Miniya's blog

The roots of Developing World Debt extend back to the 1970s. During this period, the price of oil rapidly increased; oil-producing countries then deposited their new wealth – so-called ‘petro-dollars’ - in Western banks in order to earn interest. In turn, the banks had to invest this money in order to make profits and pay interest to their investors. Much of the money was loaned to countries in the developing world, many of which had only recently become independent and were seeking backing for large infrastructure and prestige projects. Loans were made at very low interest rates, and with little scrutiny as to the viability of the projects they were to support. In the 1980s, the economic situation worsened in many of the developed countries, and interest rates – including those on loans to developing nations – rose sharply. At the same time, the economies of the debtor nations were under-performing, with the benefits which were supposed to emerge from the major projects of the 1970s often failing to materialise due to poor planning or mismanagement. Developing countries suddenly found themselves earning less than before, and yet having to pay more interest. This situation has now reached crisis point in some countries. Every year, developing nations pay nine times more in debt repayment than they receive from developed countries in aid. Latin America owes £365 billion (around $530 billion) in debt, some 36% of its total GNP; Sub-Saharan Africa owes £140 billion (around $200 billion), 83% of its GNP. Groups such as the IMF and the World Bank, with their HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) initiative, are working towards a partial reduction or rescheduling of this debt, but demand obedience to strict economic reforms. Others, such as Jubilee 2000, are pressing for more immediate and more substantial action. The main thrust of the proposition in this debate is that the burdens of debt are unfair, and that the human cost in debtor countries is too high.  Read More »

Human beings are infinitely more complex than any other living creatures. Their abilities to think and talk, to form social systems with rights and responsibilities, and to feel emotions are uniquely developed well beyond any other animals. It is reasonable to try to prevent the most obvious cases of gratuitous suffering or torture of animals, but beyond that, non-human animals do not deserve to be given ‘rights’.  Read More »

A man who survived an attempted lynching by a white mob in 1930 and went on to found America's Black Holocaust Museum was remembered Monday as someone who refused to let a shameful part of U.S. history go untold. Several hundred mourners attended James Cameron's funeral, including representatives of the city of Marion, Ind., where he was almost killed as a young man. Cameron died June 11 at age 92. His funeral was held on the anniversary of the museum's opening, also Juneteenth Day, a celebration of the slaves being freed in 1865.  Read More »

Teenage pregnancy is a stressful experience, and many people would agree that it would be sensible for a pregnant unmarried teenage girl to seek advice from a responsible adult. Parental involvement laws would make notification of pregnancy and consent for abortion from one or both parents mandatory. Such laws exist in 43 US states, but are enforced in only 32. Most of the statutes apply to young women under 18 and provide for a court bypass procedure should a young woman be unable to involve her parents. Most of them include exceptions for medical emergencies. In principle, of course, similar laws could be introduced anywhere where abortion is legal. The definition of underage will vary from culture to culture, and will need clear explanation by the proposing speakers.NB I would strongly recommend that this debate avoid arguments about the morality of abortion in general. The motion necessarily assumes that abortion is legal, so questions about whether or not it should be are beside the point - arguments against abortion in general would point to the need for an outright ban, not for parental consent for it.  Read More »

The issue of abortion is one of the most contentious, and emotive dilemmas faced by modern societies. The question is whether one should allow the termination of a child whilst it is in its mother’s womb. For some, the question is even more fundamental: at what stage is the foetus in the womb to be regarded as a child? The battle-lines are drawn between strict, religious (‘pro-life’) arguments (that it is never permissible), and those (‘pro-choice’) that emphasise the mother’s right to choose as the primary concern. Whilst abortion has been accepted by the American state since the land-mark Roe vs. Wade case in the early 1970s, this is by no means a reflection of universal agreement – either international or within America itself – as many Western countries still have considerable restrictions on abortion. For example, the Irish position has softened only recently, and the Catholic Church steadfastly refuses to change its resolutely pro-life stance in the face of criticism from Women’s and other lobby groups.  Read More »

Boxing is a very popular sport, enjoyed by millions across the world. It is also a dangerous sport. Over 1000 boxers have died during or just after fights in the past one hundred years. Many more have been damaged for life by injuries in the boxing ring. Some of these victims were professional boxers who made their living from the sport. Others were amateurs boxing for fitness and fun, rather than for money. Sometimes it seems to be just one punch which does the damage. In other cases it seems to be the overall effect of hundreds of punches over many fights. For these reasons medical associations speaking for doctors all over the world have called for boxing to be banned.  Read More »

A judge will allow the public and the media to view a videotape in court that prosecutors allege shows singer R. Kelly having sex with an underage girl.

In his ruling Thursday, Judge Vincent Gaughan said he saw no "overarching interest" in banning the tape from public view.  Read More »

The Supreme Court said last week it will decide the extent to which public schools can use race in deciding school assignments, setting the stage for a landmark affirmative action on minorities ruling.

Justices will hear appeals from parents, ruling for the first time on diversity plans used by a host of school districts around the United States.  Read More »