The Janplex Post

The war in Syria has been raging for over two years and resulted in the loss of thousands of Syrian lives and displacement of tens of thousands of others. So far, all attempts to end it including the imposition of sanctions against Assad regime have failed to produce the desired results. Until recently the crisis appeared to be losing its importance in the international media but following the recent use of chemical weapons against civilians and rebel forces allegedly by the Syrian forces, the civil war in Syrian once again is dominating the international news. A number of western countries including United States, Britain, and France have condemned the use of such weapons of mass destruction against Syrians and have vowed to hold Assad accountable for the action. As a consequence, they are now trying to resort to the use of force against key military installations in Syria. The main issue that arises with such use of force is whether it can be justified under international la...

Harassment and arrest of journalists for criticising the government are terms often associated with countries such as China, Russia and Zimbabwe. These terms are rarely associated with governments in the west where the press tends to operate in an atmosphere free of censorship and intimidation. However, the arrest of David Mirinda recently at Heathrow airport in UK, for being the partner of a journalist questions this assumptions about press freedom in the west. The police had detained and interrogated Mirinda using the powers granted to them under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 permits the police to detain and interrogate a person for terrorism related offences for up to a maximum of nine hours. It is hoped that this legislation can help maintain national security by either preventing terrorism or apprehending individuals suspected of participating in such violent acts. But is Mirinda a terror suspect to be detained for interrogation...

The issue of unemployment has been a major problem faced by British politicians in recent times. In 2007, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, tried and offered a potential solution to this problem by promising British jobs for British workers. Many labour supporters welcomed this statement but critics were quick to dismiss it as a mere window dressing that lacked substance. The critics were right. The policy of British work for British workers was not implemented not only because Mr Brown did not stay long in power to see it through but also due to the fact that the policy is almost impossible to implement in the face of European Union Legislation on the rights of EU citizens to work in member states. However, another labour Member of Parliament, Chris Bryant, recently criticized companies such as Tesco and Next for preferring non-British workers over their British counterparts which suggests that the issue of British work for British people is still alive and...

Online users are promised anonymity by some websites for using their websites contents including gambling and pornographic films. This promise of anonymity often leads these users to feel less inhibited to participate in such websites even though the activities being involved are risky or illegal. The users may include people who are criminally minded and not afraid of breaking the law but they may also include users who are normally law-abiding. The incorporation of anonymity in the terms and conditions of a website serves as a contract between the website and its user. Providing the user does not violate such terms and conditions, the agreement shall remain binding between the website and the user. However, there has been an on-going debate about whether a website is obliged to violate this agreement and reveal the real identity of a user accused of committing an online crime. This debate about when a website can divulge the real identity of its anonymous user becomes inten...

One of the most fascinating technological inventions of the twenty first century is the development of social media networks such as YouTube, Twitter, and Face book. These social media networks make it possible for people to meet new people and make friends, locate old friends and family members, or to form a relationship that can result in marriage. They also provide a platform in the form of advertising for conducting businesses. Despite these benefits provided by the social media networks certain things can go awfully wrong on the networks. The most recent example of how the social media network can be turned into a weapon of criminality is the case last week involving threatening rape and murder messages sent to a number of British women on Twitter. Feminists are attempting to use this incident to rally for support for tighter regulations on activities being conducted within social media networks. Is it possible to control activities within these networks? Having legislat...

Scientists have done a lot of work to solve food problems. The invention of disease resistant crops for example has resulted in more food being produced at a lower cost than normal, thereby reducing the risk of hunger and starvation faced by the world population. The development of test tube meat by Japanese scientists recently shows that scientists are not giving up their quest to satisfy human demands for food. Following this development should we be happy that the problem of meat scarcity will soon be over or alarmed and worried over this new invention? Producing meat in the laboratories will free up lands for growing food. Millions of acres of land are used annually by farmers around the world to grow pastures for animals. If these lands are no longer used for growing animal feed, crops can be grown on them. This will help to meet the ever increasing demand of food by increasing world population and reduce the risk of hunger and starvation around the world. Synthesizing ...