I'll take Iran please Victoria On Wed, Dec 30, 2009 at 12:18 PM, <macmarie123@xxxxxxx> wrote: > Hi, > > I'll take Yemen: America's Next War? > > Thanks, > > Marie > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Alex Helling <alex@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> > To: debatewiserrt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Sent: Tue, 29 Dec 2009 23:59 > Subject: [Debatewise RRT] Holiday debates > > Hi all, > > I hope you enjoyed Christmas, and have a happy new year. I am sure you are > all relaxing, possibly thinking of how to burn off some of those calories > and the new year’s resolutions you will never keep. I hope that the RRT is > as successful next year as it has been this year. In the mean time some > debates for you to be doing while you are indoors on hogmanay... or not! > > Alex > > *Debates:* > > *Cut generals not soldiers.* > The British Army has one general for every 400 soldiers. Considering that > generals are only the top few ranks and we are not including the many more > majors, captains etc does Britain have too many generals? It would seem that > the obvious place to start making cuts into the military is to reduce the > size of the officer corps. > http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6969921.ece > http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6544223.ece > > *Yemen: America’s next war?* > While very few people are talking about Yemen being America’s next war it > is obvious that something needs to be done to prevent Yemen becoming a > failed state and to reduce any Al Qaeda presence there. Afghanistan has > shown how difficult it would be to fight a war in Yemen, there is similar > terrain, though not the ethnic divisions. However the reason behind the war > in Afghanistan is essentially what is happening in Yemen, a country that is > becoming a base for al Qaeda and Islamic fundamentalism. Is this sufficient > cause to take action? > http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8429843.stm > > http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/6898945/Detroit-terror-attack-Yemen-is-the-true-home-of-Al-Qaeda.html > > *Literacy targets for toddlers are a waste of time.* > There is a gender gap between boys and girls even before they enter school. > To the government this must mean more targets. To the rest of us a more > sensible approach might be to let children below school age learn at their > own pace. Does a gender gap at this stage matter or should we have targets > and try to teach boys better? > > http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article4387301.ece > > http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/boys-aged-three-must-work-more-1852087.html > > *Is Iran nearing a tipping point?* > Once demonstrations get to a certain size, or the government is unwilling > to cause too much bloodshed protests can topple a government. The overthrow > of the Shah demonstrated this, as did the rolling back of communism in 1989. > Unfortunately it is very difficult to measure when or if the protesters will > gain the upper hand or the willingness of the authorities to be brutal in > putting down protests. It may depend partially on how big the change would > be; in this case the tipping point may be quite low as the likely change in > regime is simply from the more radical elements to more moderate elements > within the current elite rather than a full scale revolution. > http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6969863.ece > > http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703278604574624302036557422.html > > *Avatar will kill off big earning movie stars?* > There have been numerous films this year that have made large amounts of > money but have not had big stars attached. Avatar in particular shows that > there are other ways of engaging audiences rather than paying immense pay > checks to a few faces that everyone recognises. Avatar does it with its 3D > graphics. > http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/dec/08/film-celebrity-wilting > http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/11/16/is-the-hollywood-movie-star-dead/ > > http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article6969880.ece > > *Return/resell unwanted gifts.* > Many charities are encouraging us to give our unwanted gifts to them so > that they can be put to good use. Alternatively we might want to go and > demand a refund, or get a replacement. We may even take to selling them > online. However should we really be disposing of gifts that others have > bought for us, should the solution not simply be that we buy less presents > that are better chosen rather than get a load of presents that are then not > wanted. > > http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/6873912/How-to-recycle-your-unwanted-Christmas-presents.html > http://www.itnewsonline.com/showrwstory.php?storyid=1718 > > *Throw the kids out.* > The scope of Peter Mandelson in government has been steadily advancing as > his department swallows others. He is now publishing advice for parents on > how to persuade their children to move out and stop being dependents. In > some cases persuading children to move out may be a good idea but in the > middle of a recession it seems like a waste of effort. Those who have > returned home would not have the resources to make their own home while > burdened with student debt and without a job. So kick the kids out of the > house to sink or swim? > > http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article6969872.ece > > http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/dec/29/tough-love-parents-graduate-unemployment > > *Government theft or sensible use of funds.* > The government wants to effectively nationalise charitable funds for > hospitals. New accounting rules will bring these funds raised onto the > hospitals balance sheet. This has advantages, transparency, and areas that > can support themselves with charitable donations can take less from the > overall pot for the NHS so these government resources can go to areas that > do not have successful charitable funds. In a recession bringing these funds > onto the books makes sense as they can help plug gaps as funding is falling. > There are however problems. Who is going to donate to a charity that is > effectively the Department of Health? This would break down the barrier > between the charities and the NHS harming both. The opposition also argues > it will allow stealth cuts with charity making up the shortfall. > http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6969955.ece > http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1118821/ > > > *We should focus more on the thousands who are executed in China rather > than an individual British citizen.* > There may well be good reasons for why the Chinese government has chosen to > ignore the representations of the British government for Akmal Shaikh. In > the case of the British Government it has to act in this case because Akmal > was a British citizen. However China would probably be more cooperative, or > at least more inclined to listen if we did not rave about one person and > attempt to show the holes in their legal system. Instead we should be > working with China to improve its legal system and at the same time reduce > the number of executions. > > http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/blog/2009/dec/29/china-akmal-shaikh-execution > > http://www.cfr.org/publication/10063/chinas_legal_reform_at_the_crossroads.html > http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/JF18Ad01.html > http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1446976 > > > Use Revisewise @ http://revisewise.debatewise.com/ > >