This is your open discussion thread for news this week (Oct. 8th to 14th - inclusive).
What's making the headlines in different regions around the world?
This is a little different than the usual world issues we take a look at; however, I thought it would be rather relevant to discuss among us as it is a problem many people are facing today among a wide range of the world.
A British Columbia girl aged 15; named Amanda Todd had just recently committed suicide after being constantly bullied for a few ongoing years. She had posted a video via webcam by an unidentified male. He used this picture to threaten her a year later...which in this case he did follow through with and used it against her as he sent it out viral and created a new Facebook page where it was then set as the display photo. Which then made it available for the public to see. After this, she became depressed, suffered from anxiety, and obviously became very suicidal. This picture forced her to moved to new schools, but everywhere she went it always followed her. It was her photo, but in reality, it now belonged to the media.
It's obvious that a major issue here is bullying, but what about the issue behind media? I believe that it is important for society to understand the consequences behind posting personal material via internet, text, etc. It is crucial that parents and teachers inform their children and students of the dangers and powers of the web. Merlyn Horton, executive director of the Safe Online Outreach Society and a former youth-outreach worker (1) says that teens are experimental when it comes to sexuality and exhibitionism, and we are too naive and don't have the risk assessment skills or the ability to really realize what consequences are.
Is it true, that teens (mainly younger) don't have the ability to realize the dangers of the media? Should the education system make it mandatory to acknowledge the students of the danger, risks, and consequences? Should those who participate in bullying face larger, more severe consequences? And last but not least, should more action have taken place after the releasing of the video ONE FULL MONTH PRIOR to the suicide? Personally I do find it rather odd that there wasn't much effort put in to stop this horrible event from happening in the first place.
Last week I posted on the topic of gun running/ arms trade, this week I would like to talk about drug trafficking. More specifically drug trafficking out of Mexico, Central/South America and the Caribbean and of course the drug I'm mainly talking about is crack/cocaine. Now UNODC (The United Nations Office on Drug and Crime) defines drug trafficking as: A global illicit trade involving the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. As I said I wanted to focus on the flow of drugs out of South/Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean, so open your skulls because you are about to receive a bombshell of knowledge.
From 2007-2008, cocaine was used by some 16-17 million people worldwide and North America accounted for more than 40 percent of global cocaine consumption (the total was estimated at around 470 tons), while the 31 European countries accounted for more than a quarter of total consumption. For the North American market, cocaine is usually transported from Colombia to Mexico or Central America by sea and then by land to the United States and Canada while Cocaine is trafficked to Europe mostly by sea, often in container shipments. Colombia seems to remain the top source of the cocaine found in Europe, although their relative importance appears to be in decline. For example, in 2002, the UK authorities reported that 90% of the cocaine seized was originally from Colombia, but by 2008, it was down to 65%. [1] The United Nations 1997 publication of, "Economic and Social Consequences of Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking," states that: "With estimates of $100 billion to $110 billion for heroin, $110 billion to $130 billion for cocaine, $75 billion for cannabis and $60 billion for synthetic drugs, the probable global figure for the total illicit drug industry would be approximately $360 billion. Given the conservative bias in some of the estimates for individual substances, $400 billion is more realistic." [2] Now that is a lot of money but let me tell you about someone named Francisco Thoumi. Francisco Thoumi received a PhD in economics from the University of Minnesota and a BA from the Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia. After working for several decades on Latin American integration, and economic development and industrialization, he began focusing his research on drugs to better understand what was going on in illicit drug trades. Dr. Thoumi’s main research has been on the competitive advantage of coca- and poppy-growing countries. He has worked on the issue of drugs in Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. During 1999–2000, he coordinated the publication of the World Drug Report. He noted that in the Journal of Drug Issues a US$400 billion turnover would be equivalent to approximately eight percent of total international trade. [3]
Hey D.H, I was talking to my mum about the Amanda Todd tragedy and she told me that the government is really gonna crack down on cyber bullying from now on. It's a shame that only now is it coming to people's attention that cyber bullying (and really bullying in general) is an awful thing that can even be fatal. I definitely agree that our education system should educate students more about the media, and I also agree that consequences should be more severe for bullies.
My mum and I were also discussing how it wasn't just suicide, but more so murder. Amanda was provoked; she was shoved to the edge and with one final push from the bullies, her life ended. Bullying that leads to suicide should certainly face more severe consequences then a simple slap on the wrist or a fine; these bullies murdered Amanda Todd and they should not get away with it.
It's such a shame to see someone take their own life because a bunch of scummy kids found enjoyment in tormenting a girl who made a teenage mistake.
This is my weekly post. In this forum, I wish to bring to address the discussion going around the Toronto proposal to the TDSB (Toronto District School Board) to establish the first gay centric high school in the area. Now, in my opinion there are significant pros and cons that should be taken into consideration before finalizing such a proposal. First, to address the positive notions affiliated with such a school, I believe Toronto as a community is embracing the idea for the surface appearance of what such a school would bring. By surface appearance I mean ideas such as “being who you are” and having those around you be free to do the same. I completely support that aspect of the school. I think it would be wonderful for students to interact with people who live their lives the same way as they do, who live with the same fears, concerns and feelings. I believe relationships would thrive and levels of comfort to these students broadened. Not only students, but homosexual teachers may benefit from such a school as well not having to worry about what Fan Wu (a former TDSB student trustee who organized the proposal) calls “parental backlash.” Wu also commented to Xtra, a gay and lesbian news site, “there is a real lack of education and a need for school that encourages critical thinking, especially in areas of gender and sexual diversity.” (1)
However, with all that being said, and although it may appear that this school be an exceptional; idea, one must delve into the negative repercussions such a school could engage. Although it is unfortunate, many people in our society do not support homosexuality. Many extremists will state that homosexuality goes against the word of God and the Bible, For example, in Leviticus 18:22 the Bible states “a man shall not lie with a man as with a woman, it is abomination.” (2) Many extremists see homosexuals as “people of sin” or the “spawn of the devil.” They believe ridding these people of the Earth is “doing God’s will” and “cleansing” the population. As a result, an all gay school may just be painting a target on the backs of those that attend it. It would be a magnet for extremists, a place in which to perform their “duty” to God with the most collateral damage. The safety of those that attend the school must also be taken into account.
The TDSB has also been faced with ideas for other alternative schools such as an Africentric school which some deemed to be “segregationist.” This is definitely a stage our alternative schools have gone through before," Schwartz-Maltz , a TDSB spokesperson said, adding that a proposal would have to meet TDSB requirements and guidelines around things such as level of interest in the community. "I guess they have to see how many people come (to the forum), or how much interest there is." (3) To conclude, I believe Toronto’s best bet would be making an informed decision and taking into account all the mitigating factors revolving this issue such as the opinions of the people who are pro this alternative school, as well as the voices of those who are concerned.
Kenneth William Carr of Abbostford BC is facing the rare charge of counselling a woman to commit suicide. (1) This is not the first run in with the law he has had with the first being the murder of a 17 year old girl. This shows two fundamental flaws with our health system and system of justice. The first is how did a man who is a known murderer get in contact with this woman without her knowledge of his previous crimes. The law in Canada regarding criminals that have done their time is really quite useless. Karla Homolka is a good example of this. She originally had a list of 8 restrictions of where she could go, what she could do and not do and who she could talk to, now she has been granted freedom from all forms of tracking and obligations to the police department regarding her whereabouts, work, and everything related to her life. (2) If a hardened, prolific serial killer can get away with these acts with no restrictions after her prison sentence then it seems like situations of murderers and rapists re-offending are highly probable and subject to become more commonplace. If our government took more actions to rehabilitate criminals rather than solely look at punitive measures then maybe it would be safe to release these vicious, cold-blooded murderers and rapists into our society once they had been rehabilitated. But our current system is clearly not working in that "Psychopathic criminals are 2.5 times more likely to be released from prison than non-psychopaths, even though they are more likely to re-offend, a study suggests."(3) This shows that even though we may try and rehabilitate prisoners we cannot always be successful and testing for deception still remains largely guesswork. Hopefully our government can implement more effective rehabilitation policies to reduce the chances of situations such as this one happening again, if not then we shall continue to be shocked by the "why was he allowed out?" cries of the public in response to brutal crimes.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis is a little different than the usual world issues we take a look at; however, I thought it would be rather relevant to discuss among us as it is a problem many people are facing today among a wide range of the world.
ReplyDeleteA British Columbia girl aged 15; named Amanda Todd had just recently committed suicide after being constantly bullied for a few ongoing years. She had posted a video via webcam by an unidentified male. He used this picture to threaten her a year later...which in this case he did follow through with and used it against her as he sent it out viral and created a new Facebook page where it was then set as the display photo. Which then made it available for the public to see. After this, she became depressed, suffered from anxiety, and obviously became very suicidal. This picture forced her to moved to new schools, but everywhere she went it always followed her. It was her photo, but in reality, it now belonged to the media.
It's obvious that a major issue here is bullying, but what about the issue behind media? I believe that it is important for society to understand the consequences behind posting personal material via internet, text, etc. It is crucial that parents and teachers inform their children and students of the dangers and powers of the web. Merlyn Horton, executive director of the Safe Online Outreach Society and a former youth-outreach worker (1) says that teens are experimental when it comes to sexuality and exhibitionism, and we are too naive and don't have the risk assessment skills or the ability to really realize what consequences are.
Is it true, that teens (mainly younger) don't have the ability to realize the dangers of the media? Should the education system make it mandatory to acknowledge the students of the danger, risks, and consequences? Should those who participate in bullying face larger, more severe consequences? And last but not least, should more action have taken place after the releasing of the video ONE FULL MONTH PRIOR to the suicide? Personally I do find it rather odd that there wasn't much effort put in to stop this horrible event from happening in the first place.
(1) http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Death+bullied+girl+told+story+YouTube+sets+police+probe/7382286/story.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej7afkypUsc
This is my weekly post...
ReplyDeleteLast week I posted on the topic of gun running/ arms trade, this week I would like to talk about drug trafficking. More specifically drug trafficking out of Mexico, Central/South America and the Caribbean and of course the drug I'm mainly talking about is crack/cocaine. Now UNODC (The United Nations Office on Drug and Crime) defines drug trafficking as: A global illicit trade involving the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. As I said I wanted to focus on the flow of drugs out of South/Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean, so open your skulls because you are about to receive a bombshell of knowledge.
From 2007-2008, cocaine was used by some 16-17 million people worldwide and North America accounted for more than 40 percent of global cocaine consumption (the total was estimated at around 470 tons), while the 31 European countries accounted for more than a quarter of total consumption. For the North American market, cocaine is usually transported from Colombia to Mexico or Central America by sea and then by land to the United States and Canada while Cocaine is trafficked to Europe mostly by sea, often in container shipments. Colombia seems to remain the top source of the cocaine found in Europe, although their relative importance appears to be in decline. For example, in 2002, the UK authorities reported that 90% of the cocaine seized was originally from Colombia, but by 2008, it was down to 65%. [1] The United Nations 1997 publication of, "Economic and Social Consequences of Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking," states that: "With estimates of $100 billion to $110 billion for heroin, $110 billion to $130 billion for cocaine, $75 billion for cannabis and $60 billion for synthetic drugs, the probable global figure for the total illicit drug industry would be approximately $360 billion. Given the conservative bias in some of the estimates for individual substances, $400 billion is more realistic." [2]
Now that is a lot of money but let me tell you about someone named Francisco Thoumi.
Francisco Thoumi received a PhD in economics from the University of Minnesota and a BA from the Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia. After working for several decades on Latin American integration, and economic development and industrialization, he began focusing his research on drugs to better understand what was going on in illicit drug trades. Dr. Thoumi’s main research has been on the competitive advantage of coca- and poppy-growing countries. He has worked on the issue of drugs in Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. During 1999–2000, he coordinated the publication of the World Drug Report.
He noted that in the Journal of Drug Issues a US$400 billion turnover would be equivalent to approximately eight percent of total international trade. [3]
Sources:
1 - http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/drug-trafficking/index.html
2 - http://www.drugwardistortions.org/distortion19.htm
3 - http://www.utexas.edu/cola/insts/llilas/visiting-academics/tinker.php
> Click here to read full 2011 UN report http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/WDR2011/World_Drug_Report_2011_ebook.pdf
For more info about drug trafficking in the Americas and Global drug trafficking go to any of the following
http://oas.samhsa.gov/NSDUH/2K8NSDUH/tabs/Sect1peTabs34to38.pdf
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/node/17/pdf
Forgot to mention that was my weekly post.... ^
ReplyDeleteHey D.H, I was talking to my mum about the Amanda Todd tragedy and she told me that the government is really gonna crack down on cyber bullying from now on. It's a shame that only now is it coming to people's attention that cyber bullying (and really bullying in general) is an awful thing that can even be fatal. I definitely agree that our education system should educate students more about the media, and I also agree that consequences should be more severe for bullies.
ReplyDeleteMy mum and I were also discussing how it wasn't just suicide, but more so murder. Amanda was provoked; she was shoved to the edge and with one final push from the bullies, her life ended. Bullying that leads to suicide should certainly face more severe consequences then a simple slap on the wrist or a fine; these bullies murdered Amanda Todd and they should not get away with it.
It's such a shame to see someone take their own life because a bunch of scummy kids found enjoyment in tormenting a girl who made a teenage mistake.
This is my weekly post. In this forum, I wish to bring to address the discussion going around the Toronto proposal to the TDSB (Toronto District School Board) to establish the first gay centric high school in the area. Now, in my opinion there are significant pros and cons that should be taken into consideration before finalizing such a proposal. First, to address the positive notions affiliated with such a school, I believe Toronto as a community is embracing the idea for the surface appearance of what such a school would bring. By surface appearance I mean ideas such as “being who you are” and having those around you be free to do the same. I completely support that aspect of the school. I think it would be wonderful for students to interact with people who live their lives the same way as they do, who live with the same fears, concerns and feelings. I believe relationships would thrive and levels of comfort to these students broadened. Not only students, but homosexual teachers may benefit from such a school as well not having to worry about what Fan Wu (a former TDSB student trustee who organized the proposal) calls “parental backlash.” Wu also commented to Xtra, a gay and lesbian news site, “there is a real lack of education and a need for school that encourages critical thinking, especially in areas of gender and sexual diversity.” (1)
ReplyDeleteHowever, with all that being said, and although it may appear that this school be an exceptional; idea, one must delve into the negative repercussions such a school could engage. Although it is unfortunate, many people in our society do not support homosexuality. Many extremists will state that homosexuality goes against the word of God and the Bible, For example, in Leviticus 18:22 the Bible states “a man shall not lie with a man as with a woman, it is abomination.” (2) Many extremists see homosexuals as “people of sin” or the “spawn of the devil.” They believe ridding these people of the Earth is “doing God’s will” and “cleansing” the population. As a result, an all gay school may just be painting a target on the backs of those that attend it. It would be a magnet for extremists, a place in which to perform their “duty” to God with the most collateral damage. The safety of those that attend the school must also be taken into account.
The TDSB has also been faced with ideas for other alternative schools such as an Africentric school which some deemed to be “segregationist.” This is definitely a stage our alternative schools have gone through before," Schwartz-Maltz , a TDSB spokesperson said, adding that a proposal would have to meet TDSB requirements and guidelines around things such as level of interest in the community. "I guess they have to see how many people come (to the forum), or how much interest there is." (3) To conclude, I believe Toronto’s best bet would be making an informed decision and taking into account all the mitigating factors revolving this issue such as the opinions of the people who are pro this alternative school, as well as the voices of those who are concerned.
(1) http://www.torontosun.com/2012/09/26/calls-for-first-all-gay-high-school-in-toronto
(2) http://www.conservapedia.com/Arguments_Against_Homosexuality
(3) http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2012/09/26/20233466.html
^ also for some reason I was unable to indent my paragraphs...
ReplyDeleteKenneth William Carr of Abbostford BC is facing the rare charge of counselling a woman to commit suicide. (1) This is not the first run in with the law he has had with the first being the murder of a 17 year old girl. This shows two fundamental flaws with our health system and system of justice. The first is how did a man who is a known murderer get in contact with this woman without her knowledge of his previous crimes. The law in Canada regarding criminals that have done their time is really quite useless. Karla Homolka is a good example of this. She originally had a list of 8 restrictions of where she could go, what she could do and not do and who she could talk to, now she has been granted freedom from all forms of tracking and obligations to the police department regarding her whereabouts, work, and everything related to her life. (2) If a hardened, prolific serial killer can get away with these acts with no restrictions after her prison sentence then it seems like situations of murderers and rapists re-offending are highly probable and subject to become more commonplace. If our government took more actions to rehabilitate criminals rather than solely look at punitive measures then maybe it would be safe to release these vicious, cold-blooded murderers and rapists into our society once they had been rehabilitated. But our current system is clearly not working in that "Psychopathic criminals are 2.5 times more likely to be released from prison than non-psychopaths, even though they are more likely to re-offend, a study suggests."(3) This shows that even though we may try and rehabilitate prisoners we cannot always be successful and testing for deception still remains largely guesswork. Hopefully our government can implement more effective rehabilitation policies to reduce the chances of situations such as this one happening again, if not then we shall continue to be shocked by the "why was he allowed out?" cries of the public in response to brutal crimes.
ReplyDelete(1) http://www.vancouversun.com/videos/recommended/video.html?embedCode=tobWoyNjoTGOwKPydlxaM3BOEGvPHA0U
(2)http://web.archive.org/web/20080201082139/http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/11/30/homolka051130.html
(3)http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7833672.stm