Sold #1

Lakshmi is a thirteen-year-old girl who lives with her family in a small hut in the mountains of Nepal. Her family is desperately poor, but her life is full of simple pleasures, like raising her black-and-white speckled goat, and having her mother brush her hair by the light of an oil lamp. But when the harsh Himalayan monsoons wash away all that remains of the family’s crops, Lakshmi’s stepfather says she must leave home and take a job to support her family. He introduces her to a glamorous stranger who tells her she will find her a job as a maid working for a wealthy woman in the city. Glad to be able to help, Lakshmi undertakes the long journey to India and arrives at “Happiness House” full of hope. But she soon learns that she has been sold into prostitution. An old woman named Mumtaz rules the brothel with cruelty. She tells Lakshmi that she is trapped there until she can pay off her family’s debt – then cheats Lakshmi of her meager earnings so that she can never leave.  The reason I chose to read the book "Sold", is because it has a lot to do with my marketplace of ideas project and that is human trafficking. Through my project I learned what these girls go through who are trafficked for sexual exploitation. Just like Lakshmi, these women are promised jobs in other countries and are fooled into leaving home and becoming trapped in the world of prostitution.

Phil Jackson's last game an embarassing one; Mavs sweep

While watching the fourth quarter of the Dallas Mavericks- LA Lakers game, I couldn't help but yell at the TV in disgust with the Lakers play, while they crumbled and were embarrassed in a 36 point blowout.  When you think of the Lakers you think of excellence, class, a great organization filled with winners. The Lakers are a classy organization, in that fourth quarter they were classless. Starting with the ejection of Lamar Odom. As Nowitzki comes down the court to set a ball screen, Odom givesa forearm shove that pushes Dirk to the ground. It could have been frustration from being down 30 points, he could have been embarrassed because they were about to be swept, he could have been upset that he had played a terrible game. It could have been all three of those things. But as Odom gets tossed the game ends up becoming more out of control. You could see it in the way they played defense. No pride. Not rotating on defense, leaving 3 point shooters wide open to score. Smart? Mavericks made twenty 3 pt FGs. They didn't even care that they were about to lose in a playoff game by forty. Minutes later Bynum decks JJ Barea in a layup attempt. A dirty play by a player who earlier in the series stated tot he media that there is a trust issue amongst the players. As he left the court accompanied by a roar of "boos" Bynum took his jersey off. A sign of disrespect to the organization. Zero class. You have to feel bad for Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant. Guys who have been winners and always very classy. To be embarrassed like this in the last game of the series is one thing, but to have your team look like a bunch of thugs is another. As Hubie Brown said during the game. When you are a winning team like the Lakers " You win like winners, and you lose like winners. Always play with class, pride and respect for the game".

Get to know Human Trafficking

Trafficking is a lucrative industry. It has been identified as the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. Globally, it is tied with the illegal arms trade, as the second largest criminal activity, following the drug tradeThe total annual revenue for trafficking in persons is estimated to be between USD$5 billion and $9 billion. The Council of Europe states, "People trafficking has reached epidemic proportions over the past decade, with a global annual market of about $42.5 billion." The United Nations estimates nearly 2.5 million people from 127 different countries are being trafficked around the world.,
However, many of these statistics are grossly inflated to aid advocacy of anti-trafficking NGOs and the anti-trafficking policies of governments. Due to the definition of trafficking being a process (not a singly defined act) and the fact that it is a dynamic phenomenon with constantly shifting patterns relating to economic circumstances, much of the statistical evaluation is flawed.
Human trafficking differs from people smuggling. In the latter, people voluntarily request or hire an individual, known as a smuggler, to covertly transport them from one location to another. This generally involves transportation from one country to another, where legal entry would be denied upon arrival at the international border. There may be no deception involved in the (illegal) agreement. After entry into the country and arrival at their ultimate destination, the smuggled person is usually free to find their own way.
While smuggling requires travel, trafficking does not. Much of the confusion rests with the term itself. The word "trafficking" includes the word "traffic," which we often equate with transportation or travel. However, while the words look and sound alike, they do not hold the same meaning. Human trafficking does not require the physical movement of a person (but must entail the exploitation of the person for labor or commercial sex). Additionally, victims of human trafficking are not permitted to leave upon arrival at their destination. They are held against their will through acts of coercion and forced to work or provide services to the trafficker or others. The work or services may include anything from bonded or forced labor to commercialized sexual exploitation.The arrangement may be structured as a work contract, but with no or low payment or on terms which are highly exploitative. Sometimes the arrangement is structured as debt bondage, with the victim not being permitted or able to pay off the debt.

The Evil behind the Smiles

If you have ever seen the movie "Taken", starring Liam Neeson, then you get a sense of what human trafficking is like.  When I first saw the film I was amazed at what I saw. I strongly believe that the hollywood version of sex trafficking in the film is very similar to what it's like in real life. In the movie you see hundreds of girs drugged out of their minds, and selling their bodies for sex. If the issue is such a huge deal, then why aren't their stronger relief efforts to stop this. This is a viloation of women's rights. And it's not as if these brothels and sex trafficking go on in the desolated areas of eastern Europe. Women being kidnapped and sold for sex is being done all over the world. Websites such as "End Modern-Day Slavery" are doing all they can to spread awareness on the subject but its not enough. Until people in the United States and all over the wold are exposed to the world of human sex trafficking and are able to see what these women go through, only then will the support be strong enough to stop the slavery of women once and for all.

What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas

If Las Vegas is the City of Lights, then why is it so hard to see the human sex trafficking taking place on the strip? There is probably no city in America where women are treated worse than in Las Vegas. The tone of systematic, institutionalized degredation is set by the mayor, Oscar Goodman, who said in an interview that the city would reap "tremendous" benefits if a series of "magnificent brothels" could be established to cater to johns from across the country and across the world.  Las Vegas is with out a doubt, as psychologist and researched Melissa Farley, says, "the epicenter of North American prostitution and sex trafficking." I have been to Las Vegas and it is evident that sex is all around you. You can be waiting to cross the street and a huge mobile bilboard will drive by saying "Girls to your roome in 20 minutes". There are also countless men standing on the corner of streets handing out cards selling nude women. If prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas than why does the city not take any action in stopping these illegal functions that are so obvious. Making Vegas a world class embarrassment to any U.S. official attempting to reduce prostitution and trafficking in foreign countries. Why are we so focused on stopping it in other countries when we cant even stop it on U.S soil first?

Human Sex Trafficking

What is human trafficking? Human trafficking is the movement of people by means such as force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them. The United Nations describes trafficking as a form of "slavery". It knows of victims from 127 countries and of their exploitation in 137.  Major destinations for victims include wealthy countries in Western Europe, North America, and the Middle East. Women are involved in 77% of trafficking cases worldwide, with sexual exploitation a factor in 87%. Forced labour is also a motive behind trafficking. I believe the sexual trafficking of women is an issue that is not being taken seriously enough. I remember watching the video of the women who was a sex slave for six years, she said that she probably had sex with a thousand men each year. That is one of the most disturbing bits of information I've ever heard in my life. It is a fight for womens rights as they are being sold at a price, especially in the UK between 2000 to 8000 pounds. Many trafficking victims in the UK are from Eastern European countries including Lithuania, russia, Albania and Ukraine. Others are from Far East, South America and Africa. Often, women are lured by adverts in their home countries for jobs such as restaurant staff, maids and child minders. Some expect to work as lap dancers or escorts, but not to be prostitutues. Others do know they are going to work as prostitutues but not under these terrible conditions. Most of these girls are the age of college students. Between 18-24 years of age. Problems presented with these girls are that they come from very poor backgrounds and have little or no education. Once they are brought to their destination (the UK in this case) Victims can end up in any town or city where brothels operate. Women are moved about the country frequently to avoid being saved by the government. They are sold and exchanged between a number of different gangs. The fate of these girls is unclear, although it is known some have been sent home after falling ill or becoming pregnant. Others have been allowed to pay off their "debts" to the traffickers. The whole process is disgusting and it is one I wish to learn more about.

Thoughts on Mock Trial

I thought the mock trial was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the preparation that went into it. I thought my case was really interesting and there was some really good arguments both sides were able to use in their defense. My case was Susan Williams V. David Jones, and it dealt with the alleged rape of Susan Williams. What I enjoyed most about the trial was being able to prepare a cross examination. Although my cross examination wasn't unbelievable, I still thought it was fun to be able to "burn" somebody on the witness stand and strategically get them to say what I wanted to prove. I also really enjoyed being a witness. I actually went into full character and acted the part really well. I even threw in a Boston accent for fun.  Although we lost, I still don't understand how it could have been seen as a unanimous decision by the jury.  There was a legitimate argument presented by us that Susan Williams said "No" and that there was resistance. And the law states that any type of resistance infers that it is rape. I even got David Jones to admit to rape while on the witness stand so I really think we could have won this trial. Regardless, I had a lot of fun with my case and it was also interesting to see the second case as a juror. As much as I hated the women in that case, it was probably the most obvious case of sexual harassment.
This mock trial really got me interested in law, and how its fun to be in those types of situations. Maybe law school is somewhere down the road for me.
 Peace

State of The Union

Like much of his speech, Obama had powerful statements about what needed to be done for economical improvement, but the question is: Can the government and Obama follow through? Obama said that by freezing annual domestic spending for the next five years the country would be able to reduce the deficit by $400 billion over the next decade. He mentioned that the freeze will bring cuts to like community action programs, and military spending. There have already been pay cuts for federal employees. These cuts will only account for annual domestic spending which only accounts for a little over 12% of out budget, the $400 billion may sound like a lot of savings, but with projections of a 6.2 trillion dollar deficit accumulating in the next few years the $400 billion sounds like pennies. The president asked millionaires to give up their tax break and mentioned that a permanent tax cut extension is out of the question budget-wise. Obama highly pushed the concept of investing. He said by investing in innovation, education and infrastructure, America will become a better environment for businesses and job creation. In order to help businesses Obama asked congress to lower corporate tax rates for the first time in 25 years. What was really interesting to see was the kind of awkward feeling the crowd had with members of different parties sitting next to each other. At times you could tell people weren't sure weather or not to clap. And there were often strange moments of silence. It was a bit of an uncomfortable feeling but I think it was good for the address to be given with the audience the way it was. In the future I think this will be beneficial to relationships in Washington.

Hidden Bias

The results I received on the IAT test, say that I strongly prefer European Americans when compared to African Americans.  I was surprised by the results because I don't truly think that I'm a prejudiced person. I don't agree with the results but its interesting to see. The reason for these results is because of how I took the test. I don't know if this environment that I'm taking it in, or how the test is given, if it can be considered accurate. I believe that the keyboard and the changing of sides for words really is what affected my test results. To me it wasn't a matter of whether those were hidden biases being exposed, but more of the test not being taken in the most productive way. In think this because it wasn't as if I was always putting negative words on the African American side. I would put words such as "nasty", and "awful" with whites too. That's why I don't believe this test was very accurate.
From reading the introduction page to the website I was able to learn a bit more about what these results mean, and where biases, prejudices, and stereotypes come from. Although many people claim to not be racist, which most aren't, we do have predispositions on certain things. Right now I can say that I don't believe I am a prejudiced person, or stereotypical, but I have made reference in the past that could possibly justify that I am. We learn this at a young age. I don't have a dislike for black people, I just have grown up in an environment where most of my friends are white.  I agree with what the website said in how if our communities were more integrated and had whites and blacks working together, then it would be easier to erase these hidden biases.

Egypt, the most populous country in the Arab world, erupted in mass protests in January 2011, as the revolution in Tunisia seemed to inflame decades worth of smoldering grievances against the heavy-handed rule of President Hosni Mubarak. After 18 days of angry protests, Mr. Mubarak resigned and turned over all power to the military on Feb. 11, 2011, ending his 30 years of autocratic rule and bowing to a historic popular uprising that has transformed politics in Egypt and around the Arab world. The announcement, delivered during evening prayers in Cairo, set off a frenzy of celebration, with protesters shouting “Egypt is free!” The popular protest, peaceful and resilient despite numerous effort by Mr. Mubarak’s legendary security apparatus to suppress it, ultimately deposed an ally of the United States who has been instrumental in implementing American policy in the region for decades.  The Egyptian military consolidated its control
 over what it has called a democratic transition, dissolving the feeble Parliament, suspending the Constitution and calling for elections in six months, in sweeping steps that echoed protesters’ demands. In the slideshow I viewed, it was interesting to see the many different pictures from the revolution and to see what an actual revolution looked like. I thought it was nice to see the amount of people coming together after the President stepped down to help clean up the streets and it was just a very positive atmosphere. It's truly something amazing. I don't believe that they are going to be able to establish a stable/definite government for atleast 4-5 years.  These types of things don't happen over night. It will be a long process, that hopefully will benefit the U.S. in future years.

Final Response to Food Rules and Michael Pollan

When first assigned this project I never would have thought that I'd be reading a book tackling the issue on America's health problems deriving directly from what we eat. I knew that obesity in America was an issue and I'd seen films such as "Super Size Me", but I wasn't fully aware of the problem and where the issues start until my mom told me about Michael Pollan and his books The Omnivores Dilemma and Food Rules. Americans need to be smart with how they eat and need to demand better quality food from producers. The way we prepare and consume food in America is unhealthy. There is a reason why our neighbors in Europe are so much healthier than us and its because of what they eat, how often they eat, and how they prepare their meals. Be conscious of what you are putting into your body, read labels/understand that much of what we eat can't really be considered "food" if you can't even pronounce the ingredients on the label. We need to eat in moderation and demand that the government crack down on the way our food is produced on farms, and how we take care of the animals which provide us with our every day meals. If you get the chance take a look at Michael Pollan's work and consider all he has to say. I really enjoyed reading the book and found it very informative and interesting. Change isn't far, but the American people need to ignite the flame that pushes the American food revolution.

Food Rules #5

Where's our food grown? What's in it? And why is it so cheap? Pollan says that ever since WW2, Americans have been on this "quest" to make food as cheap and abundant as possible. This has been the direction of all our agricultural policy to drive down the cost of food, which is always popular obviously, politically very popular, especially starting with the Nixon administration when we really went into overdrive in organizing subsidies to drive down the cost of corn and soy which were the building blocks of fast food. In real dollars were spending less on food than anyone in history. Only about 9% of our income goes toward our food. Its succeeded in a sense...we have lots of cheap and abundant food, but its almost succeeded to well. Much of America suffers from obesity, and type two diabetes. And as it turns out cheap food has many hidden costs. So how is it that we get the food so cheap? You have to brutalize the workers, and brutalize the animals, shoot them up with drugs, and feed them inappropriate diets. There are so many hidden costs that we are not aware of and if you think about it its quite gross. The food corporations and farms don't care about your health, they care about the money they get. If you can grow a chicken in 49 days why would you want one you gotta grow in three months? This is just an example of what farmers are doing in order to fulfill the idea that food needs to be made faster, fatter , bigger, cheaper. Look at the tobacco industry, the battle against tobacco is a perfect model of how an industries irresponsible behavior can be changed. Imagine of what it would be if as a national policy the idea would be to have such nutritionally dense food that people actually felt better, had more energy, and weren't sick as much. Its up to the people, we need to start demanding good wholesome food and really take this issue seriously. Only then will we see changes.

Food Rules #4

Rule 4: Avoid food products that contain high fructose corn syrup and foods that have some form of sugar (or sweetener) listed among the top three ingredients.  Here is some food for thought, when eating treats keep in mind to treat them as treats! As funny as that sounds in Pollan's book he covers sweets and how we abuse them in our diets. Labels list ingredients by weight, and any product that has more sugar than other ingredients has too much sugar. Complicating matters is the fact that, thanks to food science, there are now some forty types f sugar used in processed food, including barley malt, beet sugar, brown rice syrup, cane juice, corn sweetener, dextrin dextrose, fructo-oligosaccharides, fruit juice concentrate, glucose, sucrose, invert sugar, polydextrose, sucrose, turbinado sugar and son. Sugar is sugar. And organic sugar is sugar too. Now having sugar isnt bad at all. It's when we abuse it is when it becomes unhealthy.  Treat treats as treats. If you reward yourself with something sweet then it is ok to have. But if your constantly indulging junk food then its just downright unhealthy. When looking at products that have high fructose corn syrup remember this. Its not that HFCS is any worse for you than regular sugar, but because it is, like many other unfamiliar ingredients in packaged foods, a reliable marker for a food product that has been highly processed.  As I'm looking at a box of poptarts, I notice that a top five ingredient is HFCS. Pop Tarts are my favorite and not bad for you, but having HFCS shows that this is a highly processed food that has a lot of things in it in order to keep it fresh for a long time. If we are aware of what we put in our bodies and we eat these foods in moderation then its not a problem, its when we have these all the time it then becomes health issue.

Food Rules #3

One of the cool aspects of this book is that it gives you tips about how to shop and what to look out for while fighting a larger issue. This book is  in fact about the food you consume and why some of it may be very unhealthy for you but cloaked in banners of "health".  This is about gov't or someone compromising our health for the benefit of big business like Monsanto who controls most of the grain in the US. Many people seem to be confused about whether food is an issue in America. It is huge.  Michelle Obama is behind it and it is one her pet campaigns but also many other groups. There are dangerous additives to virtually all the products we consume and that we put on our bodies. From Obesity to the fake additives and dangerous carcinogens that are unknowingly added to our foods and given incompressible names, there is a problem in this country. Many people are ignorant to the fact that obesity is a huge issue in America. Many have the mindset that its not my problem so why should I care. We need to start caring. For those who are interested in politics then you know what the new Health care system entails. Not only do people with weight issues usually have other health problems, but for those who constantly indulge chemicals and disgusting products into their bodies they will eventually have health problems as well. The point im trying to make is eventually when you pay for their health care with your taxes you will care what they (and you eat). If your pay check  takes 50% of your pay so that everyone has healthcare you will care what people eat.   In the end we pay for all of the problems we have.

Food Rules #2

Eat Food
This is easier said than done. Today supermarkets have on average forty-seven thousand products. Is all of this really food? The industry doesn't want you to know the truth about what you are eating, because if you knew the truth then you wouldn't want to eat it. In Pollan's book, Food Rules, he explains the problems that supermarkets pose to American health and how food companies have never been so powerful in our history.  When shopping at the supermarket you should always plan on buying products from food sections along the perimeter of the store. What are these products? These are typically your dairy (milk, cheese, etc..), chicken, fish, and beef. These can actually be considered food. What Pollan warns us about is what kind of stuff are we eating when we decide to shop within the aisles.  When you go through the supermarket there is an illusion of diversity.  So much of our industrial food turns out to be rearrangements of corn, for ex: ketchup, cheese, Twinkies, batteries, and peanut butter. Were never truly eating real food. For example, if I take a package of "Rice A Roni" from my kitchen and look at the ingredient, only a few sound remotely normal. What is ferrous sulfate? Thiamin  monoitrate? Riboflavin? Niacin? When I read those ingrediants it sounds like im putting a chemistry project into my body. On occasion a package of "Rice A Roni" is ok to eat. But in America, much of our population depends on cheap, fast, prepackaged food, that they will buy in bunches because it doesn't go bad. Its when this food is consumed on a daily basis is when we have to worry because its making us sick.  Its shocking that the FDA wants to allow the sell of meat from animals without any labeling of where its coming from. In recent years we have seen numerous cases of ecoli and salmonella being in our food products. For instance the "Peter Pan" brand of peanut butter needed to be taken off the shelf because it was making Americans fatally ill. Ecoli has been found countless times in our spinach and even apple juice. The ingredients that go into the "food" we eat, doesn't do us any good.  It only makes us sick but very little is being done by the food industry to help the people because all they want to do is sit back on the countless amount of money we spend eating crap each year.

FOOD RULES

The book Food Rules by Michael Pollan discusses the reasons why American's deal with obesity and why our eating habits have to change. Michael Pollan is the author of five previous books, including In Defense of Food, a number one New York Times bestseller, and The Omnivore's Dilemma, which was named one of the ten best books of the year by both the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Fact . Populations eating a remarkably wide range of traditional diets generally don't suffer from these chronic diseases. These diets run the gamut from ones very high in fat (the Inuit in Greenland subsists largely on seal rubber) to ones high in carbohydrate (Central American Indians subsist largely on maize and beans) to ones very high in protein (Masai tribesman in Africa subsist chiefly on cattle blood, meat, and milk), to cite three rather extreme examples. But much the same holds true for more mixed traditional diets. What this suggests is that there is no single ideal human diet but that the human omnivore is exquisitely adapted to a wide range of different foods and a variety of different diets. Except, that is, for one: the relatively new Western diet that most of us now are eating. What an extraordinary achievement for a civilization:to have developed the one diet that reliably makes its people sick! It has been shown that people who get off the Western diet see dramatic improvements in their health. In one analysis, a typical American population that departed even modestly from the Western diet could reduce its chances of getting coronary heart disease by 80 percent, its chances of type 2 diabetes by 90 percent, and its chances of colon cancer by 70 percent. If Americans made changes in their diet, and they don't even have to be major, we could see a total decrease in health issues that Americans suffer from every year. The health care industry makes more money treating chronic diseases ( which account for three quarters of the $2 trillion plus we spend each year on health care in this country) than preventing them. In an economy where we need to control our spending and where our money goes, an effort needs to be put in to not only treat disease and infection but help prevent. And all that is is just knowing what you're putting into your body and how this may effect you.

MTV Credited For Decline In Teen Pregnancy Rates

From the chaotic family dynamics to the aftermath of childbirth, MTV's hit show "16 and Pregnant" has illustrated that teen parenthood is not always an easy journey. These candid glimpses inside the trials of young parents apparently are making a mark on youth across America, as the series is being credited with helping to spur a decrease in teen pregnancy.
According to a new government study, U.S teen birthrates plunged dramatically in 2009 after a five percent increase from 2005 to 2007. And a report by National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy recognizes "16 and Pregnant," specifying that 82 percent of teenagers credit the hit show in helping them understand the challenges that come with unexpected parenthood.
Bill Albert, a spokesman for the National Campaign, believes that "16 and Pregnant" helps broaden insight into teen pregnancy. "Entertainment media is one of the nation's favorite punching bags, but we have to acknowledge that when we're talking about teen pregnancies media can be and often is a force for good, and that is particularly true when it comes to shows like '16 and Pregnant,' " he said.
While "16 and Pregnant" has received some media criticism for its apparent glamorization of its subject, Albert stands by the findings of the survey. "Some critics say these shows glamorize teen pregnancy, but our survey data shows that's not the case," he pointed out. "That not only do they not glamorize it, but teens who have seen it suggest it makes the realities of teen parenthood more real to them."
 I find it very interesting that the show has had such a strong impact on teenage pregnancy. When I first watched the show I found it to be yet another stupid MTV reality show that I felt glamorized these teenage girls and their boyfriends for having gotten knocked up. I still agree that the show glamorizes teen pregnancy as these girls have now become famous. Becoming famous by giving birth at age 16 and having it documented on MTV is totally ridiculous. I think the show is a waste of time, but if it actually has had an impact on a decline in teenage pregnancy then I support its entertainment only in an effort to show teens the challenges that come with unexpected parenthood.