[Debatewise RRT] Re: merry christmas - A sack full of debates for you!
- From: rogers.lewis@xxxxxxxxxx
- To: debatewiserrt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:00:39 +0000
Hi guys, I'll take 'Cut degrees to two years'.
Enjoy the holidays guys.
Lewis
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
-----Original Message-----
From: "Alex Helling" <alex@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:24:24
To: <debatewiserrt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Debatewise RRT] merry christmas - A sack full of debates for you!
Merry Christmas everyone.
Some debates for festive cheer! I have no idea if you will have the time or
inclination to write any debates over this festive week but I thought I had
better give you the option even if you don't take me up on them. My
apologies for the debates being a day late, I was too busy with Christmas
shopping yesterday to get round to finding debates.
Alex
Debates:
Cut degrees to two years.
Universities face a funding squeeze from the government, students don't want
to pay more fees and anyway are getting further and further into debt while
the worth of a degree is increasingly being questioned. If the government
still wants more students to go to university is reducing the length of a
degree to two years the only option?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/mandelson-do-your
-degree-in-two-years-1848107.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/dec/23/two-year-degrees-mandels
on-proposals
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/dec/23/academics-vice-chancellors-un
iversities-mandelson
Pay more to prepare Britain for snow.
Britain has once again ground to a halt due to the snow. There has been a
chorus of criticism, the government should have prepared more! Councils
don't get enough gritters out! Our transport system should not freeze up!
Indeed we could prepare better, but it would cost a pretty penny to do it,
for a relatively mild Britain it is not considered worthwhile. A more
unpredictable climate as climate change begins to bite might however change
that.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/joepublic/2009/dec/23/road-gritting-public
-services
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/12/23/we-don-t-have-enough
-snow-to-budget-for-it-91466-25453895/
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/artic
le6965674.ece
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-157784/Snow-chaos-costs-150m.html
China is to blame for the failure at Copenhagen.
There is plenty of blame to go around for the failure to reach much of an
agreement on climate change at Copenhagen. AoSIS and the G77 pushed too hard
preventing a deal between negotiators. The US would not shift their
position. Chavez and other left wing Latin American governments tried to
destroy the Copenhagen Accord. And finally China refused to budge on
anything of significance getting more inflexible as the conference went on.
So as the final spanner in the works does China have to carry the can?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/6859567/Gordon-Brown-Cop
enhagen-China.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/dec/21/copenhagen-failure-us-se
nate-vested-interests
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/6848407.html
The tories have everything to lose from a TV debate.
There is an agreement between the three main UK political parties to have
three TV debates between the leaders of the parties. There may be more
between ministers and their shadows as well. The liberal democrats the big
winners and the little parties the losers as they are not invited. This is a
big gamble for the conservatives. As they are in the lead they risk throwing
it away if Gordon Brown gets the better of David Cameron. On the other hand
the conservatives get a chance to show that Brown's problems are essentially
of his own making, that while he acts like a leader on the world stage his
policies at home have not been too successful. Either way democracy is the
winner.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/6860005/David-Cameron-will-tak
e-on-Gordon-Brown-in-election-TV-debate.html
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2009/12/david-cameron-debates
-brown
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/matthew-norman/matthew-nor
man-politics-needs-bringing-to-life-and-this-might-just-do-the-trick-1848129
.html
Brown has been a disaster as PM.
John Hutton has admitted that it was him who said that Brown would be a
disaster as Prime Minister a few years ago when the trench warfare between
the Brown and Blair camps was at its height. This, along with us nearing an
election, seems like a good time to take stock of Brown's failures and
accomplishments as Prime Minister. Global deals to save us from the
financial crisis, more aid to developing counties, attempting to be green,
foiling terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow etc. So a disaster?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/dec/22/john-hutton-gordon-brown-disa
ster
http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2009/10/gordon-browns-top-ten-dithers.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/steve-richards/review-of-t
he-year-2009-brown-vs-cameron-1847866.html
Can el Sistema work in the UK?
El Sistema the hugely successful Venezuelan scheme for bringing young people
together through classical music. It is credited with helping to reduce
crime by giving youngsters something constructive to do. With our obsession
with ASBO's and anti social behaviour in Britain copying the system is
something that some think might have results in Britain as well. On the
other hand the youngsters may be less enthusiastic, they are more likely to
already be exposed to music, are likely to have radio's and personal stereos
already and Classical music is definitely uncool.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalmusic/6866818/El-Sistema-w
hen-music-cuts-crime-and-saves-lives.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4457278.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/tomserviceblog/2008/jun/25/thenewsthatelsist
ema
Money undermines sport's values.
The more money a sport gains the more it seems to move away from its core
values and it seems the more likely there is to be cheats. Of course the
more money there is as a reward the greater the incentive is to cheat to get
that money. This year there have been numerous cases of cheating being
caught such as the crashing of a F1 car, fake injuries and blood in Rugby
and a new hand of god from Thierry Henry. Should sport try to limit the
rewards given for winning compared to taking part like American Football
where the less successful teams are helped out?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/6866578/2009-was-the-year-of-the-sporting-s
candal.html
http://www.squidoo.com/badbehavior
Gladstone the UK's greatest politician.
Referred to within his own lifetime as the 'Grand Old Man' four times prime
minister totalling 13 years; introduced elementary education to England,
legalized trade unions and tried to bring about Irish home rule. A man of
grand vision and an idealist goals like promoting harmonious state system
for Europe and ethical foreign policy, attacking imperialism. Possible
competitors for the crown; William Pitt the younger, Robert Warpole,
Churchill, Thatcher, David Lloyd George...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/simonheffer/6868274/How-the-gr
eat-Mr-Gladstone-saved-our-fallen-country.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/the_legacy_of_glad
stone.html
I wonder if it might be an idea to have something like this as a competition
style with us each taking someone to advocate as the greatest....
The US political system needs reforming.
Gridlock in congress is pretty normal. As party lines slowly grow wider
apart and the moderate middle is squeezed out of American politics a working
Congress gets less and less likely as moderate deals can't be done. The
other side can always filibuster things they don't like. At the same time
those bills that do get through congress often have lots of 'pork' added on
top to make sure they get through, often costing the taxpayers millions,
like the famous bridge to nowhere in Alaska. Does the US political system
need reforming?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/dec/13/america-broke
n-political-system-obama
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/23/us-government-tax-reform
-crisis
Eurostar was unfairly hammered for its problems.
Numerous Eurostar trains failed, including many in the tunnel itself.
Thousands of passengers were stranded unable to head home over Christmas.
Service is now returning after three days of no trains. Eurostar has been
vilified in the Press. However things have been as bad with other methods of
transport; particularly the roads and the airlines. Has Eurostar been
unfairly treated by the press?
http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=2370897
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/news/article6964944.ece
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/simon-calder-it-is-down-to
-travellers-to-lower-their-expectations-1848111.html
Season's Greetings rather than Merry Christmas?
In a multi-faith Country we should not be wishing everyone a Merry Christmas
but rather we should follow the Americans in wishing Season's Greetings.
Should we be celebrating 'Christmas' when most of our population no longer
practices Christianity? It is however still a tradition and while we are no
longer practicing Christians we still think of the UK as a Christian
country. Anyhow does the naming really matter, Christmas is today as much a
promotion commercialism as it is for Christianity.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23378647-brits-reject-secular
ising-christmas.do
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bal-keillorletter122
3c,0,2419539.story
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/us/23tree.html
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