Modern Day Slavery

Nowadays, slavery still exists. The number of slaves today is higher than  at any point in history.

U.S. President Barack Obama has declared January 2012 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. He said," Around the world, we are monitoring the progress of governments in combating trafficking while supporting programs aimed at its eradication. From forced labor and debt bondage to forced commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary domestic servitude, human trafficking leaves no country untouched.”

Slavery occurs when one person completely controls another person, using violence or the threat of violence to maintain that control, exploits them economically, pays them nothing and they cannot walk away.

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation.

Chattel slavery, so named because people are treated as the personal property, chattels, of an owner and are bought and sold as commodities, is the original form of slavery. When taking these chattels across national borders it is referred to as Human Trafficking especially when these slaves provide sexual services.

The chocolate bar you snack on likely starts at a plant in a West African cocoa plantation, and often the people who harvest it are children. Many are slaves to a system that produces something almost all of us consume and enjoy. Human trafficking network and farmers using child labor for an industry offering low prices and little more than broken promises. There are child slaves harvesting cocoa, even though some have never even tasted chocolate and some don't even know what the word "chocolate" means.

Slavery: forced to work without pay under threat of violence and unable to walk away.

Slavery is not legal anywhere but happens everywhere.

Slaves work in fields, brothels, homes, mines, restaurants- anywhere slaves owners can feed their greed.

I think they are the three most important facts. Slaves are low prices and they have not any rights. Slaves owners find this advantage, then wring every ounce of sweat and blood out of them. Human-Trafficking saw this situation, and sell the slaves to everywhere widely.

We can be volunteers in the Free the Slaves, we can spread it to the world…There are a lot of things that we can do.

Everyone should do something to end slavery.

What is the true meaning of Christmas?

Charlie Brown was disappointed by the materialism of Christmas.He tried to find a deep meaning of Christmas,but all of his friends laughed at him.He attempted to restore a little Christmas tree that was forlorn,but he failed.
Then Linus Van Pelt said:
"There were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."



At last,all of Charlie Brown's friends helped him to decorate the little Christmas tree,and sang together.

I think that is the meaning of Christmas.

Invisible Children

Because of the LRA rebel , lots of children in Uganda are faced with deaths .

The LRA rebel movement can be traced back to a woman named Alice Lakwena. In the 1980s, Lakwena believed the Holy Spirit spoke to her and ordered her to overthrow the Ugandan government for being unjust to the Acholi. Lakwena and her followers, known as the Holy Spirit Movement, gained momentum as resentment toward the government increased. When Lakwena was exiled and no clear leader of the movement was left, Joseph Kony, who claimed to be Lakwena’s cousin, took control and transformed Lakwena’s rebel army into the LRA.
Kony's LRA did not receive the same support as the Holy Spirit Movement from the Acholi people. With dwindling approval for their cause and heightened government offensives, the rebels resorted to abducting children and indoctrinating them into their ranks. It is estimated that more than 90% of the LRA’s troops were abducted as children.
In 1996, as a response to the LRA attacks in the villages, the Ugandan government forcibly evicted thousands from their homes, relocating them into overcrowded camps in hopes of providing protection. But over a decade later, roughly one million individuals still live in these camps and struggle to survive among the effects of abject poverty, rampant disease, and near-certain starvation.

The children take the guns , fight with the enemy instead of going to school . They have danger every minute ,and they are forced to fight . If they don't do it , they will be killed by the people on their side.

In recent years,more and more international attention has been focused on this thing . There are some people try to help these invisible children.
Pressure from the international community combined with a strong desire to secure peace has brought the Government of Uganda and the LRA to the negotiating table on numerous occasions, though they have yet to find a peaceful resolution. The most recent talks commenced in Juba, Sudan in July 2006, and a Cessation of Hostilities Agreement was signed the following month.
But at this point in time, the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement has expired and Joseph Kony has failed to sign the Final Peace Agreement for a fourth time, proving his promises to be futile and ultimately disabling the peace talks.

Later , on December 24th, 2008, the LRA launched a retaliatory attack against the people of DR Congo. In apparent desperation and a renewed will to spread terror to DR Congo, the LRA murdered over six hundred and abducted more than one hundred and sixty children to fight amongst its ranks. More than 104,000 Congolese have been displaced since Christmas in attempts to escape the LRA forces.

I think it is really sad , the society encourages peace , but the crisis can not be stopped even now.We should help those invisible children as much as we can.

A Bullying Church

      The Westboro Baptist Church is an independent Baptist church known for its extreme stance against homosexuality and its protest activities, which include picketing funerals and desecrating the American flag. The church has been actively involved in the anti-gay movement since at least 1991 when it sought a crackdown on homosexual activity at Gage Park six blocks northwest of the church. In addition to anti-gay protests at military funerals, the organization pickets other celebrity funerals that are likely to get it media attention.

    In 2006, Westboro picketed with banners saying "God hates fags" and "Thank God for dead soldiers" at the Westminster, Maryland, funeral of Matthew Snyder, a U.S. Marine who was also killed in Iraq. Ruling on a subsequent lawsuit filed by Snyder's father, Albert Snyder, the U.S. Supreme Court decided 8–1 that Westboro's actions constituted protected free speech.

Phelps Sr. was quoted as saying, "Our attitude toward what's happening with the war is the Lord is punishing this evil nation for abandoning all moral imperatives that are worth a dime."


The Westboro Baptist Church claims to be Christianiry. They preach specific Bible verses, pretty much to the exclusion of all of the others and without any compassion or common sense. Christians do not do the hateful things that these people do.In Christian theology charity, or love is the greatest of the three theological virtues.I say unequivocally that they are not Christians.
Religion in America has always been caught between supporting American patriotism, portraying God as love, and standing against elements that were deemed immoral and a threat to their interpretations of traditional American values.  This has often created tension because of ancient, doctrinal condemnation of many values that American society today has been growing to accept over the last forty years in the name of human dignity.

Cyberbullying

The term "cyberbullying" was first coined and defined by Bill Belsey, as "the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others."Because of the anonymous properties,the users always don't make clear themselves,relying on nicknames.As a result,the users make use of this feature,can use verbal violence to other users,make the victims' personal information(such as real name) known to the public and so on.

The National Crime Prevention Council reports that cyber-bullying is a problem that affects almost half of all American teens. In September 2006, ABC News reported on a survey prepared by I-Safe.Org. This 2004 survey of 1,500 students between grades 4–8 reported:  42% of kids have been bullied while online. One in four have had it happen more than once. 35% of kids have been threatened online. Nearly one in five had had it happen more than once. 21% of kids have received mean or threatening e-mails or other messages. 58% of kids admit someone has said mean or hurtful things to them online. More than four out of ten say it has happened more than once. 58% have not told their parents or an adult about something mean or hurtful that happened to them online..

http://www.stopbullying.gov/topics/cyberbullying/
http://www.cyberbullying.us/

Junior Bully Blog

The first link is talk about
because Delaney Escher broke from the group's norms,she was ostracized by the group almost immediatele, the bullying really escalated when parents started to get involved. Then, she was already having graphic nightmares stemming from the hateful texts, and she eventually entered therapy. From that point forward, things started to get better.She followed through and reported the troublesome classmates again, and the bullying stopped.A year later, she still gets what she calls "death stares" from some of the students, but the harassment has stopped. She believes that there needs to be more awareness surrounding the definition of bullying, as that will make it easier for students to come forward.

The second link is talk about
For six years, Jim Harold Jr. came home from school with a new bruise or another story of cruelty. But his refusal to report problems to anyone.Through the mental health professional ,his parents knew Jim had Asperger's.He subsequently being diagnosed.By the next school year, he'd found a peer group and his social skills had improved. He recently spent time speaking to a Webster parent group whose sons and daughters are victims of bullying.He think it's important share his story to show that it's possible to come out on the other side as a better person.

The third link is talk about
Bullying has become more and more serious.Then legislation rises.But each bullying scenario is unique and needs to be looked at on a case-by-case basis.But the courts of law don't make people get along better.Many people believe that the anti-bullying programs themselves actually may contribute to more bullying in schools.

Jamey Rodemeyer, 14 years old from Buffalo, NY, committed suicide last weekend because of gay bullying. Rodemeyer was a big fan of Lady Gaga, as seen from the last Twitter message of his life.

"Jamey Rodemeyer, 14 yrs old, took his life because of bullying. Bullying must become illegal. It is a hate crime," Lady Gaga tweeted on Wednesday. "The past days I've spent reflecting, crying, and yelling," she continued."I have so much anger. It is hard to feel love when cruelty takes someone's life."

"I am meeting with our President. I will not stop fighting. This must end. Our generation has the power to end it. Trend it #MakeALawForJamey," the singer posted on Twitter later on the same day.

It is unclear as to whether Gaga has set up an official meeting with President Barack Obama, who will be at the Department of Education's national summit against bullying.

Rodemeyer endured constant bullying for being homosexual from classmates at Williamsville North High School in Buffalo, N.Y. both in person and virtually.

"It was a constant taunting," his mother, Tracy, told NBC affiliate WGRZ. "The same people over and over."

In May, the 14-year-old posted a Youtube video for "It Gets Better" project, assuring himself that it gets better, and saying that Lady Gaga always made him happy, letting know that he was "born this way."

"Hold your head up and you'll go far. Because that's all you have to do, just love yourself and you're set," said Rodemeyer in the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Pb1CaGMdWk

Anti-Bullying Policy

Believing that a safe and civil school environment is necessary for students, Bishop Kearney prohibits any and all acts of harassment or bullying. Bishop Kearney Harassment or bullying, like other disruptive or violent behaviors, is conduct that disrupts both a student’s ability to learn and a school’s ability to educate its students in a safe environment. Demonstration of appropriate behavior, treating others with civility and respect, and refusing to tolerate harassment or bullying is expected of all members of the Kearney community. Because Bishop Kearney cannot monitor nor be held responsible for the actions of students that occur outside the realm of the normal school day, it is the expectation of Bishop Kearney that parents will act as partners in ensuring their children’s well being.