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07/12/2021

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For centuries on the day after the Christian holiday of Pentecost (and later on the Spring Bank Holiday in the UK), Cooper’s Hill in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, England has been home to a competition known as the Cheese Rolling. The hill is almost completely vertical, having a 1:2 gradient, equivalent to a 26.57-degree slope. The round of cheese has, on occasion, reached speeds of up to 70 miles per hour. The Cheese Rolling is a long-established tradition, occurring for at least 600 years, the run after a round of native cheese has uncertain origins. It has been posited that the catcher of the cheese would win the right to let their livestock graze in that area; another potential origin is that the cheese-rolling was an ancient Celtic fertility ritual. But in the modern-day, the only prize is glory. And, of course, the cheese.

06/12/2021

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Popular sovereignty is a core democratic value in the United States. Popular sovereignty refers to the fact that political authority is given to the people in the United States. Citizens of the country hold the highest level of authority in politics. The people choose what policies they want to be enacted and which people they want to lead. A part of popular sovereignty is majority rule. Majority rule is another core democratic principle in which the government enacts the wishes of the majority. At the federal level, the most common way citizens exercise popular sovereignty is through voting for elected officials. They want to elect people who they believe will protect their interests and pass policies they support. For example, if someone supports abortion rights, he or she will most likely vote for a candidate who supports abortion rights and is committed to protecting the right to abortion.

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05/12/2021

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Equality of opportunity is a value shared by many Americans that states that it should be allowed for people to attempt to reach their fullest potential by using any wealth or talents that they have. People who believe in the equality of opportunity believe that everyone should have an equal chance to attain power if they want to try to and if they have talent. They also believe that social conditions need to ensure the equality of opportunity. People who believe in the equality of opportunity believe that anyone, regardless of socioeconomic status, race, gender, etc can achieve success if they have talent and try hard enough. An example of the equality of opportunity would be banning racial discrimination in the college admission process so that people of every race have an equal opportunity to be accepted, with only their talent and work ethic being deciding factors.

04/12/2021

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Greece has introduced fines on all citizens over the age of 60 who refuse to get the covid vaccine. Those that are still not vaccinated by mid-January will be subject to monthly €100 fines until they get the vaccine. The money the government collects from the new law will go towards the health system. Greece is the first EU country to make the vaccine mandatory for a certain age group. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he struggled with the decision but it was “the price to pay for health”. The main opposition party, the left-wing Syriza, labelled the new law excessive and punitive. 63% of Greece’s 11 million population is vaccinated. There are roughly 520,000 people over the age of 60 who are still unvaccinated as the country experiences an average of 6500 new cases per day.

04/12/2021

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Socialization is how people learn and conform to the values, beliefs, and norms of their society. Socialization happens through interaction whereby people learn norms, expectations, and roles in society. In the political sphere, socialization refers to how people form a political identity through different agents of socialization. Agents of socialization are social institutions that influence a person’s individual beliefs and values. Through political socialization, people learn the beliefs and values of a particular political ideology and internalize them. Some different political agents of socialization are family, friends, school, religion, etc. Some believe that the most important political agent of socialization is the family. Conversations about politics can happen at home and parents/guardians’ views can be unconsciously absorbed by their children. It has been found that most children follow their parents in regard to party affiliation. For example, if someone’s parents are Democrats, that child will most likely also be a Democrat and vice versa. Political socialization can also happen through peers. Individuals might want to conform to their peers’ political behaviour/opinions because of pressure to do so.

03/12/2021

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lThe partial lockdown has been extended in the Netherlands. The government has additionally imposed new measures that entered into effect on Sunday, November 28. Social distancing and mask-wearing was reinstated earlier in the month along with restrictions on opening and closing times. The new rules impose a closing time of 5:00 p.m. on all non-essential businesses such as stores, cultural venues, restaurants and gyms. Essential businesses such as grocery stores and law offices can stay open until 8:00 p.m with a show of the coronavirus entry pass. Sporting events are not allowed to have spectators. Schools from daycare to university are still open for in-person learning. The government has announced that these measures will be reevaluated on December 14th and are to stay in place until at least December 19th. The Netherlands is seeing an average rate of approximately 22,000 new cases a day and has a vaccination rate of 70.6%.

03/12/2021

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NATO leaders met in Riga, Latvia to discuss the mobilization of Russian troops along the Ukrainian border. The Russian Federation has amassed more than 100,000 personnel along with a substantial amount of heavy equipment along its border. The war in Ukraine between the government and Russian backed separatists is still active and has taken roughly 14,000 lives since 2014. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg declared that Russia would pay a “high price if they once again use force against the independence of the nation of Ukraine”. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned of “serious consequences” in the event of Russian aggressive action. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said that his country would seek more weapons from the United States in a bid to tie itself closer to NATO and the EU. In a speech commemorating the anniversary of the annexation of the Crimea, President Vladimir Putin defended the troop movements saying Russia had the right to move its troops wherever it wished within its territory. He called a potential installation of NATO missile systems in Ukraine with capabilities of hitting Moscow in minutes a “red line”. Putin continued saying that Russia would create a similarly threatening situation for NATO countries with its newly developed hypersonic missile systems.

03/12/2021

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Turkey is experiencing a near 20% inflation rate and one of the worst crashes in the value of its currency in recent memory. The Lira has lost 43% in 2020 and 27% in November alone. As of Tuesday, November 30th, it is trading at 13.40 to the dollar compared to 3.50 in 2017. The inflation follows the lowering of interest by Turkey’s central bank which is largely influenced by president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The president’s stated goal is to revitalize the Turkish economy by providing easier loans. Erdogan announced that he “will not defend” raising interest rates and would “never compromise” on the issue. The president’s control of the central bank and his stance on interest rates have received widespread criticism. Tweeting about the president’s policy, a former deputy governor of the central bank stated that the government “needs to abandon this irrational experiment, which has no chance of success”. Opposition parties have called for a reversal of the policy and snap elections. Erdogan responded that he does not intend to call elections and that they will proceed as planned in 2023.

02/12/2021

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Fiji is sending 50 troops to the Solomon Islands to assist its government with the recent unrest that has gripped the island nation’s capital of Honiara. The Fijian troops will join the roughly 150 Australian and Papua New Guinean troops already on the ground. The Solomon Islands erupted with demonstrations and riots protesting the administration of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. Protests started due to poverty, corruption and the central government’s decision to recognize China in favour of Taiwan in 2019. A significant number of the protestors came from Malaita, the country’s most populous province while the rest came from the outskirts of Honiara. The province of Malaita still recognizes Taiwan and has a ban on Chinese companies. Some in Malaita feel that their populace is not receiving adequate representation in the national government. Celsus Talifilu, a member of the Malaita government says he was surprised by the international coalition’s decision to send in troops as he believes his constituents are “the last ones standing for democracy” in the nation. Sogavare stated that he believes the riots were instigated by “foreign powers”. The riots left 3 people dead and areas of the capital burnt to the ground including its police station, and parts of the parliament complex and Chinatown.

02/12/2021

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At least 20 Sudanese soldiers were left dead after an apparent attack by Ethiopian forces in the border region of Al-Fashaga. The Al-Fashaga triangle is a fertile agricultural zone claimed by both Sudan and Ethiopia. The Sudanese government sent its armed forces to secure the area for the harvest in light of the ongoing Civil War in Ethiopia and last year's border clashes where Sudan took over most of the region. The Sudanese Armed Forces announced on Facebook that the attack by both the Ethiopian army and militias in the region “resulted in deaths” but that the Sudanese managed to inflict “heavy losses in lives and equipment on the attackers”. Regional news sources also claimed that there were dozens of civilians left dead and wounded by the violence. Ethiopian government spokesman Legasse Tulu said in a broadcast announcement that the claims were “baseless information that is disseminated by multiple media that our army attacked Sudan.”. Tulu also stated that the “Ethiopian Defence Force has no agenda of attacking any sovereign country”.

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02/12/2021

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Germany’s energy regulator has delayed the certification of the controversial Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline that connects the country with Russia, claiming it is not yet compliant with German law. The reason behind this is that Nord Stream 2 AG, the Gazprom-controlled company that owns the pipeline, is registered in Switzerland and not Germany. This has led to an increase in the price of gas in the continent, which adds to the already critical situation which has resulted in shortages and especially high prices in the European energy market. The pipeline itself is criticised by environmentalists as well as European leaders who see it as a tightening of German dependence on Russian gas, which may weaken the European Union’s energy security and hampers Polish and Ukrainian interests.

14/10/2021

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On October 7th, Google stated that it will "prohibit ads for, and monetization of, content that contradicts well-established scientific consensus around the existence and causes of climate change." Google marketers, publishers who run Google ads, and YouTube creators are all affected by the policy changes. The new restrictions will go into effect the following month, just in time for world leaders to attend a United Nations summit aimed at speeding up action to combat climate change. This might put pressure on Google's advertising rival Facebook Inc. to crack down on climate misinformation. Google’s team has specifically put a ban on "Content referring to climate change as a hoax or a scam, claims denying that long-term trends show the global climate is warming, and claims denying that greenhouse gas emissions or human activity contribute to climate change."

16/08/2021

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According to a recent report published by two UN agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Program (WFP), global hunger is expected to rise in 23 hotspots in the next three months, meaning over 41 million people are at risk of facing acute food insecurity marked by starvation and death. Reasons include the pandemic, armed conflicts, pests and droughts. The ‘’catastrophic’’ situations take place mostly in African States such as Ethiopia, Madagascar, Yemen, South Sudan and Nigeria, but countries from other regions such as Afghanistan, North Korea and Colombia were also included. In a previous report, FAO and WFP said at least 155 million people faced famine in 2020, meaning the number will have escalated close to 200 million in 2021.

16/08/2021

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On Sunday, August 15, the Taliban entered Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, following their capture of other key cities in the past week - Jalalabad, giving them control of one of the main highways into landlocked Afghanistan, and Mazar-i-Sharif, close to the border with Uzbekistan. The capital was captured despite a US intelligence estimate released last week which said Kabul could hold out for at least three months. The capture of Kabul took place after former President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, which, he explained, was motivated by a desire to avoid bloodshed in Kabul, instead enabling the Taliban to take control with very little fighting. A Taliban statement released late on Sunday assured both Afghans and foreigners that they would be safe and said the group’s rapid gains showed it was popularly accepted by the Afghan people. However, tens of thousands of people have been trying to flee Afghanistan because of what the UN Secretary General called ‘serious human rights violations’; more than 60 countries called on the Taliban to allow people to leave. Embassies, including the American and the Saudi one, have been evacuated. The US declared it would be sending additional 1,000 troops to Afghanistan, bringing the total to 6,000, to complete the safe withdrawal of US nationals and Afghan support staff.

15/08/2021

Dear Balance the Ballot Community,

Over the past 3 years, myself and the rest of the BtB team have strived to produce high-quality, consistent, and timely news coverage.

Over the past month or so, the admin team, myself in particular have not fulfilled our duties. We let down not only our readers, but also our writers who continued to produce articles that have not been posted.

We wanted to take this opportunity to apologize to our community and let you know that we will strive to improve and not let this happen again.

Thank you,

Beckett

30/07/2021

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Noor Mukadam, the 27-year-old daughter of Pakistan’s former Ambassador to South Korea and Kazakhstan, was abducted, murdered, and beheaded by socialite Zahir Jaffer in his residence at Islamabad’s posh F-7/4 Sector on July 20, 2021. While the exact relationship between the two is unknown, the two are rumoured to have known each other since childhood and to have previously been in a romantic relationship. Jaffer has since been arrested, and the police have also apprehended his parents and housekeepers for aiding and abetting. Authorities are currently treating the investigation as a pre-meditated murder, after discovering that Jaffer had booked a flight to the United States of America for July 21, 2021—the day after Mukadam was murdered. Furthermore, the Pakistani authorities have recently submitted to the public’s demand that Jaffer be placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) due to the booked flight and his U.S. Citizenship. In response to speculation that Jaffer’s family is preparing a defense for insanity, Jaffer’s employment profile as the Chief Brand Strategist for his family’s company, Ahmed Jaffer & Company (Pvt) Ltd., has gone viral on social media through the hashtag . Mukadam’s father, Shaukat Mukadam, has since spoken to PM Imran Khan’s Special Assistant, Shahbaz Gill. Gill stated that he will request the court to ”not treat it as an ordinary case,” and that “this family should be given the justice at any cost.”
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30/07/2021

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Thurgood Marshall was the first Black Supreme Court Justice of the United States. Before becoming a judge, he argued many successful cases before the Supreme Court, including 30 Supreme Court victories. Marshall argued most of these cases, including his most famous case of Brown v. Board of Education. through his role of founder and executive director of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. In 1967, Marshall was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Lyndon B. Johnson. During his 24 years as an Associate Justice, Marshall served as a liberal voice on the Court. He followed the legal philosophy of judicial activism, stating that “you do what you think is right and let the law catch up.”

30/07/2021

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The company Ben and Jerry's has announced on Monday, July 19th , that it will cease to sell ice cream in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The company stated that business in the territories was "inconsistent with the values of their socially conscious brand". As a result, they have decided against renewing their previous agreement of sales when it expires at the end of 2022. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has responded to the move by calling it "morally wrong" and continued to state that "Ben and Jerry's has decided to brand itself as the anti-Israel ice cream" after doing business there for over thirty years. Unilever, the UK firm that has owned the Vermont-based ice cream company since 2000, has publicly noted that the decision was made by Ben and Jerry's independent board, but it remains "fully committed" to a continued presence in Israel.

27/07/2021

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The final victim of the collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, has been found. The remains belong to Estelle Hedaya, 54, who lived on the sixth floor of the 12-story complex. Hedaya was the only victim unrecovered when firefighters concluded their search on July 23rd. With Hedaya identified, the total death count of the collapse is now at 98; 97 people were found in the debris of the building, and one person died at the hospital on June 24th from injuries sustained during the collapse.

27/07/2021

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The Republic of the Philippines obtained their first ever Olympic Gold Medal in history on July 26, 2021 at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, after Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz achieved a total score of 224 kg in the Women's 55kg Category. Diaz surpassed Chinese weightlifter Qiuyun Liao's 223 kg score and Kazakhstani weightlifter Zulfiya Chinshanlo's 213 kg score. Diaz's recent win placed the Philippines at a tie with Austria, Ecuador, Hong Kong, Iran, Norway, Thailand, and Uzbekistan for the 16th place in the current Olympic Medal Count ranking.

27/07/2021

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Team USA broke their gold medal streak in the gymnastics team competition, earning a silver medal and placing behind the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). The last time the USA lost a team final in the Olympics was in the 2008 Beijing games. The ROC won by 3.432, meaning that no single mistake by Team USA caused the ROC; however, the U.S. suffered from Jordan Childe’s fall on floor and Simone Biles low score on vault. Biles also withdrew from the team final competition, which was attributed to a medical issue by USA Gymnastics and a mental health issue by the Olypics broadcast.

26/07/2021

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California firefighters are now using smarter, more advanced computer technology to predict fires before they happen. These systems check for weather conditions that would make fires more likely: for instance, dry winds and lightning. This allows Cal Fire planners the chance to have fire engines, bulldozers, and aircraft crews stationed at potential wildfire locations ahead of time. Because of the forecasting, California has been able to maintain 95% of wildfires to 10 acres on average. Besides monitoring the weather, firefighters have also used military drones to construct heat imaging maps and locate smoke.

26/07/2021

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Queensland and New South Wales have updated their terminology when referring to shark attacks. According to Florida Museum's International Shark Attack File, these Australian states experienced the largest number of reported shark attacks in Australia since 1700. The language shift comes as an attempt to change the public attitude towards the animals. Officials claim that phrases such as 'shark attack' frame sharks as deadly, violent creatures, and can often make protecting threatened shark species increasingly tedious. Instead, 'attacks' will be called 'bites,' while human interactions with sharks will be referred to as 'encounters' and 'incidents.'

26/07/2021

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A recent study in Iceland has found that fewer hours of work for the same amount of pay does not harm productivity and actually increases overall well-being. The research study, conducted from 2015 to 2019, examined workers who went from a 40 hour per week work schedule to a 35 or 36 hour one. These changes to work schedules occurred for a wide variety of Icelandic occupations, including employees at daycares, hospitals, police stations and Reykjavik government offices. At the end, participants reported that they felt less stressed and more energized in their careers. Because of the study's results, 86% of Iceland's workers have already pushed for shorter work hours.

25/07/2021

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The Quiet Revolution of the 1960s was a period of intense social change and modernization in the Canadian province of Québec. Following the “Great Darkness” years under the traditionalist Catholic government of Maurice Duplessis, the first major manifestation of the Revolution was the election of the Liberals under Jean Lesage in 1960. After the new government took office, sweeping reforms were passed, including the establishment of a secular public school system, the nationalization of hydroelectricity, and establishing workers’ right to strike. However, the most enduring contribution of Lesage to modern Québec was the establishment of a uniquely French-Canadian identity. Espousing the slogan “Masters of our own home”, Lesage withdrew Québec from dozens of federal programs and pursued autonomous relations with France for cultural and educational purposes. These moves led to tensions with the Canadian government, which reached their peak with the October Crisis of 1970, where a nationalist terror group kidnapped and assassinated officials from both Britain and Canada. The imposition of martial law and arbitrary detention angered many Quebecers and served as the catalyst for the Québec sovereignty movement, which held two referendums on independence while in office that were turned down by the population.

25/07/2021

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Bayard Rustin was one of the foremost leaders and organizers of the civil rights movement. He was instrumental in organizing the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Montgomery Bus Boycott, and was the main organizer of the March on Washington in 1963. He was also an advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. However, Rustin was rarely a public face of the movement, because he was an openly gay man and a member of the communist party. In 2013, Rustin was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

15/07/2021

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The German car manufacturing giant Volkswagen will stop making combustion engines in the European continent by 2035, according to board member Klaus Zellmer. During an interview with the Münchner Merkur newspaper, Zellmer stated the company is preparing for a toughening of EU climate regulations and will thus phase out its production of combustion engines in Europe between 2033 and 2035. Zellmer stated that the move would arrive ‘’a bit later’’ in China and that the forecast for Africa and South America is still unknown, due to lack of electrical mobility infrastructure.

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Writer:@allygator.keller Media:@beckettmcdowell Queensland and New South Wales have updated their terminology when referring to shark attacks. According to Florida Museum's International Shark Attack File, these Australian states experienced the largest number of reported shark attacks in Australia since 1700. The language shift comes as an attempt to change the public attitude towards the animals. Officials claim that phrases such as 'shark attack' frame sharks as deadly, violent creatures, and can often make protecting threatened shark species increasingly tedious. Instead, 'attacks' will be called 'bites,' while human interactions with sharks will be referred to as 'encounters' and 'incidents.' #politics #news #currentevents #politica #politik #politicalscience #politicalcompass #balancetheballot #youth #voting #mun #debate #discussion #politicaldebate#shark #Australia #Queensland #NewSouthWales #nature #animals #ocean

Today marks 3 years since BTB's first post and the start of our journey as an organization. Over the last 3 years, we grew from a small group of friends who had a casual interest in politics to over 60 students from every walk of life. Throughout our journey, we have had great writers come and go and had the honor of providing a platform to students who have gone on to study at top universities around the world. I'd like to thank everyone that has contributed to this organization, whether they be a writer, media manager, or some of the 100s of accounts who have been kind enough to promote our project. Thank you most of all to our readers: without you this journey would not have been worthwhile. We have learned so much through this project, and continue to evolve and overcome as we mature as a group, and I maintain high hopes for this group for years to come. We have written over 5000 articles, and hopefully sparked meaningful conversations and helped bring people together, rather than push them apart. We will continue to improve and are excited for our future, we hope all of you will stick along for the ride.

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