Blog 6:Drug Legalization

Drug legalization could increase the crime rate around the U.S and other countries as well. The crime rate is already high as it is, if drugs were to be legalized, more people would be free to sell them which could cause problems to those who are selling other drugs as well. Violence , kidnapping, murder, and robberies can all increase if drugs were to be legalized, this would put more criminals in jail. Some people who use to sell drugs illegally wouldn't be smart enough to sell drugs in a legal market which could cause them to slip up and not make their profit. Most drug dealers already have a criminal record which means it would be hard for them to have a legal job.If drugs were to be legalized, they would have more problems on criminal territories, more crime, and more gangs. As the article says, ''We need to be careful about what we dream. Legalization comes with unforeseen risks. The only way to reduce crime and violence in Latin America is to improve justice systems, fix prisons and reduce corruption. This is where the problem is, and where the solution should be'' this shows how our society can be fixed but it starts with little things such as fixing prisons and justice systems. If the government were to legalize drugs, they should have a reasonable plan behind it so that the crime rate will decrease instead of increase. Many people have been waiting for drugs to be legalized but the outcome of what could happen if they were, is unknown and could be one of the worse mistakes ever made.
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/05/30/should-latin-america-end-the-war-on-drugs/drug-legalization-could-create-more-crime

Blog 4: girls and education

''Currently 75 million children, of whom 41 million are girls, do not go to primary school. Education International reports that women and girls face particular obstacles that keep them out of education, including:violence on the way to school, in and around schools; early pregnancy and early marriage; vulnerability to the HIV epidemic, discrimination based on gender stereotypes in the wider community and at schools; school fees, which may mean that parents send their boys and not their girls to school; and lack of gender sensitive quality education especially in rural areas.''

This blog relates to the group discussion that was most recently due. Not enough girls and women are allowed to go to school to get an education in some countries because the men want them to do other things. Some girls are getting pregnant or are forced to marry someone that they don not even know. This is a problem for some women in counties such as Asia and Africa because their population is so high but the women are not allowed to get an education because they have to stay home and take care of the younger children and babies, as well as cleaning, cooking, and finding food.

Most girls and women cannot get an education because they are not wealthy enough to be sent to school. The girls who are able to get an education are most likely to have a healthier family and be able to get married later on in life. The article states that ''Education helps girls and women to know their rights and to gain confidence to claim them. However, women's literacy rates are significantly lower than men's in most developing countries.'' This shows that some women who can get an education should be able to be confident in their rights and possibly do what some of the men have rights to do based off of how educated they are.

http://www.economist.com/node/17155748

Blog 3 : China struggles with rising crime against foreigners

China is known to be the ''safest place in the world'', even with their rising crime rate on foreigners. Recently, a worried man in china spoke very little English but he told the Australian tourist that he was sorry, as he opened his jacket with explosives strapped to his body. Several Chinese people have been robbing and killing tourists for coming to their country. Most people who travel to China for their jobs are being killed, used out of their money, and robbed by Chinese men. There was an incident in Xian, which is china's most popular city for tourist. This incident was an embarrassment to China since they were preparing for the spotlight for the Olympics. The U.S Government was Americans who travel to China to be aware of the beatings, carjacks, muggings, and robberies. This is a big issue because many Americans are coming to China and either losing their life or getting robbed just for being a tourist. Crime is steadily increasing in these areas of China but they still claim that they are the ''safest'' place in the world. If more people went to China, The crime would increase more rapidly because the Chinese may feel as though people are trying to do something they shouldn’t be doing or trying to take over their country. The booming economy draws millions to China to work, study and travel, and criminals increasingly are defying a culture that has long considered foreigners inviolate. China’s Public Security reports that last year it counted 289,000 robberies and 171,000 bag-snatchings overall, a tiny number for a country of 1.3 billion people. But it reported only that murder and kidnapping were down 10 percent and 1.5 percent respectively from the year before, without giving the number of cases.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/17/world/asia/17iht-crime.1.11179742.html

Blog 2: Teen Robbery

        After reading over several police reports posted on the New York Times, I noticed that a lot of crime has been taken place around the same area. Most of these crimes have been done by young teenagers from the ages of 14-19 years old. One of the main reports that I read that stood out to me the most was the teen who was suspected in two break-ins in one day. One of the break-ins was in a 39 year old man's house located on Greene Avenue. The boy had broken into the man's house just before 5 o'clock on Aug 20. When the man had heard a noise he got up to go see what it was, the man saw the boy trying to hop the fence with the man's Dell laptop, MacBook Pro laptop, iPad, Sony camera and broken Blackberry. The boy went through a hole he had cut in the screen to enter the house and ran off on foot. He was later arrested at 5:45 pm. When police found the teenager, he was in possession of a MacBook Air laptop that was stolen from a 44-year-old woman’s Clermont Avenue home earlier that afternoon.

        This is a big social problem and global problem because many teens are robing houses, stealing iPhone, iPads, iPods, computers, money, jewelry, and much more each and every day. These types of crimes make it hard for not only the police but other people as well because they have to make sure their home is protected at all times. I also noticed that a lot of the crimes that were taken place involved the same things such as, mugging men/ women from behind just to take their iPhone or iPad. Jewelry theft and purse/ wallet theft was also a big issue when reading these reports. There isn't much that people can do to prevent these things from happening, just watch your back at all times and be aware of your home surroundings. Luckily for some people, their neighborhoods are very quiet, which is where most teens make their move to try and break-in, but little do they know, the neighbors are always watching so the police are just one call away. This puts the suspects in a bad position because they would have no time to run away after attempting to steal someone else's stuff.

http://fort-greene.thelocal.nytimes.com/2012/08/31/crime-report-playground-shooting/

Blog 1:Kidnapping and murder 8/30/12 4:00

A big global issue that a lot of people don’t pay attention to is kidnapping. Some parents let their children walk to school when they are in middle school usually if they are walking with some friends. The main issue with having your children walking home even if they are walking with friends is that there is always someone watching. Recently in Brooklyn New York, a young 8 year old boy named Leiby Kletzky was kidnapped and murdered on his way home from camp one summer afternoon. Leiby's parents decided to let him walk half way home one day after camp for the first time. Unfortunately this was Leiby's last time. While walking home, Leiby walked 7 blocks too far and got lost, he then asked a man by the name of Levi Aron for directions. Mr. Aron realized he was lost and kidnapped Leiby and drove him to a wedding in Rockland Country. Short after he drove Leiby to the wedding, he took him home in his attic in Kensington Brooklyn. Leiby was raised in a safe neighborhood so when the word got out about Leiby being missing, thousands of neighbors went looking for him. When the word got out about the missing-child case, Mr. Aron got scared and he suffocated Leiby. Mr. Aron then chopped up Leiby and put parts of his body in the freezer and the rest of it in a suitcase. Later on, surveillance camera led police to Mr. Aron. Once Mr. Aron was arrested, police found out the Mr. Aron suffered from a mental illness and a family history of Schizophrenia. Mr. Aron was sentenced to 40 years in prison. This is a big issue because more kids are getting killed and kidnaped just for walking home. Society has changed so much that some parents are cracking down on their children’s safety.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/30/nyregion/levi-aron-is-sentenced-to-40-years-in-killing-of-leiby-kletzky-8.html?_r=1&ref=kidnapping