Something Interesting…

When I signed up for this class, I kind of knew what I was getting myself into.  I had no clue how we would relate the blogs to the class, but once you showed us how, it was easy for me.  I expected to get better at writing blogs about current events and specific topics.  This, in fact, was my goal, and I definitely achieved it.  I thought the discussions were very beneficial to the students because it makes us all more knowledgeable by learning from other students.

My expectation was nothing different from my expectation in the broader sense, but it was very interesting to see everyone’s viewpoints on different issues.  The heated discussions we had about global warming or alternative energy were very eye-opening to me and taught me a lot about these issues and the certain stances one could take on them.  As I said before, I expected to get better at writing blogs.  There is an obvious clear structure when it comes to writing them and I think I have that memorized now.

We worked on blog writing this past semester and it is unlike any other writing.  A good blog post has to tie in fact with your opinion on a matter.  For example, my blog post called, “The World’s Newest Democracy” was about Bhutan’s transition to a democracy.  It exemplifies the standard by presenting facts about the issue, my viewpoint on the issue, and the viewpoint of people who are directly affected by this transition of government.  I mean, of course, finding someone directly affected by issues is not always plausible due to certain circumstances, but it does make the blog more interesting to read at the same time making the reader better informed.  The story appealed to me because I had lived in Bhutan for six weeks in 2004 and attended school there while the government was still a monarchy.  It connected to me because I knew friends who were in fact directly affected by the whole situation and to me, that is very interesting to report.  It meets the standard of writing because most students do not even know what Bhutan is until I tell them.  I do not think anyone could identify it on the world map because of it’s remote location so if I were a reader who did not know about a certain place, I would find it interesting to read about it.

I would recommend this class as an elective for senior spring because it does not ask a lot from students every night and there are not that many major grades for the class.  It is also a good class to get students prepared for discussion-type classes in college.  It is very useful to inform students who previously were not well-informed about current events in this world.  I believe being informed is very important because it makes people more knowledgeable about the world around us.  It would be nice if the grading system was not so harsh on blogs being late because that really kills students’ grades.  Improvements in organization could easily be made.  I was thinking of having the students choose the blog topic on Thursday or Friday so they would not procrastinate until Sunday night, then having to look for a topic for 15 or 30 minutes because they cannot find anything interesting to write about.

Thanks for a great class.  See you next year.

Every week, after a race, the coxswain for each boat has to write a race summary on their account of the race, so I decided to make a compilation of the summaries I have written because I thought you would find them interesting.

04.05.08 Race vs. Brunswick, Pomfret, & Stonington
The boys V2 shell had a very successful first race of the 2008, placing 2nd out of 4th, winning over Pomfret and Stonington (they raced their V1) and losing against Brunswick, who was just a more experienced crew than us.  We had a great start and from there, our places stayed the same throughout the race, but only with Brunswick and us pulling away from Pomfret and Stonington.  We had a rather high rating for the start, but it worked out to our advantage anyway, as everything was perfectly timed and everyone stayed together.  We kept the rating still a little bit high for the first 500 until eventually bumping it down for the second 500.  In the middle 500, I called about three power pieces to keep the power there, the rowers responded precisely every time.  I was very impressed with our sprint, especially with our first 500 being so much stronger than anticipated, as we were able to bring up the rating effectively.  I timed the last ten strokes just right and at the end, the rowers had nothing left in the tank.  Our two novices, Regan McLean and James Mock did remarkably well for their first race ever and after only three weeks of rowing.  We look forward to improving our blade technique in this next week of training in preparation for our race in the Simsbury-Tabor invitational on Saturday at Lake Quinsigamond.

04.19.08 Race vs. St. Paul’s School and Belmont Hill
We got off the line well, our first 500 being at a rather high rating for a full 500, but we kept it throughout, understroking Belmont Hill’s 3rd boat by two strokes the whole time while gaining a 5 seat lead, which would be the greatest lead we would have throughout the race.  The second 500 was great and we held our ground, however dropping a few beats and settling in the low 30s.  We maintained our lead until the 1000 meter mark, where we tried bringing it up but it didn’t really work in our favor, however Belmont Hill was able to bring it up and they managed to take a length on us in the last 500.  We were unable to bring up the stroke rating in the sprint and that is one aspect we must work on this next week in practice, the aspect being endurance and no flying and dying.  Our stroke called this race “exhausting.”  We managed to get second place, beating Saint Paul’s third eight by a long shot.  This was our first victory over Saint Paul’s in many years, and Mr. Wakeman was very proud of that feat.  We also won over our fourth boat, who, despite catching four crabs, losing two seats, and had to use Saint Paul’s shell, a shell they have never rowed on before, managed to tie Saint Paul’s precisely.  Woody Hurd, a novice who was called up from fourth boat to replace rowers, rowed very well and he has a promising future in the program.  With the improvement of his technique, it looks as if Tom Kader will be moving up in the ranks this next week too.  Also, this week two experienced rowers, William Lannon and Myles McGrievy are both back and healthy and our eight should be better and faster than ever, we look forward to racing N.M.H. at home, Mass Maritime, this next Saturday.

04.26.08 Race vs. Hanover and Shrewsbury
Coming off a win over NMH this past weekend, B3 had the confidence they needed to row themselves to victory.  Although the weather wasn’t in our favor on Monday or Tuesday, mainly due to high winds, we were unable to go out on the water both days; however, we had great practice on the erg to prep ourselves for this tough race against a deep Hanover program and Shrewsbury.  After a 40 minutes race delay and being pushed back a race due to a high cross wind pushing us out of our lanes, we exploded off the line keeping with Hanover the whole time and leaving Shrewsbury in our puddles.  On the shift, we went down about four beats for about two or three strokes, but then went right back up two.  I tried getting the crew to lengthen it out, therefore dropping the rating, but they seemed like they wanted to stay at this high rating that we would normally not settle at.  Up to the 750, it was neck and neck between Tabor and Hanover, so I decided to pull a blast through the wall move.  We pulled away, gaining five seats at the most.  We would possess this lead, which usually was two to three seats until there was 200 left.  Our rowing stressed Hanover’s bow seat out and they caught an over-the-head crab.  That was the end of it, we pulled way ahead and won the race by 11 seconds, gliding across the finish line with a final time of 5:03, as opposed to Hanover’s 5:14.  We look forward for a rematch against them at NEIRA’s in a few weeks where they once again will challenge us.  We hope to get a good week and a half of practicing before we have our biggest regular race of the year, that being against Andover and Exeter.  We feel we are confident we can improve in our weak spots, mainly the set of the boat and swinging together, and by doing that, win in our upcoming race.

05.17.08 Race vs. Hanover
Coming off a tough race against two very good Varsity B3 Andover and Exeter, Tabor B3 was hungry for another win against a fast Hanover boat.  We did the regular warm-up and got up to the line.  The Hanover coach counted down, and we had one of our worst starts of the season, letting Hanover and Tabor’s B4 get us at the start; however, we knew that we could beat both these crews in the body of the race because that’s where we keep the rating higher than most other boats and really swing together as a boat.  Right when we shifted, I could immediately feel the difference our boat has been stressing and working on in practice this past week.  Over the body of the race, we got a length up on Hanover and maybe two lengths on Tabor’s B4 and we stayed there until the sprint.  During the middle of the race, Myles, B3’s stroke noticed Hanover tried making a move.  We countered this and increased the power output and kept our lead.  Also at the 750, my mic started cutting in and out, which wasn’t very helpful.  With 500 to go, I called the sprint, bringing it up a few beats and leaving nothing on the course.  We managed to get another half-length or so on Hanover by the time we won the race.  The conditions of the race course were superb in comparison to last week and the weather was perfect.  This next week, we definitely have our work cut out for us and we will definitely be practicing a lot of starts.

Now, I usually don’t do this, but I need to talk about the Burma cyclone and how the Myanmar Junta makes me sick by their lack of relief action.  I am just appalled that the Junta is still blocking some of the relief aid being given.  It didn’t allow western relief agencies in, including the United Nations, until today, May 11.

BBC reports, Survivors are beginning to gather in makeshift camps around the edges of the disaster zone caused by Cyclone Nargis eight days ago. The UN, which has launched a $187m (£96m) appeal for aid, says survivors in the worst-affected areas urgently need food, shelter and medical aid.  They also say that State TV has said the death toll had increased to 28,458, while 33,416 were still missing after the cyclone.  Aid agencies, however, estimate that 100,000 have died and warn that this figure could rise to 1.5 million without provision of clean water and sanitation.  These numbers are jaw dropping, from just one natural disaster, numbers that are much worse than Cyclone Sidr, which hit Bangladesh in the fall of 2007.  I think once aid is let in as a whole, including United States agencies, which are still being blocked, Tabor as a community should contribute to the UN Food Programme, which is one agency which has been let in to the country.  Time Magazine’s Article.

It is very depressing that the global community cares more about the Burmese people than their military Junta, as they continue to deny most visa requests for relief aid.  New York Times reporters say that The United Nations Food Program said that only one visa had been approved out of 16 it had requested and the aid group World Vision said it had requested 20 visas but received two.  I know that when Bangladesh got hit with their cyclone, they opened their borders right away to all international help because they knew they needed it and their government, despite still being a bit corrupt and military-based, tried to help their people out the best they could.
Burma did allow relief from China, India, and other Asian countries in earlier this week, but obviously, them allowing western powers in would be very much more effective because that does include the United Nations.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband accused the military junta of “malign neglect” and said he would be “amazed” if the death toll was under 100,000.  Look Here.  Andrew Kirkwood, director of Save the Children in Burma said in his travel diary, “Then I was shown some aerial views of a place called Amar on the southern edge of the delta. There’s nobody left. Either everyone has died or everyone has moved or most likely a combination of both.”  His travel diary can be found here.  It is quite depressing, but very interesting in a first hand account of what is going on there.  But there is hope, as a Myanmar abassador has finally said that they will accept aid from any corner (found here).

The United States are planning on sending their first relief tomorrow morning, with two more air shipments scheduled to land Tuesday.  So, how can you help? Read this article. Or visit Save the Children, which is a helpful relief group.

Let’s hope this already deeply impoverished country survives this horrific tragedy, and the death toll doesn’t rise to be what relief agencies say it will.

Today, Tuesday, May 6, 75 students were arrested Tuesday in an undercover drug sting at San Diego State University. This is just the story I needed to write about in my blog.
This all stemed from an initial investigation started about a year ago by campus police after a student’s fatal overdoes in 2007, said university President Steve Weber. Then, about five months ago, as the investigation evolved, campus police sought and received help from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Soon after, in February, there was a second overdose death at a fraternity house. “If proven guilty, these individuals have preyed on students and have ruined hundreds of lives,” Weber told reporters. In addition to facing criminal charges, these students have been suspended from school and evicted from campus housing, he said. Also, Twenty-one people who are not students were arrested recently on a variety of drug charges, officials said.

What was peculiar was the openness of the dealers, as told by Damon Mosler, chief of the narcotics division for the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office. “They weren’t picky about who they sold to,” he said, alleging that undercover officers would simply call them and say, ” ‘Hey, I heard you deal. Will you sell to me?’ And they did.”

Officials say the evidence seized as part of Operation Sudden Fall includes 4 pounds of cocaine, 50 pounds of marijuana and 350 ecstasy pills. Authorities also took one shotgun, three semiautomatic pistols and $60,000. In all, authorities confiscated more than $100,000 worth of drugs, Mosler said. Bags of marijuana weighing four or five pounds would sell for $4,000 to $5,000, he said, and a kilogram of cocaine would sell for about $17,000.

Maybe this drug sting will stir up a reaction across campuses, even with the school year is winding down. This directly relates to us, but mainly the seniors because they are going off to college next year and drugs are a huge problem at colleges and universities. Weber had a great reaction to this drug sting saying, “These arrests underscore the scope of the challenges universities face as we fight this major societal problem. Drug use is a concern on virtually every university campus in our country, SDSU has taken this action to confront it directly.”

These students knew what they were doing. A few of them had guns and the amount they were caught with showed this was an ongoing thing, but the question is, if you were the judge, how would you treat them? Would you give them any leniency or sympathy at all or would you provide no sympathy for these lawbreakers?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/05/06/sdsu.bust/index.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/us/07student.html?em&ex=1210219200&en=275e39827343e18f&ei=5087%0A

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080506/ap_on_re_us/college_drug_bust

In the Republic of Turkey, up until just a few days ago, it was a crime to insult “Turkishness”.  You might ask what specifically is Turkishness?  Well, Turkishness is the “citizenship of Turkey” rather than an ethnic or racial origin.  In broader terms, it is Turkish nationalism.  This is an important and controversial issue because Turkey is still not a member of the European Union.  Turkey has been trying to get into the EU for a long time now and have been trying to get closer to western Europe since 1959.  You might ask, how does this affect us?  This affects us because the Euro’s value against the U.S. dollar would change, Turkey’s economy would be affected too.

The legislators voted 250-65 in favor of amending that section of Turkey’s penal code, under which thousands of people have been prosecuted and 745 convicted since 2003, including Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk.  I think this is completely ridiculous.  Citizens should be given freedom of expression, even if it insults Turkishness.  The change cuts the maximum sentence for denigrating Turkish identity or institutions from three years in prison to two, possibly suspended for first-time offenders.

The European Union has been pressing Turkey to abolish or overhaul the law as part of its campaign for EU membership.  Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has been criticized for slow progress on changes to Article 301 of the penal code and other EU-backed reforms.  But Turkey’s opposition, resentful of what it calls EU interference in its affairs, wanted the law to remain.  Opponents of the change say the government-proposed changes are only cosmetic and will have little impact on Turkey’s EU bid. They also say there are other freedom-curbing laws in Turkey’s penal code that need to be changed, including Turkey’s anti-terror law and laws on crimes against the national founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

The EU has long called for changes to Article 301, arguing that the law places severe restrictions on free speech in Turkey. The issue has threatened to scupper Turkey’s EU accession talks.

Article 301 has mainly targeted people contesting the official line on the World War I massacres of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire. Many countries have recognised the killings as genocide.  Dozens of intellectuals, including 2006 Nobel literature laureate Orhan Pamuk and slain ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, have been tried under the article.  Demands for the repeal or reform of the law had been growing since the murder last year of the outspoken newspaper editor, Hrant Dink, who had been charged under the law.

Parliament’s decision to simply amend the article “is a huge disappointment,” Emma Sinclair-Webb, a researcher on Turkey at Human Rights Watch, told AFP.  “It shows that free speech is a highly problematic issue in Turkey and that the government has not yet grasped the substance of the problem,” she said.  Turkish activists, backed by prominent writers, journalists and academics, have launched a campaign for the abolition of Article 301 and plan to present a petition to parliament in June.  The EU has repeatedly warned Turkey that respect for free speech will be a test of its commitment to align with the bloc’s democratic norms.

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Article 301 states the following:

1. A person who publicly denigrates Turkishness, the Republic or the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, shall be punishable by imprisonment of between six months and three years.
2. A person who publicly denigrates the Government of the Republic of Turkey, the judicial institutions of the State, the military or security organizations shall be punishable by imprisonment of between six months and two years.
3. In cases where denigration of Turkishness is committed by a Turkish citizen in another country the punishment shall be increased by one third.
4. Expressions of thought intended to criticize shall not constitute a crime.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080430/ap_on_re_eu/turkey_free_speech

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7374665.stm

http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/1209559621.87

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jSEMROTVbHYwkyXGIUftYPBnDh3QD9062R800

Guns on campuses have become a very controversial issue in America. Some students are highly advocating a movement to legalize guns on campus. One group, called Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a grass-roots organization that was formed after last year’s Virginia Tech massacre that left 32 college students and professors dead, boasts over 25,000 members nationwide.

Michael Flitcraft, a sophomore at University of Cincinnati, who has a gun license, is licensed to carry a weapon in Ohio, he wants to carry his gun on campus to defend himself, but he can’t. He argues that he’s allowed to carry a gun legally right across from his Cincinnati campus, but he isn’t allowed to carry it on campus.

Lawmakers in nine states are considering legislation for allowing guns on campus. Currently, here are the statistics with guns on campus: Utah allows weapons at all public universities and is the only state to do so. Colorado allows students at universities to carry weapons, except the main university campus in Boulder. In Virginia, Blue Ridge Community College allows students with a proper concealed-weapons permit to be armed.

As always, there’s a flip side to this complex issue. “I don’t think the answer to bullets flying is to send more bullets flying,” said Gene Ferrara, the police chief at the University of Cincinnati. This response is a typical response from the police, because, as Gene Ferrara later says, he shoots anybody with a gun who’s not in uniform. This idea is kind of scary to think about, a citizen obtains a gun license, but still they need to worry about the police shooting them just because they have a gun.

At Weber State University in Utah where students can carry concealed weapons, professor Ron Holt said a weapon provides added protection from potential gunmen. “I see carrying a concealed firearm as a kind of life insurance policy; 99.99 times you will never need it,” he said.

I am all for legalizing guns on campus if students get a gun license. In order for them to obtain one, they need to be certified. What do you think?

Check out these videos:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=HvQ5OjmTzOM&feature=related

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NEjZFBI6cM8&feature=related

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nlD0J_2VQfg&feature=related

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2PtWRsCavWo&feature=related

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/14/campus.guns/index.html#cnnSTCVideo

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/14/campus.guns/index.html

http://www.here-now.org/shows/2008/03/20080317_2.asp

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/20/cnnu.guns/index.html

http://www.newsweek.com/id/112174

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070813/METRO/108130057/1001

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-02-14-guns-shooting_N.htm

http://www.wtopnews.com/?sid=1377977&nid=25

http://concealedcampus.org/

The government’s actions concerning aviation safety is intolerable for United States standards.  After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the government promised to put billions of dollars into the air marshal program in order to make our skies safer.

On March 25, 2008, CNN put out their results from a nationwide investigation which centered around if the air marshals were doing their job or not.  They came out with shockingly perilous results.  Of the 28,000 commercial airline flights that take to the skies on an average day in the United States, fewer than 1 percent are protected by on-board, armed federal air marshals.  This means that a terrorist or any criminal would have run into a federal air marshal on as few as 280 flights, something that I find terribly distressing.

Of course, the TSA (Transportation Security Administration), the same people who ridiculously forced a women last week to remove her nipple rings at a security checkpoint in the airport, denied these CNN reports.  The TSA had a lengthy response to this but they replied saying that thousands of air marshals are flying every day, but they did not give exact numbers because their excuse was that they would be “[tipping] our hand to terrorists.”

The investigation found low numbers even as the TSA in recent months has conducted tests in which it has been able to smuggle guns and bomb-making materials past airport security screeners, CNN says.  The TSA’s full response can be found at the bottom on the TSA website link.  They call all of the CNN investigation’s points “myths” and replied with a “buster” for each one.  But how can we believe the TSA if they do not give us the actual statistics?

Two pilots and one law enforcement officer who fly every day say they almost never see the air marshals on their flights.  One pilot says that he hasn’t seen one for six months, another says that he would guess that there is an air marshal on less than one percent of his flights that he flies.

The funniest part about this whole thing is that the TSA denies CNN’s percentage of federal air marshals on flights, but denies to give the actual percentage they say they have.  If the air marshals are in fact doing their jobs and are on a whole lot more flights than before 9/11, then the statistics they have are harmless and can only inform the American public of the actual truth, which I think is the “myth”.

The investigation reports, Air marshals told CNN that while the TSA tells the public it cannot divulge numbers because they are classified, the agency tells its own agents that at least 5 percent of all flights are covered.   One marshal said that he believes the agency simply doesn’t want taxpayers to know the truth and another says he would be very embarrassed by the numbers if they were to get out.

This report was heavily investigated and had many facts and sources of evidence proving their point was in fact the correct one and that the TSA was not telling the truth.  The link the the CNN article is listed below as well as Senator John Kerry’s response to the CNN investigation, which he wrote in a letter to the United States Department of Homeland Security.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/03/25/siu.air.marshals/index.html#cnnSTCText

http://www.allamericanpatriots.com/48745258_senator-john-kerry-presses-dhs-reported-air-marsha

http://www.tsa.dhs.gov/approach/mythbusters/fams_shortage.shtm

The Chinese government is trying to step up their political education systems in Tibetan schools, saying that after the protests, there is a sense of “patriotism” needed for China.  It also requires Tibetans to renounce their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, which is a very controversial move.  Recently, economic incentives have always been the government’s tool for building Chinese loyalty in Tibet.

“In a written statement Sunday, the Dalai Lama reiterated his appeal to Tibetans to avoid violence and said they shouldn’t disrupt the coming Olympic Games.”   This is a very interesting approach that the Dalai Lama is taking, given that he is promoting no violence, but not suggesting the Tibetans to do anything else.  In this time of turmoil they need their leader to tell them what to do, not just what not to do.

“The Chinese officials told monks that they should denounce the Dalai Lama and oppose the ongoing demonstrations against Chinese rule, and the monks objected,” the International Campaign for Tibet said.  “What’s happened in the aftermath of the crushing of peaceful protests is that [the monks] have reached the end of their tethers,” Ms. Holmes, the acting director of the London-based Free Tibet Campaign group, said.   The monks cannot take this police brutality and in the words of the Dalai Lama, he calls it a “cultural genocide”.

Around the world, there have been  protests following the Olympic torch protesting against the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.  China’s human rights record is despicable and people around the world don’t want to support an event which will make this Communist regime bring in a great amount of revenue.  Just in London this past week, people were trying every which way to prevent the torch from being passed on, from fire extinguishers to attempting to jump in front of it.  I just can’t wait to see what happens when the torch is in San Francisco.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120751738505093219.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Bhutan has transitioned into the world’s newest democracy less than a week ago, on March 25, 2008 after elections were held for the lower house, the 47-seat National Assembly.  Bhutan just held them on the 24, the result was the Bhutan Prosperity Party, or the Royalist Party, won a landslide majority 44 out of 47 seats.  The upper house, or National Council, elections were held late December, and the Royalist Party won those elections as well.

The reason for this change into democracy is mainly because the king wanted democracy.  The new democratic system comprises an upper and lower house, the latter based on political party affiliations.  There haven’t been many changes at all felt by the Bhutanese people yet.  The government says they want a very slow transition because moving too fast results in nothing good.  One Bhutanese girl, who I went to school school with while living in Bhutan for six weeks in 2004 said she hasn’t felt any change and the only thing that was different was that they got two days off from school for elections.  Bhutan was the last country to legalize television, legalizing television and Internet in 1999. They are one of the least modernized countries in the world, but its economy is booming right now.

According to my friends, Thimphu, the capital city, has been getting a major “facelift” over the past few years with the new king being crowned in 2006.  Bhutan has government schools which cost something around US$12.00 annually (as of 2004) to attend.  All classes are taught in English except Dzongkha, their native language.  This is a good way to introduce the Bhutanese youth to the rest of the world.

The Kingdom of BHutan shares a landlocked border with the autonomous region of Tibet and India.  Its closest ally is India and they have helped the small country greatly in many ways.  Bhutan who promotes Buddhist values, mainly being peace and non-violence.  Bhutan had lived in isolation for hundreds of years and they finally opened up in the 1970’s.  Their culture is getting hit by western influence and despite the government’s attempts to save their traditional culture, it seems as if the culture is slowly fading away.

How does this affect us?  It doesn’t really direct.  Of course, President Bush praised Bhutan for transitioning into a democracy.  Although we don’t have direct ties with Bhutan, we communicate with them through the embassies in India.

Bhutan has many challenges ahead of them, but it seems that this change will make the journey easier for them.

Today, sentencing guidelines were expected to lead officials to release more than a dozen federal inmates sentenced for crack-cocaine charges. This is all because of December’s decision by a federal agency to make reduced sentences for some crack-cocaine related convictions. According to CNN, judges could reduce sentences for nearly 20,000 inmates following the decision by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which is an independent federal agency that advises all three branches of government on sentences.

The Justice Department, who obviously is against the sentence-reduction says that this will only put dangerous criminals back on the streets. A lawyer against the sentence reduction told a police group last week that statistics from the Sentencing Commission show that nearly 80 percent of the almost 20,000 who can ultimately apply in the coming years for reductions have a prior criminal record. This makes inmates less likely to be released or have their sentences reduced. But then, the commission, pointed out in a recent report that only 1 percent of the 1,600 immediately eligible were considered “career criminals.”

The reason this whole debate came up was based on the stark difference in terms handed out for crack convictions versus those convicted on charges for powder cocaine. Previously, a person with one gram of crack would receive the same sentence as someone with 100 grams of the powder version. This could turn into a race issue as well, as the Families Against Mandatory Minimums, argue that there is racial issue associated with the disparity in sentencing. Many of those found with crack are African-American, while powder users are mostly white. According to the commission’s research, 86 percent of the 19,482 inmates who are eligible for a reduced sentence are black, 8 percent are Hispanic and 6 percent are white. This is not a very shocking statistic, but it would be interesting to see where these people come from, where they live, what their economical situation is, why they are dealing it in the first place.

I think that those with crack-cocaine charges and those with powder cocaine charges should be treated the same as each other because both are a form of cocaine. One has to wonder though, why wouldn’t anyone advocate for the lowering of sentences for people with marijuana charges. Those are the people who are keeping the jails filled. If our law enforcement was not so harsh on marijuana growers, users, and traffickers, then we would be able to focus the money that is used to take care of those prisoners for a better purpose.  In total I think we shouldn’t keep people who aren’t dangerous, like marijuana users or one-time cocaine offenders in jail.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/03/crack.release/index.html

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080303/NEWS01/80302056/1002