The US and Cuba reestablished their diplomatic ties yesterday by reopening embassies in each other’s capitals. This is the first time both countries have done so since they ended their diplomatic relationship in 1961. Officials from both nations have acknowledged that it will take work to put aside the five decades of hostility. Cuban President Raul Castro commented in a address to Cuban people last week, “A new stage will begin, long and complex, on the road toward normalization.” A US state department spokesman said that there are “still issues we don’t see eye to eye on.” The embargo the US has on Cuba remains for now, and Washington still controls Guantanamo Bay. Despite the many issues that remain between unsolved between the two nations, is this a sign that the relationship is mending?
Are wearables that track the effectiveness of politicians #TheNextBigThing?
Fiona Zublin from Ozy recently proposed an idea to keep politicians honest: have them put on wearables. These wearables would be “something between a Fitbit and an ankle bracelet, whose data would be available to the public. It would provide instant info on everyone from your city council members to the president of the United States, offering up an effectiveness rating the way your sleep-tracking app. Talking about the effectiveness of the instantaneous data access, she envisions the wearable giving the public a rundown, “Your politician’s effectiveness was 35 percent [last night] - and it looks like he just checked into the penthouse at the Four Seasons on the taxpayers’ dime.” Do you think that this is an idea that should actually be carried out?
Should President Obama revoke the medal of freedom from Bill Cosby despite there being no precedent to do so?
During a press conference yesterday, President Obama was asked whether he would revoke the medal of freedom from Bill Cosby. Cosby admitted in a 2005 prescription to giving a powerful sedative to women he wanted to have sex with. But, he has never been charged for the many sexual allegations made against him. Obama replied that “there’s no precedent for revoking a medal. We don’t have that mechanism.” He continued, “I’ll say this, if you give, or a man for that matter, without his or her knowledge, a drug. And then have sex with that person without consent, that’s rape. And, I think this country, any civilized country, should have no tolerance for rape.” There are currently petitions calling for the revoking of Bill Cosby’s medal and people such as executive director of the victims group PAVE, Angela Rose, have stepped forward to call for the award to be taken away. Do you think that President Obama should revoke the medal from Bill Cosby?
Do you think commuting sentences of non-violent drug offenders is the right first step to take in criminal justice reform?
President Obama is about to be the first ever sitting president to visit a federal prison. During his visit to the El Reno prison in Oklahoma next week, he will take part in Vice’s documentary on the American criminal justice system. Obama has said that his next move in his agenda is to tackle criminal justice reform. The New York Times has reported that the president plans to commute the sentence of dozens of federal prisoners in jail for non-violent drug offenses next week. Do you agree with Obama's decision to reduce these sentences as the first part of his criminal justice reform?
Do you support the Iran Nuclear Deal?
According to President Obama, the Iran nuclear deal is “not built on trust, it is built on verification.” “Because of this deal," he said in his announcement that an agreement had finally been reached, “the international community will be able to verify that the Islamic Republic of Iran will not develop a nuclear weapon.” He made it clear that he would “veto any legislation that prevents the successful implementation of this deal.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disagreed, calling the deal a “sure path to nuclear weapons” and a "bad mistake of historic proportions" Do you support the deal?
In light of his rising popularity, has your opinion on Bernie Sanders’ chances changed?
Back when Bernie Sanders first announced that he was running for president, we asked you if you thought that he was capable of beating Hillary Clinton. Now, with Sanders rising in polls and drawing crowds to his speeches, we ask you if your opinion has changed. While Clinton has been targeted for her dislike of the press, Sanders has attracted some big crowds recently in Wisconsin, Iowa, New Hampshire, and Maine. According to NowThis, Sanders has also managed to raise $15 million for his campaign without the help of “big money,” with 87% of donations being under $250. Bernie is regarded as a breath of fresh air by many. With Sanders’ increasing popularity amongst voters, do you think he now has a chance of winning the Democratic nomination?
Should cities spend public money on privately-owned stadiums?
In an episode of Last Week Tonight, host John Oliver revealed some information about professional sports teams that he found hard to swallow. He first pointed out the extravagant stadiums that have been built for our sports teams, such as Jacksonville Jaguar’s in-stadium cabanas and swimming pools. Unfortunately, Oliver continued, “the vast majority of stadiums are made using public money. $12 billion spent on the 51 new facilities opened between 2000 and 2010.” Oliver then pointed out that "sports teams are wealthy business with wealthy owners and they still get our help.” For instance, Red Wings was approved by Detroit to have a new arena built two years ago, which totaled more than $280 million in taxpayer money. This was six days after the state filed for bankruptcy. Oliver added that the owner of the Red Wings himself was worth an estimated $5.1 billion. Furthermore, he mentioned that sports teams keep all the revenue generated by their privately-owned stadiums. Watch the video below to get the entire extent of Oliver’s argument. Let us know if you agree that sports teams are ripping us off and that cities should do something about it!
Proposed new St. Louis Rams stadium
After the Comic Con panels, are you more excited for ‘Deadpool’ or ‘Suicide Squad’?
The trailers of upcoming superhero/supervillain movies ‘Deadpool' and 'Suicide Squad' generated a lot of hype on the third day of Comic Con. Tech website The Verge, which has been blogging about the wins and loses of each day, has labeled the panels for both movies as wins for day 3. Both trailers have also been leaked onto the internet, which naturally means that we have to ask the question - which movie are you more excited for??
'Deadpool' trailer and panel:
'Suicide Squad' trailer and panel:
Women have been photoshopping male nipples over their own nipples as a protest against double standards in internet censorship. Should society 'free the nipple'?
Women have been photoshopping male nipples over their own nipples as a protest against censorship on the internet. This protest is over the fact that it is socially unacceptable for women to reveal their nipples in photos, which regularly results in photos being deleted or blocked on the internet. Whereas, it is socially acceptable for men to be shirtless and showing their nipples in photos. The women are trying to show how female breasts are sexualized in society and contribute to the overall objectification of women. In protest of these different standards for men and women, these women have photoshopped male nipples over their own to make their photos technically ‘acceptable'. Do you think it is a double standard? Should we 'free the nipple' for all?
Jeb Bush said Americans need to “work longer hours” but later clarified what he meant. Was his comment out of touch?
In an interview with the editors of the New Hampshire Union Leader, Jeb Bush talked about his goals for a 4% US economic growth. The interview was broadcasted above, causing Bush to go under fire for his comment that “We have to be a lot more productive, workforce participation has to rise from its all-time modern lows. It means that people need to work longer hours, and through their productivity, gain more income for their families. That’s the only way we’re going to get out of this rut that we’re in.” The Democratic Party was quick to release a statement condemning Bush for telling Americans to “work longer hours,” calling the line “easily one of the most out-of-touch comments we’ve heard so far this cycle.” Bush quickly clarified what he meant on Wednesday. He said his comments were referring to part-time and underemployed workers. These workers, Bush said, were looking for full-time work but could not find any. “Only Washington Democrats could be out-of-touch enough to criticize giving more Americans the ability to work, earn a paycheque, and make ends meet."