World Cup complications

In the city of Salvador, Brazil, where the World Cup is scheduled to be held, has recently been undergoing quite a bit of crime and looting. In response to a police strike occurring, the citizens of Salvador, Brazil have created a forty eight hour crime wave to show how they have been effected by the police strike. With this being the destination for the upcoming football extravaganza, it is being questioned if the World Cup is safe to be held in this area because of the intense crime. During this streak of crime, there were thirty nine deaths and widespread trashing and littering in places such as supermarkets, pharmacies and some electronic department stores. This is causing quite the argument as to having a safe World Cup or not. This massive dispute occurred on Tuesday April 15, 2014, and the police officials said they back on duty and had the dispute settled and ended by Thursday April 17^th. This is not a very shocking event in the eyes of nearby Brazilian citizens or police. “The strike is now over,”… “Well above normal, though not absurdly so.”  Only two years ago, one hundred and fifty seven people died in a similar wave of violence after the Bahia police went on a strike for twelve days.

Instances like this are important for people to be aware of because of the disability to predict situations and crime waves as such. This is an area that many people may be traveling to because of the events taking place such as the World Cup, and it is important to realize and be aware of the danger of an area you are traveling near or to. Around the world, large events take place in different places, and people take vacations across the globe. This is something to continue to be proactive in learning about before traveling or moving to new areas. No matter if there is a “World Cup” or the Olympics, or even just a vacation, it is good to be cautious of what could possibly occur in an area while being there.

http://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/crime-wave-rocks-world-cup-host-city-20140418-zqw8z.html

During the month of March, China had a few instances of seizing illegal weapons from people in cities such as Xinjiang and Kumming. One instance in particular was in Guizhou that the CCTV covered in a recent story. China seized more than ten thousand d illegal guns in the more south western area of Guizhou. This was reported to be the largest haul of illegal firearms that China has faced in defense to cut down the amount of violent crimes happening every day. The police reported 10,500 guns confiscated and 120,000 illegal knives taken. There were fifteen people arrested because of association with these weapons and gang involved actions. It is being considered that gangs are manufacturing these weapons and trafficking the firearms.

Although gun attacks are typically very rare in China, they are putting a halt to all of the weapons and any slight suspicion to violent crimes to prevent the guns from ever becoming an issue. This gun distribution is in the areas of Hunan, Guandong, Sichan and twenty seven other cities. This is a real issue because of what the outcome of all the weapons can be. This becomes an awareness that cities and governments around the world should start to development because it could prevent things from becoming so violent in the long run. China has made a good example of how to be cautious of the issues of violence that could come of things, such as the guns that were taken and the gun attacks that they could have potentially resulted in. It is important to be aware of the outcome and consequences of allowing “harmless” things to happen, because they may end up as very “harmful” things. The nations around the world can become more proactive in situations like this in order to prevent issues from ever coming up.

 

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/04/13/uk-china-guncontrol-idUKBREA3C07820140413

Blog 8

In South Africa, a 28 year old man has been arrested for torturing, then murdering a young 21 year old man. The victim is known as David Olyn, and was apparently attacked because of his sexuality. Because Olyn was openly gay, the 28 year old man chose to murder him.
In South Africa, it is forbidden to discriminate against someone based on their age, appearance, orientation or host of any other factors. A policeman dealing with this case stated that this crime was committed in discrimination by sexuality and the murder was considered a "hate crime". This murder in particular was unusual because the suspect approached a group of seven teenagers that had been drinking near a local dam in the Belle Vista neighborhood to join him by watching him "kill a moffie".  A "moffie" is a slang word that africans use for a gay man.
The seven teenagers watched the suspect smash Olyn in the head with a brick, followed by him jumping on his face. The suspect then tied Olyn up with some sort of wire and set him ablaze shortly before the teens wandered off. The next day, the seven teens returned to see if Olyn had survived and it wasnt until then that they called police with the discovery of his dead body.
This is most certainly something that should be used as a warning around the globe. Violence in this area has become so often and such a usual thing that kids and teens have become almost numb to it. It is dangerous to be oblivious to how crime could be done on your or your friends based on something so small such as your skin color or sexuality. Because of the various opinions that people hold on gay people or on the color of peoples skin, they sometimes have stronger responses to others. People develop such strong opinions that it becomes an issue if someone else strays away from that, in this case Olyn chose to be gay, which was clear against what the suspect thought was right.
This can be an issue all around the globe, especially with how diverse the world is becoming. By being more diverse and making decisions to be gay or "stand out in the crowd" in an usual way, you are bringing attention to what some people may find unacceptable. These diverse choices are making the world stronger today, but there are people that will go to violence and perform hate crimes against those choosing to be diverse. Around the world, we must become aware of how criminals like this will react to our decisions and be cautious in order to protect ourselves from hate crimes like this one. Discrimination is everywhere, and it is important to be aware of the violence it might cause.
http://guardianlv.com/2014/03/gay-south-african-murdered-others-invited-to-watch/

Blog #7

Over the past year there has been continuous progression in crimes against Muslims in the UK. Ranging from February 2013 to February 2014, Muslims have been harassed and crimes have increased 60 percent, which is a significant amount. This is all said to be caused by the murder of a British Soldier named Lee Rigby last year. A government support campaign called Tell Mama in the UK holds records of the Islamophobic hate crimes that take place in the UK. Tell Mama told the Anadolu Agency “ The predominant sharp rise in figures that the Association of Chief Police Officers, the MetropolitanPolice Service and Tell Mama have shown in 2013, come from the murder of Lee Rigby on the streets of Woolwich.” This is a way to show how one single murder can severely affect the way people react to things. This one crime lead to “an anti-Muslim backlash” that takes a long time to defuse.

Two men that converted to Islam were jailed for life at the Old Bailey in London for the attack on Rigby. These men were Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, who ran Rigby down in their car and stabbed him to death. This was referred to as a “terror attack” and the murderers called themselves “soldiers of Allah”. Just by referring to themselves as “soldiers of Allah” these men created an even worse situation for their Muslim culture.  

This is more of a way of showing people around the world that it is important to look at the consequences of their actions. Murder, theft, rape, and other crimes lead to so many other things, its kind of a domino effect. Not only does the criminal get punished, but society does as well. In this case, the Muslims specifically, were punished and put through hell because of something two men did. Just reflected that they were a part of this group, these men caused hatred and crimes all over the UK towards the Muslims. This is a global issue because more severe situation can effect a larger group of people, which explains why everyone should be aware of this problem.

http://www.worldbulletin.net/muslim-world/132079/uk-sees-significant-rise-in-anti-muslim-hate-crimes

blog 6

A man named Stacy Hales, age of 36, committed a murder and has been sentenced for at least 22 years in jail. In England, the West Mercia Police responded to this crime. The court was told that Stacey Hales was angry at Steven Paynter because he owed him money for bike parts that were sold to him, as well as the relationship that Paynter was forming with Hales ex-girlfriend. Hales was assisted in this act by two other men, Stephen Munn and Mark Edwards. Both Edwards and Munn pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 30 months in Jail.  Hales and his two “partners in crime” showed up at Mr. Paynter’s home and one thing led to the next, Hales only became angrier. Hales, Munn and Edwards went to this home with intentions to harm Paynter and teach him a lesson.  In the act of rage and impulse, Stacy Hales violently responded to his rage towards Paynter. “Hales confronted the victim which soon resulted in a physical altercation which ultimately led to the brutal murder of Steven Paynter.”

A policeman from the West Mercia Police, Dave Williams said: “I find it very sad that Hales’ moment of madness over relatively trivial matters has led to Steven Paynter’s murder and he has been cruelly taken away from his family, including his two children.”  This is a way to see why crime like this is a global issue. People around the world should be aware of the violence and the ways that it affects people. Violence impulses can take control of peoples actions and this can result in a murder as such. This causes danger to everyone around the world because of the violence natures of people such as Stacey Hales.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-26671689

Blog # 5

In Pretoria, South Africa a trial was held on March 3^rd, 2014 dealing with the murder of Reeva Steenkamp. A close by neighbor, Michelle Burger, was the first witness to describe what went on the night of the murder ( February 14, 2013).  Oscar Pistorius was the boyfriend of the victim, Steenkamp, as well as the suspect for the murder. Oscar Pistorius denied all accusations made by officials, and all other firearms offenses.  Although Pistorius continued to deny his act of murder, the witness details said otherwise.

Michelle Burger lived near the couple at the time the shooting took place. She described bloodcurdling screams only moments before she heard gunshots. The witness described the event as very traumatic and how it “left her cold”. Michelle said that there were four gunshots total, one with a slight pause, then three continuously.

In testimony in preliminary hearings Pistorius did fire four shots. All of these shots were fired through a closed bathroom door and at least three of them hit Reeva Steenkamp in the head, arm and hip.  Only the defendant explained his story as an accident.  Mr. Pistorius said that he approached the bathroom to only defend his girlfriend and himself, but as he fired shots, he didn’t realize until after that she was not still in bed. He said that he though she was still in bed and that once he opened the bathroom door, he saw that he had killed her.

Mr. Pistorius and Ms. Steenkamp were a “celebrity couple” in this part of South Africa, which is how the lesson was taught to the entire area.  Because of this terrible case, eyes were opened and lessons were taught. This is an issue all around the world, the cautiousness that people do not have, and how it can easily result in crime.

Crime can fluctuate from murder, to just a speedy driver on the highway, but it is all over the world. Whether we lose a life or we just cause a slight bump up between two cars, this affects society in a negative way, which is why justice is needed.  Not always does justice find a way to “fix” things, but by resulting in arrests or sometimes the death penalty, justice can be found.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/04/world/africa/oscar-pistorius-murder-trial.html