Good evening,
We are back to having some domestic politics
in our weekly set of debates, and as the election campaign hots up it will
probably dominate more and more... unless we begin to get bored of it!
Yesterday we had the warm up to the PM debates that will occur during the
campaign and today I wonder if the Home office would have announced that it
is going to rush in a ban on mephedrone if we had not been entering a
general election campaign.
Alex
p.s. remember to use http://debatewise.info/index.php/tasks/ (one hour
tasks) in order to take what you want to do. Hopefully we can slowly reduce
the number of emails that go over the email group as a result.
Debates for you to take
MPs should be allowed to employ family members.
The MPs expenses row is close to being over. However the initial cause of
the scandal will remain. MPs will be able to employ one family member.
Overall the new expenses scheme set out by the Independent Parliamentary
Standards Authority was tougher than some expected and is considerably
cutting the potential amount of expenses payable and expenses will no longer
be acceptable for paying the mortgage on a second home.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mps-are-allowed-to-keep-their-
families-on-the-payroll-1930663.html
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23819765-mps-braced-for-detai
ls-of-new-expenses-regime.do
Should late suspensions of MPs after Iraq's elections be allowed to affect
the outcome?
Iraq's elections have finally ended with a small victory for Iyad Allawi's
al-Iraqiya party that is secularist and drew a lot of support from Sunnis
although Allawi is a Shia. However his coalition is fragile and Prime
Minister Nouri al Maliki is doing his best to stop him from getting first
chance to form a coalition. The Justice and Accountability Committee has
recommended four of Allawi's candidates be disqualified which would destroy
his two seat advantage.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/links-to-barsquoathists-
could-end-allawirsquos-hopes-of-seizing-power-1930673.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/29/AR2010032902
905.html
http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/the-fun-has-just-begun
Arsenal can beat Barcelona.
A football manager is always going to say his team can beat the team they
opposing, after all if there could not be an upset why play? However there
is no doubt that despite their public confidence the Gunners will be
considered the underdog in their clash against Barcelona.
http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/221/champions-league/2010/03/30/1856359/ar
sene-wenger-warns-barcelona-arsenal-can-beat-any-team-in
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/european/championsleague/7532805/A
rsenal-v-Barcelona-Lionel-Messi-making-case-for-worlds-greatest-ever-player.
html
Post offices should be an alternative to banks?
The post office is increasingly diversifying in order to be able to keep its
loss making branches open. It is now beginning to offer more banking style
services such as mortgages for first time buyers, cheap loans and savings
accounts. Should the post office be moving away from just shifting our mail
around?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/banking/7535
393/Post-offices-to-offer-mortgages-childrens-bank-accounts.html
http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2010/03/30/post-off
ice-bank-could-save-regional-branches-61634-26134519/
The bombs in Moscow show that Russia's security services need reform.
Russia has been fighting terrorism on its soil for a long time. Bombings
were regular while Chechnya was semi-independent. But Russia claims to have
won that war. The war seems however to have turned into a counter terrorism
war. One in which Russia's security services are so far proving lacking.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/03/29/the_day_the_war_came_back?p
age=0,0
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/03/29/russias_terror_goes_viral
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8595276.stm
On Debatewise http://debatewise.org/categories/rrt
The National League for Democracy is right not to contest Burma's elections
this year.
The Junta that controls Burma (or Myanmar) is sticking to a path whereby the
country will become a democracy this year. However no one expects that this
is going to be a free and fair election. Almost all of the prominent members
of the opposition such as Aung San Suu Kyi have been disqualified. Her party
the National League for Democracy has now decided not to register or run. In
doing so it turns up what might have been an opportunity to mover Burma
towards democracy or else they have prevented themselves from being
manipulated in a contest they could never win.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/burmas-opposition-boycotts-poll
-1930682.html
http://the-diplomat.com/2010/03/27/burmas-bleak-poll-plans/
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=18138
Pope Benedict should resign.
There is yet another child abuse scandal crashing over the Catholic Church.
This time the usual apologies may not be enough as Pope Benedict while he
was Archbishop of Munich and Cardinal is implicated in helping to help cover
up the abuse. Many believe that in response the pope has to resign.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/william_rees_mogg/articl
e7079471.ece
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8590308.stm
http://theweek.com/article/index/201309/Has_the_Pope_no_choice_but_to_resign
Vince Cable won the chancellors debate?
On Monday 29th March Channel 4 broadcast a TV debate between the three
people who would be Chancellor of the Exchequer. Vince Cable for the
Liberal Democrats seemed to have the better of the debate while the
Chancellor Alistair Darling and Shadow Chancellor George Osborne
concentrated on attacking each other.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/seealso/2010/03/daily_view_chancellors_debate.htm
l
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7537781/Vince-Cable-for-Chance
llor.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/mar/30/darling-osborne-cable-tv-deba
te
Mephedrone and other 'legal highs' should be banned.
The government has announced that it will ban mephedrone after receiving
advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and will designate
it a class B drug. The drug has been linked with up to 25 deaths but has
never been confirmed as the cause. Criminalising will obviously lead to the
market going underground and the government may have difficulty legislating
in the two weeks before parliament is likely to close.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/7533535/Chem
ical-factories-producing-new-legal-highs-to-beat-mephedrone-ban.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/mar/25/mephedrone-drugs-ban-nutt-acmd
-crime
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8592103.stm
