Insider Trading

Insider Trading has been a problem in the U.S. for many years now. Many wealthy individuals use insiders trading, and take advantage of this system to increase their earnings substantially. It is a complex topic which needs to be thoroughly explained because of the ease of which it could accure without you even thinking about it.

Now what is insider trading? It is the use of non-public information to sell/buy securities. This is a problem because of the "tough" situations people can get into without even understanding/realizing that they have just done something illegal. If you somehow acquire inside information about a company, that is considered insider trading, many people that participate in stocks do not know that and get punished. But most cases out there, the individual knew that it is illegal and used the valuable information he had just acquired to profit or avoid a bad situation (loss of money). For example, if someone owns securities in a company and they get "tipped off," to the fact that the company is going out of business, that individual (using this information) will sell, sell, sell so he will not be lose money. This may be nice for the person who sold his share, but what about the one buying the securities? The buyer will be receiving them not knowing that they are about to loose a whole lot of money days after making the interaction, which is plain unfair and morally wrong.

Luckily we have many laws against insider trading, such as rule 10b5-1 which states that trades that are made based on non-public information is illegal and who ever uses it will be punished for their actions.

Illustration by Frits Ahlefeldt-Laurvig

Now there are some people who believe that inside trading should not be illegal for some reasons such as saying that it is a victimless crime, but I completely disagree. Insider trading does have victims, the people who purchase the stock from the individual with the inside knowledge about that trade. As I said before selling someone a stock that is bound to drop is just wrong, you are placing that individual in a sure situation where he is going to loose money, throwing him into a ditch he may not be able to climb out of. Lets put this in a different prospective, would you trade flights with someone, knowing that the plane you are sending him on is going to crash? Although a common argument would be the "its better him then me", which at some situations may apply but it is just something that should not be done.

Insider trading seems to be the one way to "cheat" the whole stock owning business. The rules holding people back from doing these kind of things legally have a huge affect on society because of the simple fact that it saves people from hurting their economic status. If insider trading would have been legal society would have fallen apart. The world I picture (without insider trading) is one where anyone with enough brains and contacts in the business industry could get rich very easily and quickly, or even place innocent people in situations they cannot get out of. Insider trading actually stirred controversy when people realized that it was (sort of) legal for members of congress to use insider trading. Experts believed that due to their knowledge about companies, having insider trading be legal for members of congress would be absurd, earning them money easily without the need to work for it. This is just another example of the moral wrongs of insider trading. The impact that these rules have on society is huge, protecting people from loosing their money and preventing those who break the law from achieving the desired benefit. They hold the stock business in place and make sure that no "undesired consequences" will rise out of the actions on those who decide to go against public belief and break the law, and having these laws there to protect the innocent have and will always have an impact on society today as we see it.

The Hidden Implications of Social Media

Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, all of these names should ring a bell. After all, it's websites like these that have burrowed their way into our daily lives and for some consume hours upon hours daily. While most recently the media has focused on the positive benefits of social networking giants like these, often the ugly truth behind these communication outlets gets ignored. Since the birth of social media, there has been numerous criminal cases ranging from identity theft to acts as dangerous as rape and murder. Yet despite the flurry of dangerous and sometimes deadly Internet-related crimes, most people still continue to use these websites with little to no moderation.

MySpace

As the one of the first incarnations of the social networking frenzy, MySpace was no stranger to crimes committed between users. Founded in 2003 MySpace ran into problems starting 2006 when seven girls ages 12-16 came out to the public after being sexually assaulted by men whom they met through MySpace. From that incident on, MySpace a crewed infamy as more and more crimes like those popped up in the news. All a sudden MySpace was known less for the intention it was created, a place for friends and sometimes strangers to connect, but instead a tool for evil people to harp on naive teenagers. Things got the worst when two girls were found dead after what seemed like communicating with strangers on MySpace. What made MySpace different than anything else seen before was that these kids were actually unknowingly advertising themselves to horrible people rather than the criminals preying on children like in chatrooms such in the past.

Facebook

Although MySpace arguably gave rise to the greatest social media titan of all, Facebook. Launched all the way back in 2004, since then it has claimed over 845 million users. While it has been praised for its ingenuity and has become an important part in many peoples' lives, that is to not say it has gone through its fair share of problems also. As well as a place to keep in touch with everyone you know it has also become a home for con-artists and bullies. From the always prevalent cyber-bullying to now as complex crimes as downloading malware and jacking important personal information on a click, Facebook crimes are reportedly on the rise. What's the reason why people are so vulnerable to Facebook criminals? People trust the person they can't physically seen online, just not if they saw them in person. Users are so willing to post seemingly unimportant information on Facebook, sometimes enough so that a stranger could even set up a credit card in your name.

So what does this all mean for the future of social media? It really means that while our addiction to "staying connected" grows so does our need for privacy. The most depressing part of these stories is that many could have been prevented if these people just exercised their common sense, yet for some reason it appears that we tend to separate our "real" life with the one on the internet. For many out there, the great world wide web is a whole other world where they can be completely different people. For some I guess that means they can leave out their basic human ideals, "don't talk to strangers" and "don't do something you wouldn't do want done to yourself."

Duke lacrosse rape scandal

“The only reason we don’t have what we want in life is the reasons we create why we can’t have them.” ~Tony Robbins

Lacrosse is a game of skill, power, agility and ambition. Lacrosse players have all these distinctions and more to be a true athlete. Athletes are not rapists, nor are lacrosse players. But for now, the stereotype has ridden into the community we call the lax bros. But this pattern of accusations throughout all sports is wrong and becoming ridiculous. 

It all started when an exotic dancer was hired by the Duke Lacrosse coach to dance at an off campus party. After a few hours of harmless entertainment, the night led into the refusal to leave by the stripper, Ms. Crystal Gail Mangum. The cops had to be called for her to leave. She later accused three lacrosse players of rape and prosecuted the three students even though the evidence did not suffice. 

The DNA samples showed that this woman lied about the rape accusation, was intoxicated and under the influence of drugs at the time*.  Moreover, her inconsistent stories and failed DNA tests sent her to jail. Though the truth was set free, this appalling experience completely shifted many lives of these lacrosse players. One lacrosse player, David Evans said "This woman has destroyed everything I worked for in my life. She's put it on hold. She's destroyed two other families and she's brought shame on a great university. And, worst of all she's split apart a community and a nation on facts that just didn't happen and a lie that should have never been told." It's not fair that these hard-working athletes are mentally damaged and taken advantage of by dishonest, careless and deceitful people that don't have nearly the heart and soul a true athlete strives for. 

          This is not the first time an envious soul has tried to take advantage of a well-deserving, successful athlete. Year after year, season after season we hear about the sad stories on marriages being broken, families being pulled apart, all because of scandals that start out just as this one did. Cases like these put a bad image on the way society looks at lacrosse players and other athletes in general. It's not fair and should not be tolerated any longer.

A World without Criminal Law

Think for a minute that you have entered a new world, a new society.  Crime is rampant.  There is no law enforcement to help you.  You must fend for yourself.  Your town was just hit by the worst natural disaster ever.  Police are helping rebuild, and can't help you fight off crime. Contractors have a tool in one hand and a gun in the other.  They always have to look over their shoulders.  People have to be careful of dangerous people.  Looters would be roaming the street looking for anything they can find.  You will have your window one day but when you wake up the next it is gone.  Riots will break out and continue on until they get tired.

Picture from:
http://media.egotvonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/
greek+riot+dog7.jpg

You have to protect yourself because the police can't do anything for you, because there are no laws to keep you safe, and people doing the correct thing, said Ms. David on NPR.  Police no longer have any power because they can't stop or arrest criminals, because there are no laws that give them the power to do anything.  Society is corrupt.  People by nature are evil. It is society and the laws that help keep people in line, to make them good and keep the evil at bay.  Ethics and morals are only a side effect of law.  Law not only creates ethics and morals but dictates them too.  Because of the nature of man, if someone else has something that you want and there is nothing that can stop you and you know there will be no consequences you will take it.  That's just the nature of man.  The thing that does stop you though is the law, that is the consequence.  If it weren't for criminal law there would be no good in the world because humans are simply evil by nature.  That being said why should you or I have to be good if there are no consequences?  Who would tell me I can't kill you if I want your money?  Who would get me in trouble if I break into your house?   Nobody, because there are no laws stopping me.   But we do have laws so you don't have to worry about that.

People are scared of getting in trouble.  They always have that fear and that is what keeps people good.  By human nature people don't want to get in trouble. So if man can't get in trouble for their actions then they don't have the fear to be good.  If they don't have the fear to be good there is no reason to and they will do bad things like; looting, robbery, killing, stealing, and rape. 

NOW that doesn't seem like a very good society at all.  Aren't you glad that there are laws that will protect you, and tell you how to live.  Laws tell society how to act, and stop those that break the norm for society and threatens others in that society.  Criminal law is important to society because not only does it help you live your life it also stops bad people from doing bad things.  Now imagine another world.  A world with laws.  It is very peaceful crime is at a minimum.  You don't have to constantly be looking over you shoulder.  That's mostly the world you live in.  That is a world with criminal law!!

How bully laws have changed society

Phoebe Prince was walking home 

and a group of students yelled out the window
saying "Irish Slut! You should go kill yourself!"
She went home and followed through with
what they wished for.

A fifteen year old girl named, Phoebe Prince, was an immigrant from Ireland and moved to Massachusetts. All she wanted was to be able to fit in and be accepted in America. She didn’t fit in very well and was bullied at her new school. Many of the reasons she was bullied was because she began dating a popular boy named Flannery Mullins. The bullying and name calling didn’t stop at school. She would get bullied over the Internet through Facebook and also through text messaging. At one point, one of the boys she dated started tormenting her as well. There were five teenagers responsible for bullying Phoebe. Their bullying caused her to commit suicide and hang herself. Most of the students who were guilty admitted to taunting and making fun of her days after her death. All of the Three out of five students were left to do community service. All five students were charged with a felony and misdemeanors all connecting to Phoebe’s death. They were all found guilty criminal harassment.  After the students were admitted to humiliating Phoebe, the entire town was shocked and wanted to take action. The state of Massachusetts wanted to pass a law towards anti-bullying in public schools. The law lets students be able to report an incident at school anonymously. 


There is also a similar law that was passed because of a similar incident that occurred to an eleven year old boy. His name was Carl Hoover and he killed himself after continuously being called “gay” by his peers. The law that was passed is called “Dignity for Every Student.” It was passed in May 2010 and it requires faculty and staff in public schools have an anti-bullying curriculum. It also requires every case of bullying to be reported under any circumstances. 


These laws have affected our society in many ways. It has given students the chance to have a say in what they are feeling and not to be afraid of reporting bullying cases to the school. This law was created due to the tragedy of the two students that decided to commit suicide because of their classmates. Many states are trying to prevent bullying from happening to avoid something similar happening again.

September 11, 2001

September 11, 2001:A Day to Remember

Standing motionless in front of our televisions, we stood motionless with our jaws to the ground. We watched in shock as the Twin Towers in New York went from two beautifully built skyscrapers to rubble and dust on the ground. Our hearts stopped momentarily as people all over the country were informed that terrorists had hijacked four United States planes and attempted to crash them. The results of this horrible crime would be embedded in every citizen from then on. America was never the same after this day. On September 11, 2001, our nation was changed forever.

This tragic event left millions around the nation speechless. How could a person's goal be to kill innocent civilians? Why would anyone do this? Is this going to happen again? What can the United States do in order for this to never happen again? After the attacks on the Pentagon and the Twin Towers, our nation went through great measures to prevent an unfortunate event like this to over happen again. September 11, 2001 was such a shock that our nation went through an incredible amount of change in such a short period of time.      

1. Patriot Act

• decision that the United States chose to pass almost immediately after the bombing of the Twin Towers and the Pentagon
• allowed the nation to get a better grip on security and anything that had to do with terrorism
• showed how frazzled America was; we had never experience something like this in the past
• greatly impacted the U.S. Government
• unified the House and Senate to work together in order to pass this bill quickly
• addressed new consequences for new crimes such as terrorism
2. Airport Security

• security at airports tightened up tremendously
• new installations were made for security machines that costed the U.S. millions of dollars, for the safety of everyone
• baggage checking increased
• there was always a possiblility of some random interviews with authorities
• airplane riders had to get many more security checks when they went to the airport
• showed the carelessness and weakness of the U.S. aviation system
• completely changed and altered America's airports
3. Security Hype on September 11, 2001 Anniversaries

• set paranoia around the country on aniversaries
• U.S. citizens would always remember what happened on September 11, 2001
• extra caution was taken at airport, security increased
• police recieved more calls about possible terrorist threats in 2011 than ever before
• awareness of terrorism happening again got American's attention
4. United Americans together as one

• tragic event showed America's strength and perseverence
• U.S. was able to pick itself up from the ground filled with rubble and hold her head high
• a sense of nationalism arose from 9/11
• people were able to discover their normal lives again

The terrorist attacks on America impacted citizens greatly. We can't get on an airplane without getting our bags checked. We can't bring liquids onto planes because it could carry a bomb. We can't say good-bye to our loved ones at the gates anymore. Things have changed tremendously. Though these changes are sometimes annoying, tidious, and time consuming, the United States created these new rules for our own safety. Afterall, it's better to be safe than sorry.

9/11 also gave us the opportunity to work together as a nation to overcome something greater than our own selfish, personal problems. On September 11, 2001, we were reminded of what kind of country we are and what beliefs we stand for.

An event big, like this, will always have an impact on our society, whether it's for the worse or the better. Either way, lessons are going to be learned, and mistakes won't be made again.

Photos are from Associated Press

How serial killers have changed society

How Serials killers Changed society  JEAN BOYLAN 1996 Serial killer: noun
someone who murders more than three victims one at a time in a relatively short interval Psychopath: noun a mentally ill or unstable person; especially: a person affected with antisocial personality disorder There have been thousands of people killed throughout the world by serial killers. Each one with a different motive or psychotic reason for killing and/or torturing their victims. Almost no two killers are the same whether they kill their victims for personal pleasure, for a higher reason, or because voices inside their heads tell them to. Whatever their reasons are, they still have made people around the world think twice about who and what they can trust. One serial killer that really stands out for changing what people can trust is Ted Kaczynski more commonly known as the Unabomber. He created homemade bombs and sent them to government officials and other civilians.  This changed society so much for a few reason. One being a simple fact that it made people think twice about the safety of receiving packages through the mail or other sources. Before Kaczynski there was really no reason for people to question the security of there packages and mail because no one could've thought up what he did.  But secondly and more surprisingly, he went to Harvard. A Harvard grad was not the person people expected. When people think of Harvard they think of preppy boys with diplomas out the wazoo on their walls, not someone living alone in the woods sending bombs through the mail. David Goldman 2011 This one person has changed lives and people's views of society tremendously. This opened up a whole new unwanted reality into people's lives. They now have to think twice about who and what they can trust. Before Kaczynski Harvard was seemingly a place that released perfect citizens into the world, but now people aren't who we think they are or how they appear.