Debate motions from 2020

Medicare-for-all is a policy proposal in the United States advocating a single-payer system, where the government steps in (rather than insurance companies) as the intermediary between patients and providers in health-care transactions.

Medicalisation is the process of classifying human behaviours and conditions as a medical issue that requires a medical approach. Learning difficulties are conditions that impact on an individual's ability to gain knowledge and skills at the same rate as his or her peers. Examples are dyslexia (impediment on a person's ability to read and comprehend a text) and ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder).

The #MeToo movement is a movement against sexual harassment and sexual abuse where people publicise their allegations of sex crimes committed by powerful and/or prominent men.

The 'urban poor' refers to individuals or families in urban areas with incomes below the poverty line.

Gamification is the application of game-design elements and game principles (e.g. point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) in non-game contexts.

The 'one-year-out' rule requires prospective NBA (National Basketball Association) players to take a gap year after graduating from high school before they can be drafted or play in the NBA. Most players choose to spend this gap year at college playing amateur basketball, although some choose to spend a year playing in overseas professional leagues.

The Trump-Taliban peace deal is an agreement made by the United States (US) and Taliban forces in Afghanistan. The US and allies (like NATO) promise to withdraw their forces from the region by 2021 and remove sanctions against the Taliban if they fulfil their end of the deal, which includes: conducting prisoner swap between Taliban prisoners and the Afghan security forces' prisoners; and agreeing to not allow parties that pose a threat to US & allies' security (e.g. al-Qaeda or any other extremist groups) to operate in areas under Taliban control.

Blue and White is a centre to centre-left political alliance in Israel, led by Benny Gantz. Following Knesset (the Israeli Parliament) elections held in March 2020, Blue and White entered into a coalition agreement with Likud, the party of current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, resulting in the formation of a unity government. Among the terms of the agreement are the stipulation that Netanyahu will serve as Prime Minister of Israel until October 2021, at which point Gantz will assume the position. The March 2020 elections were the third in a series of Knesset elections which began in April 2019. Following the first two elections, neither of the two major parties (i.e. Blue and White and Likud) were able to form government, leading to the dissolution of the Knesset and the calling of snap elections. Following the signing of the coalition agreement, two of the parties which made up Blue and White left the alliance, leaving the Israel Resilience Party as the only remaining party. As a result, Blue and White now only controls 14 out of the 120 seats in the Knesset, compared to the 33 seats which it won in the March 2020 elections.

'Traditionally empowered political parties' are political parties that have historically enjoyed positions of power (i.e. being the government, holding a majority of seats in parliament) more than any other political parties in that country. Examples are the Republican and Democratic Parties in the US, People's Action Party in Singapore, the Perikatan Nasional (previously known as Barisan Nasional) and the Pakatan Harapan coalitions in Malaysia.

Sortition democracy, or the random selection of government officials, is the use of random selection from the populace at large to form voting bodies or fill political positions. In this system, the selection can be modified to match the socioeconomic and demographic profile of the country in question (e.g. 50% of those selected may be women if half of the population of the country is women).

'Never Trump Republicans' are a group of prominent Republicans or conservatives who have announced their opposition to Donald Trump as the Republican Party nominee for President.

High-frequency trading ("HFT") is a form of financial trading which uses financial data, electronic trading tools, and computer algorithms in order to process vast quantities of information and conduct trades at a much faster rate than human traders are capable of. An average HFT firm might be able to move in and out of a position (e.g. by purchasing and selling particular assets) in seconds, or even fractions of a second.

A derivative is a financial security with a value that is derived from an underlying asset or group of assets. Examples are options and futures.

A mortgage-based financial derivative (e.g. mortgage-backed securities) is a type of financial asset whose value is derived from a mortgage or collection of mortgages. The owner of a mortgage-backed security is entitled to both the principal and the interest payments made on the relevant mortgage(s).

Mergers and acquisitions are transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred or consolidated with other entities. Mergers are the combination of two companies to form one, while acquisitions are one company being taken over by the other.

Curatorial fandom involves the collection and curation of information about an original work, with a focus on preserving and memorialising details of the work in its original form - for example, through ranking characters or episodes in a series. Transformative fandom involves the transformation of the original work into new forms, with a focus on finding better ways to relate to the work as an individual - for example, through fan art or fan fiction.

A caricature is a depiction of a person in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect. When applied to a group of people at large, this takes the form of stereotyped portrayals of that group. Over the years, Disney has released many movies that contain distinctly racist portrayals of racial groups. Most prominently, Song of the South has been widely criticised for racist portrayals of African Americans, Lady and the Tramp contains "Siamese Cat Song" - which draws on Asian stereotypes - and Dumbo draws on minstrel-show stereotypes for its crow characters.

Respectability politics is a set of beliefs holding that conformity to socially acceptable or mainstream standards of appearance and behaviour will lead them into achieving respect and thus getting better treatment from others.

Absolute blind recruitment is the process of removing any and all identification details from candidates' resumes and applications, such as but not limited to your school, gender, religion, and any other socioeconomic background.

Sex positivity is an attitude towards human sexuality that regards all consensual sexual activities as fundamentally healthy and pleasurable, encouraging sexual pleasure and experimentation.

"Personality traits" broadly reflect and summarise individuals' characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviours. They are commonly thought to be "defined", in the sense of being both stable and consistent: people who are extroverts, for instance, are usually perceived as being likely to be sociable and outgoing across a variety of different situations and over time.

A start-up is a company in the first stage of its operations, often being financed by its entrepreneurial founders during the initial starting period. Small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) are established businesses that maintain revenues, assets, or a number of employees below a certain size.

Monetary financing, or the monetisation of government deficits, is a monetary policy whereby a central bank purchases debt directly from that country's government in order to finance a government deficit. This has two effects: it (1) facilitates government spending, and (2) increases the supply of money in an economy. Monetising government deficits differs from quantitative easing in the sense that the former involves purchasing bonds directly from the government, whereas the latter involves buying bonds and other financial assets on the secondary (i.e. open) market. The European Central Bank is different to many central banks because it performs the typical functions of a central bank across all countries which use the Euro.

The caste system divides Hindus into rigid hierarchical groups that dictate almost every aspect of Hindu religious and social life. Although it has long been outlawed in India, it is still informally practiced through surnames, marriage and business alliances, and the formation of political parties that cater to caste groups. Caste prejudice and discrimination is also rife within Indian communities abroad, in the United States and other countries.

Individual rights are rights which can be held and exercised by individuals. Even if such rights are group-differentiated, they remain individual if they can be held and exercised by individuals themselves. For example, same-sex marriage is an individual right because it is held and can be exercised by individual members of the LGBTQ community. In contrast, group rights are rights which are held and exercised by groups. One example is the right to engage in collective bargaining; a person cannot exercise their right to collectively bargain themselves; they must do so with other people in a group.

Nudging', or Nudge Theory, is a concept in behavioural economics, political theory, and behavioural sciences, which proposes positive reinforcement and indirect suggestions as ways to influence the behaviour and decision making of groups or individuals.

Cancel culture refers to the popular practice of withdrawing support (canceling) for public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive.

Laïcité (pronounced la-ee-si-teh) is a foundational constitutional principle of the modern French Republic which stipulates that religion should not influence political affairs and vice versa. It is reflected in a wide range of both policies and social norms, including a ban on wearing conspicuous religious symbols in public schools; a ban on the provision of government financial support to religious organisations; and a norm that political leaders should refrain from making openly religious remarks.

In law, a legal person is any person or entity that can do the things a person can usually do in law – such as enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and so on. Some legal persons are not people: companies and corporations are "persons" legally speaking (they can legally do most of the things an ordinary person can do).

Compassionate conservation is an interdisciplinary approach which combines the historically separate (and often contradictory) fields of conservation and animal welfare. Among its foundational principles are the notion that conservationists should do no harm and be concerned with the welfare of individual animals. Compassionate conservation therefore opposes the culling of invasive species and other practices which involve causing significant harm to individual animals, and instead supports measures such as reintroducing endangered species to areas without invasive species (e.g. islands) or introducing new species to protect existing ones (e.g. the introduction of dogs to Phillip Island, Australia, to protect the local penguin population from wild foxes).

COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) is a law that enforce a regulations concerning children's online privacy. The primary goal of COPPA is to place parents in control over what information is collected from their young children online. Through this law content creator's video that is deemed to be "kid's content" on website such as Youtube, would not be able to collect data, have targeted ads, and becomes demonetized.

Theoretically, there are 2 parameters of criminalization. Mens Rea: Guilty Intention: A set of all criminal actions would contain those which are committed by guilty intention. The punishment given to perpetrators will also be proportional to the degree of guilt of their intention. Actus Reus: Guilty Action: A set of all criminal actions would contain those which cause harm (material & immaterial) . The punishment given to perpetrators will also be proportional to the amount of cumulative harm they create

TERF: abbreviation for Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist: The exclusionary of trans-women from feminism or women label have been widely opposed, and deemed transphobic by liberals. People who support the idea of this exclusion are called 'TERFs' which is a label meant to be derogatory as the adjective 'radical' and 'exclusionary' are not desirable traits in an open and progressive society.: There are many reasons why people become 'TERFs', ranging from the very conservative ideas that everyone should be subject to the sex and gender they were assigned at birth, to the more moderate ones where some degree of sexual & gender fluidity may be acceptable. For the purpose of this debate, 'TERFs' are people whose beliefs are as follows: 1) Sex & gender are different things, where sex is related to biology and gender is related to expression. 2) Everyone, regardless of their sex, is able to freely express themselves like whichever gender (or lack thereof) they want. 3) Sex is not a social construct and should not be determined by self-identification. For example: a biological male athlete who identifies as a woman can't participate in a woman's category. 4) The only legitimate change for sex change is when individuals possess medical conditions called 'gender dysphoria' and commit to a gradual, yet complete, sex re-assignment surgery.

On September, Israel and UAE gathered and signed a conundrum. The conundrum consisted of several points that will allow more political and economic relations between the two parties. It says that the conundrum represents an unprecedented agreement. Some part of the agreement is how UAE agrees to recognize Israel as a Jewish state and Israel would cease all attempts to annex the west bank.

Post-race society is a state of the world where complete racial integration has reached its limit. It describes a society where everyone looks racially diverse as they possess unique combination of racial genetic make-up and where there is no attempt to segregate individuals from any ascriptive features. This is where the conception of race no longer exists, which many consider a utopia.

Filial responsibility law obliges adult children to pay for their indigent parents'/relatives' food, clothing, shelter and medical needs. Should the children fail to provide adequately, they allow nursing homes and government agencies to bring legal action to recover the cost of caring for the parents. Adult children can even go to jail in some states if they fail to provide filial support.

RUU-PKS is a bill that aims to comprehensively define which sexual conduct is legitimate and, more importantly, which should be regarded as a crime. The opposition to this bill comes from conservative groups/parties. (for example: PKS, ironically). one of the leading argument was that RUU-PKS is a bill used to further justify and promote consensual same-sex relationships in the eyes of the law.

Unaccompanied Alien Children Program is a program that houses immigrant children that arrived to the US Mexico border unaccompanied by their parents, they're usually taken care of by their relative living in the state or in a foster care.

Protestantism in Christianity has many denominations across the globe. One of the major contributing factor to some formations of Christian factions is the element of race/ethnicity. In Indonesia, there are many ethnic-based churches like GKJ (Gereja Kristen Jawa), HKBP (Huria Kristen Batak Protestan), Hokimtong, etc, where the churches would adopt their original culture to the ritual. The Black Church formed in the U.S. was mainly initiated as a response to slavery in the past, and maintained its doctrines that revolves around Christianity being a narrative against racial oppression. Figures of Jesus Christ differ from one that is portrayed in China and in Africa, in which Jesus is depicted to look like the respective native inhabitants.

Some historian believes that Buddhism is a religion that was built as a response against the unequal caste system that Hinduism employ at the time. This, combined with the pervasive corruption within Brahmana and Kshatriya caste make Buddhism seems appealing, especially for the lower caste member of Indian society at the time. One of the core principles of Buddhism that appeals to Indian society at the time was that everyone can access enlightenment regardless of their societal standing, something that was previously thought only accessible to those of the upper caste, especially Brahmana. Despite the progressivity, there have been some rules in Buddhism monastery that are blatantly discriminatory to women, such as the addition of extra 58 rules that apply only to the female monk that some scholar argues to be somewhat sexist. Some of these rules even contemporary female monks themselves still argue to be sexist. (Example includes but not limited to; Not being able to go out alone at night, explicit requirement to be respectful to the younger male monk) Historian argues that this was done to cater to the social dynamics during the time, as it was necessary knowing the framework in which monks survives is by voluntary donation. (By the holy books of Vinaya, they are not allowed to work and gain means of sustenance on their own)

Darwin's theory of evolution is commonly known as the theory of natural selection. The theory states 2 of the following important concepts. That evolution, the process by which different kinds of living organisms have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth, exists. That the environment naturally selects whether a species survive or become extinct based on whether they're genetically equipped to survive in that environment.

Priesthood is the power and authority of God given to man, including the authority to perform ordinances and to act as a leader in the church.

Genesis 32:22-31 depicts a story of Jacob wrestling with a spiritual entity (commonly presumed as an angel or God himself) to insist a blessing to be bestowed upon him. The being wrestled with Jacob till day break and touched the socket of Jacob's hip until his hip was wrenched. Jacob told the being that he wouldn't let go of him until he was given his blessing. The being said 'Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have STRUGGLED WITH GOD (in some versions: WRESTLED WITH GOD) and with humans and have overcome' and finally gave Jacob the blessing.

Currently there are attempts from several countries (ie Portugal, Poland, South Africa) to handle their drug crisis by decriminalizing the consumption and possession of all drugs. Rather than being arrested, those caught with a personal supply might be given a warning, a small fine, or told to appear before a local commission – a doctor, a lawyer and a social worker – about treatment, harm reduction, and the support services that were available to them.

When the World Bank lends loans to states, it must be repaid by the country and its population. Therefore, even though loans were stolen by corrupt leaders, citizens must pay it back. It is said that one-third is the normal rate of corruption of WB loans.

Tax Mix : a combination/mixture of various taxes, as opposed to the aggregate tax level

Bloodmoon was the name of a now-axed Game of Thrones prequel series. It was to be set 8,000 years before the events of Game of Thrones and depict the 'Long Night', the winter in which the White Walkers emerged for the first time and sought to bring an end to all life. A new prequel series, called 'House of the Dragon', has since been announced instead. It will be set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and focus on the history of House Targaryen, including the Targaryen civil war and the Doom of Valyria.

Competitive esports tend to contain choices in how you approach a match. For example, which character you play in League of Legends or what you choose to spend your resources on in Counter Strike (weapons, armour, items). When one of these choices is disproportionately strong, it creates imbalances in the game. Due to the complexity of these games, even small imbalances can have very large impacts on the way the game must be played, such that a player who is able to exploit these imbalances is often able to easily defeat a player with far more technical skill. "Patches" are updates to video games which typically serve three purposes. 1) To add new features to a game. 2) To remove existing features from the game. 3) To make existing characters or features in the game weaker ("nerfing") or stronger ("buffing"). Patches in esports are predominantly used to alter the competitive balance. Patches can often radically alter the "meta" (the widely agreed upon optimal strategy for play) in unexpected ways.

The Gerudo are a race in the land of Hyrule from the popular video game series, 'The Legend of Zelda'. Despite the dangers of Hyrule, they have succeeded in remaining relatively insulated from war or crisis. This is partially due to the fact that they live in a city (Gerudo Town) in a remote desert and also because they are a society made up largely of highly skilled warriors. Due to a strange genetic quirk, only one Gerudo male is born every 100 years. As such, the Gerudo are a race almost exclusively made up of women. The average Gerudo lives for around 380-400 years. The Gerudo can breed with some other humanoid beings. At present, Gerudo Town is entirely locked off to all men of other races. Some women of other races are permitted entry but only after having proven themselves to be worthy. Some Gerudo are known to sneak out to find boyfriends.

The Rule of Two was a Sith philosophy mandating that only two Sith Lords could exist at any given time: a master to represent the power of the dark side of the Force, and an apprentice to train under the master and one day fulfil their role. The events of The Phantom Menace (the first Star Wars film) begin 3 years after 35 BBY.

This debate is not concerned with the conduct of any actors involved in the show external to their performances.

Clutch Mami is an indepedent rapper from Compton, California. Her recent song, 'Slatt Money', has received a considerable amount of local radio play and has received over a million views on YouTube. The mixtape from which Slatt Money comes, 'All Clutch Everything', has received positive reviews from critics, with many praising her clever wordplay, intelligent commentary on her experiences with poverty and anti-black racism, and fun, accessible beats.

Kal Ho Naa Ho: Naina Catherine Kapur is a pessimistic, uptight student who lives in New York City with her widowed mother Jennifer Kapur (her father committed suicide). Jennifer runs an unsuccessful café with her neighbour. Naina has a best friend: her classmate, Rohit Patel. Her life is dull and overshadowed by her father's loss until Aman Mathur and his mother move in next door. Aman's cheerfulness gradually wins over Naina's family and he slowly starts to solve their problems. He suggests that they change the café to an Indian restaurant and its success alleviates their financial burdens. Aman encourages Naina to be happy and to live life to the fullest; she falls in love with him. Rohit also falls in love with Naina and asks Aman's help in expressing his feelings. Naina tells Rohit there is something she must say to him, leading him to think that she reciprocates his feelings. Naina reveals she is in love with Aman instead. Shaken, Rohit calls Aman to tell him what has happened. Naina goes to Aman's house and is shocked to see a wedding photograph of Aman and his wife, Priya. Heartbroken, she leaves. Aman's mother confronts him about what has happened. He says he loves Naina, but has decided to hide it because he is dying from a heart condition. He is not actually married; Priya is his childhood friend and doctor. Aman vows to bring Naina and Rohit together before he dies. He believes that Rohit will be able to provide for her better than he can. He hatches a plan to transform Naina and Rohit's bond, and gradually their friendship blossoms into love. Naina discovers his plan and chides Aman for trying to ruin her friendship with Rohit. Aman takes out Rohit's diary and confesses his feelings for Naina, saying (lying) that they are Rohit's words. Naina forgives Aman and Rohit. Rohit proposes to Naina, and she accepts. During Naina and Rohit's engagement as a result of excessive dancing and a lack of care, Aman has a heart attack. Only his mother knows he has been admitted to the hospital. Naina encounters Priya at a jewellery store, whom she recognises as Aman's wife. She introduces herself and her husband, Abhay, who reveals the truth about Aman. Shocked, Naina realises that Aman has sacrificed his love for her and leaves the mall in an emotional frenzy. Priya calls up Aman and informs him about what happened. Aman leaves the hospital and meets a frustrated Rohit, who asks why he and not Aman should marry Naina. Aman urges Rohit to marry Naina as a sign of respect for his dying wish to see Naina happy. Aman meets Naina, and they embrace while he tries to persuade her that he does not love her. Rohit and Naina's wedding, in which Aman attends, takes place soon afterward. Sometime after the wedding, Aman is on his deathbed and says goodbye to everyone. Shortly after he dies.

You are a fertility doctor in Miami with an alcohol problem. After discovering that your wife was having an affair, you relapse and accidentally artificially inseminate a young woman with the sperm of your own (rich, attractive) brother. You know that the woman will believe she has been visited by immaculate conception and will be well supported by her community.

Andy is an aspiring journalist fresh out of Northwestern University. Despite her ridicule for the shallowness of the fashion industry, she lands a job as junior personal assistant to Miranda Priestly, the editor-in-chief of Runway magazine, a job that "millions of girls would kill for". Andy plans to put up with Miranda's excessive demands and humiliating treatment for one year in the hopes of getting a job as a reporter or writer somewhere else. At first, Andy fumbles with her job and fits in poorly with her gossipy, fashion-conscious co-workers. After she approaches art director Nigel to help her learn the ropes in the world of fashion, she begins to dress stylishly and starts showing effort for the position, accommodating all of Miranda's whims and fancies. Problems arise in her relationship with her chef boyfriend, Nate, who increasingly finds her spending all her time at her new boss's beck and call. Miranda starts to notice Andy's changed appearance and commitment and begins to give her more responsibility and complicated tasks to handle. Slowly but surely, Andy becomes more glamorous and begins aligning herself, unwittingly at first, to the Runway philosophy. She gradually begins to outperform Emily (Miranda's previous junior assistant who was promoted to 1st assistant) at her job. Emily, meanwhile, is consumed with the thought of attending Paris Fashion Week as Miranda's assistant. At a charity benefit, she fails to provide information about a guest making his way to meet Miranda. Andy manages to save Miranda from embarrassment and is rewarded by being asked to replace Emily as Miranda's assistant at Fashion Week. Miranda tells Andy to inform Emily that she won't be going to Paris, but when Andy calls Emily, she is hit by a car and ends up in the hospital. She tells Emily the news, which infuriates her. When Andy tells Nate she is going to Paris, he is angered by her refusal to admit that she has become what she once ridiculed, and they break up.� In Paris, Andy learns from Miranda herself about her impending divorce. Later that night, Nigel tells Andy that he has accepted a job as creative director with rising designer James Holt. Further, Andy spends the night with a young writer, Christian Thompson, who reveals to her that Miranda is set to be replaced by Jacqueline Follet as editor of Runway. Feeling bad for Miranda in her current situation, Andy attempts to warn her but does not manage to get through. At a luncheon later that day, however, Miranda announces Jacqueline as the new creative director to Holt, leaving Andy and Nigel stunned. Later in the car, Miranda explains to Andy that she already knew of the plot to replace her and sacrificed Nigel instead to keep her own job. When Andy seems repulsed, Miranda points out that Andy did the same with Emily by stepping over her and agreeing to go to Paris. When they stop, Andy gets out and throws her cell phone into the fountain of the Place de la Concorde, leaving Miranda, Runway, and fashion behind Sometime later, Andy meets up with Nate and apologizes, though it is unclear if they eventually reconcile as Nate found a new job as a sous chef in Boston. The same day, Andy is interviewed and accepted to work at a major New York publication company. The editor recounts how he called Runway for a reference, and was told by Miranda herself that he would be an idiot not to hire Andy.

There are two potential plots for the next Black Panther movie, noting Chadwick Boseman's recent passing. The first is where Erik Killmonger (played by Michael B Jordan) is brought back to life (in the comics he is resurrected by the Mandarin – but this could happen in a number of ways), has some contrition for previous events (whilst still feeling strongly about supporting disenfranchised black people across the world), and ascends as Ruler of Wakanda, taking up the Black Panther mantle. The second is where Shuri (played by Letitia Wright) ascends and takes up the Black Panther mantle. In both plots, T'Challa would pass away off-screen.

In the vast majority of depictions of Batman, he abides by a strict 'No Killing' rule. For the purpose of this debate, Batman has never killed anyone.

In the current TV series 'Supergirl', Supergirl frequently saves the day by demonstrating idealism/hope, rather than necessarily using her physical strength (e.g. by 'talking down' the villain, inspiring the masses to change their behaviour, etc.)

Avril Lavigne is a famous Canadian singer. After being discovered a few years prior, in 2002 at age 17 she released her first major album Let Go, which topped a number of charts. For the purposes of this debate, assume that in 2003, after struggling with fame, Avril appeared to have died and her record company replaced her with a clone named Melissa. Avril's formative memories were planted in Melissa's mind, but she always felt that something was not right. The record company recently decided to tell Melissa the truth, and have vowed to support her decisions going forward.

On the Island of Sodor, all the trains, and the majority of trucks, carriages, and motor vehicles, are sentient. They are shown to have free will, feel pain and the capacity to age. The Sodor Railway Company is run by Sir Topham Hatt (known as the Fat Controller). His approach to running the railway and the way he treats his engines is called "the Really Useful Engine Doctrine." This means that an engine's value is only derived from how useful they are. He expresses this belief system regularly on the show, frequently criticising engines for causing "confusion and delay" and insults them by saying they are not useful. Punishments for engines that are not useful have included being being converted into a generator and being sent to the scrap yards. However, when the engines are productive, his means of praise is to say they are a really useful engine. The engines are shown to gain great satisfaction from hard work and and being useful.

The 'Hollywood Blockbuster model' refers to a business model employed by major Hollywood studios whereby studios opt to heavily fund a small amount of films each year as opposed to distributing that funding more equally across a larger number of films.

Penultimate Episode (The View from Halfway Down): A young Beatrice Horseman welcomes her adult son BoJack, and a child-aged Sarah Lynn, into her house. Herb Kazzaz, Crackerjack Sugarman, Corduroy Jackson-Jackson, etc., join them at a dinner party, even though all of these characters (except BoJack) died earlier in the series. The guests discuss the best and worst parts of their lives. A new arrival, introduced as BoJack's father Butterscotch, has the appearance of BoJack's childhood idol Secretariat. Beatrice then invites the guests to a show, at which point BoJack expects to awake from a dream. However, BoJack remains in the dreamscape. In a theatre next door, Herb hosts a talent show featuring the guests, all of whom have their performances interrupted or ended by passing through an empty white door centre-stage. Following Sarah Lynn and Corduroy's performance, BoJack goes outside for an emotional conversation with Butterscotch/Secretariat. Looking down, BoJack sees a silhouette of a horse floating face down in a swimming pool. BoJack starts to remember details of his bender from the previous episode, recalling that he went into the swimming pool and called Diane. BoJack finds himself unable to leave the theatre. Herb suggests that BoJack is not dreaming, but processing his own death. He finds a landline phone, calls out for Diane, and hears her voice through the phone. In their conversation, BoJack remembers that in real life, his call to Diane went to voicemail and he presumably drowned in the pool. Diane's voice agrees to stay on the phone with BoJack as the tar envelops him. Final Episode (Nice While It Lasted): After the events of "The View From Halfway Down", a montage shows that BoJack was saved from drowning by the occupants of his former house. BoJack is convicted of breaking and entering and is sentenced to 14 months in a maximum security prison. A year later, BoJack is granted furlough and is picked up by Mr. Peanutbutter to go to Princess Carolyn and Judah's wedding. BoJack tells Todd that he is comfortable being in jail; he stays out of trouble and is beating his sobriety record. Todd convinces him that once he completes his sentence, he just has to set a new record every day. Bojack asks for representation should he decide to re-enter the business but Princess Carolyn only offers to 'recommend some excellent people'. Later, BoJack climbs onto the roof and finds Diane smoking. BoJack tells her he misses her, and she reminds him of the voicemail he left when he broke into his old house and nearly drowned. She tells him she thought he was dead for seven hours, and how she hates herself for feeling guilty about not taking care of him. BoJack apologizes. Diane reveals that she is happily married to her husband Guy, and they have moved to Houston together. She advises him that there are people who help you become who you are, but they are not meant to stay in your life forever. Then Bojack remarks how it'd be funny if this was the last time they spoke, and that was the last line of the entire series.

Rick and Morty is a popular animated television series. The series follows the misadventures of Rick Sanchez and his grandson Morty Smith, who split their time between domestic life and interdimensional adventures. Rick is an eccentric and alcoholic mad scientist, who eschews many ordinary conventions such as school, marriage, love, and family. He frequently goes on adventures with his 14-year-old grandson, Morty, a kind-hearted but easily distressed boy, whose naïve but grounded moral compass plays counterpoint to Rick's Machiavellian ego. Morty frequently complains about Rick not showing him respect, Rick putting his life in danger, and Rick not giving him enough autonomy. On more than one occassion, Rick has forced Morty to kill. Despite this, Rick truly does love and care for Morty, and the two have a deep understanding of one another where they are otherwise largely misunderstood.

In the TV Show 'The 100', the Primes are four families who travelled in an interstellar spaceship from Earth and colonised a moon called Sanctum, eventually populating and building a safe, peaceful and prosperous micro state. The Primes have since lived for generations by transferring their consciousness into other human hosts. Because of this, the Primes are revered as divine and royal leaders of Sanctum, and have fairly easily quashed any sort of social resistance in the past. Hosts (which are rare on account of needing to have a certain blood type) are typically honoured to serve and their families are proud of them for doing so. Hosts' families also comforted by the belief that the host's mind is 'merging' with that of a Prime's. As the 'merging' is done in a secret ceremony, only the Primes are aware of the truth, which is: 1) consciousness is transferred via cybernetic implant, and 2) and the host's mind is actually lost. When the show's protagonists (another group comparable in size/strength to Santum's society, and who are travelling from Earth - since destroyed in nuclear apocalypse) arrive on Sanctum, they find out the truth and seek to expose this to the people, and in doing so start a conflict with the Primes.

After an attempt to stop global warming via climate engineering catastrophically backfires, creating a new ice age in 2014, the remnants of humanity have taken to a circumnavigational train, the Snowpiercer, run by recluse transportation magnate Wilford. By 2031, the passengers on the train have become segregated, with the elite in the extravagant front cars and the poor in squalid tail compartments controlled by armed guards. After having led a rebellion and fought his way to the front of the train, Curtis is told by Wilford that the rebellion had been secretly encouraged in order to cull the population on the train to sustainable levels. Wilford offers Curtis control of the train.

You are a scientist. Whilst working alone in the lab, you discover that doomsday is going to happen in exactly 5 years, and that this is completely inevitable. As the only expert in the world in this particular subject, you are very certain no one else is going to uncover this information.

That the LGBTQ+ movement should not allow police officers at pride events (such as the pride march).

Mastery Learning is an educational philosophy that is premised on students progressing to advanced topics only if they have mastered 100% of the previous material in a subject. For example, if a student does not score 100% on their fractions assessment, they will not progress to a more difficult topic like inequalities in Mathematics. This philosophy is premised on the idea that students are artificially constrained by current curriculum structures to learn material in a limited amount of time - that any student can master any material if they spend enough time on it. A Mastery Learning framework in the modern day employs self learning tools (such as videos) and AI generated assessments for students to learn at their own pace and master material, through platforms like Khan Academy.

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in people with a history of repetitive brain trauma (often athletes), including symptomatic concussions as well as asymptomatic subconcussive hits to the head that do not cause symptoms. It is also associated with the development of dementia. Potential signs of CTE are problems with thinking and memory, personality changes, and behavioral changes including aggression and depression. Famous cases of CTE include Chris Benoit, the professional wrestler who murdered his family, and took his own life in 2008.

Shorting, or short-selling, is when an investor borrows shares and immediately sells them, hoping they can scoop them up later at a lower price, return them to the lender and pocket the difference.

Hamilton: an American musical is a sung-and-rapped through musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda. It tells the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton. The show draws heavily from hip hop, as well as R&B, pop, soul, and traditional-style show tunes; and casts non-white actors as the founding fathers and other historical figures.

Microtransactions are a business model where users can purchase virtual goods with micropayments (made through linked credit cards). Microtransactions are often used in free-to-play games to provide a revenue source for the developers, although fully paid games have also begun incorporating them. Common forms of microtransactions are purchasing cosmetic items such as skins, purchasing functional items that would otherwise require a significantly greater amount of time and effort to unlock (or not be unlockable at all), and loot boxes where players buy a seemingly random assortment of items although the desirability of these items is rare and subject to chance.

Gene editing is the process of scientists editing the genome by adding, altering or removing genome segments at particular points in the DNA. CRISPR is a form of gene editing that is faster and cheaper than all those that came before it. CRISPR-Cas9 was adapted from a naturally occurring genome editing system in bacteria. The bacteria capture snippets of DNA from invading viruses and use them to create DNA segments known as CRISPR arrays. The CRISPR arrays allow the bacteria to "remember" the viruses (or closely related ones). If the viruses attack again, the bacteria produce RNA segments from the CRISPR arrays to target the viruses' DNA. The bacteria then use Cas9 or a similar enzyme to cut the DNA apart, which disables the virus.

Secular Pan-Arab Nationalism is an ideological movement that asserts the view that Arabs constitute a single nation. With popularity reaching its height during the 1950s and 1960s, advocates of Pan-Arabism have often espoused socialist principles and strongly opposed western political involvement in the Arab world. It has focused on the creation of an Arab national identity on secular and nationalist grounds rather than on grounds of religion. Prominent leaders included Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, and Hafez Al-Nasser of Syria.