Democracy & Civics

The Czech Republic's Meth Crackdown

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Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, is cracking down on the sale of medicines made with ephedrine and pseudoephedrine in order to control production of homemade methamphetamine, one of the country’s most common drugs. The Prague Post said the two chemicals are key ingredients of pervitine — “a more refined form” of crystal methamphetamine, or speed — and are commonly found in cold medicines. The National Drug Squad will restrict sales to one package per week and will coordinate pharmacy databases to monitor purchases. Most of the European Union’s methamphetamines originate in the Czech Republic, where it is made in homemade laboratories and smuggled across borders. The use of speed, which was given to Nazi soldiers during World War II to stimulate alertness and fight fatigue, became widespread during the former Czechoslovakia’s communist era.

Democracy & Civics

Violence Claims Mexican Journalist

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Armando Rodriguez, a veteran Mexican crime reporter, was recently shot to death outside his home in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, according to news site Frontera NorteSur. Rodriguez, a reporter for the newspaper El Diario, covered crime for more than a decade in Juarez, and was one of the first to report on the infamous rapes and murders of scores of women in Juarez. Police say they have no motive or suspects yet, but Rodriguez had received at least one threat and, according to the article, “his killing occurred exactly one week after a severed human head was discovered at a monument to journalists in Ciudad Juarez.” Mexico has become increasingly dangerous for journalists, who are being targeted by drug gangs to reveal sources and as revenge for incriminating stories. Rodriguez is the sixth journalist to be murdered in Mexico this year.

Democracy & Civics

Prison in Greenland? It's Casual.

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The small island of Greenland is home to one of the most lax prison systems in the world, where most convicts are free to leave during the day and are only locked up overnight. Radio Netherlands said Greenland’s convicts spend the first tenth of their sentence in lock-down, but if their conduct is good enough, they can progress to the open prison system, in which prison doors are locked only from 9:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m.
Peter Kristensen, director of Greenland’s prison system, told RN the open-prison system emphasizes prisoner rehabilitation rather than punishment, adding that “we only have 56,000 people in Greenland, and we can’t afford to lose any of them.” Prisoners are allowed to work regular jobs, study, visit family and friends, and enjoy amenities like movie and music facilities inside the detention centers. Prisoners are even allowed to carry guns on weekend hunting trips — the only time they are accompanied by armed prison guards. The more serious offenders do not qualify for this regime, and instead have been sent to a conventional prison in Denmark.

Featured

Hidden Statistic?

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Is there a spike in violence against homeless people? Are teens the main culprits? Depends which official report you believe. ALSO: Recent attacks put human faces on disturbing and disputed statistics. Photo: Shapeshift

Public Health

Questions About HPV Vaccine Risks

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A new vaccine to eliminate the Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) — which is linked to some cervical cancers — will soon be on the market, but concerns over its side effects are emerging. An opinion piece on the Medical News Today Web site claims that many health professionals say the vaccine is being pushed too quickly onto teenage women without full understanding of its side effects. The U.S. government now mandates the vaccine for all female immigrants ages 11-16 that are applying for a green card. According to the Houston Chronicle, this will affect around 130,00 immigrants annually. The government has received more than 9,000 reports of adverse reactions to the vaccine, known as Gardasil or Cervarix, including spontaneous abortions and 20 deaths.

Nation

U.S.: New Push for Felon Voting Rights

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While Maine and Vermont are the only two American states that allow all prison inmates to vote, many other states are increasing voting rights for felons. The Los Angeles times reports that the drive to restore voting rights is backed strongly by justice-reform advocates, the African American community, and evangelical Christians. Because one out of eight black men cannot vote due to prior convictions, voting rights can turn into a civil rights issue. Pat Nolan, a leader of the Christian reform group Prison Fellowship, told the newspaper it was a matter of forgiveness: “Why, after someone has paid their debt, do we continue to punish them?” More than five million people in the U.S. cannot vote due to felony convictions.

Nation

Social Media Changes Elections

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While the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections saw the web emerge as a powerful force in political campaigns, the 2008 race harnessed the power of the Internet to an unprecedented degree for fundraising, volunteer coordination, voter recruitment and post-election communication. In the 2004 election, Newsdesk.org first reported on the emergence of social-networking services as campaign tools, with more tech-savvy candidates embracing the technology. Today, social media in elections and politics has reached a whole new level, with Change.gov, a website launched by President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team, at the forefront. The site is soliciting feedback and ideas from the American public and will document Obama’s transition to the Presidency, according to the BBC. The website also lists Obama’s policy priorities, job possibilities in the new administration, and information on the transition itself.

Investigations

Attacks on Homeless Excluded from Crime Data: Advocates

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by T.J. Johnston, Newsdesk.org
• Sidebar: “Homelessness, by the Numbers?” • Sidebar: “Human Faces, Lost in the Statistics”
Ricky Green of Bolinas, Calif., and Anthony Waters of Cleveland, Ohio, don’t know each other, but they have this much in common: both are homeless and both were brutalized by packs of teenagers in June. But their outcomes differed. Green survived. Waters did not.

Investigations

Homelessness, by the Numbers?

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Main article: “Attacks on Homeless Excluded from Crime Data: Advocates”
The National Coalition on the Homeless’s 2008 report, “Hate, Violence and Death on Main Street, USA,” combined government crime statistics with reports from local homeless advocacy groups, media reports and self-reported narratives by homeless people to develop a new index of attacks on the homeless. Although federal crime statistics indicate no upswing in violence against homeless people, and that the juvenile crime rate is actually going down, the NCH report found only increases. Advocates for both statistical methods say their counterparts’ methods are flawed. Key NCH findings about violence against homeless people:
ATTACKS PER STATE
In 2007, Florida led all states with 31 attacks
California is second with 22, Nevada with 14, Ohio with 13 and Texas with 8
TOTAL ATTACKS, 2006-2007
Total 2007 attacks: 160
Total 2006 attacks: 142
Attacks increased by 13 percent
TOTAL NONLETHAL ATTACKS,
2007 nonlethal attacks: 132
2006 nonlethal attacks: 122
Increased by 8 percent
TOTAL FATALITIES, 2006-2007
2007 fatalities: 28
2006 fatalities: 20
Fatalities increased by 40 percent
–T.J. Johnston

Investigations

Human Faces, Lost in the Statistics

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By T.J. Johnston, Newsdesk.org
Main article: “Attacks on Homeless Excluded from Crime Data: Advocates”
Since 1999, when the National Coalition on the Homeless, started releasing yearly figures on attacks against people without housing, it has claims to have tracked 774 violent acts against homeless men, women and children in 235 cities throughout 45 states and Puerto Rico. Of these attacks, 217 were fatal. Newsdesk.org took an up-close look at four individuals made victims by this violence in 2007 — and found real human faces lost in the statistics. New York: “Quality of Life”
Before David Pirtle found housing in 2006 and became an advocate for the National Coalition on the Homeless’s speakers bureau, the former restaurant manager spent two-and-a-half years homeless in New York City. One autumn night in 2004, Pirtle was sleeping in an abandoned stairwell.