IHSS Blog 2018-2019

Stoning in Brunei A couple of days ago, the sultan of Brunei passed a new law that puts the lives of many people there in danger. This law says that anal and extramarital sex, adultery, and abortion are punishable by being stoned to death, and that theft is punishable by limb amputation. Rape, blasphemy, and heressy are also punishable by death. These laws are said to be based on an Islamic set of laws called the Shariah, and the sultan of Brunei first introduced the "draconian" version Shariah in 2013. His reasoning for doing so was to establish a more confining form of Islam on the country. A statement that has been made by the sultan's office was that says " [Brunei]   is a sovereign Islamic and fully independent country, and like other countries, enforces its own rule of laws" (New York Times). This same statement also said that the goals of the Shariah are to make criminal things that are against Muslim teachings as well as to educate, protect, and respe...

     Two years since the beginning of America's time under the Trump Administration, it looks like the right to health is starting to change for specific groups of people. To clarify, the right to health means that citizens of the U.S. should have access to the highest standards of both physical and mental health. There have been some policies made by the Trump Administration that affect people's right to health in a negative way; in 2017 the number of Americans covered by health insurance declined for the first time since the Affordable Care Act was implemented. The Trump Administration has been forcing specific drug testing requirements on people that receive Medicaid which has resulted as a loss of eligibility for a lot of people. There have also been some policies put in place that affect any LGBT person's eligibility as well.        As far as people's right to health with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) goes, the situation isn't any be...

Abortion is one of the most polarizing problems and it is an extremely sensitive topic. For the past two decades, the amount of abortions has been dropping in the United States, despite this it remains a hot topic. There are multiple stances on abortion but there are two main ones. Pro-Choice believe that women should have the right to an abortion and while some are in favor of third trimester abortions, I believe the majority believe that they should have the right to an abortion at least during the first trimester. The Pro-Life side believes that abortion is wrong because they believe that abortions are killing babies. While some Pro-Life advocates believe there should be no exceptions in the case of an abortion, the majority believe that it shouldn't be allowed unless it could cause serious health problems for the mother, or if the woman has been raped. Recently, in New York, they made it legal to get an abortion past 24 weeks which has caused a lot of controversy. Many believe...

Andreas Cantu Mr. Roddy IHSS April 3 2019  Civil Rights Issue in Brunei  In Brunei there was an introduction of a new Sharia penal code that poses grave threats to basic rights, especially for the country’s most discriminated people. The Penal code that will take effect on the 3rd of April 2019. The new law will  require death by stoning for extramarital sex, anal sex, and abortion, and 100 hits by a whip for lesbian sex. For the non sexual crimes there amputation of limbs for stealing. This does not aim only towards adults either, children who have reached puberty and  are convicted of breaking these laws can receive the same punishments as adults, some younger children may be sparred with whipping. The  Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah first formally announced the Islamic Law in October 2013. Original the government said that they would be releasing the law in three phases. The first phase  would execute the laws punishable by fines or ...

     For my blog, I decided to write about government surveillance techniques and 'spying'. While this is inherently not necessarily a "civil rights" issue, it is somewhat derivative of fear and a little bit of prejudice, and I thought it was interesting to write about. For many years people have realized and understood that the government is constantly paying close attention to the people of the US. In early 2013, Edward Snowden started to release classified documents on government surveillance on agencies such as the NSA and the UK's GCHQ. These leaks have revealed programs and tools that these agencies have, such as phone tapping, email viewing, and other internet communication interception. A lot of these US surveillance programs came after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. Some signs of this 'war on terror' are pointing to a decrease in civil rights among all people. While I personally don't have a strong opinion on this, I can understand what people are ...

In America, there is alot of conflict right now supporting pro-life, and surrounding issues related. Many people believe it should not be a woman's choice whether or not to keep a child; that it should be mandatory the baby is carried to term no matter the circumstance. This mindset is held by many important politicians, and by creating laws that illegalize abortions, it will affect the lives of our next generations. This is unfair to women since there are many circumstances where having a child could be life-threatening, or unfair to the kid.  Important men are trying to take away this right, which leaves women in a scary and uncomfortable place. I think, if we may be made some restrictions regarding when abortions are okay, it would be a much better solution than just banning abortions. If they were to be banned, people would just find an unsafe alternative.

Today there are over three hundred thousand children working as soldiers in many of the armed conflicts around the world. The kids are young, some as young as eight years of age, and are being drafted to serve in armed government forces. They are also being drafted to work in armed opposition groups. These opposition groups include militias, gangs, terrorist organizations and resistance forces. They are participating in all types of conflict such as suicide missions and fighting on the front lines. The children also are acting as spies, lookouts, and messengers. Some join because they believe that the best chance for their survival is to join in the conflict. Others are either abducted or recruited using force. The rest are enticed by money, drugs, food, and other things. Also living in a combat zone or being displaced or separated from their family, or both, can lead to children getting recruited to be soldiers. While some think of child soldiers as being mostly boys, there are quite ...