World Wide Terrorism

In light of the Paris terror attacks over the weekend (Paris and all those affected continue to be in my prayers). I thought I would touch on terrorism and ISIS. (Click on the linked words to bring you to where I got my information).

Who is ISIS? (According to Wikipedia)

ISIS originated as Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad in 1999 and pledged allegiance to al-Queda in 2004. The group participated in the Iraqi Insurgency that followed the March 2003 invasion of Iraq by the USA and all other Western forces.

And according to The Guardian:

Isis is led by an Iraqi called Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Isis was originally an al-Qaida group in Iraq, the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). As the Syrian civil war intensified, its involvement in the conflict was indirect at first. Abu Muhammad al-Joulani, an ISI member, established Jabhat al-Jabhat al-Nusra in mid-2011, which became the main jihadi group in the Syrian war.

Isis is claiming responsibility for a downed Jet and Paris. There was also terror attacks in Beirut as well as a suicide bombing at a funeral in Iraq.

In 2013, alone, (world wide) The U.S Dept. Of State says:

A total of 9,707 terrorist attacks occurred worldwide, resulting in more than 17,800 deaths and more than 32,500 injuries. In addition, more than 2,990 people were kidnapped or taken hostage. In this report we describe patterns of worldwide terrorist activity with respect to changes during the year, geographic concentration, casualties, perpetrator organizations, tactics, weapons, and targets.

On average, there were 808.91 attacks, 1,490.92 deaths, and 2,714.75 injuries per month in 2013. There were 1.84 fatalities and 3.36 injuries per attack, including perpetrator casualties.

• The high number of hostages in January (986) was primarily due to a single extended hostage/barricade attack near In Amenas, Algeria in which approximately 800 people were held hostage at a British Petroleum (BP) gas complex. Al-Muwaqqi'un bil-Dima (Those Who Sign with Blood), a sub-battalion of the al-Mulathamun Battalion, claimed responsibility for the attack, which lasted three days.
• Global patterns of terrorism throughout the year were particularly influenced by trends in several key locations. In particular, terrorist violence increased coinciding with the onset of spring “fighting season” in Afghanistan. Between February and July 2013, the number of attacks in Afghanistan increased 128% and the number killed increased 253%.
• Pakistan and Iraq experienced similar increases in attacks during this time period. Although the number of attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan subsequently declined, the number of attacks and fatalities reported in Iraq continued to increase throughout the rest of 2013.

But according to the USA, what defines an act of terrorism over seas?

The FBI defines terrorism (off US soil) as:

"International terrorism" means activities with the following three characteristics:

• Involve violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that violate federal or state law;
• Appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and
• Occur primarily outside the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S., or transcend national boundaries in terms of the means by which they are accomplished, the persons they appear intended to intimidate or coerce, or the locale in which their perpetrators operate or seek asylum.*
  * FISA defines "international terrorism" in a nearly identical way, replacing "primarily" outside the U.S. with "totally" outside the U.S. 50 U.S.C. § 1801(c). 

But all this does NOT mean all Muslims or those from the middle east are terrorists. Just like not all Catholics support the Westbro Baptist Church and not all white people are apart/support the KKK. We as a people need to stop putting labels on people out of fear and mistrust. We should all be unified to fight terrorism and extremists not point fingers and blame whole groups of people. So with that being said, with a rising number of terror attacks world wide, we all should try and stay safe, wherever we are.

Pharmaceutical Industry

Something over the past several years has caught my attention. And that's Big Pharma. Seeing some prescriptions from the local pharmacy over the last few years. It would show that the prescriptions go anywhere from $1,000 to a little over $3,000 a month for one prescription.
Why does Big Pharma need to charge so much for life saving drugs (for things such as Diabetes, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, ETC.)
In fact, according to Pfizer's 3rd quarter report their revenue is "$12.1 Billion Increased 6% Operationally, Which Includes $0.3 Billion Reflecting One Month of Legacy Hospira U.S. Operations."
This report can be found on their own website. Just go to Pfizer profits and click on their 3rd quarter analysis.
We as a people should not keep letting these companies make profits off of our bodies. Regardless if it's birth control, antibiotics or any other necessary medications. We the people deserve equal access to medications without struggling to pay.

(click on the words to be brought to the article. ALL CREDIT GOES TO BBC.COM)
A table found in a BBC news article  you can see how much some of these firms make. And lets not overlook Pfizer's 43% profit margin.

World's largest pharmaceutical firms
Company	Total revenue ($bn)	R&D spend ($bn)	Sales and marketing spend($bn)	Profit ($bn)	Profit margin (%)
Johnson & Johnson (US)	71.3	8.2	17.5	13.8	19
Novartis (Swiss)	58.8	9.9	14.6	9.2	16
Pfizer (US)	51.6	6.6	11.4	22.0	43
Hoffmann-La Roche (Swiss)	50.3	9.3	9.0	12.0	24
Sanofi (France)	44.4	6.3	9.1	8.5	11
Merck (US)	44.0	7.5	9.5	4.4	10
GSK (UK)	41.4	5.3	9.9	8.5	21
AstraZeneca (UK)	25.7	4.3	7.3	2.6	10
Eli Lilly (US)	23.1	5.5	5.7	4.7	20
AbbVie (US)	18.8	2.9	4.3	4.1	22
Source:	GlobalData

Tobacco Paying For Shelf Space In Stores

So I work at a convenience store, where we have to keep some tobacco products on the shelves because the company pays for the shelf space. But there in the almost 2 years I have worked there I have never seen anyone express any interest in the brand. In fact the brands, that include Klondike and Longhorn smokeless tobacco, Lucky Strikes cigarettes, Doral cigarettes, as well as other brands of cigarettes and smokeless tobaccos. But our store has to keep them on the shelves because the company pays for the space. But even if someone wanted to try and buy them one day, some are out of code/out of date. Because some retailers are afraid to take the product off shelves to send back to the company for new product. It costs money all around for a non-selling product (at least in that store/area). But why still carry the product? Why still pay for the space?

In an article published by US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, entitled

Tobacco point‐of‐purchase promotion: examining tobacco industry documents, states, "Tobacco companies pay financial incentives to encourage retailer cooperation in three major areas: posting point‐of‐sale advertising and signage; providing point‐of‐sale product displays; and providing pricing and promotional incentives to consumers. According to the Federal Trade Commission's Cigarette Report for 2003, tobacco companies in the United States had a total combined advertising and promotional budget in excess of $15 billion in 2003, and the largest proportion of this spending was allocated to the retail setting. Tobacco companies allocated 1.1% ($165 million) to point‐of‐sale advertising and 8.1% ($1.2 billion) to promotional allowances for retailers (that is, to encourage retailers to carry specific brands as part of their product inventory and to encourage point‐of‐sale product displays of these brands). A whopping 71.4% ($10.8 billion) was allocated to retail price discounts. A further 4.5% ($677 million) was allocated to providing bonus cigarettes as part of retail‐value‐added promotions, and 0.1% ($20 million) was allocated to non‐cigarette bonuses as part of retail‐value‐added promotions. In total, this means that 85.2% of all advertising and promotional spending in 2003 was allocated to various types of incentives at the retail level (compared to only 65.6% of the $5.6 billion expenditure in 1997).

In order to secure prime display space for a product, it is a relatively common marketing practice among all types of manufacturers to pay slotting allowances or slotting fees to retailers. Tobacco companies engage heavily in this practice and commonly pay slotting allowances or slotting fees in order to obtain preferred point‐of‐sale display space in retail stores, more enticing displays, and more competitive retail prices.

Several studies have examined the use of tobacco point‐of‐sale ads and displays at the retail level in the United States, and have found both advertising and product displays to be highly prevalent. In a 1991 study of 61 stores in Buffalo, New York, the average number of product displays varied from 4.3 per store for privately owned grocery stores to 7.8 per store for chain convenience stores selling gasoline. A state‐wide study of 590 stores in California in 2001 found that 85% of all product displays were within 4 feet of the checkout counter and 11% of all stores had exterior signs that exceeded the size limit specified under the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). A Massachusetts study found a shift toward signage on retail exteriors after the MSA. A study of 3462 stores across the United States found significant increases in the use of tobacco advertising both inside and outside of retail stores in 1999, when compared to the situation before the MSA implementation of the billboard tobacco advertising ban, indicating that point‐of‐sale advertising had grown in importance.

Given the large number of people that have intentions to quit, retail outlets may provide a means for tobacco companies to provide timely product purchase cues to would‐be quitters. Consequently, the retail setting may present relapse challenges for quitters. This suggests that the point‐of‐sale environment may be important to tobacco companies as a means of reaching would‐be quitters with a tempting reminder.
Several studies have found that cigarette point‐of‐sale advertising and marketing materials are more prevalent in stores where adolescents shop frequently.  Youth who are “experimenters” with tobacco are more likely than other youth to report exposure to tobacco marketing in stores. The use of self‐service tobacco displays appears to increase youth access to tobacco, both through shoplifting and through illegal sales to youth. The type of cigarette advertising found at the point‐of‐sale has the potential to influence adolescents to view users of particular cigarette brands in a more favorable light. This suggests that the point‐of‐sale environment presents a place where youth are exposed to tobacco marketing to a significant and influential degree." (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2563651/)


In fact Phillip Morris' website, they offer intensives "Retail Leaders is a merchandising program that is designed to create retailer alignment with PM USA by offering incentives to best present our brands to adult smokers. Retail Leaders is developed on the following category management principles, each of which is designed to help retailers best meet the preferences of adult cigarette smokers:

• Present PM USA’s brands in the best positions
• Allocate merchandising space according to the company’s share
• Clearly communicate price and promotional offers
• Prevent cigarette access to underage purchasers 

Our trade program has a variety of merchandising options for retailers to choose from. These options are designed to offer retailers flexible choices to best meet the needs of each store. Retail Leaders includes several features to help prevent underage access to tobacco products and to manage the category in a responsible manner. The Food and Drug Administration regulates the marketing and sale of cigarettes at retail, including requiring retailers to merchandise cigarettes in a non-self-service manner.

However, in addition to requiring that retailers comply with applicable laws and regulations, the Retail Leaders program also requires retailers to take additional measures that are not mandated by federal law, including:

• training store personnel who sell tobacco products using We Card^® or equivalent training;
• displaying We Card or equivalent signage;
• using an age verification tool;
• placing retail signage that tells adults not to buy tobacco products for kids; and
• adhering to the Master Settlement Agreement.

To encourage retailers to take further responsible retailing measures, we offer additional financial incentives to retailers who refrain from placing any cigarettes, cigarette signs or brand imagery associated with cigarettes on top of or below the front of the selling counter that is closest or in front of the primary location in which cigarettes are merchandised. The Retail Leaders Program also includes limits on the location, size and the amount of PM USA interior and exterior signs at retail." (http://www.philipmorrisusa.com/en/cms/Products/Cigarettes/Marketing_Sales/Retail_Stores/default.aspx)

Despite all of that, I don't think if a product sells, at all, not one tin, pack, etc, it is just taking up space on retailers' shelves.

Stalking linked to social media

Imagine this scenario: A group of students meet at a friend’s house looking at every inch of someone’s Facebook page, scrutinizing every detail while sending unwanted messages. It’s not the first time this week. In fact, they have read through this person’s profile and have contacted them on multiple occasions this month.

Many adults, college students and even teenagers, do not realize that the Internet and use of websites, such as Facebook can be used as tool for stalking.

The Women’s Center at Southern has resources and connections available for students, faculty and staff to help if they think they have fallen victim to stalking and are in need of support.
“A lot of people have Facebook, Myspace and Foursquare pages, but they don’t even know that it could be used in a form of stalking,” said Maayra Nieves, a student worker for the Woman’s Center.
Stalking doesn’t have to be confined to simply following the person and taking pictures of them. In fact, according to the National Victims of Crime’s website, it recognizes that technology is used as a tool to stalk a person.

“One in four victims report being stalked through the use of some form of technology [email or instant messaging]” according to the National Victims of Crime’s website.

A good amount of students on Southern’s campus file through the Woman’s Center doors in a given month for various support with various topics, according to Nieves.

“You’ll be surprised, since it is such a big campus. About four or five students come to the Woman’s Center per month,” said Nieves

At an information table set up in the Adanti Student Center on Feb. 1, pamphlets, signs and posters lined the table for those who are interested in the Women’s Center and its events this semester.
Nieves, one of those working at this table, said there are upcoming events to make students aware of subjects such as stalking, eating disorders and sexual assaults.

She said most of the students that come through the Women’s Center’s doors for help are usually handled solely by the supervisor of the center. The staff of the Women’s Center does keep information confidential if a student requests it, such as in a case of a sexual assault. Nieves said the staff cannot violate someone’s word if they expressed certain feelings.

“If a woman comes in for a sexual assault, we contact our supervisor,” said Nieves. “If the student doesn’t want us to contact, our supervisor handles it on her own.”

The Women’s Center website giving suggestions and steps for friends, family members, and those surrounding people who have fallen victim to stalking, as well as other crimes.

“Tell someone. It is important that family and friends are aware of the stalker’s behavior for your safety and theirs,” according to Southern’s website.

Stalking, sexual assault, as well as other crimes and conditions, can safely be reported. The Women’s Center also has resources to help a student who reaches out.


http://thesouthernnews.org/2012/02/09/stalking-linked-to-social-media/

Students on campus learn about Karma

What a person puts out into the world, karma always pays back to that person. As the saying goes, “what goes around, comes around.”

During Gear Up For Life Series: Gear Two–life decisions and the concept of karma were addressed. The program is the second installment in a “life series” hosted by Southern’s Counseling Center. It is designed to help show students how to approach different life situations.

“Paying those choices–paying our dues. Every action has a reaction,” said Denise Zack an LPC in the Counseling Center.

Zack, with some help from an intern, started the program to “send a message” to Southern students about life, relationships and coping skills. The karma workshop is part two of 11. One point made in the workshop is that karma is made up of choices people have made in life, which broaden the horizons for future choices.

If something negative is put out, one thing a person can expect is negative karma in return. In fact it can come in all forms and will pay a person back when the situation is fitting.

“Karma isn’t always immediate,” said Carly Weiland, an intern counselor in the Counseling Center. Weiland also helped Zack put together and carry out the series about life.

Sir Isaac Newton had a law that stated that every action has a reaction. The choice a person makes has its consequences. Choices like what school you go to, what major you choose, even the choice to live on campus as opposed to commuting-they all have different outcomes. Others may believe that karma is about living life a specific way as opposed to specific actions and their subsequent consequences.

“Karma is about how a person goes about living their life that makes a difference, not so much about what you get in return, as opposed to a specific lifestyle,” said Brian Harris, a student at Housatonic Community College.

Harris spoke about how people’s goals and aspirations are acquired either on their own or from friends, family or society, and these goals and aspirations dictate how they fulfill their lives. He was also talking about how some people, in modern western society, make certain choices, like what major to go into or even a college choice because that person may want a specific outcome from his or her life. Thus, people are living their lives a certain way while expecting certain outcomes.

Harris’s point correlates to Weiland and Zack’s presentation because when a person makes a decision he or she should “take a step back and see if it makes ‘me’ happy.” In other words, if a choice makes a person happy or those around them happy, then the person can usually tell whether that is the right choice.

“You are a result of your choices,” Weiland and Zack both agreed.

http://thesouthernnews.org/2012/02/16/students-on-campus-learn-about-karma/

SCSU adopts gender-neutral housing

Southern recently adopted a new form of housing for students. Gender-neutral housing is for any student who identifies within the LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Questioning and Intersex) community.

President of Southern’s Prism Club (or Gay Straight Alliance), Kelsey Christian, supports gender-neutral housing. Christian said she thinks it is better than some of the other “alternatives” for student housing. Russ Smith of Residence Life at Southern petitioned to get the housing started, and it’s the second semester it’s been at Southern, according to Christian.

“It’s safer than having someone who identifies within the LGBT community to be in the ‘straight-line dorms,’” Christian said. “Sharing the bathrooms with a bunch of people who are the same ‘birth sex’ as you are—you [the student] will feel uncomfortable, and you couldn’t really be you in the bathrooms.”

There is currently only one room set aside at Southern; it is located in Schwartz residence hall. However, Christian said that “all the upperclassmen residence halls like Neff, Brownell, Schwartz, and the townhouses are eligible to have gender-neutral housing.”

Smith, hall director for West Campus and advisor of Southern’s Prism, and Robert Demezzo from Residence Life started gender-neutral housing.

Christian said iif a student is interested in gender-neutral housing they can’t be in straight-line dorms like Farnham Hall because each floor is just one sex. For example, the second floor in Farnham Hall is just for women and everyone on the floor shares the same bathroom.

“A situation may arise where a person who identifies as transgendered or even lesbian, gay, or bisexual may have a ‘safety risk’ using the bathrooms,” Christian said. “Also in straight-lines you’re assigned to the floor with people who are the same ‘birth sex’ as you, even if you are considered to be ‘transgendered.’”

There are also three other colleges/universities in Connecticut that offer this type of housing: Wesleyan University, UConn, and a pilot program at Yale. Some of the other colleges and universities run their gender-neutral housing programs very differently than Southern does.

Nikki Cole, a representative for UConn’s department of Residential Life, said that for “whoever is eligible to reside on-campus at UConn who indicates interest in this option, we ask students on the housing application if they’re interested in gender-free housing.”

In contrast, Southern requires a student to talk to Counseling Services. If Counseling Services approves the student, they then have to go through a few people in Residence Life to start the housing process.

“Gender-free housing [at UConn] is located in a group of rooms located near each other within Garrigus Suites on-campus,” Cole said. “These suites are comprised of two bedrooms linked together through the bathroom. Three students reside in each room and all six residents share the bathroom in the suite.”

However, this year is Southern’s first year having housing designated for LGBTQI students, or anyone who feels they need the space.

“UConn has had this type of housing since 2007-2008,” Cole said. “Department of Residential Life started this option with one suite for a group of five students who were interested in gender-free housing. This pilot was a success and we expanded our gender-free housing option.”
One of the restrictions set forth by Southern’s department of Residence Life and Counseling Services is that Southern students cannot choose who they prefer to room with if they want gender-neutral housing. All other Southern students who are not interested in this housing get to pick who they want to room with.

To contrast, “Students [at UConn] submit their interest in gender-free housing on their housing application. We’ll pull a list of continuing students who have expressed interest in this option and ask them if they have any specific roommate requests,” Cole said. “We’ll assign them in gender-free housing according to their roommate requests, and they’ll receive the assignment information in gender-free housing prior to housing selection. Students do not need to identify within the LGBTQI community to reside in gender-free housing on-campus.”

Wesleyan is also one of the few universities across the country that offers some type of gender-neutral housing.

Fran Koerting, the director of housing at Wesleyan University, said students can “choose who they would like to live with,” but it has to be on the university’s “housing preference form.”

“Students are able to choose who they want to live with regardless of gender after their first year. It is only necessary for first-year students,” Koerting said. “On the housing preference form, we explain that students will be paired with a roommate based on legal sex. If they prefer to not be paired according to this policy, all they need to do is check a box that says they are requesting an exception. Students may be placed in any of our first-year housing; we have not designated specific rooms for students who have requested gender-neutral housing.”

http://thesouthernnews.org/2012/03/19/scsu-adopts-gender-neutral-housing/

SCSU resources offer women’s health information

Planned Parenthood’s funding hangs in the balance as some adults, both young and old, may choose to use alternative methods and resources to ensure that their needs are taken care of if Planned Parenthood can no longer offer the services at its current or previous rates.

Southern’s campus offers a Women’s Center, the Men’s Initiative, and the campus health center to assist students. But how many students take advantage of these on-campus resources verses Planned Parenthood or their own doctor?

“Being a student here for the last four years, I can honestly say the only resource I’m aware of that deals with anything medically is the Health Services building,” student Kelsey Christian said. “I’m not certain if they offer any options towards pregnancies, and in the event that they don’t, I think that’s when I’d go to Planned Parenthood. I know the Women’s Center exists but I’ve never been to any programs.”

Christian also said while Planned Parenthood gained a “bad reputation” in association with abortions, she praised the organization for what else they do, such as STI and HIV testing.

“Planned Parenthood is an incredible organization that surprisingly offers more options besides abortions,” she said. “I think they’re fighting to gain their light back as a respectable organization on campus and that the support for them and funding from the university needs to increase.”
Maayra Nieves, a student as well as a worker in the Women’s Center, explained how the Woman’s Center handles student pregnancies versus how Planned Parenthood may handle the issue.

“All the information they have at Planned Parenthood we have at the center,” she said. “We have all the resources and contact information for different situations. If a girl gets pregnant or a guy gets a girl pregnant, we set them up with counseling free at SCSU for students, give them information and contact information and work with them to make appointments. We do not have birth control; however the health center on campus provides it with a co-pay if you have SCSU insurance. We work closely with Planned Parenthood so we try our best to do what we can.”

In addition, Southern’s website states that the Women’s Center and the Men’s Initiative “aim to empower and educate the campus and local community on gender issues.”

Cory Sharnick, a 21-year-old Southern student, said he thinks that places like the Women’s Center are a good thing, but may be more useful if they had multiple locations around campus.

“I think that SCSU offers excellent resources for students to understand STDs and how to prevent sudden parenthood,” Sharnick said. “Both the Women’s Center and D.A.R.C. [Drug and Alcohol Resource Center] in Schwartz Hall are educational and effective in my opinion. They may become more effective centers if multiple locations are offered around campus.”

Planned Parenthood as well as campus resources, like the Women’s Center, are there to assist students if the issues of STIs, sudden pregnancies and sexual assault should occur. Students are not alone and not without resources from the campus or the surrounding community.

http://thesouthernnews.org/2012/03/28/scsu-resources-offer-womens-health-information/