...legalizing it and therefore taking away the drug cartels number one source of income. The U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy ... says that more than 60 percent of the profits reaped by Mexican drug lords are derived from the exportation and sale of cannabis to the American market (Armentano2). It is ridiculous to think that the United States can put out a statistic like this and ignore the fact that if they legalized the drug there would be less violence because there would be no point for Mexican drug cartels to try and smuggle the drug into the U.S. In the article “Blame Prohibition, Not Pot Smokers for Violence in Mexico”, published by AlterNet.org, Tony Newman tells us how the people who run the “Just Say No” campaign against drugs have a new scheme in which they plan to blame people who smoke pot for the violence in Mexico. They are hoping to stop younger people from smoking marijuana if they associate it with the murder of people by the drug cartels in Mexico. There are a few problems with these campaigns: They are inaccurate in some cases, and downright dishonest in others.Office of National Drug Control Policy It is disingenuous to connect the average American's marijuana consumption to the horrific violence of Mexico's drug war. The average pot smoker's growing and purchasing of marijuana has no relationship to the violence along the border that is the result of large-scale drug trafficking. It isn’t hard to understand that the legalization of marijuana...
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...Position Paper Khadijah Shabazz CNSL 5203 Dr. Sampson Prairie View A&M University 9/20/2015 The legalization of drugs is one of the most controversial and debated topics of the 21st century. There are both negative and positive reasons to legalize them as well as negative and positive reasons to keep them prohibited. According to LEAP, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, drug prohibition is the true cause of much of the social and personal damage that has historically been attributed to drug use. It is prohibition that makes these drugs so valuable – while giving criminals a monopoly over their supply ("Why Legalize Drugs? | LEAP").LEAP goes on to say that criminal gangs are driven by the huge profits from this monopoly, criminal gangs bribe and kill each other, law enforcers, and children and as such their trade is unregulated and they are, therefore, beyond our control ("Why Legalize Drugs? | LEAP"). It is LEAP’s belief that by eliminating prohibition of all drugs for adults and establishing appropriate regulation and standards for distribution and use, law enforcement could focus more on crimes of violence, such as rape, aggravated assault, child abuse and murder, making our communities much safer ("Why Legalize Drugs? | LEAP"). Another positive aspect of the legalization of drugs is financial gains. According to the International Business Times in a study for the Cato Institute, Jeffrey A. Miron, senior lecturer on economics at Harvard University and a senior...
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... But there have always been varying ulterior motives. According to Baylor University Professor of Sociology, Dr. Diana Kendall, the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 was passed solely to criminalize marijuana by taxing it; this would dissuade migrant Mexican workers who smoked marijuana to seek employment elsewhere and not take jobs from U.S. citizens as the country struggled during the Great Depression (Kendall, 2010). Last year, voters in Colorado and Washington State approved legislation that supported the commercial growth, sale, possession and use of recreational marijuana. In response, United States Department of Justice, Deputy Attorney General James Cole, promulgated policy that established the posture for enforcing marijuana laws against people or organizations to that: Distribution of marijuana to minors; revenue from the sale of marijuana from going to criminal enterprises, gangs and cartels; the diversion of marijuana from states where it is legal under state law in some...
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...Global Politics: The feasibility of universal drug liberalization as an emerging phenomenon RWaterhouse Globalization & The War on Drugs: Assessing alternatives to criminalization The purpose of this paper is to address universal drug liberalization as a feasible alternative to the current drug control regime specifically in North America and potentially applicable elsewhere. With an in depth analysis of the historical regulation, implementation of law, and resulting consequences we will be able to see how nations are effected by complex drug politics and why there has been a global paradigm shift in looking spiritedly at the ideal of decriminalization. I argue in favor of liberalization by bringing to attention the violence associated with the commodification of illegal drugs, what the re-directed costs of control could mean for domestic investment into proactive drug awareness education, and finally recognizing Portugal’s success and weaknesses in the adoption of a compete legalization agenda. Following will be a discussion of concluding thoughts centered on the efficacy and feasibility of universal liberalization in today’s globalized world. Historical Context Libertarianism has almost always had position in political discourse but has been majorly popularized through public attention within the era of globalization. (article) Control of drug consumption has always been a contemporary ingredient in the political reform of Canada and the America’s and...
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...The so-called “War on Drugs,” as declared by the Nixon administration in the signing of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, marked the beginning of the current era of mandatory minimum sentencing, racism, privatized prisons, and a powerful constituency that profits as a result of the prohibition of drugs. Psychoactive substances have been apart of the human experience as long as humans have walked the earth. There is little hope that drug production will ever be curtailed, so long as there is a demand; a demand that has remained steady even though it has been forty years since the beginning of said war. As Judge James P. Gray from the Superior Court of Orange County has so plainly put it: “Where did this policy come from? Unfortunately I have conducted an inquiry into this and I have determined that drug prohibition laws came for reasons of racism, empire building, and ignorance.”(Booth) The War on Drugs is politically motivated as a means of profiting. One may ask them self how government can financially benefit from such policies. In fact, they benefit in a myriad of ways. The government spends an exorbitant amount of money in an attempt to combat drug production and drug usage. The U.S. government has spent over a trillion—that’s right a trillion—dollars in its attempt to eradicate the drug problem. With so much time, effort and money there should be something to show, right? Wrong. Today drugs are more prevalent, more potent and cheaper than...
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...evidences to the truth that God exists, when the Bible says that they already know that God exists. Instead, we should be responding with the same attitude that we would respond with if someone said they didn't believe in words. Just as the person who is suppressing the truth about the existence of words, so to is the one who claims that God does not exist. Remember what God says in Romans 1 (which we looked at last week)? Everyone is without excuse for rejecting the God they know exists. They are foolish for doing so. You cannot even make the argument that God does not exists unless God DOES exist, let alone prove it. This subject will be what we study today. I have titled this sermon, "Proof that God Exists." The proof that I will show this evening is not like the arguments that we would commonly hear people use to prove God exists, such as the Cosmological Argument, The Design Argument, etc. I don't use these arguments, because these arguments for God are not designed to prove the God of the Bible, just that...
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...difference and dependence” which leads to a “refusal of need” (92). However, Phillip remains mindful that such fantasy of physical or psychological sameness is implausible as everyone is different - even clones. One then questions the significance of such wanting of sameness, or if the sense of sameness serves any purpose. Using the concept of Self and Other that Joanne Finkelstein examines in “The Self as Sign,” I propose that the sense of sameness that is offered by the illusion of cloning allows one to establish a sense of identity. In a final analysis, I will elaborate on Finkelstein’s arguments on the Self and Other to shed light on the question posed by Philips on whether cloning was the death or apotheosis of individualism, and suggest that cloning has the paradoxical outcome of reinforcing individualism even as one seeks uniformity. Cloning is supposed to lead to conformity and uniformity, the absolute sameness. Phillips argues that cloning is appealing to society because it seems to represent a cure for “the terrors and delights of competition” (90-91). What is interesting, however, is the eventual admission by Phillips that this absolute sameness is impossible as “people, in actuality, can never be identical” (94) due to the difference in our individual histories and environment - among other factors which influences our individuality. This admission by Phillips prompts us to further ponder a question he poses in his essay: “Is cloning the death or the apotheosis...
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...(Capital Punishment 2014). In the article, Capital Punishment, the issues focused on the moral argument that killing is wrong, the mental capacity of people facing the death penalty, and the fairness of the death penalty in which wrongful executions of innocent people, and the lack of uniformity in applying capital punishment. “Advances in technology, such as new and improved methods of DNA testing and other laboratory procedures, have shown that the justice system can make mistakes” (Capital Punishment 2014). An opponent of capital punishment argues that this type of punishment discriminates against minorities and the poor, encourages a culture of violence, and that it violates human rights. On the other hand, an advocate of capital punishment argues that it deters crime. The unstated premise in the article is that killing is always wrong. If killing is always wrong, then the death penalty is wrong. Killing is always wrong. Therefore, the death penalty is wrong. “Opponents of capital punishment argue that there are no circumstances under which taking a human life is justified. They think that society’s interests are better served by placing criminals in jail, where they can do no further harm” (Capital Punishment 2014). No matter what your stand or point of view is on the issue of capital punishment, people on both sides of the coin have strong beliefs in the argument for or against. However, it must be agreed...
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...guarantees individual and corporate freedom of religion, deals with the individual as a citizen irrespective of his religion, is not constitutionally connected to a particular religion, nor seeks either to promote or interfere with religion.” The Secularism in question is basically the interrelation between the state and multiple religious communities in India. In addition to this, we also need to know why Secularism was needed for India in the first place. The following arguments are the most apt arguments which show the need for a Secular state. Firstly, the Indian society at large was a mixture of numerous cultures, religions, customs and languages. Thus if the dream of a single nation was to be fulfilled, it was important to imbibe the characteristics of public morality and tolerance. Secondly, even after the partition, there was a considerable amount of Muslims within the boundary of India. Gandhi and Nehru both wanted the majority, the Hindus, to be generous and accommodative towards the minority. The latter argument led to the Secularism professed by Nehru and the forefathers of this...
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...improved cost of goods production reduced and all of us enjoy the benefits. Those who carry out the research want their works to be recognized, as well as getting paid for their investment cost by patenting such organism. However, many parties with their convincing arguments are against this idea. This dilemma between thriving to innovate and cautiously preserving the nature is reflected in the US and many other countries legal system. The laws are not...
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...Enlightenment HIS104: World Civilizations II (ADH1412A) Instructor: Christopher Davies The enlightenment of the 18th century brought about new ways for religions and politics for the French Revolution. With the new ideas would help impact the French Revolution from 1789 to 1799. The enlightenment ideas about religion and society shaped the policies of the French Revolution. “The constant arrival of ships meant that ideas from Europe also traveled across the ocean, including those from Enlightenment thinkers and later revolutionary France. Some inhabitants of Saint Domingue embraced these ideas, but others reviled them. The grandsblancs especially became concerned when certain Enlightenment thinkers attacked slavery. They also disliked the emphasis on the rights and freedoms of the middle class, represented on Saint Domingue by the petitsblancs and gens de couleur. The petitsblancs, meanwhile, welcomed idealistic notions of justice and freedom because they resented the aristocratic dominance of the grandsblancs.” Getz, T.R. & Brooke, J.E. (2012). World history: The human experience from 1500. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. There were a lot of impacts related to the French Revolution as for political, social and culture. The political impacts that were related to the French Revolution are the political ideologies Nationalism and socialism. French nationalism, and nationalism as such, paradoxical in four ways. In their conception...
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...(GAAP) we currently follow. The basic concept of the IFRS is to provide the reporting standards for global financial organizations and the framework on how to disclose their financial statements in a general format, similar to a template from a software program. The argument has been made about the need for a one set of standards due to the need of global companies (corporations). The simplification of accounting standards into a one language, one format for the purpose of credit ratings, is very questionable. GAAP is the standard for the US and the US dollar is still the driving force for the world economies. The question of stability and going concern arises when comparing the Euro dollar against the US dollar. The Euro dollar is suffering along with the European Union. Lately, their joint venture has been on very shaky ground. Is America willing to give up control of its accounting authority, interpretation, and leadership in the world economy? This is the equivalent of the U.S. giving up most of their military control to the “blue helmets” -- the United Nations personal army. Surely, these “blue helmets” will not advocate America’s interest first above all the other nations. The first argument against the adoption of IFRS is based on the standards. IFRS standards are weaker than GAAP. The FASB standards are strictly rule-based and are formulated to match the operating methods of US companies. Some operating methods are due to many financial managers methods...
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...According to William Paley’s “The Teleological Argument, the existence of God is based on the evidence that the world has an intelligent purpose and order and that the conclusion must be a higher power. Paley claims that the universe is set as a whole and that evidence has been shown of an intelligent designer. His arguments are based on empirical evidence , which is what we can see . The parts of the universe have an order, difficulty and simplicity that bring to mind the parts of a finely crafted machine. Paley also argues that there is further evidence for a Creator God in a Universe. Just because we don't know who the artist might be, it doesn't follow that we cannot know that there is one. The main question is “Does God truly exists.” The Bible also appears to reiterate the Teleological Argument when it states in Psalm 19:1-3: The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. People of many years ago and today have different views on how this world began. People believe in different God’s and that they ruled the ancient years because of what people were taught about leaders or a higher power. So ask yourself, “If there is no God, than how does this big universe exist.” Because of this question there had to be greater power than just man to develop a whole universe and laws. As an example from a Christian...
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...Black women take issue with new Army rule on hair By The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, adapted by Newsela staff May. 09, 2014 4:00 AM Jasmine Jacobs poses for a portrait at her home in Atlanta, April 2, 2014. Jacobs, six years into what she thought was a promising and long military career, said she was finally done in by the one thing that was always natural to her; her hair. Jacobs railed against a new policy that places heavy restrictions on how women can and cannot wear their hair in the military. ATLANTA—Jasmine Jacobs, a soldier in the Army National Guard, knew that however she decided to wear her hair, it had to be neat. So, four years ago, when she decided to stop straightening her hair and wear a more natural look, she figured it would make her a better soldier. It would require less care, especially on maneuvers and drills. “I never had anyone say anything to me about my hair,” Jacobs, 25, said. “It’s never been out of regulation or interfered with my headgear.” That changed in April when the Army issued rules about how women in uniform can wear their hair, along with regulations about tattoos. The rules ban certain hairstyles, including twists, large cornrow braids and dreadlocks, that are popular among black women. That hit a nerve already made sensitive by generations of debate within the black community over what is “good” or “bad” hair. 1 Petitioning The White House Jacobs, who wears two-strand twists, launched a White House petition to cancel the ban...
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...status laws and general state-made laws? To what extent should the formal law allow for, or seek to restrain, the legal implications of religious and socio-cultural diversity? To what extent does a state, whether secular or not, actually have power and legitimacy to decree and enforce legal uniformity? There are many more agendas at play here than simply the central issue of legal authority, focused on the power of the law, or simply “religion” v. “law”, or “culture” v. “law”, as we are often still led to believe. I present here the recent developments in India’s law relating to the much-debated Uniform Civil Code agenda to illustrate that Indian law today increasingly turns its back on supposedly European or “Western” models, and has been developing its own country-specific and situation-sensitive methods of handling complex sociolegal issues. This may contain some important lessons for European lawyers, specifically in terms of managing cultural diversity through plurality-conscious legal intervention, rather than the traditional insistence on state-centric legal uniformity. The key lesson from this evidence is that personal status laws may well endure and survive the much-desired uniformity of legal reforms all over Asia and Africa, and probably elsewhere, too. The future of the world lies evidently not in simplistic ∗ MA, PhD, Professor of...
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