The "War on Drugs": Winning or Losing?

We all know that drugs, as well as other enjoyable things like sugar, beef and pork, cause serious problems for society, with people dying early, suffering ill health, breaking up families, and lowering national productivity. But, although it is popular, is making drugs illegal a successful solution to the drug problem?

Australia seizes drugs worth $500m from Hong Kong ring reports on the seizure of an enormous amount of "ice" (yaa baa), heroin and other drugs in Sydney recently (2012). It says that the Australian police investigated for one year with the help of the United States Drug Enforcement Agency to capture the drug gang, who imported the drugs hidden in terracotta pottery.

When I first read this on the BBC News, I thought it was more evidence that making drugs illegal is a total failure. The police are saying that it's a success, but they are wrong. Drugs have been illegal for decades, and if amounts this large are still being imported for sale, then that seems to me to prove that the current drug policy is a 100% failure. What sort of people repeat exactly the same mistake knowing that it does not work? Idiots do this. And the policy of making some popular drugs illegal is idiotic because it's obviously a total failure. Drug dealers continue to go a lot of trouble to produce, export and import drugs because there is a very high demand from consumers for their products. That means that ordinary, normal people in Australia, and Thailand, and every other country, use drugs and want to use drugs.

These people, a lot of people in every country, obviously think that the laws against them enjoying their life without harming other people are unjust, so they ignore the law. The result is corruption of police, judges and politicians. The result is higher drug prices and profits for mafia groups. The result is more crime to pay for drugs. The result is more addicts with problems. Every result of the "War on Drugs" is bad for citizens and bad for society. So why are some drugs that ordinary, normal citizens want to use illegal? I've given some reasons why they should not illegal, but I can't think of any good reason why marijuana, heroin, or yaa baa should be illegal to buy and use. Can you think of any good reason?

And in the meantime, the "War on Drugs" will continue to be a very expensive failure that harms society. This does not seem rational to me.

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References

Australia seizes drugs worth $500m from Hong Kong ring. (2012, July 31). BBC News. Retrieved August 4, 2012 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19058726

Something Tasty to Chew on

Do you think some people's eating habits are a bit weird? Does your culture eat any strange foods?

In "Plan To Slaughter Horses For Human Consumption Is Met With Distaste", Ted Burnham writes about the end of the US ban on killing horses for people to eat (2012). He says that although horse ranchers in the US like this idea, it is probably less popular with many other Americans.

I thought that Burnham's article was interesting, and as you will see, it fits very well with our readings in the first chapter of Quest. Although there are some foods I couldn't eat, horse would not worry me. And as Burnham also tells us, in Australia, my country, we regularly eat kangaroo, and I think kangaroo is a tasty meat. I usually have a kangaroo steak or something at least once on my annual visit to Australia. I can't see any good reason for objecting to eating horses. Why would killing and eating horses be any worse than slaughtering and eating pigs, cows, duck, chickens or dogs?

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References

Burnham, T. (2012, April 18). Plan To Slaughter Horses For Human Consumption Is Met With Distaste. The Salt. Retrieved August 1, 2012 from http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/04/17/150833468/plan-to-slaughter-horses-for-human-consumption-is-met-with-distaste

Tom's academic interest

My academic's interest is art and business. It seems totally different, but I like it. I became like art since I was young, because this subject is by far my favorite study when I was in a primary school. After that I was surprised that I would study in this major in bachelor study in Art education. This major is not pure art like visual art major, but is about art teaching.

Then, when I started working as a teacher in the school. My friends suggested some business workshops, NEC: New Entrepreneur Creation. This short course is free, or else you may pay just a bit and it is still running  by Department of Industrial Promotion. If you have some free time during weekends, you might like to join this.

Noom academic interest

I have a lot of interests, but not all of it has become my passion. I used to be a soccer player in school. I stopped because I found another interest which made me happier. I usually spend my time travelling and sitting on the beach. I have been to many countries which has beach such as ,Tahiti, Hawaii, Brazil , Uruguay, Argentina, Maxi-go and Australia. I like to swim in the ocean, but I don't like diving. I am not a risk-taking. I have a license for diving, but I don't like swimming underwater using special breating equipment. Do you like diving?

Austin's academic interest

Now, my academic interest is English. I want to improve my English for study in USA and i have to make it batter than now.

Pete's academic interests

 For now my academic interest is management. So I would like to prepare myself before I go to study aboard so I think Academic English Program is a good way for me I expect to improve skills in English for prepare myself before go aboard to continue study. I heard AUA  from my sister she told me that AUA has course from student that want to prepare themselves before go to study.

Mehdi's academic interest.

my  first academic interest is economic.When i was in high school the economy interested me. It was so amazing that how money circulate all around the world.

Som's academic interest

i started do ballet since i was 4 years old at waraporn-karnchana ballet school. there are many class of ballet. I stared at Pre-Primary. it teach just only how to move coordinate with your body and listen to the music. The second class is Primary. this is for 5 years old. After that there are 8 grade for basic level. People can study in Advance level when they re 11 years old.

in fact, i start learning about coffee. I think coffee is wonderful plant ^_^ in the future, i wish i hav my own outstanding coffee shop >w<

Anne's academic interest

My first real academic was photography. I like to go to other countries in order to take a photo such as taking a photo of  view and taking a photo of people. I think that taking a photo can bring my memories back.

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Pang's academic interest.

My academic interest is Law.I  learnt the basic Law when I was about 15 years old.I found that it was so interesting to learn because it is relating to my daily life.People need to know Law because there is no excuse when you break the law.No one can be excluded by saying they don't know it.Therefore,I set my goal that I would like to study Law in the university.I finally achieved my first goal by getting into Thammasat University.

Mo's academic interests

I was graduated in Veterinary medicine. Absolutely, science is my favorite. My research project at university was related to genetic. But during studying, I was rarely studied about it. So that I decided to learn more detail about genetic, I apply to genetic division in international program in Germany's university. My decision make many people confused why i chose to learn in Germany without fluency in German.

Yut's academic interest

I decided to study academic english at AUA because it is a good english program for me.  Last two year,  I used to study regular course.  However, I would improve my english is better not only speaking and listening but also writing and reading.

Benz's academic interests

I was interested in computer programing. I have played computer games since I was a child. Then, I want to learn how to create my own computer games.

J's academic interests

     My academic interest is finance. I think finance is very important for me because I don't want to be an employee all of my life. I would like to find someway to invest in something such as stocks,real estate or create my own business. The main purpose of invest is for financial freedom

Oh's academic interests

My academic interest is chemistry. Chemistry can be applied everywhere.You cannot refuse that you do not use shampoo,bath cream, body lotion or toothpaste in your routine life. These involve chemistry and this is the reason why I am interested in Chemistry. Moreover, Chemistry can make many amazing things. For example, carbon which is use as fuel can be the most valuable thing in the world which is diamond just only insert the high temperature and pressure.The arrangement of carbon molecule will then change so it it turns to be diamond.Thats amazing!!!!

Pantip's academic interests

My academic interset was travel business.I love to travel.I aways happy when I go to travel a new place.I can learn many thing  from the place that I travel.For example the language that they have

Peter's academic interests

My first real academic interest was biology. I loved growing trees and things when I was in primary school, and started reading high school biology books in my free time. I loved it. This lasted for a few years, and tehn my interests shifted to chemistry. In early highschool, chemistry was my favourite subject, but physics soon caught up and passed it. And all the time, mathematics was there. By the time I was in middle highschool, mathematics was my favourite subject. I loved the way the results were absolutely certain. I still enjoyed reading physics, chemistry and biology, but mathematics was me passion for the next few years, and continued when I when I went to university.

Welcome to Reading and Writing 3, term 5, 2012.

Thank you for registering for the Reading and Writing level 3 class in AUA's Academic English Program (AEP).

Over the next six weeks we will be working through two or three chapters in Hartmann's Quest 2 Reading and Writing [Quest] (2007), which might already be familiar to some of you from level 2 last term. As usual, we will be doing both a a bit more writing than Quest asks for and a bit more reading.

And this being 2012, we will be using the tools that are normal in modern academic institutions: email, the internet and so on; academics and students no longer submit their written work on scraps of paper, and we won't be doing that either.

I hope that you find the class both enjoyable and challenging so that our six weeks together will be productive and pleasant.

And if you ever have any question about anything, please feel welcome to ask us in class, email me, or write it up here on our class blog (Peter, 2011).

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References
Hartmann, P. (2007). Quest 2 Reading and Writing, (2nd. ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Peter. (2011, February). AEP, Blogging our class. Class Blog - AEP at AUA. April 22, 2012 from http://peteraep.blogspot.com/p/blogging-our-class.html

So, you thought only non-natives had comma issues?

And showing the wonderful range of topics in the excellent New York Times is this recent opinion piece by writer Ben Yagoda, "The Most Comma Mistakes" (2012). (Yes, we do need the comma before the title of the article - why is explained in it.)

In his short essay, Yagoda explains clearly, with plenty of good examples, some common problems that native English speakers have with commas; as you will notice, many of these are exactly the same problems that AEP students have with commas: where do sentences begin and end, how can clauses be connected, when is information defining and non-defining (or essential v. non-essential as Yagoda describes it), and so on.

You might find it both entertaining and useful reading practice, and I hope encouraging since Yagoda is writing not for students learning English as a second language, but for native users in the US and elsewhere.

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References

Yagoda, B. (2012, May 21). The Most Comma Mistakes. The New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2012 from http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/21/the-most-comma-mistakes/

Is Hartmann right? Should all drugs be legalized?

"Medicine and Drugs: Addictive Substances" is the title of chapter 7 of Quest; it suggests the topic of the chapter very broadly, although not enough for us to actually know what the chapter is specifically about, which is the personal and social problems caused by the use of addictive drugs such as heroin, whisky, wine and other alcohol, yaa baa, cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products, cocaine, marijuana and so on. I am sure everyone can add to this short list of popular recreational drugs that people like to use and to which they sometimes become addicted.

At the end of the chapter, after three readings which establish the nature and extent of drug use and the associated problems, Hartmann gives us an example of a persuasive paragraph to analyse in which she answers the question: "What can be done about the problem of drug addiction?" (2007, p. 227).

It is Hartmann's answer to this question that prompted the latest poll for you to vote on, and which we want to discuss in the comments below.

So, what do you think? Is Hartmann right that all illegal drugs should be legalized to help solve the problem of drug addiction in societies?

• Of the three voting options in the poll, which do you think is right?   
• Why are the other two options wrong?  
• What arguments or evidence support your opinions here? You need support both for your own opinion and to oppose the contradictory opinions. 

As the discussion progresses and you are persuaded from one position to another, you can change your vote when you are signed in. 

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References

Hartmann, P. (2007). Quest 2 Reading and Writing, (2nd. ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Didier Drogba will leave Chelsea this summer

Chelsea FC is the winner of UEFA Champions League. This is the good news for Roman Abramovich. One of the players that bring this success is Didier Drogba. He shot the final score to win FC Bayern Munich in the final match of UEFA Champions League last week. But it is a bad news that he decides to leave in this summer.

According to the news article “Didier Drogba will leave Chelsea this summer” from BBC website, He said "It has been a very difficult decision for me to make and I am very proud of what we have achieved, but the time is right for a new challenge for me."  It means that he will have a decision to leave from Chelsea. It is the bad news especially for the fan club because since he come to Chelsea, FC he is the one of the superstar in the team.

I think he is one of the most important players in the team. If he leave Chelsea it will be hard to find the new player to play like him. He is the legend player of Chelsea FC.

__________

References

Didier Drogba will leave Chelsea this summer (2012 May, 21). BBC News.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18152689