DUI’s

http://gossip.about.com/b/2006/12/11/nicole-richie-arrested-for-dui.htm

 

Even though stars and celebrities do not get special treatment for breaking the law, especially with DUI’s, young people may seem to believe that it is “cool” to drink and drive because the stars they look up to do it.  Nichole Richie was arrested after several calls about an SUV driving the wrong way on the highway, at the time she only weighed 85 lbs. This at the time, and still even today is a huge problem, of everyone wanting to be as thin as the celebrities too. 

            People may be so caught up in all the images of everything, and trying to fit in, they don’t realize that it is wrong.  Just because someone is a celebrity and has money, doesn’t mean that it’s okay for them to do it, or make it anymore okay for you to do the same thing. Everyone must pay for the consequences one way or the other, and just because you’re an actress or singer sometimes means, that you can latterly pay your way out of being in trouble. It’s sad that our culture has become so accepting of bribes and paying your way out of breaking the law.  “Normal people” like us, the average Joe that you pass on the street, really needs to understand that we can’t come even close to getting away with that kind of stuff, like celebrities. 

 

 

Phone Scams

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/topstories/news-article.aspx?storyid=106130

 People across the country have been receiving calls from someone or people claiming to be apart of the Fraternal Order of the Police asking for money. The caller claims to be working for Sherriff Rick Beseler. They are giving the advice to immediately hang up and not reply to them because the Police never would call and solicit money over the phone. I believe that people shouldn’t be able to access people’s number as easily. There are many issues like this throughout the world; they are obnoxious, rude and just plain annoying. When they had the “Do not call list” that you could sign up for a few years ago, people thought that it would be the end to their problems. I know personally we still get tons of calls to our house even though we are on that list. I have even started receiving them on my cell phone. This can create a problem for many families, even though it is a job and a source of money for another family. Many people don’t like to be bothered with issues like these, and they can come off as real to some people who don’t know how to handle the situation. Many can be taken advantage of especially if they are so willing to trust some. I know many people would believe that if they were to donate money, it’d really be going to the Police. However if you were to think about it, that’s what we pay taxes for, and get so many silly tickets for.

 

Phone Scams

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/topstories/news-article.aspx?storyid=106130

            People across the country have been receiving calls from someone or people claiming to be apart of the Fraternal Order of the Police asking for money.  The caller claims to be working for Sherriff Rick Beseler.  They are giving the advice to immediately hang up and not reply to them because the Police never would call and solicit money over the phone.

           

            I believe that people shouldn’t be able to access people’s number as easily.  There are many issues like this throughout the world; they are obnoxious, rude and just plain annoying.  When they had the “Do not call list” that you could sign up for a few years ago, people thought that it would be the end to their problems.  I know personally we still get tons of calls to our house even though we are on that list.  I have even started receiving them on my cell phone.  This can create a problem for many families, even though it is a job and a source of money for another family.  Many people don’t like to be bothered with issues like these, and they can come off as real to some people who don’t know how to handle the situation.  Many can be taken advantage of especially if they are so willing to trust some.  I know many people would believe that if they were to donate money, it’d really be going to the Police.  However if you were to think about it, that’s what we pay taxes for, and get so many silly tickets for.

 

Crazy Kids

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/topstories/news-article.aspx?storyid=106016

            This past week a group of third grade students in Waycross, Georgia plotted to kill their teacher and brought a bag of items used in this to their school with the intent to carry out their plan.  There was nine students total and they were only suspended.  In this bag of weapons there was a steak knife, gloves, a crystals candle holder, toy hand cuffs, tape, and a few other things.  These children aren’t being charged with anything, but are being but in some sort of juvenile correctional facility.

 

I believe that this is an example of what the children in our society are learning these days. Some of this may be due to the media and what they are expressing to all age groups.  Some of this may also be coming from the home, and raised levels of violence in the home, and world these days.  These kids are just third graders and they are plotting to kill their teacher.  It’s not like it’s a silly game of clue, this was a real life thing.  Who knows, maybe next time a kid could think to bring a bomb or something, and end up hurting more than just their teacher.  Parents should keep items like the ones found on these students, more out of reach so the child doesn’t have such easy access.  Parents want to think that their child is a perfect kid, and wouldn’t ever do anything like this.  But all it takes is for a switch to flip and a kid, or anyone to go off.  These kids are just 3^rd graders, imagine the damage that has been done to them, and the help they will need to not do something like this in the future. It’s obvious that kids need more attention and help these days.  The more we neglect them, and think they’ll be alright, the more and more corrupt they become.  Something like this should be a wakeup call for the rest of the world to pay more attention.

 

Drugs not just a poor mans problem

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23432385-2862,00.html

 http://mentalhealth.about.com/b/2003/08/22/more-drug-use-in-bored-rich-and-stressed-teens.htm

                Drug use isn’t just for poor people.  A recent study indicates that teens  with 21-60 dollars a week disposable income were 60 per cent more likely to have used drugs in the past year than those with 20 dollars  or less.  Also students who had more than 60 dollars were more than twice as likely to have used drugs than those with only 20 dollars.  Also students with 25 or more dollars a week were more than twice as likely to get drunk.  This defies the common misconception that drugs are for the poor.  It also opens up a fact that we must realize as drugs are now in all parts of our society. 

                However in my own personal view drugs are not necessarily a bad thing.  The reason people think that drugs are bad is because they are told that they are bad.  If somone can use them safely and responsibly then its up to every individual to decide for themselves wether or not it is something that they wish to experience.  We need to realize that all the anti drug messages arent working kids use drugs anyways and will continue to use them.  We need to come to the realization that drugs have always been a part of our society and that trying to remove them alltogether is impossible we need to try to tame it and incorporate it into our society as many people use drugs and will continue to use drugs wether or not you approve of their behavior.

                 The study also shows that many teens use drugs not because of problems but out of bordem. 

 

street violence

Street violence is a broad topic, but in total it accounts for about one third of all violent crimes. It applies to fatal and non-fatal acts and is closely associated with gang and youth violence. Gang violence accounts for most street homicides and nearly all cities with a population of 100,000 people or more reported street gangs. It’s not something I find surprising, which in a way is even more frightening, it means people have become accustom to having gangs.

Gangs and Street violence is concentrated in low income neighborhoods such as the Pico neighborhood of Santa Monica, CA, where street violence is decreasing and the neighborhood is improving. Even so, recent interviews revel that the residence know much more than they tell police. According to one person there are 7 extra murders in the area that the police apparently know nothing about.

The people of that neighborhood used to be afraid of the violence now they are afraid of the police camped out at every corner, afraid to get arrested for just walking down the street at night. Some residence think it is just as bad. I disagree I think it is progress and I thinks it is necessary, if a neighborhood is going to be stable it’s own people need to realized that street violence is absolutely intolerable.

Besides crippling our youth, both mentally and physically, violence digs deep into the pockets of to already poor areas. It drains health care (both individual and government paid), causes lost wages and missed school days due to injury, and worst of all, in more way than one, a funeral take the ultimate toll on suffering communities.

Homicide is the second most common cause of death for children ages 15-24. This isn’t what we want happening to the promises young people of our community. I think a lot of the violence could be prevented if only the people would speak up and tell what they know. If the police had a better way to protect people that risk felling the notorious reproductions of passing information to authorities then the street would be a lot safer. I’m sure it would be hard to come forward with some of terrifying information some people have but I wish people would see that keeping quiet isn’t going to keep them safe forever if these things are happening right in front of them.

http://www.answers.com/topic/street-violence?cat=health http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2004/Dec-2004/12_07_04_Youth_and_Street_Violence.htm

 

JK JK LOL IDK WH?

It’s common knowledge; Look where your walking/stepping . It’s something that we have been taught since that first step at the age of 3. But it seems that not only the youth but the “grown up” have forgotten to pay attention to their footsteps. Studies are showing an increase in accidents from texting. Yes! Texting! I’m not talking about sore thumbs and swollen pinkies; we’re talking about running into things and sever injuries. In places like the UK precautions have been taken in order to soften the blows.

 

In the towns and the most heavily foot traffic known places the lamppost, telephone poles, and everything else has been padded. Even though all of this …. Padding is happening in Britain the issue is still happening here. Unaware pedestrians hurting themselves, and placing others in danger. In the news a report of a boy who was hit by a train while he was texting with I mobile. How much longer until we need some padding on our main streets.

 

The Bigger question would be whether or not texting while transporting one’s self should be legal? A huge percentage of people have cell phones. And the AAA has placed a study stating that 46% of teen’s text while driving and that’s just the teens. What about all the adults; who have a larger need of the texting capability.

 

The trend of texting has become a danger to the functioning of our daily lives.

 

It’s little, but it’s a big deal

The pill. It’s maybe even more controversial than sex itself, but its not widely talked about. The the thing that really hits home, is since we hear that many teens are becoming pregnant these days, then why not offer FREE birth control? According to the Department of Health and Human Services these stats state that “Between 2005 and 2006, the birth rate for teenagers 15-19 years rose 3 percent, from 40.5 live births per 1,000 females aged 15-19 years in 2005 to 41.9 births per 1,000 in 2006. This follows a 14-year downward trend in which the teen birth rate fell by 34 percent from its recent peak of 61.8 births per 1,000 in 1991.” And “Between 2005 and 2006, the birth rate rose 3 percent for teens aged 15-17 and 4 percent for teens aged 18-19.” That’s a shocking rise and it’s pretty drastic since it had been a downward trend for 14 years prior. But I have to say that this really grinds my gears. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) have recieved funding by President Bush’s for teen pregnancy programs, which will be teaching more on the lines of abstinence then safer sex. His budget provides an additional $33 million in funding for the abstinence education, fulfilling the President’s promise to increase abstinence funding to $135 million. This to me makes no sense at all. This is not reality. Teens everyday around the world are having sex. Hormones rage and sometimes you can’t rely on your faith and vales to save you from ripping off all your clothes and jumping into the sack. And i won’t forget to mention the profound sexual images we are being fed everyday. Everything from advertisements, popular television shows, and online. Sex is everywhere, and even though abstinence is the safest way not to get pregnant, its also the dumbest. Cause we aren’t living in a dream world people. I’m not saying that its bad to promote abstinence, cause that could weed out many of teens bad morals and values these days, but i think its dumb not to teach both methods. Abstinence and the proper use of condoms and birth control.

The real matter is those things are available, but now they are getting pricey to attain. The best method between condoms [which are cheaper] and birth control, is birth control. Condoms are better for STD’s but im just talking about pregnancy. Their percentages with effective use range from 64 percent to 97 percent for condoms. With oral contreceptives it’s about 99 percent for the combination pill and about 97 percent for the mini-pill. The prices though are hard to aquire when you’re a teenager in highschool, and of course, you dont want your parents to know when you’re using their insurance to pay 100 to 40 bucks a pop for a packet of 28 day pills from your regular doctor. Planned Parenthood has always provided low cost birth control since the seventies under Title X when it went into affect. But now with a loss of funding to many Planned Parenthoods around the nation its getting harder for them to supply teenage women with the pill. “Most agencies that provide free or low-cost services don’t have tremendous resources,” states Dr. Vannessa Cullins, vice president for Planned Parenthood’s Federations of America and medical affairs. Title X money is now being spent on a broader range of services, like STD testing. And the president’s appropriations for the program have stagnated. Right now, Title X’s annual allotment is $283 million a year; if it kept pace with inflation, that number would be $693 million. But instead of increasing funding, the Bush administration is funneling money to abstinence-only education, like ive stated before. And it doesn’t provide information on contraception or health care.

What a waste of money, on something that could help the lives of so many women and better families altogether.

http://www.alternet.org/story/32759/
http://www.policyalmanac.org/health/archive/hhs_teenage_pregnancy.shtml

 

modern slavery anyone?

I assume most of you know what human trafficking is, but if you didn’t it is the recruitment, transportation, harbouring, or receipt of people for the purpose of exploitation. According to United States State Department data, an “estimated 600,000 to 820,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders each year, approximately 80 percent are women and girls and up to 50 percent are minors. The data also illustrates that the majority of transnational victims are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation.” This is just a grotesque fact to uncover. Also finding out that it is a seven billion dollar business makes me want to puke. You may now be asking yourself how can this be a corporation? Well many causes of trafficking are linked but not limited to:
Lack of employment opportunities
Organised crime and presence of organised criminal gangs
Regional imbalances
Economic disparities
Social discrimination
Corruption in government
Political instability
Armed conflict
Profitability
Growing deprivation and marginalization of the poor
Insufficient penalties against traffickers
Driven by demand; demand is high for prostitutes and other forms of labor in host countries; therefore there is a very profitable market available to those who wish to become handlers.

According to the UN a major factor that has allowed the growth of sexual trafficking is
“Governments and human rights organizations alike have simply judged the woman guilty of prostitution and minimized the trafficker’s role.”
There are attempts from the government, international associations and nongovernmental organizations to stop trafficking. Some work better then others. The government tries to fight it with laws and legislation. However in the state of Maryland it is considered a felony to have sex with a minor but only a misdeamenor to make it available for those who wish to have sex with a minor. Even though the whole world is trying very hard to win the battle of human trafficking, it is looking harder and harder to fight. Looking at the statistics and facts and even recognizing the stricter laws and enforcement provided to the U.S. The numbers just look like they’re growing everyday.

http://www.humantrafficking.org/

This site gave lots of information and updates on humantrafficking all around the world.
You should definately check it out. Update yourself as well to this certain topic.

 

hello stds.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN1157399920080311

 http://www.cdc.gov/NCHSTP/dstd/Stats_Trends/Stats_and_Trends.htm

More than one in every four united states teen girls are infected with at least one sexually transmitted disease. An estimated 3.2 million united states girls ages 14 through 19 about 26 percent of that age group has been infected with a sexually transmitted disease like h.p.v, chlamydia, genital herpes, or trichomoniasis. The majority of the young females receiving the stds are African American then the next race in line is Caucasian and then Mexican American.

the ratios

-48% of black girls.

-20% of white girls.

-20% of mexican girls.

Among the girls who had stds 15% had more than one. 20% of the girls who only had sex with one partner had at least one std. HPV was found in 18 percent of the tested girls.

I find these numbers outrageous and the most defiantly need to be tamed. This is not healthy for the human population once so ever and it is not cool once so ever. In my opinion i believe that the doctors who specialize in this sorta deal really need to find cures and answers fast. I don’t have to much of a response except for the fact i feel this needs to be taken care of a.s.a.p. The std issue in the young society in the world needs to be addressed.