[Debatewise RRT] Re: this did not send last night :(
- From: helen doherty <xhelendohertyx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <debatewiserrt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:02:07 +0000
I'll take 3d films please.
Helen
From: alex@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: debatewiserrt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Debatewise RRT] this did not send last night :(
Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2010 10:55:20 +0000
Sorry, tried to send this last night and got a failed
delivery notice... predictably shortly after I left the office!
So let’s try again!
Good evening,
I don’t seem to have any more debates from unlock democracy for the
general election although I am still expecting that we shall get some more.
Since I don’t know when this might be I am just going to send out debates
as usual today. When we get more general election ones I will let you know.
The main news is however that we are on the verge of a big
change in the website’s design. We would like some of you to go through
things and see if there are any problems with it, i.e. we would like some
testers. Could you please put any problems you encounter in the list on this
google docs
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AcCSL3k5hoJTZGQ0bjRrcDNfNDlkc21odm1mNQ&hl=en
As part of this we will be changing things with the RRT as
well. We will from now on be using
http://debatewise.info/index.php/tasks/rapid-response-team
as a task list for what needs to be done to the site and I may even update it
on days that are not Tuesday! However as we do not yet know how well it will
work we are going to make the change over slow so I will keep sending out the
information as usual for a while yet.
A couple of things with the list:
It would be good if you did not delete a task when you take
it but instead edit the title of the task to say ‘taken by X’ then
once you have done it take it off, or change it to asking for points to be
added or counterpoints, references, whatever you think it needs more of.
Do not delete the whole list!
What this does mean is that you can add links to help each
other, ask each other for help and add debate ideas yourself.
Hope it works!
P.S. feel free to offer
suggestions about how to use it.
Alex
Debates on site (http://debatewise.org/categories/rrt):
Will victory on healthcare for Obama make a difference in
other policy areas?
So Obama finally has his victory on healthcare. The question
now is will it make a difference anywhere else? Obama has invested most of his
political capital in fighting for healthcare reform when he might have been
spending more time and energy on the economy that has barely begun to recover
or on foreign affairs where there are many who feels the President is not
giving it the attention that it deserves. Victory in healthcare may however
mean that Obama can begin working on other areas.
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/03/22/a_healthier_foreign_policy
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8580678.stm
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gUomhYW8D6kEhOUESOE_ggtPyx9Q
If Israel continues stall over an equitable two state
solution Palestine should declare independence unilaterally.
Israel managed to humiliate Vice President Biden by
announcing new construction in East Jerusalem when Biden was trying to restart
the stalled peace process. This is however not in Israel’s interest.
Palestine is moving towards stability at least in the West Bank and being able
to declare itself sovereign. This means that Israel has several choices, either
it has to begin giving concessions and work towards a two state solution, or it
stands its ground and risks Palestine unilaterally declaring independence. Or
finally it may be forced into a one state solution if it insists on hobbling
any potential Palestinian state.
http://www.jpost.com/Features/FrontLines/Article.aspx?id=171356
http://newledger.com/2010/03/obamas-israel-crisis/
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=171559
Politicians wives should not be used for campaigning.
As politics becomes more about personality so it also seems
that politicians wives need to be ever more involved. Samantha Cameron is
pregnant and this is unlikely to hurt the conservatives at all. It also seems
that all the leaders wives are to be much more involved during the general
election. Do we really need to know more about politicians domestic lives, to
know that their partner is able to praise them to high heavens and give some
humanising touches?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/seealso/2010/03/the_leaders_wives_election_cam.html
has several other links in it
Whether an animal is protected is all about politics not
realities on the ground.
Conservation of species would seem to fairly obviously about
protecting endangered members of the animal kingdom so as to reduce the chances
of extinction and keep the biodiversity of our world intact. However does
politics and the influence of certain states have more of an impact than other
considerations? Obviously the panda could not be protected if China did not
wish it. But on many areas conservation requires international agreement that
is not always forthcoming.
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/03/22/the_political_difference_between_elephants_and_tuna
http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2010/03/22/japans_troubles_with_fish_98870.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article7069808.ece
Debates for you to take
The USA needs to show it values its friends more and
competitors less.
Obama seems to be trying out a new style of foreign policy
and is coming in for a lot of flack because of it. Commentators are accusing
Obama of coddling rivals or competitors and alienating allies. He slapped down
Israel for an untimely announcement, is in conflict with Japan over basing, and
is seen as being cool towards Europe. On the other hand Clinton ignored a
similar embarrassment from Putin, Obama has been trying to encourage dialogue
with Iran and raise China to being part of a partnership. At the moment it does
not seem to be working, but does that mean Obama’s foreign policy will be
a failure?
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-03-21/we-are-less-secure-under-obama/?cid=hp:mainpromo9
http://shadow.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/03/08/is_it_time_for_obama_to_start_making_friends_with_other_world_leaders
Should the Media should focus on educating us about the
parties positions rather than all the image politics?
The BBC was set up to be educational as well as cultural.
Because we cannot all read all the parties manifestos and work out what it
means for us it is essential that the media does it for us, distilling it into
manageable amounts so that we can make up our minds. The media therefore
has to be educational. However the media itself focuses more and more on image
and is less bothered about providing unbias educational reporting. Should the
media really be trying to make our minds up for us?
Hmmm not really found anything on this!
http://www.cps.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=cpsarticle&id=29&Itemid=17
Is the so-called 3D cinematic revolution merely a ploy to
make us pay more at the box office?
3D cinema has been a fad before, it has come and gone
several times with it never managing to stay for good. However things might be
different this time. Avatar made $2.5 billion worldwide, there are already at
least 30 films planned for 3D and the first 3D TV sets have now gone on sale.
However critics argue that this time it will not last either, it is not a
cinematic revolution but simply an going to create a brief spike in popularity
until the novelty wears off.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/3d-cinematic-revolution-or-just-a-trick-of-the-light-1925400.html
http://www.obsessedwithfilm.com/unfiltered-lens/the-3d-divide.php
Should Maths be an compulsory subject at school?
We have a chronic shortage of engineers as does much of the
developed world. If we are to get more we need to encourage more people to take
maths. However should maths be compulsory at all in secondary school? Many
people are not likely to use much more than basic arithmetic through their
lives so should the focus should be on getting everyone up to a good level of
arithmetic and the having maths voluntary?
http://plus.maths.org/issue12/editorial/index.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2007/nov/13/schools.uk
Is it finally time for Liverpool to sack manager Rafael
Benitez?
Rafael Benitez has been under pressure for some time due to
Liverpool’s poor performance this season. Sure enough Manchester United
thrashed them on Sunday. However he seems to stubbornly holding on. It is not
like Liverpool are doing really badly, just not up to standard. Benitez has
managed Liverpool for a long time and it seems harsh to consider firing him for
a poor season.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/philmcnulty/2010/03/ferguson_shows_up_benitezs_fal.html
http://goal.com/en/news/9/england/2010/03/15/1833602/liverpool-cant-afford-to-fire-rafael-benitez-due-to-a
http://www.thesportreview.com/tsr/2010/03/why-rafael-benitez-is-still-the-right-man-for-liverpool/
Are the British airways strikes justifiable?
British airways seems to be constantly racked by industrial
disputes. At the moment it is the cabin crew walking out over the
company’s restructuring. Unions exist to give the workforce the ability
to negotiate from a position of relative strength with management. However in
this case should we be siding with the downtrodden cabin crew? It is obvious
that BA needs the restructuring or they will eventually go bust so costing many
more jobs. The strikers cannot justify demands for pay rises when large numbers
are out of work or have taken pay cuts.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8413529.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/mar/22/strike-union-warns-ba
_________________________________________________________________
We want to hear all your funny, exciting and crazy Hotmail stories. Tell us now
http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/195013117/direct/01/
Other related posts:
