Which countries are the most culturally accepting and why?

December 22, 2017 Thanh Nguyen Tu

...Everyone needs to respect people individual’s rights. This allows the country to have diversity of religion, race, nationality, etc...

Parents should have an authoritarian role with their children, not a friendship

December 22, 2017 Thanh Nguyen Tu

Date: Saturday, April 16, 2016

Participants (from 15 countries):

Host: Rick

Co-Host: Johny

Teams

Panel PRO (Team A): Haary, Hashim, Imad

Panel CON (Team B): Malika, Johny, Flory, Mary Ann, Jami, Masato, JA, Marwa

Audience (Team C): Behnam, Atila, Ganaa, Lala, Seif, Filbert, Tibi, Amine, Boboty

Team A summary:

(Some points may be hard to read but this is what the participants used as argument).

Being friendly may allow children to disobey our orders or not paying attention to our instructions (as parents).
Children in the past might have been more obedient so that parents could be friendlier with them but nowadays, children are different and parents are taking a harder approach.
Being authoritarian at home is like being a boss in a company: imparting discipline and make sure the rules and regulations are respected. Children would respect their elders and as long as they are respectful and obedient to the elders, they should be rewarded but if they don’t, they would be punished.
Discipline cannot be taught using friendship.
Just like in an organization, parents should be the masters and rulers of their kids.
Children must obey parents.
Parents should show children are under their control and they must follow parents’ order and rules.
In order to be respected, parents should set limits.
If children feel afraid of parents, that’s ok because it’s for their own benefit.
If parents are friendly, children feel they can do whatever they want.
For children who are not mature enough, in order to know what’s good for them, they need to be ruled and they should follow and obey their parents and parents should not be tolerant towards them.
Parents have the authority and power over them to make them go towards “the right path”.

Team B summary:

If we show an authoritarian behavior to children all the time, the child may feel we don’t understand him/her or that we don’t love him/her because being a friend is a way to show love as well.
Show compassion, understanding and love, and you will have a better relationship with your children. Show them nothing but a lash, and no wonder why children become rebel and do things against us.
Being less strict and authoritarian in some things will open the door to mutual understanding. Children will understand that you also have feelings and that you are a person who they reach and talk in a friendly way.
Although respecting the parent is important, sometimes when the parent is too strict and authoritarian, the parent come across as not respecting the child, because too much hardship means not considering how the child feels. It comes across as just giving orders without taking in account what the child feels.
Being friendly and explaining things in a friendly way are a much more effective way to reach out the kid than just giving orders.
Some parents do not know the line between being strict and being abusive.
Children also have minds and opinions which should be respected as well. After all, they are human beings too and they have right to be heard. Showing we care and respect their opinion will strengthen the bond between parent and child.
If we are nothing but authoritarian with our children will constitute a retrogression to their ability to think by themselves because they get used to being told what to do. In other words, if they only receive orders, when they grow up, they will prefer to be told what to do because that’s the way they were brought up. This represents a genuine problem to their self-confidence because if they were told what do, if they were only given orders, then the person would be afraid of making their own decisions.
Children are a gift and we, as parents, should guide them in a friendly and comprehensive way not being their masters because they are not our property, they have mind and feelings, they are not an object to be controlled.
Friendship and love are a better gate-way to mutual understanding than just orders.
Trying to understand the child’s mistake and being friendly about it is better than punishing because kids don’t always understand punishment. Especially infants who don’t understand why they are being punished and why the thing they did was bad. Most children when they learn, they don’t learn from punishment, they learn from explanations.
In situations where parents are strict and authoritarian towards study and career, it’s essential to understand first the child’s limitations. If we don’t consider what they child is capable or not capable to cope with, they can get a nervous breakdown and if we keep on pushing them, they can even commit suicide due to the overwhelming pressure coming from their parents.
Children need understanding, not punishments.
If we manage our kids in the wrong way and always beat them and punish them for their mistakes, when they grow up and have their own kids, they may follow the same bad example.
When it comes to have a conversation about delicate topics, such as sexuality, it is better that we keep a friendly conversation and relationship otherwise, they would go to seek answers to other places. If we let that happen, we then let the door open to all sort of situations where the kids gets the wrong information or encouragement to do the wrong thing.
If we keep an authoritarian behavior and treating the children like if you were a dictator and they your servants, and reinforce punishment and orders, then in the future when the kid have some troubles and need someone to talk to, they will be afraid to come to you because they will associate you with that image. It’s better to keep a friendly environment because that will give better results.
Being friendly towards kids will help them develop their decision making skills, self-confidence and self-esteem.
Being friendly also gives children an opportunity to open themselves and express themselves more freely because if we show an authoritarian attitude, they will feel nervous, afraid and closed to you.
We need to teach children to have a good relationship with others and we do so by setting the example.
Some parents abuse their power over their children and it is when we see all those cases of child abuse.
A family is not a military group: a good relationship is based on love, understanding, compassion, trust and mutual respect not on the capacity to follow orders.
Is not only about giving orders: When children are in a phase of developing and discovering their own personality and identity, the lack of privacy and the lack respect for their space, meaning, taking out their ability to understand situations by a friendly talk, will affect them negatively for the rest of their lives. They can even develop negative complexes when they grow older.
Your child is your child, not your slave.
It’s important to teach children about life, what’s good, what’s bad, what’s wrong but this doesn’t mean that only the way to do it is by giving order and being authoritarian. These objectives can perfectly accomplished by adopting a friendly attitude and approach. There is no rule that dictates that the only way to do it is by being strict and authoritarian.
Being a friendly father or mother doesn’t mean your child will not respect you. Respect is earned in both sides. You gain respect by proving good values and advices which your child can use in real life situations and the child earns respect by following those advices and guidelines. You don’t necessarily have to be hard on them to make your point come across.

Questions segment:

Imad’s question: “When your child smoke and come home late, are you going to still be friend with him/her?”

Flory’s answer: “What my life has shown me is that I get better results when I handle the situation in a friendly way. If all we do is blaming them and questioning them, you never actually make them do good things.”

Johny’s answer: “Let’s expand the example: say the kid is a teenager hanging out with his girlfriend, and stayed outside past the agreed hour. When he comes back, I would tell him that I and his mother were sick worried and that her mother even had a health problem due to the worries and that I had to calm her down and deal with her and with the uncertainty of not knowing where he was. If I explain the reason for why was a certain hour to come back, that will have a greater impact in his psyche than just giving him an order. For me, it will be more effective to make them understand the reason for why he should come home at certain hour and not only because ‘I said so’.”

Marwa’s answer: (Paraphrased): Most youngsters want to experience life. Even if you tell them not to do those things, they will still do one or two of these things because they want to experience those things and come up with their own conclusions of what is good and what is wrong. It is people’s nature to do what we want, to do what we feel we need to do. When they start doing things that we don’t want them to do, is not because they are bad in nature, it’s not because we are not doing a good job pas parents either; it is just because there is something missing. If I adopt an authoritarian role and expect them to tell me why they did it, they will just lie to me and make up excuses. However, if I find a way to show them they are doing wrong while respecting their decision to do it, they can learn in the long run. Because is not a matter of beating them and ordering them, it is a matter of guidance and making them understand the reasons for why we set certain rules and limits.

Johny’s question: “for people who have had jobs; did you feel closer to your boss or to your friend?”

Imad’s answer: “The relationship between the boss and the employee is based on whether you obey or not his orders. You can change your boss but you cannot change your parents.”

Marwa’s question: “Do you want to live your own dreams or do you want to follow other people’s dreams? In order words, do you want to do what you want or what you parents want?”

Imad’s answer: “We all want to live our own lives but, since your parents look for what’s best for you, they give you orders. You live in a society and in a family; you cannot do things by your own."

Marwa’s rebuttal: “we cannot judge all people and all family by the same standards. Many sons and daughters have ruined their lives by following what parents told them to do. Not all parents know what is best for them.” Meaning that not all people are perfect with perfect values and can foresee the future. “In the end, you would rather feel you have made your own decisions and if they were wrong, at least you would not blame your parents because it would have been your own decisions. “

Team C summary:

We have to look into our values and makes decisions based upon our values. We cannot our live our lives by our parents; we should make our own decisions.
When you become an adult, you are responsible for your own decisions. When you have a family you are responsible for how you raise your children, not your parents. You cannot put that responsible on anybody else nor can you put that responsibility on a culture.
It’s a personal choice how you live your live, it’s not a matter of culture, is not about traditions, it’s a personal choice of how you want to live your life.
Parents play many roles in a child’s life, not only as friends.
Parents should be dynamic and know what attitude to adopt. You cannot treat a toddler in the same way you treat a teenager.
A teenager prefer a friend over an authority because they are in a phase where they are looking for their identities, deciding what they like, what they want, and want to get rid of orders.
There is no a single answer. We cannot judge all situations, countries and cultures by one answer. Parents should understand the times we are living as well as their children. Being authoritarian and being friendly and many other approaches are just tools and parents should make use of all tools as possible to raise a kid successfully.
Despite the traditions, nobody has the right to neither impose their will upon others not to give orders to anyone.
Children share more things with a friend than with an order giver.

Votes:

Behnam remained undecided.
Amine remained undecided.
Ganaa voted for team B.
Seif voted for team B.
Lala remained undecided.

Team B won this debate. Thanks everyone for participating. To listen to this discussion, click on the links below:

Listen Online:

Download:

Authoritarian parents vs Friendly parents | Recording File | January 30th 2016

For people who did not join the live discussion, feel free to contribute the ideas in the comment blanks below.

Money motivates people more than any other factor in the workplace

April 27, 2017 Thanh Nguyen Tu

Date: Friday, June 10, 2016

Participants (from 10 countries)

Host: Rick

Co-Host: Johny

Format: Discussion (was planned as a debate however decided to have a more generalized discussion using a Pro/Con format)

Pro:

A lot of people are motivated by monetary incentives, because this is something tangible
The realities of life, housing expenses, food, transportation, health insurance etc. require that you make money, therefore this is the primary driver
For many people, success is defined by income levels, therefore the higher the income, the more successful you are
Some people see higher wages are way to improve their quality of life
In some countries, where other career associated "benefits" are not available to employees, increase pay may be the only factor that matters
More money = more power/authority

Con:

Stability is more important, particularly if you have family responsibilities. Having a high paying job that will not last will not help you to take care of your responsibilities in the long term
Other factors that are very important to people: Purpose, Stability, Benefits, Socialization, Happiness
In some cases in depends on the type of job, some people are service oriented i.e. teachers, nurses, social workers etc. For many of these people, the purpose in providing services to others is the highest calling
A healthy work environment, good relationships with co-workers, etc is very important. In the USA, the average person may work about 40 hours per week, which at the end of their career, adds up to a significant portion of their life in the workplace. So, having a good work environment is important for long term health and happiness
Values and principles will determine success in the work environment, not the amount of money they earn
"Service to others is the rent you pay for your time on earth"
"People will forget what you said, what you did but not how you made them feel"
Experience and credentials are the most important factors for motivating people

Listen Online:

Download:

Google Drive | Dropbox

The grading systems used in schools are effective in measuring the amount of knowledge gained by the student

April 17, 2017 Thanh Nguyen Tu

Date: Saturday, July 16, 2016

Participants (from 4 countries):

USA: Rick | Argentina: Johny | Iran: Behnam, Noorola, Hanieh, Rojhano | Egypt: Zeinab

Host: Rick

Co-Host: Johny

Format: General Discussion

There needs to be some way to measure a students progress in learning a subject, and historically the current grading systems have done the job satisfactorily
Many grading systems measure the capability to memorize things i.e. quizzes, but not really understand the detail behind any subject
Grades do not give an accurate picture of what people have learned, rather its a snapshot in time
A more appropriate way of measuring knowledge would be to use a grading systems based on practical application of the knowledge to a skill, task etc.
Black and white scores kills creativity
Just as individuals learn in various ways, the way to measure knowledge could also rely on multiple variables
As a point of interest, Einstein did not pass high school, so what does this say about using grading systems to gauge knowledge?

It was an interesting discussion. Thanks everyone for participating. Below are the links to listen to it.

Listen Online:

Download:

Google Drive | Dropbox

Student athletes should have good grades before being allowed to play sports

April 17, 2017 Thanh Nguyen Tu

Date: Saturday, June 4, 2016

Participants (from 10 countries):

Host: Rick

Co-Host: Johny

Team A: Jesson, Amin

Team B: Rojhano, Grace, Hanieh

Team C: Johny, Behnam, Noorola, Elham, Oleg, Maria, Jami, Haitham

Listeners: Bahare, CS, Ayisha

Team A summary:

It’s an educational institution and students go there with the primary purpose to achieve their academic goals.
Athletic programs are considered an extracurricular activity, with participation being a privilege and not a right, therefore minimum academic standards should be maintained for all students.
It’s not good if the institutes use athletic programs to popularize their institutes. this detracts from the primary purpose of higher education.
Focusing only on academic programs will not secure the future for the vast majority of students, even those involved in these programs. Their academic studies are important for their long term future.

Team B summary:·

If they are good at sports, they should be also good at studies. Both require dedication and commitment to excellence.
No one person can be good at everything.
Being a good athlete is enough, we should not ask too much of the students nor create a stressful environment for the students.
Some students are not good at studies but they are good at what they know. All students should be given the same opportunities, regardless of their academic standings.
Some parents want their kids to be involved in athletic programs and will support their efforts, regardless of their academic standings. Since in many of these cases the parents are paying for the tuition, shouldn't their expectations also be considered?
Playing sports helps them learn the importance of team work, as well as leadership, and these skills will help them throughout their lives.
Taking away sports from them can impact their motivation and lead to even more substandard scores.
Some students are not good at studies and should be they are treated for who they are.

Team C summary:

As long as they are already doing the best they can; as long as they are giving 100%, if they are not able to meet the other requirements that should be enough.
If we ask them more than what they do it can cause negative impact in the lives.

Votes:·

Johny was not able to vote.
Behnam voted for team B.
Noorola voted for team A.
Elham voted for team B.

Team B won this debate. Thanks everyone for participating! Below are the links to listen to this discussion.

Listen Online:

Download:

Google Drive | Dropbox

Immigrant assimilation is an important part of a healthy society

March 16, 2017 Thanh Nguyen Tu

...When a society with diversity has people that respect each other can be a very healthy society because we all bring things to the table, we have ideas and different views that can be very beneficial for a community...

Watch YouTube videos wherever is blocked - Tutorial

March 6, 2017 Johny Stark

This tutorial is intended to help you work around the blockage that some governments impose and still watch YouTube videos in your device. For example, if you live in Iran and you cannot see YouTube videos, this tutorial will help you.

This method works in computers and Android devices and you don't need to install any software at all.

The steps to follow are these:

Step 1:

Copy the YouTube video URL (most URLs begin with http:// or https:// or www. )
This is an example of a URL address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmNpEOxoNVw

Step 2:

Open this website: https://www.converto.io/en

Step 3:

Paste the Youtube URL into the box

Step 4:

Once you have pasted the link, the conversion option should appear above the box along with the name of the video and the thumbnail. It will look like this:

Step 5:

Select the format MP4 if you want to have the whole video, or select MP3 if you want just the audio. Then press the "convert" button. After some seconds (depending on how long the video is) you will receive the message "Your download is ready. Click here to start downloading"
Download the video and that is all. You have successfully avoided the YouTube blockage.

Feel free to comment and give feedback about this tutorial.

The most important factor in a quality and successful relationship is mutual respect

February 24, 2017 Thanh Nguyen Tu

Date: Saturday, June 11, 2016

Participants (from 13 countries):

Host: Rick

Co-Host: Johny

Teams

Panel PRO (Team A): Jami, Eshaal, Salima, Amin

Panel CON (Team B): Johny, Djamila, Faycel, Sara

Audience (Team C): Rojhano,

Just listening: Henieh, Saifi, Elham

Late: George, Jahangir, Heytham, Zahir, Yesser, Mohiuddin, Hamzabat, Ayisha, Soso, Noorola, Oleg.

Team A summary:

Jami:

It is important because one hand washes the other. If someone tells us that they have an idea we should respect it not matter how bad we think their idea is. If we don’t respect each other, people won’t listen to us. Respect is welcome and necessary in any kind of relationship.

Eshaal:

Mutual respect sustains a relationship: Love and friendship is not enough; we need to respect and compromise and in order to compromise we need to listen and at least tolerate each other’s opinion. A person who does not respect the other person cannot tolerate the other person and in a romantic relationship love will fade away but what can sustain that relationship will be respect.

Salima:

Every relationship needs mutual respect, without it we could not communicate for a long time. Having mutual respect will make the relationship grow day by day and it would bring quality to the relationship.

Amin:

Definition of the term: When talking about relationships, people or countries, we can re-define “mutual respect” as accepting others no matter what their differences are. Despite the fact that there is already a definition in the dictionary, people define the term in many different ways so we can define “mutual respect” as just treating others in the same way we want to be treated.

As for the importance: it makes relationships stronger.

Team B summary:

Johny:

Mutual respect is not “the most” important factor. Human relationships are complicated and we can’t reduce its complexity to just one factor. A successful relationship is not based on just one factor and even though mutual respect is extremely important, it is not THE MOST important factor. It’s true that people have their own definition of the term and a successful relationship is defined differently by people because it’s relative for each individual. You can respect the other people but if there is no love in the relationship, if there is no mutual support, the relationship won’t last long. There are other factors that that are either equally important or even more important such as love, support, communication, mutual understanding, tolerance, flexibility and commitment (just to mention a few).

Djamila:

Mutual respect, it’s obvious; it’s a given. In order to make a relationship work, mutual respect is not enough. Communication for example is important because the two parties need to have a good communication with each other. Commitment is also an important factor because we need to show the other person that the relationship is important to us and that it counts.
“The most important factor (for me: Djamila) is investment”. A relationship takes up a lot of investments from us because we need to invest our time, energy and effort to make the relationship work and last. We could though base our relationship on mutual respect alone and it can make it work for some time but it won’t last. A successful relationship is about giving and taking and this comes down to investment.

Sara:

In every kind of relationship there is no just one important factor. We can agree that Mutual respect is very important but it’s not necessarily the most important thing in a relationship. There are a lot of factor that all together can determine whether a relationship will be successful or not. For instance, Peace and support is important too. If there is peace and mutual support between the two, that can be considered as a successful relationship.

Team C summary:

Rojhano:

Mutual respect is not only important for individual relationships; it is also important for any kind of relationships within the society but is not the most important thing in a relationship. There have been many couples who respect each other but their lives were not a happy life.

Mutual understanding can be the most important thing in a relationship because who wouldn’t want the other person understand when we are happy, when we are sad, when we want don’t want to talk, our ups and downs? Knowing how much both can “feel” each other can be a very powerful thing in a relationship.

Another important factor could be mutual goals or “Aims”. If we don’t want to end up in the same place in the long run, we won’t last with one another.

Votes:

Rojhano voted for team B.

There have been people who came late in the call and you can hear what they said about this topic by listening to the recording down below.

Team B won this debate. Thanks everyone for participating. Below are the links to listen to this discussion:

Listen Online:

Download:

Google Drive | Dropbox

Teenage criminals should be locked up in adult prisons

February 13, 2017 Thanh Nguyen Tu

Date: Friday, June 3, 2016

Participants (from 11 countries):

Host: Rick

Co-Host: Johny

Teams

Panel PRO (Team A): Soso, Alex, George.

Panel CON (Team B): Hamzabat, Elham, Marwa, Hanieh, Abdur, Johny, Boboty, Seif.

Audience (Team C): Behnam, Djamila, Noorola.

Late: Atilla, Salima

Team A summary:

Teenagers can have the personality of an adult and would it would be appropriate for them to be in an adult prsion.
A criminal is a criminal, age doesn’t matter. A crime is a crime.
Criminals should be put in jails depending on the crime, not the age of the criminal.
They are going to jail. Not on vacations.
In order to differentiate the teenagers from the adults criminals; they can be put in different areas within the jail facility but yet, in the same facility.
Creating different kind of jails represent more expenditure for the government. Tax payers have to pay this additional cost when the money can go to other things such as health care and social services.
Teenagers would learn about the consequences of their actions.
It would simplify the judicial system, reducing cost.

Team B Summary:

Treating people depending on their acts rather than in their age is not a good idea because we don’t do that in our daily life. We do not treat a 10 years old child in the same way as a 30 years old person.
There is a major maturity difference between a teenager and an adult.
If teenagers are exposed to the hardened criminals, this can have lifelong consequences and diminish rehabilitative opportunities.
Though it may cost additional money to have separate facilities, if teenagers can be rehabilitated and not become repeat offenders/hardened criminals, in the long term money is saved.

Team C summary:

Votes:

Behnam voted for team A.
Djamila voted for team A.
Noorola voted for team B.

Team A won this debate. Thanks everyone for participating. Below are the links to listen to this discussion.

Listen Online:

Download:

Google Drive | Dropbox

Men should be the ones that take the initiative in relationships

February 6, 2017 Thanh Nguyen Tu

Date: Sunday, May 22, 2016

Participants (from 12 countries):

Host: Rick

Co-Host: Johny

Teams

Panel PRO (Team A): Masato

Panel CON (Team B): Jami, Noorola, Grace, Johny, Haitham

Audience (Team C): Seif, Haary, Soso, Alex, Behnam

Joined Late: Djamila, Manu

> Summary unavailable <

Team C summary:

Votes:

Soso voted for team B.
Behnam voted for team B.
Alex voted for team A.

Team B won this debate. Thanks everyone for participating. Below are the links to listen to this discussion.

Listen Online:

Download

Social media is destroying face to face relationships

January 26, 2017 Thanh Nguyen Tu

...Social media is just a tool and like all tools, it depends on the way we use it...

Prospective parents should adopt instead of giving birth in order to solve the world's overpopulation problem.

January 23, 2017 Thanh Nguyen Tu

...It is not sensible to prevent people to have their own children in order to adopt others who don’t have parents...

What are the causes of childhood obesity and how do we solve it?

January 20, 2017 Thanh Nguyen Tu

Date: Saturday, June 25, 2016

Participants (from 13 countries):

Host: Rick

Co-Host: Johny

Format: General Discussion

Elham:

She talks about genetics first, as being the first cause of obesity. Then, eating habits too. She thinks that the role of parents is important. It’s up to them take care of their children, teach them good eating habits and control their consumption. Moreover, school can play a role in educating children and teach them how to have and maintain healthy eating habits and practice sport.

Question to Elham from Rick: I know you enjoy doing Yoga, so do you think, when you do yoga, is it young people or older people that practice Yoga when you do it?

Elham: there are different people practicing Yoga.

Rick: Most people don’t think about young children when thinking about Yoga

Marwa: is that true that Yoga has really magical effects on body?

Elham: You can’t even imagine! For years I’ve practiced karate, I always loved exercise and I usually work out, but, Yoga is so different. If you do it the right way, you can feel the connection between your body and your soul. I recommend everyone to try it.

Marwa: There is a strong relationship between childhood and obesity. She provided some of the primary factors which are closely related to this phenomenon. She talked about stress as being the main cause of obesity. Then, she talked about bad eating habits but also, heredity, genetics and psychological mindset of the child which can cause obesity. In her case for example, she tends to eat whenever she feels anxious or stressed. She believes these different factors can increase the risks of obesity. She proposed some solutions like, supporting the child, push him and encourage him to practice sport.

Jami:

It could be partially genetic, also psychological. If there are issues in the family environment, children are likely to be obese.

Someone: the role of parents is important but in some ages it’s not easy to control the eating habits of children, for example, teenagers. Also, parents very often, they don’t even have good eating habits themselves, so they should take care of themselves first in order to educate their children. Concerning the exercise part, in my country, most schools are private; they don’t have enough space and any outside space and playground space where children can exercise. In theory, school is responsible too, but in practice, they are not equipped for that. Generations have changed and children don’t play outside like we used to do. They spent too much time on video games.

Rick: good point someone, we often as parents are kind of hypocritical, we tell our children to do something and we do another. As a parent, you’re probably the most important role model your children will ever have, if they see you do something, they will probably try to model it or mimic it. In the USA for example, we usually see parents and children doing exercise together which is a good example. Concerning school also, schools are not only for academic education, it should be balanced and focus on body and spirit education. Mind, body and spirit.

Behnam:

Obesity is a serious issue in many countries. There are some reasons that have been mentioned. I would add that pregnancy can be a cause. When a woman is pregnant, she gains a lot of weight, they sleep a lot and don’t have physical activity. Lazy mothers and women gaining weight during the pregnancy is not good for the baby. Another reason is that some families believe that chubby babies are cute and even healthy. They also believe that breast feeding is not good enough, so they use other alternative food which is bad for the child. The last reason is that there is a change in the diet of children; they tend to eat fast food and not vegetables. These days, both parents are working and they are busy, women don’t cook as they used to do, so they make fast food, which is not healthy. We need to change our habits.

Djamila:

Agrees with what he said about the parent’s habits. But, concerning what he said about the weight women gain and lack of breast feeding. I would say that, women gain weight but the child take only what he needs and the rest of it, it’s up to the mom to lose it. Concerning breast feeding, it’s healthy, but some women just can’t do that.

Marwa: in some cultures, the pregnant women is overfed in order to gain weight, because it’s a sign of beauty and healthy. They think that this will help the baby. The habits of a pregnant mom influence the future habits of her child.

George: childhood obesity rates are increasing and the definition of obesity and overweight has changed. The statistics show that being thin is not a fashion anymore. Overweight is defined as being the basic measurement index above 25 or below 95. We can all calculate that by dividing the person’s weight by the height. There is a balance between energy and body needs. Normally when we exercise, we need energy. The income level of the family is to take into consideration also, because, having a high or low income level can cause obesity, because sugar and fast food is cheaper and it is more expensive to eat healthy. In Japan for example, exercise is mandatory before any class, so government has a duty to educate children.

Djamila: There are different causes for obesity. First of all, parents. Adults are responsible, they buy food and they need to take time to cook for their children. Both parent’s works but they have to take time to cook healthy food and show the good example. The second reason is that, society influences children. Children nowadays spend too much time inside playing video games; they don’t play like we used to do. It has been proven that spending time in front and computers or TV increases the tendency to eat. The third reason can be related to psychological causes. When a child is already in the process of obesity, eating becomes a psychological need, not a biological need. You lose the fullness sensation and you want to eat more and more. The last reason is that children have access to soft drinks and it becomes a habit to drink these drinks instead of drinking water. In many school you find soda machines and they don’t do that anymore because of the high rates of childhood obesity. For the solutions, we have the example of Philadelphia in the USA. They have decided to tax soft drinks because of the high rates of obesity and it is controversial but when a situation is alarming, drastic measures need to be taken.

Anas: obesity is due to genetic reasons. Some people have a slow metabolism. Whether they practice sport or not, it’s hard for them and they still gain weight. On the other hand, some people have a fast metabolism, and even if they eat and don’t practice sports, they keep in shape.

Rick: There are for some people genetic reasons, and for people who have a slower metabolism, the way they consume calories is different. At the end of the day, your body is a machine and it needs energy and each machine works differently.

Djamila: Obesity can be cultural. In some countries and in some cultures, when a child is overweight, it’s a sign of beauty and health. The cultural perspective is really interesting and standards of beauty are different.

Rick: yes, there are different factor to consider, there isn’t only one answer to this problem.

To know more, please listen to the recording down below.

Thanks everyone for participating. Below are the links to listen to this discussion:

Listen Online:

Download:

Google Drive | Dropbox

All beaches should have rules about the type of swimming suit that can be worn.

January 17, 2017 Thanh Nguyen Tu

Date: Sunday May 15, 2016

Participants (from 16 countries):

Teams

Panel PRO (Team A): Elham, Behnam, Boboty, Jesson, Rojhano, Zivar

Panel CON (Team B): Taregh, Marwa, Hanieh, Mitchz, Johny, Djamila, Soso, Salima

Audience (Team C): Amy, Mhikie, Haitham, Salima

Joined late: George, Guineyli, Naemullah, Zahir, Salavat, Noorola, Khizar, Azamu, Adnan

Team A summary:

Not wearing the appropriate clothing is being immature and comes across as being disrespectful towards other people.
Beaches should be the most important place to have rules about clothing.
Not wearing the appropriate clothing can have impacts on people from different cultures.
A beach is a public place which means people should not have complete freedom, their actions and appearance has a direct impact on others.
Having rules will bring more freedom and peace.
If we don’t limit what people can do, they will do whatever they want.
Children are easily influenced and a person's appearance can impact the way that children think.
Some families are conservative and for them it could be gross and disrespectful if people do not wear something more modest in appearance.
People can take pictures of you if you wear embarrassing clothes.

Team B summary:

Sometimes we don’t need to have laws to know what is appropriate and what’s not.
Some places should not need to have rules because it’s common sense; people should know better already.
Obliging people to wear certain things instead of others is not freedom.
People should wear something but the type of swimming suite they choose is up to them.
We don’t own the beaches anyway so we shouldn’t be going about telling other people what they can and what they cannot wear.

Team C summary:

Every place needs to have rules.

Votes

Amy voted for team A
Mhikie voted for team B.

It was a tie. Thanks everyone for participating. Below are the links to listen to this discussion.

Listen Online:

Download

Movies and other media (music, books etc) have been a positive influence to the progress of global society

December 4, 2016 Thanh Nguyen Tu

Date: Friday, April 8th 2016

Participants (from 17 countries):

Host: Rick

Co-Host: Johny

Teams:

Panel PRO (Team A): Johny, Ayisha, George, Jesson, Salima, Mahmoud, Mohiuddin, Seif

Panel CON (Team B): Marwa, Haitham, Soso, Amina, Amin, Usman

Audience (Team C): Djamila, Behnam, Sergio, Mahsa, Pearl, Azamu, Tibi, Eysan, Mohamed Ibrahim,

Team A summary:

Thanks to books and the media, we came to know about other people’s culture, religion, traditions, laws, procedures, etc.
It is inspiring to know about other people’s life.
Information about other people and countries: new medical procedures have helped people around the world.
Knowledge is power: it’s easier for us if we knew how to prepare ourselves in terms of knowing what other people like or dislike.
We can understand other people and culture if we learn about them though either books, movies or other media.
Books, movies and music are the colors of this life: it’s difficult to imagine our lives without these things, our lives may be colorless. (Meaning that they complement our daily life experiences).
Music has been a powerful tool to convey feelings and experiences to the world.
The type of movies and books are important: there have been books and movies which had a big influence in people’s lives.
Documentaries help people especially students to know more about things they study, such as medicine.
Music stimulates the brain and gives extra energy to people.
If we want to know anything from any country, culture or place in the world, books and the media are the medium.
No one is born knowing everything: To know how to deal with our society, we must gain knowledge from somewhere.
The book principal: In the past, the way to convey new knowledge and theories was through books. If Newton hadn’t had written his theories, the world wouldn’t have progressed in the way it did.
Science fiction: inspiration very often comes through books, movies and motion pictures.
Space travel was a direct consequence of the inspiration that people got from these stories.
Moon landing and travel to Mars: Now, thanks to the knowledge and the technology gotten from books, theories and the history itself, we can make travel to other planets and stars possible.
Medicine: The advances in medicine have been brought mostly through new books and videos where people explain about the new research and knowledge from around the world.
In the past, the only way people had for knowing about what was going on in the world was through Newspapers.
Information in general: how do people know about the world? Is there any other better way than books, magazines, movies, documentaries and radio?
Entertainment before TV and the ancient Rome with its “games”: In the ancient Rome, people used to find entertainment in what they called “The games”. Which was a match between gladiators and oftentimes, prisoners were thrown to animals as punishment for their crime. When books came along, people found entertainment in the stories and fantasies delivered by books. It also helped the society become much more civilized.
Information travel faster than people: It’s much more easier and cheaper to transport millions of books around the world than going there and give speeches or lectures personally.
Theater vs movies and Job opportunities: When the movie industry took off, new job and opportunities were created for actors, actresses, camera-men, sound producers, musicians, producers, directors, etc. Whereas in the theater media, there are limited job opportunities.
In addition to job opportunities, movies and radio stories have been enjoyed by people from around the world without having to go and see the play. We can show and convey a much richer story through a movie film than through a theater play.

Team B summary:

Capitalism: we are being taught to consume things which we really don’t need.
Junk food: people are encouraged to consume unhealthy food.
Our teenagers repeat what they see on the movies, using guns and other dangerous items.
The media has 3 main functions: 1. it provides entertainment; 2. Education. 3. News.
The repercussions of the media outweigh the advantages: the main stream media can influence the public’s opinion in a negative way. It brain-washes people negatively towards a certain religion or culture.
The negative influences of the media are vast. It affects the physical, emotions, psychological aspect, and even the spirituality of many people. One negative influence can trigger another negative effect and this can cause a chain reaction leading to destruction of relationships in the society.
The internet make youngsters addicted to games, adult sites or social media tools.
In the culture aspect, we are degrading. Music is not the same as before. Before we had classical music, today we have noisy music. The lyrics have decreased its quality as well.
Young people often imitate their role models blindly. What are being highlighted in the entertainment industry are the wrongdoings of these celebrities, whom the young people idolize. Moreover, because they are heroes in the youth’s minds, they are still celebrated despite the bad behavior they have been showing to the public.
This highlighting of the media is a negative effect on the society. They satiate the people’s hunger for trivial information and rumors. They create buzz by hyping the issues with flowery words and provoking descriptions. Controversies are created left and right to get the attention of people.
Instead of reading books, studying, playing outdoors with other children, and engaging in social activities, they end up being cooped up in their rooms watching television. Furthermore, because of technological advancements and the availability of gadgets to young people, these children end up spending a significant amount of time in front of their computers and handheld video games.
TV is not the same as books: the TV has more influence on people than books. In some countries in the past when tobacco companies had crisis, they used TV and movie industries to make actors smoke in scenes so that children and other people can imitate these actors and buy their products.
Advertising about junk food: The constant bombarding of junk food advertising has encouraged people to consume unhealthy food which caused problems of obesity, diabetes and other food-related problems.
Sexual content in movies and TV shows: For conservative countries, some adult movies have found their ways to young people which has caused troubles at home and in their society.
Models and their body shape: TV projects an ideal body-shape image which people try to follow and in this way, TV says and shows what a proper body should look like.
Idols, actors and actresses make people change the way they think, messing up with their personalities and identities.
Stereotypes: the media plays an important role in making it worse.
In the past, people didn’t know much about wars and guns but nowadays it is all about war and guns in the media.
We cannot say that our global society is being developed progressively by the media while it is one of reasons of obesity, violent actions and overreacted behaviors in real life.
The media indirectly influences individuals, audience thoughts, and attitudes if we cannot manage and control the media actions.

Audience summary:

As for the classical music, that was the only thing people had for listening. It’s not fair to criticize music because tastes are tastes.
What we see in the media, is not always true. We cannot judge the media by saying it’s all bad when there are things that people misinform intentionally and it is people’s fault, not the media itself.
What we see in the news are more things that are bad than good things.
In order to judge the results, we need to look back and see where we were in the past and where we are now. The result is that there was progress, despite the bad things.
If we take it in moderation, like everything else, it doesn’t have to be all negative.

Votes:

Sergio voted for team B.
Mahsa voted for team B.
Pearl voted for team B.
Behnam voted for team A.
Eysan voted for team B.

Team B won this debate. Thanks everyone for participating. Below are the links to listen to this discussion.

Listen Online:

Download:

Movies And Other Media | Recording File | April 8th 2016

Honesty is the key in having a successful relationship

November 15, 2016 Thanh Nguyen Tu

... If I find honesty in my friends, the relation lasts longer because the foundation is solid...

How to set up next generation for success

November 13, 2016 Thanh Nguyen Tu

...we want them to have education opportunities to able to achieve those careers...

Prisoners should have educational opportunities offered to them while in prison

November 3, 2016 Thanh Nguyen Tu

...prison is a punishment, but it also should be a time that would prepare prisoners for their future...

Technology in the household is a necessary expense

October 26, 2016 Thanh Nguyen Tu

...they improve our live but we can go and live without these tech devices..

A marriage based on love is healthier than an arranged marriage

September 12, 2016 Thanh Nguyen Tu

...A healthy marriage is that in which both spouses are mentally healthy and mature and they both know what a healthy marriage is and they know what they want...