Discussion Material for May 15th (Taiwan time)

Dear all,

Hope you all enjoy what you've been up to currently, workshops, activities, etc. Before I post the discussion materials for the coming discussion on May 15th (Taiwan time), I would like to ask if any of you can't attend the coming session. As James had mentioned he can't make it for the following three weeks (from May 15th to May 2th) and Maria mentioned earlier that she can't make it until May 15th, I'd like to confirm if Maria can make it this week :)

If Maria can't make it this week, then we can postpone the discussion to next week. Just to let me know in advance :)

Whether it is May 15th or May 22th that we're going to have our next session, here's our discussion materials for next discussion. We're going to talk about people power and what defines a country. Both articles are from Economist Magazine.

1. Wheel of misfortune: People power ain't what it used to be; actually, it never was
2. In quite a state: How many countries in the world? The answer to that question is surprisingly difficult

We've had quite a bit sunshine here in Vancouver, hope you have sunshine in Taiwan too. Good luck for whatever you want to achieve and hope to talk to you soon :)

All the BEST,

Angela  

Discussion for May 8

Dear all,

It's me again. Since I won't be here for the following three weeks (5/15, 5/22, 5/29), I volunteer to lead the discussion again, and I recommand to talk about "the blind people." Actually there are very rich discussions on the blind. For the May 8 discussion, we gonna only call attention on the issue of the social interaction in blind people.

Here are the required article and video clips:
1. Challenges of Being Blind
2. Blind, visually impaired enjoy bicycle outing
3. In Beep Ball, Umpires Aren't Blind, But the Players Are


James

Tabacco issues continued (May 1)

Hi,

Angela and I decide to continue to talk about the tabacco issues this week. Initially, I plan to focus on the oversea labor, but after reading some related materials, I discover some surprising facts about the tabacco industries's advertising strategies. Here it goes:

Tobacco Industry Targets Africa
Tobacco giants ‘targeted African children to boost flagging profits
Tobacco Industry's Targeting of Youth, Minorities and Women

James

On Enforcing Surrogacy and Adoption Contract

Hi folks,

Again I just finished watching another episode of Harvard Justice course. Part of Episode 5 talks about surrogacy and adoption, even the sperm and egg donor. Some of these reminded me of weeks ago what we talked about surrogacy issues. Students from different sides questioned each other's viewpoints. I think some of the viewpoints are quite interesting. If you have free time, watch this episode (starting from roughly 30 or 35 min to 45 min).

 

On the Successful Owe a Debt to Society

Hi folks,

Recently I start to watch a series of videos on Justice courses through Youtube. The Justice course  , a general course and philosophy course, is given by Harvard University. It is said that the course is so popular that Harvard decides to share the lectures with public, and that's why we can watch them through Youtube. This series is so insightful that my thought kept being challenged whenever watching them.

Here's the link: Harvard University Justice Series

Just now I finished the 3rd episode: Free to choose. In the video, the professor Michael Sandel talks about utilitarianism and libertarianism. He talked about one of the four common objections to libertarianism that he discovered from his online course is "the successful owe a debt to society." This actually reminded me what James (maybe) and I discussed weeks ago on big companies have to take the so-called social responsibility. From libertarian's perspective, taxation, especially for redistributing wealth, is coercion, labor force, theft in fundamental, and violation of self possession. A student (Victoria, 48min) who kinda objected libertarianism argued that we lose our self possession once we live in the society.

I think this series is really informative and thus recommend to you now. If you have free time, I highly recommend you watching them :)



Best,
Angela

Article for this week (4/24)

The tabacco issue has already raised lots of social attention. But I find out that some important issues, especially with regards to tobacco industries, ecological damages, and children right, still remain unexplored in Taiwan. Here are some related articles:

1. Tobacco Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorship
2. Individual and human rights in tobacco control: help or hindrance?
3. Hold Tobacco Industries Accountable for their Human Rights Abuses Overseas

Some discussion guideline as what follows:
1. Have you ever heard of the relation between tobacco industris and oversea poverty?
2. Do you agree with tabacco control? Why?
3. Do you think that tabacco industries have the right to advertise their product?
4. In terms of children right, do you think that the goverment should forbid teenagers to smoke? Or just let them take responsobility for their own health?

Best,
James

Maria is applying on leave

Dear Angela and James,

I joined a project that was held by Formosa Charity last Sunday at 雙溪, which hasn't been finished. So just in case I might go there again this weekend, I think I better inform you both in advance.


cheers,
maria