PREVIEW T H E P O L I T I C A L MAG A Z I N E O F C AT E RHA M S C HO O L
2012-2021 I SSU E
Sixth Form Articles
Amya Maini
Junior Articles
Guest Article
Achintya Chudasama
W
elcome, distinguished readers, to Preview Magazine’s 2021 issue! It has been a tumultuous year (to say the least) yet our team has ridden the waves and true to character, this year’s magazine aims to deliver articles that are courageous and inspiring. We live in a world of uncertainty, in a world of information overload and in a world where a mysterious disease gripped our throats before the forest fires could get to us. Yet, in the face of adversity, we fight back and will inevitably triumph (because the good guys always win, of course!). We introduce this magazine and encourage our readers to take a break to find something that stands at the brink of extinctionthe genuine curiosity for context, ideas-driven journalism and bold writing all from the perspective of young, empathetic students writing with sheer ingenuity. In this edition, our writers explore a plethora of political topics from across the globe. This issue is possibly the most diverse ever, tackling topics from cancel culture, the exam U-turn and the life and times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We also want to draw your attention to the first junior article competition winners. Jasmin in the Fifth Year, William in the Third Year and Kayla in the Second Year have all made a great contribution to this issue. We would like to thank them and the entire Preview editorial team for helping to make the magazine what it is today. We would also like to thank returning legend Mr Murphy for writing an article, which we are sure you will love! We hope you have a fantastic read! Amya Maini & Achintya Chudasama Chief Editors 20/21 Ananya Saraf, Ben Latty Dennison & Elias Daryani Deputy Editors
Cover image: Tireni Adeniji
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Sixth Form Articles Cancel Culture No-Platforming: The Liberal Hypocrisy Tiffany Chan Losing Loved Ones & Freedoms: The Price of Covid-19 Charlotte Yendall Post-Soviet Russia Julianne Gibbon The War on Drugs Ananya Saraf Qualified Immunity Amya Maini Exam U-Turn Andrew James First Past the Post Arthur Bott Religion & the State Ben Herbert Assassination, Amelioration Caius Ramsden Board 9/11 Cam MacDonald In 1945, the world said ‘never again’; 75 years later, it is happening again. Achintya Chudasama Labour Lockdown Crispin Kellaway Knife Crime Elias Daryani Obama’s Response to the Financial Crash Enzo Pederson The Life & Impact of Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ben Latty Dennison The Coup that Clamped Down on a Rising Democracy Marcus Chandra The Case Against Privatised Prisons Megan Denton Furlough - It’s Not For FREE! Robert Hunter Modern Day Slavery in the UK Rosie Williamson Watergate Valentina Quijano Evans The Horizon Scandal Santi Weiner Hurriaga
Junior Articles What is Soft Power? Jasmin Sin How was Ancient Greek Democracy Different from Modern British Democracy? Kayla Prashad Should the UK Ban Chinese Owned Companies? William James
Guest Article Is Democracy Under Threat? Tom Murphy
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CANCEL
CULTURE No-Platforming: The Liberal Hypocrisy Tiffany Chan
“You’re cancelled”. If you’re anything like me and you use social media religiously, I’m sure you’ve stumbled across this phrase before. “Cancelling” refers to the online boycotting of somebody, often because that person has acted in a reprehensible manner. Now with this in mind, let’s take a look at the rise of no-platforming and cancel culture, and the toxic, hypocritical nature of it all.
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“Freedom of speech” has always been championed
it is easy for many things to get blown out of
as the ultimate liberal ideal. It’s written in the First
proportion really quickly. The most prominent
Amendment of the US constitution and is one
example of toxicity in the modern media is the
of the cornerstones that make up a democracy.
ever so prevalent Cancel Culture. It encourages a
However, in recent times, this basic law has been
hive mentality mindset where it becomes a trend
severely undermined by the people who advocate
for people to target hate towards one specific
for it the most - liberals themselves.
person. Often, social media doesn’t reflect real life,
The No Platform Policy in the UK originated
and it’s far too easy to jump on the bandwagon
as a form of student boycott, where a person or organisation is denied a platform to speak upon. Its goal of protecting people from potentially harmful views is, at a surface level, understandable. Cancel culture is primarily social media-driven and occurs more frequently on platforms such as YouTube but serves roughly the same purpose. It promotes the banning of people, brands and even TV shows and movies due to what some consider to be offensive, or problematic, remarks or ideologies. It is understandable why cancel culture and noplatforming have become popular today.
to collectively hate on someone online with apps like Twitter and Instagram at your fingertips. In the process, it has the ability to ruin careers, destroy lives, and maybe even result in death. James Charles, an influencer who has been
“It reinforces, at a time of political division, a sense of shared solidarity, at least among the people who are doing the cancelling. It’s psychologically intoxicating to feel part of a group and to feel a part of something larger than yourself.” Dr Jill McCorkel
As Dr Jill McCorkel, a professor of sociology and criminology at Villanova University explained, “It reinforces, at a time of political division, a sense of shared solidarity, at least among the people who are doing the cancelling. It’s psychologically intoxicating to feel part of a group and to feel a part of something larger than yourself.” Collectively banishing an individual creates a sense of comradery and reinforces the feeling of togetherness.
cancelled multiple times, has reflected that it was an extremely dark time for him. “If I didn’t have (my friends), I would be dead right now. I didn’t want to ... look like I was wanting sympathy or was trying to save myself or save face by bringing up mental health.” As we can see from this, no platforming or cancelling individuals can take a huge toll on mental health and be seriously damaging behaviour. Fighting hate with hate is not the solution,
and no one deserves to suffer like this. But the biggest issue of it all lies in the sociopolitical implications of allowing such behaviour. By ‘No Platforming’ individuals, universities are limiting the intellectual lives of students and patronising them, suggesting that they don’t have the intellectual and moral rigour to hear controversial ideas or be able to judge where their values lie in a world of free ideas. Instead of coddling students by silencing people with
However, it is also incredibly harmful and toxic at
different views, universities should instead be
the same time. With platforms like YouTube and
encouraging debates and different opinions. Isn’t
Instagram surpassing the billions in viewership,
that what university is all about - learning?
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James Charles
How is anyone supposed to learn anything new in an environment where contrasting opinions are prohibited and forbidden? Never in history has conflict and disagreement been resolved by silencing the opposition. Beliefs and opinions never go away, they merely fester and spread. We should be bringing these controversial views into the foreground, and we should be discussing them and talking about them in an effort to reach a consensus, or a middle ground. With the exception of incitement to violence, any problems that arise from free speech can be countered by other free speech. Embrace controversy.
Talk through differences. Opinions can’t be changed through silencing people they can only be changed through free and open discussion. Let students have the option to hear and judge a plethora of different ideas, be it similar to or vastly different from their own. There is absolute hypocrisy in this situation — for liberals, who champion for free speech and equal rights and opportunity — to actively silence and suppress views that they don’t agree with. Freedom of speech isn’t something that can be picked and chosen. Ultimately, it’s either totally free, or not free at all.
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Losing Loved Ones & Freedoms The Price of Covid-19 Charlotte Yendall
Politics is not a dry subject about government and constitutions but is, at its essence, about people. The Coronavirus pandemic, and the government’s response to it, has taken a heavy toll on our people. With an estimated total of 430,000 cases and almost 42,000 deaths in the UK (as of 27th September 2020), the personal strain that this crisis has taken on our society should not be understated. The effects of the lockdown measures on other diseases cannot be ignored.
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and the perceived inconsistencies in advice, for example, mask wearing efficacy, have eroded the goodwill of the people. The implementation of policies, where scientific advice has not been sought, and the criminalisation of people for not following the new laws, for example, the Rule of Six, means there has been a much greater backlash against these measures. Indeed, the press conference held by SAGE representatives The estimate of excess deaths due to delaying screenings and treatments for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, transplants and dementia is at 75,000 over 5 years and this alongside the human toll of parents not allowed to see their babies in hospitals, of people dying alone, of funerals with no mourners and places of worship closed, show there is a balance to living with COVID and preventing deaths from COVID. Our loved ones and community members are not the only casualty of the epidemic; our freedoms have been suspended since the beginning of the lockdown restrictions in March. Initially, in a time
Whitty and Vallance presented one scenario of extreme increases in infections – though this was not given as ‘a prediction’ it was seen as a scare mongering tactic to justify the further ‘draconian’ measures the PM would introduce that week. According to polls taken by Ipsos MORI, support for the government’s lockdown measures is substantially waning. Only 44% of people support a second lockdown as a means of controlling the coronavirus pandemic, whilst 34% oppose it. 17% neither support nor oppose and 5% say they don’t know. Similarly, in terms of following the government guidance, fewer people say they are following the government rules now. 75% were
of uncertainty, they were to prevent the NHS being
following government rules completely/ most
overwhelmed and to prevent too large a spike
of the time in May, whereas as of 22 September,
for healthcare providers to cope. The passing of
only 62% say the same and many reports suggest
the Coronavirus Bill in March 2020 provided the
that people are exaggerating their compliance
government with emergency powers with the
to pollsters. The government knows that public
aim of delaying and slowing the virus. It states
support and compliance is crucial, and perhaps
that “public support and compliance is crucial,
has resorted to criminalisation since, without the
and we are grateful for the flexibility people
support of the people, restrictive measures are
have shown, but we need to ensure police and
rendered ineffective.
immigration officers have the authority to enforce
The initial individual lockdown guidance
these measures where necessary.” In the earlier stages of lockdown, the government had the
measures were brought in without a vote in Parliament but MPs such as Steve Baker have
support of the public who generally followed the
criticised the government for only bringing in
government’s advice.
such votes retrospectively, saying that “It’s all
The novelty of the virus and lack of information
about MPs having a vote on the Government’s
over infection rates, mortality rates and
policy before it comes into force and takes
successful treatments played a critical role in
away people’s civil liberties.” Potentially, over
supporting a cautious and dramatic infringement
40 Conservative MPs will back an amendment
of people’s rights. However, much greater
proposed by Sir Graham Brady to require a new
information is available on these issues now
parliament vote as soon as possible on new
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powers; this is an attempt to force the Prime
go home. In the UK, the rights to freedom of
Minister to take future lockdown measures to a
speech and the freedom to protest are protected
vote in parliament before they are introduced. In
by common law and the 1998 Human Rights
an interview on Sky News, Baker described the
Act. For lockdown measures to supersede these
new lockdown rules as “government exercising
fundamental human rights, the government’s
draconian powers without parliamentary
measures have gone far into restricting the
scrutiny in advance, undermining the rule of
liberties of the British people.
law by having a shifting blanket of rules which
Furthermore, there are increasing complaints
no one can understand.” When backbench
that the government’s guidance surrounding
MPs are so concerned over the methods their
coronavirus measures is too unclear. According
own government are employing and that they
to Ipsos MORI, “over half (54%) of Britons now say
are destroying the liberty of our people, there
that government communications about what
should rightly be debate in Parliament for all
to do in response to coronavirus are unclear, an
representatives.
increase from 40% in June.” The clarity of the
Many people in government, media and the public
rules is considerably hindered by the quantity of
have raised their concerns over new coronavirus laws and some have mounted ‘anti-lockdown’ protests in Trafalgar Square and the ‘we do not consent rally’, which have reportedly been attended by thousands. However, these protests
information presented by the government. The Coronavirus breakout FAQs: what you can and can’t do is 21 pages long. This,, paired with how often changes to measures are implemented, makes it is unsurprising that there is both confusion and reluctance to cooperate growing amongst the public. The importance of minimising the number of hospitalisations and deaths of coronavirus in the UK is certainly not one to be underestimated. The pandemic has greatly damaged the lives of individuals, families and communities who have suffered from or sadly died as a result of the virus. However, it is important that we do not allow it to take any more away from the people if we can help it. The government should not be restricting people’s liberties without the consent of Parliament, something on which the rebellion of backbench MPs and the antilockdown protests agree. In the UK, freedom is a fundamental concept, key to protecting our citizens and upholding our society. Can we allow the government to take that away? Will people forgive the government for taking these measures
have been met with opposition from the police
when they have personal tragedies because of
who, due to the lack of social distancing and mask
them? Politics is about people, and time will tell if
wearing by some at the protests, attempted to
the people of our country will judge the treatment
break up the protests and demanded the people
as more painful than the disease.
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Post-Soviet Russia Julianne Gibbon Lower Sixth
On November 9th 1989 the demolition of the Berlin Wall started which began the initial stages of the destruction of communism in Eastern and Central Europe. This represented the first piece of freedom most had experienced in 30 years. But the drastic change from communism to capitalism left many behind and caused greater inequality. The shift to private ownership, huge inflation and many jobs losses had a detrimental impact as the previous government support was lost.
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Willy Brandt, who was the former Chancellor of
Front, which was a conservative group who had
the Federal Republic of Germany said; “the parts
many vocal supporters. He also failed to introduce
of Europe will grow together again.” These words
private land ownership causing many people to
were spoken the day after the fall of the Wall. They
become bankrupt. The state still controlled large
symbolised how Europe was evolving from being
areas of Russia’s economy. This meant it was
split from the East to West by the “Iron Curtain.”
hard for people to fully trust the government as
Boris Yeltsin was elected into as the first president of the Russian Federation. This election took place on June 12th, 1991. Yeltsin remained president for 8 years. During this time Yeltsin transformed
they had provided false hopes. Furthermore, due to Yeltsin abandoning price controls, Russia had its first glimpse of inflation. In December 1992, inflation rates were at an all-time
Russia’s socialist economy
high of 2333.30%.
into a capitalist market
Inflation on top of
economy, and he began
scarce resources meant
lifting communist-
Russia’s economy
imposed price controls
was struggling and
and reforms. The 1993
most of its population
constitution declared
thought it was down to
Russia a democratic,
Boris Yeltsin. Russia’s
federative, law-based state
population grew angrier
with a republican form of
with Yeltsin’s rule
democratic government.
paving the way for
Also, in 1993, he signed the
the future success of
Strategic Arms Reduction
Vladimir Putin.
Treaty. This is also known
On March 26th, 2000
as START II and was a bilateral treaty between the US and Russia on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. On a visit to the United States in 1989 Boris Yeltsin said, “Let’s not talk about communism. Communism was just an idea, just pie in the sky.” This highlighted Yeltsin’s keen nature to make the Soviet Union a different, more modern country.
Vladimir Putin was elected president. Russia’s citizens wanted to revert back to communism as the capitalist approach was seen to cause corruption, inflation and huge inequality. Putin had received 52.57% of votes which is far greater than the runner up, Gennady Zyuganov who obtained 29.5% of votes. Grigory Yavlinsky the representative
It is true that Boris Yeltsin ended more than 1000
from the social-liberal Yabloko party, received
years of dictatorship, and modernised Russia into
just 5.9%. This large disparity between votes
a capitalist country. However, lots of his rule made
showed that Russia wanted change from the
the Russian population angry as they were so
capitalist approach and wanted to return back to
used to the communist way of life. For example,
a more communist approach. Putin’s presidential
he failed to ban the hard-line National Salvation
campaign strategy focused on his image to the
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population rather than policies. In his campaign
as the White House and the state department.
he stated three major policies which included- the
Russia’s tactics were to send phishing emails.
fight against poverty, the formation of stronger
John Podesta, who was Hillary Clinton’s
foreign policy and regaining Russia’s Great Power
campaign chairman was targeted which allowed
status in the eyes of other countries.
60,000 of his emails to be accessed by the hackers
During the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis Putin said, “The task of the government is not only to pour money into a cup, but sometimes to give bitter medicine.” This quote offers insight into what many perceive is Putin’s terrifying mind, as he is willing to do anything to deal with the unstable economy. In 2011- 2012, many large protest in Russia occurred. This was because many Russians didn’t want Putin to become president for the third time. Putin didn’t approve of this uprising, he blamed Hillary Clinton for the protests and believed she paid for the protests to remove him from office.
in Moscow. The emails were then passed to WikiLeaks before the 2016 US election. Putin targeted Hillary Clinton, his main goal was to create chaos. 20th August 2020, Alexei Navalny was admitted to the hospital after he fell ill on a flight from Tomsk to Moscow. Russian officials refused to allow Navalny medical treatment abroad. However, after three days he was transferred to Berlin. When doctors in Germany ran toxicology tests they said Mr Navalny was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent. It seems likley there have been previous attacks on high-profile opponents of President Putin, including politicians, journalists
According to US intelligence officials, Russia
and intelligence officers. However, the Kremlin
played a huge role in getting president Donald
has denied all involvement in these attacks.
Trump elected in 2016. This is because Russian
These examples show that although much
hackers made repeated attempts before the
has changed on the surface since 1989, similar
election to get into major US institutions such
problems remain in the former Soviet Union.
Alexei Navalny with his family last September as he recovered in Berlin after being poisoned with novichok
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The War on Drugs Ananya Saraf Lower Sixth
A wave of hallucinogenic narcotics swept across the streets of 1960s America - its origins concealed within a deep state drug cartel. The CIA.
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It began in the covert scheme, MK-ULTRA — initially designed as a mind control programme — with projects like ‘Operation Midnight Climax’ testing the boundaries and effects of LSD on men lured by government-employed prostitutes, as CIA operatives watched behind a two-way mirror. What they didn’t see, however, was that the introduction of of LSD into the US would soon birth a counterculture, challenging governmental control and acting as a catalyst for the epidemic which spawned the ensuing war on drugs.
“America’s public enemy number one in the United States is drug abuse” President Richard Nixon, 1971
Indeed, the growth in illicit drug use had been lurking for decades but was now a fully-fledged national crisis calling for immediate action and eradication. Firstly, Nixon established the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which was a significant landmark in the early stages of the ‘war’. Subsequently, the 1973 Rockefeller Drug Laws (passed by the eponymous New York City Governor), mandated extremely harsh prison terms for the possession or sale of relatively small amounts of narcotics. This was a true manifestation of the ‘Broken Windows Theory’, the notion that hard-line policing methods and punishments of minor crimes will create an atmosphere of law and order, preventing more
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serious crimes. Instead, it created a dramatic spike in prison numbers, disproportionately affecting Black and Latino males in NYC, who represented 33% of the city’s population but over 90% of those behind bars. Racial tensions were looming. Nixon’s presidency only launched a seemingly metaphorical war, although his adviser, John Ehrlichman, disclosed an alleged ulterior motive — suggesting instead a proactive war on “hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin” — in an attempt to “vilify them night after night on the evening news”. So it could be said Nixon, from the outset, had an underlying, racial, motive propelling his drug policy, particularly as his election adopted the ‘southern strategy’ (a means to gain more white supporters by appealing to racism against African Americans). Though one cannot ignore how black Americans were a voting bloc that generally opposed Nixon, his actions were more reflective of the country’s long-standing desire to get tough on narcotics. Regardless of his intentions, Nixon’s initiation of, and policymaking towards, drug-enforcement laid the foundations for enduring discrimination against minorities. Was there any change in the war on drugs under the presidencies of Ford and Carter? Early on, Gerald Ford endeavoured to tone down the warlike rhetoric of the Nixon campaign, through the issuing of a ‘white paper’ stating the US ought to envision realistic initiatives that “should
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stop raising expectations of total elimination of
Abuse Act’ not only appropriated $1.7 billion to the
drug abuse from our society”. Yet, his one term
“battle”, but even demanded mandatory minimum
reign, in actuality, was unsuccessful in rowing
penalties for drug-related offences. This was a
back the federal cannabis policy. Nevertheless,
clear example of racial discrimination, in the
his successor, Jimmy Carter, followed suit in
different sentencing of crack cocaine (which
moderating the previous anti-cannabis stance
was usually associated with African Americans)
— with his advocation for the decriminalisation
and powdered cocaine (typically having white
of marijuana – which would help disrupt the
users), even though there is no effective difference
contraband trade networks run by the mafia. Moreover, in 1978, Carter revised the Senate bill
between the two.
about law enforcement on marijuana, but due to controversy, it died shortly after in the House of Representatives. Neither president managed to reverse the actions of Nixon. In fact, the drug enforcement budget continued to escalate; first to $382 million under Ford, and then to $855 million under Carter. This confirms a fundamental shortcoming — American presidents have limited powers to reform deeply-rooted institutional interests.
Crack cocaine offences were punished 100 times
As Carter’s time in the White House was drawing
more severely than for powdered cocaine. Once
to an end in 1980, the CIA seemed to be in cahoots
again, there was an indication of latent racial bias,
with the infamous Colombian Medellin Cartel.
a mirror of Nixon’s term in office. Similarly, First
This was verified by the CIA’s affair in aiding the
Lady Nancy Reagan launched her 1980s “Just say
“King of Cocaine”, Roberto Suarez, to overthrow
no” campaign, that aimed to discourage children
the communist-leaning Bolivian government.
from experimentation in, or use of, narcotics.
However, trouble arose when an undercover
Later, her drive came under major criticism for
DEA team was sent to take down the CIA-funded
increasing the already-present fears of drug abuse
Suarez. The collision in powers between the DEA
– the proportion of Americans who saw this as
and CIA conveys how at the forefront of America’s
the nation’s “number one problem” increased from
battles there was a drug war, but it was a mere façade to cloak the corrupt involvement of the CIA in the drug business.
“We’re running up the battle flag”
6% to 64% between 1985 and 1989. Furthermore, Reagan’s successor, George Bush, continued an aggressive stance towards drug abuse, as the budget for military involvement ramped up to $12.5 billion by 1993. These billions were put to action with the invasion of Panama
Ronald Reagan, 1981
City; specifically the takedown of notorious
Echoing the indelible words of Nixon – and
and arrested for, drug-trafficking charges. More
marking a second, more literal narcotics crusade
importantly, the next president, Bill Clinton,
– Reagan opened the door to the military’s first-
escalated the war on drugs. First, was the 1994
time involvement in the war on drugs. More
‘Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement
damagingly, the enactment of the 1986 ‘Anti-Drug
Act’ — putting 100,000 more police on the
dictator, Manuel Noriega, who was accused of,
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streets and marking billions more for prisons. Next, was Clinton’s ratification of Reagan’s NAFTA treaty, that agreed to eliminate all tariffs and trade restrictions between the US-Mexico border, making smuggling easier for the cartels. His most detrimental act, though, was the formulation of the ‘Three-strikes law’, because it contributed hugely to the already-swollen prison population and has since become another loophole in the criminal justice system for unfair sentencing, particularly of black people. So Clinton, albeit unintentionally, internalised prejudice within government institutions through his actions. In summary, the war on drugs was most impactful under the presidencies of Reagan and Clinton, as both scarred the nation with policies that still exist in modern-day America. In spite of this, the ‘war’ has not achieved its supposed ends, as it was always unlikely to succeed in completely eliminating supply — if demand remains, ways
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for production and distribution will invariably be found. Whilst some may applaud the US government’s elimination of various kingpins, nothing was really accomplished but positive soundbites for the public. The reason why these efforts were largely futile was that in removing one key player, another simply rose to take their place. Hence, anti-drug strategies were not, and will probably never be, successful. Finally, its main legacy is the image of black people being primarily seen as the face of drug-related crime. This has led to black Americans being six times more likely to be jailed than white Americans, despite equal substance usage rates. Thus, the US ended up with a mass incarceration predicament which still exists today. African Americans have become the main victims of the war on drugs, due to underlying bias corrupting many policies that, in theory, should have never led to these racially divisive outcomes.
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Qualified Immunity Amya Maini Amya Maini Upper Sixth
Breonna Taylor. Shot dead on March 13, 2020 by three police officers while executing a no-knock search warrant in her home in Louisville, Kentucky. The officers responsible for her death should have faced criminal charges. They didn’t. A grand jury indicted a former Louisville police officer in late September for wanton endangerment due to his actions during the raid. He pleaded not guilty. No charges were announced against the other two officers who fired shots, and no one was charged for causing Ms. Taylor’s death. She is not the only one to have suffered and she won’t be the last.
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Why is it that, seemingly, the police in the US can get away with murder? Doesn’t the constitution protect you? Why can’t you sue the police for violating your rights? Americans believe that the Constitution protects them against illegal searches, unlawful arrests and the excessive use of force and whilst this may be true in theory, in practise, these rights can often not be enforced. This is often due to the concept of qualified immunity. 42 US Code 1983 or a ‘Section 1893 Claim’ is the most important law which allows individuals to sue government officials for violations of their constitutional rights. This was originally part of the Civil Rights Act of 1871 in the aftermath of the civil war when crimes perpetrated against black Americans (often by law enforcement officials themselves) increased significantly. However, for decades, federal courts created elaborate excuses that sent most 1983 claims back down to state courts where they died. The 1961 Supreme Court decision in Monroe v Pape established the legal standard for proving modern excessive force
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claims. The decision allowed individual police officers to be sued for actions which violated the constitution, or statutes. Qualified immunity, however, lets individuals off the hook. It is a judicially created doctrine that gives government officials a shield from personal liability for violating an individual’s constitutional rights. The origin of qualified immunity is controversial. The Supreme Court reasoned that when Congress passed Section 1983 in 1871, it would have intended to incorporate the immunities into the Act. Also, the court had practical reasons to offer qualified immunitiesofficers should not be liable for doing things that they didn’t know were unconstitutional at the time that the acts were committed and they hoped that this would enable lower courts to dismiss insubstantial nuisance claims without disrupting the government. Advocates of qualified immunity argue that it lets officials work without subjecting them to distraction, extra scrutiny and the burdens of a lawsuit.
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The modern concept of qualified immunity was
were standing within six feet of each other. The
established through Harlow v Fitzgerald wherein
Supreme Court granted her qualified immunity
the court decreed that it shields government
but Justices Sotomayor and Ginsburg dissented
officials from civil liability unless their conduct
stating the verdict
violated a plaintiff’s constitutional rights and the right was clearly established at the time. The current test doesn’t allow for the subjective questioning of an officer’s motives or intentionscourts aren’t allowed to second guess them. This has three problems- in practise, for a lawsuit to move forward, the plaintiff has to show the police officer violated constitutional rights and that the right is clearly established. An official can only be held responsible if an appeals court, or the Supreme Court, has already held that the officer violated the constitution by engaging in the exact same conduct under the exact same circumstances and this can be very hard to prove. Secondly, the doctrine of judicial restraint encourages judges to limit the exercise of their own power when deciding legal issues, particularly those of constitutional significance. This means that lower courts go out of their way to avoid answering whether there was a clearly established constitutional right. Lastly, reasonable mistakes can be made. Before Harlow, a plaintiff could survive a qualified immunity defence by alleging malice and finding enough information about the officer’s history. However, officers are allowed to make mistakes of both facts and of the law.
“… sends an alarming signal to law enforcement and the public… it tells officers that they can shoot first and think later, and it tells the public that palpably unreasonable conduct will go unpunished.” Black, indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) bear the brunt of police brutality disproportionately. Studies show that black men are over twice as likely as white men to die by a police officer’s hands yet are twice as likely to be unarmed. Throughout the last several months, protesters have been fighting valiantly to secure justice for Taylor and several other BIPOC individuals murdered and unjustly treated by police officers. Qualified immunity has allowed these atrocities to continue. However, we can expect and demand action. States have the ability to divert from the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence regarding qualified immunity. While some have done that, most haven’t as they don’t want to pay
Furthermore, it can be questioned if qualified
out. There have been bills brought to Congress
immunity encourages deadly force. The Supreme
with one proposing to end qualified immunity
Court’s most recent decisions seem to allow
and clarify that earlier interpretations of Section
the use of force in nearly any situation. It has
1983 wouldn’t apply. It would eliminate situations
argued that, “qualified immunity protects against
where courts gave police a legal pass. Nancy
actions in the hazy border between excessive and
Pelosi also proposed to limit qualified immunity
acceptable force.” For example, Kisela v Hughes
only for the police in the George Floyd Justice
2018- three officers responded to a call that a
in Policing Act (2020). This passed through the
woman was engaging in erratic behaviour with
House on 8 June 2020 but unfortunately did not
a knife. Officer Kisela shot a woman for believing
progress to the Senate and this proves that we
that another woman could be harmed, and they
have a long way to go in fighting for equality.
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Exam
Andrew James Lower Sixth
Turn
On the 12th of August 2020, hundreds of thousands of A-level students across England went to bed hoping anxiously that they would get the grades they needed for their desired university. However, they woke up to receive startling and unexpected grades which put many university places in doubt. There were problems with exams across the UK this summer, but in England, it’s the Department for Education and Ofqual that faced public scrutiny to explain the exam results turmoil..
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The replacement A-level grades were mainly
England’s Education Secretary Gavin Williamson,
based on two key pieces of information – the
who faced calls for his resignation over the exam
pupil’s ability ranking set by their school and the
chaos by angry students protesting in London,
results of their schools and colleges in previous
was at the head of the chaos. He was appointed
years. These two factors heavily outweighed
the Secretary of State for Education by Prime
the use of teachers’ predictions and how the
Minister Boris Johnson in July of 2019. The Prime
individual pupil had done in previous exams.
Minister, who originally called the results “robust”
It was designed as such to stop grade inflation
and then blamed a “mutant algorithm”, also
and in effect replicated the results of previous
accused critics of relying on “Captain Hindsight”
years – however, it greatly hindered talented
when referring to the exam results. However,
individuals in schools that have had low results
more evidence of warnings being fore-shadowed
in previous years. Students were graded based
emerged too. For example, Barnaby Lenon,
on their local area rather than based on their
chairman of the Independent Schools Council
academic capability. One aim of this method was
and former Ofqual board member, told the BBC he
to keep in line with previous years’ results; the
had warned in stakeholder meetings with Ofqual
opposite happened - there were extreme increases
about the dangers of attaching so much weight to
in grades, with more than half of students getting
schools’ previous results, and so little to teachers’
A*s and As in some subjects. This fiasco has
estimates. “It was always going to be a hashed
shown the problems with estimated grades –
job,” he said. A common theme to the warnings
raising the issue of whether predictions should
was that whilst the calculated results might work
still be used for university offers, rather than
well in terms of national statistics, this would be
waiting until students have their actual results.
at the cost of individual performance. The process of calculation, which tended to push down teachers’ grades, would also not be consistent when it came to subjects with smaller numbers of entries, such as classics and modern languages – with accusations this would be beneficial to independent schools. This year’s exams started to go into a tailspin about 36 hours before hundreds of thousands of young people were finding out their results. That was the night of Tuesday 11th August, ahead of A-level results being released on Thursday. In Scotland, there had already been a U-turn on grades, and the pressure was building for a response in England. The Department of Education had informed Ofqual of a major change that would allow schools to appeal over grades based on their mock test results. This enraged headteachers who said mocks were carried out in many different and inconsistent ways. There were reports that some schools
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had been deliberately marking down students
On Sunday 16th Ofqual took the historic decision
as a ‘scare tactic‘ whereas other schools did not
to switch to centre assessed grades – predicted
have mock exams; therefore having nothing to
grades from schools and teachers. The biggest
go off. Therefore, the unified anger that mock
U-turn of the summer became public the next day
results could not be used to decide such important
and the Education Secretary Gavin Williamson
results caused the change to be ditched within
told students that he was “incredibly sorry”.
the week. Results day in England on 13th August
Almost immediately, the blame game started.
further added to the confusion. The calculated
Ofqual stated that they knew about the inevitable
grades produced the highest results in the history
uproar, but they had warned by ministers and
of A-levels; however, the algorithm reduced
been told not to change the algorithm. The
40% of grades below teachers’ predictions. MPs
politicians countered by saying they had heard
saw emails flooding into their in-trays, angry
the warnings but had been assured by Ofqual that
parents took their hate out on Twitter, universities
it would work.
didn’t know if grades were going to be able to be
The lingering question over many people’s
changed on appeal and students were waving
heads is why, in the space of five months
placards throughout the country, especially in
between the cancellation of exams and the
London, demanding a U-turn on the results. Some
issuing of calculated grades, there wasn’t a more
messages from students included direct anger
comprehensive attempt to test the accuracy of the
at Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, such
results in advance. There are also questions about
as “You’re having a laugh, Gav!” Others included
the delays for BTec results with MP Shabana
direct rage at the algorithm, such as “Teachers
Mahmood saying that it was disgraceful how
know better than computers”, “Your algorithm
they had been “left languishing at the back of
doesn’t know me” and “Trust teachers.”
the queue”. Additionally, schools that were over-
40% The algorithm reduced
of grades below teachers’ predictions
generous in their predictions will have got better grades than those who were more diligent; pupils could have been ‘bumped off’ university places as a result. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson commented on the situation saying that “it was not a decision that was taken lightly. It was taken only after serious discussions with several parties, including the exam regulator, Ofqual… We have had to respond, often at great speed, to find the best way forward, given what we knew about the
On Saturday 15th August, things became even
virus at the time.” He also commented that other
more bizarre. Ofqual published plans for appeals
education leaders across the UK faced related
using mock results – but that same evening
issues and came up with similar answers. Due
Gavin Williamson messaged Sally Collier, Chief
to the U-turn, many students who thought their
Regulator of Ofqual at the time, disagreeing with
dreams had been crushed were able to reclaim
the plans and it was taken down from the website.
their places using their predicted grades; however,
According to Ofqual chairman Roger Taylor, the
there were still those whose future was greatly
situation was “rapidly going out of control”.
impacted by the exam results fiasco.
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First Past the Post Arthur Bott Lower Sixth
The current state of the UK electoral system is scandalous, with the first past the post system used for elections producing noticeably biased results. Due to FPTP the country is increasingly trending towards a one-party system, with lower voter turnouts and elections producing disproportionate results.
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I firmly believe that the use of first past the post
Australia combined with the use of compulsory
in the UK democratic process is contrary to the
voting which makes it one of the most legitimate
values of democracy. This is especially evident
democracies in the world. Their 2019 election
in the case of the election in 2015, where with
showed a turnout of ninety two percent. This
just 37% of the vote the Conservative Party won
along with the fact that no single party gained
a majority with 51% of the seats in the Commons.
more than a percentage worth of excess seats,
Another issue that was clear with this election,
helps to highlight the benefits of using the STV
and first past the post is the issues to do with the
system. Many people who are in favour of the
shutting out of smaller parties.
FPTP system in the UK like to argue that because
This happened notably in the 2015 General
of its simplicity it is much more accessible for
Election, where UKIP won thirteen percent on the
people. However, the increased complexity would
vote, but just one seat, giving them a fraction of
not be an issue for the average UK voter, since
the control despite having the support of over ten
in Northern Ireland it is used and has shown its
percent of the UK population.
worth already.
The election of 2015 isn’t the only recent case of
Another potential method that has been used
FPTP producing greatly skewed election results, as is evidenced in the 2019 election results, where again the Conservative gained 56% of the seat with just 42% of the vote. Another major issue that is faced about FPTP is the trend towards a two-party system, as over the course of time people that would tend to vote for minority parties instead vote for the majority parties. People would rather vote for the lesser of two perceived evils by voting for the other major party. This phenomenon is called the spoiler effect and is a major detractor from the FPTP system.
in a successful manner is the system used in the French Presidential elections. This system has voting done over a period of two weeks, with the first week of elections deciding the two candidates that will go through, then the remaining two candidates are chosen between. This is a great electoral system for several reasons. The main one is the almost complete elimination of tactical voting due to the fact that people don’t have the fear that their vote will be wasted if they vote for a candidate that they do not think is able to win. The French system eliminates that issue due to the fact that even if their main candidate does not win in the first round, they can still choose who they prefer out of the two remaining. I acknowledge that despite first past the post being a flawed system it still has benefits that are hard to ignore, such as the simplicity, and lack of any problems regarding the calculations. However, despite these advantages, when compared to its alternatives one hopes that it is
The best way to rectify this issue is to look at the
only a matter of time before the UK as a whole
various other democracies around the world.
sees the issues that are present and switches to
For example, the usage of the STV system in
a more democratic and representative system.
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Religion & the State Ben Herbert Upper Sixth
The notion of the relationship between religion and the state is a divisive issue. This can be seen with religious PACs funding American political parties to influence their policies over controversial issues such as abortion. However, religion shouldn’t be separated from the politics of the state as in highly religious area it is embedded into everyday life and it would be unusual for the state to ignore religion while making policies.
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Religion and the politics of the state cannot be
pro choice activists within Texas with many
separated especially in countries where most
Christians standing outside abortion clinics to
of their citizens are affiliated with a religion.
stop abortions taking place due to the notion of
This can be seen in the US where only 23.8% of
sanctity of life.
American aren’t affiliated with a religion, which
It is clear that politicians must create policies that
indicates that religion shouldn’t be separated from politics and should inform policy making.
align with Christian beliefs, especially in southern states where religion is paramount. It is hard to see
13 US states have introduced abortion restrictions
how religion is separated from politics in America.
since March 2020 and in many of these states
88% of members of Congress are religious and
religion is paramount with the citizens seeing
it almost impossible for the members not to be
abortion as a sin on religious grounds.
swayed by their beliefs while creating policy.
More broadly, with 56% of American Christians
An opposing view is that religion is becoming
believing in God as described in the bible it makes
more separate from politics in the USA as younger
sense that federal policy must be influenced by
citizens are becoming less religious. This can be
religion to be able to keep the people happy and
seen by the fact that in 2000 14% of Americans
opinion polls high.
weren’t religious and in 2018 23% were not. This
A notable example of political decisions leading
shows a change in opinion within the younger
to divided on religious lines is the reaction of
generation, which is likely to be reflected in their
Christian Americans after the 1973 Supreme Court
children. In this case the US will gradually move
case of Roe vs Wade. This case made the state
away from strict Christian beliefs, in turn this will
of Texas grant women the right to an abortion
reduce pressure of politicians on having to make
which was legalised for the first time. This caused
and amend policies which have been driven by
tension between the Christian community and
religious beliefs.
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However, with the 2020 American election it
religious PACs compared to the Republicans
was clear that religion was still a key factor
who earned $1.2 million. However, Religious
when it came to who Americans wanted as their
PACs funding is very limited as only makes a
leaders. This could be seen in the South Carolina
small amount of donations and funding towards
primaries where Biden defeated his rival Bernie Sanders with a core base of support from African Americans. This was largely because Biden is very religious and speaks very emotively about religion compared to Sanders who is not a strong believer, this shows that religion is still a critical factor for political success and that religion cannot be separated from politics. This can further be backed up by the funding of political parties by religious PACs. Many religious PACs
political parties as in 2020 total PACs expenditure was $872,495,234 which show the relatively small influence that religious PACs have on political parties. This further indicated that religion is likely one factor amongst many that influences the decision making of politicians. In conclusion, overall religion cannot be separated from the politics of highly religious countries like America. In many places religion is paramount
give donations to parties which have similar
for many people and by not incorporating religion
beliefs to them . The PACs use money to try and
into policies it would leave the majority feeling
influence policies that are in line with their views.
their views are being disregarded as the state is
In 2020 the Democrats receive $3.1 million from
failing to take into consideration their faith.
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Caius Ramsden Board Lower Sixth
The remains of a 3848-year-old Bronze Age prince was discovered in 2018 with three severe injuries to his body – a sharp dagger had been sunk deep into his stomach and spine through his collarbone. This indicated that the murderer had been close enough at the time of the attack for the stabbing to be as controlled, precise and fast as possible.
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This is theorised to be the earliest recorded political assassination in human history. Assassination, defined as ‘the act of deliberately killing a prominent person’, has been used as a way to gain leverage against a political adversary throughout history. Assassinations have become infamous for their huge impact on politics, The nature of assassination is viewed by most as a negatively – the murder of an adversary in a field such as politics undermines the very nature of justice and peace it aims to preserve. Despite this, throughout history it has proved to be vitally important, and in hindsight could have changed the world for the better. In 1939 a German worked named Georg Elser planted a bomb in the Beer Hall where Hitler was due to speak. Hitler though left ten minutes early and survived the attempt, going on to kill millions in a brutal invasion of France as Elser had predicted. Elser is idolised in German schools as a symbol of anti-Nazi rebellion; if he had succeeded, then these millions of innocent lives could have been saved. Despite this, there are generally a set number of stringent conditions which must be met for a political assassination to be considered justified by agents of a liberal state.
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Firstly, the cause of the need of an assassination must be relatively urgent – it cannot be justified if the overall positive or negative is so far in the future that it cannot be properly predicted. Secondly, the assassination must prevent the harm of innocent people; both those directly threatened by the target and those who can be predicted to die, or be harmed, by the incidental effect of the target’s actions. Thirdly, the target of the assassination must indeed be evil – they must be morally culpable of threatening a large number of innocent people, causing mass murder, genocide, or similar acts. Finally and arguably the most important reason, is that the liberal state in question must have no feasible alternative to protect the innocent - the assassination must be unavoidable and necessary. Even with these boundaries, targeted killings present a huge problem for democratic political systems. There is no reliable way of knowing what an assassination could have prevented except in hindsight. The assassination may not yield the expected results; for example, the assassination of Malcom X by Thomas Hagan failed to slow down the Black Power movement and instead brought it into direct
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media attention and martyred Malcom X.
in America. This motive would not allow this
Assassination itself is also incompatible with the
assassination to be considered justified using our
civic virtues that a liberal government holds its
prior reasoning. JFK not providing an urgent threat
citizens to. By allowing assassins to terminate
to innocent lives, he was not truly evil, and Oswald
political rivals outside of war in the name of
had realistic alternatives to pursue his goal without
peace and alleviation of suffering, it justifies the
needing to kill JFK. This assassination is not
act of killing for civilians as well. The murder of a serial rapist could, using the logic of
justified under our previous criteria.
assassination, be a justified decision, even in a society that is against capital punishment for the same offence. Assassination also ignores the obvious fact that killing an individual is often a ‘last resort’; if an egalitarian society can bring an individual justice without assassination that should always be favoured.
There have been recent assassinations which have drawn huge controversy for being seemingly justified but only to the government which committed them. The US assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in early 2020 caused uproar in the Middle East, despite Western media portraying him as a hated war criminal. While one country can see an individual as a threat, the population living under them may think otherwise. The assassination of John F. Kennedy is arguably one of the most famous assassinations in the history of politics, alongside the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The assassin was found to be Lee Harvey Oswald, who was in turn murdered only three days after his capture.
The idea of assassination is an interesting one. At first glance, it is easy to brush aside, but when it comes to real life situations almost every world government has utilised justifiable termination of an adversary in a political manner. It can be argued that keeping the concept and utilisation of assassination in the dark puts civilian lives
During interrogation Oswald would deny any
and the legitimacy of political activity at risk and
involvement in the shooting; however, the official
distances the actions of a country from the lives
‘Warren Report’ released by the US designated
of its inhabitants. After all, if assassination truly
his motives as being linked to his commitment
is entirely political, why is there a need for these
to Marxism and a desire to enact large social
liberal states to hide when it is done from the
change away from the existing capitalist regime
general public?
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9/11 Cam MacDonald Lower Sixth
At 8:46 on the morning of September 11, 2001 the United States became a nation transformed. The USA would never be the same again. On that day 19 members of an extremist Islamist terrorist group (Al-Qaeda ) carried out their plan to hijack and crash three planes into the World Trade Center and pentagon with a fourth intended for the White House.
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Despite three planes travelling to their intended
a failure of “imagination”. Many believe that
targets, at 10:03 the fourth airliner crashed in a
the attacks could have been stopped had it not
field in southern Pennsylvania because of heroic
been for a feud between the CIA and FBI about
passengers retaking the plane with the knowledge
the threats posed by Islamic extremism. The
of America being under attack.
commission stated “that none of the measures
These 19 extremists caused the deadliest attack
adopted by the US government from 1998 to 2001
on American soil in history surpassing the Pearl
disturbed, or even delayed, the progress of the
Harbour attacks in December 1941. These men
Al-Qaeda plot”. Countless new programs were
murdered 2,977 people, injured 50,000 and lead to
started as part of a rebuild which caused many
premature deaths of countless more. As a result of
more problems, for example the mass surveillance
their actions the US Government rebuilt their entire
program ran by the NSA has been extremely
domestic and foreign policies from the ground
controversial, with members of its inner circle
up with the sole purpose of preventing a ‘second
such as Edward Snowden attracting mass
911’. It led to the invasion of Iraq (despite CIA and
attention and fame as a result of exposing the
FBI intelligence pointing the finger at Osama Bin
mishandling of the program.
Ladin in Afghanistan) and subsequently the war
Terrorism was not a major security threat for the
in Afghanistan that only recently over 18 years later has come to a relative end.
US Government under the Clinton and pre-9/11 Bush administrations, these policy challenges were the result of the failure of imagination described earlier. Imagination that should have been realised as a result of the numerous threats made towards USA. The threat of Islamic terrorism had been made very public on many occasions ranging from an interview that occurred between American media and Osama Bin Laden to the truck bombings of two US embassy’s in 1998. Those attacks were perpetrated by Egyptian terrorists in conjunction with Al-Qaeda members. Throughout the years building up to 9/11, threats were made towards the US government and the people of America. However, the security agencies failed to realise a threat and thousands paid the ultimate price for those mistakes. The US government has subsequently tried to repair the damage done by these attacks and to learn from the lessons that it gave them. But there is still widespread disapproval of these attempts. To start with, there is the 9/11 commission that was “setup to fail”. The two co-chairs of the
The 9/11 commission established in 2002
commission, Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton
described the attacks as “a shock, not a surprise”,
believe that the government established the
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commission in such a way that it ensured that it would fail. This ranged from the late setup and the poor funding that was originally allocated (3 million USD) for such an extensive and important inquiry. In addition, there was widespread opposition from politicians who did not want to be directly or indirectly blamed for anything that either occurred prior to, or post, 9/11. Finally there was deception by various key government agencies, including the Department of Defence, NORAD and FAA; and the denial of access by various agencies to documents and witnesses.
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But the commission reported a year later that audiotapes from NORAD’s Northeast headquarters showed clearly that the military never had any of the hijacked planes within strike range and even at one point that jets chased a phantom aircraft — American Airlines Flight 11 — long after it had crashed into the World Trade Centre. The commission was forced to use subpoenas to obtain cooperation from these two agencies to release evidence such as the audiotapes. This lack of cooperation to release tapes — along with e-mails, erroneous public statements and other evidence — led some of the panels staff and commissioners to believe that these agencies wanted to deliberately mislead the commission and the public about what happened on September 11th. This misinformation and deceit brought into question the validity of the results obtained by the commission and therefore destroyed any sort of trust that the public had for the Government. An event that occurred almost 20 years ago, an event that shattered the world has done nothing but destroy families and divide the people further. People have taken advantage of others generosity and kindness without anything in return but boxes of ash.
NORAD and FAA have been placed under significant criticism as a result of it actions. For more than two years after the attacks, officials with the Northern American Defence Command (NORAD) and Federal Aviation Administration provided inaccurate information about their response to the hijackings in testimony and media appearances. Authorities suggested that the US air defences had reacted quickly and that jets were scrambled to shoot down United Airlines Flight 93 if it threatened Washington DC.
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In 1945, the world said ‘never again’; 75 years later, it is happening again. Achintya Chudasama Upper Sixth
As of 2018, it was estimated that millions of Uyghurs Muslims were being deported to ‘re-education camps’ in Xinjiang. The 11 million Uyghurs in Xinjiang are historically Muslim, as are most other ethnic groups in that region such as: the Kazakhs and Kyrgyz. The Chinese government is expanding detention camps in an effort to suppress the Uyghur community.
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There are at least 1 million Uyghurs confined since 2017, in what is believed to be 85 identical ‘re-education’ camps within Xinjiang. Such Dystopian and Nazi inspired ideals are shocking to hear in the Modern 21st Century and do not seem real. However, this is real, and this article looks to give an insight into the activities carried out in Xinjiang.
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within China, like Tibet is in the south. In theory, the province should be independent and not subservient to Chinese rules, however, the sad reality is that the province actually has little autonomy from the Chinese state.
Brief History of the Uyghur Muslims The Uyghurs are a majority Muslim Turkic ethnic group native to East Turkestan. Uyghurs are not ethnically Chinese, but a Turkic people whose language is closest to nearby Uzbekistan and distantly related to the people of Turkey. They now constitute the majority of the population of Xinjiang –– which Uyghurs regard as their homeland and refer to as East Turkestan. In the early part of the 20th Century, the Uighur people briefly declared independence, however, the region was brought under the control of communist China in 1949. Therefore, Xinjiang is currently designated as an autonomous region
There has been a long-standing history of discord between the Chinese government and Uyghur Muslims. Apparently, the authorities in China have tightened their regulations regarding the Uyghurs in the recent years. Some argue that the ethnic tensions have been caused by cultural and economic factors leading to violent incidents
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appalling actions carried out by the Chinese government. In the 21st century we are seeing horrors reminiscent of the despicable actions committed by the Nazis, attacking the Jews, due to their religious beliefs. This is a despicable and alarming situation. Considering the current political climate, attention will be rightly focussed on ensuring the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic are carried out successfully. But while the salient issues facing the UK are extremely important, we should not turn a blind eye to the injustices that are occurring in the world around us. The Chinese government have that have occurred. Major development projects,
no plans to pause this campaign, therefore, it is
regarding energy and industry, have been
essential that all nations stand together and fight
highlighted and said to have brought prosperity
against the clear atrocities being carried out by
to the big cities in Xinjiang such as: Kashgar and
the Chinese government.
Urumchi, which are a huge attraction to young
Beijing has insisted that there has been no abuse
and technically qualified Han Chinese people from the Eastern provinces. However, the crackdown on Uyghur Muslims could be due to the Islamophobia that is currently present in China’s Society. This campaign could also represent the new stance regarding the Chinese Communist Party’s sweeping away of individual religious freedoms, as they are worried about the supposed ‘extremists’ seeping into the country.
of human rights in Xinjiang, and the Chinese authorities have further denied the existence of the camps, claiming them to be re-education programmes (that aim to counter the threat of terrorism, while alleviating poverty). According to a senior official of the Chinese authorities, most of the people held in the camps return back to society and are allowed to carry on with their lives. However, the fact that China have not allowed any journalists, diplomats or human rights groups to visit is a clear indication of what is actually going on. When the BBC were finally granted permission to report, satellite images were taken of the Camps and a large section, which was for detained Uyghurs, had been turned into an Outdoor Basketball court and dance studio, upon the arrival of the BBC journalists. This was a clever ploy to create an illusion that these camps are almost like a school and hence, the term ‘re-education camp’. Yet, people have been targeted based on their ‘offences’, such as praying
The Uyghurs have endured decades of repression
or being in possession of a Qu’ran and reports
due to their cultural and religious differences.
have suggested that they are abused, tortured,
The use of ‘re-education camps’ reaffirms the
medically neglected or detained.
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The Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have also advocated other actions, that the United States and other countries could take to publicly challenge China. These include denying exports of technologies that can facilitate abuse; pressuring China to allow UN investigators in Xinjiang and lastly, preventing China from targeting members of the Uighur community. Activists have also called on the United States to grant asylum to the Uighur people who have fled Xinjiang. Evidently, the camps have been glorified to depict a place where people become more refined and intelligent. However, the harsh reality is that Uighur Muslims have been placed in these camps to try and extract their religious faith, which is very similar to the Concentration Camps in Nazi Germany. What makes this so disconcerting, is that we are able to hear the horrendous stories and still carry on with our lives, in spite of this going against all ethical codes and so, it should not be allowed to occur in 2021. Many of the nations around the world have condemned China’s detention of Uighurs in Xinjiang. UN officials have demanded access
The persecution and discrimination against the Uyghurs is a crime against humanity, that goes beyond all ethical codes: it entails the imprisonment of a group based on a long history of discord and the disappearance of individuals. Systematically imposed by a government, this has to be the most extensive violation in the world today, brought about through an underlying hatred between the Uighurs and the Han Chinese, which has led to an inhumane treatment of people violating all individual liberties. To think, that the Chinese government have claimed the Uighurs ‘enjoy peaceful, harmonious coexistence with other ethnic groups of people’; is completely absurd and sickening. It would be very hard to
to the camps for viewing the activities and
hold the Chinese authorities to account, since all
conditions. The European Union has alerted
countries are heavily reliant on Chinese trade and
China to ensure that they respect religious
this could jeopardise that. Moreover, there have
freedoms and change their policies in Xinjiang.
been numerous incidents where the West have
In addition, human rights organisations have
defied individual rights and liberties themselves.
urged China to shut down the camps immediately
Still the world needs to act! Irrespective of any
and respond to the questions raised – regarding
trade deals, innocent people are being persecuted
the disappearance of numerous Uighur peoples. In
for their religious beliefs and cultural differences
July 2019, a group of mostly European countries
by a dictatorial Chinese government. This is
signed a letter to the UN Human Rights chief,
unacceptable for a progressing world, that should
condemning the actions of China in Xinjiang.
embrace and celebrate different beliefs and
However, many Muslim-Majority countries have
cultures. After the Holocaust the world said ‘never
been silent and ignored the human right abuses.
again’, yet, the difference this time is that we are
Around 36 countries including, Saudi Arabia
witnessing the persecution and so, it should not
and Pakistan, signed a letter praising China’s
be concealed —it needs to be highlighted. As a
achievements in human rights and counter
human race we must stand together, regardless
terrorism efforts in Xinjiang. The lack of urgency
of our creed, and fight against the persecution of
by the Muslim countries has reduced the outcry.
innocent and humble Uighur Muslims.
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Labour Lockdown Crispin Kellaway Upper Sixth
It is fair to say the Conservatives approached the Covid-19 pandemic in a chaotic manner. The ever-changing rules and restrictions show that the current government went into lockdown with little clue about the present and more importantly, the future. However, how would it be if Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party won the 2019 election and were in power for the Covid-19 pandemic, and would we be in a better place than now?
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The Conservatives did of course announce a full lockdown on 16th March, but quoting Johnson, the party “could have done things differently”. This comes as no surprise, with Britain’s lockdown happening two weeks after the likes of Spain and France among others. New Labour leader, Keir Starmer, openly came out blasting the timing of the first lockdown forced upon by the Conservatives. It seems possible probable for Labour would have commenced the lockdown earlier - potentially around the 1st-7th of March, to prevent further spread of the virus. One thing’s for certain, is that Labour would have closed It’s difficult to pin exactly what rules and restrictions the Labour Party would have introduced, mainly due to the unforeseen event of coronavirus, however, proposed bills in their 2019 manifesto and the general characteristics of Corbyn suggest that things would have played out differently with Labour in charge. The furlough scheme ensured people unable to work had a basic salary for however long they needed to. This did secure the preservation of millions of jobs, even though the most recent unemployment rate – for June to August – was 4.5%, according to the Office for National Statistics, which is 0.4% more than the previous 3 months. So, would this be different under Labour? Well, Corbyn spoke about ‘basic income trials’, whereby emergency income payments would be gifted to everyone that needed one for the duration of the crisis, clearly longer than the furlough scheme. However, this is a hugely costly scheme, which would put the country in added debt. There are notable positives, such as providing people with a basic salary to live off, reducing poverty. As this would continue until the end of the crisis, it would leave less people stranded without a job and income, providing a longer amount of time for job hunting. The obvious downfall is the question of how long this would last for. It would leave the country in added debt.
schools, as well as places of work, alike. The ending of the first full lockdown may have been a different outcome, yet, with the general British population keen to get back to work, it is more likely that Labour still would have ended the lockdown at the same time as the Conservatives. With visible confusion and lack of experience, it was evident that it would take longer than originally planned for the UK to have 250,000 tests per day, which the Prime Minister promised. Testing, as said by the World Health Organisation, was a pivotal part of destroying the virus. It helped the government know which demographic is most heavily affected and who needs to isolate, therefore, slowing down the infection process. However, with limited tests and testing places, it was difficult for people to get them done. Labour leader, Keir Starmer,
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urged authorities to not only increase the number of tests, but also places to get them done, such as re-opening libraries and town halls, for example. If Labour had done things differently and set up more testing points in closed places like these, more people would have been able to get tested. As mentioned earlier, the government changed restrictions, sometimes up to three times a week, concerning matters such as wearing masks in shops and fines for breaking lockdown rules. This was made possible by the ‘Coronavirus Act’ of March 2020, which was rapidly passed to stop the spread of the virus, giving power to the government to ban mass gatherings and close schools, to name a couple. This caused huge confusion to people all across the country, as rules differed from region-to-region, while a change in restrictions continued. The Conservatives own perplexity about lockdown rules was most notably witnessed in Boris Johnson’s televised speech in April 2020, where he did not seem to specify whether people should go to work or not. Therefore, it would be somewhat obvious that if Labour were to have done it, they would have made the rules more rigid and also simpler, to avoid mass confusion.
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At first, the ‘Eat out to Help Out’ seemed like a huge success. It helped small businesses re-gain their customers with the government paying half-price on food up to £10. However, infection rates began shooting up, as more people were going out to restaurants and cafés, because the government offered to pay for their meal. If Labour wanted to help the small businesses, my guess is that they would offer them a larger sum of money, instead of paying half their bills, causing people to leave their homes. Although, overall, I would say it was a success, as it achieved what it set out to do –– to help small businesses, even if it did set back the government a pretty penny. A main bill Labour would have approached differently, is the ‘Free Meal for Children plan’, which was shockingly rejected by the government, however, Labour would certainly accept this bill and give children free school meals. It’s all good helping the economy recover, but this rejection just seemed appalling by the Conservative government. Still, it is plausible that a Labour managed economy would take much longer to recover than a Tory led economy. This is due to the constant stream of sending money out to those unemployed or unable to work.
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Elias Daryani Lower Sixth
In 2019, the number of homicides in London had hit a 10-year high with the Metropolitan police recording 149 homicides by the 30th of December. This marked a 10% increase on the 135 homicides recorded in 2018. According to Met figures, 90 of these homicides were related to knife-crime, which has led to press reports implying that this is a new problem.
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in regard to how the government would approach violent crime. In defining the police’s powers, they announced:
“We have already made it easier for the police to use enhanced stop and search powers where they expect violence to take place. Police will be given more powers to stop and search those who have been convicted of knife crime”. The current Home Secretary, Priti Patel, has claimed that “stop and search works”, but what this actually means is rather ambiguous, and the evidence on stop and search as a deterrent suggests that it is not successful. A 2018 paper by Professor Bradford, published in The British In actuality, London and the UK, as a whole, has had an issue of serious youth violence before records began in 1946. The social indicators of this violence such as: poverty, masculinity, domestic abuse and lack of education, have always remained the same. Despite this, the UK government seems to believe that a continuous emphasis on tougher sentences and more police will help to reduce what is being called, the “London knife-crime epidemic”. The effect of increased police and policing tactics, such as stop and search, has suggested virtually no long-term effect on reducing knife-crime, and seems to only target a small demographic of young black men –– with whom the media regularly create a narrative of black-on-black violence. Serious youth violence in London should not be classed as a race related problem, that can be solved so simply with increased police and incarceration and instead the issue should be perceived as a public health problem, with the government tackling its root causes.
Journal of Criminology stated, “We used ten years of police, crime and other data from London to investigate the potential effect of stop and search on crime. We find that it has only a very weak and inconsistent association with crime… we conclude that the deterrent effect of it is likely to be small, at best”. Nonetheless, the government and police are adamant on using it as a chief tactic to reduce serious youth violence. If we look at Glasgow –– which, in 2006 the UN dubbed as the most violent city in the developed world –– there has been an enormous reduction of teenage violence in recent years, with the number of young people carrying knives at a 31-year low. So how did Glasgow manage to successfully deal with their epidemic, and why have England struggled to do the same? The difference between London and Glasgow, is that while the latter used stop and search, they understood that the tactic alone could not be a long-term solution. Moreover, they treated knife-related homicides as a public health issue. In addition, an inter-agency scheme, called
Before the UK went into its first national
the ‘Violence Reduction Unit’ (VRU), was used
lockdown on 16th March 2020, the “knife-crime
with great success across Scotland in limiting
epidemic” continued to be an increasing issue. On
the wave of knife attacks. This contrasts greatly
23rd April, the Home Office released a fact sheet
with the Met Commissioner Cressida Dick’s
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comments in 2017, on the racial demographic of “teenage thugs” in London being “black” and “Asian”. It is important to note that where knife crime lingers in the rest of the UK, the “whiteness” of the offenders or victims is never mentioned. Similarly, for the police to believe that the potential threat of their stop and search powers will deter a young man, who has the intention of killing another human, is far fetched.
In addition to increased use of stop and search, the Home Office declared they are recruiting 20,000 new police officers over the next three years, with increased patrols, 10,000 extra prison places, tougher sentences, and the biggest increase in funding for the police system since 2010. The UK already has the highest prison population in the whole of Western Europe, so it should be clear that all methods mentioned above are not longterm deterrents. These policies resonate with a right-wing voter base and while they may win votes, they certainly do not reduce serious youth violence on our streets. Furthermore, studies have shown that there is no correlation between tougher sentences, larger prison populations and reduction of crime. All a larger prison population means is more children growing up with a parent in prison, which makes it more likely for those children to end up in prison also. Furthermore, this ‘tough on crime’ rhetoric will likely make issues worse, as we witness with our friends across the pond – the USA, who hold almost 1%
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of their population in prison, undoubtedly the highest ratio in the world. Yet, with over two million people incarcerated, the USA remains one of the most violent ‘developing’ countries in the world. Therefore, it is worth questioning whether our government and police are just sticking a plaster on a serious problem, that requires a cure. Ultimately, the government has to look at serious youth violence as a holistic issue, rather than one that can be solved with easy rhetoric. Having more police officers will not uncover the deeper reasons as to why some young people kill other young people. The government should look at working to tackle poverty, domestic abuse, psychological and sociological factors. Additionally, the government should look to implement the methods adopted in Glasgow 14 years ago. Furthermore, the government could look to incentivise schools in reducing expulsions, as exclusion from school is understood to lead an increased chance of going to prison as an adult. Some will say this approach is too costly, however, taking a public health approach can have its economic benefits. The cost of incarceration on taxpayer’s money is far more expensive than the cost of intervention for children in schools, children in care, and children living in inequality and deprivation.
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Obama’s Response to the Financial Crash Enzo Pederson Lower Sixth
The financial crisis was when the global financial markets began to show signs of burning out. It caused many stock shares to lose their value, ultimately causing many businesses to fail and shut down. It was the biggest modern jolt to the global financial system, almost causing it to collapse, and caused a global inflammation leading the average price of a good or service to uncontrollably increase in price. Furthermore, business tax was raised, and in the UK, 90 billion pounds was lost in value from the countries’ biggest companies in only one day.
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The outcome this had on the US was titanic, with it causing the unemployment rate to go up to 10%, prices of houses descended, and most importantly a 5% drop in the USA’s GDP. The official end for the financial crisis was in June 2009. What Did Obama Do To Help? Obama became president during the economic recession, meaning the US economy was going down and struggling greatly. This put a lot of pressure on him as the citizens of America relied and expected him to fix the nation. Exit polls found that 62% of the voters had put the economy as their number one issue, and 85% of Americans termed themselves as “worried” about the situation the economy was in.
This would be a difficult task for any president, never mind the fact that Obama had only recently got into office. However, despite the pressure mounting on his shoulders, he recovered from the economic recession and fulfilled many people’s wishes and dealt with many people’s worries. He made an economic stimulus package which
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cost $789 billion at the time. This package cut taxes, extended unemployment benefits, and funded public work projects. This mainly helped the people who were struggling the most. The US treasury had also spent $250bn buying stakes to part-nationalise struggling banks. Obama’s campaign said that it would remove income tax for 10 million Americans. However, he did increase tax for those who were earning more than $250,000 as well as a windfall tax on energy companies. The Aftermath In March 2010 Obama created the affordable care act - also known as Obamacare. This was set up for people who were unable to pay for their care, who could then use Obamacare - which had a much lower cost to ensure that citizens of the USA get the healthcare that they deserve. It is estimated that 20 million adults and 3 million children had signed up for it.
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How Has It Changed Politics? Ever since the crisis, there have been sharp increases in political polarisation and the rise of populist movements on both the left and right in the US and Europe. This would then result in the election of Donald Trump in America, and Brexit in the UK. It could be said that the 2016 election was the most divisive ever in US history. However, it may have been an anticipated response after events like the financial crisis.
How it Has Changed the Economy The US economy has recovered greatly since the financial crisis. The house prices have been able to spring back and the unemployment rate has been able to recover to a comfortable number. However, there are still some negatives despite all the positivity. Many workers have struggled to regain a job that pays as well as it did before the recession. The productivity since the crisis had
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led to a loss of about $70,000 in lifetime income for every American - according to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Moreover, at the end of 2017, 4.4 million people who owned homes were behind on their mortgage, which translated to them owing more than their homes were worth. There was also a growth in government debt, and the US had to recapitalise some of their banks and critical industries. A debt crisis starting in the private sector shifted to the government. From 2008 to mid-2017, global government debt more than doubled - reaching $60 trillion.
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The Life & Impact of Ruth Bader Ginsburg Ben Latty Dennison
The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, former US Supreme Court Justice, was marked around the world after she passed away on the 18th of September at the age of 87. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was known for her actions in furthering equality for women and her powerful quotes from her judgments and arguments before the Court such as “Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time. Women will have achieved true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.”.
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Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born on March 15th1933
against the Virginia Military Academy for its’
in New York. She grew up in a working-class
unconstitutional male only admissions policy.
background in Brooklyn. Her mother was a
Without Ginsburg women in America would
large influence and taught her the values of
not have the rights and opportunities they do
independence and education. She earned a
today. Ginsburg attributed her success to her
bachelor’s degree in government from Cornell
strong work ethics. Frequently working through
University finishing top of her class. She married
the night and having to be reminded by her
Martin D. Ginsburg the same year. Ruth Bader
husband on a regular basis to stop working
Ginsburg studied law at Harvard University
to eat and sleep. Ginsburg was influential in
and encountered a male dominated, hostile,
protecting women’s rights and striving to
environment where there were only eight women
achieve improvements in the way in which
in a class of 500. Women were undermined for
woman were treated. Two cases in 2007 show
denying the places of men. However, Ginsburg
Ginsburg’s fight for equality and the protection
carried on and became the first female member of
of women’s rights. The first case being the
the Harvard Law Review.
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in which
Ginsburg is celebrated for what she has
Ginsburg’s judgment argued the legislation
accomplished as a law professor, lawyer, and
“cannot be understood as anything other than
judge. She set about challenging discrimination
an effort to chip away at a right (the right of
which has meant that generations of women
women to choose to have an abortion) declared
after her have had equal opportunity to attend
again and again by this Court.” In Ginsburg’s
law school, obtain legal jobs, and argue cases
dissenting judgment in the case ‘Ledbetter
in court. As a lawyer she participated in some
vs Goodyear Tire’ she criticised the fact that
of the most important gender discrimination
a woman could not bring a federal civil suit
cases before the Supreme Court like the case
against her employer despite unequal pay.
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During the Obama administration, Ruth Bader
4 liberals and 4 conservatives meaning Chief
Ginsburg became a progressive and feminist folk
Justice Roberts had the final decision on matters.
hero. She was labelled as the “Notorious RBG” for
However, with Trump’s appointed conservative
some of her dissents. Some liberals argued that
judges, liberal ideals will not be able to pass
she should retire to allow Obama to nominate a
through the Supreme Court.
liberal replacement. However, she herself said
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an iconic historical
she would do the job for as long as she was able to perform. Ginsburg expressed dismay at the possibility that the Republican candidate Donald Trump would be elected president in a statement which was widely criticised as not being in keeping with the Court’s tradition of staying out of politics. She apologised for her statement, but this incident shows her personality of always expressing her view regardless of public opinion. One of her most influential quotes was when she spoke about the Supreme Court and the balance of men and women in the Court. She said, “When I’m sometimes asked, ‘When will there be enough (women on the Supreme Court)?’ and I say, ‘When there are nine,’ people are shocked. But there’d been nine men, and nobody ever raised a question about that.” Ginsburg’s hope was always that her dissents would not necessarily affect today but they would affect the future and hopefully create a more equal world. The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg led to a tumultuous political battle over who will succeed her, and it meant the Supreme Court vacancy was thrust into the spotlight of the presidential campaign. Ginsburg said before she died “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.” She knew what was to come. Ginsburg’s death will have profound consequences for the court and the country. The leader of the liberal wing has gone and chief justice Roberts no longer holds the controlling vote in closely contested cases. Roberts, although consistently a conservative, has also cast his vote with liberals. Without Ginsburg there is no clear majority. Before the death of Ginsburg there were
figure and she changed life for American women. For more than four decades she led the fight in courts for gender equality. Ginsburg is responsible for the revolution of women’s rights. It was that legal crusade for women’s rights that ultimately led to her appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. To the end of her tenure, she remained a special kind of feminist, both decorous and dogged. She will always be known as a pioneer in the fight for improving the rights of women.
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The Coup that Clamped Down on a Rising Democracy Everything you need to know about February’s Myanmar coup Marcus Chandra Lower Sixth
Believe it or not, military coups are nothing unusual in the secluded Asian country of Myanmar; In fact, from its decolonisation, much of Myanmar’s contemporary history has been under military rule since the first coup of 1962. During senior figure Ne Win’s rule, the repressive military party (Tatmadaw) had instated isolationist economic policies that led to currency instability, widespread corruption, poverty, and food shortages. Decades of political, economic, and ethnic hardships for the Burmese people eventually led the masses to push for democratic reforms, culminating in the 1988 demonstrations. The widespread pro-democracy movement led to the emergence of one important figure in particular- Aung San Suu Kyi.
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has gravely tainted her status. “Today we are profoundly dismayed that you no longer represent a symbol of hope, courage, and the undying defence of human rights,” Amnesty International wrote to her in 2018. Despite this, Suu Kyi continues to push for constitutional amendments that would eradicate the military’s influence. The NLD’s growing popularity in recent years and a landslide victory in the 2020 November election became a significant threat undermining the Tatmadaw’s authority. Draconian military response: coup d’état Foreseen by some for a long time coming, on February 1st, senior military officials orchestrated a coup in a series of early morning raids detaining Suu Kyi along with other prominent NLD leaders. The newly elected majority NLD parliament was Myanmar’s folk hero
meant to convene for the first time later that day. The Tatmadaw seized power on the basis that
Born in 1945, Aung San Suu Kyi was the only
Myanmar’s national sovereignty was threatened,
daughter of revolutionary Aung San, who fought
citing a clause in their constitution. The power
for Burmese independence from colonial Britain
grab gives the military control to replace pro-
and is considered the founding father of today’s
democracy ministers with their own cronies
Myanmar. After extensive studies abroad,
and draft new constitutions restricting future
Suu Kyi returned to Myanmar to lead the 1988
democratic reforms. The Tatmadaw has said
pro-democracy protests and founded the National League for Democracy (NLD) in September of
that they would stay in direct power for one year, though pundits say it may well last longer.
that year. The following year she was put under house arrest by the Tatmadaw. By 1991, Suu Kyi
Domestic turmoil
was awarded the Nobel peace prize. However it
Communications blackout
took more than a decade for democratisation to begin in 2008 and with the breakthrough of the first fair election in 2015, her NLD took control of parliament, and Suu Kyi herself came into power.
The Tatmadaw had forcibly shut down Myanmar’s communications and 4G networks the week following the coup, at times completely blocking information flow and civilian internet
Suu Kyi had long been heralded as a heroine
access. The blackout was meant to allow the
of democracy, and Myanmar’s freedom fighter.
Tatmadaw to maintain discretion and censorship
However her permissiveness of the Tatmadaw’s
to disrupt and prevent efforts of coordinated
mass-persecution of the Rohingya Muslim
resistance and to keep the rest of the world blind
ethnic minority (and the atrocities that ensued)
of these developments.
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Soldiers line the streets As was observed in previous coups, Myanmar was understandably plunged into a state of panic, with citizens clearing the shelves of supermarkets, and rushing to the banks to withdraw funds. It is evident that the Burmese people were taking all the precautions to hedge against the impending political instability. Military vehicles and infantry were deployed to the streets and highways, creating roadblocks to curtail civilian disobedience and restrict mobility to and from the capital and major cities. Resistance “Fully oppose the military coup and resoundingly resist against it” Suu Kyi immediately urged her legions of supporters. In response, in the weeks following the coup, hundreds of thousands of Burmese students, monks, activists, and civilians took to the streets to protest in solidarity despite military efforts against them. Prominent activists were arrested, and reports of lethal force reported. International response The crisis has been met with much dismay from the international community, with world leaders like Joe Biden condemning the coup and vowing to take action to “stand up for democracy wherever it is under attack”. That said, it is most probable that economic sanctions on Myanmar will be reinstated by the U.S., EU, and others, with specific sanctions on senior Tatmadaw officials to be enacted. The long and winding road ahead for Myanmar For more than a decade, it seemed that Myanmar seemed to finally be on its way to becoming a legitimate democracy, with the Tatmadaw ostensibly acquiescing to equitable democratic processes, paving the way for a multi-party parliament. The fact of the matter is that the Tatmadaw has always been and will always be
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in control of Myanmar in some form or another and that any democracy it tolerated would be a precarious and capricious one, subject to change. This is the reality that the coup has brought to light. One Burmese activist puts it plainly: “Our country was a bird that was just learning to fly. Now the army broke our wings’’. As long as the military is able to abuse its “constitutional” rights, it will continue to deny reforms that threaten its absolute power, and refute legitimate election results, forcefully if needed. Historically, Tatmadaw generals have acted impervious to foreign pressures, and it is likely to continue to be this way. Ethnically, Myanmar is more divided than ever. The longest ongoing civil war in the world remains perpetuated between the Tatmadaw and armed ethnic groups. With even the Tatmadaw’s most menacing opposition Suu Kyi in support of their ethnic cleansing campaigns, it’s not hard to see why Myanmar’s ethnic divide and human rights abuse is so troubling. The Tatmadaw’s “divide and rule” tactics, pitting rival ethnic parties against one another, have cemented its power. The Rohingya persecution remains an unresolved crisis, with military forces continuing to engage in genocidal violence, burning entire villages, raping and murdering those of the minority group. With the Tatmadaw once again in full-fledged power, Myanmar’s future is ever more uncertain.
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The Case Against
Privatised Prisons Megan Denton Lower Sixth
In America, the majority of prisons are privatised meaning that they are owned by a company, rather than the state, and make profit. Most of these have a contract with the state so that the prisons always have a certain number of inmates - of around 90-100 prisoners at any one time - and therefore a constant amount of profit.
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This usually results in people receiving unjust
run and own private prisons, however not all of
sentences for petty crimes. Privatised prisons
the money was spent on prison related costs.
first started in the 1980s when President Reagan
It ends up being a vicious cycle of the prisons
expanded on Nixon’s war on drugs from June
having poor conditions, companies receiving
1971, when drugs were declared ‘public enemy
money, companies not spending money on
number one’, resulting in mass incarceration and
the prisons and the prisons having the same
the overcrowding of federal prisons.
conditions as before.
Companies offer their services to the state
This has an effect on the prison population; from
government and can charge up to $150 per day per
1980 to 2016, the prison population increased by
prisoner, for the state this is the cheaper option
1,250,000 compared to the 10,000 increase from
as in federal prisons it costs roughly $315 per
1925 to 1980. This could be due to any number
prisoner per day. Companies’ main focus tends
of reasons – more drugs, larger population,
to be making the largest profit possible. Due to
higher crime rates but it seems to be that the
the contract many of the companies have with
sharp increase in incarceration began in 1983
the state, they have an almost guaranteed profit
when private prisons first started. However, the
of $18,000 per prisoner per year. The company
situation was not helped by the introduction of
chosen is usually the one with the supposed lower operating cost. These prisons tend to keep the lower cost inmates and send the more expensive
the minimum prison sentence of 2 years in 1970. It meant that the number of new prisoners entering the system outnumbered the releases.
ones back to state prisons; for example those who
Again, creating a vicious cycle of poor conditions.
need one on one supervision. In 2014, the Bureau
On the other hand, the future of the prison system
of Prisons paid $639 million to companies who
could end up having fewer private prisons.
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In 2016, a report by the U.S Department of Justice stated that “privately operated federal facilities are less safe, less secure and more punitive than other federal prisons”. Not long after that report was released the Department of Justice announced that private prisons will begin to be phased out of the system. When the report was published in 2016, 8.5% of America’s prisoners were in private prisons and in 2017 it had dropped to 8.2%. Another question surrounding the state of prisons is are they fair? Private prisons tend to cut costs on security and staff to produce a greater profit. More black people are in private prisons for petty crimes such as marijuana possession due to the requirement for a certain number of prisoners. Furthermore, there are more young people of colour in private prisons as they cost less to house. White inmates tend to be older, with more health conditions and are more expensive to house and are therefore less desirable for private prisons as they don’t create enough profit. Additionally, immigrant prisons have even poorer conditions than federal and private prisons showing that there is very little equality. Recently, the conditions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centres have been under fire from the public, for the majority of
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these ICE detention centres have contracts with private corporations. On average 400,000 immigrants are detained every year in America. Again, these centres are all privately owned with the focus on profit rather than the lives of the immigrants who have been detained. The Thirteenth Amendment states that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted shall exist within the United States”. One of the aims of private prisons is to create jobs in the community to begin to rehabilitate the prisoners but often these are in poor conditions and mimic slavery,. Overall, all of the evidence points to the conclusion that prisons should not be privatised as it gives too much power to certain companies. There is high potential for corruption as companies generally try to make themselves more profit over anything else. It has been proven by the U.S Department of Justice to be a more dangerous system than federal prisons. Without privatised prisons with a state contract, mass incarceration would slow. Finally, it would improve the equality within the justice system and would help to end the unequal system of immigrant prisons.
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Furlough It’s Not For FREE! Robert Hunter Lower Sixth
At the beginning of March, many of us would have been none the wiser to the meaning of the term ‘Furlough’, however, engulfed in the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic, it has been a word difficult to escape for many workers and business owners across the United Kingdom.
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vast amounts of the population distressed about when the Furlough Bill is going to pass through the letterbox.
£35.4 Billion Who’s Paying? At the start of April, the Debt Management Office revealed that it would seek to raise an extra £45billion from gilt auctions, selling the last What is Furlough?
month UK Government bonds. This acts as debt security, which is sold to investors and payed
The Furlough Scheme, introduced by the government Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, just over a month after his ascension to the role, allowed for the payment of 80% of an employee’s wages (up to £30,000 salary), dating back to 1st of March and later, extended until the 31st of October. As the country entered into the entire nationwide lockdown, the two thirds of British business, involved in the scheme, were also granted a £1000 pound bonus, per worker kept on payroll. This
back over time with relatively low interest rates.
added an incentive, in the hope that the majority of the 7.5 million people furloughed (1/4 of the total workforce), would have jobs to return to post-Halloween and save the government from an even greater economic horror show.
account –– that it holds within the bank of
According to the IFS, this was the largest amount of money raised by the government 3 times over, massively overstepping the peak of the 2008 financial crisis. However, this is not the only cash raising method of the government, which has sought to exploit fund schemes introduced as a consequence of the pandemic. The Government has also eaten into its emergency overdraft - effectively being extended to an unlimited England, as a means of funding the fight against coronavirus and its economic unrest. Inevitably, raised taxes will come into play, however, this is not such a simple solution as it may sound. Both the individual and global
What Will It Cost?
corporations will feel the financial brunt of the
According to ‘Statista.com’, as of August 16th the UK government has already shelled out over £35.4 Billion, in order to fund the scheme. Alongside this, added expenditure is taking place at a time where the governments tax income has more or less fallen off a cliff, which rightly left
pandemic, though the scale in which they would need to be raised for covering the increased government expenditure on the Furlough scheme, would be deflationary - the opposite of government intentions. Alternative solutions to this type of problem include financial
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repression (where inflation is allowed to run
on government benefit schemes, like Universal
over interest rates), which, overtime, naturally
Credit, which aims to keep families on minimum
decrease the cost of national debts. Another one
income afloat, in these troubling times.
of the more primitive solutions is to cut spending similar to the austerity measures put in place by the David Cameron led government in 2010. Boris Johnson, however, was never an advocate of austerity, with his stance seemingly being unchanged.
Has it succeeded? In the words of Rishi Sunak, “the furlough scheme has done what it was designed to do – save jobs and help people get back to work, where they want to be”. While over half of the workers that had been placed on the scheme have now returned to work, this statement has also come at a time where over 48,000 redundancies were made in July alone, with young and ageing worker demographics being hit the hardest. Overall, it is evident that the introduction of the scheme was paramount in preventing rapid largescale job losses at the beginning of the national lockdown. However, it will take much analysis and experience, over the coming months or even years, to tell us whether the £40 billion furlough scheme will leave us better off than if it had not
What happens when it ends? A widespread decrease in productivity (GDP fell by 17.2% since February), will unavoidably lead to business’ of all sizes needing to cut their workforce as a means of saving costs, due to the decrease in demand for different services. This is most evident in sectors, such as hospitality which have struggled the most in staying afloat and keeping their staff employed over this period. The UK unemployment rate has risen to its highest level of 4.5% in the last 3 years, jumping by 0.4% alone in the 3 months leading up to August. Furthermore, the chief executive of economist group, EY, suggested that it could be until 2024 in which the UK economy is able to recover, predicting that unemployment will rise up to 9%, with a total economic shrinkage of up to 11%, excluding the unknown economic impact of Brexit. This trend is likely to grow, as the original furlough scheme is brought to a halt, leading to further increased financial pressure
been introduced in the long-term.
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Modern Day Slavery in the UK Rosie Williamson Lower Sixth
When we think of slavery we are often inclined to think of its abolition in 1833, but was it actually abolished?
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But the real question is: what is the UK government actively doing to tackle this issue? In 2015, the UK government passed the Modern Slavery Act (MSA), the first of its kind in Europe. The Act is designed to tackle slavery and human trafficking through the consolidation of previous legislation and the introduction of new measures. Specifically, the MSA introduces new requirements for organisations to review and report on their own business but also on their The short answer is no. Modern day slavery is a growing international issue with the number of people identified as victims continuing to rise on an annual basis. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), there are 21 million people around the world trapped in some form of forced labour (which includes trafficking, debt bondage and child labour). Countries such as China have exceptionally high levels of slave labour with 3.86 million people classed as slaves according to a 2018 study.
supply chains. Recent statistics indicate that the MSA has helped increase awareness of modern slavery, which led to an increase in reporting (leading to the jump in reported instances between 2018/19). In June 2019, there were over 1,479 active law enforcement investigations into modern slavery crimes compared to only 188 in November, 2016. Prosecutions and convictions are also increasing, although not at the same pace. Between 2017 and 2018, the number of prosecutions increased from 265 to 294, and convictions increased from 180
The UK is no exception, despite being a developed
to 191. However, victims of modern slavery are
country, the problem appears to be getting worse
often too traumatised to come forward, meaning
rather than better. According to the latest data
that prosecutions and convictions undoubtedly
from the Office of National Statistics (March 2020),
underplay the extent of the criminal activity.
the number of potential modern slavery victims
Therefore, although the MSA has had an impact,
identified in the UK rose from just under 1,000
tighter measures may still be required and
people in 2016 to over 5,000 by 2019 - growth of
the government needs to take more action to
170% a year over the period. Alternatively, The
encourage victims to come forward without fear
National Referral Mechanism (NRM) - which was
of prosecution themselves.
introduced in 2009 to identify and refer potential
The government also issues an ‘Annual Report on
victims of modern slavery and human trafficking
Modern Slavery’, with the 2020 report outlining
in the UK - recorded 6,985 referrals in 2018, rising
new measures being taken against the crime.
by 52% to 10,627 referrals in 2019.
Under the Modern Slavery and Organised
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Immigration Crime Programme, government investment continued with an additional £2 million to continue to support the police. This is in the hope that funding will increase prosecutions and strengthen the government’s ability to target organised immigration crime. Furthermore, in March 2020, the government published the world’s first ‘Government Modern Slavery Statement’. This outlined the steps undertaken to drive responsible practices and prevent risks in government supply chains. Additionally, the report referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) Transformation Programme and its continuing use. The government wants be able to better support and identify victims, including through the national roll-out of Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTGs) to ensure the individual needs of children are met. Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, states that her message is clear and that she will “not stop until this terrible crime is finally consigned to the history books”. But is the government really doing all it can to bring an end to Modern Slavery in the UK? The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICIA) conducted a review on how the UK government is tackling modern slavery, concluding that although the UK has been working to reduce modern slavery, there are still areas that need to be addressed and the government could be doing more. In particular, the UK has failed to draw on international experience and established approaches in its modern slavery work. The government does not have a modern slavery research strategy, its systems are at an early stage and external dissemination has been hampered by confidentiality requirements.
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There are pressure groups such as ‘Anti-Slavery International’ that have been set up to tackle the growing problem of Modern Slavery. It states that it campaigns ‘for the UK to implement policies making it tough for those who want to exploit vulnerable people’. Pressure on the government has led to some recent successes such as: survivors winning the right to long term support, and the decision to cut weekly support for victims being reversed. The group has also raised issues with how the government treat modern slavery victims. It states that, in Britain, the support for victims is far from what it should be. The government currently provides short term support, usually for up to 45 days, or the time it takes the authorities to decide whether someone qualifies as a victim of slavery. After that, the support ends and most victims have to move out of a safe house without any further support. This lack of support, together with stress from the trauma inflicted upon them, can force victims into homelessness or push them back into traffickers’ hands. Furthermore, the authorities often see victims of slavery through the context of their immigration status and treat them as immigration offenders rather than victims of a serious crime. This can prevent people from coming forward for fear that they will be prosecuted themselves. Slavery may seem a far cry from our modern world, but exposure in the past decade or so has shown that slavery was not left behind in the Seventeenth Century. Although the UK government is taking measures to tackle the growing levels of modern slavery, reports indicate that more can be done, and it remains a little recognised issue in our society today that rarely draws the attention it deserves.
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Watergate Valentina Quijano Evans Lower Sixth
Watergate was a political scandal which occurred in the US, involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 - leading to his eventual resignation.
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however, this time the plan was unsuccessful. A security guard had noticed tape covering the latch of some of the complex’s doors and removed it without suspicion. Some time later he had noticed the tape had been replaced and therefore called the police. Virgilio Gonzalez, Bernard Barker, James McCord, Eugenio Martínez and Frank Sturgis were arrested on the scene. The following morning, Nixon’s organization and the White House quickly worked on covering up the crime and any evidence which could damage his reelection. In January 1973, the burglars were tried and pled guilty.
Richard Nixon was the 37th president of the United States of America, serving from 1969 to 1974. Since he had lost to Kennedy in 1960, and just about won the presidential election in 1968, he wanted a safe guarantee of winning the reelection. Therefore, he approved of the Watergate plan in order to have leverage on the Democrats, guaranteeing him his second term as president. On January 27, 1972, former FBI agent, Gordon Liddy, presented a plan, it involved illegal actions against the Democratic Party. It included burgling the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington DC. Their plan was to photograph documents and install listening devices in the telephones. The first Watergate break-in occurred on May 28, where two phones inside the DNC headquarter offices had been bugged. Although the listening devices had been successfully installed, the committee’s spies said that they needed repairs. On June 17, the second burglary took place,
Although the trial ended, the investigation into the Watergate break-in continued to grow. After the trial, Judge Sirica read the court a letter from the Watergate burglar, James McCord, who said that perjury had been committed in the trial and that the defendants had been told to remain silent. John Dean, who served as White House Council, wanted to protect the president and have his four closest men take the fall for telling the truth. On April 15, 1973, Dean had a meeting with Nixon, where he felt as if he was being recorded. Later, he mentioned this observation while testifying to the Senate Committee on Watergate. This exposed the recordings of the taped conversations in the White House. Hesitant at first, the White House assistant Alexander Butterfield, revealed on July 13 that a new recording system had been installed in the White House. It recorded every conversation in
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the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room, Nixon’s private
6, 1974, the House of Representatives gave the
office as well as several other rooms. The senate
authority to investigate impeachment against the
and special prosecutor, Archibald Cox, immediately
president. Then on July 27, the House of Judiciary
subpoenaed the tapes. Despite this, the President
Committee voted 27 to 11 on recommending the
refused to release them. Nixon ordered the
first article of impeachment against the president,
Attorney General, Elliot Richardson, to fire the
obstruction of justice. The committee then
prosecutor. However, he resigned as protest rather
recommended the second article of impeachment
than carrying out the order.
on July 29, abuse of power. A day later, the
During the time, the media also played an
committee recommended the third article,
important role in uncovering the scandal. The
contempt of congress.
Washington Post reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncovered various pieces of information suggesting that knowledge of the break-in and attempts to cover it, led deeply into the upper reaches of the justice department of the FBI, CIA and the White House. The two reporters interviewed the book keeper for Nixon’s re-election campaign, who revealed information about funds being mishandled and records being destroyed. One of the reporter’s anonymous sources named “Deep Throat” met secretly with Woodward several times in an underground garage, telling him vital information. In 2005, the
The release of the ‘smoking gun tape’ politically
source revealed to be William Felt, who was the
destroyed President Richard Nixon. The tape had
deputy director of the FBI in the 1970s. This helped
been recorded only a few days after the break-
the reporters uncover a wider web of crimes.
in, documenting the initial stage of the cover
Even though the reporters possessed crucial
up. It revealed Nixon and the White House Chief
information, it was hard for them to publish
of Staff, Harry R. Haldeman, discussing how to
this as many newspapers ignored them. Nixon
stop the FBI from continuing its investigation
also tried to isolate the Post by attacking them.
of the break-in. Eventually, on August 9, 1974,
However, only after the letter to Judge Sirica had
Nixon signed his resignation letter and Congress
been exposed, did the media shift their focus.
dropped its impeachment proceedings and
Eventually, Nixon had to reveal the tapes which
Vice-President Gerald Ford became president.
included several crucial conversations between
On September 4 1974, he issued a full and
the president and his council on March 21, 1973.
unconditional pardon of Nixon, immunising
In this conversation, Dean summarised many
him from prosecution for any crimes he had
aspects which focused on the cover up and
committed or taken part in as president. The
how the burglary team was being paid “hush
burglars were convicted of burglary, conspiracy
money”. Other tapes from August 1 revealed Nixon
and wiretapping, serving only 10-18 months
approving of the blackmail payments: “Well…
instead of 40 years. Gordon Liddy served 4 ½
they have to be paid. That’s all there is to that.
years in federal prison instead of 20 years, for
They have to be paid”. This was regarded as an
masterminding the burglary, and John Dean
affirmative act to obstruct justice. On February
served 4 months for obstruction of justice.
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Horizon Scandal The
Santi Weiner Hurriaga Lower Sixth
The Horizon scandal has been labelled as one of the UK’s worst injustices. It involved the Post Office’s false prosecution of 736 sub-postmasters and subpostmistresses between the years 2000-2014.
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Horizon was the name of a computing system
most disheartening case is the one of Seema
introduced in post offices around the UK in 1999. It
Misra who was sent to prison in 2010 for theft,
was installed to complete stocktaking, accounting
despite the lack of evidence of her wrongdoing
and transaction services. However, this system
and the fact that she was pregnant at the time.
falsely reported numerous shortfalls due to a bug
Fortunately this decade long battle has resulted in
in the system. As a result many sub-postmasters
the claimants receiving £12 million in reparations,
and mistresses tried to fix the bug by using their
however money is unlikely to repair the wounds
own money, with people like Jo Hamilton having
created by this miscarriage of justice.
to remortgage her house in order to pay the
This failure of the justice system is extremely
shortfalls. This led to the false prosecution and
worrying since it can so easily destroy lives
imprisonment of many sub-postmasters. Many
.This case has really highlighted the flaws of
were accused of fraud and false accounting by
our criminal courts and legal system, since the
the Post Office and were sent to prison. However,
absence of a thorough investigation at the time led
finally, in December of 2019 after the end of a long
to horrific consequences. In addition, issues were
series of civil cases, the Post Office agreed to settle
flagged up multiple times about the faulty system
with 555 claimants.
which the Post Office seemed to have ignored.
Whilst the long battle with the courts has finally
After its installation in 1999, Alan Bates reported
begun to bear fruit, the devastation that this
problems with Horizon in 2000 but was ultimately
scandal has caused for families is irreparable.
ignored and then fired by the Post Office. For over
For example William Graham, who was a Post
a decade, the Post Office ignored complaints about
Office manager in Riverhead, was convicted
their system, covering their tracks.
of false accounting in 2011 and was given a
In 2012 the Post Office created a complaint
32 week suspended prison sentence. This
review scheme and a year later admitted there
case, so close to the school and where many
were defects within the system. The next year
students live, is mirrored throughout the nation,
in 2014, the Post Office said “there is absolutely
with many involved being “shunned by their
no evidence of any systemic issues with the
communities” according to the BBC. Perhaps the
computer system”.
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data really be trusted? The short answer is yes - in the vast majority of scenarios the computer data is far more impartial than witness testimonies or opposing parties, but this heavy reliance on technology leads to cases such as the Horizon scandal. It can be that computer data is relied on so heavily as concrete evidence that it can lead to disastrous consequences when it is incorrect. It would be unrealistic to label data and technology as “unreliable” evidence since it is so instrumental in many modern cases of fraud, theft etc, with even forensic data if outputted incorrectly on the computer potentially leading to false imprisonment. The abolition of technology in the police force This statement highlights their continuous failure to make up for their previous errors, However, due to an independent investigation by the firm “second sight” and the campaign “justice for sub-postmasters alliance (JFSA)” set up by Alan Bates the Post Office was taken to court in 2017 with the evidence gathered from multiple private investigation firms.
and in the conviction process is irresponsible as it would set us back several decades. Despite saying this, I think there should be more thorough checks of the computer data used as evidence before determining that it is concrete evidence. For example, if the state had done an inquiry into the Horizon system they would have most likely found the bugs and resolved the case. However, this is a great burden on resources so
However, the victims then had to wait another 2
perhaps companies such as Fujitsu should be
years before they were finally cleared. These last
held more accountable. Sadly, it would not be
20 years of injustice led to the destruction of many
surprising if the procedures around computer
lives and really questions our justice systems’
data as evidence did not change because the cost
thoroughness in investigating scandals such as
of investigation when compared to the likelihood
this one. Finally the repercussions of the Post Office
of faulty computer data is simply not worth the
having to pay £58 million in damages is minimal
public tax money.
considering the extent the sub-postmasters were
The Horizon scandal has helped to shed light on
affected, with neither the Japanese company behind Horizon (Fujitsu) nor Post Office Ltd being held accountable. Since there are 22 cases still to be reviewed, I would expect some harsher repercussions to since this systematic error from both companies and the justice system has led to the destruction of many lives.
the flaws within the justice system’s investigation methods and is likely to lead to future cases being investigated with more diligence as this utter miscarriage of justice should not be happening in such a developed country and legal system. However, technology used as evidence in the courts is only going to increase in the future, with
In common law to be convicted of a crime the
modern technological advances, so it is important
guilt of the party has to be beyond reasonable
that the issue of trust and reliability becomes key
doubt which leads to the question, can computer
to policy making in this area.
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What is Soft Power? Jasmin Sin Fifth Year Competition Winner
With increased tension in international relations, there has been a growing debate concerning the idea of ‘soft power’ and its relevance in the modern world. The concept of soft power is important for all of us as foreign policies play a prevalent role in response to issues such as global warming. But what exactly is soft power and why is it becoming a prominent discussion topic in the current times?
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If you’ve ever watched the Olympic Games, World Cup, Australian Opens or any other international
Cold War. He points out that hard power remains an integral part of international affairs, the US has
event, there’s a chance you’ve been influenced in some ways by the nation’s allure. The term ‘soft power’ was first coined in the late 1980s by Joseph S. Nye Jr, who explains his theory in his book ‘Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics.’ In his writing, he suggests soft power as a method of subtle coercion for countries to sway others and persuade them to support their agenda through products that link with the place. This could be through cuisine, industry, celebrities, brands, etc. All these aspects help to build a country’s reputation, making it more captivating to outsiders which causes an increase in foreign direct investments which in turn, allows the nation’s economy to progress further and could also lead to a growing influence globally.
concentrated heavily on improving military and economic power. He states hard power has been used excessively as a means to pressure their own agenda into other countries and because of this, the US is seeing a rise in criticism and resistance internationally.
In contrast to ‘hard power’ which springs from a country’s military or economic strength, ‘soft power’ emerges from the appeal of a country’s culture, ideals and policies. In his book, Nye focuses on the American’s approach to becoming the number one powerhouse after the
Although economic and military might gifts American citizens a strong sense of superiority and nationalist pride. It also strains the relationship between the USA and other foreign countries. An example of this would be the previous US President Trump’s election slogan: “Make American Great Again.” Words which are known to many today as a controversial detonator to the bomb of social division and violence.
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One can say it has even played the role of a
Think of your favorite TV shows, football teams,
trigger, contributing to the increase in normalized
actor, and singers; because you are a fan, it is
aggression and violence towards certain groups
more likely for you to support them since you
due to their political opinions, race, or lifestyle.
like their work. This is the basis of the theory of
In his work, Nye advocates a combination of
‘soft power’ which suggests that by creating a
both hard and soft power in the USA. He sees
product that tempts the interest of the masses
this as the key for multilateral and multinational
the place that manufactured it will automatically
cooperation, the success of foreign policies, public approval, and acceptance of American values in the present day. Nye states that it would be a smarter and more beneficial course of action if a country had won over the hearts of the people before proposing foreign policies as the country would have earned a higher level of respect and therefore the people would be more likely to approve of them. In conclusion, Nye proposes soft power as a much more effective method of gaining support and succeeding in foreign policies, especially in a world where there is an increasing number of politically aware individuals where obvious forms of coercion and manipulation would be frowned upon.
become more attractive to people and because of this, it is more likely to win the public favor towards the nation’s agenda. Since you are more likely to purchase their merchandise, visit their country, and trust their goods, it is a means for a country to stimulate your love for them and earn your support towards their development. Currently, soft power is of growing relevance as the younger generations becomes more entangled with foreign international industries. This is seen in Japan, which is famous for their animations, a lucrative industry which has cultivated a large fanbase from all around the globe. This consists of children, teenagers, and even adults, and it is partly because of its mass appeal that Japan has the third largest economy in the world. In 2018, the global market size of anime was valued at $20.47 billion, bringing in an annual revenue of more than $19 billion per year. Whilst anime probably is not the main reason for Japan’s economic growth, it plays the part in that its subtle push has led to the children of today becoming increasingly intrigued and intertwined with Japanese culture, industry, and lifestyle. The same can be said for fans of Hollywood, Bollywood, K-pop, and any other leisure industry distinct to a country as a side effect of their fans fondness of their work. Despite all that has been said, both soft and hard power hold its benefits in aiding a country’s growth. Whilst the idea of soft power is becoming increasingly recognized, it is important to note that it is not just used as a form of coercion but also a way of enhancing a nation’s assets.
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How was Ancient Greek Democracy Different from Modern British Democracy? Kayla Prashad
Second Year Junior Article Competition
There are many similarities between Ancient Greek Democracy and British democracy now, but there are some intriguing differences between the two different worlds of politics which helped to shape our world today.
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When someone runs for the Prime Minister, they give encouraging talks, carry banners and tell people why they should vote for them. In Ancient Greece, the people running to be leader would sell bread and contribute greatly to the community to win the hearts of the citizens. Democracy comes with its positives and negatives and one of its negatives (or it could be a positive!) was ostracism. Ostracism was a process when citizens and political figures would be exiled from the place they lived for ten years. There were many reasons as to why. Sometimes if a political leader was exiled it was because they were a bad leader in Greece. Alternatively, if a citizen was exiled it was because they did not like the system, or held a threat to the community. We certainly don’t have First of all, what is democracy? Democracy is a system in which laws and decisions are made for the benefit of the people. The word democracy comes from two Greek words merged together, demos (which means
this system in modern Britain. How are the making of laws different from then to now? In Ancient Greece, men who had the right to vote, would vote on making the decision into a law. This is different to Britain now where people do not directly vote for the law to be proposed but
people) and kratos (which means power), so
Parliament do.
democracy means power of the people.
Greek officials ran the government, they were
In 507 B.C, Cleisthenes (the Athenian Leader)
chosen by lottery, this would be viewed as quite
announced there was a new system in place
unfair now and they were chosen regardless of
called democracy. The system was split into three
their popularity, or how rich they were.
parts, ekklesia which were the main leaders of the
How many times would the Ancient Greeks have
government, the boule - who each stood for their own tribe and a group of ‘juniors’ also known as the Dikasteria, they were chosen at random and came up with ideas for the law.
a meeting to discuss potential laws and ideas? The Greeks would meet four times every prytany (this was a period of five weeks they met on a hill called Pynx, this is where they decided the laws,
This is like our system now, we have the House
it was like parliament but outside.
of Commons who come up with ideas and debate
How would people vote? Voting was very similar
about what is the best, followed by the House of
to now, people would write the candidate they
Lords who help to make amendments and after
were voting for on a piece of pottery, nowadays,
the Queen approves of the law.
people vote on pieces of paper and place them in
Who could vote in Ancient Greece? Everyone can
small boxes.
vote who is over 18 in modern Britain but this
To conclude, Greek democracy has shaped some
was different in Ancient Greece. Only men who
things we do today and changed other aspects
completed their military training were allowed to
of politics. There are some similarities but things
vote, women, children and slaves were not allowed.
have changed in many ways as well.
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Should the UK ban Chinese owned companies? William James Third Year Competition Winner
Many of the world’s favourite companies for example, TikTok, Lenovo and Huawei, are owned by Chinese companies and there is a debate about whether they present a risk to the billions of people who use their products.
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First of all we have to look at the law in China.
the treatment of the Chinese Uighur Muslims
Chinese law dictates that a company must have
from the Xingjiang province, their treatment
their users’ data available to the government.
in the ‘re-education’ centres and their forced
This then means that if you send a message
labour in manufacturing. This ban on the BBC
to someone which is ‘endangering national
from broadcasting in China came after the BBC
security’ you would then be arrested under the
websites were banned in the country.
PRC Cybersecurity law. While these rules aren’t
The events that the BBC were covering again
enforced in the special administrative regions of Macao and Hong Kong, these rules are one of many ways that China censors its citizens. Many of the aforementioned companies are owned by people or companies who have close links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Lenovo that is owned by a company called Legend Holdings, which was formed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which is owned by the state council of the PRC. Meanwhile Huawei’s founder Ren Zhengfei is a member of the CCP. Huawei was the centre of allegations of spying for the CCP and industrial espionage. In July 2020 the UK government enforced a law that any mobile service provider would have to remove any equipment in their 5G systems that was Huawei made and that it would all have had to been removed by 2027.
shows how China censors the media coverage of events inside the country like the spying and the ‘mass genocide’ events against the Uighurs. This causes doubt: what companies are using forced labour camps for their product manufacturing and which companies are not? Many Western companies use the factories where forced labour is practiced, like Nike and H&M. However many Chinese companies use these same factories like Huawei and Lenovo for their products. This then raises the question; would you like to have your computer made by slaves? This then raises the debate, what are the United Nations and other countries doing to stop this? Many human rights organisations and the Liberal Democrats have called for the boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 though these actions have been rejected. The West has made many allegations about what is happening
The ‘re-education’ center in Xiangjiang.
in the camps with some calling it genocide. The
The recent blockage of BBC world service in
Chinese foreign minister has said this claims are
China, could be seen as a retaliation event. China’s
absurd, a claim repeated by the Chinese embassy
National Radio and Television Administration
in London to the BBC.
(NRTA) took the decision to ban the BBC World
In conclusion the reasons that I have raised,
Service from broadcasting in the country as it
like the genocide of the Uighur Muslims and the
claimed that BBC World Service’s reports on
huge amount of evidence on Chinese companies
China ‘seriously violated’ their laws. The NRTA
spying for the CCP is why I believe that the UK
concluded that ‘news should be truthful and fair
should block Chinese companies in operating
and should not harm China’s national interests’.
inside the UK to protect the UK’s security and the
This was referring to the BBC’s coverage on
world’s human rights.
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Is Democracy Under Threat? Tom Murphy
Former Director of Studies and Politics Teacher
There has been much talk in the aftermath of the US election that democracy has been under threat. Lee Drutman- a senior fellow at New America said this: “Democracy requires parties that are committed to free and fair elections and will accept the outcome - even if they lose.”
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He went on to say that the fact that some
to getting any traction. If anything, his actions
elements within the Republican Party did not
reinforced the robust nature of US democracy. I
accept the result of the 2020 election meant that
fundamentally disagree with Lee Drutman and his
Democracy itself was under threat. This view has
allies. ‘Democracy requires that the legitimate result
been echoed widely in liberal circles.
of a free and fair vote should be upheld’ would be a much better summary. The USA has passed the democratic test; many other countries have failed it. A much more potent threat to democracy was played out recently much closer to home. In June 2016 the UK voted to leave the EU. Like it or not (and I voted Remain) this was a democratic vote, free and fair, and one which Parliament was bound to honour. What followed over the next three years was a deliberate attempt by a group of MPs to undermine the democratic will of the
It seems to me that democracy did just fine in the
people. This attempted coup was masterminded
USA. An election was held. The winner of that
by John Bercow, probably the least neutral, most
election is now in power. I suspect that there was
opinionated and certainly most vocal Commons
very little (if any) fraud in the US election. I could
Speaker in history, joined by a bunch of Tory
be wrong; a number of normally trustworthy
rebels who fought the 2017 election on a platform
people disagree. But surely if fraud is even
to deliver Brexit and then reneged on their
suspected then it must be right to challenge it?
commitments. Bercow consistently handed down
Trump was within his rights to claim the election
a series of rulings (too numerous to mention here)
was fraudulent. He was certainly okay to take it to
deliberately framed to frustrate Brexit. I will admit
the courts. This is similar to what occurred in the
that May’s (or Nick Timothy’s) idiotic decision
2000 US election, when there were multiple legal
to call the 2017 election did not help, but it made
challenges to George Bush’s victory. In the end
little difference in practice; Bercow and his rebel
the Democrats accepted defeat, but only after the
friends had enough votes to stop Brexit even with
election had been debated in the Florida Supreme
the overall majority May held before 2017.
Court and the US Supreme Court. In my view it is
Trump’s shenanigans were awful, but ultimately,
political nonsense to claim that in a democracy it
they did not delay the democratic process at all.
is wrong to challenge an election result.
Democracy in the USA trundled on majestically
This is just another manifestation of the rampant
and was not seriously threatened. Bercow’s plot
deepening political partisanship in the USA.
delayed Brexit for at least a year and brought the
I don’t approve of the way Trump went about
country to a virtual political standstill. I always
his challenge. His attempts to persuade the
believed that in the end Brexit would happen,
governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, to overturn
regardless of the attempts to stop it. Had the result
the state’s election result, was deplorable. Had
of the referendum been ultimately ignored there
he succeeded in this, or in his attempts to
would have been something close to civil war.
persuade the Senate not to ratify the election of
It’s interesting to note that following the delivery
Biden, democracy would certainly have been
of Brexit the Remainers have gone very quiet.
threatened. In this event, neither of these (or any
I suspect that many, like me, recognised that
of his other anti-democratic gestures) came close
although we didn’t like the result,
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I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” (often attributed to Voltaire)
the majority vote must be delivered.
has been jealously protected by politicians of all
We are democrats first and Remainers second.
flavours in liberal democracies. “I disapprove of
There is simply no point in protesting any
what you say, but I will defend to the death your
further. Imagine if Bercow and his chums had
right to say it” (often attributed to Voltaire) has
managed to overturn the referendum. Would the
been the watch word of genuine democrats for
Brexiteers have gone quietly? I think we all know
centuries. Until recently this principle was never
the answer to that. Democracy had to triumph in
disputed. I wonder now how many politicians of
the end, as Jo Swinson found out. Her decision
all shades would leap to the defence of someone
to make it official Liberal Democrat policy to
who vented an opinion deemed ‘politically
cancel the referendum surely trumps Michael
incorrect’? How strong would the rights of those
Foot’s 1983 ‘suicide note’. The public delivered
dismissed for saying something ‘incorrect’ be
their verdict on the Liberal Democrats (Liberal?
defended? What we are seeing now with political
Democrats? Really?) in December 2019, and Jo
correctness and ‘cancel culture’ is mob rule. It is
Swinson got her comeuppance too. I cannot
not democracy in action, and it is growing daily.
feel sorry for her. The Tory ‘rebels’ too were
We are witnessing the tyranny of the minority
decimated. It’s a lesson to all: don’t think you can
in liberal democracies everywhere. Furthermore,
oppose democracy and go unpunished.
the power in the hands of a few (mostly liberal)
Even Trump won’t get away with it.
entrepreneurs is truly frightening. Trump’s tweets
Liberal Democracy has thus survived two recent
were pretty awful - and frankly not terribly
attempts to undermine it. One outrageous, and
interesting. But did Twitter really have the right
doomed from the start, the other cloaked in
to shut down not just one tweet, but his entire
political respectability; far more seemly but much
account? The self-regulation practised by these
more potent. Does their joint failure mean that
giant communication networks (Facebook,
democracy is safe? Unfortunately, it doesn’t.
Twitter, Google etc) is laughable, and appallingly
The real threat to democracy comes neither from
one-sided. Their power is immense, and they
the left nor the right. One of the key principles
really do have the ability to impose censorship
of any democracy, a fundamental principle
on a massive partisan scale. Where free speech
recognised in the English Bill of Rights (1689)
is not protected, democracy is under real threat.
and the American constitutional amendments of
At the moment there is little political will to grasp
the same name (1791), is freedom of speech. This
this nettle with firm government action. A few
right was seen as a natural law long before either
years hence we may look back and wonder how
of these formal declarations was made. The 1534
we got into this position. Perhaps the answer will
English Treason Act set out for the first time in
be that those we thought threatened democracy
law that speech alone could constitute treason.
were really no threat at all. Whilst watching
It was met with abject horror by the political
them we neglected the much more sinister forces
classes; it was soon repealed and has found no
undermining free speech and subtly eroding our
place in our laws since. I have long admired the
democracy. We might want to take this seriously
constitutional position in the USA that speech is
now- in ten years’ time will this article even be
free as long as no crime is incited. Free speech
publishable? I’ll leave you with that thought.
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