] , indeed it pioneered assistance for women in higher education in the 40’s and 50’s. [3] [1] Day, Elizabeth, ‘Honey Money: The Power of Erotic Capital by Catherine Hakim – review’, The Observer, 28 August 2011. [2] Miss America, 'Purpose' [3] Hilary Levey Friedman, ‘There She Goes: A Trailblazing Feminist Beauty Queen’, Huffington Post, 15 March 2011
[ { "docid": "08750df617af2a9fdc642ff6288df395", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty contests are part of the system that values women solely on their appearance. It is better to break down that system than seek to work within it.\n\nBeauty contests fail to challenge harmful political attitudes to women. Despite paying lip-service to feminist keywords such as empowerment and self-confidence, they do nothing concrete to aid the liberation of women; indeed, by reinforcing looks as the most important feminine quality, they harm women’s liberation in general. The fact that the organisers of Miss World 2002 had no problem with holding the contest in Nigeria at the same time as a high-profile case in which a woman was due to be stoned for adultery exposes the competition’s hypocrisy. [1]\n\nAssigning scholarship funds based on physical appearance rather than academic merit is unfair because it neuters the aspirations of many regardless of how hard they might work.\n\n[1] Bloom, Alexis and Cassandra Herrman, Frontline World, ‘Nigeria – The Road North’, PBS, January 2003.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "4e237390d71fad614f7398c87a5cf26a", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty Pageants do limit the choice of others due to putting pressure on women to conform to this ideal of beauty which is promoted. This is limiting the lifestyle choices of many more women than choose to take part in the pageants.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "860e28d5cc2965c4ee18e8ae6ab64895", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests This is a red herring – beauty pageants are primarily about physical attractiveness. Broadcasting data shows that viewers turn off Miss America for the talent and interview portions of the show while continuing to watch the swimsuit portion. [1]\n\n[1] Peterson, Ivan, ‘A Challenge for Miss America in Reality TV Era’, The New York Times, 9 April 2005\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3177fd4d61c95e7b520aebf7a4247bb5", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests There is nothing wrong with judging people primarily on their physical prowess - we do this all the time in competitive sport, where fitness and strength are major determinants of success. Moreover doing so is little different from judging people on non-physical qualities such as intellect. Every competition, of every kind, values certain qualities over others - we recognise that being able to lift heavy weights isn’t the prime definition of human worth, but we can still give prizes for weightlifting; similarly, we can give a prize to a beautiful woman for her beauty without implying that beauty is all that matters about anyone.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1aa55f5e9a9d8a00c0785add8f31ee22", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Riots often have many causes and it is only the spark that is picked up upon. The example of the riots in Kaduna is misleading; there were serious underlying tensions that were the root cause. [1]\n\nBeauty contests, like sport, can be an important focus of national or regional pride. Despite the declining popularity of competitions such as Miss World in the UK, they hold an important cultural place in many parts of the world. The victories in recent years of Miss India, Miss Turkey and Miss Nigeria in Miss World competitions made many Indians, Turks and Nigerians proud, and were seen as symbolic of those countries’ progress in competing with more powerful countries on their own terms.\n\n[1] Astill, James, ‘The truth behind the Miss World riots’, The Guardian, 30 November 2002\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3177fd4d61c95e7b520aebf7a4247bb5", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests There is nothing wrong with judging people primarily on their physical prowess - we do this all the time in competitive sport, where fitness and strength are major determinants of success. Moreover doing so is little different from judging people on non-physical qualities such as intellect. Every competition, of every kind, values certain qualities over others - we recognise that being able to lift heavy weights isn’t the prime definition of human worth, but we can still give prizes for weightlifting; similarly, we can give a prize to a beautiful woman for her beauty without implying that beauty is all that matters about anyone.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f4378599f4d27612b583f768953cde9e", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty pagents are about moral than physical aesthetics\n\nModern Beauty pageants have mandatory talent portions and are more about establishing and striving for an ‘ideal’ than rating physical beauty. This was specifically made mandatory by Lenora Slaughter in the 1938 Miss America Pageant in order to attract “ladies” to participate in the competitions. The modern form of the beauty pageant was designed by women in order to attract women. [1]\n\n[1] Hilary Levey Friedman, ‘There She Goes: A Trailblazing Feminist Beauty Queen’, Huffington Post, 15 March 2011\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9ed42ecf90a9ab150dc8b141d134e3f2", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Self defined feminists do not have the right to dictate how other women relate to their femininity\n\nA ban is a very blunt instrument with which to attack a practice. Banning beauty contests would do little to destroy the ideal of beauty as it is prevalent in many other areas of society which are unrelated to Beauty Pageants such as advertising, fashion and the entertainment industry. The only result of a ban will simply be to reduce the choice of women – who of course do choose to participate. Choice is fundamentally a good thing and everyone should have as much choice as possible so long as they are not limiting the choice of others.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6525e80b1aa020d960d128daa1e15bf9", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty contests objectify women\n\nWomen in beauty contests are judged on their physical appearance rather than on any other qualities they may possess (the existence of a ‘talent’ element in many such contests is all very well, but ugly women simply aren’t going to win). Judging women, but not men, primarily on their looks contributes to the subjugation of women because other qualities, such as intelligence, are not seen as part of ideal femininity and therefore not as things to which women should aspire. Ideal masculinity, while in itself potentially damaging to men, tends to be construed in much wider and less restrictive terms - it is notable that male beauty contests, judging men on their physical appearance, are much less popular than female ones.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a1e61991662c010a4efcc8fcfef09fcd", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty contests are culturally insensitive\n\nThe image of female beauty promoted by beauty contests is culturally specific and western - it doesn’t matter how many Asian women win Miss World, they can still only do so if they take part in the swimsuit competition, which may well not be considered appropriate dress in their culture. This clash of cultures has led to numerous protests, demonstrations and even violence when beauty contests are going on. There were demonstrations against Miss World by feminists and Hindu nationalists when it was held in Bangalore in 1996. Riots in Kaduna in northern Nigeria over Miss World 2002 left more than 200 dead and led to the contest being moved to London. [1]\n\n[1] CNN, ‘Obasanjo blames media for Miss World riots’\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8e70003b1406f483229066c6e452bd74", "text": "television human rights house would ban beauty contests Beauty contests are patriarchal\n\nBeauty contests promote an ideal of female beauty to which only a minority of women can realistically aspire, but which adds to the pressure on all women to conform to it. This can be harmful to women by encouraging dieting, eating disorders and cosmetic surgery, or simply by making them feel inadequate and ugly by comparison to this ‘ideal’ that is promoted. Moreover, these contests force the models and contestants to look even slimmer and perfect all the time, thus encouraging anorexia and bulimia.\n\nNaomi Wolf argues that \"in terms of how we feel about ourselves physically, we may actually be worse off than our un-liberated grandmothers.\" Why? Because of how \"cruelly images of female beauty have come to weigh upon us.\" [1] This pressure has therefore forced a backwards step that reduces freedom of women when in almost every other area of life there have been great advances.\n\n[1] Naomi Wolf, ‘The Beauty Myth’.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
a2e97fd8f74da9ac794ecfbf32871a81
Christmas is inextricably linked with an image of a snowy wonderland. We all love the traditional white Christmas. When we think of Christmas we see snowy scenes, with people skating and sledging, and children making snowballs and snowmen. Later the families gather inside around a warm fire to celebrate. This is the sort of Christmas shown on greeting cards and celebrated in so many songs (for example, White Christmas, Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman, Walking in a Winter Wonderland, etc.). It isn't a proper Christmas without snow. "The interest in snowy Christmases has its origins in the colder climate of the period 1550–1850 when Britain was in the grip of a ‘Little Ice Age’[2] That way, the traditional image was created.
[ { "docid": "887589a41a3ab0365e2b4239ec9f8e27", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior A white Christmas is not traditional. Even in northern countries such as Great Britain snow has always been very rare in December – it is much more likely to fall later in the winter. It’s all Charles Dickens’ fault – he grew up in the unusually snowy 1810s, and later wrote snowy scenes into his popular Christmas stories, such as “A Christmas Carol”. Even in the 19th Century, snow at Christmas was uncommon, and in many places today it is quite rare (Western Europe, most of the USA) or impossible (southern hemisphere countries like Australia). It is better to enjoy Christmas for what it is rather than feeling sorry every year that it doesn’t live up to some storybook picture.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "cea9d884109e46953af31f4f42b19830", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior It might suit the non-religious people who run much of the media to say that, but it strips Christmas of all real meaning. The truth is that anyone can celebrate Christ's birth at Christmas, whether they are in snowy Lapland, summery Australia or tropical Africa. Christmas has nothing to do with snow; it is the celebration of Jesus Christ's birth in a Bethlehem stable. Snow is not mentioned in the Bible story and it is very, very rare in Bethlehem. Seeing the holiday as just a snowy winter festival is a way of taking Christ out of Christmas.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "59bf638473e2ca82d4345759459c4191", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior If the idea of a white Christmas is pagan then we should drop it. We are not pagan anymore and we have a modern understanding of the seasons. If the festival was all about the shortest day, then much of the world's population would be left out. Everyone in the southern hemisphere would have to celebrate the festival in June. Those near the equator would never get to celebrate at all. Christmas should unite humanity, not split it apart.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0466a1e2b895e0f09b486d8a916279c6", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior Snow is actually a lot of fun. It makes even the dullest countryside or ugliest town look beautiful, even magical. Snow changes everything, yet it is fragile and short-lived. Children love to stamp and slide in snow, to crunch it together to create snowmen and play snowballs. Young people enjoy healthy winter sports like skiing and skating. Older adults enjoy sharing the romance of a snowy landscape over a warming drink, and remembering happy childhood winters. There is no wonder people dream of a white Christmas; it's a magical image.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "177ce8035eaf3295e4aee41dfc543785", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior Human cleverness means that a white Christmas is within reach. Modern technology includes snow-making machines — commonly in use in many ski resorts. So whenever it is cold enough, we can spray fake snow all over our towns to delight young and old alike. And even if outdoor temperatures are too warm, we can refrigerate huge buildings in order to create Christmassy winter wonderlands.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "249b6875685f437ca79055b0cbeecd8e", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior White Christmases may not be common any more but we can still dream of them. The scientists say that climate change is warming the world and many places that used to get snow in winter (e.g. Moscow, New York) will see it much more rarely in future. But our desire for a white Christmas just like the ones we used to know symbolizes our awareness of climate change. This issue could help shift public opinion in favor of tackling global warming.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "bf8dc9c31678523b00e41808550d7500", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior Wishing for a white Christmas shows a desire to return to the true nature of the holiday\n\nFor most people Christmas today is not about a religious festival, but about consumption, greed and shopping. Wishing for a snowy white Christmas is about turning the clock back to a time when life was simpler. Instead of focusing on getting presents, getting fat and getting drunk, a white Christmas is something money can't buy. It symbolizes time with family, playing outdoors in the snow, making your own entertainment and enjoying the wonder of nature. Who wouldn't prefer a Christmas like that?\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b79f7fba141ebe66959f8cafeb1df7e7", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior The dream of a white Christmas satisfies a need for hope deep within us.\n\nThe ideal of a white Christmas also speaks to the old pagan festivals. The winter solstice (Yule, Saturnalia) was a time of hope in the cold and darkness, as nights stopped getting longer and people looked for the promise of new birth in springtime. The Christian Church recognized the power of existing winter festivals and chose December 25th for their own nativity celebrations. People still feel a need to move in time with the seasons, and snow represents winter at its most extreme. For these reasons the dream of a white Christmas satisfies a need deep within us.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "858d65cdf398cfbc42ae02627d504265", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior Global warming has made White Christmas an image of the past\n\nGlobal Warming means that few people will ever get to see a white Christmas. Many of the most populated areas of Western Europe and the USA could once expect snow at Christmastime, so perhaps the idea of a white Christmas once had real meaning. Now we have to accept that those days have gone. Mankind's damage to the world's climate means we have to get use to a coldish, greyish Christmas each year. There is no point dreaming, and denial can even be harmful, as we will be disappointed every year. We need to learn to love Christmas for what it is in the modern world.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "75a49b4d4c40576056bd2c02af3d8168", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior There is nothing Christmassy about snow.\n\nSnow can look lovely but the novelty soon wears off. Snow is cold and wet and the ice that comes with it is dangerously slippery. Every year even light snow causes broken bones and other injuries. Heavy snow is worse – it can leave elderly people trapped in their houses, bring down power lines, shut down transport systems and cause deaths through both cold and car accidents. None of this is remotely Christmassy. Snow can even wreck Christmas for many families, as travel hold-ups prevent relatives from reaching them for the celebration. As the BBC wrote in December 2010, “The wintry weather has caused chaos for many thousands of travelers trying to get to their destination of choice for Christmas.\"\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9070bac9b5e19faff023766149179065", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior Linking Christmas with snow denies it to some countries\n\nDreaming of a white Christmas also suggests that some countries have a special relationship with Christmas (e.g Finland, Norway), and that hot countries (e.g. largely Christian Kenya, Ethiopia and Mexico) or Southern hemisphere countries (e.g. Australia, Argentina, South Africa) cannot celebrate Christmas properly — surely the opposite of the true Christmas message.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
7cc79b23cf0376343be28ece89f56b0c
Linking Christmas with snow denies it to some countries Dreaming of a white Christmas also suggests that some countries have a special relationship with Christmas (e.g Finland, Norway), and that hot countries (e.g. largely Christian Kenya, Ethiopia and Mexico) or Southern hemisphere countries (e.g. Australia, Argentina, South Africa) cannot celebrate Christmas properly — surely the opposite of the true Christmas message.
[ { "docid": "177ce8035eaf3295e4aee41dfc543785", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior Human cleverness means that a white Christmas is within reach. Modern technology includes snow-making machines — commonly in use in many ski resorts. So whenever it is cold enough, we can spray fake snow all over our towns to delight young and old alike. And even if outdoor temperatures are too warm, we can refrigerate huge buildings in order to create Christmassy winter wonderlands.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "0466a1e2b895e0f09b486d8a916279c6", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior Snow is actually a lot of fun. It makes even the dullest countryside or ugliest town look beautiful, even magical. Snow changes everything, yet it is fragile and short-lived. Children love to stamp and slide in snow, to crunch it together to create snowmen and play snowballs. Young people enjoy healthy winter sports like skiing and skating. Older adults enjoy sharing the romance of a snowy landscape over a warming drink, and remembering happy childhood winters. There is no wonder people dream of a white Christmas; it's a magical image.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "249b6875685f437ca79055b0cbeecd8e", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior White Christmases may not be common any more but we can still dream of them. The scientists say that climate change is warming the world and many places that used to get snow in winter (e.g. Moscow, New York) will see it much more rarely in future. But our desire for a white Christmas just like the ones we used to know symbolizes our awareness of climate change. This issue could help shift public opinion in favor of tackling global warming.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "887589a41a3ab0365e2b4239ec9f8e27", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior A white Christmas is not traditional. Even in northern countries such as Great Britain snow has always been very rare in December – it is much more likely to fall later in the winter. It’s all Charles Dickens’ fault – he grew up in the unusually snowy 1810s, and later wrote snowy scenes into his popular Christmas stories, such as “A Christmas Carol”. Even in the 19th Century, snow at Christmas was uncommon, and in many places today it is quite rare (Western Europe, most of the USA) or impossible (southern hemisphere countries like Australia). It is better to enjoy Christmas for what it is rather than feeling sorry every year that it doesn’t live up to some storybook picture.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "cea9d884109e46953af31f4f42b19830", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior It might suit the non-religious people who run much of the media to say that, but it strips Christmas of all real meaning. The truth is that anyone can celebrate Christ's birth at Christmas, whether they are in snowy Lapland, summery Australia or tropical Africa. Christmas has nothing to do with snow; it is the celebration of Jesus Christ's birth in a Bethlehem stable. Snow is not mentioned in the Bible story and it is very, very rare in Bethlehem. Seeing the holiday as just a snowy winter festival is a way of taking Christ out of Christmas.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "59bf638473e2ca82d4345759459c4191", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior If the idea of a white Christmas is pagan then we should drop it. We are not pagan anymore and we have a modern understanding of the seasons. If the festival was all about the shortest day, then much of the world's population would be left out. Everyone in the southern hemisphere would have to celebrate the festival in June. Those near the equator would never get to celebrate at all. Christmas should unite humanity, not split it apart.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "858d65cdf398cfbc42ae02627d504265", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior Global warming has made White Christmas an image of the past\n\nGlobal Warming means that few people will ever get to see a white Christmas. Many of the most populated areas of Western Europe and the USA could once expect snow at Christmastime, so perhaps the idea of a white Christmas once had real meaning. Now we have to accept that those days have gone. Mankind's damage to the world's climate means we have to get use to a coldish, greyish Christmas each year. There is no point dreaming, and denial can even be harmful, as we will be disappointed every year. We need to learn to love Christmas for what it is in the modern world.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "75a49b4d4c40576056bd2c02af3d8168", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior There is nothing Christmassy about snow.\n\nSnow can look lovely but the novelty soon wears off. Snow is cold and wet and the ice that comes with it is dangerously slippery. Every year even light snow causes broken bones and other injuries. Heavy snow is worse – it can leave elderly people trapped in their houses, bring down power lines, shut down transport systems and cause deaths through both cold and car accidents. None of this is remotely Christmassy. Snow can even wreck Christmas for many families, as travel hold-ups prevent relatives from reaching them for the celebration. As the BBC wrote in December 2010, “The wintry weather has caused chaos for many thousands of travelers trying to get to their destination of choice for Christmas.\"\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "dda3d8c3e4e8d33cb0dcd1da92625d9d", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior Christmas is inextricably linked with an image of a snowy wonderland.\n\nWe all love the traditional white Christmas. When we think of Christmas we see snowy scenes, with people skating and sledging, and children making snowballs and snowmen. Later the families gather inside around a warm fire to celebrate. This is the sort of Christmas shown on greeting cards and celebrated in so many songs (for example, White Christmas, Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman, Walking in a Winter Wonderland, etc.). It isn't a proper Christmas without snow. \"The interest in snowy Christmases has its origins in the colder climate of the period 1550–1850 when Britain was in the grip of a ‘Little Ice Age’[2] That way, the traditional image was created.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "bf8dc9c31678523b00e41808550d7500", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior Wishing for a white Christmas shows a desire to return to the true nature of the holiday\n\nFor most people Christmas today is not about a religious festival, but about consumption, greed and shopping. Wishing for a snowy white Christmas is about turning the clock back to a time when life was simpler. Instead of focusing on getting presents, getting fat and getting drunk, a white Christmas is something money can't buy. It symbolizes time with family, playing outdoors in the snow, making your own entertainment and enjoying the wonder of nature. Who wouldn't prefer a Christmas like that?\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b79f7fba141ebe66959f8cafeb1df7e7", "text": "modern culture traditions house dreaming white christmas junior The dream of a white Christmas satisfies a need for hope deep within us.\n\nThe ideal of a white Christmas also speaks to the old pagan festivals. The winter solstice (Yule, Saturnalia) was a time of hope in the cold and darkness, as nights stopped getting longer and people looked for the promise of new birth in springtime. The Christian Church recognized the power of existing winter festivals and chose December 25th for their own nativity celebrations. People still feel a need to move in time with the seasons, and snow represents winter at its most extreme. For these reasons the dream of a white Christmas satisfies a need deep within us.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
70832707c471df01b936a79d3ebb0bb3
Video games are an outlet for childhood aggression Video games are a useful outlet for childhood aggression. As psychologist Cheryl Olson writes, kids 'use games to vent anger or distract themselves from problems.'1 Play violence has always been a natural part of growing up, especially for boys. In the past it was considered normal for young people to act out violent fantasies in harmless way, for example with toy guns in games of cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, war, pirates, etc. These games were often inspired by films, television or comic books and magazines, just as computer games commonly are today. Now that these traditional activities are frowned upon and "enlightened" parents prevent children from having toy guns, aggressive play has simply moved indoors, on to the computer screen instead. Suppressing these natural instincts is not only pointless, it is probably more dangerous to remove yet another harmless outlet for aggression from the young. 1 Schaffer, A. (2007, April 27). Don't Shoot. Retrieved June 2, 2011, from Slate:
[ { "docid": "6970fa9a6f22b0197ed948ef1f8f1d36", "text": "video games computers phones internet youth house would restrict violent video Video games are not useful outlets for childhood aggression. Modern video games cannot be fairly compared to traditional childhood play. Computer gaming is a largely solo experience, with none of the team play involved in games of war, cowboys, etc. Playing alone also makes it easier for the boundaries between fantasy and reality to become blurred, especially with the highly realistic graphics possible with modern technology. In any case, civilisation is about taming our base instincts, not celebrating the worst parts of human nature. Furthermore, and unique to video games, aggressive behaviour or its imitation at least is rewarded and repeated during gameplay1. Video games thereafter are not merely an outlet for aggression, but the fostering and feeding of that aggressive urge.\n\n1 Gentile, D. A., & Anderson, C. A. (2003, October 16). Violent Video Games: The Newest Media Violence Hazard. Retrieved June 2, 2011, from\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "52c75ec6d3210d7caecab9f4eb4fc87c", "text": "video games computers phones internet youth house would restrict violent video The fact there are many other contributing factors to aggressive behaviour should not lead to a blind eye being turned to the effects of violent video games. As Dill & Dill found in 1998, 'if violent video game play indeed depicts victims as deserving attacks, and if these video games tend to portray other humans as targets, then reduced empathy is likely to be the consequence…thus putting the player at risk for becoming a more violent individual’1. An Anderson and Dill study in 2000 also found that ‘students who had previously played the violent video game delivered longer noise blasts to their opponents’2. Whilst it is a truism to say that the banning of violent video games will not prevent youth aggression, it will no longer be able to act as the catalyst for it in certain cases.\n\n1 Goldstein , 2001.\n\n2 Walsh , 2001.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "929bbefe60c667cee2668ebfb1121753", "text": "video games computers phones internet youth house would restrict violent video If restrictions on the sale of alcohol can be effective, there is no reason to believe restrictions on violent video games cannot also be similarly effective. The primary role of a government is, ultimately, to protect its citizens from damaging themselves and society as a whole. It is considered acceptable and beneficial for governments to restrict the sale of dangerous things such as alcohol and tobacco to minors or even to enforce movie ratings or the use of seatbelts. Though illegal downloading programmes would permit the download of old, violent action games, video game creators would nevertheless be forced to turn their creative capacities and technology towards better, less violent games that would, over a short space of time, saturate the market.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "197157ddb1bef3a7dfc19a8d47706d99", "text": "video games computers phones internet youth house would restrict violent video Each of the three approaches to proving a correlation between violent video games and criminal behaviour has its flaws. Studies that look for correlations between exposure to violent video games and real-world aggression can never prove that the games cause physical aggression1. Randomized tests, which assign subjects to play violent or nonviolent games and then compare levels of aggression, depend on lab-based measures of aggression that are difficult to compare with real-life aggression. Finally, longitudinal tests, which assess behaviour over time within a group, are a middle ground between the other two but similarly cannot prove it was the video games specifically that leads to increased aggression. In contrast to the claim that the effects of violent video games are worse than those of TV, a Potter study in 1999 found that 'children are more likely to be affected and more likely to imitate aggressive acts if the violence is depicted more realistically.'2\n\n1 Schaffer, A. (2007, April 27). Don't Shoot. Retrieved June 2, 2011, from Slate:\n\n2 Gentile, D. A., & Anderson, C. A. (2003, October 16). Violent Video Games: The Newest Media Violence Hazard. Retrieved June 2, 2011, from\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "883e28bc7a5298332c5278f571886d2c", "text": "video games computers phones internet youth house would restrict violent video The government has no such right to restrict the right of free speech inherent in all video games. In a 2011 judgement, the American Supreme Court ruled \"while states have legitimate power to protect children from harm, 'that does not include a free-floating power to restrict the ideas to which children may be exposed.'\"1 This is in part due to the fear that to restrict violent video games would be a step towards the banning or restriction of books considered antithetical to the views of the government. A state could ban all books or films that paint a negative image of society or encourage revolution, however that is clearly the action of a dictatorial or authoritarian state. Stan Lee, the creator of comic book characters like The Hulk and Spiderman, sees a comparison to the attempt in the 1950s to restrict the sales of comic books. \"Comic books, it was said, contributed to 'juvenile delinquency'. A Senate subcommittee investigated and decided the U.S. could not 'afford the calculated risk involved in feeding its children, through comic books, a concentrated diet of crime, horror and violence.'\"2 As Lee notes, in hindsight this appears comical2. The same mistake cannot be made with violent video games.\n\n1 Holland, J. J. (2011, June 27). Can't ban violent video sales to kids, court says. Retrieved June 28, 2011 from the Associated Press\n\n2 Lee, S. (2010, September). Defend video games with Stan Lee. Retrieved June 20, 2011, from Video Game Voters Network:\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "db0972cafb536c052c4c14ec53233512", "text": "video games computers phones internet youth house would restrict violent video Violent video games, far from causing psychological disturbances, are beneficial to the mental health of children. Experiments show visual, tracking benefits from video games, particularly shoot-em-ups: US scientists Shawn Green and Daphne Bavelier, were commissioned to perform a study in 2003 by the National Institute of Health. According to the BBC, \"they found that regular players of shoot-em-ups, such as Half-Life and Medal of Honour, have much better visual skills than most of the population1. The researchers have shown that gamers were particularly good at spotting details in busy, confusing scenes1. Experimental tests show positive focus effects of video games: US scientists Green and Bavelier found focus benefits from shoot-em-up games, even to the extent that they could be used as a beneficial tool to treat Attention Deficit Disorder2.\n\n1 BBC News. (2003, May 28). Video games 'good for you'. Retrieved June 2, 2011, from BBC News:\n\n2 Olsen, S. (2005, November 8). Attention deficit disorder? Try video games. Retrieved June 2, 2011, from CNet:\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9013cdfa1d5c145ab8602d2927e0402a", "text": "video games computers phones internet youth house would restrict violent video Desensitisation is not altogether a bad development. 'For patients suffering from arachnophobia, fear of flying, or post-traumatic stress disorder, therapists are beginning to use virtual realities as a desensitization tool.'1Furthermore, society has decided to embrace violent video games, which as a result are very profitable. These games are written for adults, rather than children, and the ratings system warns of any violent content. In a modern world, the role of protecting young people should lie with responsible parents who know their kids best and take an active interest in their leisure time, discouraging or barring them from unsuitable activities. In this case, there is not enough justification for governments to intervene in people's leisure time.\n\n1 Schaffer, A. (2007, April 27). Don't Shoot. Retrieved June 2, 2011, from Slate:\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c0ab3e772ebefa37fc5af7b014e39dde", "text": "video games computers phones internet youth house would restrict violent video There is no causal link between violent video games and aggressive behaviour\n\nMany researchers 1/2/3 conclude that there is no causal link between violent video games and aggressive behaviour. Other influences, such as social environment, family background and peer pressure cause aggressive behaviour. Additionally, even if video games might create violent thoughts, according to researchers there is no reason for these thoughts to display themselves in action more than the aggressive thoughts caused by frustration in non-violent video games, or by the fast pace of action films (rather than their content). The small number of people who would be affected by such aggressive thoughts are people who already are habitually violent.\n\n1 Scott, D. (1995). The Effect of Video Games on Feelings of Aggression. Retrieved June 2, 2011, from The Journal of Psychology:\n\n2 Funk, J. B. (1993). Reevaluation of the impact of violent video games. Clinical Pediatrics, 86-90.\n\n3 Provenzo, E. F. (1991). Video kids: Making sense of Nintendo. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1b41685cc37a4d96df37d5d959aaaae2", "text": "video games computers phones internet youth house would restrict violent video Restrictions would be ineffective\n\nNot only is it wrong for the government to take censorship-like steps against violent video games but it is also impossible to do so effectively. Violent video games will still be available on the internet and, in fact, by restricting the sale of violent video games the government will push would-be users to illegal downloading programmes (through file-sharing systems such as Limewire) and therefore to an increasingly prevalent black market. Furthermore, most games are bought by parents or with their consent. According to industry statistics, 9 out of every 10 video games are sold to adults. Moreover, there is little evidence to say that parents don't know what they are buying because a very descriptive labelling system exists for violent video games since the establishment of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) in 1994.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "69827882828ed38f0ecf10be3a9f3da6", "text": "video games computers phones internet youth house would restrict violent video Research has shown violent video games encourage criminal and anti-social behaviour\n\nBoth experimental and non-experimental research have shown that violent video games damage young people playing them in both the short and long term, leading to criminal and anti-social behaviour. Exposure to violent video games causes aggressive thoughts and feelings. It also creates unwanted psychological arousal and belief in a 'scary world', especially among young children. This is particularly significant as video game graphics develop to become ever more realistic. The effects of violent video games are even worse than those of films and TV because of the interactive element that exists in video games. In addition, most video games are played alone, whereas cinema and television are usually a social experience, allowing social pressures to filter the experience of violence upon the viewer. An Australian Senate Committee established to look at this issue in 1993 concluded 'there is sufficient anecdotal evidence of a linkage…that the community cannot fail to act to control a situation which has the very real potential…to affect young people’1.\n\n1 Senate Committee, 1993.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "11046db8abfafdf70faf296a38a6ac6b", "text": "video games computers phones internet youth house would restrict violent video Violent video games can cause psychological disturbances\n\nMultiple groups contend that the interactive nature of computer games considerably blurs the line that separates fantasy from reality1. As a result, game players are likely to become psychologically disturbed by the violence contained within these products. It is conceivable that many young gamers will view the new age of video games as fair depictions or representations of reality, real-world themes, real-world personalities, real-world violence. Because violent video games frequently develop and an exaggerated level of violence and destructiveness, they may arouse a belief that in a \"scary world\". If this is true, a greater level of fear and paranoia can be expected from such gamers in the real world than is justified. This may have the potential to lead to many adverse social effects from these gamers, such as social disengagement.\n\n1 Gentile, D. A., Lynch, P. J., Linder, J. R., & Walsh, D. A. (2004). The effects of violent video game habits on adolescent hostility, aggressive behaviours, and school performance. Retrieved June 2, 2011, from Jounral of Adolescence\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8d2fefa852ae6bf1fbf06e2fc5a85dc6", "text": "video games computers phones internet youth house would restrict violent video Violent video games desensitise users\n\nViolent video games do not only affect individuals but also society as a whole. The sole purpose of a player in these games is to be an aggressor. The heartlessness in these games and joy of killing innocent people create a desensitization and disinhibition to violence that can ultimately lead to a more violent society. A Bruce Bartholow study in 2011 proved for the first time the causal association between desensitisation to violence and increased human aggression1. They are also a very selfish, lonely form of entertainment which undermines the structure of an ordered, interdependent society. A study conducted by psychologists in 2007 found that of 430 primary school children, 'the kids who played more violent video games changed over the school year to become more verbally aggressive, more physically aggressive and less helpful to others.'2\n\n1 University of Missouri-Columbia. (2011, May 26). Violent video games reduce brain response to violence and increase aggressive behaviour. Retrieved June 2, 2011, from ScienceDaily:\n\n2 Schaffer, A. (2007, April 27). Don't Shoot. Retrieved June 2, 2011, from Slate:\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "76c79410252d9fa75f8f5deb47109624", "text": "video games computers phones internet youth house would restrict violent video The government has a right to restrict the sale of violent video games, in order to protect law and order.\n\nThe government has the right, and indeed the obligation, to impose restrictions that increase the security of citizens and encourage peaceful relations between them. The foundation of the social contract is the state providing security for all participating citizens. If the state believes that violent video games increase the propensity of users to commit violent acts, it is obligated to impose restrictions that will prevent such effects. The rights of individual citizens to do as they wish, and play the video games they like most, however violent, is subordinate to the government's right to increase security through the enforcement of restrictions. For example, one accepts the government's right to restrict what we carry onto aircrafts in order to prevent violent attacks. That is not to say there aren't limits to what we can carry on, just as violent video games are still available to adults we can still carry laptops and mobile phones onto aircrafts. Ultimately however, it must be accepted that the government's right to protect society includes a right to restrict the sale of violent games.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
f500ecf414ccba8ca204b9d949241935
Medical concerns Dieting is a medical choice and should be treated as such; advertising the available options rather than discussing this with a doctor means that people do not have all of the available information and cannot make their decision in a safe environment. In comparable areas such as giving up smoking, controlling drinking, making decisions about exercise, knowledge about inoculations before travel and so forth, we prize medical expertise. The diet industry in the UK is worth £2bn [1] (it's $61bn in the US) and is marked out by allowing the same people to tell us that we are sick in the first place and then tell us the cure and then do it all again when the solution didn't work. Generally accepted medical opinion is that this is a slow process with miracle cures both unlikely to work in the first place and, where they do, more unlikely to last. In some cases the dieting may even threaten health. For example French doctors have criticised the Dukan diet, Dr Boris Hansel for example says "There are real risks … infertility, sleep apnoea, high blood pressure, type-two diabetes, liver disease or cardiovascular problems. Following this diet is not harmless; it could cause real health problems" but its endorsement by celebrities mean that many will ignore such warnings or never even hear of them. [2] Most ridiculously, the solution that does work – moderate eating and regular exercise is absolutely free and available to all. [1] Arabella Weir. Try it – don't diet. The Guardian. 31 December 2010, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/31/hungry-wisdom-diet-g... [2] Kim Willsher, ‘Dukan diet divides French doctors over effect on health’, The Guardian, 30 May 2011, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/30/dukan-diet-france-health-affect
[ { "docid": "5ce713380378fdc2e9d78c247d18c80c", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets People often wish to change their appearance for cosmetic rather than medical reasons. As with other cosmetic changes, from a new wardrobe to surgery, this can be expensive, and may even have some risks, but it is accepted because we know that it makes people feel better. It's a lifestyle choice and is no more the business of government than choosing a new jacket or deciding to get an earring.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "cd993af573ac083ca447058d865da21c", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets Surely the fact that what is healthy is also considered sexy should be embraced. Any motivation to lose a few pounds in a country where more than a quarter of people are obese [1] is surely a good thing for public health. Prop bemoans that diet advertising is targeted at the young and yet this is the group that policy makers routinely target with legislation to encourage healthy living and an early acceptance of the need for good health.\n\n[1] Jeremy Laurance, ‘Britain is the fattest nation in Europe’, The Independent, 17 November 2012, http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/britain-is-the-fattest-nation-in-europe-8324262.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e8d4ad052d8cafeddf18bb73d82453c8", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets There is no doubt that weight is not purely a medical issue but that a positive appearance helps self-confidence and opens lifestyle opportunities. Different people approach losing a few pounds in different ways, some have the time for the meticulous dietary exercise and training regime Prop is suggesting but most don't. Promotion of other option is simply meeting that need.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ae68d11dd9a31153be85154858d23e9f", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets It's simply not true to say that people automatically take their adverts with a pinch of salt. Research in the US suggests that 1 in five young adults trust advertising to always tell the truth and a clear majority think it does “most of the time” [1] , as this is exactly the group that is primarily of concern it can't be taken for granted that they will use caution or undertake further research.\n\n[1] Harris poll. Young adults more trusting of advertising. 5 November 2010. http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NewsRoom/HarrisPolls/tabid/447/ctl/ReadCustom%20Default/mid/1508/ArticleId/612/Default.aspx\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c9a7a94b6423b1b3b6c6ea540c8f5263", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets There is an enormous difference here. Even fast food chains themselves accept that their product should not be eaten all day everyday. Supermarkets have taken on board healthy messages about people's five a day or low fat brands. They've built these messages into their wider marketing strategy. Diet ads, by contrast, do claim to be a panacea that will instantly make you sexy, healthy, popular and, apparently successful. They are 21st century snake oil merchants and should simply be run out of town.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "52c06d81bd93f47475b050d567cc3184", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets The fact that it is difficult to do everything is no reason not to do something. At the very least articles and books have to go through an editorial process and are open to challenge by other articles and books. That's not true for bought space.\n\nIn the same way that we regulate the claims that can be made about cars, gambling websites and dating agencies to protect consumers without banning discussion of transport, money or love, advertising and journalism are treated differently.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "23d5f3bc96a0df546ce0a34300370130", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets Selling to the vulnerable\n\nDiets are predominantly targeted at those who feel desperate. It has nothing to do with medical need, a constant round of being told that there is only one way to look attractive inevitably encourages people to adopt a mindset that 'thin' equals 'attractive'. This has nothing to do with a medical need nor do diets represent a medical solution; at least not in the meaning of 'diet' at the focus of this debate.\n\nThe pressure on people, especially young people, to conform to a certain stereotype of physical perfection is astonishing and comes from many sources – music, magazines and the celebrity culture endemic in the media. It is notable that there is a well studied correlation between mass media consumption and eating disorders and fears of poor body image. [1]\n\nDiet programmes sell the dream that as long as you look like a given ideal you will come to be like them. This is nearly always untrue. [2] However, it is particularly attractive to those who are most susceptible to peer pressure; primarily the young but really anyone with a desire to fit in. The advertising picks up on this, pictures of happy, smiling, thin people with successful personal lives. It's simply an illusion and has little to do with the realities of medical need.\n\n[1] Kristen Harrison and Veronica Hefner, ‘Media Exposure, Current and Future Body Ideals, and Disordered Eating Among Preadolescent Girls: A Longitudinal Panel Study’, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol.35 No.2, April 2006, pp.153-163, p.153 http://www.kristenharrison.org/uploads/8/7/1/3/8713266/harrisonhefnerjoyo.pdf\n\n[2] Federal Trade Commission, ‘Weighing the Evidence in Diet Ads’, November 2004, http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/health/hea03.shtm\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4891959116a6ca7d8298ff12b366ec2f", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets Inventing the idea of fat\n\nThere's a lot to be said for eating well and being generally healthy. It's not just a matter of weight but the effect that bad nutrition has in contributing to heart conditions, blood pressure, energy levels and other health indicators. [1] None of these things are helped by trying to drop three stone in a couple of months by filling your body with one thing regardless of what it needs at the time as many of these diets do\n\nOur physical appearance should be an indicator of our lifestyle not an accessory to it.\n\nThe diet industry has poured considerable time and effort, with help from Holywood and the publishing industry, in to promoting the idea that thin and emaciated are the same thing.\n\nFad diets are, for many, less healthy than being a little overweight.\n\n[1] BMJ, ‘Obesity – how to lose weight’, 31 October 2012, p.3, http://bestpractice.bmj.com/best-practice/pdf/patient-summaries/556120.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2e765e51e1cc73836b79b86006827f8e", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets Banning advertising won't work\n\nHow exactly is a ban on promoting diets supposed to work? Proposition isn't talking about tackling advertising online, presumably because it's difficult to do, nor is prop tackling the issue of books promoting certain techniques. So this ban would have failed to catch the largest craze of recent years, the Atkins diet.\n\nEqually diets are a mainstay of teen and women's magazines and a fairly central pillar of lifestyle sections of newspapers. Even so called 'quality' papers endlessly talk about lifestyles issues such as how they don't work and everyone would be better off retiring to a country manor in Shropshire for Swedish massage and a diet of organic barley.\n\nUnless prop is talking about starting to ban books or shut down entire sections (and profitable sections at that) of publishing companies then it is difficult to see how this measure will have any real affect.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2b7d6a9d726462604133c0f5dafb61de", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets It's my body and I'll starve if I want to\n\nThe main problem facing Prop's entire case is that this is simply none of the government's business. What people eat or don't eat is a private matter and the intervention of the nanny state would have us all on a diet of compulsory cabbage and nut roast.\n\nPeople can be grown up about this, and where they're children, their parents can be grown up about this. The entire health and education system already exists to tell us to eat our greens and cycle to work; for those people who chose not to do so, they have a range of diet option and advertising tell them what those options are. The government regularly runs healthy eating advertising campaigns, and they often focus on obesity such as the Change4Life campaign, so there is plenty of opportunity to get the other side across. [1]\n\nIt's free speech, it's a free choice for the consumer, it's called the market.\n\nProp seems to think that consumers are idiots, nobody believes that a diet for a couple of weeks will make them look like a super model any more than buying a pair of speedos will. However, they can assess the different products, decide which one they trust more, do further research if they want to and then choose.\n\n[1] Politics.co.uk Staff, ‘Anti-obesity campaign launched’, Politics.co.uk, 2 January 2009, http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2009/01/02/anti-obesity-campaign-launched\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "da50c1ce5aee94c474715b4224cd850d", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets Countercase; Tackling food advertising\n\nIf the Proposition is so keen to tackle obesity then regulating then it should tackle food advertising rather than the advertising of diets. [1] Banning the promotion of dieting ads while people are sitting in front of the TV munching on the take away food or complaining that the remote is 'all the way' on the other side of the room, smacks of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.\n\nDiets are a response, one of many as Prop is keen to point out, to a serious problem that only government can begin to address.\n\nFrom before we are old enough to walk most people in the developed world are hooked on a fat-, sugar- and salt-rich diet. [2] Going after dieting ads is simply an effort by governments to be seen as doing something in a way that has little electoral impact. People will still use diets because of the gaps, such as the web, already mentioned however it doesn't require government to say anything as risky as “You're fat because you eat rubbish and don't move around much” to the electorate – or worse still, “Your children are fat because you can't put your foot down and tell them they can't have another choc-ice or more chips”.\n\nProp's entire case is tokenism of the highest order.\n\n[1] Denis Campbell, ‘Call for ban on TV junk food ads before 9pm watershed’, The Guardian, 4 September 2012, http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/sep/04/obesity-tv-junk-food-ads\n\n[2] AP, ‘Study: Bad Eating Habits Start Near Age 2’, InteliHealth, 27 October 2003, http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/20722/8895/371041.html\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
8262d858562fd59a202620efca5ff2c8
Banning advertising won't work How exactly is a ban on promoting diets supposed to work? Proposition isn't talking about tackling advertising online, presumably because it's difficult to do, nor is prop tackling the issue of books promoting certain techniques. So this ban would have failed to catch the largest craze of recent years, the Atkins diet. Equally diets are a mainstay of teen and women's magazines and a fairly central pillar of lifestyle sections of newspapers. Even so called 'quality' papers endlessly talk about lifestyles issues such as how they don't work and everyone would be better off retiring to a country manor in Shropshire for Swedish massage and a diet of organic barley. Unless prop is talking about starting to ban books or shut down entire sections (and profitable sections at that) of publishing companies then it is difficult to see how this measure will have any real affect.
[ { "docid": "52c06d81bd93f47475b050d567cc3184", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets The fact that it is difficult to do everything is no reason not to do something. At the very least articles and books have to go through an editorial process and are open to challenge by other articles and books. That's not true for bought space.\n\nIn the same way that we regulate the claims that can be made about cars, gambling websites and dating agencies to protect consumers without banning discussion of transport, money or love, advertising and journalism are treated differently.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "ae68d11dd9a31153be85154858d23e9f", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets It's simply not true to say that people automatically take their adverts with a pinch of salt. Research in the US suggests that 1 in five young adults trust advertising to always tell the truth and a clear majority think it does “most of the time” [1] , as this is exactly the group that is primarily of concern it can't be taken for granted that they will use caution or undertake further research.\n\n[1] Harris poll. Young adults more trusting of advertising. 5 November 2010. http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NewsRoom/HarrisPolls/tabid/447/ctl/ReadCustom%20Default/mid/1508/ArticleId/612/Default.aspx\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c9a7a94b6423b1b3b6c6ea540c8f5263", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets There is an enormous difference here. Even fast food chains themselves accept that their product should not be eaten all day everyday. Supermarkets have taken on board healthy messages about people's five a day or low fat brands. They've built these messages into their wider marketing strategy. Diet ads, by contrast, do claim to be a panacea that will instantly make you sexy, healthy, popular and, apparently successful. They are 21st century snake oil merchants and should simply be run out of town.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "cd993af573ac083ca447058d865da21c", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets Surely the fact that what is healthy is also considered sexy should be embraced. Any motivation to lose a few pounds in a country where more than a quarter of people are obese [1] is surely a good thing for public health. Prop bemoans that diet advertising is targeted at the young and yet this is the group that policy makers routinely target with legislation to encourage healthy living and an early acceptance of the need for good health.\n\n[1] Jeremy Laurance, ‘Britain is the fattest nation in Europe’, The Independent, 17 November 2012, http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/britain-is-the-fattest-nation-in-europe-8324262.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e8d4ad052d8cafeddf18bb73d82453c8", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets There is no doubt that weight is not purely a medical issue but that a positive appearance helps self-confidence and opens lifestyle opportunities. Different people approach losing a few pounds in different ways, some have the time for the meticulous dietary exercise and training regime Prop is suggesting but most don't. Promotion of other option is simply meeting that need.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5ce713380378fdc2e9d78c247d18c80c", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets People often wish to change their appearance for cosmetic rather than medical reasons. As with other cosmetic changes, from a new wardrobe to surgery, this can be expensive, and may even have some risks, but it is accepted because we know that it makes people feel better. It's a lifestyle choice and is no more the business of government than choosing a new jacket or deciding to get an earring.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2b7d6a9d726462604133c0f5dafb61de", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets It's my body and I'll starve if I want to\n\nThe main problem facing Prop's entire case is that this is simply none of the government's business. What people eat or don't eat is a private matter and the intervention of the nanny state would have us all on a diet of compulsory cabbage and nut roast.\n\nPeople can be grown up about this, and where they're children, their parents can be grown up about this. The entire health and education system already exists to tell us to eat our greens and cycle to work; for those people who chose not to do so, they have a range of diet option and advertising tell them what those options are. The government regularly runs healthy eating advertising campaigns, and they often focus on obesity such as the Change4Life campaign, so there is plenty of opportunity to get the other side across. [1]\n\nIt's free speech, it's a free choice for the consumer, it's called the market.\n\nProp seems to think that consumers are idiots, nobody believes that a diet for a couple of weeks will make them look like a super model any more than buying a pair of speedos will. However, they can assess the different products, decide which one they trust more, do further research if they want to and then choose.\n\n[1] Politics.co.uk Staff, ‘Anti-obesity campaign launched’, Politics.co.uk, 2 January 2009, http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2009/01/02/anti-obesity-campaign-launched\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "da50c1ce5aee94c474715b4224cd850d", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets Countercase; Tackling food advertising\n\nIf the Proposition is so keen to tackle obesity then regulating then it should tackle food advertising rather than the advertising of diets. [1] Banning the promotion of dieting ads while people are sitting in front of the TV munching on the take away food or complaining that the remote is 'all the way' on the other side of the room, smacks of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.\n\nDiets are a response, one of many as Prop is keen to point out, to a serious problem that only government can begin to address.\n\nFrom before we are old enough to walk most people in the developed world are hooked on a fat-, sugar- and salt-rich diet. [2] Going after dieting ads is simply an effort by governments to be seen as doing something in a way that has little electoral impact. People will still use diets because of the gaps, such as the web, already mentioned however it doesn't require government to say anything as risky as “You're fat because you eat rubbish and don't move around much” to the electorate – or worse still, “Your children are fat because you can't put your foot down and tell them they can't have another choc-ice or more chips”.\n\nProp's entire case is tokenism of the highest order.\n\n[1] Denis Campbell, ‘Call for ban on TV junk food ads before 9pm watershed’, The Guardian, 4 September 2012, http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/sep/04/obesity-tv-junk-food-ads\n\n[2] AP, ‘Study: Bad Eating Habits Start Near Age 2’, InteliHealth, 27 October 2003, http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/20722/8895/371041.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "23d5f3bc96a0df546ce0a34300370130", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets Selling to the vulnerable\n\nDiets are predominantly targeted at those who feel desperate. It has nothing to do with medical need, a constant round of being told that there is only one way to look attractive inevitably encourages people to adopt a mindset that 'thin' equals 'attractive'. This has nothing to do with a medical need nor do diets represent a medical solution; at least not in the meaning of 'diet' at the focus of this debate.\n\nThe pressure on people, especially young people, to conform to a certain stereotype of physical perfection is astonishing and comes from many sources – music, magazines and the celebrity culture endemic in the media. It is notable that there is a well studied correlation between mass media consumption and eating disorders and fears of poor body image. [1]\n\nDiet programmes sell the dream that as long as you look like a given ideal you will come to be like them. This is nearly always untrue. [2] However, it is particularly attractive to those who are most susceptible to peer pressure; primarily the young but really anyone with a desire to fit in. The advertising picks up on this, pictures of happy, smiling, thin people with successful personal lives. It's simply an illusion and has little to do with the realities of medical need.\n\n[1] Kristen Harrison and Veronica Hefner, ‘Media Exposure, Current and Future Body Ideals, and Disordered Eating Among Preadolescent Girls: A Longitudinal Panel Study’, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol.35 No.2, April 2006, pp.153-163, p.153 http://www.kristenharrison.org/uploads/8/7/1/3/8713266/harrisonhefnerjoyo.pdf\n\n[2] Federal Trade Commission, ‘Weighing the Evidence in Diet Ads’, November 2004, http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/health/hea03.shtm\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4891959116a6ca7d8298ff12b366ec2f", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets Inventing the idea of fat\n\nThere's a lot to be said for eating well and being generally healthy. It's not just a matter of weight but the effect that bad nutrition has in contributing to heart conditions, blood pressure, energy levels and other health indicators. [1] None of these things are helped by trying to drop three stone in a couple of months by filling your body with one thing regardless of what it needs at the time as many of these diets do\n\nOur physical appearance should be an indicator of our lifestyle not an accessory to it.\n\nThe diet industry has poured considerable time and effort, with help from Holywood and the publishing industry, in to promoting the idea that thin and emaciated are the same thing.\n\nFad diets are, for many, less healthy than being a little overweight.\n\n[1] BMJ, ‘Obesity – how to lose weight’, 31 October 2012, p.3, http://bestpractice.bmj.com/best-practice/pdf/patient-summaries/556120.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3d7b85772aeab8957da46a92381ea223", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets Medical concerns\n\nDieting is a medical choice and should be treated as such; advertising the available options rather than discussing this with a doctor means that people do not have all of the available information and cannot make their decision in a safe environment.\n\nIn comparable areas such as giving up smoking, controlling drinking, making decisions about exercise, knowledge about inoculations before travel and so forth, we prize medical expertise. The diet industry in the UK is worth £2bn [1] (it's $61bn in the US) and is marked out by allowing the same people to tell us that we are sick in the first place and then tell us the cure and then do it all again when the solution didn't work.\n\nGenerally accepted medical opinion is that this is a slow process with miracle cures both unlikely to work in the first place and, where they do, more unlikely to last. In some cases the dieting may even threaten health. For example French doctors have criticised the Dukan diet, Dr Boris Hansel for example says \"There are real risks … infertility, sleep apnoea, high blood pressure, type-two diabetes, liver disease or cardiovascular problems. Following this diet is not harmless; it could cause real health problems\" but its endorsement by celebrities mean that many will ignore such warnings or never even hear of them. [2]\n\nMost ridiculously, the solution that does work – moderate eating and regular exercise is absolutely free and available to all.\n\n[1] Arabella Weir. Try it – don't diet. The Guardian. 31 December 2010, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/31/hungry-wisdom-diet-g...\n\n[2] Kim Willsher, ‘Dukan diet divides French doctors over effect on health’, The Guardian, 30 May 2011, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/30/dukan-diet-france-health-affect\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
86555ea1c2bc9eec18058050e3fe960e
It's my body and I'll starve if I want to The main problem facing Prop's entire case is that this is simply none of the government's business. What people eat or don't eat is a private matter and the intervention of the nanny state would have us all on a diet of compulsory cabbage and nut roast. People can be grown up about this, and where they're children, their parents can be grown up about this. The entire health and education system already exists to tell us to eat our greens and cycle to work; for those people who chose not to do so, they have a range of diet option and advertising tell them what those options are. The government regularly runs healthy eating advertising campaigns, and they often focus on obesity such as the Change4Life campaign, so there is plenty of opportunity to get the other side across. [1] It's free speech, it's a free choice for the consumer, it's called the market. Prop seems to think that consumers are idiots, nobody believes that a diet for a couple of weeks will make them look like a super model any more than buying a pair of speedos will. However, they can assess the different products, decide which one they trust more, do further research if they want to and then choose. [1] Politics.co.uk Staff, ‘Anti-obesity campaign launched’, Politics.co.uk, 2 January 2009, http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2009/01/02/anti-obesity-campaign-launched
[ { "docid": "ae68d11dd9a31153be85154858d23e9f", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets It's simply not true to say that people automatically take their adverts with a pinch of salt. Research in the US suggests that 1 in five young adults trust advertising to always tell the truth and a clear majority think it does “most of the time” [1] , as this is exactly the group that is primarily of concern it can't be taken for granted that they will use caution or undertake further research.\n\n[1] Harris poll. Young adults more trusting of advertising. 5 November 2010. http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NewsRoom/HarrisPolls/tabid/447/ctl/ReadCustom%20Default/mid/1508/ArticleId/612/Default.aspx\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "c9a7a94b6423b1b3b6c6ea540c8f5263", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets There is an enormous difference here. Even fast food chains themselves accept that their product should not be eaten all day everyday. Supermarkets have taken on board healthy messages about people's five a day or low fat brands. They've built these messages into their wider marketing strategy. Diet ads, by contrast, do claim to be a panacea that will instantly make you sexy, healthy, popular and, apparently successful. They are 21st century snake oil merchants and should simply be run out of town.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "52c06d81bd93f47475b050d567cc3184", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets The fact that it is difficult to do everything is no reason not to do something. At the very least articles and books have to go through an editorial process and are open to challenge by other articles and books. That's not true for bought space.\n\nIn the same way that we regulate the claims that can be made about cars, gambling websites and dating agencies to protect consumers without banning discussion of transport, money or love, advertising and journalism are treated differently.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "cd993af573ac083ca447058d865da21c", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets Surely the fact that what is healthy is also considered sexy should be embraced. Any motivation to lose a few pounds in a country where more than a quarter of people are obese [1] is surely a good thing for public health. Prop bemoans that diet advertising is targeted at the young and yet this is the group that policy makers routinely target with legislation to encourage healthy living and an early acceptance of the need for good health.\n\n[1] Jeremy Laurance, ‘Britain is the fattest nation in Europe’, The Independent, 17 November 2012, http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/britain-is-the-fattest-nation-in-europe-8324262.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e8d4ad052d8cafeddf18bb73d82453c8", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets There is no doubt that weight is not purely a medical issue but that a positive appearance helps self-confidence and opens lifestyle opportunities. Different people approach losing a few pounds in different ways, some have the time for the meticulous dietary exercise and training regime Prop is suggesting but most don't. Promotion of other option is simply meeting that need.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5ce713380378fdc2e9d78c247d18c80c", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets People often wish to change their appearance for cosmetic rather than medical reasons. As with other cosmetic changes, from a new wardrobe to surgery, this can be expensive, and may even have some risks, but it is accepted because we know that it makes people feel better. It's a lifestyle choice and is no more the business of government than choosing a new jacket or deciding to get an earring.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2e765e51e1cc73836b79b86006827f8e", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets Banning advertising won't work\n\nHow exactly is a ban on promoting diets supposed to work? Proposition isn't talking about tackling advertising online, presumably because it's difficult to do, nor is prop tackling the issue of books promoting certain techniques. So this ban would have failed to catch the largest craze of recent years, the Atkins diet.\n\nEqually diets are a mainstay of teen and women's magazines and a fairly central pillar of lifestyle sections of newspapers. Even so called 'quality' papers endlessly talk about lifestyles issues such as how they don't work and everyone would be better off retiring to a country manor in Shropshire for Swedish massage and a diet of organic barley.\n\nUnless prop is talking about starting to ban books or shut down entire sections (and profitable sections at that) of publishing companies then it is difficult to see how this measure will have any real affect.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "da50c1ce5aee94c474715b4224cd850d", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets Countercase; Tackling food advertising\n\nIf the Proposition is so keen to tackle obesity then regulating then it should tackle food advertising rather than the advertising of diets. [1] Banning the promotion of dieting ads while people are sitting in front of the TV munching on the take away food or complaining that the remote is 'all the way' on the other side of the room, smacks of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.\n\nDiets are a response, one of many as Prop is keen to point out, to a serious problem that only government can begin to address.\n\nFrom before we are old enough to walk most people in the developed world are hooked on a fat-, sugar- and salt-rich diet. [2] Going after dieting ads is simply an effort by governments to be seen as doing something in a way that has little electoral impact. People will still use diets because of the gaps, such as the web, already mentioned however it doesn't require government to say anything as risky as “You're fat because you eat rubbish and don't move around much” to the electorate – or worse still, “Your children are fat because you can't put your foot down and tell them they can't have another choc-ice or more chips”.\n\nProp's entire case is tokenism of the highest order.\n\n[1] Denis Campbell, ‘Call for ban on TV junk food ads before 9pm watershed’, The Guardian, 4 September 2012, http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/sep/04/obesity-tv-junk-food-ads\n\n[2] AP, ‘Study: Bad Eating Habits Start Near Age 2’, InteliHealth, 27 October 2003, http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/20722/8895/371041.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "23d5f3bc96a0df546ce0a34300370130", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets Selling to the vulnerable\n\nDiets are predominantly targeted at those who feel desperate. It has nothing to do with medical need, a constant round of being told that there is only one way to look attractive inevitably encourages people to adopt a mindset that 'thin' equals 'attractive'. This has nothing to do with a medical need nor do diets represent a medical solution; at least not in the meaning of 'diet' at the focus of this debate.\n\nThe pressure on people, especially young people, to conform to a certain stereotype of physical perfection is astonishing and comes from many sources – music, magazines and the celebrity culture endemic in the media. It is notable that there is a well studied correlation between mass media consumption and eating disorders and fears of poor body image. [1]\n\nDiet programmes sell the dream that as long as you look like a given ideal you will come to be like them. This is nearly always untrue. [2] However, it is particularly attractive to those who are most susceptible to peer pressure; primarily the young but really anyone with a desire to fit in. The advertising picks up on this, pictures of happy, smiling, thin people with successful personal lives. It's simply an illusion and has little to do with the realities of medical need.\n\n[1] Kristen Harrison and Veronica Hefner, ‘Media Exposure, Current and Future Body Ideals, and Disordered Eating Among Preadolescent Girls: A Longitudinal Panel Study’, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol.35 No.2, April 2006, pp.153-163, p.153 http://www.kristenharrison.org/uploads/8/7/1/3/8713266/harrisonhefnerjoyo.pdf\n\n[2] Federal Trade Commission, ‘Weighing the Evidence in Diet Ads’, November 2004, http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/health/hea03.shtm\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4891959116a6ca7d8298ff12b366ec2f", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets Inventing the idea of fat\n\nThere's a lot to be said for eating well and being generally healthy. It's not just a matter of weight but the effect that bad nutrition has in contributing to heart conditions, blood pressure, energy levels and other health indicators. [1] None of these things are helped by trying to drop three stone in a couple of months by filling your body with one thing regardless of what it needs at the time as many of these diets do\n\nOur physical appearance should be an indicator of our lifestyle not an accessory to it.\n\nThe diet industry has poured considerable time and effort, with help from Holywood and the publishing industry, in to promoting the idea that thin and emaciated are the same thing.\n\nFad diets are, for many, less healthy than being a little overweight.\n\n[1] BMJ, ‘Obesity – how to lose weight’, 31 October 2012, p.3, http://bestpractice.bmj.com/best-practice/pdf/patient-summaries/556120.pdf\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3d7b85772aeab8957da46a92381ea223", "text": "media television health weight house would ban promotion diets Medical concerns\n\nDieting is a medical choice and should be treated as such; advertising the available options rather than discussing this with a doctor means that people do not have all of the available information and cannot make their decision in a safe environment.\n\nIn comparable areas such as giving up smoking, controlling drinking, making decisions about exercise, knowledge about inoculations before travel and so forth, we prize medical expertise. The diet industry in the UK is worth £2bn [1] (it's $61bn in the US) and is marked out by allowing the same people to tell us that we are sick in the first place and then tell us the cure and then do it all again when the solution didn't work.\n\nGenerally accepted medical opinion is that this is a slow process with miracle cures both unlikely to work in the first place and, where they do, more unlikely to last. In some cases the dieting may even threaten health. For example French doctors have criticised the Dukan diet, Dr Boris Hansel for example says \"There are real risks … infertility, sleep apnoea, high blood pressure, type-two diabetes, liver disease or cardiovascular problems. Following this diet is not harmless; it could cause real health problems\" but its endorsement by celebrities mean that many will ignore such warnings or never even hear of them. [2]\n\nMost ridiculously, the solution that does work – moderate eating and regular exercise is absolutely free and available to all.\n\n[1] Arabella Weir. Try it – don't diet. The Guardian. 31 December 2010, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/31/hungry-wisdom-diet-g...\n\n[2] Kim Willsher, ‘Dukan diet divides French doctors over effect on health’, The Guardian, 30 May 2011, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/30/dukan-diet-france-health-affect\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
b5ae81e014d365eb47d8cfbb02ad2957
Reporting on violent crimes compromises the integrity and fairness of law Judges and juries have to be neutral when they preside in court, and no bias can enter the court’s discourse and deliberation if justice is to be done. This is especially true of violent crime, for two reasons. First, in such cases, the court is dealing with people’s lives, as violent crime convictions yield high sentences, and the court’s decisions often have a lasting effect on the physical wellbeing of both victims and perpetrators of such crimes. Second, the visceral nature of violent crime naturally causes an emotive response from people hearing about it, which can cause them to act less rationally. [1] Opinion is thus more easily colored in deliberations over violent crime than with any other kind. In light of these facts it is necessary to analyze the behavior of the media when it reports on violent crimes. The media is a commercial enterprise. It prioritizes sales over truth, and always wants to sell the good story and to get the scoop. For this reason the media relishes the opportunity to sell the “blood and guts” of violent crime to its audience. Furthermore, the race to get stories first causes reporters and media outlets to jump to conclusions, which can result in the vilification of suspects who are in fact innocent. The media sensationalizes the extent of crime through its extreme emphasis on the violence; it builds its stories on moving imagery, emotive language, and by focusing on victims and their families. At the same time the media seeks to portray itself as being of the highest journalistic quality. [2] This behavior on the part of the media is tremendously bad for the legal process. The media circus surrounding violent crime necessarily affects potential jurors, judges, lawyers, and the general public. This has been observed on many occasions; for example, after the OJ Simpson trial some jurors admitted that the pressure generated by the media added significantly to the difficulties of deliberation. The inescapable consequence of the media reporting on violent crimes is that people cannot help internalizing the public opinion when it stands against a person on trial. Thus court judgments in the presence of a media circus must be held suspect. By restricting reporting on violent crime, however, the pressure can be relieved and the legal process can function justly. [1] Tyagi, Himanshu. “Emotional Responses Usually Take Over Rational Responses in Decision-Making”. RxPG News. 16 February 2007, http://www.rxpgnews.com/cognitivescience/Emotional-responses-usually-tak... [2] Lee, Martin and Norman Solomon. Unreliable Sources. New York: Lyle Stuart. 1990.
[ { "docid": "edc1cfb154333673f29b55664bb12ee3", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes Law should be just and unbiased. That is not a controversial position. However, it seems difficult to imagine that reporting on violent crimes has so tremendous an effect on the public that judges and jurors cannot be unbiased in their deliberations. Rather, the process of jury selection as it stands is designed to guarantee that there is no bias with both prosecution and defence being allowed to examine and object to a juror. Furthermore, most reporting on violent crime is about simple facts rather than any attempt to influence opinion on specific crimes. This is the essence of what news is, people have a right to know what is going on in their society, even if what is going on is brutally violent.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "5f6931dccad50348ed98205546940d98", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes It is better that people be afraid of what is really happening than to be blissfully ignorant and thus vulnerable. Crime can be frightening, but people need to know about it so they can prepare themselves to deal with it. Furthermore, if violence is growing within communities, there may well be a need for better policing, so calling for such provisions is not necessarily just treating the symptoms of social illness, but rather is holding society together and maintaining necessary order. [1] Fear may cause people to do irrational things, but so too can ignorance.\n\n[1] Jones, Stephen. Understanding Violent Crime. London: Open University Press. 2000.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c5f58aa0d15b7d41590dfa1c7f2e2c6b", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes Terrorists and serial killers make up a tiny proportion of murders and violent criminals in Western countries. In the United Kingdom for example there have been less deaths due to terrorism between 2000 and 2010 than due to bee stings. [1] As a result the very few copycat attacks are not really the issue at all when the question of reporting on violent crimes in the media is under discussion. Talk about these rarities serves only to distract people from the reality that most violent crime is not so bizarre as these cases. [2] Rather, the need to report on violent crime stands for all the violent crimes committed in every society, and fears of terrorists and serial killers can do little to challenge that need.\n\n[1] Anderson, David, ‘The Terrorism acts in 2011’ Report of the Independent Reviewer on the Operation of the Terrorism Act 2000 and Part 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006, June 2012, http://terrorismlegislationreviewer.independent.gov.uk/publications/report-terrorism-acts-2011?view=Binary\n\n[2] Morton, Robert. “Serial Murder”. National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime. 2005. http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ac364b162c4b13824c6b4c29d4e416ee", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes Some journalists and media outlets are despicable in the way they treat people. Preying upon victims and their families is absolutely wrong, but a ban is not the way to solve this problem as it would simply move the media frenzy to whenever the ban on a case is removed and the details become public. Instead better regulation of the press is needed in such emotional cases in order to make sure that the media is respectful of families and also to make sure that those accused are seen to be innocent until proven guilty.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6e64e601f896894fefd259100c67c40b", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes It is not necessary for people to know the extent of criminal activity in order to be able to take precautions, everyone regardless of whether they know the amount of crime in an area should take what precautions against being attacked that they can. For example they should stick to walking on well-lit streets at night. Local groups on the other hand do not need to be informed by the newspapers if there is crime in the area, they will already know because they live there how safe the area is. The police will certainly give residents the information if there is a threat to them even if they are not giving that information to the media.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "41d16312dece1889a5ae7bd964ec04f7", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes Bans and restrictions on the old media would equally affect the ‘new’ media of the internet age. Bloggers could just as easily be taken to court for their reporting as conventional journalists so the news would still be restricted. While individuals may still report crimes this would become limited to the local area where people do have a genuine interest in the crime rather than it being reported nationally.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "74fcc0497f6befc5b7509f8029eba50c", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes Political will to affect change in areas riddled with violent crime is not generated by media reporting on the violence. Rather, the way the media reports, prioritizing the sensational, blood and guts, aspects of crimes, results in frightened voters clamoring for something to be done. This usually just results in more policing and more draconian sentencing laws. Neither of which solve the underlying problems of poverty and poor provision of essential state services. Rather, they serve merely as stand-ins for real action, resulting in no efforts to genuinely reclaim troubled communities. By excluding media reporting on the most visceral goings on in these areas, namely violent crimes, politicians and the people affected can enter into rational dialogue that is not perverted by media sensationalism.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3c7b007eca8fb964f68b724667fdb52d", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes There is no such thing as these two duties that the opposition asserts for the media. The media is a business like any other, because its business is information and news it will report on violent crime as it is something that the people care about so will purchase news about it, but it does not have a duty to do such reporting. Similarly there is no duty to report on things that influence the lives of the citizens of the state, again the media does so but only because it sells. Indeed large amounts of media do not report things that are either things that most people care about or things that seriously influence society. There are lots of magazines and newspapers on things like hobbies, such as toy models, but it is absurd to suggest that this is what most people care about or that the issues that affect toy model hobbyists influence the rest of society. It would be equally absurd to suggest that such a magazine or newspaper should have a section devoted to violent crime because that is what is important.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "65e78e60a666d86bf413c5a40d86b302", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes Reporting generates a constant iteration of fear in the public, and precipitates a ratchet effect toward crime\n\nConstant reporting on violent crime makes people more fearful. This not a deliberate effort on the part of the media to keep people afraid, but rather is a corrosive negative externality; violence sells, so media provides, resulting in the scaring of audiences. The result of the media’s reporting on violent crimes is a constant iteration of fear, which makes people wary of each other, and of the world. [1] Furthermore, such reporting creates a feeling in people of other individuals and groups most often reported as committing crimes as being “other” from themselves. For example, reporting on extensive crimes in inner-city areas in the United States has caused middle class suburbanites to develop wariness toward African-Americans, who are constantly reported in the media as criminals. This is socially destructive in the extreme. The heightened senses of insecurity people feel leads to vigilance in excess. This is bad for people’s rationality. All these problems yield very negative social consequences.\n\nThe constant reporting on violence leads to people demanding immediate law enforcement, and politicians quick to oblige, which leads to a ratchet effect, a precipitous increase in punishments for crimes. This results in a severe misallocation of resources; first in terms of irrationally high spending on extra policing, and second in terms of the excessive allocation of resources and authority to the state to solve the problems of crime through force. This is observed, for example, in the enactment of the PATRIOT Act, which was acclaimed in a state of fear after 9/11, and which gave extensive, even draconian powers to the state in the name of security. The media fuels this hysteria. Without its influence, cooler heads can prevail. The end result of all this is a treating of symptoms rather than the cause. Putting more police on the streets, and getting tough on crime fail to address underlying issues, which are often poverty and the social ills arising from it. [2] Citizens and governments should instead face the actual problem instead of choosing flashy option.\n\n[1] Rogers, Tom. “Towards an Analytical Framework on Fear of Crime and its Relationship to Print Media Reportage”. University of Sheffield. http://www.shef.ac.uk/content/1/c6/10/39/11/8rogers.pdf\n\n[2] Amy, Douglas J. “More Government Does Not Mean Less Freedom”. Government is Good. 2007, http://governmentisgood.com/articles.php?aid=18&print=1\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c9e0722332b0386caec57e37a6e444d4", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes The state owes a duty of protection to victims, victims’ families, and those accused of committing crimes\n\nVictims of violent crimes and their families face an emotional and vulnerable time in the wake of such crimes. People need time to recover, or mourn. The media’s fixation on violent crimes subjects these vulnerable people to the assault of reporters. In fact, there exists a perverse incentive for the media to badger families until they break down, as tears sell. Such exploitation must be stopped, and the best way to do that is to deny the media the ability to report on such things. The media does not care about hurting feelings, and bad behavior on the part of reporters never hurts readership of media outlets, as is indicative of such tabloids as the National Enquirer. Outlets can always deflect any backlash that might occur for their excesses by cutting loose “rogue reporters”.\n\nFurthermore, families and victims usually do not want the media's, and the nation’s eyes upon them. Rather they tend to seek support from family and community, not the faceless masses. [1] People generally want to mourn in their own way. They may not want to become part of a media-driven narrative, and certainly not to become symbols for a new social crusade to reform communities. Removing violent reporting removes these perverse incentives to irritate victims and families, and instead leads to more respectful and considerate treatment.\n\nAs for those accused of crimes, it can be hard for someone acquitted after a trial or accusation to get on with life. Some people may find themselves roundly accused by the media and public, even portrayed as monster, making it very hard to move on, even when their names are officially cleared. This is completely contrary to how the legal system should function, where acquittal is meant to deliver absolution. Allowing the media to construct narratives of guilt in the absence of evidence undermines the very fabric of justice. The media’s incessant coverage of violent crimes and its alacrity to make accusations and jump to conclusions can destroy someone’s life, more than even having to stand trial does. Justice must prevail and be fair to those to whom it judges in court, and this can only be done by not allowing the media to turn the mob against people even after their names are cleared.\n\n[1] Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime. “Victims and the Media”. 2011, http://www.crcvc.ca/en/media-guide/part-1/victims-and-media/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b2148cba94f3e277e7f7c90a7c7f0b51", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes The contagion effect of reporting on violence leads to increased impetus for terrorist attacks and serial killings\n\nThe media has been consistently demonstrated through empirical evidence to aid in the exacerbation of premeditated violence. There is an observable contagion effect, as the media serves to spread the virus of violence. Studies have shown that the greater the level of media coverage, the shorter the lag time between initial crime and emulations of them. In the case of terrorism, there is a demonstrable clustering effect. The 1970s embassy takeovers in Middle East, for example, show how media coverage can encourage terrorists to emulate past actions that gained attention in the past. [1] People see success of certain kinds of attacks and seek to repeat them. For example, the successes of Fatah in Israel led to the formation of the German Red Army Faction that would be responsible for many terrorist activities.\n\nIn the case of serial killers and mass murders, the media generates the “hot death story” of the moment, leading to an observable clustering effect, much as occurs with terrorism. For example, the Virginia Tech shooter cited the Columbine shooters as his inspiration. Serials killers are often attention-seeking individuals who crave media attention, which they are obligingly given. An example of this is the Unabomber, who ramped up his parcel-bombing campaign as a result of the media attention given to Timothy McVeigh’s mass murder in Oklahoma City. The media not reporting on violent crimes means eliminating the problem of emulation, and stops feeding killers’ pathologies.\n\n[1] Nacos, Brigitte. “Revisiting the Contagion Hypothesis: Terrorism, News Coverage, and Copycat Attacks”. Perspectives on Terrorism 3(3). 2009.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ccc8d82b958b3a542eb355370efba0ec", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes To not promote the truth of events is contrary to the duty, and to the right of free speech, of a responsible media\n\nThe media has two jobs; first, it has a duty to report on what people care about, and second, it has a duty to report on things that seriously influence society. Muzzling the media’s ability to disseminate information by preventing reporting on violent crimes can only do harm to society. The media has a fundamental duty to report on anything that may influence the lives of the citizens it reaches. This is particularly true of the state-run media, which is meant to be free of political influence and is not as dependent upon ad revenues and thus not as prone to sensationalist reporting. Beyond its duty to inform, the media, like all bodies and individuals in society have a right to freedom of speech. This must extend to the right to report on things that are ugly and that frighten people. It is better that people be informed of the truth by a free media and be terrified than to leave people without knowledge of the real seriousness of criminality. Fundamentally, the right to freedom of speech and of expression must be protected. If the media should give way on the issue of violent crimes it loses all credibility as a genuine font of truth. [1] To protect the basic rights of citizens, the right of the media to report on violent crimes must be upheld.\n\n[1] PUCL Bulletin. “Freedom of the Press”. People’s Union for Civil Liberties. July 1982. http://www.pucl.org/from-archives/Media/freedom-press.htm\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "efcfa17b31ab862f2f626db22830c602", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes The mainstream media is essential for the accurate reporting of information; without it reporting on violent crimes, they would simply be reported by less accountable, less accurate freelance reporters and blogs\n\nThe media is regularly accused of being sensationalist and of hyping up the extent and gruesomeness of violent crimes. In some cases this may be true, but the media generally reports facts in a sober and informative, if also exciting, way. Without the mainstream media, however, news about violent crimes will still spread. The news will be disseminated within local communities and across the Internet via email and blogs. The result is lessening of journalistic quality, as bloggers are not bound by any exacting requirements in terms of the need for factual bases of stories. [1] The mainstream media provides a largely credible source of news that new media still lacks. In the absence of mainstream reporting, especially on such a hot button issue as violent crime, will only serve to spread disinformation, leading people to draw inaccurate conclusions and make decisions based on inaccurate knowledge.\n\n[1] Rouse, Darren. “Is New Media a Threat to Journalism?”. ProBlogger. 15 October 2007, http://www.problogger.net/archives/2007/10/15/is-new-media-a-threat-to-j...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "95be2208ffb4852a61235252bda8379d", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes It is necessary for people to understand the extent of criminal activity in order for them to coordinate an effective response\n\nPeople have a right to know, for the sake of their own safety, about violent crimes being committed. Otherwise they will be unable to prepare themselves adequately for the possibility of being attacked. However people cannot make rational decisions about how to react and respond to violence in society if they do not have an accurate picture of not only the frequency of crime, but also their nature. Everyone should take necessary precautions to prevent themselves being victims of crime, as part of this they should know what areas are for example safe to walk through at night. If there is little or no reporting of where and when crime occurs the public will not have this necessary knowledge to keep themselves safe. Local groups will also be less able to protect their neighborhoods. For example in Pimlico, London, local groups have set up patrols in order to deal with an increase in muggings, if these muggings were not reported such local action would not have been possible. [1]\n\n[1] Davenport, Justin, and Moore-Bridger, Benedict, ‘Vigilante patrols set up to beat Pimlico prowlers’, London Evening Standard, 8 December 2011, http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-24019324-vigilante-patrol...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fbd23ce41183e7d2da7e8af79130c141", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes The media’s reporting and investigating acts as a check on the behavior of the justice system\n\nThe state often does not want to deal with serious social issues in politically disenfranchised areas, where crime rates tend to be higher and the populations poorer This is because such areas cannot be counted on for electoral support as they often have low turnout rates and can be too complicated to be worth dealing with from a political perspective. Without the media, no one will report on criminal activity in these areas, meaning there will be no political will to reform them. This gives the police the opportunity to abrogate their responsibility to these communities.\n\nIn the absence of media reporting, authorities would also be able to hide the true extent of crime in misleading statistics. For example, police in parts of the United States have been caught publishing deliberately false crime statistics, often understating levels of violent crime in poorer communities. [1] The media has served to uncover the truth of these police abuses of the facts. Only with a free media can people truly be informed about what is happening in society, and that extends to information about violent crimes.\n\n[1] Thompson, Steve and Tanya Eiserer. “Experts: Dallas Undercount of Assaults Builds ‘Artificial Image’”. Dallas Morning News. 15 December 2009. http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/dallas/headlines/20091214-...\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
afc7187733c625e543f26f30a7004274
To not promote the truth of events is contrary to the duty, and to the right of free speech, of a responsible media The media has two jobs; first, it has a duty to report on what people care about, and second, it has a duty to report on things that seriously influence society. Muzzling the media’s ability to disseminate information by preventing reporting on violent crimes can only do harm to society. The media has a fundamental duty to report on anything that may influence the lives of the citizens it reaches. This is particularly true of the state-run media, which is meant to be free of political influence and is not as dependent upon ad revenues and thus not as prone to sensationalist reporting. Beyond its duty to inform, the media, like all bodies and individuals in society have a right to freedom of speech. This must extend to the right to report on things that are ugly and that frighten people. It is better that people be informed of the truth by a free media and be terrified than to leave people without knowledge of the real seriousness of criminality. Fundamentally, the right to freedom of speech and of expression must be protected. If the media should give way on the issue of violent crimes it loses all credibility as a genuine font of truth. [1] To protect the basic rights of citizens, the right of the media to report on violent crimes must be upheld. [1] PUCL Bulletin. “Freedom of the Press”. People’s Union for Civil Liberties. July 1982. http://www.pucl.org/from-archives/Media/freedom-press.htm
[ { "docid": "3c7b007eca8fb964f68b724667fdb52d", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes There is no such thing as these two duties that the opposition asserts for the media. The media is a business like any other, because its business is information and news it will report on violent crime as it is something that the people care about so will purchase news about it, but it does not have a duty to do such reporting. Similarly there is no duty to report on things that influence the lives of the citizens of the state, again the media does so but only because it sells. Indeed large amounts of media do not report things that are either things that most people care about or things that seriously influence society. There are lots of magazines and newspapers on things like hobbies, such as toy models, but it is absurd to suggest that this is what most people care about or that the issues that affect toy model hobbyists influence the rest of society. It would be equally absurd to suggest that such a magazine or newspaper should have a section devoted to violent crime because that is what is important.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "6e64e601f896894fefd259100c67c40b", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes It is not necessary for people to know the extent of criminal activity in order to be able to take precautions, everyone regardless of whether they know the amount of crime in an area should take what precautions against being attacked that they can. For example they should stick to walking on well-lit streets at night. Local groups on the other hand do not need to be informed by the newspapers if there is crime in the area, they will already know because they live there how safe the area is. The police will certainly give residents the information if there is a threat to them even if they are not giving that information to the media.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "41d16312dece1889a5ae7bd964ec04f7", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes Bans and restrictions on the old media would equally affect the ‘new’ media of the internet age. Bloggers could just as easily be taken to court for their reporting as conventional journalists so the news would still be restricted. While individuals may still report crimes this would become limited to the local area where people do have a genuine interest in the crime rather than it being reported nationally.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "74fcc0497f6befc5b7509f8029eba50c", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes Political will to affect change in areas riddled with violent crime is not generated by media reporting on the violence. Rather, the way the media reports, prioritizing the sensational, blood and guts, aspects of crimes, results in frightened voters clamoring for something to be done. This usually just results in more policing and more draconian sentencing laws. Neither of which solve the underlying problems of poverty and poor provision of essential state services. Rather, they serve merely as stand-ins for real action, resulting in no efforts to genuinely reclaim troubled communities. By excluding media reporting on the most visceral goings on in these areas, namely violent crimes, politicians and the people affected can enter into rational dialogue that is not perverted by media sensationalism.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5f6931dccad50348ed98205546940d98", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes It is better that people be afraid of what is really happening than to be blissfully ignorant and thus vulnerable. Crime can be frightening, but people need to know about it so they can prepare themselves to deal with it. Furthermore, if violence is growing within communities, there may well be a need for better policing, so calling for such provisions is not necessarily just treating the symptoms of social illness, but rather is holding society together and maintaining necessary order. [1] Fear may cause people to do irrational things, but so too can ignorance.\n\n[1] Jones, Stephen. Understanding Violent Crime. London: Open University Press. 2000.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c5f58aa0d15b7d41590dfa1c7f2e2c6b", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes Terrorists and serial killers make up a tiny proportion of murders and violent criminals in Western countries. In the United Kingdom for example there have been less deaths due to terrorism between 2000 and 2010 than due to bee stings. [1] As a result the very few copycat attacks are not really the issue at all when the question of reporting on violent crimes in the media is under discussion. Talk about these rarities serves only to distract people from the reality that most violent crime is not so bizarre as these cases. [2] Rather, the need to report on violent crime stands for all the violent crimes committed in every society, and fears of terrorists and serial killers can do little to challenge that need.\n\n[1] Anderson, David, ‘The Terrorism acts in 2011’ Report of the Independent Reviewer on the Operation of the Terrorism Act 2000 and Part 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006, June 2012, http://terrorismlegislationreviewer.independent.gov.uk/publications/report-terrorism-acts-2011?view=Binary\n\n[2] Morton, Robert. “Serial Murder”. National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime. 2005. http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ac364b162c4b13824c6b4c29d4e416ee", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes Some journalists and media outlets are despicable in the way they treat people. Preying upon victims and their families is absolutely wrong, but a ban is not the way to solve this problem as it would simply move the media frenzy to whenever the ban on a case is removed and the details become public. Instead better regulation of the press is needed in such emotional cases in order to make sure that the media is respectful of families and also to make sure that those accused are seen to be innocent until proven guilty.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "edc1cfb154333673f29b55664bb12ee3", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes Law should be just and unbiased. That is not a controversial position. However, it seems difficult to imagine that reporting on violent crimes has so tremendous an effect on the public that judges and jurors cannot be unbiased in their deliberations. Rather, the process of jury selection as it stands is designed to guarantee that there is no bias with both prosecution and defence being allowed to examine and object to a juror. Furthermore, most reporting on violent crime is about simple facts rather than any attempt to influence opinion on specific crimes. This is the essence of what news is, people have a right to know what is going on in their society, even if what is going on is brutally violent.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "efcfa17b31ab862f2f626db22830c602", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes The mainstream media is essential for the accurate reporting of information; without it reporting on violent crimes, they would simply be reported by less accountable, less accurate freelance reporters and blogs\n\nThe media is regularly accused of being sensationalist and of hyping up the extent and gruesomeness of violent crimes. In some cases this may be true, but the media generally reports facts in a sober and informative, if also exciting, way. Without the mainstream media, however, news about violent crimes will still spread. The news will be disseminated within local communities and across the Internet via email and blogs. The result is lessening of journalistic quality, as bloggers are not bound by any exacting requirements in terms of the need for factual bases of stories. [1] The mainstream media provides a largely credible source of news that new media still lacks. In the absence of mainstream reporting, especially on such a hot button issue as violent crime, will only serve to spread disinformation, leading people to draw inaccurate conclusions and make decisions based on inaccurate knowledge.\n\n[1] Rouse, Darren. “Is New Media a Threat to Journalism?”. ProBlogger. 15 October 2007, http://www.problogger.net/archives/2007/10/15/is-new-media-a-threat-to-j...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "95be2208ffb4852a61235252bda8379d", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes It is necessary for people to understand the extent of criminal activity in order for them to coordinate an effective response\n\nPeople have a right to know, for the sake of their own safety, about violent crimes being committed. Otherwise they will be unable to prepare themselves adequately for the possibility of being attacked. However people cannot make rational decisions about how to react and respond to violence in society if they do not have an accurate picture of not only the frequency of crime, but also their nature. Everyone should take necessary precautions to prevent themselves being victims of crime, as part of this they should know what areas are for example safe to walk through at night. If there is little or no reporting of where and when crime occurs the public will not have this necessary knowledge to keep themselves safe. Local groups will also be less able to protect their neighborhoods. For example in Pimlico, London, local groups have set up patrols in order to deal with an increase in muggings, if these muggings were not reported such local action would not have been possible. [1]\n\n[1] Davenport, Justin, and Moore-Bridger, Benedict, ‘Vigilante patrols set up to beat Pimlico prowlers’, London Evening Standard, 8 December 2011, http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-24019324-vigilante-patrol...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fbd23ce41183e7d2da7e8af79130c141", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes The media’s reporting and investigating acts as a check on the behavior of the justice system\n\nThe state often does not want to deal with serious social issues in politically disenfranchised areas, where crime rates tend to be higher and the populations poorer This is because such areas cannot be counted on for electoral support as they often have low turnout rates and can be too complicated to be worth dealing with from a political perspective. Without the media, no one will report on criminal activity in these areas, meaning there will be no political will to reform them. This gives the police the opportunity to abrogate their responsibility to these communities.\n\nIn the absence of media reporting, authorities would also be able to hide the true extent of crime in misleading statistics. For example, police in parts of the United States have been caught publishing deliberately false crime statistics, often understating levels of violent crime in poorer communities. [1] The media has served to uncover the truth of these police abuses of the facts. Only with a free media can people truly be informed about what is happening in society, and that extends to information about violent crimes.\n\n[1] Thompson, Steve and Tanya Eiserer. “Experts: Dallas Undercount of Assaults Builds ‘Artificial Image’”. Dallas Morning News. 15 December 2009. http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/dallas/headlines/20091214-...\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "65e78e60a666d86bf413c5a40d86b302", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes Reporting generates a constant iteration of fear in the public, and precipitates a ratchet effect toward crime\n\nConstant reporting on violent crime makes people more fearful. This not a deliberate effort on the part of the media to keep people afraid, but rather is a corrosive negative externality; violence sells, so media provides, resulting in the scaring of audiences. The result of the media’s reporting on violent crimes is a constant iteration of fear, which makes people wary of each other, and of the world. [1] Furthermore, such reporting creates a feeling in people of other individuals and groups most often reported as committing crimes as being “other” from themselves. For example, reporting on extensive crimes in inner-city areas in the United States has caused middle class suburbanites to develop wariness toward African-Americans, who are constantly reported in the media as criminals. This is socially destructive in the extreme. The heightened senses of insecurity people feel leads to vigilance in excess. This is bad for people’s rationality. All these problems yield very negative social consequences.\n\nThe constant reporting on violence leads to people demanding immediate law enforcement, and politicians quick to oblige, which leads to a ratchet effect, a precipitous increase in punishments for crimes. This results in a severe misallocation of resources; first in terms of irrationally high spending on extra policing, and second in terms of the excessive allocation of resources and authority to the state to solve the problems of crime through force. This is observed, for example, in the enactment of the PATRIOT Act, which was acclaimed in a state of fear after 9/11, and which gave extensive, even draconian powers to the state in the name of security. The media fuels this hysteria. Without its influence, cooler heads can prevail. The end result of all this is a treating of symptoms rather than the cause. Putting more police on the streets, and getting tough on crime fail to address underlying issues, which are often poverty and the social ills arising from it. [2] Citizens and governments should instead face the actual problem instead of choosing flashy option.\n\n[1] Rogers, Tom. “Towards an Analytical Framework on Fear of Crime and its Relationship to Print Media Reportage”. University of Sheffield. http://www.shef.ac.uk/content/1/c6/10/39/11/8rogers.pdf\n\n[2] Amy, Douglas J. “More Government Does Not Mean Less Freedom”. Government is Good. 2007, http://governmentisgood.com/articles.php?aid=18&print=1\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c9e0722332b0386caec57e37a6e444d4", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes The state owes a duty of protection to victims, victims’ families, and those accused of committing crimes\n\nVictims of violent crimes and their families face an emotional and vulnerable time in the wake of such crimes. People need time to recover, or mourn. The media’s fixation on violent crimes subjects these vulnerable people to the assault of reporters. In fact, there exists a perverse incentive for the media to badger families until they break down, as tears sell. Such exploitation must be stopped, and the best way to do that is to deny the media the ability to report on such things. The media does not care about hurting feelings, and bad behavior on the part of reporters never hurts readership of media outlets, as is indicative of such tabloids as the National Enquirer. Outlets can always deflect any backlash that might occur for their excesses by cutting loose “rogue reporters”.\n\nFurthermore, families and victims usually do not want the media's, and the nation’s eyes upon them. Rather they tend to seek support from family and community, not the faceless masses. [1] People generally want to mourn in their own way. They may not want to become part of a media-driven narrative, and certainly not to become symbols for a new social crusade to reform communities. Removing violent reporting removes these perverse incentives to irritate victims and families, and instead leads to more respectful and considerate treatment.\n\nAs for those accused of crimes, it can be hard for someone acquitted after a trial or accusation to get on with life. Some people may find themselves roundly accused by the media and public, even portrayed as monster, making it very hard to move on, even when their names are officially cleared. This is completely contrary to how the legal system should function, where acquittal is meant to deliver absolution. Allowing the media to construct narratives of guilt in the absence of evidence undermines the very fabric of justice. The media’s incessant coverage of violent crimes and its alacrity to make accusations and jump to conclusions can destroy someone’s life, more than even having to stand trial does. Justice must prevail and be fair to those to whom it judges in court, and this can only be done by not allowing the media to turn the mob against people even after their names are cleared.\n\n[1] Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime. “Victims and the Media”. 2011, http://www.crcvc.ca/en/media-guide/part-1/victims-and-media/\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9c7d4ca2155021d9d920464af2b95c11", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes Reporting on violent crimes compromises the integrity and fairness of law\n\nJudges and juries have to be neutral when they preside in court, and no bias can enter the court’s discourse and deliberation if justice is to be done. This is especially true of violent crime, for two reasons. First, in such cases, the court is dealing with people’s lives, as violent crime convictions yield high sentences, and the court’s decisions often have a lasting effect on the physical wellbeing of both victims and perpetrators of such crimes. Second, the visceral nature of violent crime naturally causes an emotive response from people hearing about it, which can cause them to act less rationally. [1]\n\nOpinion is thus more easily colored in deliberations over violent crime than with any other kind. In light of these facts it is necessary to analyze the behavior of the media when it reports on violent crimes. The media is a commercial enterprise. It prioritizes sales over truth, and always wants to sell the good story and to get the scoop. For this reason the media relishes the opportunity to sell the “blood and guts” of violent crime to its audience. Furthermore, the race to get stories first causes reporters and media outlets to jump to conclusions, which can result in the vilification of suspects who are in fact innocent. The media sensationalizes the extent of crime through its extreme emphasis on the violence; it builds its stories on moving imagery, emotive language, and by focusing on victims and their families. At the same time the media seeks to portray itself as being of the highest journalistic quality. [2]\n\nThis behavior on the part of the media is tremendously bad for the legal process. The media circus surrounding violent crime necessarily affects potential jurors, judges, lawyers, and the general public. This has been observed on many occasions; for example, after the OJ Simpson trial some jurors admitted that the pressure generated by the media added significantly to the difficulties of deliberation. The inescapable consequence of the media reporting on violent crimes is that people cannot help internalizing the public opinion when it stands against a person on trial. Thus court judgments in the presence of a media circus must be held suspect. By restricting reporting on violent crime, however, the pressure can be relieved and the legal process can function justly.\n\n[1] Tyagi, Himanshu. “Emotional Responses Usually Take Over Rational Responses in Decision-Making”. RxPG News. 16 February 2007, http://www.rxpgnews.com/cognitivescience/Emotional-responses-usually-tak...\n\n[2] Lee, Martin and Norman Solomon. Unreliable Sources. New York: Lyle Stuart. 1990.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b2148cba94f3e277e7f7c90a7c7f0b51", "text": "media law crime policing house would restrict media reporting violent crimes The contagion effect of reporting on violence leads to increased impetus for terrorist attacks and serial killings\n\nThe media has been consistently demonstrated through empirical evidence to aid in the exacerbation of premeditated violence. There is an observable contagion effect, as the media serves to spread the virus of violence. Studies have shown that the greater the level of media coverage, the shorter the lag time between initial crime and emulations of them. In the case of terrorism, there is a demonstrable clustering effect. The 1970s embassy takeovers in Middle East, for example, show how media coverage can encourage terrorists to emulate past actions that gained attention in the past. [1] People see success of certain kinds of attacks and seek to repeat them. For example, the successes of Fatah in Israel led to the formation of the German Red Army Faction that would be responsible for many terrorist activities.\n\nIn the case of serial killers and mass murders, the media generates the “hot death story” of the moment, leading to an observable clustering effect, much as occurs with terrorism. For example, the Virginia Tech shooter cited the Columbine shooters as his inspiration. Serials killers are often attention-seeking individuals who crave media attention, which they are obligingly given. An example of this is the Unabomber, who ramped up his parcel-bombing campaign as a result of the media attention given to Timothy McVeigh’s mass murder in Oklahoma City. The media not reporting on violent crimes means eliminating the problem of emulation, and stops feeding killers’ pathologies.\n\n[1] Nacos, Brigitte. “Revisiting the Contagion Hypothesis: Terrorism, News Coverage, and Copycat Attacks”. Perspectives on Terrorism 3(3). 2009.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
6b800989f1ac1b2c7c50107137ef5ae2
Encouraging film entrepreneurs The Nollywood industry is providing solutions to pressing issues - including high rates of unemployment. The dynamic industry provides an opportunity for youths to explore interests and invest in their talents and creativity. The recognition gained for Nollywood has shown how Nigeria's youths can initiate, and develop, a sustainable industry. Rather than seeing the rising young population as a potential threat [1] , the rise of Nollywood showcases the talent of the young population and helps overthrow perceptions of Africa just being about natural resources. Additionally, the growth of Nollywood is continuing to encourage individuals to enter the creative industry – whether to work in production, acting or distribution, the rise of Nollywood is creating an entrepreneurial spirit, drive, and motivation to create change. Individuals are no longer relying on the government or international community to provide funds, support and infrastructure, but moulding their own futures. [1] See further readings: Urdal, 2006.
[ { "docid": "6b4b67f29516b70a4065c97cd4fdfe08", "text": "media modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be Although the industry has encouraged entrepreneurialism we need to recognise it is also promoting risky businesses. Firstly, the individuals working in the industry are required to produce a quick turnover. The fact that no security and support is provided by the government or state means the risk of failed entrepreneurial strategies falls on the individual. The producers and directors may be forced to borrow money from loan sharks and at high interest-rates to get capital quickly; and need to be able to ensure profits are generated rapidly. Such a tenuous industry is clearly not in a position to change opinions of Africa and may instead be creating a negative perception of risk-taking and cutthroat capitalism.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "3d88c9ecf7abf312e330be0e0e306d8b", "text": "media modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be Fundamentally, the topics raised by Nollywood are commercialising accepted views. The industry is building a business founded on distributing images of witchcraft, abuse, and domestic violence.\n\nFirst, a majority of the films are politically incorrect and provide negative portrayals of women and sexuality. Gender roles are reinforced as women become sexualised objects, male possession, and the source of trouble - required to be put in their ‘place’. In the case of LGBT representations, homosexuality has been represented as Satanic in films such as 2010’s ‘Men in Love’ [1] . Second, in the case of witchcraft, dramas have made society more accepting of, and open to, sorcery. The films show how it remains prevalent in society and can provide a tool to access riches. With the audience interested in watching stories on witchcraft the industry is feeding such demands. Witchcraft sells; and continues to remain a prominent theme justifying why people make their decisions and action.\n\nThis is not the kind of perception change Africa needs.\n\n[1] In Nigeria homosexuality is illegal and continues to be criminalised.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0c38b11ecc3767d32239e58729c702f0", "text": "media modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be First, the narrative of whether Africa is 'rising' has been debated, and requires reflection. Second, if Africa were rising will Nollywood push Nigeria to rise in the wrong direction? Nollywood is a private-sector organisation, with concentrated profits. Inequality in Nigeria has continued to rise since 1985 as shown by the GINI coefficient (Aigbokhan, 2008); and with lavish lifestyles being created for famous actresses and directors who hit ‘big money’ will Nollywood only act to benefit elites and create a new elite class? Economic growth and revenue production cannot solve the issue of poverty without tackling inequality.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "42c4d081e400845853e581523b8b8292", "text": "media modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be Opportunities for development are limited as the industry continues to function informally. The informal structure means there is no legal institution controlling transactions, there is no governing body ensuring taxation is paid and revenues collected, and finally, there is little security to the workers within the industry. Financial records are limited in the industry, which makes it hard to predict the developmental scope of Nollywood and the real revenues produced.\n\nInformality prevents legitimacy; capability to assist national development; and fundamental capital losses. It also prevents it becoming a force for changing perceptions of those outside Africa. Formalisation is required for the industry to assist developmental potential [1] .\n\n[1] See further readings: McCall, 2012.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9048dba3cb48b3b63c0b172ce917de3b", "text": "media modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be The issue of piracy is being tackled. Recognising the potential benefits Nollywood can bring to Nigeria and the scale of the piracy problem, investments are being made to stop piracy in the growing industry.\n\nInvestments have been proposed by the World Bank to tackle piracy, and ensure profits are not lost. Further, Nollywood UP, the Nollywood Upgrade Project, is providing funding to control piracy. Nollywood UP is improving the capacity of the innovative industry - by providing solutions for distribution and vital training in high-quality film making.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "43017d7a5f72bc0fa3ec26784ba4977b", "text": "media modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be New funding sources are emerging. The diasporic community for example are playing a central role in funding the long-term growth of the industry. Recognising potential, and being a major consumer base for the films produced, the African diaspora is investing in Nollywood.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b5e372be9477e28051fa66bf994b32ae", "text": "media modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be Nollywood films are viewed globally. Channels are dedicated to the films - such as South Africa’s MultiChoice and BSkyB’s Nollywood Movies. BSkyB distributes programmes and films directly to airlines, instantly broadening the audience. Furthermore, YouTube subscribers have sought to enhance the global viewing popularity; and recently developed iROKO Partners is ensuring internet users can access Nollywood films. iROKO Partners shows the biggest markets are based in the US, UK, Canada, Italy and Germany (Kermeliotis, 2012).\n\nNew partnerships are being formed with Hollywood and global film festivals [1] , which show the future shift of broadcasting Nollywood films in cinemas. A recent film produced by Pat Nebo - ‘Dead broke’ - is set to be premiered in Lagos, Accra, and London.\n\n[1] Cannes (2013) recently showcased ‘La Pirogue’; and in the summer of 2013 France hosted its first Nollywood Week in Paris, showcasing seven of the best Nollywood films.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "830d0598774ef7d4c2ea3cc7bc6983f8", "text": "media modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be A new perspective, raising topical issues\n\nThe first film created in Nollywood - ‘Living in Bondage’ - raised fundamental issues concerning marriage, wealth and spirituality. The film indicates the need to be aware of cults and what they can drive individuals to do. Furthermore films such ‘Street Girls’ and ‘Mama’s Girls’ provide insight into the lives of prostitutes and the sex industry. ‘Street Girls’ is enabling awareness of why girls are forced into prostitution and why they may be forced to commit criminal offences. Poverty is identified as a key driving factor.\n\nThe range of topics covered - from immigration, women, witchcraft, corruption, terrorism, and infrastructure deficits - counteract historic silences in the public sphere. The films are raising awareness to viewers by presenting the stories in a new light - understandable, humorous, and relatable; and will encourage citizens to demand change.\n\nNollywood is showing the limits of believing in a single perspective, the Western perspective, to stories on Africa.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1e80f342aa33d677a4a7336e4ce69ac6", "text": "media modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be Development from within\n\nNollywood is showcasing Nigeria’s capability to sustain, build, and finance its own economy. Recent estimates suggest around 50 films are produced weekly, selling between 20,000 to 200,000 units, and creating jobs for around one million individuals (Moudio, 2013). The industry is initiating vital development, enabling Nigeria to have capital to change perceptions.\n\nNollywood is following previous cultural industry paths. Hollywood developed from low-budget films, and in 2013 the entertainment industry generated around $522bn in revenue, and is continuing to be one of America’s biggest sources of tourism (Statista, 2013). In Nollywood’s case, the industry is already proving to be of vital importance for regional and domestic tourism.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a152bcad70a6b18a47ee47fc9aaa1c63", "text": "media modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be Epitomising rising Africa\n\nNollywood epitomises Africa, and life in African spaces. The fast-pace nature of production shows how quickly things changes and everything is on the move. The structure of production shows the dynamic nature of everyday life, action, and flow of ideas. As Rem Koolhaas’ (2002) film documentary - Lagos - showed the congestion, informality, and buzz of the city needs to be viewed positively and a sign of entrepreneurialism. The documentary suggested African cities were setting a new trend to be followed by the West, and developing a rising economy. Africa is not simply in need of assistance, but rather a fast-pace environment that needs greater understanding.\n\nAfrica is rising [1] and Nollywood acts to reinforce this reality. With more films being produced, bigger revenues made, and new investors emerging, Nollywood shows Africa's economies are changing, growing, and emerging. Interest and collaborative investments being made by the World Bank shows the industry will continue to rise. Nollywood’s growth provides an alternative to the dominant Afro-pessimism.\n\n[1] See further readings: The Economist, 2013.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8321060010b3168dae25ca776f9c3a84", "text": "media modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be Small audience viewings\n\nIn reality, Nollywood’s audience is constrained - questioning the extent to which stereotypes can be changed. First, language acts as a barrier. 56% of Nollywood films are produced in local languages - such as Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa (UNESCO, 2009). Although English accounts for 44% of films produced, the linguistic diversity may limit who sees which film and what issues are therefore discussed. Second, a majority of the films are sold in hardcopy - whether on cassette or pirate DVDs.\n\nFinally, the industry is characterised by fast and cheap production. Quantity over quality limits popularity and audience viewings. Further, the limited attention to quality means Nollywood remains at the bottom of the global value chain for film production. It is difficult to change perceptions with poor quality films.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c9cd5dbd274958a640c1c600713643e5", "text": "media modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be The problem of piracy\n\nPirated copies of Nollywood films are a key issue. Piracy emerges as an issue for two key reasons. First, the lack of the lack of legal structure - the lack of formal regulation. Legal systems and strict copyright controls are needed to ensure piracy is stopped. Second, the production system is slow - therefore alternative means of production are used to meet the growing demand for films released. New methods for distribution are required.\n\nCalls have been made for the government to take action against piracy. However, with corruption prevalent little action has been made. Half of the film profits are lost through piracy (CNN, 2009), and piracy acts to reinforce the image of bad governance, and inadequate structures, within African states. The industry is being undermined and undervalued, through the piracy market, with high costs to the entrepreneurs.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "afc550741ddc6624fd62de21a3893a82", "text": "media modern culture international africa house believes nollywood could be Short term hype\n\nDespite the boom in Nollywood’s industry it remains hard to get investment. With funding issues prevalent the hype surrounding Nollywood is temporary.\n\nThe difficulties in getting funding, mean films produced are often safe and politically popular - aware that funds can be gained for backing. For example, the controversial film – Boko Haram – aimed to provide an alternative perspective into the Islamist extremist group. The core subject matter was to explore terrorism; however, following the controversial story and topic, marketers dropped out, fearing a political backlash. Titles had to be changed and the film adapted to be more sensitive. The ideas behind the films, and the stories told, are being altered due to funding constraints [1] . Perspectives, on and in Africa, cannot be changed if the topics raised are altered to meet sensitivity regulations. Hegemony will persist.\n\n[1] See further readings: Hirsch, 2013.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
bf85aacc52e569c04dfff3e1f46be49c
Women’s sports do not provide the same economic incentives for media coverage as men’s. Media coverage is dependent on one crucial factor: financial incentive. The journalism industry is hugely competitive and media companies constantly have to compete with rivals for viewers and numbers of papers and magazines sold, often just in order to survive. [1] This is important for two reasons. Firstly because more sales obviously means more revenue, and secondly because the volume of sales or viewers attracts more money from advertisers and sponsors who want to maximise the exposure of their adverts to the general public. Therefore, for media companies to prosper, they must cover subjects that are most popular and likely to receive most attention by the public. Given the difference in popularity between women and men’s sport, media companies have to focus on men’s sporting events as that will largely enable them to compete with rivals and secure greater revenue. [1] Creedon, Pamela J.: “Women, Sport, and Media Institutions: Issues in Sports Journalism and Marketing”, taken from Media Sport, Wenner, Lawrence A. (ed), Routledge, 1998.
[ { "docid": "e32936a131bbd9fe423a0bb2ab32a878", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and The lack of financial incentive to provide media coverage of women’s sporting event is not a reason to not go ahead with this motion. There is often no financial incentive to provide basic welfare needs or provide funding for the development of pharmaceuticals, but the government still pursues such endeavours. In such cases, extra financial incentives can be provided to private companies from the part of the government, or the government itself may be in charge of the scheme. In the case of sports media, state run media do not require a financial incentive to provide equal coverage, while private media companies could either be provided with benefits for covering women’s sport and/or disincentivised from not providing equal coverage by having sufficiently heavy fines in place.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "3ceffa1ab52e186edd85321a2b0f2f42", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and The media can and often is used as a tool for public policy. Examples of this include the broadcasting of public information campaigns against drink-driving or smoking or else bans on certain advertising such as smoking advertisements or sponsorship appearing on TV.[1] What’s more the government has a huge influence in what it deems to be worthwhile news or television programs and documentaries. This is because of the existence of state controlled media organisations, like the BBC, and on a more subtle level, with the imposition on restrictions as to what can and cannot be published or broadcast.\n\nThe media coverage inequality between women and men’s sport is a different issue to that made out by the opposition. Floods in Queensland Australia are more relevant to Australians than Europeans because they are more likely to have been affected by them. Women’s sports, however, are potentially as relevant to people’s lives as men’s sports. The increased participation in women’s sport indicates that media coverage is likely to be relevant to more and more people. Even if this was not the case women’s sport should still get air time; with the internet and digital TV it is wrong to suggest that more coverage of women’s sport will come at the expense of men’s sports as there is enough airspace.\n\n[1] ‘Law ends UK tobacco sponsorship’, BBC News, 31 July 2005.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "246f7553ac6c5d911abaf2747f68a3b9", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and The government can to a degree cover for any potential drop in funding from private sector sources. Focus can remain on developing grass-roots and sports at schools in order to incentivise new generations of athletes, so the harms mentioned by the opposition will by and large not occur. In time, popularity of women’s sport will increase such that it will once again attract large lucrative TV rights deals and large investments from sponsors.\n\nIt must also be mentioned that the opposition to an extent present a false dichotomy with their argument. Increased coverage of women’s sport need not take valuable air time away from more popular men’s sport in the way the opposition claims. Matches can be scheduled so that they do not clash with each other, and more TV channels can be created (such as the BBC’s red button service). Additionally, air-time is often packed trivial stories and programs other than popular men’s sporting events. Examples from American TV include reports ‘on supremely unhealthy hamburgers on sale at a minor league baseball parks or basketball star Shaquille O’Neal’s contest with a 93-year-old woman’ [1]. Such programs could easily and painlessly be replaced with women’s sporting news or live broadcasting.\n\n[1] Deggans, Eric: “Continued apathy by sports media toward women’s sport a bigger problem than first meets the eye”, National Sports Journalism Centre, June 8 2010.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6b91c62001068063e97ad2103c762e05", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and The proposition is wrong in assuming that increased media coverage will have the drastic effects it claims on changing public perceptions towards women’s sport. The problem with lack of interest in women’s sport is not caused by a lack of media coverage. It is because of deep-rooted social conceptions of gender roles and sport (as the prop have acknowledged). Sports like figure-skating and gymnastics have traditionally been viewed as female-appropriate whereas high-contact sports like football, rugby, American football or basketball are generally seen as male-appropriate. [1]\n\nCrucially, the proposition are wrong in claiming that such social perceptions are easily changed. Simply providing more media coverage will not have the proposition’s desired effects. In the United States increased participation by women in sport has not lead to changes in perceptions so it seems unlikely media coverage will.[2] This is what was observed when the newly formed Women’s Soccer Association (WSA) in the United States which signed a lucrative TV-rights agreement in 1999. This proved to be overly ambitious for the WSA which, despite having a huge amount of air-time, failed to generate interest and viewer ratings were very low. Subsequently, the WSA collapsed in 2003 setting women’s professional soccer in the USA back immensely. [3]\n\nThis is evidence that media coverage cannot change public perceptions in the way the proposition wants. Instead, increased funding to development programs for women’s sport and, more importantly, time are what is needed. Over the last decades, women’s sport has moved on from female-appropriate sports only, to sports like tennis, athletics and swimming that are now largely seen as gender-neutral. This is clear evidence that women’s sport is heading in the right direction despite the fact that media coverage is low. It time, contact sports traditionally viewed as male-appropriate will also become normalised for women.\n\n[1] Cavanaugh, Maureen and Crook, Hank: “Why Women’s Sports Struggle to Gain Popularity”, These Days Archive, KPBS, July 27, 2009.\n\n[2] Hardin, Marie, and Greer, Jennifer D., ‘The Influence of Gender-role Socialization, Media Use and Sports Participation on Perceptions of Gender-Appropriate Sports’, Journal of Sport Behavior, Vol.32 No.2.\n\n[3] Cavanaugh, Maureen and Crook, Hank: “Why Women’s Sports Struggle to Gain Popularity”, These Days Archive, KPBS, July 27, 2009.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d1356ba28b7bdf7054920f9d1a33248c", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and The unpopularity of the events sports media would be forced to cover would mean less money, not more money going into sports. This is because incentives for lucrative TV rights deals, sponsorships and advertising only exist where there is a high expectation of positive returns for the advertisers and media companies. For example, if Sky Sports feel there is not much scope in broadcasting every single women’s football league match in the UK, it is unlikely to make a particularly lucrative offer. If anything it will detract from valuable air-time that could be used to show other more popular events that are seen as more profitable.\n\nMoreover, it is not true that media coverage is necessary to incite government funding. For example, the British Government offered for the huge amount of funding for relatively unknown sports for the Beijing and London Olympics, not because they are popular [1], but because the government independently believed it was a worthwhile investment. The fact that such government schemes have succeeded in attracting young girls despite of the lack of media coverage is indicative of this.\n\n[1] BBC News: “Funding for Britain’s Olympic sports extended to Rio 2016”, BBC News, 12 August, 2012.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b1e20a12656ed07843a7615452ab2845", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and The proposition themselves have mentioned three examples of female athletes that are excellent role models for young girls. The huge publicity received by female athletes at the Olympic Games alone, but also at Tennis Grand Slams indicates that there are already sufficient sporting role models for girls to admire. Of course more would be better but this should not come about through mandatory extra coverage.\n\nIf the proposition’s concern lies in the lack of female role models in traditionally masculine sports like football, then the proposition are still going about this the wrong way. You cannot simply artificially create role models. Sporting heroes may be glorified by the media, but they are not made by them. For a sporting hero to be glorified, the athlete needs to prove himself or herself as exceptional in his or her field and distinguish him or herself. When relatively unknown athletes and sports teams do distinguish themselves, they receive due credit and glorification in the media. Examples include the victory of the USA Women’s soccer team winning the world cup in 1999, and Ireland’s remarkably successful campaign in the 2007 cricket world cup. Both were relatively minor sports with low fan bases and did receive media coverage for their achievements. This indicates that the status quo is sufficient for providing role models even in more niche sports. The proposition may complain that the media attention in such situations is always short-lived, but this is only natural. As we saw with the example of women’s soccer in the USA, media coverage where demand remains limited is unsustainable.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b745311abcc4f10d2984b8ebd60c2831", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and The skew in media coverage is not down to personal preferences of sports journalists. If journalists simply reported on what interested them, media companies would not be very successful. Instead, they focus on reporting on sporting events that are more popular and are likely to attract more public attention. The large amount of media coverage of women’s sport in the Olympic Games and Tennis Grand Slams is testimony to this point. It shows that sports journalists are not all subconsciously sexist as the proposition might suggest, they simply cover what they deem to be appropriate and of interest to the public. The Olympics and Wimbledon are sufficiently high-profile to warrant high coverage of the women’s events. The national women’s football league in the UK, however, does not.\n\nMoreover, media coverage is not a matter of fairness as the proposition suggest. It is to do with popularity. If fairness was the main priority, then media would have to cover all stories no-matter what their significance to the general public, to the same level. This would simply be pointless and impractical.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "74bfd8c72c7ed00380a8baab0697eccc", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and Men’s sports are more popular than women’s and so should receive more media coverage.\n\nThe role of the media is not to be a tool for the implementation of social policy. It is instead to inform the public and provide entertainment. However, it would be naïve and short-sighted to believe that the media should report and cover everything equally so as to perfectly inform the public. The nature of media coverage is such that there is a limited amount each media company can cover. There is a limit on air-time available to radio and TV stations and there is a limit to the number of pages newspapers can print. Media companies thus have to make a choice regarding what to report and to what extent. It makes sense for more coverage to be offered for stories and events that are deemed to be of greater importance by the general public (irrespective of its objective value). For example, news about local flooding in Queensland Australia may be hugely important for Australians, but considerably less so for people in Europe or the Americas. Similarly, a British victory at the World Schools Debating Championships would not be (by and large) seen as important as a British victory in the Football or Rugby World Cup. We would thus expect the media to cover each story according to its popularity. Given the considerably lower public interest in most women’s sport compared to men’s, it thus makes sense for men’s to receive more media coverage. That coverage is based on popularity rather than media bias is shown by more than two thirds of media reports not in any way enhancing stereotypes, the media are therefore not specifically discriminating against women in sport.[1]\n\n[1] ‘Sports, Media and Stereotypes Women and Men in Sports and Media’, Centre for Gender Equality, 2006, p.19.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "749b3363467c3d8c88af8763ad51d73d", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and Equalising media coverage will cause a drop in funding for sport in general\n\nThe proposition have acknowledged that media coverage is a crucial source of revenue for sport in the form of sponsorship deals and TV rights. However, forcing media companies to provide equal coverage of men’s and women’s sport, inevitably leads to a thoroughly imperfect and inefficient market within the sports media industry. Sponsors and advertisers would not be as inclined to spend money on media coverage since they would deem that their advertising would reach fewer people and so have less of an impact. Moreover, sports newspapers and magazines are likely to suffer since the vast majority of readers are men interested in men’s sports.\n\nThe consequences of an impaired sports media industry would have negative effects on both women’s and men’s sport because they will receive less funding. Let us examine how the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is funded, as a case study. The overwhelming majority of the ECB’s funds come from TV rights sales. In 2012 alone contracts were signed with Sky and ESPN worth a total of £385 million. [1] Forcing these media giants to show an equal amount of women’s cricket as men’s would be destructive simply because interest in women’s cricket is nowhere near as high. Consequently, the ECB would see its TV rights value slashed and its income severely lowered.\n\nA similar story to this described above would ensue with many other team sports like football and rugby where the men’s sport has a huge fan base. The result would be hugely diminished funding for all facets of sport, most likely including women’s. Consequently, all the benefits the proposition are trying to achieve with this motion would not be achieved, and if anything one would observe a decline in participation and standards of facilities and coaching. This is because the development, facilities and grass roots programs funded by organisations like the ECB and the Football Association (FA) are all funded from the same pool of money, whether the income has come from men’s or women’s sport. Crucially, this explains the proposition’s identification of growing female participation in sport while media coverage remains low.\n\n[1] Hoult, Nick: “England and Wales Cricket Board to step up security in wke of new £125m Asian TV rights deal”, The Telegraph, 17 May, 2012.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "bab04dc0a2b0d311cbb97328c0d51f44", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and Increased media coverage changes public perceptions towards gender roles and women’s sport.\n\nThe male world-view which dominates sports media and conveys to the public that women’s sport are inferior to men’s reinforce traditional gender stereotypes and deter young girls from becoming active in sport. Gender perceptions have obviously come a long way in the last 100 years, but the media classification of women’s sport as inferior to men’s is severely slowing this progress in the field of sport.\n\nHumans are social beings with esteem needs, and as social beings we like to be viewed in a positive light by our peers. This is best achieved on a general level by conforming to social expectations and norm. This also applies for societal conceptions of gender. The fact that the media deems women’s sport to be of lesser importance which (as we have seen) conveys to the public this message, reinforces the notion that sport is not a worthwhile activity for women and girls. Instead, it is an activity more appropriate for men and boys. This kind of discourse has the effect of moulding gender identities both in terms of how men perceive women and how women perceive themselves. In this way, the lack of media coverage of women’s sport fuels a self-affirming perception of gender which effectively denies many young girls a realistic choice of becoming engaged in sport as perceptions affect confidence in one’s ability; as a result of this gender bias boys as young as six rate themselves as being much more competent in sports than girls do.[1]\n\nBy forcing the media to provide equal coverage of both men’s and women’s sport, we take an effective step in breaking these societal discourses and transforming gender perceptions. This is because increased coverage will make sport seem like a worthwhile activity for girls and women. As more women take part in sport, this has a further cyclical effect of re-affirming gender conceptions around sport which, in turn, induces further women to become engaged in sport. This is a desirable outcome from the government’s perspective because sport has a positive impact on the health of those who are physically active. Those who are physically active are not only less likely to suffer from things like Coronary Heart Disease and cancer, but they have also been shown to lead more psychologically happy lives due to the endorphins released while exercising, and the joy of feeling physically fit.\n\n[1] Jacobs, Janis E., and Eccles, Jacquelynne S., ‘The Impact of Mopthers’ Gender-Role Stereotypic Beliefs on Mothers’ and Children’s Ability Perceptions’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 63, No. 6, 1992, pp.932-944, p.934.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "58a1a6cfa81682451860e7f7142496f3", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and Increased media coverage creates more role models for young girls to engage in sport.\n\nA more obvious problem with the limited coverage of women’s sport is the distinct lack of sports role models available as sources of inspiration for girls. Having sports role models is crucial for children to attain the desire and motivation to partake in sport. Boys often want to be like Lionel Messi in football, or Lebron James in basketball. Boys can access such figureheads because they are world famous. Their sporting achievements and prowess are glorified in all forms of media and people can very easily watch them play their sport live on TV. The same does not exist for girls because female athletes receive nowhere near as much media attention as their male counterparts. Girls often can’t even name any female sports stars so lack role models in sport.[1] Although it is true that children can have role models of either sex, the divide in the sports world between men’s and women’s sports means girls cannot aspire to compete alongside the likes of Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps.\n\nThe successes of British female athletes like Rebecca Adlington, Jessica Ennis and Victoria Pendleton, or the young Katie Ledecky from the USA in the recent Olympics have captured the hearts and imagination of a huge number of young girls across the UK and already, as local sports centres and athletics clubs have seen participation amongst girls soar during and after the London Olympics. This is no coincidence – it is because of the media attention and glorification female athletes receive. The Olympic Games are an example of what equal media coverage of men’s and women’s sport can achieve, The equal coverage of Grand Slam tennis and the subsequent glorification of the likes of Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams is another example. We must take action to provide the same sort of role models across all sporting events.\n\n[1] ‘Girls’ attitudes explored… Role models’, Girlguiding UK, 2012, p.14\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a0957d7ec7ae52faf0dcb39dfeade705", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and The sports world is unfairly dominated by a male-orientated world-view.\n\nSport is dominated by a male-orientated world view. This is the case in two respects:\n\nIn terms of the way sports media is run. Sports media are almost entirely run by men, who somewhat inevitably are more interested in men’s sport.[1] In the news media for example only 27% of top management jobs were held by women.[2] In addition, women who enter the world of sports media are subjected to those male-orientated perceptions. For them to succeed as journalists they feel a need to cover men’s sport. [3] These two factors explain why the gap between media coverage of men’s and women’s sport is not closing despite the increase in participation and interest in women’s sport.\n\nThe media dictates what is “newsworthy”. Public opinion is hugely influenced by the media. Stories, events or sports that receive a large amount of coverage give the impression to the public that they are important issues that are worthy of being reported on. Similarly, sports that are not covered appear to the public as being of lesser importance. This applies in the case of women’s sport which in the male-dominated world of sport media will always be perceived as of lesser importance.\n\nThis male dominated world-view is unfair on female athletes. Sport is supposed to be a celebration of the human mind and body, and it is right that athletes that push themselves to the brink in search for glory receive due praise. The hugely skewed coverage of sport against women’s sports caused by the male world-view in the media is hugely unfair on female athletes, as they do not get the deserved recognition their male counterparts receive.\n\n[1] Turner, Georgina, “Fair play for women’s sport”, The Guardian, 24 January 2009.\n\n[2] ‘Global Report: Men Occupy Majority of Management Jobs in News Companies’, International Women’s Media Foundation.\n\n[3] Creedon, Pamela J.: “Women, Sport, and Media Institutions: Issues in Sports Journalism and Marketing”, taken from Media Sport, Wenner, Lawrence A. (ed), Routledge, 1998.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f154b7008c172da1d482cb07aba718f3", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and Increased media coverage will lead to increased funding towards women’s sport\n\nIncreased media coverage will lead to more money going into women’s sport. This will happen for several reasons.\n\nIn the short-term, increased media coverage means more money from advertising and sponsorship, both through the media and directly sponsoring sporting events, clubs and athletes. Increased media involvement also generates revenue for sports in the form of TV and radio licenses (i.e. broadcasting rights). Importantly, as women’s sport increases in popularity, so will the competitiveness to secure sponsorship deals and TV rights in those sports. [2] This will further push up the amount of funding going into women’s sport.\n\nThe Government invests in social projects it deems to be worthwhile. As we have seen, the media has a huge influence in forming public opinion as to what constitutes a worthwhile activity. Thus, increased media coverage will create more demand for increased government funding in women’s sport. This phenomenon was observed in the Government funding that went towards the British Olympic team. The increased popularity in the Olympics led to huge increases in funding for the Beijing and London Olympics. [1]\n\nIncreased Government funding is desirable because it leads to better facilities and coaching, increased public awareness, increased participation and, ultimately, in improved results on the sporting field (as was seen in both Beijing and London for team GB).\n\n[1] UK Government, London 2012 Funding, accessed 7/9/2012.\n\n[2] Cavanaugh, Maureen and Crook, Hank: “Why Women’s Sports Struggle to Gain Popularity”, These Days Archive, KPBS, July 27, 2009.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
6888d62ecdef766f27c84fb987ceb51d
Equalising media coverage will cause a drop in funding for sport in general The proposition have acknowledged that media coverage is a crucial source of revenue for sport in the form of sponsorship deals and TV rights. However, forcing media companies to provide equal coverage of men’s and women’s sport, inevitably leads to a thoroughly imperfect and inefficient market within the sports media industry. Sponsors and advertisers would not be as inclined to spend money on media coverage since they would deem that their advertising would reach fewer people and so have less of an impact. Moreover, sports newspapers and magazines are likely to suffer since the vast majority of readers are men interested in men’s sports. The consequences of an impaired sports media industry would have negative effects on both women’s and men’s sport because they will receive less funding. Let us examine how the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is funded, as a case study. The overwhelming majority of the ECB’s funds come from TV rights sales. In 2012 alone contracts were signed with Sky and ESPN worth a total of £385 million. [1] Forcing these media giants to show an equal amount of women’s cricket as men’s would be destructive simply because interest in women’s cricket is nowhere near as high. Consequently, the ECB would see its TV rights value slashed and its income severely lowered. A similar story to this described above would ensue with many other team sports like football and rugby where the men’s sport has a huge fan base. The result would be hugely diminished funding for all facets of sport, most likely including women’s. Consequently, all the benefits the proposition are trying to achieve with this motion would not be achieved, and if anything one would observe a decline in participation and standards of facilities and coaching. This is because the development, facilities and grass roots programs funded by organisations like the ECB and the Football Association (FA) are all funded from the same pool of money, whether the income has come from men’s or women’s sport. Crucially, this explains the proposition’s identification of growing female participation in sport while media coverage remains low. [1] Hoult, Nick: “England and Wales Cricket Board to step up security in wke of new £125m Asian TV rights deal”, The Telegraph, 17 May, 2012.
[ { "docid": "246f7553ac6c5d911abaf2747f68a3b9", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and The government can to a degree cover for any potential drop in funding from private sector sources. Focus can remain on developing grass-roots and sports at schools in order to incentivise new generations of athletes, so the harms mentioned by the opposition will by and large not occur. In time, popularity of women’s sport will increase such that it will once again attract large lucrative TV rights deals and large investments from sponsors.\n\nIt must also be mentioned that the opposition to an extent present a false dichotomy with their argument. Increased coverage of women’s sport need not take valuable air time away from more popular men’s sport in the way the opposition claims. Matches can be scheduled so that they do not clash with each other, and more TV channels can be created (such as the BBC’s red button service). Additionally, air-time is often packed trivial stories and programs other than popular men’s sporting events. Examples from American TV include reports ‘on supremely unhealthy hamburgers on sale at a minor league baseball parks or basketball star Shaquille O’Neal’s contest with a 93-year-old woman’ [1]. Such programs could easily and painlessly be replaced with women’s sporting news or live broadcasting.\n\n[1] Deggans, Eric: “Continued apathy by sports media toward women’s sport a bigger problem than first meets the eye”, National Sports Journalism Centre, June 8 2010.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "3ceffa1ab52e186edd85321a2b0f2f42", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and The media can and often is used as a tool for public policy. Examples of this include the broadcasting of public information campaigns against drink-driving or smoking or else bans on certain advertising such as smoking advertisements or sponsorship appearing on TV.[1] What’s more the government has a huge influence in what it deems to be worthwhile news or television programs and documentaries. This is because of the existence of state controlled media organisations, like the BBC, and on a more subtle level, with the imposition on restrictions as to what can and cannot be published or broadcast.\n\nThe media coverage inequality between women and men’s sport is a different issue to that made out by the opposition. Floods in Queensland Australia are more relevant to Australians than Europeans because they are more likely to have been affected by them. Women’s sports, however, are potentially as relevant to people’s lives as men’s sports. The increased participation in women’s sport indicates that media coverage is likely to be relevant to more and more people. Even if this was not the case women’s sport should still get air time; with the internet and digital TV it is wrong to suggest that more coverage of women’s sport will come at the expense of men’s sports as there is enough airspace.\n\n[1] ‘Law ends UK tobacco sponsorship’, BBC News, 31 July 2005.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e32936a131bbd9fe423a0bb2ab32a878", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and The lack of financial incentive to provide media coverage of women’s sporting event is not a reason to not go ahead with this motion. There is often no financial incentive to provide basic welfare needs or provide funding for the development of pharmaceuticals, but the government still pursues such endeavours. In such cases, extra financial incentives can be provided to private companies from the part of the government, or the government itself may be in charge of the scheme. In the case of sports media, state run media do not require a financial incentive to provide equal coverage, while private media companies could either be provided with benefits for covering women’s sport and/or disincentivised from not providing equal coverage by having sufficiently heavy fines in place.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6b91c62001068063e97ad2103c762e05", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and The proposition is wrong in assuming that increased media coverage will have the drastic effects it claims on changing public perceptions towards women’s sport. The problem with lack of interest in women’s sport is not caused by a lack of media coverage. It is because of deep-rooted social conceptions of gender roles and sport (as the prop have acknowledged). Sports like figure-skating and gymnastics have traditionally been viewed as female-appropriate whereas high-contact sports like football, rugby, American football or basketball are generally seen as male-appropriate. [1]\n\nCrucially, the proposition are wrong in claiming that such social perceptions are easily changed. Simply providing more media coverage will not have the proposition’s desired effects. In the United States increased participation by women in sport has not lead to changes in perceptions so it seems unlikely media coverage will.[2] This is what was observed when the newly formed Women’s Soccer Association (WSA) in the United States which signed a lucrative TV-rights agreement in 1999. This proved to be overly ambitious for the WSA which, despite having a huge amount of air-time, failed to generate interest and viewer ratings were very low. Subsequently, the WSA collapsed in 2003 setting women’s professional soccer in the USA back immensely. [3]\n\nThis is evidence that media coverage cannot change public perceptions in the way the proposition wants. Instead, increased funding to development programs for women’s sport and, more importantly, time are what is needed. Over the last decades, women’s sport has moved on from female-appropriate sports only, to sports like tennis, athletics and swimming that are now largely seen as gender-neutral. This is clear evidence that women’s sport is heading in the right direction despite the fact that media coverage is low. It time, contact sports traditionally viewed as male-appropriate will also become normalised for women.\n\n[1] Cavanaugh, Maureen and Crook, Hank: “Why Women’s Sports Struggle to Gain Popularity”, These Days Archive, KPBS, July 27, 2009.\n\n[2] Hardin, Marie, and Greer, Jennifer D., ‘The Influence of Gender-role Socialization, Media Use and Sports Participation on Perceptions of Gender-Appropriate Sports’, Journal of Sport Behavior, Vol.32 No.2.\n\n[3] Cavanaugh, Maureen and Crook, Hank: “Why Women’s Sports Struggle to Gain Popularity”, These Days Archive, KPBS, July 27, 2009.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d1356ba28b7bdf7054920f9d1a33248c", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and The unpopularity of the events sports media would be forced to cover would mean less money, not more money going into sports. This is because incentives for lucrative TV rights deals, sponsorships and advertising only exist where there is a high expectation of positive returns for the advertisers and media companies. For example, if Sky Sports feel there is not much scope in broadcasting every single women’s football league match in the UK, it is unlikely to make a particularly lucrative offer. If anything it will detract from valuable air-time that could be used to show other more popular events that are seen as more profitable.\n\nMoreover, it is not true that media coverage is necessary to incite government funding. For example, the British Government offered for the huge amount of funding for relatively unknown sports for the Beijing and London Olympics, not because they are popular [1], but because the government independently believed it was a worthwhile investment. The fact that such government schemes have succeeded in attracting young girls despite of the lack of media coverage is indicative of this.\n\n[1] BBC News: “Funding for Britain’s Olympic sports extended to Rio 2016”, BBC News, 12 August, 2012.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b1e20a12656ed07843a7615452ab2845", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and The proposition themselves have mentioned three examples of female athletes that are excellent role models for young girls. The huge publicity received by female athletes at the Olympic Games alone, but also at Tennis Grand Slams indicates that there are already sufficient sporting role models for girls to admire. Of course more would be better but this should not come about through mandatory extra coverage.\n\nIf the proposition’s concern lies in the lack of female role models in traditionally masculine sports like football, then the proposition are still going about this the wrong way. You cannot simply artificially create role models. Sporting heroes may be glorified by the media, but they are not made by them. For a sporting hero to be glorified, the athlete needs to prove himself or herself as exceptional in his or her field and distinguish him or herself. When relatively unknown athletes and sports teams do distinguish themselves, they receive due credit and glorification in the media. Examples include the victory of the USA Women’s soccer team winning the world cup in 1999, and Ireland’s remarkably successful campaign in the 2007 cricket world cup. Both were relatively minor sports with low fan bases and did receive media coverage for their achievements. This indicates that the status quo is sufficient for providing role models even in more niche sports. The proposition may complain that the media attention in such situations is always short-lived, but this is only natural. As we saw with the example of women’s soccer in the USA, media coverage where demand remains limited is unsustainable.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b745311abcc4f10d2984b8ebd60c2831", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and The skew in media coverage is not down to personal preferences of sports journalists. If journalists simply reported on what interested them, media companies would not be very successful. Instead, they focus on reporting on sporting events that are more popular and are likely to attract more public attention. The large amount of media coverage of women’s sport in the Olympic Games and Tennis Grand Slams is testimony to this point. It shows that sports journalists are not all subconsciously sexist as the proposition might suggest, they simply cover what they deem to be appropriate and of interest to the public. The Olympics and Wimbledon are sufficiently high-profile to warrant high coverage of the women’s events. The national women’s football league in the UK, however, does not.\n\nMoreover, media coverage is not a matter of fairness as the proposition suggest. It is to do with popularity. If fairness was the main priority, then media would have to cover all stories no-matter what their significance to the general public, to the same level. This would simply be pointless and impractical.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "686d26d30e9c12bd7d793d683f702e25", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and Women’s sports do not provide the same economic incentives for media coverage as men’s.\n\nMedia coverage is dependent on one crucial factor: financial incentive. The journalism industry is hugely competitive and media companies constantly have to compete with rivals for viewers and numbers of papers and magazines sold, often just in order to survive. [1] This is important for two reasons. Firstly because more sales obviously means more revenue, and secondly because the volume of sales or viewers attracts more money from advertisers and sponsors who want to maximise the exposure of their adverts to the general public. Therefore, for media companies to prosper, they must cover subjects that are most popular and likely to receive most attention by the public.\n\nGiven the difference in popularity between women and men’s sport, media companies have to focus on men’s sporting events as that will largely enable them to compete with rivals and secure greater revenue.\n\n[1] Creedon, Pamela J.: “Women, Sport, and Media Institutions: Issues in Sports Journalism and Marketing”, taken from Media Sport, Wenner, Lawrence A. (ed), Routledge, 1998.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "74bfd8c72c7ed00380a8baab0697eccc", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and Men’s sports are more popular than women’s and so should receive more media coverage.\n\nThe role of the media is not to be a tool for the implementation of social policy. It is instead to inform the public and provide entertainment. However, it would be naïve and short-sighted to believe that the media should report and cover everything equally so as to perfectly inform the public. The nature of media coverage is such that there is a limited amount each media company can cover. There is a limit on air-time available to radio and TV stations and there is a limit to the number of pages newspapers can print. Media companies thus have to make a choice regarding what to report and to what extent. It makes sense for more coverage to be offered for stories and events that are deemed to be of greater importance by the general public (irrespective of its objective value). For example, news about local flooding in Queensland Australia may be hugely important for Australians, but considerably less so for people in Europe or the Americas. Similarly, a British victory at the World Schools Debating Championships would not be (by and large) seen as important as a British victory in the Football or Rugby World Cup. We would thus expect the media to cover each story according to its popularity. Given the considerably lower public interest in most women’s sport compared to men’s, it thus makes sense for men’s to receive more media coverage. That coverage is based on popularity rather than media bias is shown by more than two thirds of media reports not in any way enhancing stereotypes, the media are therefore not specifically discriminating against women in sport.[1]\n\n[1] ‘Sports, Media and Stereotypes Women and Men in Sports and Media’, Centre for Gender Equality, 2006, p.19.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "bab04dc0a2b0d311cbb97328c0d51f44", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and Increased media coverage changes public perceptions towards gender roles and women’s sport.\n\nThe male world-view which dominates sports media and conveys to the public that women’s sport are inferior to men’s reinforce traditional gender stereotypes and deter young girls from becoming active in sport. Gender perceptions have obviously come a long way in the last 100 years, but the media classification of women’s sport as inferior to men’s is severely slowing this progress in the field of sport.\n\nHumans are social beings with esteem needs, and as social beings we like to be viewed in a positive light by our peers. This is best achieved on a general level by conforming to social expectations and norm. This also applies for societal conceptions of gender. The fact that the media deems women’s sport to be of lesser importance which (as we have seen) conveys to the public this message, reinforces the notion that sport is not a worthwhile activity for women and girls. Instead, it is an activity more appropriate for men and boys. This kind of discourse has the effect of moulding gender identities both in terms of how men perceive women and how women perceive themselves. In this way, the lack of media coverage of women’s sport fuels a self-affirming perception of gender which effectively denies many young girls a realistic choice of becoming engaged in sport as perceptions affect confidence in one’s ability; as a result of this gender bias boys as young as six rate themselves as being much more competent in sports than girls do.[1]\n\nBy forcing the media to provide equal coverage of both men’s and women’s sport, we take an effective step in breaking these societal discourses and transforming gender perceptions. This is because increased coverage will make sport seem like a worthwhile activity for girls and women. As more women take part in sport, this has a further cyclical effect of re-affirming gender conceptions around sport which, in turn, induces further women to become engaged in sport. This is a desirable outcome from the government’s perspective because sport has a positive impact on the health of those who are physically active. Those who are physically active are not only less likely to suffer from things like Coronary Heart Disease and cancer, but they have also been shown to lead more psychologically happy lives due to the endorphins released while exercising, and the joy of feeling physically fit.\n\n[1] Jacobs, Janis E., and Eccles, Jacquelynne S., ‘The Impact of Mopthers’ Gender-Role Stereotypic Beliefs on Mothers’ and Children’s Ability Perceptions’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 63, No. 6, 1992, pp.932-944, p.934.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "58a1a6cfa81682451860e7f7142496f3", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and Increased media coverage creates more role models for young girls to engage in sport.\n\nA more obvious problem with the limited coverage of women’s sport is the distinct lack of sports role models available as sources of inspiration for girls. Having sports role models is crucial for children to attain the desire and motivation to partake in sport. Boys often want to be like Lionel Messi in football, or Lebron James in basketball. Boys can access such figureheads because they are world famous. Their sporting achievements and prowess are glorified in all forms of media and people can very easily watch them play their sport live on TV. The same does not exist for girls because female athletes receive nowhere near as much media attention as their male counterparts. Girls often can’t even name any female sports stars so lack role models in sport.[1] Although it is true that children can have role models of either sex, the divide in the sports world between men’s and women’s sports means girls cannot aspire to compete alongside the likes of Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps.\n\nThe successes of British female athletes like Rebecca Adlington, Jessica Ennis and Victoria Pendleton, or the young Katie Ledecky from the USA in the recent Olympics have captured the hearts and imagination of a huge number of young girls across the UK and already, as local sports centres and athletics clubs have seen participation amongst girls soar during and after the London Olympics. This is no coincidence – it is because of the media attention and glorification female athletes receive. The Olympic Games are an example of what equal media coverage of men’s and women’s sport can achieve, The equal coverage of Grand Slam tennis and the subsequent glorification of the likes of Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams is another example. We must take action to provide the same sort of role models across all sporting events.\n\n[1] ‘Girls’ attitudes explored… Role models’, Girlguiding UK, 2012, p.14\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a0957d7ec7ae52faf0dcb39dfeade705", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and The sports world is unfairly dominated by a male-orientated world-view.\n\nSport is dominated by a male-orientated world view. This is the case in two respects:\n\nIn terms of the way sports media is run. Sports media are almost entirely run by men, who somewhat inevitably are more interested in men’s sport.[1] In the news media for example only 27% of top management jobs were held by women.[2] In addition, women who enter the world of sports media are subjected to those male-orientated perceptions. For them to succeed as journalists they feel a need to cover men’s sport. [3] These two factors explain why the gap between media coverage of men’s and women’s sport is not closing despite the increase in participation and interest in women’s sport.\n\nThe media dictates what is “newsworthy”. Public opinion is hugely influenced by the media. Stories, events or sports that receive a large amount of coverage give the impression to the public that they are important issues that are worthy of being reported on. Similarly, sports that are not covered appear to the public as being of lesser importance. This applies in the case of women’s sport which in the male-dominated world of sport media will always be perceived as of lesser importance.\n\nThis male dominated world-view is unfair on female athletes. Sport is supposed to be a celebration of the human mind and body, and it is right that athletes that push themselves to the brink in search for glory receive due praise. The hugely skewed coverage of sport against women’s sports caused by the male world-view in the media is hugely unfair on female athletes, as they do not get the deserved recognition their male counterparts receive.\n\n[1] Turner, Georgina, “Fair play for women’s sport”, The Guardian, 24 January 2009.\n\n[2] ‘Global Report: Men Occupy Majority of Management Jobs in News Companies’, International Women’s Media Foundation.\n\n[3] Creedon, Pamela J.: “Women, Sport, and Media Institutions: Issues in Sports Journalism and Marketing”, taken from Media Sport, Wenner, Lawrence A. (ed), Routledge, 1998.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f154b7008c172da1d482cb07aba718f3", "text": "media gender sport sport general house would force media display promote and Increased media coverage will lead to increased funding towards women’s sport\n\nIncreased media coverage will lead to more money going into women’s sport. This will happen for several reasons.\n\nIn the short-term, increased media coverage means more money from advertising and sponsorship, both through the media and directly sponsoring sporting events, clubs and athletes. Increased media involvement also generates revenue for sports in the form of TV and radio licenses (i.e. broadcasting rights). Importantly, as women’s sport increases in popularity, so will the competitiveness to secure sponsorship deals and TV rights in those sports. [2] This will further push up the amount of funding going into women’s sport.\n\nThe Government invests in social projects it deems to be worthwhile. As we have seen, the media has a huge influence in forming public opinion as to what constitutes a worthwhile activity. Thus, increased media coverage will create more demand for increased government funding in women’s sport. This phenomenon was observed in the Government funding that went towards the British Olympic team. The increased popularity in the Olympics led to huge increases in funding for the Beijing and London Olympics. [1]\n\nIncreased Government funding is desirable because it leads to better facilities and coaching, increased public awareness, increased participation and, ultimately, in improved results on the sporting field (as was seen in both Beijing and London for team GB).\n\n[1] UK Government, London 2012 Funding, accessed 7/9/2012.\n\n[2] Cavanaugh, Maureen and Crook, Hank: “Why Women’s Sports Struggle to Gain Popularity”, These Days Archive, KPBS, July 27, 2009.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
e24c4bcd5bbe75a651d253eeb61cfc71
Retaining artefacts is a relic of imperialist attitudes to non-occidental cultures Display of cultural treasures in Western museums may be seen as a last hangover from the imperial belief that “civilised” states such as Britain were the true cultural successors to Ancient Greece and Rome, and that the ‘barbarian’ inhabitants of those ancient regions were unable to appreciate or look after their great artistic heritage. Whether that was true in the 19th century is open to doubt; it certainly is not valid today and the display of imperial trophies in institutions such as the British Museum or the Louvre is a reminder to many developing nations of their past oppression. For instance, the British Museum is refusing to return 700 of the Benin Bronzes to Nigeria despite repeated requests by the Nigerian government [1] . The Rosetta stone has been the subject of demands by the Egyptian government but remains in London. These artefacts become almost souvenirs of Imperialism, a way of retaining cultural ownership long after the political power of Britain has faded. Returning them would be a gesture of goodwill and cooperation. [1] “The British Museum which refuses to state clearly how many of the bronzes it has is alleged to be detaining has 700 bronzes whilst the Ethnology Museum, Berlin, has 580 pieces and the Ethnology Museum, Vienna, has 167 pieces. These museums refuse to return any pieces despite several demands for restitution.” From Opoku, Kwame, ‘France returns looted artefacts to Nigeria: Beginning of a long process or an isolated act?’ 29th January 2010
[ { "docid": "6c9713735d2cd933157e3d2271fab1cd", "text": "traditions education teaching university house would return cultural property For whatever reason the treasures were first collected, we should not rewrite history. There is no reason to politicise this argument; museums have no 'political' agenda but merely wish to preserve historical objects for their intrinsic value. Their reasons for keeping these items may be financial, or in the interests of keeping the artefacts safe and accessible to the public; whatever they may be, they are not political. Don’t the nations who have expended resources protecting and preserving these artefacts deserve in return the right to display them?\n\nAdditionally, not all artefacts held outside their country of origin are the result of imperial or exploitative relationships. The original Medieval Crown of England is held in Munich [1] . Artistic exchange has nothing to do with politics anymore.\n\n[1] Bayerische Verwaltung der staatlichen Schlösser, Gärten und Seen, ‘Treasury (Schatzkammer)'\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "802d7bbc5a97c818e05137cff03d9033", "text": "traditions education teaching university house would return cultural property In the case of the Parthenon marbles, Lord Elgin’s action in removing them was an act of rescue as the Parthenon was being used as a quarry by the local population. [1] The Parthenon had already been destroyed by an explosion in 1687. [2] Having been removed the result was that the British protected them between 1821 and 1833 during the Greek War of Independence was occurring and the Acropolis was besieged twice. [3] Furthermore, if they had been returned upon Greek independence in 1830, the heavily polluted air of Athens would have caused extensive damage to such artefacts that would be open to the elements and Greek attempts at restoration in 1898 were as damaging as the British. [4] Today economic austerity lends new uncertainty to Greece’s commitment to financing culture.\n\nSimilar problems face the return of artefacts to African museums; wooden figures would decay in the humid atmosphere. Artefacts in Northern Africa are at risk because of the recent revolts and civil wars [5] . Wealthier countries sometimes simply have better resources to protect, preserve and restore historical artefacts than their country of origin. Our moral obligation is to preserve the artefact for future generations, and if this is best achieved by remaining in a foreign country then that must be the course of action.\n\n[1] Beard, Mary, ‘Lord Elgin - Saviour or Vandal?’, BBC History, 17 February 2011.\n\n[2] Mommsen, Theodor E., ‘The Venetian in Athens and the Destruction of the Parthenon in 1687’, American Journal of Archaeology, Vol 45, No. 4, Oct-Dec 1941, pp. 544-556.\n\n[3] Christopher Hitchens, The Elgin Marbles: Should They Be Returned to Greece?, 1998,p.viii, ISBN 1-85984-220-8\n\n[4] Hadingham, Evan, ‘Unlocking Mysteries of the Parthenon’ Smithsonian Magazine, February 2008.\n\n[5] Parker, Nick ‘Raiders of the Lost Mubarak’, , The Sun, 1st Feburary 2011.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b26826855fcb75de48cd7e62b01efe83", "text": "traditions education teaching university house would return cultural property Although some treasures may have been acquired illegally, the evidence for this is often ambiguous. Experts agree that Greece could mount no court case because Elgin was granted permission by what was then Greece's ruling government. Lord Elgin’s bribes were the common way of facilitating any business in the Ottoman Empire, and do not undermine Britain’s solid legal claim to the Parthenon marbles, based upon a written contract made by the internationally-recognised authorities in Athens at the time. The veracity of the document can never be fully dismissed as it is a translation. And while some Benin bronzes were undoubtedly looted, other “colonial trophies” were freely sold to the imperial powers, indeed some were made specifically for the European market.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "55fda4418c56895fb47c7e439034a4cd", "text": "traditions education teaching university house would return cultural property The artefacts' place of origin has more often than not changed dramatically since they were in situ there. It is therefore unconvincing to argue that the context of modern Orthodox Greece aids visitors’ appreciation of an ancient pagan relic. Too much has changed physically and culturally over the centuries for artefacts to speak more clearly in their country of origin than they do in museums, where they can be compared to large assemblies of objects from a wide variety of cultures. Similarly, a great many cultural treasures relate to religions and cultures which no longer survive and there can be no such claim for their return. Technology has also evolved to the point that Ancient Greece can be just as accurately evoked virtually as it could be in modern Greece [1] .\n\nCountries with cultural heritage retain the attraction of being the original locations of historical events or places of interest even without all the artefacts in place. The sanctuaries of Olympia and Delphi in Greece are a good example of this; they are not filled with artefacts, but continue to attract visitors because the sites are interesting in themselves. In 2009 2,813,548 people visited Athens, with 5,970,483 visiting archaeological sites across Greece [2] , even without the Parthenon marbles. Also, people who have seen an artefact in a foreign museum may then be drawn to visit the area it originated from. It is the tourist trade of the nations where these artefacts are held (mostly northern European nations, like Britain and France) which would suffer if they were repatriated. Lacking the climate and natural amenities of other tourist destinations they rely on their cultural offerings in order to attract visitors\n\n[1] Young Explorers, ‘A brief history of…’ The British Museum.\n\n[2] AFP, ‘New Acropolis Museum leads rise in Greek Museum visitor numbers for 2009’, Elginism, June 8th 2010. (Breakdown of visitor figures according to major destinations. )\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9dccd8115ef5cec8d760beeae222988a", "text": "traditions education teaching university house would return cultural property If the artefacts are of sufficient historical and cultural interest, scholars will travel to any location in order to study them. Indeed, the proximity of artefacts in developing countries may even stimulate intellectual curiosity and increase the quality of universities in there, which would be beneficial for world culture.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2215733ecb89462a107ecd0badf72bf5", "text": "traditions education teaching university house would return cultural property Returning artefacts to their original locations would in the past have been an unfeasible project simply because of the risk of transporting everything. Now, however, transport is much quicker and easier and we have improved technology to make the transit less damaging to the artefact; for instance, temperature-controlled containers.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "55e2f604fdfb2a73f2e7ec9695013c7b", "text": "traditions education teaching university house would return cultural property Many people from an artefact's country of origin never get to see them because they cannot afford to travel to a foreign museum; as such the cost of access to that museum is a very small part of the total cost. These artefacts are part of their cultural history and national identity, and it is important that local people are given the opportunity to see them. It is not all about quantity of visitors; those closest to the artefacts have the greatest right to see them. For others, it should be a privilege not a right.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "37ea27ca85b9df8dea1af50baa1beb70", "text": "traditions education teaching university house would return cultural property Artefacts often have unique religious and cultural connections with the place from where they were taken, but none for those who view them in museum cases. To the descendants of their creators it is offensive to see aspects of their spirituality displayed for the entertainment of foreigners. Meanings may have accumulated around artefacts, but their true significance is rooted in its origins.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2582f7817a9a8cfc1ee829a133a9b1b2", "text": "traditions education teaching university house would return cultural property Many artefacts resting in western museums were acquired illegally. Western states have a duty to retain them.\n\nArtefacts were often acquired illegally. Elgin, for instance, appropriated the Parthenon Marbles from the Ottoman authorities who had invaded Greece and were arguably not the rightful owners of the site; he took advantage of political turmoil to pillage these ancient statues. Doubt has even been cast on the legality of the 1801 document which purportedly gave Elgin permission to remove the marbles [1] . The Axum obelisk was seized from Ethiopia by Mussolini as a trophy of war; fortunately the injustice of this action has since been recognised and the obelisk was restored to its rightful place in 2005 [2] .\n\nUNESCO regulations initially required the return of artefacts removed from their country of origin after 1970,when the treaty came into force, but did not deal with any appropriations before this date due to deadlock in the negotiations for the framing of the convention that prevented inclusion of earlier removals. . However, the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects essentially removes the ambiguity about time limitations of UNESCO’s 1970 convention. Here, nations are required, in all cases, to return cultural artefacts to their countries of origin if those items were once stolen or removed illegally [3] . International law is thus on the side of returning artefacts.\n\n[1] Rudenstine, David, 'Did Elgin cheat at marbles?' Nation, Vol. 270, Issue 21, 25 May 2000.\n\n[2] BBC News, ‘Who should own historic artefacts?’, 26th April 2005,\n\n[3] Odor, ‘The Return of Cultural Artefacts to Countries of Origin’.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "552f54b82455b0373e4370f28108dc6f", "text": "traditions education teaching university house would return cultural property Cultural artefacts are enriched when displayed in the context from which they originated\n\nCultural treasures should be displayed in the context in which they originated; only then can they be truly valued and understood. In the case of the Parthenon marbles this is an architectural context which only proximity to the Parthenon itself can provide. In the British Museum they appear as mere disconnected fragments, stripped of any emotional meaning. It may also be useful for academics to have a cultural property in its original context in order to be able to understand it, for example a carved door may be a beautiful artefact but it cannot be truly understood unless we know what the door was used for, where it leads too something for which it is necessary to see the context.\n\nCultural and historical tourism is an important source of income for many countries, and is especially important for developing countries. If their artefacts have been appropriated by foreign museums in wealthy nations then they are being deprived of the economic opportunity to build a successful tourist trade. Both the treasures themselves are being devalued as is the experience of seeing the treasures.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7843efbe5dcaa1feb2cf32edc0338bc5", "text": "traditions education teaching university house would return cultural property Developing countries are able to guard and preserve their own cultural treasures\n\nIt may have been true that countries such as Greece were not capable of looking after their heritage in the past, but that has now changed. Since 197\n\n5 Greece has been carefully restoring the Acropolis and Athens now has a secure environment to maintain the marbles. The state-of-the-art New Acropolis Museum, which cost $200m, has now been completed to house the surviving marbles [1] , and even contains a replica of the temple, thus the marbles would appear as being exactly the same as on the real temple. Pollution control measures (such as installing pollution monitoring stations throughout metropolitan Athens and ensuring that motor vehicles must comply with emission standards [2] ) have reduced sulphur-dioxide levels in the city to a fifth of their previous levels.\n\nAt the same time the curatorship of institutions such as the British Museum is being called into question, as it becomes apparent that controversial cleaning and restoration practices may have harmed the sculptures they claim to protect. In the 1930s the British museum’s attempt to clean them using chisels caused irreparable damage. [3] They have also been irresponsible when it comes to protecting the fate of many of its artefacts: “The British Museum has sold off more than 30 controversial Benin bronzes for as little as £75 each since 1950, it has emerged”; “The museum now regrets the sales” [4] .\n\n[1] Acropolis museum, Home page.\n\n[2] Alexandros.com, ‘Greece’.\n\n[3] Smith, Helena, ‘British damage to Elgin marbles ‘irreparable’’, The Guardian, 12 November 1999.\n\n[4] BBC News, ‘Benin bronzes sold to Nigeria’, 27th March 2002.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0ef98d2993dc40d78150a7dd2e9d6c34", "text": "traditions education teaching university house would return cultural property The historical significance of artefacts extends beyond their culture of origin\n\nArtefacts have a historical and symbolic meaning that transcends their origins; over the years they acquire a connection with the place that they are housed. For example, the Egyptian obelisk that stands in the Piazza di San Pietro in Rome was brought to Italy in the reign of Caligula. [1] It is no longer merely an ‘Egyptian’ artefact - it has become a symbol of Roman dominance in the ancient world and the European Christian culture that succeeded it. During the Middle Ages it was believed that the ashes of Julius Caesar were contained in the gilt ball at the top [2] .\n\nFurther, all artefacts are part of a world-wide collective history. Olduvai handaxes (from countries in Eastern Africa such as Tanzania) are held in the British Museum [3] - but the people who made them are our ancestors just as much as they are the ancestors of local people. Holding these in London encourages us to see the common ground we hold with people everywhere in the world, whereas keeping them only in their local country only highlights our differences and tribal identities. “Culture knows no political borders. It never has. It’s always been mongrel; it’s always been hybrid; and it’s always moved across borders or bears the imprint of earlier contact” [4] .\n\n[1] Saintpetersbasilica.org, ‘The Obelisk’.\n\n[2] Wikipedia, ‘List of obelisks in Rome’, And Wikipedia, ‘Saint Peter’s Sqaure’, (Both have useful links and pictures.)\n\n[3] The British Museum, ‘Highlights Olduvai Handaxe’.\n\n[4] Cuno, James, author of ‘Who Owns Antiquity? Museums and the Battle over our Ancient Heritage’, quoted in Tiffany Jenkins, ‘Culture knows no political borders’, The Spectator July 2008.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "479593cecfba8ceea5c545d4c74169c6", "text": "traditions education teaching university house would return cultural property In many cases, returning an artefact may prove to be unreasonably expensive\n\nEven with modern transport links and technology, transporting every artefact in a foreign museum back to its original location would be an impractically mammoth task. The risk of damage to artefacts would be unavoidable, not to mention the possibility of theft or sabotage en route. Important artefacts in transit would be an ideal public target for acts of terrorism. Moreover, the infrastructure of developing countries is probably not sufficient to cope with that volume. Greece may have spent $200m developing a new museum but relatively it is one of the more wealthy countries of origin for artefacts in the British Museum; places such as Nigeria are unlikely to put such emphasis on cultural investment.\n\nMuseums all over the world do loan out their collections [1] . Just because they are held in another country’s museum does not mean that the place of origin would not be able to access artefacts. Creating a generous and dynamic network of sharing relics between museums would be a much more realistic way of sharing and ensuring that all could benefit from seeing them.\n\n[1] The British Museum, ‘Tours and loans’.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "35fb5cdb9137bab18c6939ca68dfe8d0", "text": "traditions education teaching university house would return cultural property Scholars will have better access to artefacts, and more opportunities for study and collaboration, if they are stored in the west\n\nIf the Rosetta Stone had not been taken by the British in 1801, the deciphering of the ancient hieroglyphic language of the ancient Egyptian civilizations would have been near impossible. The British Museum is within just hours, and in some cases minutes, of such world-renowned institutions as Cambridge, Oxford, UCL, and Edinburgh. The scientific research that occurs in stable developed countries and scientifically excelling countries is of the highest degree, and parallels to this high level of study are simply non-existent in many underdeveloped countries.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "efbbe57540bf6252dc345fb7ebc03b1e", "text": "traditions education teaching university house would return cultural property Artefacts should be made accessible to the largest possible number of visitors\n\nArt treasures should be accessible to the greatest number of people and to scholars, because only then can the educational potential of these artefacts be realised. In response to a question about whether museums have any social responsibility, Richard Armstrong, director at the Guggenheim, said “Absolutely, it began with the French Revolution. It is the more than a 200-year-old quest to have the most powerful cultural artefacts available to the greatest number of people. One could say it is the project of democratizing beauty” [1] . In practice this means retaining them in the great museums of the world. Further some of the world great museums, such as those in Britain and the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. are free of charge.\n\n[1] Boudin, Claudia, ‘Richard Armstrong on the Future of the Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation’, 4th November 2008.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
3d077291c35d9c93689675e9df71c4e5
The cartoons constitute a religiously motivated hate crime The cartoons effectively constituted a series of religious hate crimes, specifically designed to offend and target the Muslim community, whom the editors very well knew would be up in arms over the publication of the cartoons. This is the deliberate association of a venerated religious figure with terrorism. Not only is this in violation of Danish laws and European norms protecting minorities, but it is also simply malicious and immoral. There was already a widespread tendency to conflate Muslims with terrorists before the cartoons; this high-profile incident risked exposing peaceful Muslims to prejudice, discrimination, and even physical danger from increased xenophobia. The cartoons controversy was soon followed by the desecration of Muslim graves at a cemetery in Denmark, for instance. [i] Many US journalism companies had the better judgment to report on the issue without reprinting the cartoons. [ii] Similarly, the Danish newspaper could have run opinion pieces describing their qualms with and thoughts on Islamic censorship, without resorting to the vulgar methods they utilized. [i] ‘Danish PM talks to Muslim group’, BBC News, 13 February 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4708312.stm [ii] Folkenflik, David, ‘U.S. Media Avoid Publishing Controversial Cartoons’, npr, 7 February 2006, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5193569
[ { "docid": "a6e191f375d25fbc89fc026361031e7e", "text": "media religion religions thb danish newspapers should not have published cartoons The cartoons were intended as a democratic challenge to self-censorship, and the Danish courts recognized this when they rejected lawsuits that Muslim groups in Denmark filed against the newspaper on the grounds of hate speech. [i]\n\nFurthermore, the cartoons were targeted against the extremist fringe of Islam, and were narrowly tailored to object to the use of violent means in furthering religious causes. There is nothing wrong about pointing out the high incidence rate of terrorism and violence within radical components of a worldwide Islamic community that encompasses many different types of people spread over many nationalities. Ever since 9/11, terrorism and conservative interpretations of Islam have constantly been on the public mind and constitute a legitimate topic for discourse. It is not a hate crime to publicise cartoons that highlight this; cartoons in newspapers target groups who are otherwise in the news all the time, bankers for example, this does not mean they are inciting hatred against that group.\n\n[i] Olsen, Jan M., ‘Danish Court Rejects Suit Against Paper That Printed Prophet Cartoons’, The Washington Post, 27 October 2006, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/26/AR2006102601650.html\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "7621f9dce466e00b4e80af10ccc2d8b4", "text": "media religion religions thb danish newspapers should not have published cartoons If the expectation of violence or reprisal is admitted as a legitimate reason not to undertake an action which is protected under freedoms of press and speech, then that effectively stifles a great degree of discourse. This ultimately undermines the purpose of the rights, such as a freedom to publish, and the functioning of western societies like Denmark’s.\n\nIt also incentivizes groups who would resort to violence to achieve their aims; if terrorists know that Denmark and other European nations will shy away from certain seemingly controversial or offensive actions if they threaten to kill many people every time, then they can much more easily achieve their goals. We should not welcome violence, but we should not allow it to govern us either.\n\nAs the cultural editor who ran the cartoons said, “Words should be answered with words. That’s all we have in a democracy, and if we give that up, we will be locked in a tyranny of silence.” [i]\n\n[i] AFP, ‘Danish book about Muhammad cartoon controversy to go ahead despite threats’, New York Post, 29 September 2010, http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/danish_book_about_muhammad_cartoon_9EU68NwfmSaTSvK3hAiqiP\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6d61e581d7f6a906ec8d6e33d72e818c", "text": "media religion religions thb danish newspapers should not have published cartoons Individuals are the best actors to determine for themselves what causes they are willing to make sacrifices for. This is why we allow individuals to volunteer for wars they believe are just, to serve as humanitarian aid workers in impoverished countries, or for any number of unpleasant and potentially dangerous things. If they wanted to, no one can tell the editors and cartoonists that they were wrong to take the actions they did on account of personal safety.\n\nBut anyway, it is clear that they did not comprehend the scale of the risk they were running by publishing the cartoons, so they cannot be blamed for bringing this upon themselves.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3b3d23917139c22407ca6e88b1454a69", "text": "media religion religions thb danish newspapers should not have published cartoons The publication of the cartoons also resulted in a vigorous debate in Denmark, which saw its Muslim community participate in discourse in the form of debates, opinion pieces in newspapers, protests, and other democratic methods. Ultimately, then, it may well have caused a greater deal of civic integration than discord.\n\nDenmark and journalistic institutions within it ultimately have little sway over the politics and cultures of all the various Islamic countries all around the world. Newspapers in Denmark cannot reasonably be expected to gauge what the expected political reactions and emerging dynamics of Muslim communities in every other country might be because of the publication of an article or cartoon. This particular event was exceptional; newspapers publish potentially inflammatory articles and images quite regularly, but this does not result in an international reaction.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d14a6345e1739348dce61a3845e8b683", "text": "media religion religions thb danish newspapers should not have published cartoons There is press freedom, and there is good taste. Simply because some things are permitted in a democratic society, is not an argument for why they should be done. It would have been similarly distasteful if the newspaper had posted cartoons of Jews in concentration camps under gas showers, for instance. Where there are multiple ways to make a point, one must seek to convey one’s message in a manner that is least likely to gratuitously offend others. The editors of the newspaper were simply seeking to cause controversy and garner attention.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "35f71e516280a289068b289c5d8a8de5", "text": "media religion religions thb danish newspapers should not have published cartoons This has not benefitted integration, but rather made Muslims in Denmark feel as though they are under assault and unwelcome in their country. Particularly for new or newer immigrants, this creates a tendency to form enclave communities around a shared religion or culture and resist the mainstream society as a bloc. All the Muslim organizations in Denmark banded together against their oppressors. The few Muslims that spoke out in defence of free speech were severely ostracized by their fellows.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "97d7c46783a7a4a8a244b616979f2c10", "text": "media religion religions thb danish newspapers should not have published cartoons In as volatile an atmosphere as 2000s Europe, where rates of immigration from Muslim countries into an aging Europe are high, it is clearly not wise to openly antagonize a component of your population that is already having a great deal of difficulty integrating. Unlike America, Europe generally cracks down on a variety of xenophobic and hateful actions much more stringently, and should have in this case as well. Europe is a sufficiently enlightened place to restrict individuals from burning crosses or marching in salute to the Nazi party; one would hope these practices would extend to Islam as well. There therefore in some instances is to a certain extent a right not to be offended – or at least not to have certain offensive things publicized.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0e87f06c70c615a23b00f00e71d32d9d", "text": "media religion religions thb danish newspapers should not have published cartoons There is a difference between a government banning art, and having the good sense not to do certain things in art. Further, the “artistic skill” in drawing a provocative cartoon is rather minimal; it is not as though cartoonists are held to particularly high technical standards of drawing. Rather, cartoons are usually a vehicle by which a cartoonist conveys a joke (usually at someone or some group’s expense) for a cheap laugh. Cartoons no more constitute art than graffiti with an offensive statement on a factory wall constitutes art – that is to say, not at all.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a72673723dc72c933401c8df6743f542", "text": "media religion religions thb danish newspapers should not have published cartoons Violent reactions to the cartoons could have been predicted and should have been avoided\n\nPrinting the cartoons caused the severe exacerbation of already existing tensions between Muslims and Western communities in Europe and around the world. [i] The terrorist attack on 9/11, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the Israel-Palestine conflict had already set the stage for increased cultural animosity in the prior few years, and this was added fuel to the fire that resulted in violent attacks on Danish embassies around the world. As a result of this, innocent people died in riots in Afghanistan and Pakistan when riot police stepped in.\n\nOrganized terrorist groups like the Al Qaeda network led by Bin Laden threatened violence against America and the European Union. [ii] Not only did this cause an emotional impact among Danish and European citizens as a result of increased worries of terrorist attacks, but given the number of terrorist plots that have cited the cartoons controversy as part of their inspiration, there is good reason to believe that the Denmark has become a less safe place as a result.\n\nRegardless of the original intention of the editors, they should have been able to see the controversy that would result and the likely practical outcomes of this and so restrain themselves from publishing.\n\n[i] Sullivan, Kevin, ‘Muslims’ Fury Rages Unabated Over Cartoons’, The Washington Post, 11 February 2006, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/10/AR2006021001822.html\n\n[ii] Whitlock, Craig, ‘Bin Laden Threatens Europe Over Muhammad Cartoons’, The Washington Post, 20 March 2008, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/19/AR2008031902603.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5a56c3be8e24db51633778f954256cec", "text": "media religion religions thb danish newspapers should not have published cartoons Radical and anti western voices in Islamic communities gained authority and legitimacy as a result of the newspapers' actions\n\nThe publication of the cartoons empowered the radical fringes of many Muslim populations, by enabling them to point to the cartoons as tangible evidence of an anti-Muslim bias and anti-Muslim agenda in the West. [i] For instance, in Pakistan, these were used against the president, General Pervez Musharraf, who was perceived as being too closely aligned with the United States. Religious leaders who wanted to make the case that Denmark was deliberately offensive and a hostile environment for Muslims were able to conflate popular knowledge about the cartoon controversy with other incidents (some of them not even in Denmark) and sway support to their anti-ecumenical causes. [ii]\n\nThis set back reasonable discourse in Muslim communities about how best to integrate with the West, and ultimately resulted in the weakening of internal forces that encourage acceptance of Western culture. Such a reversal for westernising forces is likely the opposite of what the newspaper would have wanted for the Muslim world.\n\n[i] Witte, Griff, ‘Opportunists Make Use of Cartoon Protests’, The Washington Post, 9 February 2006, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/08/AR2006020802296_2.html\n\n[ii] ‘Background: Muhammad cartoons controversy’, EuropeNews, http://europenews.dk/en/node/7143\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "319f659edfa20efca3b3c4504ad67ba0", "text": "media religion religions thb danish newspapers should not have published cartoons Factors motivating publication of the cartoons\n\nOn the individual level, the cartoonists and editors would have been wiser to look to their own selfish motivations for self-preservation; they have received many death threats from religious leaders and organizations spanning the globe, in a situation reminiscent of Salman Rushdie’s publication of The Satanic Verses. That Rushdie’s book had met with a similar reaction means that it should have served as a precedent showing what the reaction would be. As the editors should have been able to anticipate the threats they would receive if they were interested in their safety they should not have published.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4d2884f3cc23b759246389a6287ed8bd", "text": "media religion religions thb danish newspapers should not have published cartoons Chilling effects of excessive cultural sensitivity\n\nArt should be given a great deal of license. Many European and American media and art outlets create art or journalistic pieces that are offensive to or poorly received by Christians and Jews, or other minorities. By limiting discourse in the form of art, we risk not only unjustly suppressing the artists’ vision, but also cheapening and the artistic community and rendering it more homogenous. Satire has been used with extreme effectiveness in making political statements before, and this was no exception. The cartoons express the cartoonists’ own views and beliefs, and the newspaper was simply providing a medium, not dictating what they should draw.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4a79e557b2186d1478bdc9a577129235", "text": "media religion religions thb danish newspapers should not have published cartoons Controversy, integration and civic participation\n\nThe controversy has actually resulted in a much higher degree of civic participation by Danish Muslims than had previously been achieved, including town hall-style meetings, opinion columns, and radio and TV debates. This may have been better than anything else at integrating the Muslim community in Denmark into Western liberal democratic norms of how to resolve conflicts. Just because violence happened elsewhere in the world, where democracy does not currently hold sway, does not mean this was not a victory for Denmark. [i]\n\n[i] Rose, Flemming, ‘Why I Published Those Cartoons’, The Washington Post, 19 February 2006 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/17/AR2006021702499_2.html\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "539e688d03297950180a6c008cef10e0", "text": "media religion religions thb danish newspapers should not have published cartoons Free expression and journalistic integrity\n\nPublishing the cartoons was not only an important expression of press freedom, but fulfils the fundamental journalistic mission of exposing the public to important information, by forcing the examination of topics that would otherwise go unexamined. Self-censorship in Islam is an important issue that deserves consideration by a democratic public. There is a clear norm that causes Islam and Muhammad to be treated differently in the Western press than the Christian or Jewish faiths or their leading figures, and the editors felt it was important to violate that norm as a demonstration of a social phenomenon. [i] They were well within their rights to do so, and this furthered legitimate discourse about religion within Denmark and the West. It should also be remembered that demonization of Israel and the West using Christian and Jewish figures is not uncommon in the Islamic press – this is therefore a pernicious double standard. [ii]\n\nUltimately, the reaction by Muslims was unfortunate, but itself indicated the ways in which Islamic religious depictions in the press differ from their Christian and Jewish counterparts. Christian and Jewish groups have not responded with violence (though they have also sometimes staged protests), and where incidents have taken place, they were isolated and nowhere near the scale of the cartoons controversy.\n\n[i] ‘Q&A: The Muhammad cartoons row’, BBC News, 7 February 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4677976.stm\n\n[ii] ‘Q&A: The Muhammad cartoons row’, BBC News, 7 February 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4677976.stm\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "64c93228019e44580efe844557f02afc", "text": "media religion religions thb danish newspapers should not have published cartoons Citizens of western liberal democracies should never be required to adhere to religious norms that they do not hold\n\nThere is no right not to be offended. It is one thing to show a religion respect. One respects Islam by removing shoes when visiting a mosque. However, following the taboos of a particular religion in public society does not constitute respect, but submission, and adherence to the principles of that religion, which is never required. The nature of a democratic society is that there will sometimes be disagreements about how individuals should act; insofar as Denmark has not democratically come to the conclusion that it would be better for it to be illegal to depict the prophet Mohammed in publications, it is permitted and that right must hold. [i]\n\n[i] Rose, Flemming, ‘Why I Published Those Cartoons’, The Washington Post, 19 February 2006, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/17/AR2006021702499_2.html\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
7112de18b1a9233cdcbac7f656ce0208
Newspapers cannot be environmentally sustained. Newspapers have no place in the modern media landscape as they are not environmentally friendly, they are a waste of paper when there are many other my efficient ways in which news can be disseminated. For example a single annual subscription to the New York Times roughly generates 520lb of waste which equates to approximately 4.25 trees being cut down per reader per year 2, when you take into account all the other publications that printed throughout the world this equates to a lot of wastage of increasingly scarce natural resources which could be avoided. Using digital tools to distribute news is more efficient as you only use resources when the content is actually required rather than the print media method in which the product is printed when it may not be necessarily purchased and consumed. 1 ID2 (2011) Facts about Paper and Paper Waste. [online] [accessed 18th June 2011]
[ { "docid": "83309d29b006099a5a1bf9879b94f965", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Newspapers do still have a place in the modern media landscape; the environmental argument against them is flawed, for example the Newsprint and Newspaper Industry Environmental Action Group (NNIEAG) state that: “Recycled paper made up 77.4% of the raw material for UK newspapers in 2010” 1 so the claim regarding the amount of waste newspapers generate is not actually as high as is being suggested.\n\nWhat the argument also neglects to state is that electronic media is not entirely environmentally friendly in itself, much of the power required not only by personal digital devices but also the infrastructure needed to keep it working does not on the whole come from renewable sources, whereas printed media does makes greater use of environmentally friendly sources for its production. A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers states that: “Forestry, paper and packaging are among the most sustainable industries in existence.'” 2\n\n1 NNIEAG (2011) Newsprint and Newspaper Industry Environmental Action Group Homepage. [online] [accessed 13th June 2011]\n\n2 Two Sides (2011) Print and Paper is a Wasteful Product. [online] [accessed 16th June 2011]\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "7be77c56e3efdc2707f88345bf5d0731", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past It is true that newspapers cannot adapt as quickly as other types of media to breaking news events, however there are advantages to having slower news. Reporting news events immediately as they happen often leads to speculation as the bigger picture is often unknown by the journalists, therefore having time to digest the given event can allow for more accurate and detailed reporting rather than broadcasting facts which may not be immediately confirmable, a longer time before publication then is likely to result in more accurate, less speculative information. For example many TV news outlets were reporting, when the first plane to hit the World Trade Center on the 11th September, that it was an unfortunate accident. It of course later emerged to be the work of terrorists.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "40676aae69012f65d9255d00990aa69d", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past This argument overstates the situation. Newspapers are less profitable than they were at their peak, but newspapers have been affected by other media ever since the invention of the radio. Much of the evidence the proposition has raised focuses on the Western World. According to the World Association of Newspapers, more newspapers are being published than at any time previously. There are strong growth markets in Asia, Eastern Europe and South America. The Middle East and Africa also sustain strong markets, though there is less growth 1.\n\nFurthermore, Newspaper advertising is an effective revenue source. Advertisements in the traditional print tend to get more attention from readers than on the internet, because people read papers more intently.\n\nFinally, some newspapers are actively engaging with the internet by charging for premium content to their services. Even if they lose some customers, this is made up by a net increase in revenue2.\n\n1 World Association of Newspapers (2010) World Press Trends: Advertising Revenues To Increase, Circulation Relatively Stable. [online] [Accessed 2nd September 2011]\n\n2 Columbia Journalism Review, (2009) Print Newspapers Still Dominate Readers' Attention. [online] [Accessed 2nd September 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d7e48e3cb9e182fd520e85300af2b068", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past The positive side of a newspaper IS the fact you have a vast array of topics, which you would not usually consume. It broadens the mind as you may often come across stories you never usually take notice of. This opens up a whole new world of interest, whereas if people are given the role of editor they would most likely simply choose to read what already interests them and their channels of perception will become narrower. In addition to this, newspapers are not necessarily linear. They do not have to be read in a linear fashion, people can choose which stories they wish to read and reject those they do not. Newspapers are far more flexible than they are generally portrayed 1. Modern newspapers have adapted their design to increase their consumption by the public.\n\nOne good example of this is the change in size of many British newspapers, from broadsheet to tabloid 2.\n\n1. Daily Beast, 2009\n\n2. BBC, 2011\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f553d383d9a7b6aed911d6a8967592e2", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Normal backlighted displays can be bad for the eyes, however there are other digital technologies which address this issue, for example Amazon’s Kindle e-reader using a technology called e-ink which simulates ink on a page and requires natural light to be read 1. It could be argued that the tactile argument is flawed, because if people did prefer the tactile experience, newspapers would not be in a state of severe decline. Furthermore the concept of what constitutes a better reading experience is subjective. Shorter, more to the point text and the ability to hyperlink to related pieces of content and access information in a non-linear way could be considered a much better experience compared to reading long passages of text in a linear fashion.\n\n1 Popsci, (2010) Testing the Best: The Kindle's E Ink Pear Display [online][Accessed 2nd September 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fbd3b226236717c101500e4e2d059c5c", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past The argument that internet news tends to offer small passages of text compared to newspapers is to be liberal with the truth, due to the vast nature of the internet it offers a variety of styles and is arguably more likely to provide longer passages than newspapers as there is not space restriction as there is with newspapers which can only be a certain size, due to advertisements and printing agreements. With the ability to both search for and easily share content via social networks, the argument that newspapers are better as they prevent information overload feels weak because there are many ways in which content can be filtered to ensure that both the news you actually want and the style and perspective you prefer can be easily accessed.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b261a2d9343c685ff72224a51bd0acf0", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past As newspapers are funded by private companies they can be accused of avoiding to publish information which may damage their revenue streams, independent bloggers often do not have this issue so can be much more free in what they publish which is ultimately good for democracy. In addition to this journalists may vastly distort the truth in their reporting in order to satisfy advertisers which seek certain demographics, whereas independent bloggers do not have this concern.\n\nA consequence of online freedom is of course that anyone can publish anything but it should be down to the reader to decode what has been blogged and make up their own mind as to its accuracy, it is demeaning to suggest that consumers of news information are simply passive consumers.\n\nProfessional journalists, even when based in an official setup and with a code of ethics, are not entirely guilt free in regards to publishing inaccurate information either, there are many instances where false information has been published, for example many journalists reported the potential link between MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccination and Autism in a sensationalized way which did not entirely relate to the research and which, as a result, caused a huge number of children not being immunized 1. Perhaps the most famous recent example where journalists have behaved unethically is the phone-hacking scandal in the UK 2.\n\nTo call blogs ‘parasitic’ is also insulting and unfair. Many of them do their own research and cover issues not in the mainstream media. It’s not unique to blogging to discuss the work of others, and indeed many newspapers do so 3 So what’s the difference?\n\n1 Deer, B. (2011) The MMR-Autism Scare: An Elaborate Fraud. [online] [accessed 13th June 2011]\n\n2 BBC, (2011) Phone Hacking: US Senator Calls for News Corp Probe [online][accessed 2nd September 2011]\n\n3 Online Journalism Review (2007) Are blogs a 'parasitic' medium? [online][Accessed on 2nd September 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5917efd82fc3e5d9e4238c49dc670094", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Other types of media can produce equally, if not better, pieces of journalism than newspapers: it’s more just a matter of style. While many TV news outlets do often strive for immediacy in their coverage they also feature special reports, such as the BBC’s flagship Panorama program, which are much more detailed and can stand on an equal footing with newspaper journalism. There are many newspapers, such as tabloids with little journalistic quality. So, the matter of quality does not come down to the type of medium being used, as this only affects style, it comes down to the person or people behind the given output.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "45c5f63ba5ba365d264c18d69e0f507c", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past While algorithms may filter out content which does not normally appeal to a particular reader the internet itself does not block access to any information, if someone wishes to seek out another view on a topic it can be easily found by changing a search term. The idea that having news personalized behind the scenes makes online news less trustworthy is a weak proposition as the personalization constantly changes along with the users unlike inflexible newspapers chasing particular demographics.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9cc9385304dabe5a8de30d3efff688a7", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past In the internet age immediacy is everything, newspapers can often contain out of date information by the time they hit the shelves.\n\nIn an interconnected global world whereby technology allows us within seconds to communicate across the globe in a variety of forms the newspaper medium becomes obsolete. In the time it takes to write, edit, print and distribute a newspaper the events being covered may very well have changed, when we have the technology to overcome this problem it seems unlikely that newspapers will continue to exist because who wants to read old news? An example of newspapers not being able to adapt to changing events can be seen with the killing of Osama Bin Laden on 2nd May 2011, the story broke too late for the morning newspapers in the UK to be able to change their pages to include the story, it was then subsequently reported a day late on the 3rd May. 1\n\n1 Front Pages Today (2011) Newspaper Headlines from UK for 3 May 2011. [online] [accessed 27th July 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "40b2228f4111e626e621797c64df78bd", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past People no longer consume media in a linear way, people prefer to pick and choose what news they consume\n\nWith the development of Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) and more generally the internet people have come to no longer simply consume media in a linear fashion, they take a more fragmented approach. In news consumption people no longer want to simply have one newspaper with a vast array of topics inside. They want to pick and choose which stories and columns they consume, people now prefer to pull the content they want rather than have it pushed on them. In a digital world the news consumer can become their own editor and no longer need to rely entirely on old hierarchical structures.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "961f9008e53f1ff3b9f65f3b522e80b5", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Newspapers are financially unviable\n\nIn the internet age, Newspapers are no longer financially profitable businesses. They are struggling to encourage investment and to survive in the long-term. Revenue is falling across the three main streams available to newspapers: sales, advertising and subscriptions. Sales and subscriptions are dropping as consumers move to the internet for information (often the website of the newspaper themselves!)1 Advertising is not as profitable either, as increasingly advertisers look to pop-up systems on websites and buying space on search engines. Many newspapers have resorted to cutting costs (firing staff, reducing the length of the paper) and raising prices. Yet it does not seem likely that people will be willing to pay more for less.\n\n1. Keevey, R., Sattin, D and Hale, T. (2009) The Newspaper Crisis. Princeton University, 1st May 2009. Policy Research Institute for the Region: Princeton University.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4f354004b3346589b80cb75a3a6ecdfc", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past The internet edits what you can see without your knowledge\n\nWhen you purchase a newspaper you know what biases they may contain, getting news online can be more troublesome as services such as Google and Facebook use algorithms which personalize content for you based on your interest. This creates what is known as a “filter bubble”1 whereby online services filter out news which may not be of normal interest to the reader, the problem with this is that it is often done without the user being aware of it, which clearly raises issues of trust.\n\n1 Praiser, E. (2011) Beware Online 'Filter Bubbles' [online] [accessed 15th June 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1ab8749a74bd0a43b0036e43be323ff6", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Newspapers provide higher quality journalism than other media\n\nAs newspapers are a slow medium, having a daily output most typically, they can produce better quality material than other news sources which strive for immediacy. Professional journalists and experts have time to consider the issues and write well structured, coherent and highly informed pieces which other types of media cannot compete with. A demonstration of the high quality of journalism found in newspapers can be seen in the fact that quite often newspapers set the news agenda for the rest of the day for other media outlets 1. Perhaps most importantly, modern graduates of schools of journalism still tend to favour working for newspapers as their long term career ambition. This is because the working conditions tend to be far superior, as is the regularity of payment and job security.\n\nThose blogging in the online media note their treatment as second-class outlets, long hours and poor pay. The best and the brightest head to newspapers 2\n\n1 Economist, (2006) Who killed the newspaper? [online] [accessed 27th July 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "042af6087f51e350322939a5611d9647", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past The balance of analysis and relevancy is better struck by newspapers\n\nThe argument that internet news tends to offer small passages of text compared to newspapers is to be liberal with the truth, due to the vast nature of the internet it offers a variety of styles and is arguably more likely to provide longer passages than newspapers as there is not space restriction as there is with newspapers which can only be a certain size, due to advertisements and printing agreements.\n\nWith the ability to both search for and easily share content via social networks, the argument that newspapers are better as they prevent information overload feels weak because there are many ways in which content can be filtered to ensure that both the news you actually want and the style and perspective you prefer can be easily accessed.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c059c0c5d30eafd833f87d633e82bf77", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Newspapers offer a better reading experience than digital alternatives\n\nThe experience of reading from a newspaper is a far better user experience than reading from a screen, reading from a screen for long periods of time is not only bad for the eyes but quite often becomes uncomfortable. A newspaper however requires natural light to be read and therefore is not as harsh on the eyes. It could also be suggested that people actually prefer the tactile physical experience of a newspaper or book over holding an electronic device, a poll taken on the Guardian 1 website found that 76.1% preferred books, i.e, a physical experience, over a digital one.\n\nVideo and audio-based advertisements placed online around the text can also disrupt the reading process, a problem, which does not afflict newspapers.\n\n1 Guardian (2008) E-books or Real Books? [online] [accessed 13th June 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7033a571e1a303b66b35efc9a36b1531", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Newspapers are a more trustworthy source of information than independent bloggers\n\nOnline anyone can launch a blog and start publishing, these articles could potentially be false, badly-researched or overly bias to name but a few issues, this raises the question of quality control of information online and its trustworthiness. For example a blog purportedly written by a gay woman in Damascus trying to avoid state persecution over her sexuality turned out to be a hoax, the identity of the blogger turned out to be straight 40 year old US man living in Edinburgh. 1\n\nAs newspapers are most often subject to regulations regarding what they print as well as being subject to market forces it is on the whole unlikely that they will publish something that is factually inaccurate, at least not with intent. Journalists working at newspapers are well trained and more often than not sign up to voluntary ethic codes in order to be accepted as trustworthy sources 2. Bloggers on the other hand can publish without any formal training and for the most part stay anonymous, which could lead to falsehoods being spread. Bloggers are often described as “parasitic,” since they criticize “old media,” whilst simultaneously relying upon it for the basis of their factual information. Yet Bloggers do not tend to be the groups funding news reporters across the world 3.\n\n1. BBC. (2011) Syria Gay Girl in Damascus Blog a Hoax By a US Man. [online] [accessed 15th June 2011]\n\n2.Pew Research Center, 2011\n\n3. Murley, B and Roberts, C. (2005) Biting the Hand that Feeds: Blogs and second-level agenda setting. In: Convergence Conference. BYU (Brigham Young University), 2005.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
87a08436507e7444d1154b1cbd9cdb1b
Newspapers are financially unviable In the internet age, Newspapers are no longer financially profitable businesses. They are struggling to encourage investment and to survive in the long-term. Revenue is falling across the three main streams available to newspapers: sales, advertising and subscriptions. Sales and subscriptions are dropping as consumers move to the internet for information (often the website of the newspaper themselves!)1 Advertising is not as profitable either, as increasingly advertisers look to pop-up systems on websites and buying space on search engines. Many newspapers have resorted to cutting costs (firing staff, reducing the length of the paper) and raising prices. Yet it does not seem likely that people will be willing to pay more for less. 1. Keevey, R., Sattin, D and Hale, T. (2009) The Newspaper Crisis. Princeton University, 1st May 2009. Policy Research Institute for the Region: Princeton University.
[ { "docid": "40676aae69012f65d9255d00990aa69d", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past This argument overstates the situation. Newspapers are less profitable than they were at their peak, but newspapers have been affected by other media ever since the invention of the radio. Much of the evidence the proposition has raised focuses on the Western World. According to the World Association of Newspapers, more newspapers are being published than at any time previously. There are strong growth markets in Asia, Eastern Europe and South America. The Middle East and Africa also sustain strong markets, though there is less growth 1.\n\nFurthermore, Newspaper advertising is an effective revenue source. Advertisements in the traditional print tend to get more attention from readers than on the internet, because people read papers more intently.\n\nFinally, some newspapers are actively engaging with the internet by charging for premium content to their services. Even if they lose some customers, this is made up by a net increase in revenue2.\n\n1 World Association of Newspapers (2010) World Press Trends: Advertising Revenues To Increase, Circulation Relatively Stable. [online] [Accessed 2nd September 2011]\n\n2 Columbia Journalism Review, (2009) Print Newspapers Still Dominate Readers' Attention. [online] [Accessed 2nd September 2011]\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "7be77c56e3efdc2707f88345bf5d0731", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past It is true that newspapers cannot adapt as quickly as other types of media to breaking news events, however there are advantages to having slower news. Reporting news events immediately as they happen often leads to speculation as the bigger picture is often unknown by the journalists, therefore having time to digest the given event can allow for more accurate and detailed reporting rather than broadcasting facts which may not be immediately confirmable, a longer time before publication then is likely to result in more accurate, less speculative information. For example many TV news outlets were reporting, when the first plane to hit the World Trade Center on the 11th September, that it was an unfortunate accident. It of course later emerged to be the work of terrorists.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "83309d29b006099a5a1bf9879b94f965", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Newspapers do still have a place in the modern media landscape; the environmental argument against them is flawed, for example the Newsprint and Newspaper Industry Environmental Action Group (NNIEAG) state that: “Recycled paper made up 77.4% of the raw material for UK newspapers in 2010” 1 so the claim regarding the amount of waste newspapers generate is not actually as high as is being suggested.\n\nWhat the argument also neglects to state is that electronic media is not entirely environmentally friendly in itself, much of the power required not only by personal digital devices but also the infrastructure needed to keep it working does not on the whole come from renewable sources, whereas printed media does makes greater use of environmentally friendly sources for its production. A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers states that: “Forestry, paper and packaging are among the most sustainable industries in existence.'” 2\n\n1 NNIEAG (2011) Newsprint and Newspaper Industry Environmental Action Group Homepage. [online] [accessed 13th June 2011]\n\n2 Two Sides (2011) Print and Paper is a Wasteful Product. [online] [accessed 16th June 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d7e48e3cb9e182fd520e85300af2b068", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past The positive side of a newspaper IS the fact you have a vast array of topics, which you would not usually consume. It broadens the mind as you may often come across stories you never usually take notice of. This opens up a whole new world of interest, whereas if people are given the role of editor they would most likely simply choose to read what already interests them and their channels of perception will become narrower. In addition to this, newspapers are not necessarily linear. They do not have to be read in a linear fashion, people can choose which stories they wish to read and reject those they do not. Newspapers are far more flexible than they are generally portrayed 1. Modern newspapers have adapted their design to increase their consumption by the public.\n\nOne good example of this is the change in size of many British newspapers, from broadsheet to tabloid 2.\n\n1. Daily Beast, 2009\n\n2. BBC, 2011\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f553d383d9a7b6aed911d6a8967592e2", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Normal backlighted displays can be bad for the eyes, however there are other digital technologies which address this issue, for example Amazon’s Kindle e-reader using a technology called e-ink which simulates ink on a page and requires natural light to be read 1. It could be argued that the tactile argument is flawed, because if people did prefer the tactile experience, newspapers would not be in a state of severe decline. Furthermore the concept of what constitutes a better reading experience is subjective. Shorter, more to the point text and the ability to hyperlink to related pieces of content and access information in a non-linear way could be considered a much better experience compared to reading long passages of text in a linear fashion.\n\n1 Popsci, (2010) Testing the Best: The Kindle's E Ink Pear Display [online][Accessed 2nd September 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fbd3b226236717c101500e4e2d059c5c", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past The argument that internet news tends to offer small passages of text compared to newspapers is to be liberal with the truth, due to the vast nature of the internet it offers a variety of styles and is arguably more likely to provide longer passages than newspapers as there is not space restriction as there is with newspapers which can only be a certain size, due to advertisements and printing agreements. With the ability to both search for and easily share content via social networks, the argument that newspapers are better as they prevent information overload feels weak because there are many ways in which content can be filtered to ensure that both the news you actually want and the style and perspective you prefer can be easily accessed.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b261a2d9343c685ff72224a51bd0acf0", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past As newspapers are funded by private companies they can be accused of avoiding to publish information which may damage their revenue streams, independent bloggers often do not have this issue so can be much more free in what they publish which is ultimately good for democracy. In addition to this journalists may vastly distort the truth in their reporting in order to satisfy advertisers which seek certain demographics, whereas independent bloggers do not have this concern.\n\nA consequence of online freedom is of course that anyone can publish anything but it should be down to the reader to decode what has been blogged and make up their own mind as to its accuracy, it is demeaning to suggest that consumers of news information are simply passive consumers.\n\nProfessional journalists, even when based in an official setup and with a code of ethics, are not entirely guilt free in regards to publishing inaccurate information either, there are many instances where false information has been published, for example many journalists reported the potential link between MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccination and Autism in a sensationalized way which did not entirely relate to the research and which, as a result, caused a huge number of children not being immunized 1. Perhaps the most famous recent example where journalists have behaved unethically is the phone-hacking scandal in the UK 2.\n\nTo call blogs ‘parasitic’ is also insulting and unfair. Many of them do their own research and cover issues not in the mainstream media. It’s not unique to blogging to discuss the work of others, and indeed many newspapers do so 3 So what’s the difference?\n\n1 Deer, B. (2011) The MMR-Autism Scare: An Elaborate Fraud. [online] [accessed 13th June 2011]\n\n2 BBC, (2011) Phone Hacking: US Senator Calls for News Corp Probe [online][accessed 2nd September 2011]\n\n3 Online Journalism Review (2007) Are blogs a 'parasitic' medium? [online][Accessed on 2nd September 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5917efd82fc3e5d9e4238c49dc670094", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Other types of media can produce equally, if not better, pieces of journalism than newspapers: it’s more just a matter of style. While many TV news outlets do often strive for immediacy in their coverage they also feature special reports, such as the BBC’s flagship Panorama program, which are much more detailed and can stand on an equal footing with newspaper journalism. There are many newspapers, such as tabloids with little journalistic quality. So, the matter of quality does not come down to the type of medium being used, as this only affects style, it comes down to the person or people behind the given output.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "45c5f63ba5ba365d264c18d69e0f507c", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past While algorithms may filter out content which does not normally appeal to a particular reader the internet itself does not block access to any information, if someone wishes to seek out another view on a topic it can be easily found by changing a search term. The idea that having news personalized behind the scenes makes online news less trustworthy is a weak proposition as the personalization constantly changes along with the users unlike inflexible newspapers chasing particular demographics.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9cc9385304dabe5a8de30d3efff688a7", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past In the internet age immediacy is everything, newspapers can often contain out of date information by the time they hit the shelves.\n\nIn an interconnected global world whereby technology allows us within seconds to communicate across the globe in a variety of forms the newspaper medium becomes obsolete. In the time it takes to write, edit, print and distribute a newspaper the events being covered may very well have changed, when we have the technology to overcome this problem it seems unlikely that newspapers will continue to exist because who wants to read old news? An example of newspapers not being able to adapt to changing events can be seen with the killing of Osama Bin Laden on 2nd May 2011, the story broke too late for the morning newspapers in the UK to be able to change their pages to include the story, it was then subsequently reported a day late on the 3rd May. 1\n\n1 Front Pages Today (2011) Newspaper Headlines from UK for 3 May 2011. [online] [accessed 27th July 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "33f8250f9e34465bf67428cb9c9e7789", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Newspapers cannot be environmentally sustained.\n\nNewspapers have no place in the modern media landscape as they are not environmentally friendly, they are a waste of paper when there are many other my efficient ways in which news can be disseminated. For example a single annual subscription to the New York Times roughly generates 520lb of waste which equates to approximately 4.25 trees being cut down per reader per year 2, when you take into account all the other publications that printed throughout the world this equates to a lot of wastage of increasingly scarce natural resources which could be avoided. Using digital tools to distribute news is more efficient as you only use resources when the content is actually required rather than the print media method in which the product is printed when it may not be necessarily purchased and consumed.\n\n1 ID2 (2011) Facts about Paper and Paper Waste. [online] [accessed 18th June 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "40b2228f4111e626e621797c64df78bd", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past People no longer consume media in a linear way, people prefer to pick and choose what news they consume\n\nWith the development of Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) and more generally the internet people have come to no longer simply consume media in a linear fashion, they take a more fragmented approach. In news consumption people no longer want to simply have one newspaper with a vast array of topics inside. They want to pick and choose which stories and columns they consume, people now prefer to pull the content they want rather than have it pushed on them. In a digital world the news consumer can become their own editor and no longer need to rely entirely on old hierarchical structures.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4f354004b3346589b80cb75a3a6ecdfc", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past The internet edits what you can see without your knowledge\n\nWhen you purchase a newspaper you know what biases they may contain, getting news online can be more troublesome as services such as Google and Facebook use algorithms which personalize content for you based on your interest. This creates what is known as a “filter bubble”1 whereby online services filter out news which may not be of normal interest to the reader, the problem with this is that it is often done without the user being aware of it, which clearly raises issues of trust.\n\n1 Praiser, E. (2011) Beware Online 'Filter Bubbles' [online] [accessed 15th June 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1ab8749a74bd0a43b0036e43be323ff6", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Newspapers provide higher quality journalism than other media\n\nAs newspapers are a slow medium, having a daily output most typically, they can produce better quality material than other news sources which strive for immediacy. Professional journalists and experts have time to consider the issues and write well structured, coherent and highly informed pieces which other types of media cannot compete with. A demonstration of the high quality of journalism found in newspapers can be seen in the fact that quite often newspapers set the news agenda for the rest of the day for other media outlets 1. Perhaps most importantly, modern graduates of schools of journalism still tend to favour working for newspapers as their long term career ambition. This is because the working conditions tend to be far superior, as is the regularity of payment and job security.\n\nThose blogging in the online media note their treatment as second-class outlets, long hours and poor pay. The best and the brightest head to newspapers 2\n\n1 Economist, (2006) Who killed the newspaper? [online] [accessed 27th July 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "042af6087f51e350322939a5611d9647", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past The balance of analysis and relevancy is better struck by newspapers\n\nThe argument that internet news tends to offer small passages of text compared to newspapers is to be liberal with the truth, due to the vast nature of the internet it offers a variety of styles and is arguably more likely to provide longer passages than newspapers as there is not space restriction as there is with newspapers which can only be a certain size, due to advertisements and printing agreements.\n\nWith the ability to both search for and easily share content via social networks, the argument that newspapers are better as they prevent information overload feels weak because there are many ways in which content can be filtered to ensure that both the news you actually want and the style and perspective you prefer can be easily accessed.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c059c0c5d30eafd833f87d633e82bf77", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Newspapers offer a better reading experience than digital alternatives\n\nThe experience of reading from a newspaper is a far better user experience than reading from a screen, reading from a screen for long periods of time is not only bad for the eyes but quite often becomes uncomfortable. A newspaper however requires natural light to be read and therefore is not as harsh on the eyes. It could also be suggested that people actually prefer the tactile physical experience of a newspaper or book over holding an electronic device, a poll taken on the Guardian 1 website found that 76.1% preferred books, i.e, a physical experience, over a digital one.\n\nVideo and audio-based advertisements placed online around the text can also disrupt the reading process, a problem, which does not afflict newspapers.\n\n1 Guardian (2008) E-books or Real Books? [online] [accessed 13th June 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7033a571e1a303b66b35efc9a36b1531", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Newspapers are a more trustworthy source of information than independent bloggers\n\nOnline anyone can launch a blog and start publishing, these articles could potentially be false, badly-researched or overly bias to name but a few issues, this raises the question of quality control of information online and its trustworthiness. For example a blog purportedly written by a gay woman in Damascus trying to avoid state persecution over her sexuality turned out to be a hoax, the identity of the blogger turned out to be straight 40 year old US man living in Edinburgh. 1\n\nAs newspapers are most often subject to regulations regarding what they print as well as being subject to market forces it is on the whole unlikely that they will publish something that is factually inaccurate, at least not with intent. Journalists working at newspapers are well trained and more often than not sign up to voluntary ethic codes in order to be accepted as trustworthy sources 2. Bloggers on the other hand can publish without any formal training and for the most part stay anonymous, which could lead to falsehoods being spread. Bloggers are often described as “parasitic,” since they criticize “old media,” whilst simultaneously relying upon it for the basis of their factual information. Yet Bloggers do not tend to be the groups funding news reporters across the world 3.\n\n1. BBC. (2011) Syria Gay Girl in Damascus Blog a Hoax By a US Man. [online] [accessed 15th June 2011]\n\n2.Pew Research Center, 2011\n\n3. Murley, B and Roberts, C. (2005) Biting the Hand that Feeds: Blogs and second-level agenda setting. In: Convergence Conference. BYU (Brigham Young University), 2005.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
c122cabe9932df78662a1f867cc586c5
The internet edits what you can see without your knowledge When you purchase a newspaper you know what biases they may contain, getting news online can be more troublesome as services such as Google and Facebook use algorithms which personalize content for you based on your interest. This creates what is known as a “filter bubble”1 whereby online services filter out news which may not be of normal interest to the reader, the problem with this is that it is often done without the user being aware of it, which clearly raises issues of trust. 1 Praiser, E. (2011) Beware Online 'Filter Bubbles' [online] [accessed 15th June 2011]
[ { "docid": "45c5f63ba5ba365d264c18d69e0f507c", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past While algorithms may filter out content which does not normally appeal to a particular reader the internet itself does not block access to any information, if someone wishes to seek out another view on a topic it can be easily found by changing a search term. The idea that having news personalized behind the scenes makes online news less trustworthy is a weak proposition as the personalization constantly changes along with the users unlike inflexible newspapers chasing particular demographics.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "f553d383d9a7b6aed911d6a8967592e2", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Normal backlighted displays can be bad for the eyes, however there are other digital technologies which address this issue, for example Amazon’s Kindle e-reader using a technology called e-ink which simulates ink on a page and requires natural light to be read 1. It could be argued that the tactile argument is flawed, because if people did prefer the tactile experience, newspapers would not be in a state of severe decline. Furthermore the concept of what constitutes a better reading experience is subjective. Shorter, more to the point text and the ability to hyperlink to related pieces of content and access information in a non-linear way could be considered a much better experience compared to reading long passages of text in a linear fashion.\n\n1 Popsci, (2010) Testing the Best: The Kindle's E Ink Pear Display [online][Accessed 2nd September 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fbd3b226236717c101500e4e2d059c5c", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past The argument that internet news tends to offer small passages of text compared to newspapers is to be liberal with the truth, due to the vast nature of the internet it offers a variety of styles and is arguably more likely to provide longer passages than newspapers as there is not space restriction as there is with newspapers which can only be a certain size, due to advertisements and printing agreements. With the ability to both search for and easily share content via social networks, the argument that newspapers are better as they prevent information overload feels weak because there are many ways in which content can be filtered to ensure that both the news you actually want and the style and perspective you prefer can be easily accessed.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b261a2d9343c685ff72224a51bd0acf0", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past As newspapers are funded by private companies they can be accused of avoiding to publish information which may damage their revenue streams, independent bloggers often do not have this issue so can be much more free in what they publish which is ultimately good for democracy. In addition to this journalists may vastly distort the truth in their reporting in order to satisfy advertisers which seek certain demographics, whereas independent bloggers do not have this concern.\n\nA consequence of online freedom is of course that anyone can publish anything but it should be down to the reader to decode what has been blogged and make up their own mind as to its accuracy, it is demeaning to suggest that consumers of news information are simply passive consumers.\n\nProfessional journalists, even when based in an official setup and with a code of ethics, are not entirely guilt free in regards to publishing inaccurate information either, there are many instances where false information has been published, for example many journalists reported the potential link between MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccination and Autism in a sensationalized way which did not entirely relate to the research and which, as a result, caused a huge number of children not being immunized 1. Perhaps the most famous recent example where journalists have behaved unethically is the phone-hacking scandal in the UK 2.\n\nTo call blogs ‘parasitic’ is also insulting and unfair. Many of them do their own research and cover issues not in the mainstream media. It’s not unique to blogging to discuss the work of others, and indeed many newspapers do so 3 So what’s the difference?\n\n1 Deer, B. (2011) The MMR-Autism Scare: An Elaborate Fraud. [online] [accessed 13th June 2011]\n\n2 BBC, (2011) Phone Hacking: US Senator Calls for News Corp Probe [online][accessed 2nd September 2011]\n\n3 Online Journalism Review (2007) Are blogs a 'parasitic' medium? [online][Accessed on 2nd September 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5917efd82fc3e5d9e4238c49dc670094", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Other types of media can produce equally, if not better, pieces of journalism than newspapers: it’s more just a matter of style. While many TV news outlets do often strive for immediacy in their coverage they also feature special reports, such as the BBC’s flagship Panorama program, which are much more detailed and can stand on an equal footing with newspaper journalism. There are many newspapers, such as tabloids with little journalistic quality. So, the matter of quality does not come down to the type of medium being used, as this only affects style, it comes down to the person or people behind the given output.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7be77c56e3efdc2707f88345bf5d0731", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past It is true that newspapers cannot adapt as quickly as other types of media to breaking news events, however there are advantages to having slower news. Reporting news events immediately as they happen often leads to speculation as the bigger picture is often unknown by the journalists, therefore having time to digest the given event can allow for more accurate and detailed reporting rather than broadcasting facts which may not be immediately confirmable, a longer time before publication then is likely to result in more accurate, less speculative information. For example many TV news outlets were reporting, when the first plane to hit the World Trade Center on the 11th September, that it was an unfortunate accident. It of course later emerged to be the work of terrorists.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "40676aae69012f65d9255d00990aa69d", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past This argument overstates the situation. Newspapers are less profitable than they were at their peak, but newspapers have been affected by other media ever since the invention of the radio. Much of the evidence the proposition has raised focuses on the Western World. According to the World Association of Newspapers, more newspapers are being published than at any time previously. There are strong growth markets in Asia, Eastern Europe and South America. The Middle East and Africa also sustain strong markets, though there is less growth 1.\n\nFurthermore, Newspaper advertising is an effective revenue source. Advertisements in the traditional print tend to get more attention from readers than on the internet, because people read papers more intently.\n\nFinally, some newspapers are actively engaging with the internet by charging for premium content to their services. Even if they lose some customers, this is made up by a net increase in revenue2.\n\n1 World Association of Newspapers (2010) World Press Trends: Advertising Revenues To Increase, Circulation Relatively Stable. [online] [Accessed 2nd September 2011]\n\n2 Columbia Journalism Review, (2009) Print Newspapers Still Dominate Readers' Attention. [online] [Accessed 2nd September 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "83309d29b006099a5a1bf9879b94f965", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Newspapers do still have a place in the modern media landscape; the environmental argument against them is flawed, for example the Newsprint and Newspaper Industry Environmental Action Group (NNIEAG) state that: “Recycled paper made up 77.4% of the raw material for UK newspapers in 2010” 1 so the claim regarding the amount of waste newspapers generate is not actually as high as is being suggested.\n\nWhat the argument also neglects to state is that electronic media is not entirely environmentally friendly in itself, much of the power required not only by personal digital devices but also the infrastructure needed to keep it working does not on the whole come from renewable sources, whereas printed media does makes greater use of environmentally friendly sources for its production. A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers states that: “Forestry, paper and packaging are among the most sustainable industries in existence.'” 2\n\n1 NNIEAG (2011) Newsprint and Newspaper Industry Environmental Action Group Homepage. [online] [accessed 13th June 2011]\n\n2 Two Sides (2011) Print and Paper is a Wasteful Product. [online] [accessed 16th June 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d7e48e3cb9e182fd520e85300af2b068", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past The positive side of a newspaper IS the fact you have a vast array of topics, which you would not usually consume. It broadens the mind as you may often come across stories you never usually take notice of. This opens up a whole new world of interest, whereas if people are given the role of editor they would most likely simply choose to read what already interests them and their channels of perception will become narrower. In addition to this, newspapers are not necessarily linear. They do not have to be read in a linear fashion, people can choose which stories they wish to read and reject those they do not. Newspapers are far more flexible than they are generally portrayed 1. Modern newspapers have adapted their design to increase their consumption by the public.\n\nOne good example of this is the change in size of many British newspapers, from broadsheet to tabloid 2.\n\n1. Daily Beast, 2009\n\n2. BBC, 2011\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1ab8749a74bd0a43b0036e43be323ff6", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Newspapers provide higher quality journalism than other media\n\nAs newspapers are a slow medium, having a daily output most typically, they can produce better quality material than other news sources which strive for immediacy. Professional journalists and experts have time to consider the issues and write well structured, coherent and highly informed pieces which other types of media cannot compete with. A demonstration of the high quality of journalism found in newspapers can be seen in the fact that quite often newspapers set the news agenda for the rest of the day for other media outlets 1. Perhaps most importantly, modern graduates of schools of journalism still tend to favour working for newspapers as their long term career ambition. This is because the working conditions tend to be far superior, as is the regularity of payment and job security.\n\nThose blogging in the online media note their treatment as second-class outlets, long hours and poor pay. The best and the brightest head to newspapers 2\n\n1 Economist, (2006) Who killed the newspaper? [online] [accessed 27th July 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "042af6087f51e350322939a5611d9647", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past The balance of analysis and relevancy is better struck by newspapers\n\nThe argument that internet news tends to offer small passages of text compared to newspapers is to be liberal with the truth, due to the vast nature of the internet it offers a variety of styles and is arguably more likely to provide longer passages than newspapers as there is not space restriction as there is with newspapers which can only be a certain size, due to advertisements and printing agreements.\n\nWith the ability to both search for and easily share content via social networks, the argument that newspapers are better as they prevent information overload feels weak because there are many ways in which content can be filtered to ensure that both the news you actually want and the style and perspective you prefer can be easily accessed.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c059c0c5d30eafd833f87d633e82bf77", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Newspapers offer a better reading experience than digital alternatives\n\nThe experience of reading from a newspaper is a far better user experience than reading from a screen, reading from a screen for long periods of time is not only bad for the eyes but quite often becomes uncomfortable. A newspaper however requires natural light to be read and therefore is not as harsh on the eyes. It could also be suggested that people actually prefer the tactile physical experience of a newspaper or book over holding an electronic device, a poll taken on the Guardian 1 website found that 76.1% preferred books, i.e, a physical experience, over a digital one.\n\nVideo and audio-based advertisements placed online around the text can also disrupt the reading process, a problem, which does not afflict newspapers.\n\n1 Guardian (2008) E-books or Real Books? [online] [accessed 13th June 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7033a571e1a303b66b35efc9a36b1531", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Newspapers are a more trustworthy source of information than independent bloggers\n\nOnline anyone can launch a blog and start publishing, these articles could potentially be false, badly-researched or overly bias to name but a few issues, this raises the question of quality control of information online and its trustworthiness. For example a blog purportedly written by a gay woman in Damascus trying to avoid state persecution over her sexuality turned out to be a hoax, the identity of the blogger turned out to be straight 40 year old US man living in Edinburgh. 1\n\nAs newspapers are most often subject to regulations regarding what they print as well as being subject to market forces it is on the whole unlikely that they will publish something that is factually inaccurate, at least not with intent. Journalists working at newspapers are well trained and more often than not sign up to voluntary ethic codes in order to be accepted as trustworthy sources 2. Bloggers on the other hand can publish without any formal training and for the most part stay anonymous, which could lead to falsehoods being spread. Bloggers are often described as “parasitic,” since they criticize “old media,” whilst simultaneously relying upon it for the basis of their factual information. Yet Bloggers do not tend to be the groups funding news reporters across the world 3.\n\n1. BBC. (2011) Syria Gay Girl in Damascus Blog a Hoax By a US Man. [online] [accessed 15th June 2011]\n\n2.Pew Research Center, 2011\n\n3. Murley, B and Roberts, C. (2005) Biting the Hand that Feeds: Blogs and second-level agenda setting. In: Convergence Conference. BYU (Brigham Young University), 2005.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9cc9385304dabe5a8de30d3efff688a7", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past In the internet age immediacy is everything, newspapers can often contain out of date information by the time they hit the shelves.\n\nIn an interconnected global world whereby technology allows us within seconds to communicate across the globe in a variety of forms the newspaper medium becomes obsolete. In the time it takes to write, edit, print and distribute a newspaper the events being covered may very well have changed, when we have the technology to overcome this problem it seems unlikely that newspapers will continue to exist because who wants to read old news? An example of newspapers not being able to adapt to changing events can be seen with the killing of Osama Bin Laden on 2nd May 2011, the story broke too late for the morning newspapers in the UK to be able to change their pages to include the story, it was then subsequently reported a day late on the 3rd May. 1\n\n1 Front Pages Today (2011) Newspaper Headlines from UK for 3 May 2011. [online] [accessed 27th July 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "33f8250f9e34465bf67428cb9c9e7789", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Newspapers cannot be environmentally sustained.\n\nNewspapers have no place in the modern media landscape as they are not environmentally friendly, they are a waste of paper when there are many other my efficient ways in which news can be disseminated. For example a single annual subscription to the New York Times roughly generates 520lb of waste which equates to approximately 4.25 trees being cut down per reader per year 2, when you take into account all the other publications that printed throughout the world this equates to a lot of wastage of increasingly scarce natural resources which could be avoided. Using digital tools to distribute news is more efficient as you only use resources when the content is actually required rather than the print media method in which the product is printed when it may not be necessarily purchased and consumed.\n\n1 ID2 (2011) Facts about Paper and Paper Waste. [online] [accessed 18th June 2011]\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "40b2228f4111e626e621797c64df78bd", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past People no longer consume media in a linear way, people prefer to pick and choose what news they consume\n\nWith the development of Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) and more generally the internet people have come to no longer simply consume media in a linear fashion, they take a more fragmented approach. In news consumption people no longer want to simply have one newspaper with a vast array of topics inside. They want to pick and choose which stories and columns they consume, people now prefer to pull the content they want rather than have it pushed on them. In a digital world the news consumer can become their own editor and no longer need to rely entirely on old hierarchical structures.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "961f9008e53f1ff3b9f65f3b522e80b5", "text": "media modern culture house believes newspapers are thing past Newspapers are financially unviable\n\nIn the internet age, Newspapers are no longer financially profitable businesses. They are struggling to encourage investment and to survive in the long-term. Revenue is falling across the three main streams available to newspapers: sales, advertising and subscriptions. Sales and subscriptions are dropping as consumers move to the internet for information (often the website of the newspaper themselves!)1 Advertising is not as profitable either, as increasingly advertisers look to pop-up systems on websites and buying space on search engines. Many newspapers have resorted to cutting costs (firing staff, reducing the length of the paper) and raising prices. Yet it does not seem likely that people will be willing to pay more for less.\n\n1. Keevey, R., Sattin, D and Hale, T. (2009) The Newspaper Crisis. Princeton University, 1st May 2009. Policy Research Institute for the Region: Princeton University.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
fbaaf70358d01615f0469353d16f545b
All of society benefits from protection of indigenous culture Across the United States, Australia, and Canada, native customs are often tied closely to the land. For example, while descendants of the Sioux Indians of the American Midwest may no longer hunt buffalo, learning about traditional means of hunting, animal use, rituals involving the surrounding wildlife, means of ensuring a sustainable food supply, and other cultural norms related to the land gives people a greater appreciation for the land they now inhabit. Exposure to traditions that have been practiced in one's land for thousands of years helps us to appreciate the legacy we have inherited. This does not just benefit the direct descendants of those practicing these traditions but the whole of society.
[ { "docid": "e54a146885a9a272b97325d87fe355f3", "text": "traditions politics house would protect aboriginal culture Protecting indigenous culture is unlikely to have a significant impact on the general population. Native groups often live in relative isolation, thereby having little contact with people outside the community. Furthermore, antiquated forms of hunting and cultivating food that were used over a hundred years ago have little relevance to the modern environment in which people live. Learning about these traditions is unlikely to impact the public's perception of its environment because the public is unlikely to make an emotional connection between these traditions and their modern homes.\n", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "2424186fd6b559a38c265fffbf7e3fec", "text": "traditions politics house would protect aboriginal culture Indigenous populations have no more right to special government treatment than other minority groups. Even indigenous populations did not inhabit their current territory from the dawn of time, and many ethnic groups around the world live where they do because they were pushed out of some other territory hundreds or thousands of years ago. Virtually every ethnic group in the world has been conquered and abused by some other group. Tracing the entirety of human history to determine which group owes reparations to which other group is unproductive; rather, governments should move forward to promote a better standard of living for all citizens.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8e42c39e398b8014b03547e8546f57a4", "text": "traditions politics house would protect aboriginal culture Governments also ignore or destroy culture all the time. Historic and significant buildings are built to build infrastructure, traditions are lost through an unwillingness to provide funding to prevent it from dying. When governments protect culture they inevitably protect one over the others. This is nearly always the culture of the majority. Instead it is not for the government to promote or protect any culture over others rather it should be left to private individuals and each cultural group to promote their own culture.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "549f88260354bde2269db4eb2722ad33", "text": "traditions politics house would protect aboriginal culture The government should rely on just legal systems to protect the rights of indigenous people, not cultural preservation. A constitution that enumerates rights and a court system that scrutinizes government activity is a much more direct and reliable venue of protecting indigenous rights than sporadic funding for cultural programs.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5c39a37725f58a0fb43d0ea9aa3cac7e", "text": "traditions politics house would protect aboriginal culture Cultural preservation enriches society; just because it cannot be measured quantitatively does not mean it is not worthwhile. Without government assistance, many museums and theaters would have to close down, or would be too expensive for the general public to access. Government support for cultural enrichment contributes towards the public's education and allows citizens to develop an appreciation for traditions other than their own. This does not mean arguing that the government should abandon its basic duties, but simply that a small portion of the budget be dedicated to preservation of indigenous culture.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "26d3391101d204a74ae21d323da3745c", "text": "traditions politics house would protect aboriginal culture Anarchy is not necessary for culture to exist. Legal restrictions do impact cultural norms; for example, Native American use of peyote for religious ceremonies is permitted only at the discretion of state governments1. However, restrictions on drug use have not turned native cultural expression into a meaningless practice. Rather, the fact that native groups must conform to external standards is more reason for the government to make an active effort to protect indigenous culture. In the previous example, the US government acknowledged that Native American use of peyote in religious ceremonies is different from typical drug use, and consequently permits such peyote use (with limitations). It is this active effort to respect native culture that allowed Native Americans to preserve their religious practice.\n\n1Elijah Sweete, \"Peyote in Short Supply,\" The Moderate Voice, 2010.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e8f5891700ff87c4bf841a0dc24dc8e7", "text": "traditions politics house would protect aboriginal culture Mainstream cultural norms are so pervasive in every aspect of society that without an active effort, indigenous values and traditions will be lost. Preserving culture often involves funding- whether it is for a theatre group, art show, language program, or other means of cultural expression. In countries like the US and Australia, indigenous groups make up less than 3% of the current population; 1;2 without assistance from the government, it is unlikely these groups would be able to sustain such cultural efforts and as a result their culture would not have any chance to evolve.\n\n1 Race - Universe: Total Population, U.S. Census Bureau American Fact Finder, 2009. 2 Experimental Estimates and Projections, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 1991, to 2021, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ddec0c030add21b495747c89c599a885", "text": "traditions politics house would protect aboriginal culture Immigrant populations generally do not retain their cultural distinctiveness in the long run; while the first generation may be heavily influenced by their parents' culture, this influence fades by the second generation. Immigrant assimilation is actually proof that government assistance would be useful to native groups.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e375e32982d1028f8d95d5083d2afe18", "text": "traditions politics house would protect aboriginal culture Existing states are responsible for the destruction of indigenous populations and their societies, and thereby have an obligation to help reverse the effects of their actions\n\nThe Indian Removal Act of 18301, the 1871 Indian Appropriations Act, and the 1887 General Allotment Act are just a few examples of legislation used to destroy Native American communities in the US2. Settlers in Australia are similarly responsible for a multitude of massacres3, as well as several decades of forced separation of aboriginal children from their parents in an effort to \"Christianize\" them4. While the current citizens of Canada, the US, and Australia are not guilty of the crimes of their predecessors, they nevertheless reap the benefits of those atrocities while today's indigenous populations still suffer from the lasting impact of oppression. When chemical companies make huge profits at the expense of damaging the surrounding community's environment, those companies are expected to pay reparations. A government that destroys an indigenous culture must similarly work to reverse their destruction.\n\n1 Indian Treaty and Removal Act of 1830, U.S. Department of State. 2 Preamble to the Trail of Broken Treaties 20-Point Position Paper: An Indian Manifesto. American Indian Movement, 1972. 3 History of Australian Aboriginal Massacres, Treaty Republic, 2011. 4\"Living With the Past,\" FOCUS September 1997, Vol. 9, Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "33e8be20e2e4270364e6fdd88398e7f7", "text": "traditions politics house would protect aboriginal culture The preservation of displaced cultures is important in preventing future oppression.\n\nNotions of cultural superiority virtually always influence displacement and abuse of indigenous cultures. For example, when the government of Botswana expelled the Kalahari Bushmen from their land in 2002, President Mogai defended his actions by describing the bushmen as \"stone age creatures.\"1 This cultural insensitivity, in addition to the incentive of material gains, led the Botswani government to violate the tribe's rights. By preserving indigenous culture, governments recognize the value of these groups and prevent future hostility.\n\n1 John Simpson, \"Bushmen Fight for Homeland,\" BBC, 2005\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "727cd23e6ed20d24030e4375748077d2", "text": "traditions politics house would protect aboriginal culture Governments protect culture every day\n\nGovernments already protect culture so it is not a big step to apply the same protections to aboriginal culture as well. In school, students learn about traditional art and their national history. For example, the state of California compiles reading lists that largely include Shakespeare, Virgil, and John Steinback, though also including ethnic authors like Maya Angelou1. Governments recognize days like Christmas and New Years and fund programs that promote the arts. States recognize marriage and structure divorce and custody laws based on cultural norms of gender roles and family responsibility. If a government can protect the norms on one culture in society, there is no reason that the government should not also protect the culture of those who first inhabited the land. This current protection makes it easy to build on, to make highlight more aboriginal culture, recognize their festivals etc.\n\n1 California Reading List, California Department of Education, 2011.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "eee1f2032aede6e0d9389d151a0bde82", "text": "traditions politics house would protect aboriginal culture Government interference is not necessary to preserve culture\n\nPlenty of ethnic groups immigrate to countries like Canada and the US and preserve their culture without government aid. They do so through religious education for children, speaking their native language at home, schools at the weekends that teach their culture and communication and cooperation within the ethnic community. This cultural preservation demonstrates that government assistance is unnecessary and thereby a form of excessive government involvement.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8a3f50f404d148212119773c48058375", "text": "traditions politics house would protect aboriginal culture Culture is an incredibly complex concept\n\nCulture contains many elements; it is the food one eats, the clothing one wears, the holidays one celebrates, and the names of the spirits one worships. However, it is much more than that; culture dictates parent-child relationships, courting customs, family size, gender roles, healthcare, education, and every law, regulation, and standard a society holds. Governments rarely give blanket approval to an indigenous customs; children are often compelled to attend school and receive vaccines, substances used in religious rituals may be banned, and customs that infringe on the rights of group members are not permitted. These restrictions may be reasonable, however, they create a false sense of cultural preservation. Rather than ostensibly protect aboriginal culture, governments should leave it alone.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "73faf563d603817e796b94ee6f849a3d", "text": "traditions politics house would protect aboriginal culture Culture provides no tangible benefit that justifies the use of government funds to preserve it.\n\nIf indigenous populations feel strongly that their unique culture is worth preserving, they may direct their attention and funds towards this endeavor. However, a government's first priority must be services that improve the standard of living for its citizens. Society, including indigenous people, would be better served if tax dollars were spent on services like healthcare and law enforcement.\n", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3dc31cb381b3cd2860d43fcc83806fc4", "text": "traditions politics house would protect aboriginal culture Culture evolves over time and is largely impacted by improved standards of living and exposure to other cultures\n\nVirtually all cultures around the world have changed radically over the past two hundred years; if a government takes action towards \"preserving\" an indigenous culture, it is interfering with the group's ability to mold their identity to fit the modern world on their own terms. For example, the Australian and American governments have tried to appease native groups by offering land for reserves where they may lead a traditional lifestyle. Native individuals, however, often do not want to live in isolation, and would rather adapt their culture to an urban environment where they can have a higher standard of living.\n", "title": "" } ]
arguana
2c411291ab0294816d285222216bcf85
There is a movie called The Hunger Games.
[ { "docid": "f7a142e617674dcfc1ada61cac5681bd", "text": "The Hunger Games (film) The Hunger Games is a 2012 American dystopian science fiction adventure film directed by Gary Ross and based on the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins . It is the first installment in The Hunger Games film series and was produced by Nina Jacobson and Jon Kilik , with a screenplay by Ross , Collins , and Billy Ray . The film stars Jennifer Lawrence , Josh Hutcherson , Liam Hemsworth , Woody Harrelson , Elizabeth Banks , Lenny Kravitz , Stanley Tucci , and Donald Sutherland . The story takes place in a dystopian post-apocalyptic future in the nation of Panem , where boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 18 must take part in the Hunger Games , a televised annual event in which the `` tributes '' are required to fight to the death until there is only one survivor . Katniss Everdeen ( Lawrence ) volunteers to take her younger sister 's place . Joined by her district 's male tribute , Peeta Mellark ( Hutcherson ) , Katniss travels to the Capitol to train for the Hunger Games under the guidance of former victor Haymitch Abernathy ( Harrelson ) . Development of The Hunger Games began in March 2009 when Lions Gate Entertainment entered into a co-production agreement with Color Force , which had acquired the rights a few weeks earlier . Collins collaborated with Ray and Ross to write the screenplay . The screenplay expanded the character of Seneca Crane to allow several developments to be shown directly to the audience and Ross added several scenes between Crane and Coriolanus Snow . The main characters were cast between March and May 2011 . Principal photography began in May 2011 and ended in September 2011 , with filming taking place in North Carolina . The Hunger Games was shot entirely on film as opposed to digital . The film was released on March 21 , 2012 , in some European countries and in the US on March 23 , 2012 , in both conventional theaters and digital IMAX theaters . Japan received it last , on September 28 . When the film released , it set records for opening day ( $ 67.3 million ) and opening weekend for a non-sequel . At the time of its release , the film 's opening weekend gross ( $ 152.5 million ) was the third-largest of any movie in North America . It is the first film since Avatar to remain in first place at the North American box office for four consecutive weekends . The film was a massive box-office success by grossing over $ 694 million worldwide against its budget of $ 78 million , making it the third-highest-grossing film in the United States and ninth-highest-grossing worldwide of 2012 . It was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on August 18 , 2012 . With 7,434,058 units sold , the DVD was the best-selling DVD of 2012 . A sequel , The Hunger Games : Catching Fire , was released on November 22 , 2013 , in the United States . The Hunger Games received positive reviews from critics , with praise for its themes and messages , as well as Jennifer Lawrence 's portrayal of Katniss , though there was criticism of the film 's use of shaky cam in the action sequences . Like the novel , the film has been noted for its similarities to other works , such as Robert Sheckley 's short story `` Seventh Victim '' and its Italian film adaptation The 10th Victim , the Japanese novel Battle Royale and its film adaptation , and the Shirley Jackson short story `` The Lottery '' , with some criticizing The Hunger Games for being derivative of such works . Collins stated in an interview that her novel and screenplay drew on sources of inspiration such as the myth of Theseus , Roman gladiatorial games , reality television , and the desensitization of viewers to media coverage of real-life tragedy and war , not to think as just an audience member , `` Because those are real people on the screen , and they 're not going away when the commercials start to roll . '' The song `` Safe & Sound '' won a Grammy Award and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song . For her performance , Lawrence won the Saturn Award for Best Actress , the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress in an Action Movie , the Empire Award for Best Actress and was also nominated for the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress .", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "ad47dc43670072898442977a55502324", "text": "Character (arts) A character ( sometimes known as a fictional character ) is a person or other being in a narrative work of art ( such as a novel , play , television series , or film ) . The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person , in which case the distinction of a `` fictional '' versus `` real '' character may be made . Derived from the ancient Greek word χαρακτήρ , the English word dates from the Restoration , although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749 . From this , the sense of `` a part played by an actor '' developed . Character , particularly when enacted by an actor in the theatre or cinema , involves `` the illusion of being a human person . '' In literature , characters guide readers through their stories , helping them to understand plots and ponder themes . Since the end of the 18th century , the phrase `` in character '' has been used to describe an effective impersonation by an actor . Since the 19th century , the art of creating characters , as practiced by actors or writers , has been called characterisation . A character who stands as a representative of a particular class or group of people is known as a type . Types include both stock characters and those that are more fully individualised . The characters in Henrik Ibsen 's Hedda Gabler ( 1891 ) and August Strindberg 's Miss Julie ( 1888 ) , for example , are representative of specific positions in the social relations of class and gender , such that the conflicts between the characters reveal ideological conflicts . The study of a character requires an analysis of its relations with all of the other characters in the work . The individual status of a character is defined through the network of oppositions ( proairetic , pragmatic , linguistic , proxemic ) that it forms with the other characters . The relation between characters and the action of the story shifts historically , often miming shifts in society and its ideas about human individuality , self-determination , and the social order .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "45cca4f2ca741aa9586b00163ae81265", "text": "The NeverEnding Story (film) The NeverEnding Story is a 1984 American epic fantasy film based on the novel of the same name by Michael Ende , about a boy who reads a magical book that tells a story of a young warrior whose task is to stop a dark storm called the Nothing from engulfing a fantasy world . The film was produced by Bernd Eichinger and Dieter Giessler and directed and co-written by Wolfgang Petersen ( his first English-language film ) and starred Noah Hathaway , Barret Oliver , Tami Stronach , Patricia Hayes , Sydney Bromley , Gerald McRaney , Moses Gunn , and Alan Oppenheimer as the voices of both Falkor and Gmork ( as well as other characters ) . At the time of its release , it was the most expensive film produced outside the United States or the Soviet Union . The film was the first in The NeverEnding Story film series and later followed by two sequels . Ende felt that this adaptation 's content deviated so far from the spirit of his book that he requested that production either be halted or the film 's title be changed ; when the producers did neither , he sued them and subsequently lost the case . Ende called the film a `` gigantic melodrama of kitsch , commerce , plush and plastic '' -LSB- Ein `` gigantisches Melodram aus Kitsch , Kommerz , Plüsch und Plastik '' -RSB- . The film only adapts the first half of the book , and consequently does not convey the message of the title as it was portrayed in the novel . The second half of the book would subsequently be used as the rough basis for the second film , The Next Chapter . The third film , Escape from Fantasia , features a completely original plot .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5a1d800f3a58ce0e26dc0d8caddded51", "text": "Goodfellas Goodfellas ( stylized as GoodFellas ) is a 1990 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese . It is an adaptation of the 1986 non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi , who co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese . The film narrates the rise and fall of mob associate Henry Hill and his friends over a period from 1955 to 1980 . Scorsese initially named the film Wise Guy and postponed making it ; later , he and Pileggi changed the name to Goodfellas . To prepare for their roles in the film , Robert De Niro , Joe Pesci , and Ray Liotta often spoke with Pileggi , who shared research material left over from writing the book . According to Pesci , improvisation and ad-libbing came out of rehearsals wherein Scorsese gave the actors freedom to do whatever they wanted . The director made transcripts of these sessions , took the lines he liked best , and put them into a revised script , which the cast worked from during principal photography . Made on a budget of $ 25 million , Goodfellas grossed $ 46.8 million . It received positive reviews from critics and was nominated for six Academy Awards , including Best Picture and Best Director , with Pesci winning Best Actor in a Supporting Role . The film won five awards from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts , including Best Film and Best Director . Additionally , Goodfellas was named the year 's best film by various critics ' groups . Goodfellas is widely regarded as one of the greatest films in the crime genre . In 2000 , it was deemed `` culturally , historically , and aesthetically significant '' and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the United States Library of Congress . Its content and style have been emulated in numerous other films and television shows .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "64daf635e0704799258b62ebaea7c666", "text": "Art film An art film is typically a serious , independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience . An art film is `` intended to be a serious artistic work , often experimental and not designed for mass appeal '' ; they are `` made primarily for aesthetic reasons rather than commercial profit '' , and they contain `` unconventional or highly symbolic content '' . Film critics and film studies scholars typically define an art film as possessing `` formal qualities that mark them as different from mainstream Hollywood films '' , which can include , among other elements , a sense of social realism ; an emphasis on the authorial expressiveness of the director ; and a focus on the thoughts , dreams , or motivations of characters , as opposed to the unfolding of a clear , goal-driven story . Film scholar David Bordwell describes art cinema as `` a film genre , with its own distinct conventions '' . Art film producers usually present their films at specialty theatres ( repertory cinemas , or , in the U.S. , `` arthouse cinemas '' ) and film festivals . The term art film is much more widely used in the United States , the UK and Australia than in Europe , where the term is more associated with `` auteur '' films and `` national cinema '' ( e.g. , German national cinema ) . Because they are aimed at small niche market audiences , they can rarely get the financial backing that will permit large production budgets , expensive special effects , costly celebrity actors , or huge advertising campaigns , as are used in widely released mainstream blockbuster films . Art film directors make up for these constraints by creating a different type of film , which typically uses lesser-known film actors ( or even amateur actors ) and modest sets to make films that focus much more on developing ideas or exploring new narrative techniques or film-making conventions . A certain degree of experience and knowledge are required to fully understand or appreciate such films . One mid-1990s art film was called `` largely a cerebral experience '' that one enjoys `` because of what you know about film '' . This contrasts sharply with mainstream `` blockbuster '' films , which are geared more towards escapism and pure entertainment . For promotion , art films rely on the publicity generated from film critics ' reviews , discussion of their film by arts columnists , commentators and bloggers , and `` word-of-mouth '' promotion by audience members . Since art films have small initial investment costs , they only need to appeal to a small portion of the mainstream viewing audiences to become financially viable .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "697580c81479770dc6c70a31e36dd7f8", "text": "B movie A B movie is a low-budget commercial movie , but one that is not an arthouse film . In its original usage , during the Golden Age of Hollywood , the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature . Although the U.S. production of movies intended as second features largely ceased by the end of the 1950s , the term B movie continues to be used in the broader sense it maintains today . In its post -- Golden Age usage , there is ambiguity on both sides of the definition : on the one hand , the primary interest of many inexpensive exploitation films is prurient ; on the other , many B movies display a high degree of craft and aesthetic ingenuity . In either usage , most B movies represent a particular genre -- the Western was a Golden Age B movie staple , while low-budget science-fiction and horror films became more popular in the 1950s . Early B movies were often part of series in which the star repeatedly played the same character . Almost always shorter than the top-billed films they were paired with , many had running times of 70 minutes or less . The term connoted a general perception that B movies were inferior to the more handsomely budgeted headliners ; individual B films were often ignored by critics . Latter-day B movies still sometimes inspire multiple sequels , but series are less common . As the average running time of top-of-the-line films increased , so did that of B pictures . In its current usage , the term has somewhat contradictory connotations : it may signal an opinion that a certain movie is ( a ) a genre film with minimal artistic ambitions or ( b ) a lively , energetic film uninhibited by the constraints imposed on more expensive projects and unburdened by the conventions of putatively `` serious '' independent film . The term is also now used loosely to refer to some higher-budgeted , mainstream films with exploitation-style content , usually in genres traditionally associated with the B movie . From their beginnings to the present day , B movies have provided opportunities both for those coming up in the profession and others whose careers are waning . Celebrated filmmakers such as Anthony Mann and Jonathan Demme learned their craft in B movies . They are where actors such as John Wayne and Jack Nicholson first became established , and they have provided work for former A movie actors , such as Vincent Price and Karen Black . Some actors , such as Bela Lugosi , Eddie Constantine and Pam Grier , worked in B movies for most of their careers . The term B actor is sometimes used to refer to a performer who finds work primarily or exclusively in B pictures .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e2dd5979c93d4a4c9079fe12d77d842c", "text": "The Games (film) The Games is a 1970 British sports drama film directed by Michael Winner . It is based on the Hugh Atkinson novel and adapted to the screen by Erich Segal . The plot concerned four marathon competitors at a fictitious Olympic Games in Rome , played by Michael Crawford , Ryan O'Neal , Charles Aznavour and Athol Compton . Elton John recorded one song ( ` From Denver To L.A. ' ) for the soundtrack . To simulate vast crowds of people , thousands of life-sized dummies were placed in the stadium 's seats .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9644aee915a6d96e76d4acec602f536f", "text": "Brothers (2009 film) Brothers is a 2009 American psychological war drama film and a remake of Susanne Bier 's Danish film Brødre ( 2004 ) , which takes place in Afghanistan and Denmark . The film stars Tobey Maguire , Jake Gyllenhaal , and Natalie Portman , and is directed by Jim Sheridan . Both films take inspiration from Homer 's epic poem , the Odyssey . The film received a mixed to positive response and grossed $ 43 million . Tobey Maguire received particular praise for his performance and received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for his performance .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a15fcd521628b7a8b84f015eefa53ce4", "text": "Redacted (film) Redacted is a 2007 American war film written and directed by Brian De Palma . It is a fictional dramatization , loosely based on the 2006 Mahmudiyah killings in Mahmoudiyah , Iraq , when U.S. Army soldiers raped an Iraqi girl and murdered her along with her family . This film , which is a companion to an earlier film by De Palma , 1989 's Casualties of War , was shot in Jordan . Redacted premiered at the 2007 Venice Film Festival , where it earned a Silver Lion `` best director '' award . It was also shown at the Toronto International Film Festival , the New York Film Festival and the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema . The film opened in Spain , and in fifteen theaters in limited release in the United States on November 16 , 2007 . The film received mixed reactions from critics and a poor financial response in its limited U.S. release .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "564b96835b177ace924b7325f855517b", "text": "You're in the Movies is a party game for the Xbox 360 that is bundled with the Xbox Live Vision Camera , developed by Zoë Mode . It was released by Codemasters in the United States and the United Kingdom in 2008 , and in Australia and Japan in 2009 . The game is a process of filming a movie on one of the 30 scenarios that can involve up to four people . Actions include the application of make-up , jogging in place , driving a car and playing volleyball . Previous video can be stored on the console , as well as to send to friends via e-mail . The game was first previewed at Microsoft 's Press Conference at E3 2008 in July 2008 . It was later shown at the Games Convention one month later . -LCB- The game has met with mixed reviews , receiving criticism for the Xbox Live Vision Camera bundled with the game .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e9101bde09b3b59e93eae8bf241f4b7b", "text": "Gamer (film) Gamer is a 2009 American science fiction action thriller film written and directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor . The film stars Gerard Butler as a participant in an online game in which participants can control human beings as players , and Logan Lerman as the player who controls him . Alongside Butler and Lerman , it also stars Michael C. Hall , Ludacris , Amber Valletta , Terry Crews , Alison Lohman , John Leguizamo , and Zoe Bell . Gamer was released in North America on September 4 , 2009 , receiving generally negative reviews from critics , who found the plot , direction , and script disappointing , though its performances , effects , and action sequences were praised . It received a mixed reception from audiences , and was a box office bomb , grossing $ 42 million worldwide against a production budget of $ 50 million .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9ca74987655514d3bc47fe8b11340662", "text": "Danny Strong Daniel W. `` Danny '' Strong ( born June 6 , 1974 ) is an American actor , screenwriter , and producer . As an actor , Strong is best known for his roles as Jonathan Levinson in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Doyle McMaster in Gilmore Girls . He also wrote the screenplays for Recount , the HBO adaptation Game Change , Lee Daniels ' The Butler , and the two-part finale of The Hunger Games film trilogy , Mockingjay -- Part 1 and Mockingjay -- Part 2 . Strong also is a co-creator , executive producer , and writer for the Fox series Empire . Strong has won two Emmy Awards , two Writers Guild of America Awards , a Producers Guild of America Award , and a NAACP Image Award .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e030c19e41aea313dd51ee8b5c160e14", "text": "Hold'em (film) Hold 'em is a 2014 American thriller film directed by Clay DuMaw . The film 's plot combines Texas hold 'em with elements from horror and thriller films such as Battle Royale and Saw .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e702919fa1c48d2a3b2c59ec64037bde", "text": "Game of Thrones (2014 video game) Game of Thrones is an episodic graphic adventure fantasy drama video game based on Game of Thrones , the TV adaptation of George R. R. Martin A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series , released in December 2014 for Android , iOS , Microsoft Windows , OS X , PlayStation 3 , PlayStation 4 , Xbox 360 , and Xbox One . The game was developed by Telltale Games and follows the episodic format found in other Telltale titles , such as The Walking Dead , The Wolf Among Us , and Tales from the Borderlands , where player choices and actions influence later events across the 6-episode arc . The story revolves around the northern House Forrester , rulers of Ironrath , whose members , including the five playable characters , attempt to save their family and themselves after ending up on the losing side of the War of the Five Kings . The game includes settings , characters and voice actors from the novels and TV series . The game was generally well received , and Telltale is currently working on a second season of the game .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1445773c08da50707979a85167e4edf4", "text": "Houston Film Critics Society Awards 2010 The 4th Houston Film Critics Society Awards were presented on December 18 , 2010 . These awards for `` extraordinary accomplishment in film '' are presented annually by the Houston Film Critics Society ( HFCS ) based in Houston , Texas . The organization , founded in 2007 , includes 22 film critics for print , radio , television , and internet publications in the greater Houston area . The awards are co-sponsored by the Houston Film Commission , Southwest Alternate Media Project , Women in Film and Television/Houston , WorldFest , and the Houston Cinema Arts Society . The nominations for the 2010 awards were announced on December 12 , 2010 . Eligible films do not need to have played or opened in a Houston film theater prior to the nomination deadline , merely made available to the HFCS membership at a screening or on DVD . Along with the 13 `` best of '' category awards , this year also saw the introduction of a new category for `` Worst Movies of the Year '' . The Social Network , True Grit , and 127 Hours each received six nominations , all including the Best Picture , Actor , Direction , and Original Score categories . The Social Network was the HFCS 's most awarded film of 2010 taking top honors in the Best Picture , Best Director ( David Fincher ) , Best Actor ( Jesse Eisenberg ) , and Best Screenplay ( Aaron Sorkin ) categories . Inception was the only other film to garner multiple awards , winning both the Best Original Score ( Hans Zimmer ) and Best Cinematography ( Wally Pfister ) prizes . The other acting awards went to Natalie Portman as Best Actress for Black Swan , Hailee Steinfeld as Best Supporting Actress for True Grit , and Christian Bale as Best Supporting Actor for The Fighter . The remaining film honors went to Toy Story 3 as Best Animated Film , Restrepo as Best Documentary , and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as Best Foreign Language Film . `` We Are Sex Bob-Omb '' by Beck from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was named the Best Original Song . The HFCS 's first-ever award for `` Worst Picture '' was given to Jonah Hex starring Josh Brolin . In addition to the category awards , the HFCS presented their annual Lifetime Achievement Award to Sissy Spacek and its Humanitarian Award to George Clooney . Clooney was selected for `` selflessly using his celebrity for greater good '' . The HFCS award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinema awards were presented to Charles Dove , director of the Rice University Media Center , and Hector Luna , the founder and editor of C-47 Houston .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "907c6b7233e1e24c83843a55d64e7cdf", "text": "Winter's Bone Winter 's Bone is a 2010 American independent drama film , an adaptation of Daniel Woodrell 's 2006 novel of the same name . Written and directed by Debra Granik , the film stars Jennifer Lawrence as a teenaged girl in the rural Ozarks of the central United States who , to protect her family from eviction , must locate her missing father . The film explores the interrelated themes of close and distant family ties , the power and speed of gossip , self-sufficiency , and poverty as they are changed by the pervasive underworld of illegal methamphetamine labs . Winter 's Bone won several awards , including the Grand Jury Prize : Dramatic Film at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival . It also received four 2011 Academy Award nominations : Best Picture , Best Adapted Screenplay , Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b3c95d6b6f0e5fc404bce953042aa238", "text": "Film director A film director is a person who directs the making of a film . Generally , a film director controls a film 's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay ( or script ) while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of that vision . The director has a key role in choosing the cast members , production design , and the creative aspects of filmmaking . Under European Union law , the director is viewed as the author of the film . The film director gives direction to the cast and crew and creates an overall vision through which a film eventually becomes realized , or noticed . Directors need to be able to mediate differences in creative visions and stay within the boundaries of the film 's budget . There are many pathways to becoming a film director . Some film directors started as screenwriters , cinematographers , film editors or actors . Other film directors have attended a film school . Directors use different approaches . Some outline a general plotline and let the actors improvise dialogue , while others control every aspect , and demand that the actors and crew follow instructions precisely . Some directors also write their own screenplays or collaborate on screenplays with long-standing writing partners . Some directors edit or appear in their films , or compose the music score for their films .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "61ecfd2cfddc6e6c45cec165c2b45c2b", "text": "Hunger in the United Kingdom Chronic hunger has affected a sizable proportion of the UK 's population throughout most of its history . The problem was largely solved with the improved economic conditions that followed World War II . Yet since the lasting global inflation in the price of food that began in late 2006 , and especially since the financial crisis of 2008 , severe hunger has once again began to affect thousands of Britons . By December 2013 , according to a group of doctors and academics writing in The British Medical Journal , hunger in the UK had reached the level of a `` public health emergency '' . In the run up to the 2015 general election , the issue of hunger in the UK became somewhat politicised , with right wing commentators expressing scepticism about figures presented by church groups and left leaning activitists . An All-Party MP group focusing on hunger in the UK has called for activists to be cautious in how they discuss the problem of domestic hunger , as exaggerated claims and political point scoring risk reducing public support for tackling the issue . In a 2016 report , the All-Party group stated it is not possible to accurately quantify the number of people suffering from hunger in the UK , and called for better collection of data . The UK has seen several changes in prevailing attitudes to the problem of hunger and its relief . In the early 19th century , a view arose that it was counter productive to assist those suffering from hunger ; rather people should be left to fend for themselves , which would help them become more self-sufficient and would also assist the free market to deliver prosperity . By the early 20th century this way of thinking had been largely displaced by the humanitarian view that Britons have a moral duty to help the hungry when they are able .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "00a47f45a8903ab372e4f8938ed1c815", "text": "List of accolades received by BioShock Infinite BioShock Infinite is a first-person shooter video game developed by Irrational Games and published by 2K Games . Players assume control of Booker DeWitt ( Troy Baker ) , who is sent to rescue Elizabeth ( Courtnee Draper ) from her captivity on the floating air city of Columbia . The game 's development was led by creative director Ken Levine . The game was officially announced on August 12 , 2010 , and was widely anticipated . At the Spike Video Game Awards , it was nominated Most Anticipated Game three times . Following its previews at the Electronic Entertainment Expo , the game won numerous awards , including Best of Show from several gaming publications . It was released worldwide on March 26 , 2013 for Microsoft Windows , PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 . Review aggregator Metacritic assigned the game a normalized score of 94 out of 100 , indicating `` universal acclaim '' , based on 27 and 68 reviews for the Windows and PlayStation 3 versions , respectively ; the Xbox 360 version received 93 out of 100 based on 33 reviews . Within four months of its release , BioShock Infinite sold approximately four million copies , and eleven million by June 2015 . BioShock Infinite garnered awards and nominations in a variety of categories with particular praise for its music , story , visual design , characters , and the acting of its cast . At the 17th Annual DICE Awards , the game received six nominations and went on to win two awards : Action Game of the Year , and Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition . The game earned four nominations at the 10th British Academy Video Games Awards , winning Original Music . At IGN 's Best of 2013 , the game garnered twenty nominations and went on to win nine awards , including Best Overall Shooter Game and Best Overall Graphics for Art Design . At the 14th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards , BioShock Infinite won Best Audio and Best Visual Art . The game received nine nominations at the Spike VGX , winning Best Shooter , Best Song in a Game and Character of the Year . At the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards , the game received eleven nominations , with Courtnee Draper winning Supporting Performance in a Drama . The game appeared on several year-end lists of the best games of 2013 , receiving Game of the Year wins from the Associated Press , CNN , Electronic Gaming Monthly , Entertainment Weekly , Forbes , and Games .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "15de4fea6d1defb9167a6e11108320bb", "text": "Cinema of India The cinema of India consists of films produced across India . Cinema as a medium has gained immense popularity in the country and as many as 1,600 films in various languages of India are produced annually . Indian films have also come to be followed throughout South Asia , the Greater Middle East , Southeast Asia and other countries . Dadasaheb Phalke is known as the `` father of Indian cinema '' . The Dadasaheb Phalke Award , for lifetime contribution to cinema , was instituted in his honour , by the Government of India in 1969 , and is the most prestigious and coveted award in Indian cinema . In the 20th century , Indian cinema , along with the Hollywood and Chinese film industries , became a global enterprise . As of 2013 , in terms of annual film output , India ranks first , followed by Nollywood , Hollywood and China . In 2012 , India produced 1,602 feature films . The Indian film industry reached overall revenues of $ 1.86 billion ( 93 billion ) in 2011 . This is projected to rise to $ 3 billion ( 200 billion ) in 2016 . In 2015 , India had a total box office gross of , the fourth largest in the world outside North America . Enhanced technology paved the way for upgrading from established cinematic norms of delivering product , altering the manner in which content reached the target audience . Biopics like Dangal and CGI-laden epics like Baahubali emerged as transnational blockbusters grossing over $ 200 million each in early 21st century . Indian cinema found markets in over 90 countries where films from India are screened . The Indian government extended film delegations to foreign countries such as the United States of America and Japan while the country 's Film Producers Guild sent similar missions through Europe . The provision of 100 % foreign direct investment has made the Indian film market attractive for foreign enterprises such as 20th Century Fox , Sony Pictures , Walt Disney Pictures and Warner Bros. . Indian enterprises such as AVM Productions , Prasad 's Group , Sun Pictures , PVP Cinemas , Zee , UTV , Suresh Productions , Eros Films , Ayngaran International , Pyramid Saimira , Aascar Films and Adlabs also participated in producing and distributing films . Tax incentives to multiplexes have aided the multiplex boom in India . By 2003 as many as 30 film production companies had been listed in the National Stock Exchange of India , making the commercial presence of the medium felt . The South Indian film industry defines the four film cultures of South India as a single entity . They are the Telugu , the Tamil , the Malayalam and the Kannada industries . Although developed independently over a long period , gross exchange of film performers and technicians as well as globalisation helped to shape this new identity . The Indian diaspora consists of millions of Indians overseas for which films are made available both through media such as DVDs and by screening of films in their country of residence wherever commercially feasible . These earnings , accounting for some 12 % of the revenue generated by a mainstream film , contribute substantially to the overall revenue of Indian cinema , the net worth of which was found to be 1.3 billion in 2000 . Music in Indian cinema is another substantial revenue generator with the music rights alone accounting for 4 -- 5 % of the net revenues generated by a film in India .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "56563307d80f178eefa7f73cb22d6e44", "text": "78th Academy Awards The 78th Academy Awards ceremony , presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ( AMPAS ) , took place on March 5 , 2006 , at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood , Los Angeles beginning at 5:00 p.m. PST / 8:00 p.m. EST. . The ceremony was scheduled one week later than usual to avoid conflicting with the 2006 Winter Olympics . During the ceremony , AMPAS presented Academy Awards ( commonly referred to as Oscars ) in 24 categories honoring films released in 2005 . The ceremony , televised in the United States by ABC , was produced by Gil Cates and directed by Louis J. Horvitz . Actor Jon Stewart hosted the show for the first time . Two weeks earlier in a ceremony at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills , California held on February 18 , the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Rachel McAdams . Crash won three awards including Academy Award for Best Picture . Other winners included Brokeback Mountain , King Kong , and Memoirs of a Geisha also with three awards apiece , and Capote , The Chronicles of Narnia : The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe , The Constant Gardener , Hustle and Flow , March of the Penguins , The Moon and the Son : An Imagined Conversation , A Note of Triumph : The Golden Age of Norman Corwin , Six Shooter , Syriana , Tsotsi , Walk the Line , and Wallace & Gromit : The Curse of the Were-Rabbit with one each . The telecast garnered nearly 39 million viewers in the United States .", "title": "" } ]
fever
80cceaf57830396c82f9d9f01ec8fd31
Stranger Things is set in Bloomington, Indiana.
[ { "docid": "0b3b33e6ae5c1121973600fa19ee27a5", "text": "Stranger Things Stranger Things is an American science fiction-horror web television series created , written , directed and co-executive produced by the Duffer Brothers , as well as co-executive-produced by Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen . The first season stars Winona Ryder , David Harbour , Finn Wolfhard , Millie Bobby Brown , Gaten Matarazzo , Caleb McLaughlin , Natalia Dyer , Charlie Heaton , Cara Buono , and Matthew Modine , with Noah Schnapp and Joe Keery in recurring roles . The second season will see Schnapp and Keery promoted to series regulars , along with the addition of Sadie Sink and Dacre Montgomery . Set in the fictional town of Hawkins , Indiana in the 1980s , the first season focuses on the investigation into the disappearance of a young boy by his friends , older brother and traumatized mother and the local police chief , amid supernatural events occurring around the town including the appearance of a psychokinetic girl who helps the missing boy 's friends in their own search . The second season is set a year after the first , and deals with attempts of the characters to return to normal and consequences from that season . The Duffer Brothers developed the series as a mix of investigative drama alongside supernatural elements with childlike sensibilities , establishing its time frame in the 1980s and creating a homage #Noun to pop culture of that decade . Several themes and directorial aspects were inspired and aesthetically informed by the works of Steven Spielberg , John Carpenter , and Stephen King , among others . The series was released on Netflix on July 15 , 2016 . It received critical acclaim for its characterization , pacing , atmosphere , acting , soundtrack , directing , writing and homages to 1980s genre films . The series has received several industry nominations and awards , including winning the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2016 . On August 31 , 2016 , Netflix renewed the series for a second season of nine episodes , which is set to be released on October 31 , 2017 .", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "a6b865b7ac1f808bd400d6da249ee583", "text": "Outsiders (U.S. TV series) Outsiders is an American television drama series created by Peter Mattei . Set in the fictional town of Blackburg , Crockett County , Kentucky , the series tells the story of the Farrell clan and their struggle for power and control in the hills of Appalachia . It is WGN America 's third original series , which debuted on January 26 , 2016 . On March 11 , 2016 , WGN America renewed Outsiders for a second season which premiered on January 24 , 2017 . On April 14 , 2017 , WGN America announced , the series had been canceled after two seasons , with the then forthcoming last episode of the second season , airing as a series finale on the channel . Production and distributing studio Sony Pictures Television is set to shop the series elsewhere for further seasons .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "28f0f96de290d253ab306489fdd9c301", "text": "Indianapolis Art Center The Indianapolis Art Center is an art center located in Indianapolis , Indiana , United States . The Center , founded in 1934 by the Works Project Administration during the Great Depression as the Indianapolis Art League , is located along the White River . It features fine art exhibitions , art classes and studios , a library with over 5,000 titles , and the ARTSPARK nature and art parks . As of 2008 the Indianapolis Art Center featured over 50 annual exhibitions and had over 3,000 members .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "65ad102eb78ba383dba802acfd0a5b93", "text": "Speedway, Indiana Speedway is a town in Wayne Township , Marion County , Indiana , United States . The population was 11,812 at the 2010 census . Speedway is home of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ; it is an enclave of Indianapolis .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a99aa47454049e1392d7433e9b23b06d", "text": "Indiana University Maurer School of Law The Indiana University Maurer School of Law is located on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington , Indiana . IU Maurer is one of the top 10 public law schools in the United States , and tied for 25th overall , according to rankings published by U.S. News and World Report . The school is named after Michael S. `` Mickey '' Maurer , an Indianapolis businessman and 1967 alumnus who donated $ 35 million in 2008 . From its founding in 1842 until Maurer 's donation , the school was known as the Indiana University School of Law -- Bloomington . The law school is one of two law schools operated by Indiana University , the other being the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law ( IU McKinney ) in Indianapolis . Although both law schools are part of Indiana University , each law school is wholly independent of the other . According to the law school 's ABA-required disclosures , 78.8 % of the Class of 2015 had obtained full-time , long-term , JD-required employment 10 months after graduation .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2ad2afa232a346632952b0067cbf17fd", "text": "Madison Historic District (Madison, Indiana) The Madison Historic District is a historic district located in Madison , Indiana . In 2006 , it was named a National Historic Landmark due to its unique Midwestern beauty and architecture scheme . Among the prominent buildings in the district are the Lanier Mansion , one of two buildings separately considered a National Historic Landmark in the district , and the Schofield House , the birthplace of the Grand Lodge of Indiana . In total , it comprises 133 blocks of Madison , Indiana , overlooking the Ohio River in Jefferson County , Indiana . Madison 's most prominent days were before 1860 . It was a major transportation hub , taking river commerce and shipping it to the inland of Indiana . Once transportation routes changed , Madison faltered until the tourism industry saved it more than a century later . Many of the prominent buildings in the district were built by Madison-native-architect Francis Costigan , who favored the Greek Revival style . Two of these are National Historic Landmarks : the Lanier Mansion , and the Charles L. Shrewsbury House . The Lanier Mansion was the former home of James Lanier , who lent money to governor Oliver P. Morton to run the Indiana state government to circumvent the legislative process between 1862-1865 . The Shrewsbury-Windle House was built for steamboat captain Charles Shrewsbury , who would later become a mayor of Madison . Costigan , himself , built his home in the district , and it is considered one of the best uses of a narrow lot by modern architects . A thirty-foot parlor is considered the highlight of the House . Also located in the district is the restored 1895 restored Railroad Depot and the Jefferson County Historical Society museum . When the Madison & Indianapolis Railroad was first built in 1835 , Madison was far bigger than the new state capital of Indianapolis . The railroad was constructed by Irish laborers . Madison was also a major stop on the Underground Railroad , with many homes in the area having once been used for assisting the escape of slaves .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d45c151a4036353bd6203aa589c99654", "text": "WZIM WZIM ( 99.5 FM ) is a radio station serving the Bloomington-Normal , Illinois area . The station signed on in late 2001 as WCSO , and the call letters were soon changed to WDQZ . It was a classic hits simulcast with WDQX in Peoria . In December 2005 WDQX was sold , and the simulcast with WDQZ was split . Since then the station has evolved into a more straight-ahead classic rock station . In September 2009 WDQZ stunted as an all TV theme station for a day and a half . On September 18 , 2009 WDQZ changed back to a classic hits format . Scott Robbins , longtime Bloomington/Normal host , hosted mornings on The Eagle for many years , with two different co-hosts . In April 2007 Mancow 's Morning Madhouse was added , and Robbins moved to afternoons , then off the station in August 2007 to host mornings on Cities 92.9 . In February 2008 he returned to middays on The Eagle . The syndicated Nights With Alice Cooper serves as the night show . On August 17 , 2010 WDQZ changed its call letters to WZIM . On April 5 , 2012 WZIM changed its format from classic hits to sports , branded as `` The Ticket '' . The move meant that Bloomington-Normal had an all-sports radio station for the first time . Immediately after announcing the switch , 99.5 The Ticket became the B-N flagship of the Chicago Cubs , taking over from WJEZ . WZIM is also the Bloomington-Normal affiliate for the Chicago White Sox , although the station gives first priority to the Cubs . The Ticket will also air Indianapolis Colts games in the fall . WJBC airs nearly all local sports teams . WZIM aired one local program , The Front Row , from 4-6 p.m. . The show was hosted by Dan Swaney and Paul Jackson . It was cancelled sometime in the fall of 2012 . On November 13 , 2013 at 10 am , WZIM dropped its sports format and began stunting with automated classic rock songs . On November 15 at noon , it changed its format to AC as Magic 99.5 , with the slogan , `` 80s , 90s , And Now ! '' and began promoting itself as the new home in Bloomington and Lexington for the syndicated John Tesh radio show in the morning .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d2e2b340c4a7f84196ad8057e938abc6", "text": "Indiana (novel) Indiana is a novel about love and marriage written by Amantine Aurore Dupin ; it was the first work she published under her pseudonym George Sand . Published in April 1832 , the novel blends the conventions of romanticism , realism , and idealism . As the novel is set partly in France and partly in the French colony of Réunion , Sand had to base her descriptions of the colony , where she had never been , on the travel writing of her friend Jules Néraud .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "20018a9eddeced74a863e2bf534f635b", "text": "Wicks Building The Wicks Building is a historic commercial building on Courthouse Square in downtown Bloomington , Indiana , United States . Built in the early twentieth century in a distinctive style of architecture , it has remained in consistent commercial use throughout its history , and it has been named a historic site because of the importance of its architecture .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "567d891f3b58b042a629f8cb5a074361", "text": "1985–86 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team The 1985 -- 86 Indiana Hoosiers men 's basketball team represented Indiana University . Their head coach was Bobby Knight , who was in his 15th year . The team played its home games in Assembly Hall in Bloomington , Indiana , and was a member of the Big Ten Conference . The Hoosiers finished the regular season with an overall record of 21 -- 8 and a conference record of 13 -- 5 , finishing 2nd in the Big Ten Conference . IU was invited to participate in the 1986 NCAA Tournament as a 3-seed ; however , IU made a quick exit with a first-round loss to 14-seed Cleveland State . The season was memorialized and popularized by A Season on the Brink , a 1986 book by John Feinstein . For the book , Bobby Knight granted almost unprecedented access to his team , as well as insights into his private life . The book was well received and is often referred to as `` the bestselling sports book of all time . '' The book and season was later dramatized in a two-hour , made-for-ESPN movie of the same name that first aired in the spring of 2002 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a17c2cad051fef60732b66d72242a803", "text": "Walkerton, Indiana Walkerton is a town in Lincoln Township , St. Joseph County , in the U.S. state of Indiana . The population was 2,144 at the 2010 Census . It is part of the South Bend -- Mishawaka , IN-MI , Metropolitan Statistical Area .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "78c9132399d8c73f9a4cc643f55edbb6", "text": "McVey Memorial Forest McVey Memorial Forest is located near State Route 1 in Randolph County , Indiana . Located within the forest is Cherry Grove Cemetery which contains many historical grave sites from a local 19th century settlement known as Steubenville . With the exception of posted signs and Cherry Grove Cemetery no other evidence of Stuebenville 's existence is apparent , dubbing it a `` ghost town '' . The site also contains a memorial for three fallen soldiers from the War of 1812 . Recently several strange happenings have occurred in this woods . Hairy grass like men have been appearing and making strange noises . These occurrences have prompted the BFRO to investigate . This mystery still remains unsloved .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1f30717648416442e26c748918003fcf", "text": "You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes You Made It Weird is a semi-weekly comedy interview podcast hosted by comedian Pete Holmes on the Nerdist network since October 25 , 2011 . The show originated under the premise that Holmes would ask his guest , usually a fellow comedian , about three `` weird '' things he knew about them , but the show has since evolved into a much more loose conversation about such complex topics as comedy , religion , and sexuality . While initially focusing on interviews with comedians , an increasing number of guests from other fields have appeared on the show , including musicians , pastors , scientists , and authors . Many guests comment on Holmes ' unique laugh , which tends to be very loud and borderline obnoxious . Katie Levine is the producer of the podcast . The show is usually recorded in-studio at the Nerdist studio at Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles , California . Since March 21 , 2012 , Holmes has recorded multiple live episodes of the podcast , in Austin at South by Southwest , New York , Bloomington , Chicago , Montreal , Quebec , San Francisco , Los Angeles at the LA Riot Festival , and Toronto at Just For Laughs . These have featured several guests rather than the usual one , and focus more on comedy rather than the in-depth discussion of a regular episode .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5bf54947dd89174607ca4914f63e2e6b", "text": "Richland City, Indiana Richland City is a town in Luce Township , Spencer County , in the U.S. state of Indiana . Until 2008 , it was an unincorporated community ; the town 's residents voted to incorporate in the November 2008 general election . The population was 425 at the 2010 census . The town is developing plans to offer certain services to its residents . Police protection will not be provided by the town , but through an arrangement with the Spencer County Sheriff 's Department .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ec9b405b8cbfa62dc7a9d815ddee2743", "text": "List of attractions and events in Indianapolis", "title": "" }, { "docid": "21c0ecd93ab7d4ca7ebe7cf59a45a291", "text": "List of cities in Indiana Indiana is a state located in the Midwestern United States . Except as noted , all cities are `` third-class '' cities with a seven-member city council and an elected clerk-treasurer . `` Second-class '' cities had a population of at least 35,000 and up to 600,000 at time of designation , and have a nine-member city council and an elected clerk . Indianapolis is the only `` first-class '' city in Indiana under state law , making it subject to a consolidated city-county government known as Unigov . To become a city of any class , however , a settlement must have a population of at least 2,000 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a9abce9e47542ed6826b33c99005d757", "text": "Myers House Myers House may refer to : in the United States ( by state ) Myers House ( Helena-West Helena , Arkansas ) , listed on the NRHP in Arkansas Socrates A. Myers House , Salmon , ID , listed on the NRHP in Idaho Witt-Champe-Myers House , Dublin , IN , listed on the NRHP in Indiana Stephen and Harriet Myers House , Albany , NY , listed on the NRHP in New York Myers-Hicks Place , Byhalia , MS , listed on the NRHP in Mississippi John B. Myers House and Barn , Florissant , MO , listed on the NRHP in Missouri George J. Myers House , Kansas City , MO , listed on the NRHP in Missouri Myers-Masker House , Midland Park , NJ , listed on the NRHP in New Jersey Myers-White House , Bethel , NC , listed on the NRHP in North Carolina Myers Hall ( Springfield , Ohio ) , listed on the NRHP in Ohio Moses Myers House , Norfolk , VA , listed on the NRHP in Virginia Tucker House and Myers House , Washington , D.C. , listed on the NRHP in Washington , D.C. Myers House ( Martinsburg , West Virginia ) , listed on the NRHP in West Virginia Myers-Newhoff House , Janesville , WI , listed on the NRHP in Wisconsin Myers House , located in the fictional town of Haddonfield , Illinois . It was the childhood residence of the main character Michael Myers in the Halloween ( 1978 film ) which was directed by John Carpenter .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fe7ccac40aca650d63c6ef6cbc9731c3", "text": "The Lincoln Hunters The Lincoln Hunters is a 1958 novel by Wilson Tucker . The novel , set in the year 2578 , details the story of a historian from the oppressive society of that year , who travels back in time to record Abraham Lincoln 's Lost Speech of May 19 , 1856 in Bloomington , Illinois . It contains a vivid description of Lincoln in the early stages of his career , seen through the eyes of a future American who feels that Lincoln and his time compare very favorably with the traveler 's own . The book is mentioned in 11/22/63 , a novel by Stephen King that also centers around time travel and an assassinated president . Furthermore , the protagonist springboards to 1958-the year `` Hunters '' first ran-to alter the timeline by 1963 . Category :1958 American novels Category :1950 s science fiction novels Category : American science fiction novels Category : Time travel novels Category : Novels by Wilson Tucker Category :1856 in fiction Category : Novels set in Illinois Category :26 th century in fiction Category : Fictional depictions of Abraham Lincoln in literature", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2bccb4b426314a178680353ae2153767", "text": "Indiana University High School Indiana University High School ( IUHS ) is a co-educational , non-denominational , distance education high school with its offices located on the campus of Indiana University Bloomington , in Bloomington , Indiana , United States . It serves students around the world and provides individual courses and diploma programs to students , online or through the mail . IUHS also offers student services , such as career counselling and `` life experience credits '' for non-academic achievement . Indiana University High School is the founding member of the Indiana Virtual Learning Consortium and was ranked as the `` second best online high school '' by The Best Schools . IUHS is a 21st Century Scholarship School .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ce6d4787036d8a6b4f52fc3f69e76a1f", "text": "Hoosier Hill Hoosier Hill is the highest natural point in the state of Indiana at 1257 ft above sea level . It is in the rural area of Franklin Township , Wayne County to the northwest of Bethel . The nearest intersection to the high point is Elliot Road and County Line Road . The nearest major landmark is Interstate 70 and Richmond 11 miles ( 17.5 km ) to the south . The Hill sits on private property ; the high point sits in a forested area surrounded by farmland . In 2005 , an Eagle Scout candidate named Kyle Cummings ( Troop 820 from Lakeside Park , Kentucky ) , in cooperation with the property owner , built a trail , sign and picnic area at the high point . Geologically , the hill sits in the Dearborn Upland , an area of high terrain in southeast Indiana that sits on top of the geologic structure known as the Cincinnati Arch . However , Hoosier Hill is located in a portion of the upland buried underneath glacial debris known as the Tipton Till Plain . As a result , while the average elevation of this upland region is 1100 + / -100 feet above sea level , the topographic relief is gentle where the `` hill '' is no more than 30 feet higher than the surrounding landscape of gently rolling farmland . While the high topography seen at Brown County State Park , which sits in the Norman Upland in south central Indiana , can be mistaken to be a high point ( where relief is 400 -- 500 feet from valley to hilltop ) , the elevations of hilltops ranges from 800 -- 1050 feet . A.H. Marshall was the first person to successfully climb each U.S. state highpoint . He completed the task in 1936 after standing atop Hoosier Hill .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8b3b6ea3a90d1c780d77adbb4f8ef3bd", "text": "Seelyville, Indiana Seelyville is a town in Lost Creek Township , Vigo County , in the U.S. state of Indiana . The population was 1,029 at the 2010 census . It is part of the Terre Haute Metropolitan Statistical Area .", "title": "" } ]
fever
6013ec9c24fa2e529345752aaf8ac778
The Jim Henson Company produced The Muppet Movie, The Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth.
[ { "docid": "dc87276b6c5b8f9a169004f3280e1a40", "text": "The Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company ( also known at various times as Muppets , LLC. , Henson Associates , Ltd. , and Jim Henson Productions , Inc. ) is an American entertainment company , a leading producer of children 's and family entertainment ( despite some of the company 's works containing mature content ) , and best known as the creators of the renowned Muppets characters . Founded in 1958 by puppeteer Jim Henson and performing partner and wife Jane Henson , the company is independently owned and operated by the children of its founders . Henson has produced many successful television series , including The Muppet Show ( later owned by Disney ) , Fraggle Rock , Dinosaurs , Bear in the Big Blue House , and Farscape , and creates the Muppet characters for the long-running PBS television series , Sesame Street . The company has also produced many films , including The Muppet Movie , The Dark Crystal , and Labyrinth . Henson also operates Jim Henson 's Creature Shop , a puppet , animatronics , and visual effects workshop , which has created characters and effects for Henson productions , as well as outside producers . In 1989 , the company entered merger negotiations with The Walt Disney Company , but the deal fell through following Jim Henson 's unexpected death in 1990 . Following Henson 's death and the calling off of the Disney merger , the company was taken over by Henson 's children , Lisa , Cheryl , Brian , John , and Heather , with Brian at the helm . In 2000 Henson was sold to EM.TV & Merchandising AG , a German media company , but by the end of that year , EM.TV 's stock collapsed , and the company was sold back to the Henson family in 2003 . ( EM.TV had in the interim sold the rights to the Sesame Street Muppets to Sesame Workshop in 2001 . ) In 2004 , Henson sold the rights to the Muppets and Bear in the Big Blue House to The Walt Disney Company , but retains the rights to the rest of its characters , program library , and assets . , Brian , Lisa , Cheryl , and Heather Henson run the company ( sibling and fellow co-owner John Henson died in February 2014 ) . Brian Henson serves as chairman , while Lisa Henson serves as CEO . Since 2000 , The Jim Henson Company has been headquartered at the Jim Henson Company Lot , the historic former Charlie Chaplin Studios , in Hollywood , California .", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "7783263b398ae9e65de89ce477419f8c", "text": "Alice in Wonderland (1988 film) Alice in Wonderland is an Australian 51-minute direct-to-video animated film from Burbank Films Australia . It was originally released in 1988 . The film is based on Lewis Carroll 's classic English novel , Alice 's Adventures in Wonderland , first published in 1865 , and was adapted by Paul Leadon . Unlike many other adaptations of the novel , this one did not borrow elements from its sequel , Through the Looking-Glass ( 1871 ) , combined into one film . The production company produced a 73-minute adaptation of the second novel the year before , in 1987 , entitled Alice : Through the Looking-Glass . The 1988 film was produced by Roz Phillips and directed by Rich Trueblood . Quite uncommon among Burbank Films Australia 's adaptations of classic literary works , Alice in Wonderland featured one original theme song , composed by Mark Isaacs . The copyright in this film is now owned by Pulse Distribution and Entertainment and administered by digital rights management firm NuTech Digital .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "88ea8c0dd7ff3e428e95c48ca9919da4", "text": "Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life Pokémon : Arceus and the Jewel of Life , originally released in Japan as , is a 2009 Japanese anime film directed by Kunihiko Yuyama . It is the twelfth Pokémon film and the third in the Diamond & Pearl trilogy . This film so far has earned US$ 50.2 million in Japan , making it the highest grossing animated film of the year in that country , beating Evangelion : 2.0 You Can ( Not ) Advance and Detective Conan : The Raven Chaser . The English language dub was aired on November 6 , 2009 , in Australia , November 20 , 2009 , in the United States in theaters and on Cartoon Network , on May 28 , 2010 , in the United Kingdom on Disney XD UK and The Spanish language dub was aired on Spain April 4 , 2010 , on Disney XD and Latin America on November 21 , 2010 , on Cartoon Network . This marks the first time that a Pokémon feature film has made its U.S. debut in the same year as its original Japanese release before the Japanese DVD release on December 18 , 2009 . The theme song of the film is `` Kokoro no Antenna '' by Shoko Nakagawa . Cartoon Network ( Pakistan ) aired the movie in August 2011 . The movie 's fictitious setting is based on various locations in Greece , which the director and producers visited during August 2008 . Among the locations they visited and have been used as inspiration for the movie were the Acropolis , Mycenae , Delphi , Metéora . The DVD was released on Monday 28 November 2011 in the UK by Universal , as the third Pokémon DVD to come out in the UK since The Rise of Darkrai .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "dc49b21109c98d6cc1fd736335d8f2a3", "text": "Puppet A puppet is an object , often resembling a human , animal or mythical figure , that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer . The puppeteer uses movements of their hands , arms , or control devices such as rods or strings to move the body , head , limbs , and in some cases the mouth and eyes of the puppet . The puppeteer often speaks in the voice of the character of the puppet , and then synchronizes the movements of the puppet 's mouth with this spoken part . The actions , gestures and spoken parts acted out by the puppeteer with the puppet are typically used in storytelling . Puppetry is a very ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in Ancient Greece . There are many different varieties of puppets , and they are made from a wide range of materials , depending on their form and intended use . They range from very simple in construction and operation to very complex . Two simple types of puppets are the finger puppet , which is a tiny puppet that fits onto a single finger , and the sock puppet , which is formed and operated by inserting one 's hand inside a sock , with the opening and closing of the hand simulating the movement of the puppet 's `` mouth . '' The sock puppet is a type of hand puppet , which is controlled using one hand that occupies the interior of the puppet and moves the puppet around . A `` live-hand puppet '' is similar to a hand puppet but is larger and requires two puppeteers for each puppet . A Marionette is a much more complicated type of puppet that is suspended and controlled by a number of strings connected to the head , back and limbs , plus sometimes a central rod attached to a control bar held from above by the puppeteer . A rod puppet is constructed around a central rod secured to the head . A shadow puppet is a cut-out figure held between a source of light and a translucent screen . Bunraku puppets are a type of Japanese wood-carved puppet . A ventriloquist 's dummy is a human-shaped puppet operated by a ventriloquist performer 's hand ; the performer produces the puppets voice with little or no movement of her mouth , which creates the illusion that the puppet is alive . Carnival puppets are large puppets , typically bigger than a human , designed to be part of a large spectacle or parade .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1f84941b8c8447ae3036e3cc303fe7ba", "text": "Creature of statute A creature of statute ( also known as creature of the state ) is a legal entity , such as a corporation , created by statute . Creatures of statute may include municipalities and other artificial legal entities or relationships . Thus , when a statute in some fashion requires the formation of a corporate body -- often for governmental purposes -- such bodies when formed are known as `` creatures of statute . '' The same concept is also expressed with the phrase `` creature of the state . '' The term `` creature of statute '' is most common to the United States . In the United Kingdom , these bodies are simply called statutory corporations ( or statutory bodies ) and generally have some governmental function . The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is an example . In a wider sense , most companies in the UK are created under statute since the Companies Act 1985 specifies how a company may be created by a member of the public , but these companies are not called ` statutory corporations ' . Often , in American legal and business documents that speak of governing bodies ( e.g. , a board that governs small businesses in China ) these bodies are described as `` creatures of statute '' to inform readers of their origins and format although the national governments that created them may not term them as creatures of statute . Australia also uses the term `` creature of statute '' to describe some governmental bodies . The importance of a corporate body , regardless of its exact function , when such a body is a creature of statute is that its active functions can only be within the scope detailed by the statute which created that corporation . Thereby , the creature of statute is the tangible manifestation of the functions or work described by a given statute . The jurisdiction of a body that is a creature of statute is also therefore limited to the functional scope written into the laws that created that body . Unlike most ( private ) corporate bodies , creatures of statute can not expand their business interests into other diverse areas .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8f2d0f868c4845f1e367ae9eda930fb7", "text": "Screen Novelties Screen Novelties is a collective of film directors , specializing in stop motion animation . It was formed in 2003 by Mark Caballero , Seamus Walsh , and Chris Finnegan . Their work fuses classic cartoon sensibilities with mixed-media elements such as puppetry and miniature model photography . They were among the first stop motion artists to adopt an entirely digital capture system and workflow , beginning in 1999 with the pilot films that would eventually become Robot Chicken . Screen Novelties was integral in the launch of both Robot Chicken and Moral Orel for Cartoon Network 's Adult Swim programming block . Notable past work includes : Creating a stop motion animation version of the Flintstones for a dream sequence in The Flintstones : On the Rocks . Working with Ray Harryhausen , helping him complete his film The Tortoise & the Hare . Contributing whimsical puppet and special effects sequences for Cartoon Network shows Chowder and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack . Performing the restoration of the original Rudolph & Santa Puppets from the 1964 classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Their offbeat short films enjoy a small cult following , especially `` Mysterious Mose '' which was made in their garage in 1997-98 , using a hand-wound bolex camera and an old 78rpm record as the soundtrack . The film mixes rod puppetry , stop motion animation , and silhouette animation .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8fadccb571e7a164e402b1eabbb9b82b", "text": "Odyssey Productions Odyssey Productions ( formerly Odyssey Visual Design ) is the former name of a California-based photography and 3-D computer animation company founded in 1983 by Steven Churchill in partnership with Adrian Turcotte . It was the first San Diego company to produce 3-D computer animation and its clients have included Coca-Cola , General Dynamics , Union Oil , Southwestern Cable , Metrocast , Honda , and a number of TV stations across the country . While Odyssey focused primarily on 35mm back-lit motion graphics and special effects for the first 5 years of its existence , its award-winning release of the world 's first home entertainment video of computer animation , State Of the Art Of Computer Animation in 1988 brought about a shift in focus to 3D computer animation . The accolades and sales successes achieved by State Of the Art Of Computer Animation prompted the 1990 release of The Mind 's Eye : A Computer Animation Odyssey , a title that would become the first member of the successful The Mind 's Eye series . The next decade ( 1990 -- 2000 ) would be taken up almost entirely with the production of 19 feature-length 3-D computer animated package films for home release . The company 's name became Odyssey Productions in 1995 and the last 12 3D computer animated films were released under this name . In 2003 the company again changed its name to AnimationTrip and broadened its focus to encompass photography to a greater extent . Under this new corporate name , the company added a business enterprise in 2004 focused primarily on photographic art and has launched a series of international art exhibitions in San Diego , California called the Art of Photography Show and the Art of Digital Show . Since 2006 , exhibiting photographic art and promoting photo artists has been the full focus of the business . In 2010 the company was named PhotoCulture , Inc. .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "063d7ec0f20ad751c06b1585c6b0a98f", "text": "Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears Disney 's Adventures of the Gummi Bears is a Disney animated television series that first aired in the United States from 1985 to 1991 . The series was the first animated production by Walt Disney Animation Television , and loosely inspired by the gummy bear candies ; Disney CEO Michael Eisner was struck with inspiration for the show when his son requested the candies one day . The series premiered on NBC on September 14 , 1985 , and aired there for four seasons . The series moved to ABC for one season from 1989 to 1990 ( airing alongside The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh as the Gummi Bears-Winnie the Pooh Hour ) , and concluded on September 6 , 1991 as part of the Disney Afternoon television syndication package . Of the series ' 65 shows , 30 were double-features , consisting of two 11-minute cartoons , thereby bringing the series total to 94 distinct episodes overall . The show is well-remembered for its theme music , written by Michael and Patty Silversher and creation of `` gummiberry juice '' which was a type of magic potion , granting abilities , which allowed them to bounce away from their hunters . The theme was memorably performed by Joseph Williams , son of composer John Williams and one-time lead singer of Toto . The series was later rebroadcast on the syndicated Disney Afternoon block , and rerun on the Disney Afternoon through the summer of 1991 . In later years , it was shown on The Disney Channel ( from October 7 , 1991 to at least January 1997 ) , and later on Toon Disney , with its most recent televised airing occurring on December 28 , 2001 . Seasons 1 to 3 of the series were released on DVD on November 14 , 2006 featuring commentary from producers Eric Wong and Daniel Weinstein .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b5f4c32797741a74c1b25fa6d76b95ed", "text": "Toy Story (franchise) Toy Story is a computer animated film series and Disney media franchise that began with the original 1995 film , Toy Story , produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures . The franchise is based on the anthropomorphic concept that all toys , unknown to humans , are secretly alive , and the films focus on a diverse group of toys that feature a classic cowboy , Sheriff Woody , and modern spaceman , Buzz Lightyear . The group unexpectedly embark on adventures that challenge and change them . The first two films of the franchise were directed by John Lasseter , and the third by Lee Unkrich , who acted as the co-director of the second film ( together with Lasseter and Ash Brannon ) . Lasseter will return to direct the upcoming fourth film . All three films , produced on a total budget of $ 320 million , have grossed more than $ 1.9 billion worldwide . Each film set box office records , with the third included in the top 15 all time worldwide films . Critics have given all three films extremely positive reviews . Special Blu-ray and DVD editions of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 were released on March 23 , 2010 . They were also re-released in theaters as a Disney Digital 3-D `` double feature '' for at least two weeks in October 2009 . The series is the 24th highest-grossing franchise worldwide , the fifth highest-grossing animated franchise ( behind Shrek , Ice Age , Despicable Me and Madagascar ) , and is among the most critically acclaimed trilogies of all time . On November 1 , 2011 , all three Toy Story films were released in Disney Blu-ray 3D as a trilogy pack and as individual films .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ee5eb2faf688d2bc896dd479902dc004", "text": "Warner Bros. Cartoons Warner Bros. . Cartoons , Inc. was the in-house division of Warner Bros. . Pictures during the Golden Age of American animation . One of the most successful animation studios in American media history , Warner Bros. . Cartoons was primarily responsible for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoon short subjects . The characters featured in these cartoons , including Bugs Bunny , Daffy Duck , Porky Pig , Speedy Gonzales , Sylvester and Tweety , Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner , are among the most famous and recognizable characters in the world . Many of the creative staff members at the studio , including directors and animators such as Chuck Jones , Friz Freleng , Robert McKimson , Tex Avery , Robert Clampett and Frank Tashlin , are considered major figures in the art and history of traditional animation . The Warner animation division was founded in 1933 as Leon Schlesinger Productions , an independent company which produced the popular Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated short subjects for release by Warner Bros. . Pictures . In 1944 , Schlesinger sold the studio to Warner Bros. , who continued to operate it as Warner Bros. . Cartoons , Inc. until 1963 . Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies were briefly subcontracted to Freleng 's DePatie-Freleng Enterprises studio from 1964 until 1967 . The Warner Bros. . Cartoons studio briefly re-opened in 1967 before shutting its doors for good two years later . A successor company , Warner Bros. . Animation , was established in 1980 . That company continues to produce Looney Tunes-related works , in addition to television shows and feature films centering on other properties . The classic Warner Bros. animation studio is sometimes referred to as `` Termite Terrace '' , a name given to the temporary headquarters Tex Avery and his animators were assigned to during Avery 's first year as a Looney Tunes director .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d67e6f4e87164f14868e3f6cf979202e", "text": "The Lost World: Jurassic Park (film score) Like its predecessor , The Lost World : Jurassic Park was scored by famed composer John Williams ( a longtime collaborator with director Steven Spielberg ) , orchestrated by Conrad Pope and John Neufeld , and recorded in Los Angeles . Notably , Williams did not write a stereotypical sequel score , but instead developed a wildly different style for the different location , cast , and darker tone of the second Jurassic Park film . The original soundtrack album -- released by MCA Records on April 30 , 1997 -- features over seventy minutes of the film 's music , including some material that was unused in the film 's final cut ( e.g. `` The Hunt '' ) . The single disc is packaged in a paper case that opens to reveal dioramas of jungle scenery and dinosaurs from the film . A John Williams collection edition , joint with the soundtrack to the first movie , was released by La-La Land Records on November 29 , 2016 , remastered and featuring additional unreleased music .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9dcb704c51395859852442a4611e6b88", "text": "Time Piece Time Piece is a 1965 experimental short film directed , written , produced by and starring Jim Henson . The film depicts an ordinary man moving in constant motion , in a desperate attempt to escape the passage of time . Time Piece is notable as one of the few live-action projects Jim Henson produced that did not involve any form of puppetry . The short film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 1966 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f3952392bc5544fae35ffe8cf10ebebd", "text": "Sesame Street Sesame Street is a long-running American children 's television series , produced by Sesame Workshop ( formerly known as the Children 's Television Workshop ) and created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett . The program is known for its educational content , and images communicated through the use of Jim Henson 's Muppets , animation , short films , humor , and cultural references . The series premiered on November 10 , 1969 , to positive reviews , some controversy , and high viewership ; it has aired on the U.S. 's national public television provider ( PBS ) since its debut , with its first run moving to premium channel HBO on January 16 , 2016 . The show has undergone significant changes throughout its history . The format of Sesame Street consists of a combination of commercial television production elements and techniques which have evolved to reflect the changes in American culture and the audience 's viewing habits . With the creation of Sesame Street , producers and writers of a children 's television show used , for the first time , educational goals and a curriculum to shape its content . It was also the first time a show 's educational effects were studied . Shortly after creating Sesame Street , its producers developed what came to be called the `` CTW model '' ( after the production company 's previous name ) , a system of television show planning , production , and evaluation based on collaborations between producers , writers , educators , and researchers . The show was initially funded by government and private foundations but has become somewhat self-supporting due to revenues from licensing arrangements , international sales , and other media . By 2006 , there were independently produced versions , or `` co-productions '' , of Sesame Street broadcast in twenty countries . In 2001 there were over 120 million viewers of various international versions of Sesame Street , and by the show 's 40th anniversary in 2009 , it was broadcast in more than 140 countries . By its 40th anniversary in 2009 , Sesame Street was the fifteenth-highest-rated children 's television show in the United States . A 1996 survey found that 95 % of all American preschoolers had watched the show by the time they were three years old . In 2008 , it was estimated that 77 million Americans had watched the series as children . As of 2014 , Sesame Street has won 167 Emmy Awards and 8 Grammy Awards -- more than any other children 's show .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7dac7ae36b2f09e641e23006b305d430", "text": "Land of Oz (theme park) The Land of Oz is currently a private property located in the resort town of Beech Mountain , North Carolina , USA . It was opened in 1970 by Carolina Caribbean Corporation under the guidance of Grover Robbins , who had been successful with Tweetsie Railroad , and designed by Jack Pentes . It was fully operational until 1980 . It now opens for Fridays in June for `` Journey with Dorothy Tours '' and in September for Autumn at Oz - the largest festival in the area . Visitors would start off in Kansas , `` experience '' the tornado which struck Dorothy 's house , and walk down the Yellow Brick Road to visit with the Scarecrow , Tin Woodman , the Cowardly Lion and the Wicked Witch of the West . The Emerald City consisted of gift shops and an ampi-theater that the Magic Moment Show would be staged on every half hour . An artificial balloon ride , a specially modified ski lift installed by Goforth Brothers , allowed visitors to get a bird 's - eye view of the park and mountain scenery before leaving Oz . A small museum showcased props and costumes from the film . These were jointly bought by the park and Debbie Reynolds from MGM . The musical score sung by the characters on the Yellow Brick Road and at Emerald City was composed by notables Alec Wilder and North Carolina native Loonis McGlohon ( with the exception of E.Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen 's `` Over the Rainbow '' for which rights were obtained to integrate into the Emerald City show ) . A video and display of The Land of Oz were on exhibit at the Appalachian Cultural Museum , part of Appalachian State University , in Boone , North Carolina but the museum closed and the artifacts were returned to the park .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3d869eb56c68b69e6ebea0ba8ae49ffe", "text": "Enoki Films is a producer of anime based in the Enoki Building in Shinjuku , Tokyo . Enoki Films also had a North American division , established in 1986 , headquartered in the Encino area of Los Angeles , California , United States called Enoki Films USA , Inc. . Enoki Films USA acted as a middle-man between Japanese companies and American licensees such as 4Kids Entertainment and Saban . In May 2007 it was announced that their content would also be provided as video on demand by Internet startup ReelTime.com ( worldwide except Japan ) . As of 2002 Enoki licenses anime but sub-licenses its licenses to various distributors instead of distributing them directly . Anime News Network wrote that `` They generally only license TV shows that they hope to also license to TV broadcasters such as Cartoon Network , ABC Family and Fox Kids . '' Some of the anime productions that were listed on Enoki 's website are under alternate names and may list characters under different names as well . In many cases , when sub-licensed to anime home video companies , the original titles and character names have been restored . Enoki 's translations of episode titles and scenarios may also be different than what may be on the official release . If Enoki 's series ' had a separate movie or direct-to-video production , it is usually not licensed by Enoki , and the film or direct-to-video production may be licensed to a separate company than the series ( as is the case with the Slayers movies and OVAs and the Utena movie ) . As of 2016 , Enoki Films ' North American division is now defunct , since it bought its operations to an end in 2010 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f7178d2a6fee9c52972ad3fbd5c966aa", "text": "Marvel Productions Marvel Productions Ltd. , later known as New World Animation Ltd. , was the television and film studio subsidiary of the Marvel Entertainment Group , based in Hollywood , Los Angeles , California . It later became a subsidiary of New World Entertainment and eventually of News Corporation ( Fox Entertainment Group ) . Marvel Productions produced animated television series , motion pictures , and television specials such as Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends , The Incredible Hulk , My Little Pony : The Movie , The Transformers : The Movie , and G.I. Joe : The Movie as well as the Transformers and G.I. Joe : A Real American Hero television series . Most of Marvel Productions ' back catalog ( mostly non-Hasbro related productions ) is currently owned by The Walt Disney Company .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a555543bd4385eb8516cdf76fa407514", "text": "Miramax Miramax ( also known as Miramax Films , stylized as MIRAMAX ) is an American entertainment company known for producing and distributing films and television shows . It is headquartered in Santa Monica , California . Miramax was founded in 1979 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein , and was a leading independent film motion picture distribution and production company before it was acquired by the Walt Disney Company on June 30 , 1993 . Shortly thereafter , Pulp Fiction was released . The Weinsteins operated Miramax with more creative and financial independence than any other division of Disney , until September 30 , 2005 when they decided to leave the company and founded The Weinstein Company . Miramax was sold by Disney to Filmyard Holdings , a joint venture of Colony Capital , Tutor-Saliba Corporation , and Qatar Investment Authority , in 2010 , ending Disney 's 17-year ownership of the studio . In 2016 , ownership was transferred to beIN Media Group .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4a913a508bcb016d99cd6c7e4975a6a1", "text": "Major film studio A major film studio is a production and film distributor that releases a substantial number of films annually and consistently commands a significant share of box office revenue in a given market . In the North American , Western , and global markets , the major film studios , often simply known as the majors , are commonly regarded as the six diversified media conglomerates whose various film production and distribution subsidiaries collectively command approximately 80 to 85 percent of U.S. and Canadian box office revenue . The term may also be applied more specifically to the primary motion picture business subsidiary of each respective conglomerate . The `` Big Six '' majors , whose operations are based in or around the Los Angeles neighborhood of Hollywood , are all centered in film studios active during Hollywood 's Golden Age of the 1930s and 1940s . In three cases -- 20th Century Fox , Warner Bros. , and Paramount -- the studios were one of the `` Big Five '' majors during that era as well . In two cases -- Columbia and Universal -- the studios were also considered majors , but in the next tier down , part of the `` Little Three '' . In the sixth case , Walt Disney Studios was an independent production company during the Golden Age ; it was an important Hollywood entity , but not a major . Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , United Artists , and RKO were majors . Today , Disney is the only member of the Big Six whose parent entity is still located near Los Angeles ( actually , on Disney 's studio lot and in the same building ) . The five others report to conglomerates headquartered in New York City , Philadelphia , and Tokyo . Of the Big Six , Paramount is the only one still based in Hollywood , and Paramount and Fox are the only ones still located within the Los Angeles city limits , while Disney and Warner Bros. are located in Burbank , Columbia in Culver City , and Universal in the unincorporated area of Universal City . Most of today 's Big Six control subsidiaries with their own distribution networks that concentrate on arthouse pictures ( e.g. Fox Searchlight Pictures ) or genre films ( e.g. Sony 's Screen Gems ) ; several of these specialty units were shut down or sold off between 2008 and 2010 . The six major studios are contrasted with smaller production and/or distribution companies , which are known as independents or `` indies '' . The leading independent producer/distributors -- Lionsgate Films , The Weinstein Company , and former major studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer -- are sometimes referred to as `` mini-majors '' . From 1998 through 2005 , DreamWorks SKG commanded a large enough market share to arguably qualify it as a seventh major , despite its relatively small output . In 2006 , DreamWorks was acquired by Viacom , Paramount 's corporate parent . In late 2008 , DreamWorks once again became an independent production company ; its films were distributed by Disney 's Touchstone Pictures until 2016 , at which point distribution switched to Universal . The Big Six major studios are today primarily backers and distributors of films whose actual production is largely handled by independent companies -- either long-running entities or ones created for and dedicated to the making of a specific film . The specialty divisions often simply acquire distribution rights to pictures in which the studio has had no prior involvement . While the majors still do a modicum of true production , their activities are focused more in the areas of development , financing , marketing , and merchandising . Those business functions are still usually performed in or near Los Angeles , even though the runaway production phenomenon means that most films are now mostly or completely shot on location at places outside Los Angeles . Since the dawn of filmmaking , the U.S. major film studios have dominated both American cinema and the global film industry . U.S. studios have benefited from a strong first-mover advantage in that they were the first to industrialize filmmaking and master the art of mass-producing and distributing high-quality films with broad cross-cultural appeal . Today , the Big Six majors routinely distribute hundreds of films every year into all significant international markets ( that is , where discretionary income is high enough for consumers to afford to watch films ) . It is very rare , if not impossible , for a film to reach a broad international audience on multiple continents and in multiple languages without first being picked up by one of the majors for distribution .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6b622f3dc01fda937c880cf3fb8f93a6", "text": "Frozen (franchise) Frozen is a Disney media franchise started by the 2013 American animated feature Frozen , which was directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee from a screenplay by Lee and produced by Peter Del Vecho , with songs by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez . Walt Disney Animation Studios ' chief creative officer John Lasseter served as the film 's executive producer . The original film was inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale `` The Snow Queen '' . Since the film 's release in November 2013 , the franchise has expanded very rapidly . To date , the franchise includes various Disney theme park attractions , merchandise , video games , books , a Disney on Ice show , and a short animated film . Disney has also announced that it is working on a Broadway stage musical adaptation , an animated film sequel , and a new book series . In November 2014 , TheStreet.com explained that `` Frozen is no longer a movie , it 's a global brand , a larger than life franchise built around products , theme parks and sequels that could last into the next century '' . Boxoffice '' chief analyst Phil Contrino was quoted as saying `` it 's become massive '' .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "85b11173917f66b76fa70a79d13564c9", "text": "King of Eight King of Eight is a 1970 stop-motion animated short film produced , created , and animated for Sesame Street by Jim Henson . It features an animated king ( voiced by Jim Henson ) of a land where everything exists in denominations of the number eight . After the opening narration lines spoken by William ( Rosko ) Mercer , the King , speaking in jazzy rhyme , presents an inventory of his domain - eight flags , eight guards , eight windows on the castle , and eight princesses ( each with eight jewels on their crowns ) . An interruption by the court jester ( also voiced by Henson ) , informing his majesty of an unexpected addition to his family , serves as the punchline : Jester : Wait ! Important news comes from the Queen , a new baby ! And I have seen , that she is well , and doing fine . King : Good grief , it 's princess number nine ! The number 8 on the exterior front top of the castle falls down to the ground and crushes the court jester . Category : Sesame Street Category : Sesame Street segments Category :1970 s animated short films Category : Stop-motion animated short films Category : Films directed by Jim Henson", "title": "" }, { "docid": "85bd790a83336a2c5a265a353bd9c5ef", "text": "The Croods The Croods is a 2013 American 3D computer-animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox . It stars the voices of Nicolas Cage , Emma Stone , Ryan Reynolds , Catherine Keener , Clark Duke , and Cloris Leachman . The film is set in a fictional prehistoric Pliocene era known as `` The Croodaceous '' ( a prehistoric period which contains fictional prehistoric creatures ) when a caveman 's position as a `` Leader of the Hunt '' is threatened by the arrival of a prehistoric genius who comes up with revolutionary new inventions as they trek through a dangerous but exotic land in search of a new home . The Croods was written and directed by Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders , and produced by Kristine Belson and Jane Hartwell . The film premiered at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival on February 15 , 2013 , and was released in the United States on March 22 , 2013 . As part of the distribution deal , this is the first film from DreamWorks Animation to be distributed by 20th Century Fox , since the end of their distribution deal with Paramount Pictures . The Croods received generally positive reviews , and proved to be a box office success , earning more than $ 587 million on a budget of $ 135 million . The film launched a new franchise , with a television series , Dawn of the Croods , which debuted on December 24 , 2015 , on Netflix . A sequel was announced for a 2018 release , but was later cancelled .", "title": "" } ]
fever
e89c65935029741e92931581c6834dc7
Grace Jones is a dancer.
[ { "docid": "8b542fe4e96b37e8f639e5c365c6aff7", "text": "Grace Jones Grace Jones ( born 19 May 1948 ) is a Jamaican born singer , songwriter , lyricist , supermodel , record producer , and actress . Born in Jamaica , at age 13 she moved with her siblings to their parents ' home in Syracuse , New York . Jones began her modelling career in New York state , then in Paris , working for fashion houses such as Yves St. Laurent and Kenzo , and appearing on the covers of Elle and Vogue . She worked with photographers such as Helmut Newton , Guy Bourdin , and Hans Feurer , and became known for her distinctive androgynous appearance and bold features . In 1977 Jones secured a record deal with Island Records , initially becoming a star of New York City 's Studio 54-centered disco scene . In the early 1980s she moved toward a new wave style that drew on reggae , funk , post-punk , and pop music , frequently collaborating with both the graphic designer Jean-Paul Goude and the musical duo Sly & Robbie . Her most popular albums include Warm Leatherette ( 1980 ) , Nightclubbing ( 1981 ) , and Slave to the Rhythm ( 1985 ) . She scored Top 40 entries on the UK Singles Chart with `` Pull Up to the Bumper '' , `` I 've Seen That Face Before '' , `` Private Life '' , and `` Slave to the Rhythm '' . In 1982 , she released the music video collection A One Man Show , directed by Goude . Jones appeared in some low-budget films in the US during the 1970s and early 1980s . In 1984 she made her first mainstream appearance as Zula in the fantasy-action film Conan the Destroyer alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sarah Douglas , and subsequently appeared in the 1985 James Bond movie A View to a Kill as May Day . In 1986 she played a vampire in Vamp , and acted in and contributed a song to the 1992 Eddie Murphy film Boomerang . She appeared alongside Tim Curry in the 2001 film Wolf Girl . For her work in Conan the Destroyer , A View to a Kill , and Vamp , she was nominated for Saturn Awards for Best Supporting Actress . In 1999 , Jones ranked 82nd on VH1 's 100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll , and in 2008 , she was honored with a Q Idol Award . Jones influenced the cross-dressing movement of the 1980s and has been an inspiration for artists including Annie Lennox , Lady Gaga , Rihanna , Lorde , Róisín Murphy , Brazilian Girls , Nile Rodgers , Santigold , Basement Jaxx and Stanka Brljevic . In December 2016 , Billboard magazine ranked her as the 40th most successful dance artist of all time .", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "6f89c99268ad88eec2cfd53e66e778fa", "text": "Muse (Grace Jones album) Muse is the third studio album by Grace Jones , released in September 4 , 1979 by Island Records .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9d108881bc2da5730d1ef400b5e6cda9", "text": "Rises and falls Rises and falls is a category of the ballroom dance technique that refers to rises and falls of the body of a dancer achieved through actions of knees and feet ( ankles ) . This technique is primarily recognized in International Standard and American Smooth dance categories . Rises and falls are important in Waltz , Foxtrot , Quickstep , and Viennese Waltz . Tango is described the `` level '' or `` flat '' dance , and its basic technique specifically eliminates rises/falls in the overall motion , with the exception of certain advanced figures and styles . The expression `` rises and falls of the body '' is a rather vague one , and in attempts to be more precise some texts refer to center of gravity , rather than body . This may also be misleading if taken out of context : the center of gravity may be lowered , e.g. , by bends and sways . In addition , a certain amount of body rise and fall may be achieved by hip action , used in Latin dance , but absolutely proscribed in Standard and Smooth . Rises and falls of the body is a natural phenomenon during casual walking : when feet are apart the body is closer to the ground than when the feet are together . Some dances , e.g. , Charleston , exaggerate this natural `` bobbing '' , while in many others bobbing at each step is considered to be bad style or lack of proper technique .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8f2929ea686fcf4c809b6375a90715d0", "text": "R. Malcolm Jones R. Malcolm Jones is an American music video and motion picture director . Jones is a graduate of the University of Miami . While a student at the University , Jones was granted the Eastman Kodak Scholarship he is its youngest recipient . Jones also received a Merit Scholarship . After graduation R. Malcolm Jones went on to direct Music Videos for various artist . He was nominated for Video Director of the Year at the 2008 BET Awards . In 2009 the MTV Video Awards nominated his video Right Round by Flo Rida feat Kei $ ha for Best Hip Hop Video . R. Malcolm Jones has directed Music Videos for Flo Rida , Avril Lavigne , Cassidy feat Swizz Beats , T-Pain , Chris Brown , Lil Mama , Mario , Ray J , R. Kelly , Cali Swag District , K'la , YC , Travis Porter , Jordan Taylor , Vanessa Hudgens , Nas , Clipse , Fat Jose , Brooke Hogan , The Pack , and Roscoe Dash . Jones has also directed commercials for HBO ( a talk with Spike Lee ) , BET ( 2009 BET Spring Bling ) and CMT ( Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders ) . R. Malcolm Jones has made a personal appearance as a guest on BET 's Top 25 Countdown and was a featured director for Vh1 's Hogan Knows Best , MTV 's Making The Video and BET 's All Access Granted . R. Malcolm Jones has directed and written several motion picture projects . They include , Seven Lives : Seven Survivors ( a documentary ) His short films include , Ambush , Sweet Potato Pie and Shattered . He has currently finished production of his motion picture Secrets of the Magic City starring Jennifer Lewis , Jamie Hector and Keith David . Secrets of the Magic City screened at the 2013 American Black Film Festival ( ABFF ) in the `` Narrative '' category it screened at the 2013 Annual Urban World Film Festival in New York City and the 2013 Bronze Lens Film Festival in Atlanta where Jamie Hector and Jenifer Lewis were nominated and won awards for Best Actor and Actress . The film debuted on Centric TV June 26 , 2015 and received world wide distribution with EOne Entertainment .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "43c47c90374689c137bfe17e5a869bc5", "text": "Have You Met Miss Jones? `` Have You Met Miss Jones ? '' is a popular song that was written for the musical comedy , I 'd Rather Be Right . The music was written by Richard Rodgers and the lyrics by Lorenz Hart . The song was published in 1937 . In the musical the song is performed by characters Peggy Jones and Phil Barker . In the 1937 version these characters were performed by Joy Hodges and Austin Marshall . A version of `` Have You Met Miss Jones '' was recorded by Frank Sinatra on his Sinatra Swings album . Bing Crosby recorded the song in 1956 on his Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings album . It was also covered by Scatman John . Ella Fitzgerald included this song in her Verve Records album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Songbook ( 1957 ) . Joe Pass recorded his version of the song on his 1973 album Virtuoso . Pass 's recording alternates between F major and G flat major . The song 's bridge , featuring key motion by major thirds , may have served as an inspiration to John Coltrane in the development of `` Coltrane changes '' . McCoy Tyner recorded a version of the song on his second album , Reaching Fourth ( 1963 ) . John Barrowman sang the song on television . The Hi-Lo 's included it on their 1954 album Listen ! . John Ritter sang it ( as a philandering author in a piano bar ) in the Blake Edwards romantic comedy , `` Skin Deep . '' Robbie Williams performed it for the soundtrack of the film Bridget Jones 's Diary ( 2001 ) , and it was also included in Williams 's album , Swing When You 're Winning ( 2001 ) .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b90ddee4090e4335476c8f58f52ad359", "text": "Grace Henderson Grace Henderson ( January 1861 -- October 30 , 1944 ) was a stage actress and prolific performer in silent motion pictures . She made her professional debut at McKiver 's Theatre in Chicago in 1877 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "11dd5e9a9fe2773c531e3c1aabf57363", "text": "Star Dance Star Dance may refer to : Star Dancer , first novel in the Star Dancer tetralogy , written by the British author Beth Webb Star-Dancer , a Marvel Comics characterStars Dance , debut album by Selena GomezDance Star '' , 2010 British dance musical film", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a460f8e168ed3ed0365392fd5218870a", "text": "Mike Jones (jazz musician) Mike Jones ( born August 11 , 1962 ) is an American jazz pianist . He has appeared onstage with Penn and Teller since 2006 , and continues to play with them during their nightly show in Las Vegas . He first garnished praise as a young musician , performing professionally at the age of ten . Following the advice of Oscar Peterson , Jones attended Berklee School of Music , in Boston . While still attending the school he started work as a studio musician . During his time commuting from Boston to New York , Jones worked as the on-air pianist and music director of the Nancy Merrill Show . He also appeared throughout the New England area with jazz musicians Herb Pomeroy , Gray Seargent , Dick Johnson , and others . In 1994 his first solo recording on Chiaroscuro Records , Oh , Look At Me Now was released . This was followed by Runnin ' Wild recorded live in Buffalo , N.Y. , his hometown , and then Live at Steinway Hall , in New York City . Through his association with Hank O'Neal , Mike was invited to perform on the Floating Jazz Festival on the S.S. Norway and later , the Queen Elizabeth 2 . The Verve reissue of Oscar Peterson 's On the Town featured liner notes by Neil Tesser with extensive commentary by Mike Jones . Penn Jillette and his friends found him playing at a Las Vegas resort , and were invited to the recording sessions for Stretches Out , Jones 's fourth solo CD for Chiaroscuro . In February 2002 , he was invited to become part of the Penn & Teller show , and performs nightly with them at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino . Jones wrote the theme tune for Penn Jillette 's radio show Penn Radio , including many variations . ( Jillette plays bass on many of these themes . ) He also created some special themes for Monkey Tuesday and Pull of the Weasel Friday . Jones also made an appearance in an episode of Bullshit ! which was critical of twelve-step programs . Jones was introduced by Penn as having been significantly overweight , but lost ninety pounds with his `` own special one step program '' , which Penn explained as being `` like the twelve step , but with a few minor adjustments '' . Jones explained his program as `` Just stop fucking eating so much '' . His live CD is Live at The Green Mill , recorded with a trio , Kelly Sill on bass , and Tim Davis on drums , at the legendary Chicago jazz club . He signed with Capri Records in 2014 , and released Plays Well with Others , featuring Jeff Hamilton on drums and 21-year-old prodigy Mike Gurrola on bass . The album has a cover by David Silverman ( as a tribute to the Diane Arbus photograph Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park ) and liner notes by Penn Jillette . Jones lives in Las Vegas .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "307b82010c2a915b19182c825e70728d", "text": "Game of graces The Game of Graces was a popular activity for young girls during the early 1800s . The game was invented in France during the first quarter of the 19th century and called there le jeu des Graces . The Game of Graces was considered a proper game benefiting young ladies and , supposedly , tailored to make them more graceful . Graces was hardly ever played by boys , and never played by two boys at the same time , either two girls , or a boy and a girl .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "adb4bad788858e07512e383c58133404", "text": "Steph Jones Steph Jones is an American singer , songwriter , and model . He was signed to Def Jam , through Ludacris ' Disturbing tha Peace but left the label .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7220494b5df4169be7cd5bcdb6e89205", "text": "Diana Gould (dancer) Diana Rosamond Constance Grace Irene Gould , later Diana Menuhin , Baroness Menuhin ( 12 November 1912 -- 25 January 2003 ) was a British ballerina and occasional actress and singer , who is best remembered as the second wife of the violinist Yehudi Menuhin . As a dancer , however , she was described by Anna Pavlova as the only English dancer she 'd seen who `` had a soul '' , and by Arnold Haskell as `` the most musical dancer the English have yet produced '' .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "158904d579ea453c5539b9f78a8815d4", "text": "Grace (food company) Grace is the brand name of GraceKennedy Limited , a manufacturer of Caribbean cuisine and Jamaican cuisine food products . It was established in 1922 . It also licenses some products for manufacture and sale in foreign countries such as Canada and Great Britain . Grace manufactures : Beverages including juices and drinks made from Caribbean fruits , vegetable blends and concentrates . Canned meats and fish Chips Coconut products Dairy products Jams and jellies Protein Drinks Ready mixes including traditional Caribbean `` favorites '' Rice combos Sauces and condiments Spices and seasonings Soups Teas Veggie meals", "title": "" }, { "docid": "65676677ede07d482a92e8b0599a4cdf", "text": "Floorwork In dance , floorwork refers to movements performed on the floor . Floorwork is used extensively in modern dance , particularly Graham technique and Hawkins technique , as well as in vernacular breakdancing . Some dance training practices , notably Floor-Barre , consist entirely of floorwork . Floorwork changes the body 's relationship with gravity , and requires dancers to navigate between higher and lower levels ( `` going in and out of the floor '' ) . These features are central to the use of floorwork in choreography , and also affect its role in technique classes . Executing floorwork smoothly requires flexible joints , a relaxed body , and attention to the kinesthetic feedback provided by the floor . The `` low '' or floorwork level is one of three principal spatial levels dancers may occupy , along with the middle or bipedestrian ( upright ) and the high or aerial ( jumping ) levels .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "84e6b81b5022e4a570982c1e24a03460", "text": "Jonesing", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b908ded65441cfcbb57d2a78944e6dc2", "text": "Lupita Jones María Guadalupe `` Lupita '' Jones Garay -LSB- luˈpita ˈʝouns -RSB- , -LSB- ʝons -RSB- ( born September 6 , 1968 in Mexicali ) is a Mexican actress , director and beauty queen who became the first Mexican woman to win the title of Miss Universe in 1991 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "921f3cf9374800fae9a695e8e84ce459", "text": "Grace (comics) Grace , in comics , may refer to : Grace Choi , a DC Comics character Grace ( Dark Horse Comics ) , a Dark Horse Comics superhero Grace ( Marvel Comics ) , a Marvel Comics character and member of the New Warriors Grace Holloway , a Dr Who companion who has appeared in Doctor Who Monthly Grace Guinness , a character from Checkmate Gamora 's Graces , a group of characters who appeared in the Annihilation storyline It may also refer to : Amazing Grace ( comics ) , a DC Comics supervillain Karin Grace , a DC Comics character Francesca Grace , a Marvel UK character who appeared in titles like Knights of Pendragon", "title": "" }, { "docid": "606e5ddcb0eb670c711c986ea4821386", "text": "Dream into Action Dream into Action is the second studio album by the British pop musician Howard Jones . It was released in March 1985 and reached No. 2 in the UK Album Charts . The album also reached the top ten in the US . The album went gold and platinum in many countries including the US and UK . The album contained the hit singles `` Things Can Only Get Better '' ( UK # 6 , US # 5 ) , `` Look Mama '' ( UK # 10 ) , `` Life in One Day '' ( UK # 14 , US # 19 ) , and `` Like to Get to Know You Well '' ( UK # 4 ) though this was not included on the original UK vinyl or cassette editions . The version of `` No One Is to Blame '' that is featured on this album is not the hit single version ; this song was entirely re-recorded in a substantially re-arranged version by Phil Collins for single release . The re-recorded version of `` No One Is to Blame '' reached # 16 in the UK and # 4 in the US in 1986 . In 2010 , the album was remastered and re-released along with Jones ' debut album Human 's Lib . A huge world tour accompanied the albums original release with Jones playing Wembley Arena and the Birmingham O2 Academy in the UK , and arena size venues in the US , Europe and Japan .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4d9f47a4fca5019bde20530f549a0299", "text": "TDK Cross Central TDK Cross Central was a dance music festival run by TDK Corporation and held in Kings Cross , London , England from 2004 to 2007 . It included performances from the likes of Goldfrapp and Grace Jones .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b3c8744f53ea826729089a4973709039", "text": "Graham technique Graham technique is a modern dance movement style and pedagogy created by American dancer and choreographer Martha Graham ( 1894 -- 1991 ) . Graham technique has been called the `` cornerstone '' of American modern dance , and has been taught worldwide . It is widely regarded as the first codified modern dance technique , and strongly influenced the later techniques of Merce Cunningham , Lester Horton , and Paul Taylor . Graham technique is based on the opposition between contraction and release , a concept based on the breathing cycle which has become a `` trademark '' of modern dance forms . Its other dominant principle is the `` spiraling '' of the torso around the axis of the spine . Graham technique is known for its unique dramatic and expressive qualities and distinctive floorwork ; dance critic Anna Kisselgoff described it as `` powerful , dynamic , jagged and filled with tension . '' The phrase `` Graham technique '' was registered as a trademark before Graham 's death , and was the subject of a trademark dispute in the early 2000s .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2eb038aba46a8618514233fac6d1f668", "text": "Freddie Lee Peterkin Freddie Lee Peterkin , also known as Freddie Lee , is a published author , singer -- songwriter , actor and ordained interdenominational Minister , born in Pahokee , Florida . He is known for his gritty power soul vocals reminiscent of Bobby Womack . He has become an artist of public note through his 2008 independent release of the Soul and Gospel album Beyond Comprehension under the recording name of Freddie Lee . He made his prime time acting debut as `` DJ Freddie Murphy '' on Channel 4 's T4 Stars & Strikes and as a character in BBC2 's Grumpy Guide to Work in 2011 . He was also the voice for Bewiser Owl in the Bewiser Insurance TV commercial in 2012 and 2013 . He established himself in the live entertainment industry with his choreographed costume Soul Tribute stage productions for theatres and resorts in 1991 . These critically acclaimed shows include The Sounds of the Four Tops , The Sounds of the Drifters and The Sounds of the Temptations . Freddie Lee Peterkin is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity , Delta Psi Chapter a Fraternity known for members such as Martin Luther King . This historic organization was the first inter-collegiate Greek-letter organization established for Black college students founded on December 4 , 1906 . Peterkin was responsible for composing many Delta Psi Chapter fraternity anthems such as ' I Know I 've Been Changed ' written in 1985 while he was pledging . He was also a dancer and choreographer of the Delta Psi Chapter 's ` Step Shows ' . Stepping ( African-American ) or step-dancing is a form of percussive dance in which the participant 's entire body is used as an instrument to produce complex rhythms and sounds through a mixture of footsteps , spoken word , and hand claps and a strong part of Black Greek Letter Fraternities . Peterkin is the son of migrant workers originally from Georgia who came to Florida to pick crops for a living . He is of African and Seminole Indian heritage . His stepfather , James Elijah Jr. , was the lead vocalist of the 1960s and 1970s gospel group , The Royal Lights . His sister Breyona Elijah is part of the gospel group James Smith & Nu Birth and they are both cousins of Gospel group Damali . His mother Bernice Bell is also a singer and as a child won a competition to write a song for Joe Tex , for which she was awarded concert tickets and a chance to meet her idol . Joe Tex went on to have a major hit with the song but Bernice remained uncredited . Bernice Bell has been more recently recognized for her charity work and ran youth programs in Pahokee 's Padgett Island Community Center for 17 years and donating hot meals to Pahokee 's underprivileged children . The community center was recently renamed `` The Bernice Bell Community Center '' .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6a64c04733095dde44abe3cc1665f150", "text": "Gillian Norris Gillian Norris ( born 29 December 1978 ) is an Irish dancer and model best known for her work in Lord of the Dance and Feet of Flames . Norris was born in Kilmacthomas , County Waterford , Ireland on 29 December 1978 to Mary Norris and Desmond Norris , a carpenter and well-known tenor . Norris is the youngest of five children . She started dancing at the age 10 , when her parents signed her up for dance lessons at the Higgins School of Irish Dance in Waterford . She later won the All-Ireland , Great Britain , and British National titles and placed 3rd at the World Championships . Norris debuted as a professional dancer when she played `` Morrighan , The Temptress '' in Michael Flatley 's show , Lord of the Dance . Gillian danced with the show from its premiere in July 1996 at the Point Theater in Dublin until her departure in 2000 . Gillian toured the world with the show . Her rendition of Morrighan has been featured in two videos : The original video and the 1998 Feet of Flames video ( taped live in Hyde Park , London ) . When the show began in 1996 , she danced with Michael Flatley in the original show for a year , and then in late 1997 joined the second touring company ( Troupe 2 ) in the United States . In July 1998 , she returned to Troupe 1 and danced the lead in Feet of Flames in Hyde Park . She remained with Troupe 1 and toured Europe until she left the show in 2000 . After Gillian left the show , she returned to Ireland and briefly pursued a modeling and singing career . In summer 2001 , she briefly danced in the show Ragus in Dublin . She then enrolled in beauty therapy school , where she was a top student . In June 2005 , she opened her own beauty salon/spa in Kilmacthomas . Gillian says about performing , `` To me , no matter if there 's two people I 'm performing to or 20,000 people , I 'd perform the same way . I go out to make those happy ; they deserve that , they 're paying to see me dance and that 's what I do ; I go out and do my job . ''", "title": "" } ]
fever
556ec008c65aa32f444b0bf391b7cf38
Willie Nelson dropped out of college after three years.
[ { "docid": "794a9510f5d16ba9012be102fce707a3", "text": "Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson ( born April 29 , 1933 ) is an American musician , singer , songwriter , author , poet , actor , and activist . The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie ( 1973 ) , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger ( 1975 ) and Stardust ( 1978 ) , made Nelson one of the most recognized artists in country music . He was one of the main figures of outlaw country , a subgenre of country music that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restrictions of the Nashville sound . Nelson has acted in over 30 films , co-authored several books , and has been involved in activism for the use of biofuels and the legalization of marijuana . Born during the Great Depression , and raised by his grandparents , Nelson wrote his first song at age seven and joined his first band at ten . During high school , he toured locally with the Bohemian Polka as their lead singer and guitar player . After graduating from high school in 1950 , he joined the Air Force but was later discharged due to back problems . After his return , Nelson attended Baylor University for two years but dropped out because he was succeeding in music . During this time , he worked as a disc jockey in Texas radio stations and a singer in honky-tonks . Nelson moved to Vancouver , Washington , where he wrote `` Family Bible '' and recorded the song `` Lumberjack '' in 1956 . In 1958 , he moved to Houston , Texas , after signing a contract with D Records . He sang at the Esquire Ballroom weekly and he worked as a disk jockey . During that time , he wrote songs that would become country standards , including `` Funny How Time Slips Away '' , `` Hello Walls '' , `` Pretty Paper '' , and `` Crazy '' . In 1960 he moved to Nashville , Tennessee , and later signed a publishing contract with Pamper Music which allowed him to join Ray Price 's band as a bassist . In 1962 , he recorded his first album , ... And Then I Wrote . Due to this success , Nelson signed in 1964 with RCA Victor and joined the Grand Ole Opry the following year . After mid-chart hits in the late 1960s and the early 1970s , Nelson retired in 1972 and moved to Austin , Texas . The ongoing music scene of Austin motivated Nelson to return from retirement , performing frequently at the Armadillo World Headquarters . In 1973 , after signing with Atlantic Records , Nelson turned to outlaw country , including albums such as Shotgun Willie and Phases and Stages . In 1975 , he switched to Columbia Records , where he recorded the critically acclaimed album Red Headed Stranger . The same year , he recorded another outlaw country album , Wanted ! The Outlaws , along with Waylon Jennings , Jessi Colter , and Tompall Glaser . During the mid-1980s , while creating hit albums like Honeysuckle Rose and recording hit songs like `` On the Road Again '' , `` To All the Girls I 've Loved Before '' , and `` Pancho and Lefty '' , he joined the country supergroup The Highwaymen , along with fellow singers Johnny Cash , Waylon Jennings , and Kris Kristofferson . In 1990 , Nelson 's assets were seized by the Internal Revenue Service , which claimed that he owed . The difficulty of paying his outstanding debt was aggravated by weak investments he had made during the 1980s . In 1992 , Nelson released The IRS Tapes : Who 'll Buy My Memories ? ; the profits of the double album -- destined to the IRS -- and the auction of Nelson 's assets cleared his debt . During the 1990s and 2000s , Nelson continued touring extensively , and released albums every year . Reviews ranged from positive to mixed . He explored genres such as reggae , blues , jazz , and folk . Nelson made his first movie appearance in the 1979 film The Electric Horseman , followed by other appearances in movies and on television . Nelson is a major liberal activist and the co-chair of the advisory board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws ( NORML ) , which is in favor of marijuana legalization . On the environmental front , Nelson owns the bio-diesel brand Willie Nelson Biodiesel , which is made from vegetable oil . Nelson is also the honorary chairman of the Advisory Board of the Texas Music Project , the official music charity of the state of Texas .", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "1c745e2edb058bed3320e9ba762301c7", "text": "Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller , Sr. ( January 2 , 1936 -- October 25 , 1992 ) was an American singer-songwriter , musician , and actor , best known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs . His most recognized tunes included the chart-topping country/pop hits `` King of the Road '' , `` Dang Me '' , and `` England Swings '' , all from the mid-1960s Nashville sound era . After growing up in Oklahoma and serving in the United States Army , Miller began his musical career as a songwriter in the late 1950s , penning such hits as `` Billy Bayou '' and `` Home '' for Jim Reeves and `` Invitation to the Blues '' for Ray Price . He later began a recording career and reached the peak of his fame in the mid-1960s , continuing to record and tour into the 1990s , charting his final top 20 country hit `` Old Friends '' with Willie Nelson in 1982 . He also wrote and performed several of the songs for the 1973 Disney animated film Robin Hood . Later in his life , he wrote the music and lyrics for the 1985 Tony-award winning Broadway musical Big River , in which he acted . Miller died from lung cancer in 1992 , and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame three years later . His songs continued to be recorded by younger artists , with covers of `` Tall , Tall Trees '' by Alan Jackson and `` Husbands and Wives '' by Brooks & Dunn , each reaching the number one spot on country charts in the 1990s . The Roger Miller Museum in his home town of Erick , Oklahoma , is a tribute to Miller .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e2e31f8830a2f18f7c92eeaee8c77d69", "text": "16 Biggest Hits, Volume II 16 Biggest Hits , Volume II is a 2007 compilation album by country singer Willie Nelson .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4b21f318b2434ce0e76080beb8c4f1dc", "text": "Education Management Corporation Education Management Corporation ( `` EDMC '' ) is a Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania-based operator of for-profit post-secondary educational institutions in the United States and Canada . The company was founded in 1962 . Education Management Corporation has operated 110 schools through its four higher education divisions : Argosy University , The Art Institutes , Brown Mackie College and South University . In October 2015 , EDMC reported a student enrollment of 91,000 , a 43 % drop from its peak enrollment of 158,300 in 2011 . EDMC has a reported 109 locations , but more than 40 Brown Mackie Colleges and Art Institutes schools are in the process of closing . In 2011 , EDMC and its subsidiary , the Art Institutes , received greater public scrutiny with the release of the Frontline documentary : Educating Sergeant Pantzke . In the documentary , Iraq war veteran Chris Pantzke discussed the lack of disability services at the school . According to Pantzke , `` Being a soldier , you do n't want to quit , you do n't want to give up or fail . '' But after doing his own research , Pantzke concluded that the degree he was pursuing was n't `` worth much more than the paper is worth '' . And he felt he was `` throwing away taxpayer money '' by using GI Bill funds . Todd S. Nelson , who was previously the CEO of Apollo Education Group , became the CEO in 2007 and the Chairman of the Board of Directors in 2012 . From June 2013 to June 2014 , the company eliminated about 2,600 positions , and campuses have been closed or are in the process of closing . EDMC has faced significant financial problems , including a 99.9 % drop in the value of its stock and a defaulted bond rating ( to junk bond status ) . Under a pending agreement , shareholder stock value will be diluted an additional 96 % . Moody 's credit rating service in January 2015 dropped EDMC to its lowest rating , D-PD . EDMC 's CEO , Edward West , resigned from the company on August 28 , 2015 , `` to pursue other interests '' . The company was never profitable under his leadership . EDMC was delisted from the NASDAQ in November 2014 EDMC has been the subject of several lawsuits and investigations alleging that the company made misleading claims in its efforts to recruit students . On November 16 , 2015 , federal and state authorities announced a $ 95.5-million settlement resolving a whistleblower case in which former EDMC employees said the company was `` illegally paying recruiters based on the number of students they enrolled . '' As of 2016 , EDMC announced that it was planning to close 19 of its Art Institute campuses and 22 of 26 Brown Mackie College campuses .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e16b193776b2057e935a09a849c14d55", "text": "Peabody Education Fund Founded of necessity due to damage caused largely by the American Civil War , the Peabody Education Fund was established by George Peabody in 1867 for the purpose of promoting `` intellectual , moral , and industrial education in the most destitute portion of the Southern States . '' The gift of foundation consisted of securities to the value of $ 2,100,000 , of which $ 1,100,000 were in Mississippi State bonds , afterward repudiated . In 1869 an additional $ 1,000,000 was given by Mr. Peabody , with $ 384,000 of Florida funds , also repudiated later . The main purpose of the fund was to aid elementary education by strengthening existing schools . Because it was restricted from founding new schools , it did not benefit freedmen in the South , as there were no established schools for blacks . `` The fund introduced a new type of benefaction in that it was left without restriction in the hands of the trustees to administer . Power to close the trust after thirty years was provided on condition that two-thirds of the fund be distributed to educational institutions in the Southern states . '' The rules of the Peabody Education Fund were strict , allowing for the distribution of about $ 80,000 per year over a period of thirty years . By the time of the termination of the fund in 1898 , about $ 2,500,000 had been distributed . In 1875 , the trustees of the Peabody Education Fund founded the Peabody Normal School of the South which promptly became the Peabody Normal College ( 1875-1911 ) . It was maintained in connection with the University of Nashville and supported by annual donations from the Peabody Education Fund . In 1910 the Peabody College for Teachers was organized . Placed adjacent to Vanderbilt University , the college opened its doors on June 14 , 1914 for summer school . In September 1915 , four new buildings had been completed at a cost of $ 750,000 . About 1915 , the Peabody Education Fund ceased to exist . The Southern Education Foundation , a not-for-profit foundation , was created in 1937 from the Peabody Education Fund and three funds intended to support education for blacks : the John F. Slater Fund , the Negro Rural School Fund , and the Virginia Randolph Fund .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c5ecd5bd435bfa9208e9a483d07f4520", "text": "VH1 Storytellers: Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson VH1 Storytellers is the 83rd overall album and is a live album by Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson , released in 1998 ( see 1998 in music ) on American Recordings . The album was produced by Rick Rubin and was the third record released as part of Cash 's ten-year period of collaboration with Rubin . It is not , however , counted as part of the American Recordings series , which is reserved for Cash 's studio work with Rubin . Cash and Nelson take turns on songs associated with each respective artist , usually with the other performing harmony or occasionally verses . The opening track is a duet with Cash and Nelson , and some tracks feature guitar solos by Nelson . Between tracks , Cash and Nelson joke with each other and discuss the songs and their origins . This was the final album of new performances released by Cash prior to the onset of health problems that forced him to curtail live concerts also led to changes in the timbre of his voice that were noticeable from American III : Solitary Man ( his next album release of new recordings issued in 2000 ) onwards . It was also Cash 's final purpose-recorded live album to be released during his lifetime , though an archival recording , Johnny Cash at Madison Square Garden , recorded in 1969 , would be issued a year before his death .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8af8d81a6e531128f5cfd9ba961aca18", "text": "Sweeter as the Years Go By `` Sweeter as the Years Go By '' is a Christian hymn written by Lelia N. Morris in 1912 . It has been included in 87 hymnals . Its subject-matter is expressed in the refrain : It has been recorded in various , mostly gospel , styles . In 1929 , it was recorded by Blind Willie Johnson ( vocals and guitar ) in gospel blues style under the title `` Sweeter as the Years Roll By '' ( even though he sings `` Go '' throughout ) . Sweeter as the Years Go By is a 1990 compilation album of songs recorded by Blind Willie Johnson .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ecac5b879ed0d746d26392ea1bf7d632", "text": "Bob Nelson (linebacker) Robert Lee Nelson ( born June 30 , 1953 in Stillwater , Minnesota ) is a retired American football linebacker in the National Football League . He played for the Buffalo Bills , the San Francisco 49ers , and the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders . He started in Super Bowl XV and in Super Bowl XVIII for the Raiders . Nelson played college football at the University of Nebraska .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4e57f0ea891bc69e5b1ceea3d725e9e1", "text": "Milligan College Milligan College is a selective Christian liberal arts college founded in 1866 and located in the mountains of Upper East Tennessee and the Tri-Cities region of the state . The school has a student population of more than 1,200 students , most of whom reside and study on its 195 acre campus which is located just a few miles from downtown Johnson City . It is consistently ranked as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country and well known for its core humanities program . Milligan was named a `` College of Distinction '' in 2011 . In 2016 , the college was named the number two institution of higher education in the state of Tennessee , second only to Vanderbilt University and was ranked one of the best colleges in the nation by the 2017 edition of The Princeton Review Milligan College is historically related to the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ , the Christian Church ( Disciples of Christ ) , and the a cappella Churches of Christ , with about 35 percent of the student body coming from these religious groups . While the college maintains close ties with the churches which founded it , the school welcomes students from all backgrounds . The college offers over 30 undergraduate programs of study and four graduate programs . As part of its focus on faith , Milligan strives to develop authentic Christian community , deep Christian spirituality , and a passion for Christian service among its students . The college works to prepare students to join God 's work of redemption and reconciliation in the larger world .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fe548c85d13fc10ea4fbeaaf595fd641", "text": "My 3 Addictions My 3 Addictions is the third official CD release from antifolk music group Elastic No-No Band and their first studio album . It is a concept album inspired partially by the 2-part structure of Willie Nelson 's Phases and Stages album . My 3 Addictions has a 3-part structure , based on the three addictions listed in the title song : food , movies , and women .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "53c068614e95b6ecf181a1de708b249f", "text": "Blackjack County Chain `` Blackjack County Chain '' is a song written by Red Lane . The song was initially rejected by Charlie Pride , who considered at the time the lyrics controversial . The song was ultimately recorded by Willie Nelson , whose version enjoyed success until it was banned by radio stations .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "51550d0a0d3a160030b018f74d556ad6", "text": "Williams Baptist College Williams Baptist College is a private , coeducational , four-year college located in the Lawrence County , Arkansas community of Walnut Ridge . Founded in 1941 , this institution began its life as a two year school . It began granting bachelor 's degrees in 1984 . The name of the school was changed in 1991 from Southern Baptist College to Williams Baptist College in honor of its founder and first president , Dr. H. E. Williams . The current president of the institution is Dr. Tom Jones . Williams has been accredited since 1963 through the Higher Learning Commission of North Central Association of Colleges and Schools . The college is owned and operated by the Arkansas Baptist State Convention , which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention . Previous presidents include Dr. H.E. Williams ( 1941-1973 ) , Dr. D. Jack Nicholas ( 1973-1991 ) , Dr. Jimmy Millikin ( 1991-1993 ) , Dr. Gary Huckabay ( 1993-1995 ) and Dr. Jerol B. Swaim ( 1995-2012 ) .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "eb25eb2d3b1fa9403ec83d12062d90a0", "text": "Cornealious Michael Anderson III Cornealious Michael `` Mike '' Anderson III ( born c. 1977 ) was convicted of armed robbery in 2000 and sentenced to 13 years in the Missouri state prison system . Shortly after his conviction he was released on bail pending the outcome of an appeal of his conviction . In May 2002 , his appeal was rejected but , due to a clerical error , his bond was not revoked when a warrant was issued for his arrest . It was unclear why he was not arrested and imprisoned to serve his 13-year sentence , but , apparently due to clerical errors and miscommunication , the Missouri Department of Corrections thought he was already in prison . The error was only discovered when he was scheduled to be released from prison in 2013 . On July 25 , 2013 he was arrested and required to serve his 13-year sentence . The case stirred controversy when investigative articles were written by Jessica Lussenhop in the Riverfront Times newspaper and when his case was covered nationally in the United States in an episode of This American Life . By April 2014 , his case began receiving extensive national and international attention . These articles and episode raised the question of whether he should be returned to prison 13 years after his conviction especially since the victim of his crime did not believe he should be in prison . Anderson 's attorney filed several appeals and petitions for his release from prison , and on May 5 , 2014 Anderson was released from prison . In 2014 , he was arrested for another crime , but subsequent videotape evidence showed that he could not have committed the crime and charges were dropped with an apology by Circuit Attorney Jennifer M. Joyce .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "40ff2a8061a7a4a5484481b11d64aac0", "text": "Statesboro, Georgia Statesboro is the largest city and county seat of Bulloch County , Georgia , United States , located in Southeast Georgia . A college town , Statesboro is best known as the home of Georgia Southern University , a Carnegie Doctoral-Research University . As of 2015 , the Statesboro Micropolitan Statistical Area , which consists of Bulloch County , had an estimated population of 72,651 . The City itself had a population of 28,422 in the 2010 census . The City had an estimated 2015 population of 30,721 . The city was chartered in 1803 , starting as a small trading community providing the basic essentials for surrounding cotton plantations . This drove the economy through the 19th century , both before and after the American Civil War . In 1906 , Statesboro and area leaders joined together to bid for and win the First District A&M School , a land grant college that eventually developed as Georgia Southern University in 1990 . In 1908 , Statesboro sold more cotton bales than did Savannah , Georgia , but the boll weevil infestation of the 1930s required a shift to tobacco as a crop . Statesboro inspired the blues song `` Statesboro Blues '' , written by Blind Willie McTell in the 1920s , and covered in a well-known version by The Allman Brothers Band .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0d4fa3add16186fef7c663cb15df2997", "text": "Wayne Nelson Wayne Nelson ( born June 1 , 1950 in Kansas City , Missouri ) is an American singer and musician best known for being a member of the rock band Little River Band .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "348d06e6495d122dc6242cd17f6f7f02", "text": "The Mountain (Steve Earle album) The Mountain is the eighth studio album by Steve Earle ( backed the Del McCoury Band ) , released in 1999 ( see 1999 in music ) . The songs were written by Earle with musical accompaniment provided by the famous bluegrass band of Del McCoury . The album was a significant departure from Earle 's previous work , being the first wholly bluegrass album he had written . Earle made the album as a tribute to the founder of bluegrass music , Bill Monroe , who had died in 1996 . The album was nominated for a 2000 Grammy Award in the `` Best Bluegrass Album '' category ( Earle 's seventh Grammy nomination ) . Two tracks from the album were released as singles in the UK : `` Dixieland '' ( distributed to radio only ) and `` The Mountain '' ( a commercial release ) . A cover of the song The Graveyard Shift is featured on Wanda Jackson 's 2012 album Unfinished Business .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "600011f9ebcde260fb6ddfed172287df", "text": "Jim Nelson (baseball) James Lorin Nelson ( July 4 , 1947 -- August 22 , 2004 ) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1970 and 1971 . Nelson was born in Birmingham , Alabama . The Pirates selected him in the 31st round of the 1965 amateur draft . His debut for the Pirates on May 30 , 1970 was memorable . He relieved Gene Garber in the fifth inning of a game at Forbes Field against the San Francisco Giants , struck out Willie Mays , and got Willie McCovey to hit into a double play ; he finished that appearance with three perfect innings pitched and four strikeouts , and hit a single in his only plate appearance . Nelson started his career with a 4-0 record for the Pirates in 1970 , a feat not equaled by a Pirates starting pitcher until Zach Duke in 2005 . Nelson also was the last Pirate pitcher to win his first 3 career starts until Gerrit Cole matched the feat in 2013 . Nelson also was the starting and winning pitcher in the final game played at Forbes Field on June 28 , 1970 . He commented on the fans ' frenzy at the end of that game : `` After the game , the fans stormed the field and took everything , grass , bases , numbers off the scoreboard . I even saw some old ladies with parts of chairs . It was a real scene . '' Nelson appeared in 15 games for the Pirates in 1970 and 17 games in 1971 , both as a starter and a reliever . He struggled with control in 1971 , walking 26 batters in 34 innings . In July , he was demoted to the minor leagues , but refused to report to his minor-league team . Although his teammates voted him a half-share of their 1971 World Series money , Pirates management did not award him a World Series ring . He underwent rotator cuff surgery and never returned to the majors . Nelson was a good-hitting pitcher , with 7 hits in 26 career at bats for a batting average of .269 . After retiring from baseball , Nelson became a produce salesman . He died unexpectedly at his Sacramento , California home at age 57 in 2004 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d665baed8c4de870632a2fdf612712aa", "text": "List of schools in Nelson, New Zealand Nelson is a city and unitary authority in the South Island of New Zealand . It contains several city schools . In New Zealand schools , students begin formal education in Year 1 at the age of five . Year 13 is the final year of secondary education . State schools are those fully funded by the government and at which no fees for tuition of domestic students ( i.e. New Zealand citizens and permanent residents , and Australian citizens ) can be charged , although a donation is commonly requested . A state integrated school is a former private school with a special character based on a religious or philosophical belief that has been integrated into the state system . State integrated schools charge `` attendance dues '' to cover the building and maintenance of school buildings , which are not owned by the government , but otherwise they like state schools can not charge fees for tuition of domestic students but may request a donation . Private schools charge fees to its students for tuition , as do state and state integrated schools for tuition of international students . The socioeconomic decile indicates the socioeconomic status of the school 's catchment area . A decile of 1 indicates the school draws from a poor area ; a decile of 10 indicates the school draws from a well-off area . The decile ratings used here come from the Ministry of Education Te Kete Ipurangi website and from the decile change spreadsheet listed in the references . The deciles of all schools were last revised using information from the 2006 Census , and may occasionally change for some schools between Censuses as schools open , close and merge . The roll of each school changes frequently as students start school for the first time , move between schools , and graduate . The rolls given here are those provided by the Ministry of Education are based on figures from The Ministry of Education institution number links to the Te Kete Ipurangi page for each school .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "dcc4ba6118d43f85c6154a44f2ac9ce7", "text": "John Mellencamp John J Mellencamp ( born October 7 , 1951 ) , also known as John Cougar Mellencamp , is an American musician , singer-songwriter , painter , and actor . He is known for his catchy , populist brand of heartland rock , which emphasizes traditional instrumentation . Mellencamp rose to superstardom in the 1980s while `` honing an almost startlingly plainspoken writing style that , starting in 1982 , yielded a string of Top 10 singles , '' including `` Hurts So Good , '' `` Jack & Diane , '' `` Crumblin ' Down , '' `` Pink Houses , '' `` Lonely Ol' Night , '' `` Small Town , '' `` R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. , '' `` Paper in Fire , '' and `` Cherry Bomb . '' He has amassed 22 Top 40 hits in the United States . In addition , he holds the record for the most tracks by a solo artist to hit number one on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart , with seven , and has been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards , winning one . Mellencamp released his latest album , Sad Clowns & Hillbillies , on April 28 , 2017 , to widespread critical acclaim . Mellencamp is also one of the founding members of Farm Aid , an organization that began in 1985 with a concert in Champaign , Illinois , to raise awareness about the loss of family farms and to raise funds to keep farm families on their land . Farm Aid concerts have remained an annual event over the past 32 years , and as of 2017 the organization has raised over $ 50 million to promote a strong and resilient family farm system of agriculture . Mellencamp was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10 , 2008 . His biggest musical influences are Bob Dylan , Woody Guthrie , James Brown , Buddy Holly and the Rolling Stones . Said longtime Rolling Stone contributor Anthony DeCurtis : `` Mellencamp has created an important body of work that has earned him both critical regard and an enormous audience . His songs document the joys and struggles of ordinary people seeking to make their way , and he has consistently brought the fresh air of common experience to the typically glamour-addled world of popular music . '' The late Billboard magazine editor-in-chief Timothy White said in 2001 : Johnny Cash called Mellencamp `` one of the 10 best songwriters '' in music .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "aabc0ecb9db1085600c3aa801c31ced1", "text": "The Highwaymen (country supergroup) The Highwaymen was a country music supergroup composed of four of the genre 's biggest artists well known for their pioneering influence on the outlaw country subgenre : Johnny Cash , Waylon Jennings , Willie Nelson , and Kris Kristofferson . Active as a group between 1985 and 1995 , these four artists recorded three major label albums as The Highwaymen : two on Columbia Records and one for Liberty Records . Their Columbia works produced three chart singles , including the number one `` Highwayman '' in 1985 . Between the years of 1996 and 1999 , Nelson , Kristofferson , Cash , and Jennings also provided the voice and dramatization for the Louis L'Amour Collection , a four CD box set of seven Louis L'Amour stories published by the HighBridge Company , although the four were not credited as `` The Highwaymen '' in this work . Besides the four formal members of the group , only one other vocal recording artist ever appeared on a Highwaymen recording : Johnny Rodriguez , who provided Spanish vocal on `` Deportee '' , a Woody Guthrie composition , from `` Highwayman '' . The four original members starred in a movie together : the 1986 film Stagecoach .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "51e47adb33edafb54fec54e5a4875ad3", "text": "Keith Nelson (basketball) Keith Nelson ( born ) is an American former basketball player who is best known for his collegiate career . After spending his first two seasons playing at a junior college , Nelson took his game to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga ( Chattanooga ) in the fall of 1990 . He spent two seasons playing at the Southern Conference school , an NCAA Division I institution . In just two seasons he scored 1,047 points , led the Mocs in scoring and rebounding both seasons , and was named the conference co-player of the year as a senior . Nelson , a center , was also a two-time First Team All-SoCon performer who guided Chattanooga to back-to-back co-SoCon regular season championships . His career 9.2 rebounds per game average is tops all-time in school history . In 2004 , the university inducted him into their athletics hall of fame .", "title": "" } ]
fever
779dc6b10bf20662cc6b20f8e3a53b34
The Smurfs (film) was released.
[ { "docid": "2304ce4b9444777c832d11e3a1e503be", "text": "The Smurfs (film) The Smurfs is a 2011 American 3D live-action/computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the comic book series of the same name created by the Belgian comics artist Peyo . It was directed by Raja Gosnell and stars Hank Azaria , Neil Patrick Harris , Jayma Mays and Sofía Vergara , with Jonathan Winters and Katy Perry as the voices of Papa Smurf and Smurfette . It is the first CGI/live-action hybrid film produced by Sony Pictures Animation , and the first in The Smurfs duology . The film tells the story of the Smurfs as they get lost in New York , and try to find a way to get back home before Gargamel catches them . After five years of negotiations , Jordan Kerner bought the rights in 2002 , and the film entered development with Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies , until Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation obtained the film rights in 2008 . Filming began in March 2010 in New York City . After having the release date changed three times , Columbia Pictures released The Smurfs on July 29 , 2011 . Box office analysts initially predicted the film would tie with Cowboys & Aliens , but The Smurfs ultimately came in second , grossing $ 35.6 million against Cowboys & Aliens $ 36.4 million gross . The Smurfs reached the $ 500 million milestone in the weekend of September 23 -- 25 , 2011 . A sequel , titled The Smurfs 2 , was released on July 31 , 2013 .", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "f6e4c9d7895fffe45a323a716e229026", "text": "Paranoid Park (film) Paranoid Park is a 2007 American-French drama film written and directed by Gus Van Sant . The film is based on the novel of the same name by Blake Nelson and takes place in Portland , Oregon . It stars Gabe Nevins as a teenage skateboarder who accidentally kills a security guard . Van Sant wrote the draft script in two days after reading and deciding to adapt Nelson 's novel . To cast the film 's youths , Van Sant posted an open casting call on social networking website MySpace inviting teenagers to audition for speaking roles , as well as experienced skateboarders to act as extras . Filming began in October 2006 and took place at various locations in and around Portland . Scenes at the fictional Eastside Skatepark were filmed at Burnside Skatepark which was , like Eastside , built illegally by skateboarders . Paranoid Park premiered on May 21 , at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and was given a limited release on March 7 , 2008 . It grossed over US$ 4,481,000 from its $ 3 million budget . The film received mostly positive reviews ; some critics praised the direction and cinematography in particular , though others believed the film to be overly stylized and slow paced . It won one Independent Spirit Award , two Boston Society of Film Critics awards and the Cannes Film Festival 's special 60th anniversary prize .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c3ec9d899eca67259ed9f51856f87b4f", "text": "Academy Award for Best Animated Feature The Academy Awards are given each year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ( AMPAS or the Academy ) for the best films and achievements of the previous year . The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is given each year for animated films . An animated feature is defined by the Academy as a film with a running time of more than 40 minutes in which characters ' performances are created using a frame-by-frame technique , a significant number of the major characters are animated , and animation figures in no less than 75 percent of the running time . The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature was first given for films made in 2001 . Through the 89th Academy Awards , presented in 2017 , Academy Award nominations in this category were made by the Academy 's animation section ; effective with the 2018 awards , all Academy members will be eligible to vote on nominations . The entire AMPAS membership has been eligible to choose the winner since the award 's inception . If there are sixteen or more films submitted for the category , the winner is voted from a shortlist of five films , which has happened six times , otherwise there will only be three films on the shortlist . Additionally , eight eligible animated features must have been theatrically released in Los Angeles County within the calendar year for this category to be activated . Animated films can be nominated for other categories , but have rarely been so ; Beauty and the Beast ( 1991 ) was the first animated film ever nominated for Best Picture . Up ( 2009 ) and Toy Story 3 ( 2010 ) also received Best Picture nominations after the Academy expanded the number of nominees . Waltz with Bashir ( 2008 ) is the only animated film ever nominated for Best Foreign Language Film ( though it did not receive a nomination for Best Animated Feature ) . The Nightmare Before Christmas ( 1993 ) and Kubo and the Two Strings ( 2016 ) are the only two animated films to ever be nominated for Best Visual Effects .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1445773c08da50707979a85167e4edf4", "text": "Houston Film Critics Society Awards 2010 The 4th Houston Film Critics Society Awards were presented on December 18 , 2010 . These awards for `` extraordinary accomplishment in film '' are presented annually by the Houston Film Critics Society ( HFCS ) based in Houston , Texas . The organization , founded in 2007 , includes 22 film critics for print , radio , television , and internet publications in the greater Houston area . The awards are co-sponsored by the Houston Film Commission , Southwest Alternate Media Project , Women in Film and Television/Houston , WorldFest , and the Houston Cinema Arts Society . The nominations for the 2010 awards were announced on December 12 , 2010 . Eligible films do not need to have played or opened in a Houston film theater prior to the nomination deadline , merely made available to the HFCS membership at a screening or on DVD . Along with the 13 `` best of '' category awards , this year also saw the introduction of a new category for `` Worst Movies of the Year '' . The Social Network , True Grit , and 127 Hours each received six nominations , all including the Best Picture , Actor , Direction , and Original Score categories . The Social Network was the HFCS 's most awarded film of 2010 taking top honors in the Best Picture , Best Director ( David Fincher ) , Best Actor ( Jesse Eisenberg ) , and Best Screenplay ( Aaron Sorkin ) categories . Inception was the only other film to garner multiple awards , winning both the Best Original Score ( Hans Zimmer ) and Best Cinematography ( Wally Pfister ) prizes . The other acting awards went to Natalie Portman as Best Actress for Black Swan , Hailee Steinfeld as Best Supporting Actress for True Grit , and Christian Bale as Best Supporting Actor for The Fighter . The remaining film honors went to Toy Story 3 as Best Animated Film , Restrepo as Best Documentary , and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as Best Foreign Language Film . `` We Are Sex Bob-Omb '' by Beck from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was named the Best Original Song . The HFCS 's first-ever award for `` Worst Picture '' was given to Jonah Hex starring Josh Brolin . In addition to the category awards , the HFCS presented their annual Lifetime Achievement Award to Sissy Spacek and its Humanitarian Award to George Clooney . Clooney was selected for `` selflessly using his celebrity for greater good '' . The HFCS award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinema awards were presented to Charles Dove , director of the Rice University Media Center , and Hector Luna , the founder and editor of C-47 Houston .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "83ff0526c7dba12a302a6e88f124aa57", "text": "Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers ( SMPTE ( -LSB- ˈsɪmptiː -RSB- , rarely -LSB- ˈsʌmptiː -RSB- ) , founded in 1916 as the Society of Motion Picture Engineers or SMPE , is an international professional association , based in the United States of America , of engineers working in the motion imaging industries . An internationally recognized standards organizations , SMPTE has more than 600 Standards , Recommended Practices , and Engineering Guidelines for television production , filmmaking , digital cinema , audio recording , information technology , and medical imaging . In addition to development and publication of technical standard documents , SMPTE publishes the SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal , provides networking opportunities for its members , produces academic conferences and exhibitions , and performs other industry-related functions . SMPTE Membership is open to any individual or organization with interest in the subject matter . SMPTE standards documents are copyrighted and may be purchased from the SMPTE website , or other distributors of technical standards . Standard documents may be purchased by the general public . Significant standards promulgated by SMPTE include : All film and television transmission formats and media , including digital . Physical interfaces for transmission of television signals and related data ( such as SMPTE time code and the Serial Digital Interface ) ( SDI ) SMPTE color bars Test card patterns and other diagnostic tools The Material eXchange Format , or MXF SMPTE 's educational and professional development activities include technical presentations at regular meetings of its local Sections , annual and biennial conferences in the US and Australia and the SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal . The society sponsors many awards , the oldest of which are the SMPTE Progress Medal , the Samuel Warner Memorial Medal , and the David Sarnoff Medal . SMPTE also has a number of student Chapters and sponsors scholarships for college students in the motion imaging disciplines . Related organizations include National Television System Committee ( NTSC ) Moving Picture Experts Group ( MPEG ) ITU Radiocommunication Sector ( formerly known as the CCIR ) ITU Telecommunication Sector ( formerly known as the CCITT ) Digital Video Broadcasting BBC Research Department European Broadcasting Union ( EBU )", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4a913a508bcb016d99cd6c7e4975a6a1", "text": "Major film studio A major film studio is a production and film distributor that releases a substantial number of films annually and consistently commands a significant share of box office revenue in a given market . In the North American , Western , and global markets , the major film studios , often simply known as the majors , are commonly regarded as the six diversified media conglomerates whose various film production and distribution subsidiaries collectively command approximately 80 to 85 percent of U.S. and Canadian box office revenue . The term may also be applied more specifically to the primary motion picture business subsidiary of each respective conglomerate . The `` Big Six '' majors , whose operations are based in or around the Los Angeles neighborhood of Hollywood , are all centered in film studios active during Hollywood 's Golden Age of the 1930s and 1940s . In three cases -- 20th Century Fox , Warner Bros. , and Paramount -- the studios were one of the `` Big Five '' majors during that era as well . In two cases -- Columbia and Universal -- the studios were also considered majors , but in the next tier down , part of the `` Little Three '' . In the sixth case , Walt Disney Studios was an independent production company during the Golden Age ; it was an important Hollywood entity , but not a major . Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , United Artists , and RKO were majors . Today , Disney is the only member of the Big Six whose parent entity is still located near Los Angeles ( actually , on Disney 's studio lot and in the same building ) . The five others report to conglomerates headquartered in New York City , Philadelphia , and Tokyo . Of the Big Six , Paramount is the only one still based in Hollywood , and Paramount and Fox are the only ones still located within the Los Angeles city limits , while Disney and Warner Bros. are located in Burbank , Columbia in Culver City , and Universal in the unincorporated area of Universal City . Most of today 's Big Six control subsidiaries with their own distribution networks that concentrate on arthouse pictures ( e.g. Fox Searchlight Pictures ) or genre films ( e.g. Sony 's Screen Gems ) ; several of these specialty units were shut down or sold off between 2008 and 2010 . The six major studios are contrasted with smaller production and/or distribution companies , which are known as independents or `` indies '' . The leading independent producer/distributors -- Lionsgate Films , The Weinstein Company , and former major studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer -- are sometimes referred to as `` mini-majors '' . From 1998 through 2005 , DreamWorks SKG commanded a large enough market share to arguably qualify it as a seventh major , despite its relatively small output . In 2006 , DreamWorks was acquired by Viacom , Paramount 's corporate parent . In late 2008 , DreamWorks once again became an independent production company ; its films were distributed by Disney 's Touchstone Pictures until 2016 , at which point distribution switched to Universal . The Big Six major studios are today primarily backers and distributors of films whose actual production is largely handled by independent companies -- either long-running entities or ones created for and dedicated to the making of a specific film . The specialty divisions often simply acquire distribution rights to pictures in which the studio has had no prior involvement . While the majors still do a modicum of true production , their activities are focused more in the areas of development , financing , marketing , and merchandising . Those business functions are still usually performed in or near Los Angeles , even though the runaway production phenomenon means that most films are now mostly or completely shot on location at places outside Los Angeles . Since the dawn of filmmaking , the U.S. major film studios have dominated both American cinema and the global film industry . U.S. studios have benefited from a strong first-mover advantage in that they were the first to industrialize filmmaking and master the art of mass-producing and distributing high-quality films with broad cross-cultural appeal . Today , the Big Six majors routinely distribute hundreds of films every year into all significant international markets ( that is , where discretionary income is high enough for consumers to afford to watch films ) . It is very rare , if not impossible , for a film to reach a broad international audience on multiple continents and in multiple languages without first being picked up by one of the majors for distribution .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6e354ea5742b0b505908f29013161619", "text": "Shout! Factory Shout ! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2003 . Its video releases include previously released feature films , classic and contemporary TV series , animation , live music , and comedy specials . Shout ! Factory also owns and operates Timeless Media Group , Biograph Records , Majordomo Records , HighTone Records , and Video Time Machine .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a555543bd4385eb8516cdf76fa407514", "text": "Miramax Miramax ( also known as Miramax Films , stylized as MIRAMAX ) is an American entertainment company known for producing and distributing films and television shows . It is headquartered in Santa Monica , California . Miramax was founded in 1979 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein , and was a leading independent film motion picture distribution and production company before it was acquired by the Walt Disney Company on June 30 , 1993 . Shortly thereafter , Pulp Fiction was released . The Weinsteins operated Miramax with more creative and financial independence than any other division of Disney , until September 30 , 2005 when they decided to leave the company and founded The Weinstein Company . Miramax was sold by Disney to Filmyard Holdings , a joint venture of Colony Capital , Tutor-Saliba Corporation , and Qatar Investment Authority , in 2010 , ending Disney 's 17-year ownership of the studio . In 2016 , ownership was transferred to beIN Media Group .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "aa06bf9fc7ba5619a3f0f67b83196f05", "text": "Midwest Independent Film Festival The Midwest Independent Film Festival is the nation 's only film festival solely dedicated to the Midwest filmmaker . Only films from the eight-state Midwest region of Illinois , Indiana , Iowa , Michigan , Minnesota , Missouri , Ohio and Wisconsin are considered for screening . This film festival is also unique in that it is held throughout the year , presenting audiences with the finest independent films from the Midwest every first Tuesday of the month . The Midwest Independent Film Festival prides itself on showcasing emerging directors , powerful artistic visions , and strong cinematic stories . These exceptional films combine with an exciting social atmosphere and a state-of-the-art screening venue to create one of the premier festivals in the Midwest . The Midwest Independent Film Festival is hosted every first Tuesday of the month at Chicago 's Landmark Century Centre Cinema of Landmark Theatres . Sponsors include Resolution Digital Studios , Zacuto , Fletcher Chicago , Orbit Media Studios , O'Connor Casting , Flashpoint The Academy of Media Arts and Sciences , Zipcar , The Chicago Film Office , The Illinois Film Office , Zaroban Design , Crunch Fitness , Getty Images , Screen Magazine and Kodak . This festival is sometimes referred to as `` The Midwest Film Festival , '' `` The Midwest Indie , '' or simply `` The Midwest . ''", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6a74fea574f9c13e4a5faae097cdcca7", "text": "Gorky Film Studio Gorky Film Studio is a film studio in Moscow , Russian Federation . By the end of the Soviet Union , Gorky Film Studio had produced more than 1,000 films . Many film classics were filmed at the Gorky Film Studio throughout its history and some of these were granted international awards at various film festivals .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7d49a128a07a8c4ed7b5bda0a6fcd21d", "text": "Masters of the Universe: The Movie Masters of the Universe : The Movie is an action-adventure game developed by Gremlin Graphics , and published in 1987 . It is based on the American film Masters of the Universe ( 1987 ) , directed by Gary Goddard . The film and the game are part of the Masters of the Universe media franchise . A promotional photo of Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as Skeletor illustrates the video game packaging . The MSX version of the game is titled Masters of the Universe . Two other Masters of the Universe video games were published in the same year : Masters of the Universe : The Arcade Game and Masters of the Universe : The Super Adventure .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "cd11123f0ea1626fcf43bc7c79cfffa4", "text": "Cairo International Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Cairo , Egypt . It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year since its inception , except for 2011 and 2013 , when it was cancelled due to budget limitations and political instability . The 38th edition will take place from November 15th , to 24th , 2016 . It is the only international competitive feature film festival recognized by the FIAPF in the Arab world and Africa , as well as the oldest in this category .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fb2dad83246a714cdbb504dad9c595a8", "text": "Simon Fields Simon Fields is a native of London and received his education at Stowe School . After graduation , he worked his way through the television commercial production ranks in London to become production manager for the Moving Picture Company . In 1978 , Fields became a producer for Jon Roseman Productions and moved to L.A. within a year to join its U.S. division . He , producer Paul Flattery and director Bruce Gowers . soon left to form Gowers , Fields , Flattery . In 1982 , Gowers Fields Flattery started representing director Steve Barron , of the UK company Limelight in the U.S. . In 1983 Fields left Gowers , Fields , Flattery with Barron to form the US version of Limelight , a company focused on music video , commercial and feature film production , with operations in Los Angeles and London . As president and CEO , Fields oversaw a television commercial division whose accounts included Calvin Klein , Nike and Budweiser , as well as producing the feature film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles . Limelight also became distinguished as a leader in music video production , working on projects with Michael Jackson , Madonna , Prince , Peter Gabriel , A-ha , David Bowie and others . Toward the end of his twelve-year tenure with Limelight , Fields teamed with director Peter Chelsom in developing and producing feature films . Together they shepherded the Ned Beatty romantic comedy Hear My Song , the Buena Vista distributed Funny Bones starring Oliver Platt and Jerry Lewis ( which earned Fields and Chelsom a London Critics Circle Film Award for British Producer of the Year ) , The Mighty starring Elden Henson , Kieran Culkin and Sharon Stone , Miramax 's romantic comedy Serendipity starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale , and the romantic comedy Shall We Dance , starring Richard Gere , Susan Sarandon and Jennifer Lopez . Through Nuyorican , Fields has produced several feature films and served as Executive Producer on many television productions : The crime drama Bordertown , starring Jennifer Lopez and Antonio Banderas , the Picture House release of El Cantante , the story of salsa pioneer Hector Lavoe , starring Lopez and Marc Anthony , and the Sony Pictures release of Feel the Noise , a drama set in New York & Puerto Rico . The company has also produced Dancelife , a dance competition reality series for MTV . Nuyorican also has non-scripted/reality division , and had its first series South Beach Tow premiere on TruTV in July 2011 . Simon Fields currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife Melanie and two children .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b1ed3555e03c9e9aaefdd27b4083a25b", "text": "St. Louis International Film Festival The St. Louis International Film Festival ( also known as SLIFF or Cinema St. Louis ) is an annual film festival in St. Louis , Missouri , which has been running since 1992 . The coordinating organization changed its name to `` Cinema St. Louis '' in 2003 . The festival screens approximately 300 films over a period of 10 days during November .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1014cedf8586e55ebe2fbd22497d55e4", "text": "Aardman Animations Aardman Animations , Ltd. , also known as Aardman Studios , or simply as Aardman , is a British animation studio based in Bristol . Aardman is known for films made using stop-motion clay animation techniques , particularly those featuring Plasticine characters Wallace and Gromit . After some experimental computer animated short films during the late 1990s , beginning with Owzat ( 1997 ) , it entered the computer animation market with Flushed Away ( 2006 ) . Aardman films have made $ 973.2 million worldwide and average $ 163 million per film . All of their stop motion films are among the highest-grossing stop-motion films , with their debut , Chicken Run ( 2000 ) , being their top-grossing film as well as the highest-grossing stop-motion film of all time .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "18a75c5ad0c17a861ba966e0fbe71d59", "text": "BAFTA Award for Best Film The BAFTA Award for Best Film is given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and presented at the British Academy Film Awards . It has been given since the 1st BAFTA Awards , representing the best films of 1947 , but until 1969 it was called the BAFTA Award for Best Film From Any Source . It is possible for films from any country to be nominated , although British films are also recognised in the category BAFTA Award for Best British Film and ( since 1983 ) foreign-language films in BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language . As such , there have been multiple occasions of a film being nominated in two of these categories . There has been one tie for the Best Film award when , in 1962 , Ballad of a Soldier tied with The Hustler for Best Film from any Source . Until 1981 , the award was given to the director , except in 1976 and 1977 , when it was given to the producers . From 1981 to 1985 , it was given solely to the producers , and then in 1986 , it was shared between the Director and Producer . In 1998 , it was once again given to only the producers . In the following lists , the titles and names in bold with a dark grey background are the winners and recipients respectively ; those not in bold are the nominees . The years given are those in which the films under consideration were released , not the year of the ceremony , which always takes place the following year .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "543e6171711ba98f8ffab048d4090a21", "text": "Finnkino Finnkino Oy is a Finnish film distributor and the biggest cinema chain in Finland . It was established in 1986 as a union of 34 companies working in the film industry . In 1994 Finnkino was acquired by the Rautakirja Group , which became a division of the Sanoma Group in 1999 . Finnkino operates a total of 18 movie theaters in ten cities . It also has subsidiaries in Latvia , Lithuania and Estonia , operated under the names of Forum Cinemas and Forum Distribution . In early 2017 , Finnkino and other Scandinavian and Baltic cinema chains were acquired by AMC Theatres . Finnkino 's biggest movie theatre multiplex is Tennispalatsi in Helsinki and its headquarters are located in Vantaa . In 2006 , Finnkino took over Finnish theatrical distribution for films by United International Pictures ' partner studios , Paramount Pictures ( including films by DreamWorks ) and Universal Pictures , after UIP decided to move its Finnish distribution base from Buena Vista International , which started distributing UIP 's films in Finland in 2002 after UIP shut down its Finnish distribution offices . Finnkino had already distributed these studios ' films on video for several years . Finnkino distributed Star Wars when the movie 's special edition was released .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "601c999353b05e482bdc578bda7fd3f5", "text": "38th Saturn Awards The 38th Saturn Awards , honoring the best in science fiction , fantasy and horror film and television in 2011 , were held on July 26 , 2012 in Burbank , California . The awards are presented by the Academy of Science Fiction , Fantasy and Horror Films . The six Best Film Award categories were respectively won by Rise of the Planet of the Apes ( Science Fiction ) , Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2 ( Fantasy ) , The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ( Horror or Thriller ) , Mission : Impossible -- Ghost Protocol ( Action or Adventure ) , The Skin I Live In ( International ) and Puss in Boots ( Animated ) . Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Super 8 led the winners with three each . In the television categories , Breaking Bad won three of its six nominations , including Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series . Fringe , The Walking Dead and Teen Wolf won the other Best Series Awards . Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2 became the first Harry Potter film to win Best Fantasy Film , for which the seven previous Harry Potter films were nominated , and only the second film of the series to win a Saturn Award , following The Philosopher 's Stone which won Best Costume in 2001 . Mission : Impossible -- Ghost Protocol also became the first Mission : Impossible film to win Best Action or Adventure Film , following the nominations of the first and third installments .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f8a2286bbb589db5b9795dbcc6e42f49", "text": "SUPERM SUPERM is an international multimedia art team founded in 2004 by Russian author and artist Slava Mogutin ( born 1974 ) and American artist and musician Brian Kenny ( b. 1982 ) . The artists come from different backgrounds : Siberian-born Mogutin was exiled from Russia at the age of 21 for his queer writings and activism ; Kenny was born on the American military base in Heidelberg , Germany , and grew up traveling throughout the US with his Catholic , military family . They are responsible for site-specific , multimedia gallery and museum shows in New York City , Los Angeles , London , Berlin , Stockholm , Oslo , Bergen , Moscow , and León ( Spain ) . SUPERM 's work uses all available media and source materials , ranging from reclaimed furniture and street art to personal fetish gear , hair and body fluids . Their installations combine photography , video , sound , text , drawing , painting , sculpture , collage and performance . Using their selves and their friends as models , actors , and collaborators , SUPERM creates a multidisciplinary body of site-specific work that reaches audiences far beyond the usual art crowd . Transgressive , political and personal , SUPERM work is a response to a world of shameless war propaganda , media brainwashing , corporate censorship , state-induced paranoia , and shrinking personal freedoms ; a world where natives of countries outside the European Union and the USA are treated as second-class citizens and nonconformists artists as criminals . Their videos have recently been shown at the GLBT Film Festival , The International Short Film Festival Oberhausen , MIX NYC , Revolution & Sexual Revolution Film Festival in Tokyo , Paris Gay & Lesbian Film Festival , PornfilmfestivalBerlin ( 2nd Prize in Short Film Competition ) , as well as various art and club venues across Europe and the US . SUPERM collaborators include Joakim Andreasson , Gio Black Peter , Marko Brozic , Christophe Chemin , Tom Dura , Jason Farrer , Christophe Hamaide-Pierson , Dominic Johnson , Marcelo Krasilcic , Bruce LaBruce , Josh Lee , Billy Miller , Dmitryi Rozin , and Desi Santiago .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "187e18bf20f300df29572466fbc0dc3b", "text": "Jeonju International Film Festival Launched in 2000 , Jeonju International Film Festival ( JIFF , Korean : 전주국제영화제 , Hanja : 全州國際映畵祭 ) is one of the Asian film festivals . In the first edition of JIFF , debut films of Darren ARONOFSKY , Fernando MEIRELLES , and Alejandro González IÑÁRRITU were introduced to South Korea . For the first time in Asia , Jiff highlighted early works of Béla TARR , Ulrich SEIDL , Laurent CANTET as well . The winners of Jeonju IFF 's International Competition Section include Matias PIÑEIRO , YING Liang , Denis CÔTÉ , Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL , SUWA Nobuhiro , John AKOMFRAH and MIIKE Takashi . Another point of Jeonju is that it produces movies as well . Directors that once invited to Jeonju IFF , were later invited again to Jeonju Digital Project ( JDP ) which is a set of three digital shorts . JDP granted financial support to masters for their short films and world-premiered those pieces in Jeonju . The former directors ran JDP include ZHANG Yuan , JIA Zhang Ke , TSAI Ming Liang , SUWA Nobuhiro , Shinji AOYAMA , BONG Joon-Ho , Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL , Shinya TSUKAMOTO , Darezhan OMIRVAEV , Pedro COSTA , Mahamat-saleh HAROUN , HONG Sang-soo , Lav DIAZ , Denis CÔTÉ , Jean-Marie STRAUB , Claire DENIS , José Luis GUERIN , YING Liang , Edwin , ZHANG Lu , KOBAYASHI Masahiro . Celebrating its 15th edition , JDP has boosted scale up to Feature-length with GYÖRGY Pálfi ( Hungary ) , PARK Jung bum/SHIN Yeon-shick ( Republic of Korea . ) One of the other characteristics of JIFF is its experimental section called Expanded Cinema ( formerly called Stranger than Cinema . ) Expanded Cinema is possibly the best experimental film section in Asia that world-premieres new project of directors such as Peter KUBELKA , Peter TSCHERKASSKY , Harun FAROCKI , Artavazd PELESHIAN , James BENNING , Alexander KLUGE , Pere PORTABEELA , Raya MARTIN , Romuald KARMAKAR , and Jon JOST .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "cd0ace1270f626365441a3fbd3d36d96", "text": "Unsimulated sex Unsimulated sex is the presentation in a film of sex scenes where the actors engage in an actual sex act , and are not just miming or simulating the actions . At one time in the United States such scenes were restricted by law and self-imposed industry standards such as the Motion Picture Production Code . Films showing explicit sexual activity were confined to privately distributed underground films , such as stag films or `` porn loops '' . Beginning in the late 1960s , most notably with Blue Movie by Andy Warhol , mainstream cinemas began pushing boundaries in terms of what was presented on screen . Although the vast majority of sexual situations depicted in mainstream cinema are simulated ( in early pornography , the main actors engaged in simulated sex , with inserts placed in the film ) , on rare occasions actors engage in real sex . The difference between these films and pornography is that , while such scenes might be considered erotic , the intent of these films is not solely pornographic . Notable examples include two of the eight Bedside-films and the six Zodiac-films from the 1970s , all of which were produced in Denmark and had many pornographic sex scenes , but were nevertheless considered mainstream films ( they all had mainstream casts and crews , and premiered in mainstream cinemas ) . The last of these films , Agent 69 Jensen i Skyttens tegn , was made in 1978 . From the end of the 1970s until the late 1990s it was rare to see hardcore scenes in mainstream cinema , but this changed with the success of Lars von Trier 's The Idiots ( 1998 ) , which heralded a wave of art-house films with explicit content , such as Romance ( 1999 ) , Baise-moi ( 2000 ) , Intimacy ( 2001 ) , Vincent Gallo 's The Brown Bunny ( 2003 ) , and Michael Winterbottom 's 9 Songs ( 2004 ) . Some simulated sex scenes are sufficiently realistic that critics mistakenly believe that they are real , such as the cunnilingus scene in the 2006 film Red Road .", "title": "" } ]
fever
a3683cf0b4189fe772f1d3628d0c1d25
South Korea has a highly educated workforce.
[ { "docid": "2c1ee9527e2753f95627ac16db5cda41", "text": "South Korea South Korea , officially the Republic of Korea ( ROK ; ) , is a sovereign state in East Asia , constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula . Officially , its territory consists of the whole Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands , which are largely mountainous . South Koreans lead a distinctive urban lifestyle , as half of them live in high-rises concentrated in the Seoul Capital Area with 25 million residents and the world 's sixth leading global city with the fourth largest economy and seventh most sustainable city in the world . The earliest neolithic Korean pottery dates to 8000 BC , with three kingdoms flourishing in the 1st century BC . The name Korea is derived from one of them , Goguryeo , also known as Koryŏ , which was a Han Chinese tributary state kingdom in East Asia that sent yearly tribute to the Emperor of China , ruling most of the Korean Peninsula and a small portion of Siberia and Inner Mongolia under Gwanggaeto the Great . Since their unification into Later Silla and Balhae in the 7th century , Korea enjoyed over a millennium of relative tranquility under long lasting dynasties . Under Sejong the Great in the 15th century , Koreans had one of the highest living standards in the world along with the Han Chinese and Japanese and developed improved versions many advanced innovations such as the metal movable type printing press in 1377 A.D. which was developed based on the previous Han Chinese Porcelain movable type printing press , used to print and publish the Jikji , the world 's oldest extant movable metal type printed paper book using the 8,000 year old traditional ancient Chinese writing system . Additionally , in 1443 Hangul was invented by the Korean King Sejong the Great as an easier alternative to the complex and difficult to learn ancient Chinese writing system which was usually reserved for elite academic scholars preparing for the imperial examinations of China . Hangul enabled anyone in the general Korean population to easily learn to read and write and transfer written information rather than spending years learning complicated ancient Chinese . Its rich and vibrant culture left 19 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity , the third largest in the world , along with 12 World Heritage Sites . Annexed into Imperial Japan in 1910 , Korea was divided after its surrender in 1945 , but a North Korean invasion led to the Korean War ( 1950 -- 1953 ) . Peace has since mostly continued with the two agreeing to work peacefully for reunification and the South solidifying peace as a regional power with the world 's 10th largest defence budget . South Korea , along with Taiwan , Singapore and Hong Kong ( China ) is one of the four high-tech industrialized developed countries often referred to as the Four Asian Economic Dragons . The South Korean economy soared at an annual average of 10 % for over 30 years in a period of rapid transformation called the Miracle on the Han River . A long legacy of openness and focus on innovation made it successful . Today , it is the world 's seventh largest advanced economy and fifth largest exporter with the G20 's largest budget surplus and highest credit rating of any country in East Asia . It has free trade agreements with 75 % of the world economy and is the only G20 nation trading freely with China , the US and the EU simultaneously . Since 1988 , its constitution guarantees a liberal democracy with high government transparency and many fundamental rights such as universal healthcare . High personal freedoms led to the rise of a globally influential pop culture such as K-pop and K-drama , a phenomenon called the Korean Wave , known for its distinctive fashionable and trendy style . Home of the UN Green Climate Fund and GGGI , South Korea is a leader in low carbon green growth , committed to helping developing countries as a major DAC and Paris Club contributor . It is the world 's third least ignorant country in the Index of Ignorance , ranking eighth highest for peaceful tolerance and inclusion of minorities on the Fragile States Index . South Korea is a technologically advanced developed country driven by a highly educated and skilled workforce , having the world 's eighth highest median household income , the highest in Asia . Globally , it ranks highly in personal safety , job security , ease of doing business and healthcare quality , with the world 's third highest health adjusted life expectancy and fourth most efficient healthcare system . It is the world 's largest spender on R&D per GDP , leading the OECD in graduates in science and engineering and ranking third in the Youth Wellbeing Index . Home of Samsung , LG and Hyundai-Kia , South Korea was named the world 's most innovative country for 4 consecutive years since 2014 in the Bloomberg Innovation Index , ranking first in business R&D intensity , manufacturing value-added , patents filed per GDP , second in higher education efficiency and fourth in high-tech density and researcher concentration . In 2005 , it became the world 's first country to fully transition to high-speed Internet and today it has the world 's fastest Internet speed and highest smartphone ownership , ranking first in ICT Development , e-Government and 4G LTE coverage .", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "36b885a80d3e1462ba3756c10465bbc9", "text": "University of Seoul The University of Seoul ( UOS ) ( Korean : 서울시립대학교 ) is a public university located in Seoul , Korea . It was founded as Kyung Sung Public Agricultural College in 1918 and renamed the University of Seoul in 1997 . UOS is one of top 3 universities without medical school in Korea in 2012 . According to 2015 report from The Times Higher Education , UOS ranked 7th among the all Korean universities and 49th among all the Asian universities . In another survey , UOS ranked 14th in the Asian midsize universities . UOS was reported the best value public university in Korea , with high financial investment and scholarship amount per student . Students ' affinity to the school was ranked in the first place and students ' satisfaction is in the second according to a 2010 survey . UOS is famous for a large number of alumni working as national or municipal government officials . UOS is specialized in College of Urban Science and has top-tier programs of environmental engineering , science in taxation , transportation engineering , urban planning and design , landscape architecture , and urban administration . In 2012 , the mayor of Seoul , Park Won-soon , implemented a campaign promise , `` Half-priced tuition '' as soon as he started his term . The half-priced tuition was initiated in UOS first so that it would drive other universities to decrease their tuition . In 2013 , UOS tuition per semester ranged from $ 915 to $ 1,441 ( two semesters a year , 1,117.3 won / $ in 2013 ) . Because of high quality of education and low tuition of UOS , admission process has been more competitive . And student 's satisfaction is still very high . In 2012 , the registration rate of new students was very high ( 96 % ) and the withdrawal rate of students was extremely low ( 0.97 % ) , compared with other universities in Seoul . Because UOS students think that they take a lot of financial and educational benefits from the Seoul government , most of them participate in social works . Number of social work volunteers in 2012 was 3,105 and is expected to increase .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "415fcdd5d4a0f51d3745c60b2e8574f7", "text": "Japanese work environment Many both in and outside Japan share an image of the Japanese work environment that is based on a and '' model used by large companies as well as a reputation of long work-hours and strong devotion to one 's company . This environment is said to reflect economic conditions beginning in the 1920s , when major corporations competing in the international marketplace began to accrue the same prestige that had traditionally been ascribed to the daimyo-retainer relationship of feudal Japan or government service in the Meiji Restoration . At the very top , the most prestigious companies would recruit and retain the best workers by offering better benefits and truly lifetime job security . By the 1960s , employment at a large prestigious company had become the goal of children of the new middle class , the pursuit of which required mobilization of family resources and great individual perseverance in order to achieve success in the fiercely competitive education system . Employees are expected to work hard and demonstrate loyalty to the firm , in exchange for some degree of job security and benefits , such as housing subsidies , good insurance , the use of recreation facilities , and bonuses and pensions . Wages begin low , but seniority is rewarded , with promotions based on a combination of seniority and ability . Leadership is not based on assertiveness or quick decision making but on the ability to create consensus , taking into account the needs of subordinates . Surveys indicate continued preference for bosses who are demanding but show concern for workers ' private lives over less-demanding bosses interested only in performance on the job . This system rewards behavior demonstrating identification with the team effort , indicated by singing the company song , not taking all of one 's vacation days , and sharing credit for accomplishments with the work group . Pride in one 's work is expressed through competition with other parallel sections in the company and between one 's company and other companies in similar lines of business . Thus , individuals are motivated to maintain wa ( harmony ) and participate in group activities , not only on the job but also in after-hours socializing ( nomikai ) . The image of group loyalty , however , may be more a matter of ideology than practice , especially for people who do not make it to the top .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0a9be80cb85c4ce3acbc67a926150b0d", "text": "National Training Institute of Education, Science and Technology National Training Institute of Education , Science and Technology ( NEST ) is a training institute set up by the Korean Ministry of Education , Science and Technology ( MEST ) . It is located in Bangbae 3-dong , Seocho-gu , Seoul , South Korea .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "cf070870c2b87db640ee65a215199b56", "text": "Changwon National University Changwon National University is a public institution of higher education located in Changwon , an industrial city in the southeast of South Korea . It is home to the country 's first graduate school of labor . The school enrolls close to 15,000 students , and employs 304 instructors as of 2004 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a44a15b1c3b64c2da89f466d67824c5f", "text": "Pyeongtaek Pyeongtaek ( -LSB- pʰjʌŋ.tʰɛ̝k̚ -RSB- ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province , South Korea . Located in the southwestern part of the province , Pyeongtaek was founded as a union of two districts in 940 , during the Goryeo dynasty . It was elevated to city status in 1986 , and is home to a South Korean naval base and a large concentration of United States troops . The Korean government plans to transform Pyeongtaek city to an international economic hub to coincide with the move of the United States Forces Korea ( USFK ) to Pyeongtaek . During the Korean War it was the site of an early battle between US and North Korean forces , the Battle of Pyongtaek . It is the location of Pyeongtaek University .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "86795d67457ee58b83b33117df3bdc05", "text": "Football in South Korea The sport of football in the country of South Korea is run by the Korea Football Association . The association administers the national football team as well as the K-League . Football is one of the country 's most popular sports along with baseball .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "040c23f465d4323494d3bed2dc00563d", "text": "South Korean web culture South Korean web culture indicates distinct activities that South Korean internet users enjoy on the web . Most of the internet users are in the 13 - 50 age range . People often access the Internet through cyber cafes ( Korean : PC방 ; PC bang ) . Most of the activities are targeted to teenagers and college students . Youngsters who feel more comfortable texting than talking are known as the `` thumb tribe '' . The LG Mobile World Cup , an international competition held on January 14 , 2010 , in which participants competed using their texting speed and accuracy was won by a pair of South Koreans . Highly urbanized at 92 % , South Koreans lead a distinctive urban lifestyle ; half of them live in high-rises concentrated in the Seoul Capital Area with 25 million residents . The rise of online social activities closely mirrors the wider cultural trend towards shared spaces , such as the habitual use of coffee houses . South Korea enjoys the world 's swiftest Internet speeds and the highest rate of Internet penitration but also suffers from very high censorship of content .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "db099357f8be53748cf21e8b41afb481", "text": "Bucheon Bucheon ( -LSB- pu.tɕʰʌn -RSB- ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province , South Korea . Bucheon is a satellite city of Seoul , 25 km away . This city is located between Incheon and Seoul . Bucheon is the second most densely populated city in South Korea after Seoul , and as a result , administrative districts were abolished in July 2016 in favor of providing greater public service in community centers . Major manufacturing operations are located in the northern areas of the city , while the areas in the south where Seoul Subway Line 7 and Seoul Subway Line 1 pass are dense commercial and residential areas .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "80237e514ce5e7d0e9e321862ffa4a4f", "text": "Education Education is the process of facilitating learning , or the acquisition of knowledge , skills , values , beliefs , and habits . Educational methods include storytelling , discussion , teaching , training , and directed research . Education frequently takes place under the guidance of educators , but learners may also educate themselves . Education can take place in formal or informal settings and any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks , feels , or acts may be considered educational . The methodology of teaching is called pedagogy . Education is commonly divided formally into such stages as preschool or kindergarten , primary school , secondary school and then college , university , or apprenticeship . A right to education has been recognized by some governments , including at the global level : Article 13 of the United Nations ' 1966 International Covenant on Economic , Social and Cultural Rights recognizes a universal right to education . In most regions , education is compulsory up to a certain age .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "77e60d4a3a822bb44e6fd5d634343142", "text": "Korean Wave The Korean Wave ( , , a neologism literally meaning `` flow of Korea '' ) is the increase in global popularity of South Korean culture since the 1990s . First driven by the spread of K-dramas and K-pop across East , South and Southeast Asia during its initial stages , the Korean Wave evolved from a regional development into a global phenomenon , carried by the Internet and social media and the proliferation of K-pop music videos on YouTube . Since the turn of the 21st century , South Korea has emerged as a major exporter of popular culture and tourism , aspects which have become a significant part of its burgeoning economy . The growing popularity of Korean pop culture in many parts of the world has prompted the South Korean government to support its creative industries through subsidies and funding for start-ups , as a form of soft power and in its aim of becoming one of the world 's leading exporters of culture along with Japanese and British culture , a niche that the United States has dominated for nearly a century . During this time the Korean society began to be recognized as a developed country similar to that of the Western world . Part of the success of the Korean Wave owes in part to the development of social networking services and online video sharing platforms such as YouTube , which have allowed the Korean entertainment industry to reach a sizable overseas audience . Use of these media in facilitating promotion , distribution and consumption of various forms of Korean entertainment ( and K-pop in particular ) has contributed to their surge in worldwide popularity since the mid-2000s .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "aa579097828415d8d256c3b380543543", "text": "Induk University Induk University is a university in Seoul , South Korea . It was established by Asian American writer Induk Pahk as `` Berea in Korea '' in 1963 , became the `` Induk Institute of Design '' in 1971 , and was renamed `` Induk University '' in 2009 . It is located in Nowon-gu , along with a number of other educational institutes . The university provides a range of two - and three-year courses . Soo Jung Kimcreator of Dooly the Little Dinosaur and former president of the Korea Animation Producers Associationteaches at the university 's Department of Animation . Actor Shin Hyun-joon is an acting professor in the Department of Broadcasting and Entertainment . The university has a number of student clubs and business start-up clubs . After the 2010 Chile earthquake students from the Department of Tourism and Leisure Management raised 800,000 won to help rebuild a school in Chile .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c5348c36658da5827d2afea5fbc504df", "text": "South Korean South Korean may refer to : Something of , from , or related to South Korea , a country in East Asia , in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula . For information about the South Korean people , see : Demographics of South Korea Culture of South Korea the Korean language as spoken in South Korea", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3782131680421c17f10e6b35066daf9e", "text": "Private enterprise in Japan The engine of Japanese economic growth has been private initiative and enterprise , together with strong support and guidance from the government and from labor . The most numerous enterprises were single proprietorships , of which there were more than 4 million in the late 1980s . The dominant form of organization ; however , is the Corporation . In 1988 some 2 million corporations employed more than 30 million workers , or nearly half of the total labor force of 60.1 million people . Corporations range from large to small , but the favored type of organization is the joint-stock company , with directors , auditors , and yearly stockholders ' meetings .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d0c10b2ad3c7f5f491773e2197bffca5", "text": "Ahn Byong-man Ahn Byong-man ( born 1941 ) is a South Korean academic , and the former President of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies . He received his bachelor 's and master 's degrees from the Seoul National University in 1964 and 1967 , and went on to the University of Florida for doctoral studies , graduating in 1973 . In 1975 he joined the faculty of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul , South Korea . While at this institution he served as the Dean of Student Affairs , Dean of the Graduate School , and in 1994 he was named President . He served in this capacity until 2004 . Ahn was a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence at the University of Delaware , and received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the University of Delaware in 2004 . He was also a visiting professor at the university . He also received a University of Florida Distinguished Alumnus Award in May 2005 . A non-party politician , he served as Minister for Education , Science and Technology in the Lee Myung-bak government from 6 August 2008 until 30 August 2010 . During his tenure , he pushed through an ambitious reform of English-as-a-foreign-language education in South Korea in an effort to reduce the reliance on hagwon in teaching the language . One of the first steps he took in this regard was to begin the development of a new English proficiency test modeled on Japan 's STEP Eiken test , the National English Ability Test , with the aim of replacing the TOEIC and TOEFL for domestic purposes such as university admissions and job candidate selection . Around the same time , he also requested the resignations of seven senior officials in the Ministry .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9ccbe42c5afb30c6ff5b4ab7e352f95c", "text": "Gangnam District The Gangnam District is one of the 25 local government districts which make up the city of Seoul , South Korea . Gangnam -LSB- kaŋnam -RSB- literally means `` South of the ( Han ) River '' . As of the 2010 census , Gangnam District had a population of 527,641 , making it the 4th most populated district in Seoul . Gangnam District is the third largest district in Seoul , with an area of 39.5 km2 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d525264d7596a2c48f682207b66a26ff", "text": "Goyang Goyang ( Goyang-si ; -LSB- ko.jaŋ -RSB- ) is a city in Gyeonggi-do in the north of South Korea . It is part of the Seoul Capital Area , making Goyang one of Seoul 's satellite cities . It is one of the largest cities in the Seoul Capital Area , with a population of just over 1 million . The city is the site of the Ilsan New Town , a planned city surrounding the Ilsandong-gu and Ilsanseo-gu districts of Goyang . Several institutions of higher learning are located in Goyang . These include Agricultural Cooperative College , Korea Aerospace University , and Transnational Law and Business University . In sports , the city was home to the K League Challenge football team Goyang Zaicro FC until its disbandment in 2016 . The Challengers League football team Goyang Citizen FC and the Korean Basketball League team Goyang Orion Orions are based in the city .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6e9ce3ac17ce08cd31544cb6c6a58701", "text": "Sin Sukju Sin Suk-ju ( Korean : 신숙주 , hanja : 申叔舟 ; August 2 , 1417 -- July 23 , 1475 ) was a Korean politician during the Joseon Dynasty . He served as Prime Minister from 1461 to 1466 and again from 1471 to 1475 . Shin was an accomplished polyglot , and was particularly well educated in the Chinese language . He served as a personal linguistic expert to King Sejong , and was intimately involved in the creation and application of the Korean alphabet known in modern times as Hangul . Sin used the newly created hangul system to create an accurate transcription of spoken Mandarin Chinese in 15th century Ming dynasty China . These transcriptions haven proven accurate and reliable , and his transcriptions are now `` an invaluable source of information on the pronunciations of Ming-era -LSB- Mandarin -RSB- . ''", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f481d09baeab98ad879b70c0d70506a0", "text": "Academic grading in South Korea Academic grading in South Korea depends on the type of school in which it is involved in . In University , the grade runs upon a letter-type grade similar to American schools . The letter grades can add up to different numbered averages , from 0.0 to 4.5 . However , in Middle School , the grades are based on characters that of the Korean language , such as '' 수 '' meaning `` Outstanding '' , or '' 양 '' meaning `` Needs Improvement '' .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "66080547f713df595e38324e1d905d31", "text": "Office of the Yi Dynasty The Office of the Yi Dynasty or called Yiwangjik was an organization to manage every affairs related to the royal House of Yi of Korea during the Japanese occupation . It was established in February 1911 under the direction of the Japanese Government-General of Korea . As the Empire of Korea was relegated to the Yi Dynasty after the annexation of Korea to Japan in 1910 , Yiwangjik was descended from `` Gungnaebu '' ( Department of the Royal Household ) of the Korean Empire which was in charge of the affairs of the royal family . It is also translated into English as `` Yi Royal Household '' or `` Office of Yi Royal Family '' The term , Yiwangjik comprises three words in Korean ; Yi means the House of Yi and `` wang '' means titles and ranks of the royalty by Japanese investiture , and jik refers to government office . The office also governed the affairs related to documenting the House of Yi , so compiled the Annal of Gojong and Sujong . Appointments , rewards , and punishment on officers of Yiwangjik was governed by the Japanese Imperial Household Ministry as well as supervised by the Governor-General of Korea .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "af1ba06fa734516af7fdf581b8c23fe6", "text": "South Chungcheong Province South Chungcheong Province , officially Chungcheongnam-do ( -LSB- tɕʰuŋ.tɕʰʌŋ.nam.do -RSB- ; abbreviated Chungnam ) , is a province in the west of South Korea . The province was formed in 1896 from the south-western half of the former Chungcheong Province and remained a province of Korea until the country 's division in 1945 , thereafter becoming part of South Korea . In 2012 , the provincial capital moved from Daejeon to Hongseong .", "title": "" } ]
fever
94c84ae505659f9aa9f451ae9f06f02d
Hacksaw Ridge came out in America on November 4, 2016.
[ { "docid": "81711dc7896bde2644a866d688025aef", "text": "Hacksaw Ridge Hacksaw Ridge is a 2016 biographical war drama film about the World War II experiences of Desmond Doss , an American pacifist combat medic who was a Seventh-day Adventist Christian , refusing to carry or use a firearm or weapons of any kind . Doss became the first conscientious objector to be awarded the Medal of Honor , for service above and beyond the call of duty during the Battle of Okinawa . The film was directed by Mel Gibson and written by Andrew Knight and Robert Schenkkan , based on a 2004 documentary about Doss , and stars Andrew Garfield as Doss , with Sam Worthington , Luke Bracey , Teresa Palmer , Hugo Weaving , Rachel Griffiths and Vince Vaughn in supporting roles . It was released in the United States on November 4 , 2016 , received positive reviews and grossed $ 175.3 million worldwide . Hacksaw Ridge was chosen by the American Film Institute as one of its top ten Movies of the Year , and has received numerous awards and nominations . The film received six Oscar nominations at the 89th Academy Awards , including Best Picture , Best Director , Best Actor for Garfield and Best Sound Editing , winning the awards for Best Sound Mixing and Best Film Editing . It also received Golden Globe nominations for Best Picture , Best Director and Best Actor , and 12 AACTA Awards nominations , winning the majority , including Best Film , Best Direction , Best Original Screenplay , Best Actor for Garfield , and Best Supporting Actor for Weaving .", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "1b53333990f2a7778bd985ada5e10b30", "text": "United States presidential election, 2016 The United States presidential election of 2016 was the 58th quadrennial American presidential election , held on Tuesday , November 8 , 2016 . The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana Governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Senator from Virginia Tim Kaine . Trump took office as the 45th President , and Pence as the 48th Vice President , on January 20 , 2017 . Concurrent with the presidential election , Senate , House , and many gubernatorial and state and local elections were also held on November 8 . Voters selected members of the Electoral College in each state , in most cases by `` winner-takes-all '' plurality ; those state electors in turn voted for a new president and vice president on December 19 , 2016 . While Clinton received about million more votes nationwide , a margin of % , Trump won 30 states worth a total of 306 electors , or 57 % of the 538 available . He won the perennial swing states of Florida , North Carolina , Ohio , and Iowa , as well as Clinton 's `` blue wall '' states of Michigan , Pennsylvania and Wisconsin , which had been Democratic strongholds in presidential elections for decades . Leading up to the election , a Trump victory was considered unlikely by almost all media forecasts . In the Electoral College vote on December 19 , seven electors voted against their pledged candidates : two against Trump and five against Clinton . A further three electors attempted to vote against Clinton but were replaced or forced to vote again . Ultimately , Trump received 304 electoral votes and Clinton garnered 227 , while Colin Powell won three , and John Kasich , Ron Paul , Bernie Sanders , and Faith Spotted Eagle each received one . Trump is the fifth person in U.S. history to become president while losing the nationwide popular vote . He is the first president without any prior experience in public service or the military , as well as the wealthiest and the oldest at inauguration , while Clinton was the first woman to be the presidential nominee of a major party and the first woman to win the popular vote . This was the first time since the 1984 re-election of Ronald Reagan that Wisconsin voted for a Republican , and the first time since 1988 that the Republican nominee won the states of Pennsylvania and Michigan , as well as Maine 's second congressional district . It was also the first time since the 1828 election of Andrew Jackson that an electoral vote split occurred in Maine . On January 6 , 2017 , the United States government 's intelligence agencies concluded that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 United States elections . A joint U.S. intelligence review stated with high confidence that `` Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election . Russia 's goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process , denigrate Secretary Clinton , and harm her electability and potential presidency . '' Investigations about potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials were started by the FBI , the Senate Intelligence Committee and the House Intelligence Committee . Donald Trump has criticized these conclusions by citing a lack of evidence , calling it a `` hoax '' and `` fake news , '' stating in a tweet : `` The Russia-Trump collusion story is a total hoax , when will this taxpayer funded charade end ? ''", "title": "" }, { "docid": "1d225dc315258d25b16334c717f86aa8", "text": "Wakefield (film) Wakefield is a 2016 American drama film directed and written by Robin Swicord , based on the short story of same name by E. L. Doctorow . The film stars Bryan Cranston and Jennifer Garner . Principal photography began on November 30 , 2015 , in Pasadena , California . The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on September 2 , 2016 . It was released in a limited release on May 19 , 2017 , before being released through video on demand on May 26 , 2017 , by IFC Films .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f45fd7462e4c7062c294f43d86aa961a", "text": "Puberty 2 Puberty 2 is the fourth studio album by American indie rock musician Mitski , released by Dead Oceans Records on June 17 , 2016 . The album was solely produced by Patrick Hyland . Puberty 2 was released to widespread critical acclaim , with many critics praising Mitski 's emotional delivery and lyrically-complex themes , which include longing , love , depression , alienation , and racial identity .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "2086c023ccd016c425d304ba5a7af1a4", "text": "Buddymoon Buddymoon ( previously known as Honey Buddies ) is a 2016 American independent comedy film directed by Alex Simmons ; written by Simmons , Flula Borg , and David Giuntoli ; and starring Borg and Giuntoli . It is the story of a former child actor ( Giuntoli ) whose fiancée leaves him days before their wedding . In an effort to cheer him up , his best friend and would-be best man ( Borg ) convinces him that the two of them should go on the planned honeymoon trip together . Buddymoon premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City , Utah on January 23 , 2016 and received their Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature . It also appeared , among other places , at the Florida Film Festival , where it also won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature , and it was the opening film for the Ashland ( Oregon ) Independent Film Festival . In March 2016 , worldwide distribution rights to the film were acquired by Gravitas Ventures and Orion Pictures . Its theatrical and home video release was on July 1 , 2016 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "cf393df699a2ff341c5a393680c4168a", "text": "51st Academy of Country Music Awards The 51st Academy of Country Music Awards were held on April 3 , 2016 , at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas , Nevada . Nominations for the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards were announced on February 1 , 2016 . Previously , some categories including Entertainer of the Year , New Male Vocalist of the Year , New Female Vocalist of the Year , and New Duo or Group of the Year were voted directly by fans . Beginning with the 2016 awards show , these became incorporated into a professional membership voting process . Luke Bryan returned to host the show for his fourth consecutive year , with Dierks Bentley as his co-host .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6da6840195f3773854a1b5d293e37bde", "text": "Amnesia: The Dark Descent Amnesia : The Dark Descent is a survival horror video game by Frictional Games , released for Microsoft Windows , Mac OS X , Linux and PlayStation 4 platforms . The game features a protagonist named Daniel exploring a dark and foreboding castle , while avoiding monsters and other obstructions as well as solving puzzles . The game was critically well received , earning two awards from the Independent Games Festival and numerous positive reviews . Originally released independently via online distribution , the game has since been published in retail by 1C Company in Russia and Eastern Europe , as well as THQ in North America . A collection of five short stories set in the world of Amnesia , written by Mikael Hedberg and illustrated by the game 's concept artists , was also made available . In addition , the game 's soundtrack is available for purchase and a free content expansion Justine has been released as well as many fan-made expansions and stories for its unique `` Custom Story '' gamemode . The Amnesia Collection -- which contains The Dark Descent , its Amnesia : Justine expansion and the sequel , A Machine for Pigs -- was released for PlayStation 4 on 22 November 2016 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fae0b8573ec5278fde9ca84ea19f7078", "text": "Sniper: Ghost Shooter Sniper : Ghost Shooter is a 2016 direct-to-video action film . The film is the sixth installment of the Sniper film series '' .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ea9c0108a6294dff52c06bc0ae860abc", "text": "4x4 (song) `` 4x4 '' is a song by American recording artist Miley Cyrus featuring American rapper Nelly from Cyrus ' fourth studio album Bangerz ( 2013 ) . It was written and produced by Pharrell Williams , with additional songwriting provided by Cyrus and Nelly . The song is a country rap track that discusses having fun through the metaphor of a 4x4 truck . The song is sampled in British indie rock band Alt-J 's 2014 single `` Hunger of the Pine '' . `` 4x4 '' received generally favorable reviews from contemporary music critics , who appreciated its overall production and individuality compared to the other tracks included on Bangerz . Despite not having been released as a single , it peaked at number 41 on the U.S. Billboard Pop Digital Songs chart . Cyrus first performed the song during her episode of MTV Unplugged in January 2014 , and has also performed it during her Bangerz Tour . In August 2014 , Ubisoft revealed that the song will appear in Just Dance 2015 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a97c8d57165b12f8846d671a454cc5fd", "text": "Shawangunk Ridge The Shawangunk Ridge -LSB- ˈʃɑːwəŋɡʌŋk -RSB- , also known as the Shawangunk Mountains or The Gunks , is a ridge of bedrock in Ulster County , Sullivan County and Orange County in the state of New York , extending from the northernmost point of New Jersey to the Catskill Mountains . Shawangunk Ridge is the continuation of the long , easternmost ridge of the Appalachian Mountains ; the ridge is known as Kittatinny Mountain in New Jersey , and as Blue Mountain as it continues through Pennsylvania . This ridge constitutes the western border of the Great Appalachian Valley . The ridgetop , which widens considerably at its northern end , has many public and private protected areas and is not heavily populated . Its only settlement of consequence is unincorporated Cragsmoor . In the past , the ridge was chiefly noted for mining and logging and a boom-era of huckleberry picking . Fires were regularly set to burn away the undergrowth and stimulate new growth of huckleberry bushes . Today the ridge has become known for its outdoor recreation , most notably as one of the major rock climbing areas of North America . Also known for its biodiversity and scenic character , the ridge has been designated by The Nature Conservancy as a significant area for its conservation programs .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "12674ee5595c902e4c24c23c8d377d9f", "text": "Amityville: Vanishing Point Amityville : Vanishing Point is a 2016 film directed by Dylan Greenberg .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4a4cef110ecdb679c24fdcd612673fce", "text": "Gears of War Gears of War is a video game franchise created and originally owned by Epic Games , developed and managed by The Coalition , and owned and published by Microsoft Studios . The series focuses on the conflict between humanity , the subterranean reptilian hominids known as the Locust Horde , and their mutated counterparts , the Lambent & the Swarm . The franchise consists of five third-person shooter video games , which has also been supplemented by a comic book series and five novels . The first installment , titled Gears of War , was released on November 7 , 2006 for the Xbox 360 . The game follows protagonist Marcus Fenix , a soldier in the Coalition of Ordered Governments tasked to lead a last-ditch effort to destroy the Locust Horde and save humanity . Two subsequent titles , Gears of War 2 ( 2008 ) and Gears of War 3 ( 2011 ) , continued Fenix and humanity 's ongoing conflict with the Locust Horde and Lambent forces . In 2013 , Epic Games and Microsoft released Gears of War : Judgment , a prequel to the series ' first title , which instead focuses on Damon Baird , one of Fenix 's squad-mates . Gears of War : Ultimate Edition was released for Microsoft Windows on March 1 , 2016 . The series ' third sequel , Gears of War 4 , is set 25 years after Gears of War 3 and follows Marcus Fenix 's son , JD , as he battles new foes that threaten humanity . Gears of War was developed by Epic Games . Cliff Bleszinski , who has previously worked on Epic 's Unreal Tournament games , served the series ' lead game designer for the first three installments . He was inspired by gameplay elements from Resident Evil 4 , Kill Switch , and Bionic Commando . The series was also guided by Rod Fergusson , the executive producer and director of development of Epic Games until 2012 . The first four installments of the Gears of War series used a modified version of the Unreal Engine 3 engine . On January 27 , 2014 , Microsoft acquired all rights to the franchise from Epic Games . Canadian studio The Coalition developed Gears of War 4 , which was released on October 11 , 2016 for the Xbox One and Windows 10 . Gears of War became one of the best-selling franchises for the Xbox 360 . The series is well known for its emphasis on cover-based combat , in which players can use objects to avoid gunfire or safely engage enemies . All five installments in Gears of War featured several multiplayer modes that allowed players to compete against each other or team-up to battle AI opponents on Xbox Live . The Gears of War games have been amongst the most popular and most played titles on Xbox Live .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "0c8b4ee285a7558a88f2f71711472452", "text": "Idaho Democratic caucuses, 2016 The 2016 Idaho Democratic caucuses took place on March 22 in the U.S. state of Idaho as one of the Democratic Party 's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election . Voters convened in each of Idaho 's 44 counties at 7 p.m. Mountain Standard Time/6 p.m Pacific Standard Time to proportionally allocate the state 's 27 delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in July .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "f7339c77722bd6d0ab2442f60f31e51e", "text": "Big Stone Gap (film) Big Stone Gap is a 2014 American drama romantic comedy film written and directed by Adriana Trigiani and produced by Donna Gigliotti for Altar Identity Studios , a subsidiary of Media Society . Based on Trigiani 's 2000 best-selling novel of the same name , the story is set in the actual Virginia town of Big Stone Gap circa 1970s . The film had its world premiere at the Virginia Film Festival on November 6 , 2014 . The film was released on October 9 , 2015 , by Picturehouse . The film was released in Blu-Ray by Universal Pictures on February 2 , 2016 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "74e47255cdc858f93b6c54c9bfcbe9cb", "text": "LBJ (film) LBJ is a 2017 American political drama film directed by Rob Reiner and written by Joey Hartstone . The film stars Woody Harrelson , Richard Jenkins , Bill Pullman , Kim Allen , Michael Stahl-David , Jennifer Jason Leigh , Jeffrey Donovan , Doug McKeon , and Michael Mosley . Filming began on September 21 , 2015 in New Orleans . It was screened at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival . On October 12 , 2016 at the 27th edition of the New Orleans Film Festival , Rob Reiner accepted the inaugural Career Achievement Award from LBJ lead actor Woody Harrelson . LBJ made a second film festival showing in less than a month . On May 2 , 2017 , it was announced that Dean Devlin 's Electric Entertainment had acquired all of the film 's North American rights and that the film would be released in 2017 . It was then announced on May 4 that the film would be released in the United States on November 17 , 2017 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "550cd5293425c85941169f6065afa6c2", "text": "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Metal Gear Solid 4 : Guns of the Patriots is an action-adventure stealth video game developed by Kojima Productions and published by Konami exclusively for the PlayStation 3 console . It is the sixth Metal Gear game directed by Hideo Kojima , and was released worldwide on June 12 , 2008 . Set five years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 2 : Sons of Liberty , the story centers around a prematurely aged Solid Snake , now known as Old Snake , as he goes on one last mission to assassinate his nemesis Liquid Snake , who now inhabits the body of his former henchman Revolver Ocelot under the guise of Liquid Ocelot , before he takes control of the Sons of the Patriots , an A.I. system that controls the activities of PMCs worldwide . Guns of the Patriots received universal acclaim , garnering perfect reviews and Game of the Year awards from several major gaming publications , including GameSpot , which claimed that the game was `` technically flawless '' . Often considered to be one of the seventh generation of console gaming 's most significant titles , its release caused a boost in sales of the PlayStation 3 , where it sold over six million copies worldwide .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "147ab314747933eb15656aa9420949e3", "text": "2016 in American soccer The 2016 season was the 104th season of competitive soccer in the United States .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "115583d5a52178a639c13eeddc157f1a", "text": "Darksiders Darksiders is an action role-playing hack and slash video game developed by Vigil Games and published by THQ . The game takes its inspiration from the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse , with the player taking the role of the horseman War . The game was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on January 5 , 2010 in North America , January 7 in Australia , January 8 in Europe , and March 18 in Japan . The Microsoft Windows version was released in North America and Australia on September 23 , and in Europe on September 24 . A parallel sequel , Darksiders II , was released on August 14 , 2012 . An enhanced version of the game titled Darksiders : Warmastered Edition was released on November 29 , 2016 for Microsoft Windows , and on November 22 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One . A Wii U version was released on May 23 , 2017 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b4793043e26e64e316ba08f6497368c5", "text": "Outlast Outlast is a first-person survival horror video game developed and published by Red Barrels . The game revolves around a freelance investigative journalist , Miles Upshur , who decides to investigate a remote psychiatric hospital named Mount Massive Asylum , located deep in the mountains of Lake County , Colorado . The downloadable content , Outlast : Whistleblower , centers on Waylon Park , the man who led Miles there in the first place . Outlast was released for Microsoft Windows on September 4 , 2013 , PlayStation 4 on February 4 , 2014 and for Xbox One on June 19 , 2014 . Outlast received generally positive reviews from critics , with praise directed at its horror elements and gameplay . Linux and OS X versions were later released on March 31 , 2015 . As of October 2016 , the game has sold four million copies overall . A sequel was released on April 25 , 2017 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "bc8a638b4a0b223a88df3d6ce69829bf", "text": "Peter Grace (sound engineer) Peter Grace is an Australian production sound mixer . He is best known for his work on critically acclaimed war-drama film Hacksaw Ridge ( 2016 ) for which he received the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing at the 89th Academy Awards , sharing with Robert Mackenzie , Kevin O'Connell and Andy Wright .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7dcb31d030ed15ac3efcf4c09507ab7b", "text": "Deadman Apocalypse Deadman Apocalypse is a 2016 science fiction film .", "title": "" } ]
fever
94e54c4d32a5d90f97f4ad125d38740c
Chester Bennington is not a singer.
[ { "docid": "a6b775e29fd4560b1328452ac8b65eaa", "text": "Chester Bennington Chester Charles Bennington ( born March 20 , 1976 ) is an American musician , singer , songwriter and actor . He is best known as the lead vocalist of rock bands Linkin Park , Dead by Sunrise , and live rock cover band Bucket of Weenies . He was originally the lead vocalist for Sean Dowdell And His Friends ? and Grey Daze . Bennington was the lead vocalist for Stone Temple Pilots from 2013 to 2015 . Bennington became known as a vocalist with Linkin Park 's debut album , Hybrid Theory , in 2000 , which was a massive commercial success . The album was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 , making it the best-selling debut album of the decade , as well as one of the few albums to ever hit that many sales . Linkin Park 's following studio albums , Meteora ( 2003 ) , Minutes to Midnight ( 2007 ) , A Thousand Suns ( 2010 ) , Living Things ( 2012 ) , and The Hunting Party ( 2014 ) , continued the band 's success . Bennington formed his own band , Dead by Sunrise , as a side project in 2005 . The band 's debut album , Out of Ashes , was released on October 13 , 2009 . He worked on new material with Stone Temple Pilots in 2013 to release the EP High Rise on October 8 , 2013 via their own record label , Play Pen . Bennington has been ranked in the Top 100 Heavy Metal Vocalists by Hit Parader ( No. 46 ) .", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "1928f1cbc3daccc71597e120d5d9f627", "text": "Sung poetry Sung poetry is a broad and imprecise music genre widespread in European countries , such as Poland and the Baltic States , to describe songs consisting of a poem ( most often a ballad ) and music written specially for that text . The compositions usually feature a delicate melody and scarce musical background , often comprising a guitar or piano . Some sung poetry performers are singer-songwriters , others use known , published poems , or collaborate with contemporary writers . Artists of sung poetry include people of various occupations usually with little or no particular music education , as well as stage actors . Sung poetry shares much in common with the author 's song in Russia yet differs from it in a significant way : sung poetry performers often do not compose lyrics themselves . Similar artists in other countries are usually classified as bards , folk music or folk rock ( such as Jacques Brel , Lluís Llach , Ovidi Montllor , Georges Brassens , Léo Ferré , Bob Dylan , Simon and Garfunkel , Tom Waits , Leonard Cohen , Djordje Balasevic , Bulat Okudzhava , Vladimir Vysotsky , Paco Ibáñez ) , or chamber pop . Artists of other musical genres may or may not be included into sung poetry category . For instance Czesław Niemen whose many songs are based on works of esteemed Polish poets is usually regarded as either a rock or electronic musician . The common forms of expression are individual and collective public performances , festivals of sung poetry , publication of records online and release of music albums .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "bb4d1f4a68d268cabc2c0a3b82e9298a", "text": "Ted Park Ted Taewon Park ( born December 4 , 1994 ) , better known by his stage name Ted Park , is an American singer , rapper , and songwriter from Madison , Wisconsin . Ted Park released his single `` Hello ( Who is this ) '' on September 15 , 2016 which made the Top 10 on Billboard and Spotify 's Viral 50 Charts . The notierity and publicity from the single landed Ted Park a deal with Capitol Fr , Universal . Hello has received nationwide radio play , and is over 120,000 streams on Spotify .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "56107b19ecc0bac834cb61594ae9f4ea", "text": "Chester Aaron Chester Aaron ( born May 9 , 1923 ) is an American writer .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a19694e1ed26e465cf4649e2af7f1776", "text": "J.D. Malone John Dennis Maloney , Jr. ( `` J.D. Malone '' ) is a singer and songwriter of life experiences . He was born and raised in Bennington , Vermont , United States .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e78fcd4150b6cfcc09847f3e349594b0", "text": "Chester Mojay-Sinclare Chester Mojay-Sinclare ( born c. 1989 ) is a British entrepreneur . He is the founder of social enterprise Charity Checkout and Spudnik , the not-for-profit educational space project which led to the development of Stardust Ashes , a high altitude ash scattering service .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "26fc27886b95decc0ea064007072d904", "text": "What Is Soul What is Soul is the seventh album and sixth studio album by Ben E. King , and his fifth and last studio album on the Atco label . It was made up of mostly unsuccessful singles . The album was not issued in the US .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5a3b45106fb5a4bc5a4e48e80a09e94a", "text": "Chester Bay (band) Chester Bay is an American alternative rock band formed at The University of Wisconsin , Eau Claire in 2005 with most original band members hailing from Rochester , MN . The band 's music combines aspects of reggae , folk , ska , blues , and rock and roll . The band gained initial regional popularity through energetic live shows built upon technical music ability . The group has been compared to bands like Sublime , Dispatch , Blues Traveler , O.A.R. , Spin Doctors , and Bob Marley .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "4450eb7f5461786312e4b8e706195da0", "text": "Ben Karlstrom Bernard ( Ben ) Joel Karlstrom ( born June 29 , 1963 ) is a Canadian musician , singer , songwriter and producer of song parodies who has worked with Bob Rivers in Seattle , Mancow in Chicago and ROCK 101 ( CFMI-FM ) in Vancouver .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "67b344a9541608e34f82b24f9f48140c", "text": "No Never Alone No Never Alone is the debut album by Canadian singer-songwriter Justin Rutledge , released in 2004 on Six Shooter Records . A remastered `` deluxe edition '' was released in 2012 on Outside Music . The process of revisiting the album 's material in turn inspired his 2013 album Valleyheart , which he described in interviews as a response from his older , more mature and more experienced self to No Never Alone 's `` young kid who just wrote what he felt '' .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6648c310774dca04c32b34bfd9376ab4", "text": "Kellie While Kellie While is a British singer-songwriter .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "63685e7eaaf521dbb2b7c5dac677bf4d", "text": "I Forget Where We Were I Forget Where We Were is the second album by British singer-songwriter Ben Howard , released on 20 October 2014 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "380e307508a5e7bb47173f8ca3ea32ba", "text": "Benny Cassette Benny Cassette ( born Los Angeles ) is an American record producer , singer , and songwriter . Signed to Kanye West 's Very GOOD Beats as a producer since 2013 , he worked on Kanye West 's Yeezus album among other collaborative projects . Cassette has released a number of official remixes as well , including the 2013 song `` You 're Not the One '' by Sky Ferreira . In 2014 he went on to release three singles as a solo artist : `` Raging Bull '' , `` Bridges Over Babylon '' featuring BJ The Chicago Kid , and `` Virgo Season '' featuring Isaiah Rashad .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7bd8af40bad9af60b6e40673b746a063", "text": "Country Music Association The Country Music Association ( CMA ) was founded in 1958 in Nashville , Tennessee . It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre . The objectives of the organization are to guide and enhance the development of Country Music throughout the world ; to demonstrate it as a viable medium to advertisers , consumers , and media ; and to provide a unity of purpose for the Country Music industry . However the CMA may be best known to most country music fans for its annual Country Music Association Awards broadcast live on network television each fall ( usually October or November ) . Initially , CMA 's Board of Directors included nine directors and five officers . Wesley Rose , president of Acuff-Rose Publishing , Inc. , served as CMA 's first chairman of the board . Broadcasting entrepreneur and executive Connie B. Gay was the founding president . Originally there were nine individual membership categories . The current 15 categories represent all facets of the music industry . Organizational memberships are also available . CMA membership is composed of those persons or organizations that are involved in Country Music , directly and substantially . The first CMA Awards ceremony was held in 1967 in Nashville . Sonny James and Bobbie Gentry hosted the event , which was not televised . The winner of the first `` Entertainer of the Year '' award was singer Eddy Arnold . `` Male Vocalist of the Year '' went to Jack Greene and `` Female Vocalist of the Year '' to Loretta Lynn . In 1968 , Roy Rogers and Dale Evans hosted the awards , which were presented at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville . ( The ceremony was filmed and televised on NBC a few weeks later . ) The first live telecast of the show was in 1969 . Annual awards are given in the following twelve categories : Entertainer of the Year , Male Vocalist , Female Vocalist , New Artist of the Year ( formerly the Horizon Award ) , Vocal Group , Vocal Duo , Single , Album , Song , Music Event , Music Video , and Musician . The CMA also gives a `` CMA Broadcast Award '' to country-formatted radio stations each year . Broadcast Awards are segmented based on market size , major market ( Arbitron Ranking 1 -- 25 ) , large market ( Arbitron Ranking 26 -- 50 ) , medium market ( Arbitron Ranking 51 -- 100 ) , and small market ( All other Markets ) . A single station can not win the award in consecutive years . In honor of the association 's 50th anniversary , MCA Nashville released a song called `` Forever Country '' .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8b3907e0f439d47ffba9e9459590723d", "text": "Unsigned artist An unsigned artist , unsigned band or independent artist is a musician or musical group not under a contract with a record label . The terms are used in the music industry as a marketing technique . Bands that release their own material on self-published CDs can also be considered unsigned bands . Often unsigned bands primarily exist to perform at concerts . In more recent years , the Internet has helped promote the music of unsigned bands . Artists often post their music as MP3s on websites such as Bandcamp , SoundCloud , Myspace , PureVolume , GarageBand.com and SoundClick . In 2016 , the Unsigned Music Awards was established in the UK as the first ever televised international awards ceremony to champion artists without the backing of a record label . UK unsigned bands and musicians are able to use such services as The Unsigned Guide and to gather music industry contact names , phone numbers , websites and social media links , as well as information on how to get signed or market music independently . Song pitching websites , such as TAXI allow unsigned musicians to see which record labels ( and other music companies ) are currently seeking new music . Further , companies like Sentric Music and the royalty payment service offered by Last.fm can help in generating income streams for unsigned bands .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "519528c10949897e6842a204d8602397", "text": "What to Do When You Are Dead What to Do When You Are Dead is the second studio album by American rock band Armor for Sleep . Following the completion of two songs written from the perspective of being dead , vocalist/guitarist Ben Jorgensen created a whole story from this perspective . What to Do When You Are Dead is a concept album , with each song telling the story of the protagonist 's suicide as well as his journey through the afterlife . Recording took place between August and October 2004 with producer Machine . A rough mix of `` Car Underwater '' was made available in November , followed by two US tours in February 2005 . What to Do When You Are Dead was released on February 22 through independent label Equal Vision Records . In March 2005 , a music video was released for `` Car Underwater '' , and following a couple of US tours in April and May , the song was released as a radio single . The group performed on Warped Tour , before touring across the US in September and November . Later in November a music video was released for `` The Truth About Heaven '' , followed by a UK tour in December . In early 2006 , the group went on a headlining US tour , titled The Invisible Sideshow Tour , for three months , before appearing on Warped Tour again . What to Do When You Are Dead received mixed-to-favourable reviews and went on to sell over 200,000 copies . It peaked at number 101 on the Billboard 200 and reached the top 10 on two other Billboard charts . To celebrate the album 's 10th anniversary , the group reunited to play a series of shows in late 2015 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "31e0c2902da52dd1f923e4530182e88b", "text": "Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song was a new category at the 2015 ceremony of the annual Grammy Awards . It combines two previously separate categories in the Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music field , Best Contemporary Christian Music Song and Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance . The new category recognizes both songwriters and performers ( solo/duos/groups / collaborations/etc . ) and is open for singles or tracks only . Songwriters are only awarded a Grammy Award if it is a newly written song . Grammy 's for cover versions of previously recorded songs are awarded to the performer ( s ) only . Along with the also newly formed Best Gospel Performance/Song category , these mark the only Grammy categories which honor both performers and songwriters in one category . These changes were made in June 2014 by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences `` in the interest of clarifying the criteria , representing the current culture and creative DNA of the gospel and Contemporary Christian Music communities , and better reflecting the diversity and authenticity of today 's gospel music industry . '' According to the Grammy committee , the move recognizes `` the critical contribution of both songwriters and performers by combining songwriters and artists into the Best Gospel Performance/Song and Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song categories . '' Gospel performances , which were previously recognized in the Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance category , will now fall under the newly created Best Gospel Performance/Song category .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "85c9d0e10ea6ac43c14d29a6d791ca0f", "text": "Ben Onono Ben Onono ( sometime stylized as Ben OnOnO ) is an Ivor Novello and Grammy nominated Nigerian British musician and songwriter , born in Cardiff and raised in West Africa . He trained as a concert pianist and co-wrote the 2002 Ivor Novello award nominated worldwide hit single `` It Just Wo n't Do '' , with Tim DeLuxe . His Top 5 hit song `` Rainbow of Love '' with Bob Sinclar was used in the 2011 Alfa Romeo advertising campaign . The track was the single for the Grammy nominated album Made In Jamaica with Sly and Robbie . Ben Onono was the featured vocalist and writer of Saffron Hill 's 2003 `` My Love is Always '' , as well as the character in its music video . The song charted Top 20 in the UK National Charts . His song `` Fallen Hero '' with NuFrequency remains the number 1 most charted song ever on the tastemaker website Resident Advisor . Onono has written material for David Guetta , Cicada , Bob Sinclar , Fatboy Slim , Rui Da Silva , Futureshock , Natalie Imbruglia among others . From his debut Native Stranger , the track `` Blink '' was featured on the soundtrack for the TV series Long Way Down The entire album featured across the 6 part BBC series starring Ewan Macgreggor . Also , from Native Stranger , the song `` Count to 10 '' ( which was used in the trailer for Channel 4 's Darren Brown 's Trick or Treat ) . His song `` Never had a Dream Come True '' was featured in the movie John Tucker Must Die , starring Jesse Metcalfe . Other songs have featured in the USA TV series The Shield , Nip and Tuck , and Las Vegas Other film/TV credits include the adaptation of the award-winning Half of a Yellow Sun , starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Thandie Newton , 2 series of the MTV Base award-winning series Shuga , and BBC 1 movie Danny and the Human Zoo .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6d403ba95538df951631b910094752a5", "text": "Grammy Award for Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959 . Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out , for records released in the previous year . The award was not presented in 1967 . The official guidelines are as follows : `` For a new artist who releases , during the Eligibility Year , the first recording which establishes the public identity of that artist . '' Note that this is not necessarily the first album released by an artist . It is sometimes asserted , with varying degrees of sincerity , that winning the award is a curse , as several award winners ( particularly from the late 1970s and early 1980s ) were never able to duplicate the success they experienced in their debut year . This viewpoint was expressed by former Starland Vocal Band member Taffy Danoff in a 2002 interview for VH1 's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders : `` We got two of the five Grammys -- one was Best New Artist . So that was basically the kiss of death and I feel sorry for everyone who 's gotten it since . '' The category is also notable for being the only one of its kind in which a Grammy Award was vacated . This occurred in 1990 after it was revealed winners Milli Vanilli did not contribute their own vocals on their debut album . The award was revoked , but was not handed out to another artist . Of the 54 awards presented in the category since its inception , the honor has been presented to 25 solo female artists , 18 duos or groups , and 11 solo male artists . Between 1997 and 2003 , all the winners were solo female artists . Also , from 1993 to 2005 , no winner was a solo male artist . In 2006 , John Legend broke this trend , which started with Marc Cohn in 1992 . Only four artists have won both Best New Artist and Album of the Year in the same year : Bob Newhart in 1961 , Christopher Cross in 1981 , Lauryn Hill in 1999 and Norah Jones in 2003 . Of all the winners , only three have been country artists . In 1997 , LeAnn Rimes became the first country artist to win the award . She was followed by Carrie Underwood in 2007 and Zac Brown Band in 2010 . Additionally , 2017 marked the first time that two country artists were nominated in this category in the same year . 1984 marked the first time that all of the nominees were from outside of the United States ( Winner Culture Club , Eurythmics , and Musical Youth were from England , Big Country was from Scotland , and Men Without Hats were from Canada ) .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e3ec92775c9a2e0d234991854b1f05a1", "text": "So There (Ben Folds album) So There is an album by Ben Folds and the yMusic Ensemble , released on September 11 , 2015 . The album includes eight chamber pop songs and one piano concerto performed with the Nashville Symphony .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "61ab2b178e02ad9ee10af395135f581f", "text": "Neil Fallon Neil Patrick Fallon ( October 25 , 1971 in Portsmouth , Virginia ) is the lead singer and occasional rhythm guitarist , keyboardist and percussionist for the rock band Clutch , and lead singer for The Company Band . He also joined The Bakerton Group on guitar starting with their El Rojo album . Neil Fallon has provided guest vocals on the songs `` Two Coins for Eyes '' and `` Empire 's End '' on the 2008 album Beyond Colossal by Swedish stoner rock band Dozer ; `` Crazy Horses '' by Throat ; `` Slippin ' Out '' by Never Got Caught ; `` Mummies Wrapped in Money '' by Lionize ; and `` Blood and Thunder '' by Mastodon , on their 2004 album Leviathan ; `` Santorum Sunday School '' on 2012 album , Everything Is Not Going To Be OK by Black Clouds ; `` Transistors of Mercy '' by Polkadot Cadaver , on their 2013 album Last Call in Jonestown ; `` Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla '' by Soulfly , on their 2013 album Savages ; `` Clear Light Of ... '' by Hark , on their 2014 album Crystalline . Fallon 's younger sister Mary Alice Fallon-Yeskey appears on the Food Network show Ace of Cakes as office manager of Charm City Cakes in Baltimore , Maryland . On September 12 , 2013 , Fallon announced that Clutch would have to postpone their September tour ( except for a hometown show in Baltimore , Maryland at the Shindig Festival ) , due to personal health issues . Fallon released a statement through the band 's Facebook page saying `` Dear friends , this week I 've learned that a childhood injury to the neck , a genetic predisposition for spinal disease , and 20 some years of head banging will exact a toll . I 've been diagnosed with an ugly case of cervical spinal stenosis and two herniated discs . '' Fallon had surgery on September 17 , 2013 and the band resumed their tour in October . This ordeal inspired Fallon 's lyrics in `` Decapitation Blues , '' a track on Clutch 's eleventh studio album , Psychic Warfare . Fallon lives in Silver Spring , Maryland with his family .", "title": "" } ]
fever
a2d2b4a87ec78808b07bad74d83ee531
Brian Wilson was part of the Beach Boys.
[ { "docid": "c58a6a8c576c58c110d583d40d7a5f91", "text": "Smile (The Beach Boys album) Smile ( stylized as SMiLE ) was a projected album by American rock band the Beach Boys intended to follow their 11th studio album , Pet Sounds ( 1966 ) . After bandleader Brian Wilson abandoned large portions of music recorded over a ten-month period , the band substituted its release with Smiley Smile ( 1967 ) , an album containing stripped-down remakes of some Smile material . Some of the original Smile tracks eventually found their way onto subsequent Beach Boys ' studio and compilation albums . As more fans learned of the project 's origins , details of its recordings acquired considerable mystique , and it was later acknowledged as the most legendary unreleased album in the history of popular music . Working with lyricist Van Dyke Parks , Smile was composed as a multi-thematic concept album , existing today in its unfinished and fragmented state as an unordered series of abstract musical vignettes . Its genesis came during the recording of Pet Sounds , when Wilson began recording a new single , `` Good Vibrations '' . The track was created by an unprecedented recording technique : over 90 hours of tape was recorded , spliced , and reduced into a three-minute pop song . It quickly became the band 's biggest international hit yet ; Smile was to be produced in a similar fashion . Wilson touted the album as `` a teenage symphony to God '' , incorporating a range of music styles including psychedelic , doo-wop , barbershop singing , ragtime , yodeling , early American folk , classical music , and avant-garde explorations into noise and musical acoustics . Its projected singles were `` Heroes and Villains '' , a Western musical comedy , and `` Vega-Tables '' , a satire of physical fitness . The album 's collapse has been attributed to several personal , technical , and legal issues which surrounded its making . The majority of its backing tracks were completed between August and December 1966 . A deadline set for January 1967 was missed , and Parks soon distanced himself from the project . In June , the Beach Boys reconvened at Brian 's makeshift home studio to record Smiley Smile . Many attempts were then made to complete the original Smile , most of which were derailed by Wilson , who became psychologically traumatized by the album . It was in the 1980s when bootlegged tracks from Smile began circulating widely among record collectors , encouraging others to assemble their own versions using what surviving recordings were available . The potential of what Smile could have been inspired many musicians , particularly those in indie rock , while the album 's saga became a touchstone for chamber pop and the more art-inclined sectors of post-punk . As a solo artist , Wilson reinterpreted the project for concert performances in 2004 , and then followed up with the studio album Brian Wilson Presents Smile . Although he had ostensibly completed the work , Wilson clarified that his 2004 arrangement differed substantially from how he had first conceptualized the album during the 1960s . On October 31 , 2011 , The Smile Sessions was released containing an approximation of what the Beach Boys ' completed Smile might have sounded like based on the structure of Brian Wilson Presents Smile . It received universal acclaim . In 2012 , the compilation was ranked number 381 in Rolling Stone 's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list . In 2013 , it won the Best Historical Album award at the 55th Grammy Awards .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c22d7e6fb18fe05d77f3e865cc727eaf", "text": "Pet Sounds Pet Sounds is the eleventh studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys , released on May 16 , 1966 . It initially met with a lukewarm critical and commercial response in the United States , peaking at number 10 in the Billboard 200 , a significantly lower placement than the band 's preceding albums . In the United Kingdom , the album was hailed by its music press and was an immediate commercial success , peaking at number 2 in the UK Top 40 Albums Chart and remaining among the top ten positions for six months . Pet Sounds has subsequently gathered worldwide acclaim from critics and musicians alike , and is widely considered to be one of the most influential albums in music history . The album was produced and arranged by Brian Wilson , who also wrote and composed almost all of its music . Most of the recording sessions were conducted between January and April 1966 , a year after he had quit touring with the Beach Boys in order to focus more attention on writing and recording . For Pet Sounds , Wilson 's goal was to create `` the greatest rock album ever made '' -- a personalized work with no filler tracks . It is sometimes considered a Wilson solo album , repeating the themes and ideas he had introduced with The Beach Boys Today ! one year earlier . The album 's lead single , `` Caroline , No '' , was issued as his official solo debut . It was followed by two singles credited to the group : `` Would n't It Be Nice '' ( backed with `` God Only Knows '' ) and `` Sloop John B '' . Collaborating with lyricist Tony Asher , Wilson 's symphonic arrangements wove elaborate layers of vocal harmonies , coupled with sound effects and unusual instruments such as bicycle bells , buzzing organs , harpsichords , flutes , Electro-Theremin , trains , Hawaiian-sounding string instruments , Coca-Cola cans , and barking dogs , along with the more usual keyboards and guitars . Unified by Wall of Sound-style production techniques , the album comprised Wilson 's `` pet sounds '' , consisting mainly of introspective songs like `` You Still Believe in Me '' , about faithfulness , `` I Know There 's an Answer '' , a critique of LSD users , and `` I Just Was n't Made for These Times '' , an autobiographical statement on social alienation ( as well as the first use of a theremin-like instrument on a rock record ) . Recording was completed on April 13 , 1966 , with an unprecedented total production cost that exceeded $ 70,000 ( equivalent to $ in ) . A follow-up album , Smile , was immediately planned , but left unfinished . In 1997 , a `` making-of '' version of Pet Sounds was supervised by Wilson and released as The Pet Sounds Sessions , containing the album 's first true stereo mix . Pet Sounds is regarded by musicologists as an early concept album that advanced the field of music production , introducing non-standard harmonies and timbres , and incorporating elements of pop , jazz , exotica , classical , and the avant-garde . A heralding work of psychedelia , the album furthered an aesthetic trend within rock by helping it transform from dance music into music that was made for listening to , elevating itself to the level of art rock . Author Bill Martin said that Pet Sounds represents a turning point where the Beach Boys `` brought expansions in harmony , instrumentation ( and therefore timbre ) , duration , rhythm , and the use of recording technology . Of these elements , the first and last were the most important in clearing a pathway toward the development of progressive rock . '' In 2004 , Pet Sounds was preserved in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being `` culturally , historically , or aesthetically significant . '' One year earlier , Rolling Stone ranked it second on its list of the `` 500 Greatest Albums of All Time '' . As of 2015 , Acclaimed Music lists Pet Sounds as the most statistically acclaimed album of all time .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "54c92affe82dfbd021eeda6ec0c31243", "text": "Brian Wilson Presents Smile Brian Wilson Presents Smile ( also referred to as Smile or the abbreviation BWPS ) is the sixth studio album by Brian Wilson , released in September 2004 . It began as a series of concert performances which were later adapted for a 2005 direct-to-video concert film of the same name . The album received great acclaim and earned Wilson his first Grammy Award , later being featured in several `` greatest albums '' lists . The project was originally conceived in 1966 as Smile , a concept album recorded by the Beach Boys written in collaboration between Wilson and lyricist Van Dyke Parks . It was intended to succeed the group 's 11th studio album Pet Sounds and was based on the engineering methods of their single `` Good Vibrations '' . Many years after the project was shelved due to personal and technical difficulties with recording , Wilson chose to revisit the material with Parks as a specially arranged live concert performance . Motivated by the unexpected positive reception , a studio-recorded version was then released by Wilson as a solo album . Recorded from scratch , Brian Wilson Presents Smile eschews the Beach Boys ' Smile sessions by containing all-new instrumental and vocal performances . Recordings from the original Beach Boys ' sessions were later released as The Smile Sessions in 2011 . It featured a reconstruction of the Beach Boys ' Smile album that loosely followed the track listing template never before established until the release of Brian Wilson Presents Smile .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "520c7a7d7e016349c6b8f0ba66fe6394", "text": "Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson ( born June 20 , 1942 ) is an American musician , singer , songwriter , and record producer best known for being the multi-tasking leader and co-founder of the rock band the Beach Boys . After signing with Capitol Records in 1962 , Wilson wrote or co-wrote more than two dozen Top 40 hits for the group . Because of his unorthodox approaches to song composition and arrangement and mastery of recording techniques , he is widely acknowledged , by critics and musicians alike , as one of the most innovative and influential creative forces in popular music . In the mid-1960s , Wilson composed , arranged and produced Pet Sounds ( 1966 ) , considered one of the greatest albums ever made . The intended follow-up to Pet Sounds , Smile , was canceled for various reasons , which included Wilson 's deteriorating mental health . As he suffered repeated nervous breakdowns , Wilson 's contributions to the Beach Boys diminished , and his erratic behavior led to tensions with the band . Following a court-ordered removal from the care of psychologist Eugene Landy , Wilson started receiving conventional medical treatment , and in the late 1990s , he began performing and recording consistently as a solo artist . He remains a member of the Beach Boys ' corporation , Brother Records Incorporated . Wilson is considered a major innovator in the field of music production , the principal originator of the California Sound , one of the first music producer auteurs , and one of the most famous examples of the outsider musician . Only 21 years old when he received the freedom to produce his own records with total creative autonomy , he ignited an explosion of like-minded California producers , supplanting New York as the center of popular records , and becoming the first rock producer to use the studio as its own instrument . Wilson effectively set a precedent that allowed bands and artists to enter a recording studio and act as their own producers or co-producers . His songs became inextricably tied with the zeitgeist of the early 1960s , and he helped develop the sound of the wistful Flower Power era that proceeded . In later years , Wilson was regarded as a `` godfather '' to an era of indie musicians who were inspired by his melodic sensibilities , chamber pop orchestrations , and recording explorations . His honors include being inducted into the 1988 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and winning Grammy Awards for Brian Wilson Presents Smile ( 2004 ) and The Smile Sessions ( 2011 ) . In lists published by Rolling Stone , Wilson ranked 52 for the `` 100 Greatest Singers of All Time '' in 2008 and 12 for the `` 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time '' in 2015 . In 2012 , music publication NME ranked Wilson number 8 in its `` 50 Greatest Producers Ever '' list , elaborating `` few consider quite how groundbreaking Brian Wilson 's studio techniques were in the mid-60s '' . He is an occasional actor and voice actor , having appeared in television shows , films , and other artists ' music videos . His life was portrayed in the 2014 biopic Love & Mercy , which received a wide release in 2015 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "664a41656937d15d1d81f0bc0534cfcc", "text": "Eugene Landy Eugene Ellsworth `` Gene '' Landy ( November 26 , 1934 -- March 22 , 2006 ) was an American psychologist and psychotherapist best known for his unconventional 24-hour therapy , as well as for ethical violations concerning his treatment of the Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson in the 1980s . The latter events were dramatized in the biographical film Love & Mercy ( 2014 ) , in which Landy is portrayed by Paul Giamatti . As a teenager , Landy aspired to show business , briefly serving as an early manager for George Benson . During the 1960s , he began studying psychology , earning his doctorate at the University of Oklahoma . After moving to Los Angeles , he treated many celebrity clients , including musician Alice Cooper and actors Richard Harris , Rod Steiger , Maureen McCormick , and Gig Young . He also developed an unorthodox 24-hour therapy intended to stabilize his patients by micromanaging their lives with a team of counselors and doctors . Brian Wilson initially became a patient under Landy 's program in 1975 . Landy was soon discharged due to his burdensome fees . In 1983 , Landy was re-employed as Wilson 's therapist , subsequently becoming his executive producer , business manager , co-songwriter , and business adviser . Landy went on to co-produce Wilson 's debut solo album and allegedly ghostwrote portions of Wilson 's disowned memoir Would n't It Be Nice : My Own Story . In 1989 , Landy agreed to let the state of California revoke his professional license amidst accusations of ethical violations and patient misconduct . Wilson continued to see Landy until a 1992 restraining order barred Landy from contacting the musician ever again .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8c91b921fd82e18074d2e11b610daa74", "text": "Love & Mercy (film) Love & Mercy ( stylized as love & mercy ) is a 2014 American biographical drama film directed and co-produced by Bill Pohlad , co-produced by Claire Rudnick-Polstein and John Wells and written by Michael Alan Lerner and Oren Moverman . The film , deriving its title from the 1988 song by Wilson , focuses on musician-songwriter Brian Wilson , co-founder of the Beach Boys , during the 1960s and 1980s , presenting the film in a nonlinear narrative . Paul Dano and John Cusack star as the young and middle-aged Wilson , respectively , with Elizabeth Banks as Wilson 's second wife Melinda Ledbetter , and Paul Giamatti as Wilson 's psychotherapist Dr. Eugene Landy . The film premiered in the Special Presentations section of the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7 , 2014 and was released by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions on June 5 , 2015 . It grossed $ 28.6 million over a $ 10 million budget , a moderate commercial success , and received critical acclaim from reviewers , lauded for its unorthodox style , original score by Atticus Ross , Dano 's performance as Wilson in the 1960s , and scenes that closely recreated Wilson 's advanced studio recording methods during the making of Pet Sounds ( 1966 ) . Wilson -- who had little involvement during development -- praised the film for being `` very factual . '' It was nominated for two Golden Globes : Best Supporting Actor -- Motion Picture ( Paul Dano ) and Best Original Song ( `` One Kind of Love '' ) .", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "e91bb011bceebe06a07bd26a12c56e23", "text": "One of the Boys (Gretchen Wilson album) One of the Boys is the third album by country singer Gretchen Wilson . It was released on May 15 , 2007 . Following its release , the album debuted at number five on the U.S. Billboard 200 , selling about 73,000 copies in its first week . As of May 9 , 2008 , the album has sold 232,000 copies in the US . The album produced three chart singles for Wilson on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts : `` Come to Bed '' ( a duet with John Rich of Big & Rich ) , followed by the title track and `` You Do n't Have to Go Home '' , the first single of Wilson 's career to miss Top 40 on the country charts .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "e48b0fc7129f8b21478aeb851f62223f", "text": "That's Not Me `` That 's Not Me '' is a song written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher for American rock band the Beach Boys , the third track from their 1966 album Pet Sounds . It is a work influenced by psychedelic drugs that inspired Wilson to turn his attention inward and probe his deep-seated self-doubts . Wilson explained that the song `` reveals a lot about myself , just the idea that you 're going to look at yourself and say , ` Hey , now look , that 's not me , kind of square off with yourself and say ` this is me , that 's not me ' . '' It is the only track on Pet Sounds that resembles a conventional rock song . The song 's structure contains multiple key modulations and mood shifts . On its recording , Mike Love shares lead vocal with Wilson , who plays the track 's prominent , buzzing organ . Brian 's brothers Carl and Dennis also contribute guitar and drums , respectively . Other band members sing backing vocals .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a8b7b72fe45812806738e707e167371b", "text": "Long Promised Road `` Long Promised Road '' is a song written by Carl Wilson and Jack Rieley for the American rock band The Beach Boys . It was first released as a single in May 1971 , and did not chart . It was then released on their 1971 album Surf 's Up , and was re-released as a single , with a different b-side , '' 'Til I Die '' , in October of the same year . This time it made it to # 89 on the Billboard Hot 100 . Aside from a few guitar parts written in the early days of the band , the song is Carl Wilson 's first composition ; he plays all of the instruments and handles the lead vocal on the track .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8bd6f0ea9581bf806b473645243a01b1", "text": "Made in California Made in California ( 1962 -- 2012 ) is a compilation box set by the Beach Boys , released on August 27 , 2013 . The set is released through Capitol Records and is packaged in a form emulating a high school yearbook . The set contains six CDs with tracks that span the band 's entire career , including outtakes , demos , B-sides , rarities , alternate takes and versions , over 60 previously unreleased . It supersedes the theretofore career-spanning 1993 box set Good Vibrations : Thirty Years of The Beach Boys , which followed a similar premise .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "193915b3be863b50e3680b666aff0a2a", "text": "The Flame (The Flames album) The Flame is a 1970 album released by South African band The Flames produced by Beach Boys member Carl Wilson . It 's the only non-Beach Boys album to be released on their Brother Records label . According to Jerry Osbourne , `` The Flame is widely-regarded as the first quad LP . ''", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9d9120e78e31fce631272541c306a1f5", "text": "Friends (The Beach Boys album) Friends is the 14th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys , released on June 24 , 1968 through Capitol Records . It was initially met with a mild critical reception and peaked at number 126 on the US Billboard charts for what was then group 's worst chart performance to date . In the UK , the album peaked at number 13 . Many of the album 's songs were inspired by Transcendental Meditation and the group 's recent interactions with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi . It was the third consecutive album to credit `` the Beach Boys '' as producer instead of Brian Wilson , and the first to feature significant songwriting contributions from Dennis Wilson . One single was issued from the album : `` Friends '' ( backed with `` Little Bird '' ) , reaching number 47 in the US .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "aa4e9c774ac634b1f5ad2865be310446", "text": "Fall Breaks and Back to Winter (W. Woodpecker Symphony) `` Fall Breaks and Back to Winter ( W. Woodpecker Symphony ) '' is an instrumental composed by Brian Wilson for American rock band the Beach Boys . Released in 1967 as the second track on the group 's album Smiley Smile , the composition derives from `` Fire '' -- a piece recorded by Wilson several months earlier , but left unreleased due to his paranoia .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9f70c1d5a3279e3bdcbcf1906bcc46c0", "text": "Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys Good Vibrations : Thirty Years of The Beach Boys is a 1993 boxed set released by Capitol Records which collects tracks spanning The Beach Boys ' entire career to that point on four CDs . A fifth disc contains mostly studio session tracks , complete vocal and instrumental tracks , and rare live performances . The set also includes a car window decal . Though it never charted , Good Vibrations : Thirty Years of The Beach Boys went gold in the US just over four months after its release . The first four discs anthologize the band with mostly mono single versions , but also several demos and unreleased songs ; the tracks are organized essentially in chronological order . Included is 30 minutes of music from the 1966/1967 Smile sessions , which had never been officially released , though had been heavily bootlegged for years . In addition , there is a hidden recording at the end of Disc 1 of a young Brian Wilson singing `` Happy Birthday Four Freshmen '' to his favorite vocal group into his multi-track tape recorder in 1960 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "45ea19f93e029875bac94e92d2529ed0", "text": "Robert Wilson (director) Robert Wilson ( born October 4 , 1941 ) is an American experimental theater stage director and playwright who has been described by the media as '' -LSB- America -RSB- 's -- or even the world 's -- foremost avant-garde ` theater artist . Over the course of his wide-ranging career , he has also worked as a choreographer , performer , painter , sculptor , video artist , and sound and lighting designer . He is best known for his collaborations with Philip Glass on Einstein on the Beach , and with numerous other artists , including Heiner Müller , William S. Burroughs , Allen Ginsberg , Lou Reed , Tom Waits , David Byrne , Laurie Anderson , Gavin Bryars , Rufus Wainwright , Marina Abramović , Willem Dafoe , Mikhail Baryshnikov , Darryl Pinckney and Lady Gaga .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ad42cb19608142f0c08dd435569427e0", "text": "Sandin Wilson Sandin Wilson ( born October 6 , 1959 in Medford , Oregon ) is a veteran bassist and vocalist from the Pacific Northwest . As a youth , Sandin played football , baseball , and was involved in music early on , convinced by his Mom , `` it will be good for you '' . Orchestra was Sandin 's first calling on the acoustic bass violin , with a trip to NYC with `` America 's Youth in Concert '' in 1976 , at age 16 , to play Carnegie Hall , and 9 European Countries . Sandin picked up the electric and fretless bass as a 9th grader , and took his musical journey a bit further . A year attending Mt. Hood Community College was next after graduating from Medford Sr. . High in 1978 . Sandin went on to perform with the groups , Freeway , Calvin Walker band , The 3 Humans , Caryl Mack band , Quarterflash , Nu Shooz , Soul vaccination , Linda Hornbuckle , and METRO . In 2003 , Sandin released his first solo CD , Into My World ( Microfish Music ) , with bassist Jimmy Haslip , of the `` Yellowjackets '' fame , getting Executive producer credits and Haslip contributing 2 tracks from his songwriting portfolio . Sandin 's second solo project was recorded live to 2-track on October 2006 at Jimmy Maks Jazz club in Portland , Oregon . Entitled , `` Sandin Wilson Group '' , a `` Night on the Town '' ( 2007 , Microfish Music ) , it is a very live recording featuring stellar bass and vocal performances from Sandin and his 6 piece group . Aside from his solo projects , the `` Sandin Wilson Group '' and Sandin Wilson Trio , he also tours with vocalist/songwriter Gino Vannelli . Sandin has recorded two DVDs with Gino Vannelli 's band , one on the Orange lounge.com site and also a Live DVD while performing at the Java Jazz festival in Jakarta , Indonesia . Sandin has recorded on over 120 CDs to date and has recorded ( on the album Girl In the Wind ) and toured with the band Quarterflash , Nu Shooz and opened shows for people such as Kenny Loggins , Chaka Khan , Tower of Power , The Nevell Brothers and Level 42 . Sandin 's most recent gigs with Gino Vannelli have been in Jakarta , at the `` Java Jazz Festival '' , in Indonesia , `` Cape Town South Africa Jazz Festival '' , and the Suncoast Casino in Las Vegas , Nevada .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9e8fb96d3ed5fad0a55ac786f6483187", "text": "Greatest Hits Volume Three: Best of the Brother Years 1970–1986 Greatest Hits Volume Three : Best of the Brother Years 1970 -- 1986 is a 2000 single disc compilation by The Beach Boys and released through Capitol Records . It was released several months after its predecessors , The Greatest Hits -- Volume 1 : 20 Good Vibrations and The Greatest Hits -- Volume 2 : 20 More Good Vibrations .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "61315f3ceed1e184a690a143b1a9034e", "text": "All I Want to Do (The Beach Boys song) `` All I Want to Do '' is a song written by Dennis Wilson . It was recorded by American rock band The Beach Boys for their 1969 album 20/20 . It was later released as the b-side to `` I Can Hear Music '' , a single which charted at # 24 in the U.S. and at # 10 in the U.K. .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "faf7bec32fa29fca03d151eb7477051f", "text": "When I Grow Up (To Be a Man) `` When I Grow Up ( To Be a Man ) '' is a song written and composed by Brian Wilson with additional lyrics by Mike Love for the American rock band The Beach Boys . It was released on their 1965 album The Beach Boys Today ! and as a single the previous year hit number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart , number seven in Cash Box , number five in Variety and number three in the Associated Press/Gilbert Youth chart . It spent two weeks at number one in Canada 's national RPM chart . The B-side of the single was `` She Knows Me Too Well '' and stopped one place under the Hot 100 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c6775aadc77a19c3e43f77b20500eb32", "text": "Carl Wilson Carl Dean Wilson ( December 21 , 1946 -- February 6 , 1998 ) was an American musician , singer , songwriter , and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys . He is best remembered as their lead guitarist and as the youngest brother of bandmates Brian and Dennis Wilson . Influenced by the guitar playing of Chuck Berry and the Ventures , Carl 's initial role in the group was that of lead guitarist and backing vocals , but he performed lead vocals on several of their hits , including `` God Only Knows '' ( 1966 ) and `` Good Vibrations '' ( 1966 ) . Unlike other members of the band , he often played alongside the studio musicians employed during the group 's critical and commercial peak in the mid 1960s . After Brian began withdrawing from the group , Carl was forced to take a more active production role , and he became the band 's musical director on stage from 1965 until his death from lung cancer in 1998 . During the 1980s , he attempted to launch a solo career , releasing the albums Carl Wilson ( 1981 ) and Young Blood ( 1983 ) . Shortly before his death , he recorded material with Gerry Beckley and Robert Lamm , later released for the posthumous album Like a Brother ( 2000 ) . In 1988 , Carl was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Beach Boys .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7736ce790dc6415469b5d6e4ec4e3e75", "text": "Jeffrey Foskett Jeffrey `` Jeff '' Foskett is an American singer , record producer , arranger and guitarist best known for his work with Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys . Foskett is described as The Beach Boys ' `` vice principal '' by its core members .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ebfb6bdccabe05d0c00fc1cacd771b2a", "text": "Sunshine pop Sunshine pop ( originally `` soft pop '' ) is a subgenre of pop music originating in Southern California in the mid-1960s , although it only acquired the name later . Rooted in easy-listening , advertising jingles , and the growing drug culture , sunshine pop acts purveyed a lightly produced style that combined nostalgic or anxious moods with `` an appreciation for the beauty of the world '' . It began as an outgrowth of the 1960s California Sound and folk rock movements , largely consisting of lesser-known artists who imitated more popular groups like the Beach Boys , the Mamas & the Papas , and the 5th Dimension . While the Beach Boys are noted as prominent influences , they rarely worked in the genre . Sunshine pop is characterized by lush vocals and light arrangements similar to samba music . In some ways the genre is similar to baroque pop music through being elaborate and melancholic , though it also crossed into folk pop and Brill Building styles . Sunshine pop enjoyed mainstream success in the latter half of the decade , with many of its top 40 hits peaking in the spring and summer of 1967 , especially just before the Summer of Love . Popular bands include the Mamas & the Papas , the Turtles , and the Association . Other acts , like the Millennium , Sagittarius , and the Yellow Balloon were less successful but gained a cult following years later ; with albums like Begin ( 1968 ) and Present Tense ( 1968 ) highly sought-after on the collectors ' market .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "ace00f5889838617c6e3c718dc9c445d", "text": "Ricky Wilson (American musician) Ricky Helton Wilson ( March 19 , 1953 -- October 12 , 1985 ) was an American musician best known as the original guitarist and founding member of rock band the B-52 's . Born in Athens , Georgia , Wilson was the brother of fellow member Cindy Wilson . The B-52 's was founded in 1977 , when Ricky , his sister Cindy , Kate Pierson , Keith Strickland and Fred Schneider shared a tropical Flaming Volcano drink at a Chinese restaurant and , after an impromptu music session at the home of their friend Owen Scott III , played for the first time at a Valentine 's Day party for friends . On October 12 , 1985 , at the age of 32 , Wilson died from complications related to AIDS following the recording of the band 's fourth studio album Bouncing off the Satellites . According to Keith Strickland , the album had been completed and mixed before Ricky 's death , with only the cover art not yet designed ( an illustration by Kenny Scharf was ultimately decided upon ) . Devastated , the band went into seclusion and did not tour to promote the album , although did several photo shoots and TV appearances , as well as filming a video for `` Girl From Ipanema Goes To Greenland '' . In addition to his work with The B-52 's , Wilson played the guitar on the song `` Breakin ' In My Heart '' on Tom Verlaine 's self-titled debut album in 1979 . This was his only non-B-52 's appearance on record . He also appeared in various films , namely One Trick Pony . Posthumously he also appeared in Athens , GA : Inside/Out , The B-52 's 1979-1989 , and The B-52 's Time Capsule : Videos for a Future Generation 1979-1998 through archival footage .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8683021172c0bd2bc0bbbc5b6be5c647", "text": "Farewell My Friend `` Farewell My Friend '' is a song written by Dennis Wilson . It was released as the tenth track for his 1977 solo album Pacific Ocean Blue . The song was released as a single in Europe as the B-side of the `` River Song '' single . The single however , failed to chart . The track , as with the rest of the album , was credited as having been produced by Dennis Wilson and his close friend Gregg Jakobson . Dennis Wilson sings the lead vocals on this and every other track on the album . The song also features vocals from his brother , Carl Wilson . The song was written as a tribute to Otto Hinsche , the father of Billy Hinsche and the father-in-law of Dennis Wilson 's brother Carl , who was married to Annie Hinsche . Dennis wrote this tribute to Otto Hinsche , as he had died in Dennis 's arms . Dennis described the song as `` sort of a happy farewell '' . The song was played at Wilson 's funeral in January 1984 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "66cb6dca2e6848ff5bf891358677059d", "text": "Holland (album) Holland is the 19th studio album by the American rock group the Beach Boys , released on January 8 , 1973 . Self-produced by the band , the album peaked at number 36 in the US and number 20 in the UK . The album is the last to feature Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar , who joined the band the previous year to record Carl and the Passions - So Tough ( 1972 ) . Holland was mostly recorded in Baambrugge , Netherlands over the summer of 1972 using a reconstructed studio sent from California , and with two Brian Wilson tracks rush-recorded in Los Angeles and added to the album at the last minute . The photograph on the album 's front cover is an upside down image of the Kromme Waal , a canal that runs through the center of Amsterdam . Holland included a bonus EP , Mount Vernon and Fairway ( A Fairy Tale ) , a musical fairy tale written by Brian Wilson about a magical transistor radio who appears to a young prince . Narration was provided by the group 's manager : Jack Rieley .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8af0645d88b2e6aa515a38304c99d6ff", "text": "Brian Walton (musician) Brian George Walton Jr. ( born October 8 , 1964 in Duarte , California ) is an American Country , Southern rock , and Classic rock multi-instrumentalist , songwriter , producer and singer . In 1991 , he made his debut releasing the album `` Made in the Shade '' which included the billboard Country Chart Top 5 hits `` Made in the Shade '' and `` Travelin ' Band '' . Since then he has released three more albums , including the highly successful `` Made in the Shade Live ! '' album recorded during live performances in 2001 . Brian studied music at Juilliard and has been a long time member of the Songwriters Guild of America , American Music Association and ASCAP . In the last 30 years he has written and/or produced over 400 jingles for radio and television , 5 Billboard hits and produced 4 Top 100 albums . He currently lives in Challis , Idaho with his wife Inge . Brian has three sons Christopher ( 28 ) and Patrick ( 24 ) from his current wife Inge and Stephan ( 29 ) from a previous marriage . Brian considers himself `` genre agnostic '' preferring a wide range of musical styles although country and country rock is where he has had the most success .", "title": "" } ]
fever
96a98e1883a9ee9a228a52437209178d
The collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art contain over 240,000 objects.
[ { "docid": "3fd715471e33fe22e6fb9c1b632cb27e", "text": "Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia . The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount , a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at Eakins Oval . The museum administers collections containing over 240,000 objects including major holdings of European , American and Asian origin . The various classes of artwork include sculpture , paintings , prints , drawings , photographs , armor and decorative arts . The attendance figure for the museum was 751,797 in 2015 , an increase of 17 % from the prior year , ranking it among the top one hundred most-visited art museums in the world . The museum is also one of the largest art museums in the world based on gallery space . The Philadelphia Museum of Art administers several annexes including the Rodin Museum , also located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway , and the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building , which is located across the street just north of the main building . The Perelman Building , which opened in 2007 , houses more than 150,000 prints , drawings and photographs , along with 30,000 costume and textile pieces , and over 1,000 modern and contemporary design objects including furniture , ceramics and glasswork . The museum also administers the historic colonial-era houses of Mount Pleasant and Cedar Grove , both located in Fairmount Park . The main museum building and its annexes are owned by the City of Philadelphia and administered by a registered nonprofit corporation . , the standard adult admission price is $ 20 which allows entrance to the main building and all annexes for two consecutive days . The museum is closed on Mondays except on some holidays . A special `` Pay What You Wish '' program is in effect on the first Sunday of each month from 10:00 a.m. -- 5:00 p.m. and every Wednesday evening from 5:00 -- 8:45 p.m. when visitors are requested to '' ... support us with whatever amount you wish . '' Several special exhibitions are held in the museum every year , including touring exhibitions arranged with other museums in the United States and abroad . Special exhibitions may have an extra charge for entrance .", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "8e2fc37864491f37727db9d058f2a08d", "text": "Documenta documenta is an exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel , Germany . It was founded by artist , teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau ( Federal Horticultural Show ) which took place in Kassel at that time , and was an attempt to bring Germany up to speed with modern art , both banishing and repressing the cultural darkness of Nazism . This first documenta featured many artists who are generally considered to have had a significant influence on modern art ( such as Picasso and Kandinsky ) . The more recent documentas feature art from all continents ; nonetheless most of it is site-specific . Every documenta is limited to 100 days of exhibition , which is why it is often referred to as the `` museum of 100 days '' . Documenta is not a selling exhibition . It often coincides with three other major art world events : the Venice Biennale , Art Basel and Skulptur Projekte Münster .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "716ee237876d6b96acd87d49a2d548c5", "text": "Wharton Esherick Wharton Esherick ( July 15 , 1887 -- May 6 , 1970 ) was a sculptor who worked primarily in wood , especially applying the principles of sculpture to common utilitarian objects . Consequently , he is best known for his sculptural furniture and furnishings . Esherick was recognized in his lifetime by his peers as the `` dean of American craftsmen '' for his leadership in developing non-traditional designs , and encouraging and inspiring artists/craftspeople by example . Esherick 's influence continues to be seen in the work of current artisans , particularly in the Studio Craft Movement . Born in Philadelphia , Esherick studied painting at the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Arts ( now the University of the Arts ( Philadelphia ) ) and at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts . In 1913 he moved to a farmhouse near Paoli , Pennsylvania to pursue his painting career . He began carving decorative frames for his paintings in 1920 , which led to making woodcut prints and finally to sculpture . Esherick 's early furniture was derived from the Arts and Crafts style and decorated with surface carving . In the late 1920s he abandoned carving on his furniture , focusing instead on the pure form of the pieces as sculpture . In the 1930s he was producing sculpture and furniture influenced by the organicism of Rudolf Steiner , as well as by German Expressionism and Cubism . The angular and prismatic forms of the latter two movements gave way to the free-form curvilinear shapes for which he is best known . From furniture and furnishings he progressed to interiors , the most famous being the Curtis Bok House ( 1935 -- 37 ) . Though the house was demolished , Esherick 's work was saved . The fireplace and adjacent music room doors can be seen in the Philadelphia Museum of Art , and the foyer stairs in the Wolfsonian Museum in Miami , Florida . In 1940 the architect George Howe used Esherick 's Spiral Stair ( 1930 ) and Esherick furniture to create the `` Pennsylvania Hill House '' exhibit in the New York World 's Fair `` America at Home '' Pavilion . Esherick 's work was also featured in a 1958 retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Craft and in the 1972 `` Woodenworks '' exhibition at the Renwick Gallery . He exhibited hundreds of times during his life and his work is now in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art , the Metropolitan Museum in New York , the Whitney Museum in New York , the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and many other museums . Most of his work remains in private hands . His home and studio , outside of Valley Forge , Pennsylvania , were his largest piece of art . The buildings evolved over forty years as Esherick lived and worked there . He continued working on the studio until his death in 1970 . In 1972 the studio was converted into the Wharton Esherick Museum . The property , known as the Wharton Esherick Studio , was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1993 . Esherick was the father of Ruth Bascom ( wife of architect Mansfield Bascom , curator emeritus of the Wharton Esherick Museum ) and the uncle of American architect Joseph Esherick .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6ab7d26be5d060571ab492de26f78830", "text": "American Museum American Museum may refer to American Museum of Radio and Electricity , ( now SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention ) , Bellingham , Washington American Museum of Natural History , Central Park West at 79th Street , New York City , established 1869 American Museum of the Moving Image , Astoria , Queens , New York City , opened 1988 American Museum of Magic , Marshall , Michigan , ( collection of Harry Blackstone , Sr. ) , opened 1978 American Museum of Science and Energy , ( previously American Museum of Atomic Energy , renamed 1978 ) , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , founded 1949 American Museum in Britain , Claverton Manor , Claverton , Bath , Somerset , England , founded 1961 Barnum 's American Museum , ( formerly Scudder 's American Museum ) , Broadway and Ann Street , New York City , 1841-1865 The American Museum ( magazine ) , an 18th-century American magazine , published by Matthew Carey , in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , January 1787 to December 1792 The American Museum , a 19th-century American magazine published by Nathan C. Brooks of Baltimore", "title": "" }, { "docid": "707aed3c2c621a94120a70d101ecce9a", "text": "The Whaling Museum & Education Center The Whaling Museum & Education Center , formerly known as the The Whaling Museum , is a maritime museum located in Cold Spring Harbor , New York dedicated to exploring the local history and impact of the whaling industry , the maritime heritage of Long Island , and the relationship between people and the ocean . The mission is to explore the ever-changing relationship between humans and whales through inquiry-based education and interpretation of artifacts that emphasize the cultural , scientific and environmental significance of Long Island and the Sea . We help members and visitors make informed decisions about our marine environment . The Museum serves 20,000 visitors annuallyand is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums . Located in a historic 19th century waterside village on the North Shore of Suffolk County , the Whaling Museum Society was founded in 1936 , with the Museum opening its front doors in 1942 . Current exhibit space is 2500 square feet , which includes an educational workshop . The Museum is the only facility in New York State open year-round which focuses on the prominent whaling history of the region and its meaningful applications in today 's world . The museum holds about 6,000 documents and artifacts from Cold Spring Harbor and other Long Island whaling towns . Highlights of the collection include New York State 's only fully equipped 19th-century whaleboat with original gear and one of the most notable scrimshaw collections in the northeast . Additional displays include whaling implements , ship 's gear , navigational aids , ship models and maritime art . The library and archival collection contains 2,800 primary and secondary volumes and manuscript material from the Cold Spring whaling fleet , ship 's logs , journals and business correspondence of the Cold Spring Whaling Company , family documents dealing with maritime commerce on Long Island , records of the Long Island coastwise trade under sail and records from the Cold Spring Harbor Customs House ( 1798 until 1908 ) . The museum hosts educational events and exhibitions year-round , including films , lectures , performances , and special events , many of which creatively connect the subject of whaling to other subjects in art , science , and culture . The museum 's education department runs an extensive `` Museum to You '' program , as well as camp weeks during school breaks .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "97110922d6e385c1c5fc5a03650b67de", "text": "Old master print An old master print is a work of art produced by a printing process within the Western tradition . The term remains current in the art trade , and there is no easy alternative in English to distinguish the works of `` fine art '' produced in printmaking from the vast range of decorative , utilitarian and popular prints that grew rapidly alongside the artistic print from the 15th century onwards . Fifteenth-century prints are sufficiently rare that they are classed as old master prints even if they are of crude or merely workmanlike artistic quality . A date of about 1830 is usually taken as marking the end of the period whose prints are covered by this term . The main techniques used , in order of their introduction , are woodcut , engraving , etching , mezzotint and aquatint , although there are others . Different techniques are often combined in a single print . With rare exceptions printed on textiles , such as silk , or on vellum , old master prints are printed on paper . This article is concerned with the artistic , historical and social aspects of the subject ; the article on printmaking summarizes the techniques used in making old master prints , from a modern perspective . Many great European artists , such as Albrecht Dürer , Rembrandt , and Francisco Goya , were dedicated printmakers . In their own day , their international reputations largely came from their prints , which were spread far more widely than their paintings . Influences between artists were also mainly transmitted beyond a single city by prints ( and sometimes drawings ) , for the same reason . Prints therefore are frequently brought up in detailed analyses of individual paintings in art history . Today , thanks to colour photo reproductions , and public galleries , their paintings are much better known , whilst their prints are only rarely exhibited , for conservation reasons . But some museum print rooms allow visitors to see their collection , sometimes only by appointment .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fb26db29b850872005f78f7d90156fa0", "text": "National Museum of African Art The National Museum of African Art is the Smithsonian Institution 's African art museum , located on the National Mall of the United States capital . Its collections include 9,000 works of traditional and contemporary African art from both Sub-Saharan and Arab North Africa , 300,000 photographs , and 50,000 library volumes . It was the first institution dedicated to African art in the United States , and remains the largest collection . The Washington Post called the museum a mainstay in the international art world and the main venue for contemporary African art in the United States . The museum was founded in 1964 by a Foreign Service officer and layman who bought African art objects in Germany and multiple houses in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in which to display them . The collection focused on traditional African art and an educational mission towards black cultural heritage . To ensure the museum 's longevity , the founder lobbied Congress to adopt the museum under the Smithsonian 's auspices . It joined the Smithsonian in 1979 and became the National Museum of African Art two years later . A new , mostly underground museum building was completed in 1987 just off the National Mall and adjacent to other Smithsonian museums . It is among the Smithsonian 's smallest museums . The African art museum took a scholarly direction over the next twenty years , with less social programming . It collected traditional and contemporary works of historical importance . Exhibitions include works both internal and borrowed , and have ranged from solo artist to broad , survey shows . The museum hosts two to three temporary exhibitions and ten special events annually . Reviewers criticized the National Mall building 's architecture , particularly its lack of natural light . The museum is slated to be remodeled as part of the Smithsonian 's upcoming South Mall project .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "93b4fd3401dac57df784d9c8f8e20700", "text": "List of tallest buildings in Philadelphia Philadelphia , the largest city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania , is home to 389 completed high-rises , 32 of which stand taller than 400 ft. The tallest building in the city is currently the 58-story Comcast Center , which rises 975 ft in Center City . Comcast Center is also the tallest building in Pennsylvania and the 20th-tallest building in the United States . The second-tallest building is One Liberty Place , which rises 61 floors and 945 ft. One Liberty Place stood as the tallest building in Pennsylvania for over 20 years until the completion of Comcast Center in 2008 . Overall , seven of the ten tallest buildings in Pennsylvania are in Philadelphia , with the remainder being in Pittsburgh . Philadelphia is one of only five American cities with two or more completed buildings over 900 ft tall . Philadelphia 's history of tall buildings is generally thought to have begun with the 1754 addition of the steeple to Christ Church , which was one of America 's first high-rise structures . Through most of the 20th century , a `` gentlemen 's agreement '' prevented buildings from rising higher than the 548-ft ( 167-m ) Philadelphia City Hall . Despite this , Philadelphia amassed a large collection of high-rise buildings . The completion of One Liberty Place in 1987 broke the agreement , and Philadelphia has since seen the construction of eight skyscrapers that eclipse City Hall in height . Philadelphia has twice held the tallest habitable building in North America , first with Christ Church , then with City Hall . The latter reigned as the world 's tallest building from 1894 to 1908 , and is currently the world 's second-tallest masonry building , only 1.6 ft shorter than Mole Antonelliana in Turin . Like other large American cities , Philadelphia went through a massive building boom in the 1970s and 1980s , resulting in the completion of over 20 high-rise buildings . , there are several major high-rise construction projects underway in Philadelphia . The largest of these projects is the Comcast Innovation and Technology Center , which began construction in 2014 and will rise 1121 ft upon completion . The Comcast Innovation and Technology Center will surpass Comcast Center by over 100 ft to become the tallest skyscraper in Pennsylvania and the tallest building in the country outside of New York and Chicago . __ TOC __", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7952171efe42dd67430ad943e348a789", "text": "Style (visual arts) In the visual arts , style is a '' ... distinctive manner which permits the grouping of works into related categories '' . or '' ... any distinctive , and therefore recognizable , way in which an act is performed or an artifact made or ought to be performed and made '' . It refers to the visual appearance of a work of art that relates it to other works by the same artist or one from the same period , training , location , `` school '' , art movement or archaeological culture : `` The notion of style has long been the art historian 's principal mode of classifying works of art . By style he selects and shapes the history of art '' . Style is often divided into the general style of a period , country or cultural group , group of artists or art movement , and the individual style of the artist within that group style . Divisions within both types of styles are often made , such as between `` early '' , `` middle '' or `` late '' . In some artists , such as Picasso for example , these divisions may be marked and easy to see , in others they are more subtle . Style is seen as usually dynamic , in most periods always changing by a gradual process , though the speed of this varies greatly , between the very slow development in style typical of prehistoric art or ancient Egyptian art to the rapid changes in modern art styles . Style often develops in a series of jumps , with relatively sudden changes followed by periods of slower development . After dominating academic discussion in art history in the 19th and early 20th centuries , so-called `` style art history '' has come under increasing attack in recent decades , and many art historians now prefer to avoid stylistic classifications where they can .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "53b366154e13bf06d9a67dda943af912", "text": "Brent Glass Brent D. Glass is a public historian who pioneered influential oral history and material culture studies and was Elizabeth MacMillan Director of the Smithsonian 's National Museum of American History from 2002-2011 . He is an author and international speaker on cultural diplomacy and museum management . He writes on topics ranging from state-of-the-museum blogs to public memory , historic literacy , historic preservation , and industrial history . Glass led the two-year , $ 85 million renovation of the National Museum of American History , completed in 2008 , revitalizing public spaces and creating a new public square on the National Mall for citizenship naturalization ceremonies and other public events . Since 2002 , he has overseen conservation of the Star-Spangled Banner , creation of major new exhibitions on transportation , maritime history , military history and first ladies ' gowns , installation of nearly 50 other exhibitions and hundreds of online and public programs , and the Museum has raised more than $ 75 million from individuals , foundations and corporations . Under Glass ' leadership , the National Museum of American History opened the popular permanent exhibitions , `` America on the Move '' in November 2003 and `` The Price of Freedom : Americans at War '' in November 2004 , as well as a temporary display , `` Treasures of American History , '' while the museum was closed for renovations . He testified before congress . Glass is an active member of and consultant to the diplomatic , cultural , and academic communities , serving on many boards that work to generate enthusiasm for history among the general public . He serves as a Federal Commissioner of the U.S. Flight 93 Memorial Advisory Commission and a member of the U.S. State Department Bilateral U.S. Russian Presidential Commission Working Group on Education , Culture , Sports and Media . . A frequent speaker and participant in public diplomacy and cultural diplomacy programs , he serves on the U.S. State Department Diplomatic Center Advisory Committee , the San Francisco Presidio Heritage Advisory Board , and as a trustee of Lafayette College in Easton , Pennsylvania . He has served as a Federal Commissioner of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and on the National Council of the American Association for State and Local History . Prior to joining the Smithsonian , from 1987-2002 he served as executive director of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission , managing the largest and most comprehensive state history program in the country , with 25 historical sites and museums , including the State Archives and State Museum ; the State Historic Preservation Office , public history programs , and historical publications . He was executive director of the North Carolina Humanities Council from 1983 to1987 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "d85b152029855bb9c2edf15bef5a6fb5", "text": "Museum of Ukrainian folk art The National Folk Decorative Art Museum is a museum dedicated to Ukrainian Folk decorative art in Kiev , Ukraine . The National Folk Decorative Art Museum is one of the largest art museums in Ukraine . It is located on the grounds of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra and is housed in the former Metropolitan 's residence and the adjacent Annunciation The museum collection was established in 1899 as part of the collection of the newly founded City Antiquity and Art Museum , which was renamed in 1904 the `` Kyiv Art , Industry and Science Museum '' . Now the reserves and displays of the museum contain over 75,000 artifacts of Ukrainian traditional folk and professional decorative art dating from 15th century to present days . Many of them are household and domestic articles varied in material , shape , decoration , and purpose which talented craftsmen had turned into highly artistic items inhering the wealth of regional specificities . Art works created by professional artisans demonstrate implementation of established folk traditions in their creative concepts . The museum permanent exhibition which totals some 1,500 sq. m. represents all types of Ukrainian folk art : carpet weaving , weaving , print , embroidery , ceramics , wood carving and painting , artistic leather work , horn and metal work , glassware , porcelain , Easter egg painting ( `` pysankarstvo '' ) , folk painting and iconography . The pride of the Museum is its extensive collection of Ukrainian folk costumes of the 19th -- first half of the 20th century representing all regions of Ukraine , in which are synthesized folk arts of style , sewing , weaving , embroidery , applique , print , wicker-work , artistic leather work and metalwork . Also deserving mention are the collection of traditional trappings : `` duckachs '' ( necklaces with coins as lockets ) , coral and Venetian glass beads , beadwork . Especially valuable objects , both from the historical and artistic viewpoints , are wooden carved silver-mounted cross of 1576 , clay glazed tiles of 15th -- 18th centuries , Cossack tobacco-pipes and powder flasks of 18th -- 19th centuries , silk woven sashes of 18th century , embroidered in gold and silver , 18th-century vestments , `` guta '' ( a traditional glass workshop in the 16th -- 19th centuries ) glassware of 16th -- 18th centuries , production of leading Ukrainian porcelain and faience enterprises of 18th -- 19th centuries : Kyevo-Mezhighirskaya faience factory and Volokitinsky porcelain works . The Museum possesses Ukraine 's largest collection of works by Maria Prymachenko ( 1909 -- 1997 ) , which includes more than 500 paintings . A special showroom accommodates the canvases by Kateryna Bilokur ( 1900 -- 1961 ) . They are deservedly considered the masterpieces of the Museum 's collection and belong to riches of world art . Numerous temporary exhibitions feature works by contemporary artisans as well as the exhibits stored in the Museum 's repositories . Category : Museums in Kiev Category : Museums established in 1899 Category : Art museums and galleries in Ukraine Category : Folk art museums and galleries Category : Kiev Pechersk Lavra Category :1899 establishments in Russia", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3d626206a7253d291f4b0a8d18edd6a3", "text": "Notre-Dame, une fin d'après-midi Notre-Dame , une fin d'après-midi ( `` A Glimpse of Notre-Dame in the Late Afternoon '' ) is a painting by Henri Matisse from 1902 . Its somber coloration is typical of Matisse 's works executed between the end of 1901 and the end of 1903 , a period of personal difficulties for the artist . This episode has been called Matisse 's Dark Period . Between 1896 and 1901 , Matisse 's painting had progressed from the subdued tones of his earliest works to an intense colorism that prefigured the Fauvism to come . In 1896 and 1897 he had traveled to Brittany , where the Australian painter John Peter Russell encouraged him to paint en plein air . Through Russell he met Camille Pissarro , whose influence was decisive in making a colorist of Matisse . In 1898 he traveled to London , where he studied the works of J. M. W. Turner ; then , after a year spent in Corsica and Toulouse , he returned to Paris , where the startling boldness of his work was admired by other young artists . His paintings found few buyers , however , and his wife , Amélie , had to open a dress shop to support their household . In May 1902 a major financial scandal , the Humbert Affair , unexpectedly ensnared Amélie 's family . Her mother was the Humbert family 's housekeeper , and both she and her husband became scapegoats in the scandal . As a result , Matisse was forced to spend much of his time during the next year dealing with lawyers and journalists . His studio was searched by detectives , and his wife 's family was menaced by angry mobs of fraud victims . According to art historian Hilary Spurling , `` their public exposure , followed by the arrest of his father-in-law , left Matisse as the sole breadwinner for an extended family of seven . This is why he switched to painting canvases that were at least potentially saleable '' . Inspired by Rodin and Barye , Matisse struggled to master volume in sculpture as well as in painting . He darkened his palette , with the results seen in the present work , and in such paintings as Carmelina ( 1903 , in the Museum of Fine Arts , Boston ) . The medium is oil on paper mounted on canvas and it measures 72.5 × 54.5 cm ( 28 1/2 × 21 1/2 in ) . The painting is in the Albright -- Knox Art Gallery , Buffalo , New York .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "144933a8a0e5fb2663601d738a406207", "text": "Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum , often referred to as The Guggenheim , is an art museum located at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan , New York City . It is the permanent home of a continuously expanding collection of Impressionist , Post-Impressionist , early Modern and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions throughout the year . The museum was established by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in 1939 as the Museum of Non-Objective Painting , under the guidance of its first director , the artist Hilla von Rebay . It adopted its current name after the death of its founder , Solomon R. Guggenheim , in 1952 . In 1959 , the museum moved from rented space to its current building , a landmark work of 20th-century architecture . Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright , the cylindrical building , wider at the top than the bottom , was conceived as a `` temple of the spirit '' . Its unique ramp gallery extends up from ground level in a long , continuous spiral along the outer edges of the building to end just under the ceiling skylight . The building underwent extensive expansion and renovations in 1992 ( when an adjoining tower was built ) and from 2005 to 2008 . The museum 's collection has grown organically , over eight decades , and is founded upon several important private collections , beginning with Solomon R. Guggenheim 's original collection . The collection is shared with the museum 's sister museums in Bilbao , Spain , and elsewhere . In 2013 , nearly 1.2 million people visited the museum , and it hosted the most popular exhibition in New York City .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a799f0037b9ab03a4ae7be258cb4cb79", "text": "Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas The Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas ( National Museum of Decorative Arts ; originally , `` National Museum of Industrial Arts '' ) is located at 12 Montalbán Street , in Madrid , Spain , to the south of the Puerta de Alcalá and the western side of the Buen Retiro Park . It is one of the oldest museums in the city , situated within the Golden Triangle of Art . Following the example of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London , it illustrates the evolution of industrial or `` minor arts '' , including furniture , ceramics , glass , and textiles . The collections emphasize the 16th and 17th centuries in particular ; its collection contains approximately 40,000 pieces , with a considerable quantity of Arabic world items , particularly from Morocco and Turkey . Its 62 exhibition rooms are within a palace near the Jardines del Retiro de Madrid . Each year , there are about 22,000 visitors .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "71b2fc47df9b5dba1fd6df1c88c017c6", "text": "DOP Foundation The D.O.P. Foundation is a non-profit institution with spaces and documentary archives headquartered in Paris ( France ) , Madrid ( Spain ) , Miami ( U.S.A. ) and Caracas ( Venezuela ) that operates as an educational and lending resource of modern and contemporary art . The Foundation is dedicated to building a collection that reflects the scope and diversity of the art of our time . This Foundation assists museums striving to present modern and contemporary art in a complex economic and cultural environment . While private collectors usually limit the accessibility of contemporary artists ' work , the Foundation makes the collection 's works available for loan to museums and university galleries through its `` lending library '' program . Since its inception in 1999 , artworks from the D.O.P. Collection ( Colección D.O.P. ) have appeared in exhibitions at nearly 50 museums , universities , web sites and other public venues , and have been viewed by approximately one million persons per year . The Foundation facilitates its lending programs by providing professionals and scholars in the art community opportunities to view , study , and consider the collection ´ s artworks for exhibitions worldwide . The main educational initiatives of the D.O.P. Foundation are : The D.O.P. Collection , the Lending Library Programme and its ArteDOP/ArtDOP Educational Initiative , all aimed to achieve the excellence in education by a display of exhibitions , a grant & scholarship programs and other activities that allows a direct access of people interested in understanding the importance and enjoy the multiple alternatives that art brings as a fundamental factor for our intellectual , social and emotive development ; and these are directed to anyone , from individual beings up to a whole community .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "6d7c1f21b86083ac1c520a95c94810ab", "text": "Montclair Art Museum The Montclair Art Museum ( MAM ) is located in Montclair , New Jersey , United States , a few miles west of New York City . Since it opened in 1914 as the first museum in New Jersey that granted access to the public and the first dedicated solely to art , it has been privately funded . Its collection of more than 12,000 items and its exhibit programs are dedicated to American art and Native American art forms , as well as contemporary art in both those disciplines . The museum sponsors a wide variety of programs in partnership with local organizations and maintains an extensive educational program for all age groups . For decades MAM 's Yard School of Art has provided opportunities for formal instruction to students both amateur and professional at all levels .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "7d6ee07699a2229bd1e11f14a4721e95", "text": "Germanisches Nationalmuseum The Germanisches Nationalmuseum is a museum in Nuremberg , Germany . Founded in 1852 , it houses a large collection of items relating to German culture and art extending from prehistoric times through to the present day . The Germanisches Nationalmuseum is Germany 's largest museum of cultural history . Out of its total holding of some 1.3 million objects ( including the holdings of the library and the Department of Prints and Drawings ) , approximately 25,000 are exhibited . The museum is situated in the south of the historic city center between Kornmarkt and Frauentormauer along the medieval city wall . Its entrance hall is situated on Kartäusergasse which was transformed by the Israeli sculptor Dani Karavan to the Way of Human Rights ( Straße der Menschenrechte ) .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "687e90bae2b25f391ed365b47215db22", "text": "Kleiner Klebeband The Kleiner Klebeband ( `` little glued binder '' ) is a collection of over 120 drawings from the 15th and 16th century , which were combined into a leathern binder in the 19th century . It considered as one of the most important reference collections of German art drawings from that period . Maximilian Willibald of Waldburg-Wolfegg ( 1604 -- 1667 ) started to collect the drawings of the Kleiner Klebeband from 1650 until his death . They were part of a much larger art collection , the Wolfegg cabinet , that he founded . They were drawn on loose sheets , but in the 19th century they were assembled into a leathern binder . In fall 2011 the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz wnd museums of the city of Augsburg bought them from the family Waldburg-Wolfegg and in December of the same year they were shown to the public for the first time in a special exhibition . The Kleiner Klebeband contains drawings by German artists and a few works of Dutch and Italian masters as well . Among its best known drawings are works by Hans Holbein the Elder and his workshop and a portrait of young man from 1475 attributed to the Master of the Mornauer Portrait . The latter was described by the artist and academic Peter Halm as the `` most perfect German drawing before Dürer '' .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "a005d07ce15a3926ce9082b53a913212", "text": "Museum im Kulturspeicher Würzburg The Museum im Kulturspeicher Würzburg is a municipal art museum located at Veitshöchheimer Strasse 5 , Würzburg , Northern Bavaria , Germany . It is open daily except Monday ; an admission fee is charged . The museum opened in 2002 within a converted river-side warehouse that provides 3,500 m ² of exhibit space in 12 rooms . It contains two distinct collections : the municipal art collection , founded in 1941 as the Städtische Gallerie and originally located in Hofstraße ; and the Peter C. Ruppert Collection of European concrete art from World War II to the present day . The municipal collection exhibits regional art , primarily from Franconia and Southern Germany , ranging from Biedermeier-style portraits and landscapes of the first half of the 19th century , through German impressionism and painters of the Berlin Secession , including Robert Breyer , Philipp Franck , Walter Leistikow , Joseph Oppenheimer , and Max Slevogt , as well as members of the Weimar Saxon-Grand Ducal Art School including Ludwig von Gleichen-Rußwurm and Franz Bunke . It also includes works by Bauhaus painter Hans Reichel and works from the estate of sculptor Emy Roeder , as well as about 30,000 graphics works . The Ruppert collection includes concrete art from 22 European countries , incorporating a broad spectrum of materials and media , exhibited within six galleries ( 1,850 m ² total area ) . Artists include Max Bill , John Carter , Andreas Christen , Ralph Eck , Christoph Freimann , Gerhard von Graevenitz , Erwin Heerich , Malcolm Hughes , Norbert Kricke , Richard Paul Lohse , Maurizio Nannucci , Nausika Pastra , Henry Prosi , Bridget Riley , Peter Sedgley , and Anton Stankowski .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "92017c79f0121b48de174a5d24acd6c0", "text": "Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Grounds Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop 's Grounds is an 1823 painting by the nineteenth-century landscape painter John Constable ( 1776 -- 1837 ) . This image of Salisbury Cathedral , one of England 's most famous medieval churches , is one of his most celebrated works , and was commissioned by one of his closest friends , John Fisher , The Bishop of Salisbury . Constable visited Salisbury in 1820 and made a series of oil sketches of the cathedral , which served as the model for this composition . The artist selected a viewpoint from the bishop 's garden and included figures of Dr. Fisher and his wife at the bottom left . Following its exhibition at the 1823 Royal Academy , Constable observed : `` My Cathedral looks very well ... It was the most difficult subject in Landscape I ever had upon my Easel . I have not flinched at the work of the windows , buttresses , & c. - but I have as usual made my escape in the Evanescence of the Chiaro-Oscuro '' . His patron took exception to the dark cloud over the cathedral , and when he commissioned a smaller replica , requested `` a more serene sky '' . The painting embodies the full range of qualities of a quintessentially British landscape painting -- the clouds , trees , a water meadow , cattle drinking at the edge of the pasture and the glorious architecture of a medieval cathedral -- but all on a human scale . Paintings like this one have so conditioned our view of rural Britain that it is now difficult to imagine a time when the countryside and country life were not held in such high regard . A version of the painting also resides at the Frick Collection in New York City . It is slightly different in that it shows different weather and hence light . Whereas the London version depicts the cathedral with an overcast sky , the version in the Frick shows the cathedral with a clear , bright sky . A small version of the painting resides at the Huntington Library in San Marino , California . John Fisher gave it to his daughter as a wedding present . There is an earlier , homonymous version ( 1821-1822 ) of this painting at São Paulo Museum of Art in São Paulo . It is said that Fisher , seeing its sombre and grave colors , disliked it and asked for a happier , lighter one .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "8a130a5f5b3b9fb43c2db29cde0d9f93", "text": "Artist Pension Trust Artist Pension Trust ( APT ) is an investment vehicle specializing in contemporary art , which aims to provide financial security and international exposure to selected artists chosen by its international curatorial team . It has the largest global collection of contemporary art , comprising 10,000 artworks from 2,000 artists in 75 countries , and growing by more than 2,000 each year . As of November 2013 , a total of 40,000 artworks had been committed to APT by 2,000 artists . APT claimed its then value to be more than $ US100 million . Artworks from the APT collection have been used to curate exhibitions for museums including the MoMA , Tate Modern , Hirshhorn Museum , as well as for art venues such as the Venice Biennale , Art Basel , Documenta and Manifesta .", "title": "" } ]
fever
8e939224eb313097836d52b3fab8a65e
Stephon Marbury plays basketball in America.
[ { "docid": "12d8179bc6d5094a447307d42880aba6", "text": "Stephon Marbury Stephon Xavier Marbury ( born February 20 , 1977 ) is an American professional basketball player who most recently played for the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association ( CBA ) . He has won three CBA championships with Beijing in 2012 , 2014 and 2015 , and is widely considered as the greatest foreign player to ever play in the Chinese Basketball Association . The , 205 lb point guard was selected out of the Georgia Institute of Technology by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 4th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft , but was traded shortly thereafter to the Minnesota Timberwolves . He was an NBA All-Star in 2001 and 2003 and was voted into the All-NBA Third Team in 2000 and 2003 .", "title": "" } ]
[ { "docid": "220b5c7abdcb80c0940ccf79b759750d", "text": "Shawn Vanzant Shawn Vincent Vanzant ( born October 19 , 1988 ) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Moncton Miracles of the National Basketball League of Canada ( NBL ) . He played college basketball for Butler University before playing professionally in Finland , Canada , Ireland , and the NBA Development League .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "b502f99f2ee6312d5aa3dd9d6cabd4d6", "text": "American football American football , referred to as football in the United States and Canada , and also known as `` gridiron football '' or simply `` gridiron '' , is a sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end . The offense , the team with control of the oval-shaped football , attempts to advance down the field by running with or passing the ball , while the team without control of the ball , the defense , aims to stop their advance and take control of the ball for themselves . The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs , or plays , or else they turn over the football to the opposing team ; if they succeed , they are given a new set of four downs . Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the opposing team 's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent 's goalposts for a field goal . The team with the most points at the end of a game wins . American football evolved in the United States , originating from the sports of association football and rugby football . The first game of American football was played on November 6 , 1869 , between two college teams , Rutgers and Princeton , under rules based on the association football rules of the time . During the latter half of the 1870s , colleges playing association football switched to the Rugby Union code , which allowed carrying the ball . A set of rule changes drawn up from 1880 onward by Walter Camp , the `` Father of American Football '' , established the snap , eleven-player teams , and the concept of downs ; later rule changes legalized the forward pass , created the neutral zone , and specified the size and shape of the football . American football as a whole is the most popular sport in the United States . Professional football and college football are the most popular forms of the game , with the other major levels being high school and youth football . , nearly 1.1 million high school athletes and 70,000 college athletes play the sport in the United States annually , almost all of them men , with a few exceptions . The National Football League , the most popular American football league , has the highest average attendance of any professional sports league in the world ; its championship game , the Super Bowl , ranks among the most-watched club sporting events in the world , and the league has an annual revenue of around US$ 10 billion .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fcbc2bd8596e0559143d7b7a5d6b4e6e", "text": "Leon Rose Leon Rose ( born around 1961 ) is an attorney and sports agent , based in New Jersey , near Philadelphia . He represents a number of prominent NBA players , including Allen Iverson and formerly LeBron James . Rose grew up in Cherry Hill , New Jersey and attended Cherry Hill High School East , where he played basketball and was later inducted into the school 's hall of fame . Rose graduated from Dickinson College , where he played on the basketball team , and earned his law degree at Temple University Beasley School of Law . He was inducted into the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2011 .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "3e5602c11fbd5ec6742e08287203590b", "text": "Allentown Jets The Allentown Jets were a minor league basketball team that played in the Eastern Professional Basketball League ( later the Eastern Basketball Association and Continental Basketball Association ) from 1958 to 1981 . The team was one of the most dominant franchises in CBA/Eastern League history , winning eight playoff championships and 12 division titles . Originally formed in 1957 as the Wilmington Jets , the team relocated in 1958 to Allentown , Pennsylvania . Among the Jets ' top players were center Roman `` Big Daddy '' Turmon , Ray Scott scorer , rebounder Harthorne Wingo , and 3-point specialist Brendan McCann & Bill `` BO '' White . The Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame inducted Richard Koffenberger , who played for the team in Wilmington . The Jets had a working agreement with the New York Knicks , who sent several players to Allentown for playing time . In 1964 , the Jets played an interleague contest with the Grand Rapids Tackers of the Midwest Professional Basketball League . The Jets won 138-136 , winning the only minor league `` World Series of Basketball '' interpromotional game ever held . In 1979 , the franchise rebranded itself as the `` Lehigh Valley Jets , '' in an effort to greater regionalize its fanbase ; however , after the 1980-81 season the Jets closed up for good .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "89e6eaa5564c2257af813d515ea7acff", "text": "2012–13 America East Conference men's basketball season The 2012 -- 13 America East men 's basketball season began with practices in October 2012 , followed by the start of the 2012 -- 13 NCAA Division I men 's basketball season in November . Conference play began in early-January 2013 , and concluded in March with the 2013 America East Men 's Basketball Tournament first two rounds being held at the University of Albany , and the final held at the University of Vermont . | - | colspan = 6 align = `` left '' |", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fc7988ed5f41151297e95a6f8de55a27", "text": "Toney Douglas Toney Bernard Douglas ( born March 16 , 1986 ) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) . He played college basketball for Auburn for one year , eventually becoming frustrated with his role on the team as a shooting guard . He subsequently transferred to Florida State University for the remainder of his collegiate career , where he switched to the point guard position . Emerging as a defensive force in his junior season , Douglas set school and conference records for steals . He stepped up as a team leader in his final season , breaking personal records in several statistical categories and helped lead the Seminoles to their first NCAA Tournament in 11 years . Douglas was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2009 NBA draft with the 29th overall pick , but was immediately traded to the New York Knicks . He played for the Knicks , Houston Rockets , Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors before being traded to the Miami Heat in 2014 . After spending the 2014 -- 15 season in China with the Jiangsu Dragons , he returned to the NBA in 2015 , joining the New Orleans Pelicans .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "520ff9e55bd413da1897d9eee39814b2", "text": "Shawn Long Shawn Long ( born January 29 , 1993 ) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) . He played college career for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and represented the United States at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "520b31d335c6c6bd97fe17206cb0015a", "text": "Brandan Kearney Brandan Dion Kearney ( born March 1 , 1993 ) is a professional basketball player for the Montcon Miracles of the National Basketball League of Canada . He played college basketball at Michigan State University , Arizona State University and University of Detroit .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "529e93a9b5ae60cf7d2267fafa0b8649", "text": "Maurice Bailey Maurice Edward `` Mo '' Bailey ( born October 30 , 1981 ) is an American-Jamaican professional basketball player . He is a point guard .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5c3d661005bc5998c7ddcd5e6bb0ea6f", "text": "USA Today All-USA high school basketball team Each year , USA Today , an American newspaper , awards outstanding high school basketball players with a place on its male and female All-USA high school basketball teams . The newspaper names athletes whom it believes to be the best basketball players from high schools around the United States . In addition , one member of each team is named , respectively , the male or female USA Today High School Basketball Player of the Year . The newspaper names two teams , one for male athletes and one for female athletes . The newspaper has named a team every year since 1983 . Each year , the newspaper also selects a USA Today High School Boys ' Basketball Coach of the Year and a USA Today High School Girls ' Basketball Coach of the Year .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "fac6e94d524eb9afce2273ecd95a3c0f", "text": "Raymond Felton Raymond Bernard Felton , Jr. ( born June 26 , 1984 ) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) . Felton played college basketball at the University of North Carolina under head coach Roy Williams . At North Carolina , Felton led the Tar Heels to a national championship before declaring for the NBA draft . Felton was drafted 5th overall in the 2005 NBA draft . Over his career , Felton has been a member of the Charlotte Bobcats , New York Knicks ( twice ) , Denver Nuggets , Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers . He plays the point guard position .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "5ddce588153f8138152881142320c2c9", "text": "Jack Rohan John Patrick `` Jack '' Rohan ( August 25 , 1931 -- August 9 , 2004 ) was an American college basketball player and coach . The Bellerose , New York native was men 's head basketball coach at Columbia University between 1962 and 1974 , and returned in 1991 to coach until 1995 . He is the most successful coach in Columbia basketball history . Rohan was also a full professor and chairman of the department of physical education . Rohan attended Columbia from 1949 to 1953 , and was a member of the famous 1950/51 team under coach Lou Rossini that went undefeated through its regular season , winning all 22 of its games and capturing the Ivy League title with a 12 -- 0 mark . Rohan earned a bachelor 's degree in history from Columbia in 1953 and a master 's from Teachers College , Columbia University , in 1957 . From 1955 through 1958 , he served variously as the varsity golf and freshman basketball coach at Columbia and the freshman basketball coach at New York University . In 1962 he became head coach at Columbia . Rohan was selected national Coach of the Year for the 1967 -- 68 season after leading Columbia to the Ivy League championship . That team , one of the best in Columbia history , compiled a 23 -- 5 record and finished the season ranked sixth in the nation . It was led by Jim McMillian and Dave Newmark , both of whom played professional basketball , and Heyward Dotson , an NBA and ABA draftee . Rohan resigned his coaching post in 1974 to become the tenured chair of the physical education department . He became the school 's golf coach in 1976 , but remained active in basketball as a much-sought-after basketball camp lecturer and clinician , broadcaster , and writer . In 1990 Rohan agreed to once again become head coach of the Lions . He coached for five years , leading the team to a 43 -- 87 record , including a 16 -- 10 record and second-place finish in the Ivy League in 1992 -- 93 . When he left the head coach 's position , shortly after the conclusion of the 1995 season , he had compiled an overall record of 198 -- 247 . His games coached ( 445 ) and his victories both stand as Columbia career records . Rohan died on August 9 , 2004 , aged 72 , in a nursing home in South Yarmouth , Massachusetts , of complications from Guillain -- Barré syndrome . He had been stricken with the disease since July 2003 . Category :1931 births Category :2004 deaths Category : American basketball coaches Category : American men 's basketball players Category : Columbia Lions men 's basketball coaches Category : Columbia Lions men 's basketball players Category : People from Bellerose , New York Category : Teachers College , Columbia University alumni", "title": "" }, { "docid": "65d28c5973354e3828725d1152a42ae9", "text": "All-America This article is about the concept in sports teams . For similarly-named articles , see All American . An All-America team is a hypothetical American sports team composed of outstanding amateur players . These players are broadly considered by media and other relevant commentators as the best players in a particular sport , of a specific season , for each team position . Such athletes at the high school and college level are given the honorific title and typically referred to as `` All-American athletes '' or simply `` All-Americans '' .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "15e9b8f97333140e217d7fec7ecd6112", "text": "2007–08 FIBA Americas League The 2007 -- 08 FIBA Americas League was the first edition of the first-tier and most important professional international club basketball competition in the regions of South America , Central America , the Caribbean , and Mexico , with the winner of the competition being crowned as the best team and champion of all of those regions , as well as of the FIBA Americas zone . The first FIBA Americas League also included two teams from the United States , the Miami Tropics , and the PBL All-Stars , which was an All-Star selection team from the Premier Basketball League . However , the NBA is the first-tier competition in the United States , and it is in fact an international league , as it contains also a team from Canada . So teams from the United States and Canada are eligible to play at the competition because they belong to the FIBA Americas region . However , at the pro club level for those two countries , the FIBA Americas League would not be considered the 1st-tier league . The competition began on December 4 . The first stage was a round robin phase with four teams in each group . Each of the groups were played in different cities , ( Guaynabo , Miami , Belo Horizonte , and Mar del Plata ) . The Final 4 of the league was played in a round-robin format from February 7 to February 9 , in Mexicali , Mexico , home of the hosting team , Soles de Mexicali .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "9855389ac392527db9eff4dc16d6e01d", "text": "Marquee player A marquee player is an athlete who is considered exceptionally popular , skilled , or otherwise outstanding , especially in professional sports . Several sports leagues have specific definitions and rules regarding the designation and treatment of marquee players . In the Liga 1 of the Football Association of Indonesia each team is allowed to designate one marquee players . In the A-League of the Football Federation Australia each team is allowed to designate two marquee players whose salaries are exempted from the league 's salary cap . Similarly , in English Premiership rugby marquee players are excluded from salary cap constraints . The All India Football Federation requires each I-League team to feature one marquee player . The federation defines `` marquee players '' as foreign players who have represented their country in one of several international championships . Teams are also allowed to propose other skilled players for the designation.In ISL ( Indian Super League ) also there are marquee players . In World TeamTennis a marquee player is not required to play the entire season and is compensated on a per-match basis . Marquee players are drafted in a marquee draft prior to the roster draft .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c047c6c70499ba3e90d60785f7989e02", "text": "Ron Perry (basketball, born 1958) Ronald K. `` Ron '' Perry ( born March 20 , 1958 ) is an American former basketball and baseball player . He is known particularly for his standout college career at Holy Cross . Perry , the son of former Holy Cross athletic director Ron S. Perry , was a high school star at Catholic Memorial in West Roxbury , Massachusetts . While there , Perry set a Massachusetts state scoring record with 2,481 points in his career , averaging 35 points per game as a senior . He followed in his father 's footsteps , playing both basketball and baseball at Holy Cross . As a freshman shooting guard for the Crusaders , Perry led all freshmen nationally in scoring , netting 23 points per game . Over the course of his four-year career , Perry set the school scoring record with 2,524 points ( 23.2 per game ) . He was named ECAC North co-Player of the Year with Maine 's Rufus Harris as a senior and earned All-American recognition in all four of his varsity seasons . In addition to his basketball career , Perry also excelled as a baseball player for the Crusaders at shortstop . He was also recognized for his achievements in the classroom , earning first team Academic All-American honors in each of his last three seasons in both baseball and basketball . He was inducted into the Academic All-American Hall of Fame in 1996 . Following his graduatiuon from Holy Cross , perry was drafted by both the Chicago White Sox in the 1980 Major League Baseball Draft and by the Boston Celtics in the third round ( 54th pick overall ) of the 1980 NBA draft . After failing to make the Celtics ' roster , Perry opted to try his hand at baseball , playing for the White Sox ' AA affiliate in Glens Falls , New York . He hit .260 in his two seasons with the club .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "c8556322c795599e904b3e9faa704ec6", "text": "NBA high school draftees The NBA high school draftees are players who have been drafted to the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) straight out of high school without playing basketball at the collegiate level . The process of jumping directly from high school to the professional level is also known as going prep-to-pro . Since 2006 , the practice of drafting high school players has been prohibited by the new collective bargaining agreement , which requires that players who entered the draft be 19 years of age and at least one year removed from high school . Contrary to popular belief , the player does not have to play at least a year in college basketball , as the player can choose to instead play in another professional league ( especially overseas ) like Brandon Jennings or Emmanuel Mudiay in Italy and China respectively , simply take the year off , such as the case with Satnam Singh Bhamara , or even hold themselves back a year in high school before declaring for the draft , such as the case with Thon Maker . The NBA has long had a preference for players who played basketball at the collegiate level ; the vast majority of players to play in the NBA have had college experience . However , there have been numerous notable players who attended high school in the United States and then jumped directly to the NBA without playing college basketball .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "65392032384368ed2bc2b074dbcadeb4", "text": "Sports in Boston Boston , the capital city of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and largest city in the New England region of the northeastern United States , is home to several major league sports teams , including the Red Sox ( baseball ) , the Celtics ( basketball ) and the Bruins ( ice hockey ) . The New England Patriots ( American football ) and the New England Revolution ( soccer ) play at Gillette Stadium in nearby Foxborough , Massachusetts . Several Boston-area colleges and universities are also active in college athletics . Sports are a major part of the city 's culture ( as well as the culture of the Greater Boston area ) . Boston sports fans are known for their fanatical devotion to the Red Sox and knowledge of the team 's history . Fenway Park , home of the Red Sox , is the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball ( MLB ) and holds a legendary status among baseball fans . Boston is the only city in professional sports in which all facilities are privately owned and operated . The Patriots own Gillette Stadium , the Red Sox own Fenway Park , and TD Garden is owned by Delaware North , owner of the Bruins . The Celtics rent TD Garden from Delaware North . In the 2000s , Boston 's professional teams had arguably the most successful decade in sports history , winning ten championships ( five by the Patriots , three by the Red Sox and one each by the Celtics and Bruins ) . When the Bruins won the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals , the city of Boston became the first city in the 21st century to have all four of its major professional league teams win a league championship , and it is the only city ever to have championships in all four major professional leagues within a ten-year span ( from the Patriots ' victory in February 2002 to the Bruins ' in June 2011 ) . In just ten years , between February 2002 and June 2011 , Boston 's teams completed what Sports Illustrated dubbed as the `` Grand Slam of North American sports . '' With the Patriots ' victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX , the four major Boston-area sports teams completed a grand-slam in six years ( the 2008 Celtics , the 2011 Bruins , the 2013 Red Sox and the 2014 Patriots ) . Beyond that , several of the teams were league finalists : the Revolution four times , the Patriots twice and the Bruins and Celtics once apiece . With the Bruins reaching the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals , this allowed Boston to join Philadelphia as being the only cities to have had all of their teams play in each of the four major North American professional sports leagues ' title rounds since 2000 , following the Patriots in Super Bowls XXXVI in 2002 , XXXVIII in 2004 , XXXIX in 2005 , XLII in 2008 , XLVI in 2012 , XLIX in 2015 , and LI in 2017 and winning all of them , except Super Bowl XLII and XLVI , the Red Sox winning World Series titles in ( ending the Curse of the Bambino ) , , and , and the Celtics in the NBA Finals in and and winning in 2008 . In addition , Boston beat out Philadelphia for playing in all of the `` big '' league championship rounds in the shortest time in the new millennium , as it took 9 years for Philadelphia to achieve this feat ; Boston needed only three years and eight months . From 2004 to 2015 , all four Boston major league teams have each reached the championship rounds two times or more .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "056724618f3ec3831b6eaf81209dcc54", "text": "Texas Fuel The Texas Fuel , formerly the South Texas Showboats , are a basketball team in the American Basketball Association . Based in San Antonio , the Fuel play their home games at the Alamo Convocation Center . During the original planning process , the Showboats were a member of the United Basketball League . Due to the team coming under new ownership , in 2008 , the name was changed to the Texas Fuel , to honor the Fuel film that inspired the team to go green , and the colors changed to green and black . The team colors signify traditional Texas oil ( black ) and new alternative fuels ( green ) , such as biofuel . The team represents changes in fuel technology . In 2010 , a biofueled bus was given to the team by Farouk USA and Biosilk . On August 29 , 2011 , it was announced that the Indiana Pacers guard George Hill had signed a contract to play for the Fuel until the NBA lockout ended . His activities included practicing with the team and playing in two exhibition games in Brownsville and San Antonio . He also attended anti- bullying rallies with the team at Texas schools . The team was given the key to the city of San Benito for their anti- bullying efforts . Texas Fuel continues to earn accolades with 1 or 2 ABA All-Stars selected from the team every year since its inception , and the first Sportsman of the Year award from the Southwest Conference for Jason McNeil , due to his community charity work with the team for 3 consecutive years .", "title": "" }, { "docid": "dcb35e69b071bdf5795e81415120bd14", "text": "Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball The Seton Hall Pirates men 's basketball program is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate men 's basketball program of Seton Hall University in South Orange , New Jersey . The team competes in the Big East Conference and plays their home games in the Prudential Center in Newark , New Jersey .", "title": "" } ]
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