Saturday, February 27, 2010

Human rights violation

There was a time when all the phone lines were manually operated and utmost secrecy was maintained. It was very difficult to search or find out anyone’s address or location, or for that matter, any information about a person if you only had his or her phone number. Reverse number lookup is now easier than ever before.

There was even legislation regarding it. The telephone department was not to let out any personal information on the basis of the phone numbers only. But the times have changed a lot. Now we have the concept of reverse search. What it exactly means is that with the help of just a phone number you can find out all the personal information of a person that is available in the public records. You may get his registered name and address instantly along with other information, including in a lot of cases the person's criminal background.

There are many online services which provide reverse number lookup for small fee. You may find it unbelievable but for around $25 you may get the personal information which is available in public records like his criminal and civil cases, marriage and divorce details. With a few clicks and a few dollars you can find out about anyone’s drunken driving arrests, his birth and adoption records, bankruptcy details, his family history, his FBI files and many other interesting stuff!…. The list is exhaustive and scary! You can do all this anonymously, without the other person getting any wind of your probing.

Reverse number lookup is actually a boon and a curse. It is a boon for employers and of course for all those love struck Romeos who are not getting any response from their lady loves. However, the telesales people and the salespersons are having a field day going through the available personal information and following up with incessant phone calls. You may be in the middle of a luxurious shower or an important business meeting and suddenly your cell phone rings only to be offered a “low interest loan especially for you”! Fuming you slam the phone and wonder at the same time “How did she get my number?” Well, so now you know the culprit is the reverse number lookup service!

There has been a lot of debate going on regarding it because it is gross violation of a person’s privacy. You may be going steady with the most eligible bachelor in the town and he can open your wardrobe of skeletons with the telephone number you gave him! And do not stay under the impression that cell phone numbers and the unlisted numbers are safe! They are as prone to the problem as the landline connections. Reverse number lookup works for any phone number, no matter if it is a cell phone, a landline or an unlisted phone number.

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Universal human rights

Do you ever think about your trials and tribulations and wonder if life is worth the daily effort you must put forth? You’ve probably noticed that as soon as one desire is satisfied a new one pops up and demands satisfaction. You feel as if you are on an endless treadmill of attempting to satisfy wants and desires.

Are you familiar with the ‘Four Noble Truths” of Buddhist philosophy? They are:

1. Life means suffering.
2. The origin of suffering is attachment.
3. The cessation of suffering is attainable.
4. The Buddhist path to the cessation of suffering.

Of course, the Buddhist path is the relinquishing of all attachment.

Do you have any idea why life is filled with suffering? Well, there are three reasons.

1. You don’t get what you want.
2. You get what you don’t want.
3. You get what you do want.

Certainly, you understand why the first two reasons cause suffering. Who needs lack and frustration. However, you’re probably wondering why getting what you want causes suffering.

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately depending how you look at it, everything exists in time. Whether it’s a love relationship, your favorite music, the delicious dinner on your plate, a sip from an old bottle of fine wine, it must all eventually pass away.

Think about this. You are born, you mature, you grow old and you eventually wear out and die—that is if you’re lucky and some terminal disease or unfortunate accident doesn’t kill you prematurely. Looking at it from the point of view of your mortality could cause you to feel that maybe life is not worthwhile. Why struggle when everything you cherish and value eventually turns to dust? Maybe the ascetic Buddhist monks are correct when they attempt to gain peace of mind and serenity by renunciation and resignation. Possibly, non-attachment actually could eliminate most human suffering.

Before, we go any farther down the road of non-attachment, let me explain an important fact about existence. Since you are alive, you possess vital energy—the irresistible force of life. Renunciation and resignation indicate a person who has escaped into a dreary existence of anti-life. Obviously, if everyone adopted the life of an ascetic, the human race would quickly perish.

Let’s face it. We are alive at this very moment. Here’s a quote from the great praxeologist Ludwig von Mises, page 882 of his masterpiece “Human Action.” “Whatever the future may have in store for him (man or woman), he cannot withdraw from the necessities of the actual hour. As long as a man lives, he cannot help obeying his cardinal impulse, the élan vital. It is man’s innate nature that he seeks to preserve and to strengthen his life, that he is discontented and aims at removing uneasiness, that he is in search of what he may call happiness.”

If desire is the cause of all suffering and desire is inherent in all human action, what are we to do? Maybe we should renounce all action and live in a near vegetative state, similar to an ascetic Buddhist monk. But wait a minute, Mises just stated it’s impossible to withdraw from the necessities of the actual hour. Our cardinal impulse, the élan vital doesn't allow it.

You probably know living without desire and satisfaction of your desires is anti-life. After all, why be here if you aren't at least attempting to capture the fruits of existence. Think about it. Your desires and attachments are the spice of life.

Are you somewhat confused? How can attachment be both suffering and the spice of life. Isn’t this a contradiction?

Let’s discover how to attain universal harmony—at least as much as is humanly possible.

Attaining what advanced metaphysicians experience as universal harmony requires discovering how to handle attachment. Here are the two paths of attachment.

1. You become attached to people and things unconsciously.
2. You consciously choose your attachments.

Tragically, most people default to the thorny path of unconscious attachment, which causes them much suffering. The enlightened person joyously chooses his or her attachments, knowing and accepting that one day they will vanish into eternity.

The unaware individual feels guilt about yesterday and worries about tomorrow. His attachments enslave him to a life of suffering. The enlightened individual plans for the future, but lives for the moment—knowing right now is all that matters. After all, each moment you live is the moment you’re currently enjoying—or possibly you’re allowing it to mundanely pass you by—or maybe you’re unhappily finding it rather unpleasant.

Happily, there are pleasurable methods that allow you to become aware of what you consciously choose or don’t choose.

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Human rights law

The Human Rights Act 1998 has important ramifications for all aspects of police work. Police Investigation, the conduct of prosecution and the presentation of evidence in court, have all conflicted with Human Rights.

In the context of criminal cases the main areas of Human Rights include: • Right to a fair trial (Article 6 of the Convention) • Right to privacy (Article 8 of the Convention) • Right to an effective remedy (Article 13 of the Convention)

The courts are required to 'read and give effect' to primary legislation in a way which is compatible with the Convention Rights 'so far is possible to do so'.

Examination of the effects of the Convention on the Criminal Justice System reveals the problems, of which some will be touched upon in this discussion. Police surveillance has already fallen foul of Article 8 in a number of cases. In the cases of Kahn v United Kingdom 2000, and the similar case of P.G. and J.H. v United Kingdom 2001 (The Times, 19th October 2001), it was held that there had been a breach of Article 8 and Article 13, but not a violation of Article 6. It was held that the applicant's right to respect for private and family life, as guaranteed by Article 8 of the Convention, had been violated. This is simply because the domestic law did not regulate the use of covert listening devices at the time of the applicants conviction. The European Court did however find that there had been no violation of Article 6, that the applicant did have a fair trial. I cannot help but think that these two judgements contradict each other. If the evidence violated Article 8 and the case was entirely based upon the weight of this evidence, then how could it have been a fair trial?

In the case of Kahn v U.K. Lord Nolan stated to the House of Lords: 'The sole cause of this case coming to your Lordships House is the lack of a statutory system regulating the use of surveillance devices by the police. The absence of such systems is astonishing, the more so in view of the statutory framework which has governed the use of such devices by the Security Service since 1989, and the interception of communications by the police as well as by other agencies since 1985.'

It would appear that over the years, the police have had an ad hoc system regarding surveillance techniques and therefore the European Court has highlighted fundamental flaws by way of the Convention, in relation to the procedures that have been undertaken by the police regarding the use of surveillance.

The work of the security services has been carried out legally under the umbrella of legislation, therefore allowing surveillance of suspects. The police do not appear to have carried out their work legally, therefore the European Court is setting examples in cases like the above, the main principle being that a body cannot carry out illegal acts in order to obtain a legal solution (e.g. a conviction). However, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 provides the police with guidelines on the subject of surveillance, so there should not be a problem now. The cases that the European Court is hearing are convictions before this Act was processed.

In the case of Condron and Another v United Kingdom 2000 it was held that there had been a violation of Article 6 of the Convention. This was because the judge in the case had not properly directed the jury on the issue of the defendant's silence during a police interview; he had said that silence was negative. He had said this with reference to section 34 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.

The first point that I would like to make is the fact that the defendants were withdrawing from heroin which was the reason that their solicitor had advised them to remain silent. Most crimes are drug related, this could open floodgates in the fact that they remained silent because they were 'drugged up'; every criminal could abuse this right. This could be the main reason for the judge to have directed the jury in this way, to prevent the floodgates. This would also put pressure on the legal advisor, simply because if the silent interview is conducted on the advise of the solicitor, then it can be brought up and used against the defence. However, if I were a juror I would not think that keeping silent was positive, and I would agree in this case that the judge should not have imposed his view on the jury.

In the case of Atlan v United Kingdom it was held by the European Court, that there had been a violation of Article 6 of the Convention because the prosecution had failed to let the trial judge rule on the question of the disclosure of evidence. The prosecution simply should have followed procedures; the judge decides whether or not the evidence attracts public interest immunity, as in the case of Conway v Rimmer. If the procedure were not followed correctly then we would be having similar convictions and unfair trials as in the seventies and eighties, for example, the Gilford Four, and the early nineties as in the case of Edwards v United Kingdom (1992).

In the case of entrapment, there is no defence for this in England and Wales. However, the Convention has applied Article 6 to prevent this, as in the case of Texiera de Castro v Portugal (1998). 'Even the obvious public interest in fighting drug-trafficking could not justify using evidence obtained as a result of police entrapment.' I think that this is right but only depending on the circumstances. I feel that if a drug-trafficker is a well known 'heroin dealer' and the last resort for the police to stop him is by 'agent provocateur', then I think that this should be justified.

By joining the European Union, the government took on board the laws, provision, directives etc of the Community. I think that the courts will go as far as they have to in order to abide and interpret these laws into ours. My view is that to have another body of law keeping an eye so to speak, on ours is good. There is less chance of unfair trials, policing and government legislation, and more chance of fair and properly followed procedures within the law and order of this country.

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Human rights abuse

Many people are confused about the difference between resell rights, master rights and private label rights. Some believe that these terms mean the same thing; however, they are not. Take a look at the differences.

Resell Rights

If you purchase a product that comes with resell rights, you have the right to resell the product ‘as is’ in conjunction with the terms and conditions set forth in your license. Basically this means that you are not allowed to alter, edit or in any other way change the product. And you may not put claim it as being your own by putting your name on it as the author.

Check your license, though, for specific resell rights rules. Not all are the same. For example, some products are not allowed to be sold in eBay auctions, potentially devaluing them.

Master Rights

There is one big difference between resell rights and master resell rights. While resell rights allow you the right to resell the product, master resell rights allow you to resell the product along with the resell rights. This is powerful combination for potential buyers who also make a living selling to others. Because with master rights, they can use your product for themselves plus they can include it in their product line to generate extra income.

And just as with resell rights, make sure to look closer at the license that comes with the product. There may be limitations about where you can sell and not be allowed to add unlimited products to a membership site, for example.

Private Label Rights

Private label rights are considered by many to be the “grand daddy of all rights.” When you have private label rights, you are allowed to edit, alter, revise and in any other way change the product as you like to suit your needs. Plus you can claim authorship, slapping your own name or company name on the product as the author or originator. This means you are able to change paragraph order, sentence structure, insert other paragraphs or entire articles, graphics, ads…whatever you want to the product. Or you might choose to break the product down into several different products. Regardless of what you decide to do, you can brand it and do what you want with it- toss up sales materials, promote and sell it as your own product, naming it what you like.

Many buyers prefer private label rights because they help save lots of time, money, energy and hard work creating new products. And some private label rights products come with lots of marketing materials that you can revise to go with the products, more of a win-win; like websites, sales copy, articles for marketing and autoresponder series and more.

Which to Choose

Since products with private label rights do come packaged with so much more freedom to do with as you wish, private label rights product packages generally cost more to purchase than resell and master rights product packages. And some products may even come with a variety of different options offered to buyers, each priced accordingly; for example, buying the product with no rights, with resell rights, with master resell rights or with private label rights so that you can revise the product then package it to resell any way you want.

So print out this handy reference page to help with any confusion with these various terms. And if you are ever given a choice, always opt for private label rights. These will allow you to have a product of your very own, without actually having to create one yourself, and to market it as well.

Free PLR eCourse

To learn a lot more about rights with product purchases and how to get the most out of them so that you can turn around and make a profit with your products, you can sign up for a new PLR ecourse called, “Private Label Rights News” available at: http://www.movingaheadcommunications.com/ecourses.html
at no cost to you. There are unlimited ways to use private label rights products, so stay tuned for a lot of help there.

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Human rights convention


In today’s day and age of internet technology, content is king. Everybody that owns a website knows just how important it is to have content that will increase traffic. The reason for this is quite simple. Increased traffic leads to increased sales which lead to increased profits. But the bottom line is that everything about a website starts with the words on the screen.

Even though it may sound easy enough to get content onto your site, it can actually be quite difficult and time consuming. If you are running a business, you probably have enough stuff to keep you occupied outside of having to worry about writing articles. But luckily, there is something that you can do about this. You can take advantage of private label articles and have new content for your site every month. This means that you will never have to write content again; all you have to do is wait for the new articles to show up in your inbox!

The first thing that you need to get started is the correct definition of private label articles. Simply put, these are articles that you can modify any way that you see fit; or better yet, you can keep them the way they are and simply post them to your site. Unfortunately, it is not this easy. There are three different areas that you will have to deal with. They are: master resells rights, resell rights, and private label rights. By knowing the difference between these three, you will be able to take your site to a new level in a variety of different ways.

Having master resell rights means that you are licensed to resell a product as many times as you would like. For example, if you have master resell rights of an article you can sell the same piece over and over again to different clients. At the same time, if you have master resell rights you also have the ability to resell the resell rights. This means that not only can you sell the article, but you can also sell the right to sell the article to the buyer.

When you are dealing with resell rights, you have the ability to resell the product as many times as you would like without having to pay any royalties to the original owner. In other words, you can sell an article an endless amount of times without ever having to pay the owner a royalty on those sales, but you cannot grant the same resell rights to your customers.

Private label rights allow you to take a product and modify it in any way that you please. If you are dealing with a written article, this means that you can add words, change words, and modify it however you see fit. When you are done you can even claim the article as your own.

Even though it may seem difficult to decipher the difference between master resell rights, resell rights, and private label rights, it is actually quite simple. The main thing to remember is to make sure that you know which rights you have before moving forward with any action. This will keep you safe at all times.

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Human rights declaration

Millions of people have seen American psychiatrist Dr. Wafa Sultan's debate with a Muslim cleric, which was first shown on al-Jazeera television. In 2006, TIME magazine nominated Dr. Sultan as one of the world's most influential people. Sultan has appeared on many radio and TV shows in English, and regularly writes articles in Arabic that are read throughout the Muslim world. Her main purpose in life is to further the understanding of Islam and its effect on both the Muslim and non-Muslim world.

Born and raised a Muslim in Syria, Dr. Sultan is one of the co-founders of a group of American activists called Former Muslims United. As the name suggests, the members of FMU are apostates from Islam. Although all of them have left Islam, some remain religious or spiritual, while others do not. The one thing they have in common is that they are afraid that their apostasy will get them killed. They have formed their group in order to ensure that they are protected under the United States Constitution, which guarantees both freedom of and freedom from religion. The laws of America also make it illegal to murder someone because he or she has left his or her religion. Former Muslims United wants to make sure that these laws - and these basic human rights - are respected and that they need not live in the fear felt by millions of Muslims outside of the United States as concerns apostasy.

In this regard, it was my honor to interview Dr. Wafa Sultan about her experiences and her life's mission. Over the years, she has demonstrated herself to be a fierce warrior for truth, taking on a fanatical ideology that is known to be harsh, brutal and cruel, especially as concerns women. I asked Dr. Sultan about her life as woman in the U.S. as compared to that in her native land, which is predominantly Muslim. Concerning Islamic or sharia law, she replied, "Under Islamic sharia, a woman is not considered a free being. She is mentally unfit to decide her own life."

Wafa does not describe herself as an atheist; nor is she against religion or spirituality. As she also says, "My simple philosophy is, you have the right to worship a stone, so long as you don't hit me with it."

I also asked Dr. Sultan what her message to the American people might be, and she replied with a fourfold answer that included addressing the government, the media, academia and persons involved in interfaith dialogue. She strongly believes that everyone needs to become much better educated as to the nature of Islamic fundamentalism and its restrictions of freedoms that we Americans take for granted. While her instructions to the government require many policy changes, her message to the media is simple: "The media needs to avoid being politically correct, and be forthright in discussing brutal Islamic related news stories."

As she battles against entrenched "religious" discrimination and brutality, Dr. Wafa Sultan is a true freedom fighter and a champion for the human rights of people worldwide.

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Women human rights

The beauty of our great nation lies not only in its "majestic purple mountains that shadow fruited plains from Sea to shining Sea," but also in the promises of our forefathers who provided all things possible to those who uphold and defend its doctrines.

In 1789 when the powerful USA Constitution was being drafted to govern these United States far sighted Men of Property included the noble obligation to care for those less fortunate with intentions to cast their honorable vote in the best interest of our country and its citizens.

Women were caught in a "time warp" of sorts in regards to voting right during this period of time in that, while they were appreciated for maintaining the home as a place of family solitude and adored for their nurturing qualities, they were also perceived as politically unenlightened.

In 1848 Suffragettes held their first "Women's Rights Convention." Twenty years later, the 14th Amendment of 1868 passed ("The Equal Protection Clause") guaranteeing that all citizens would be treated equally.

Individual States still controlled the decision of who voted in national elections other than as outlined by the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution of 1870. Women were limited to voting in local elections such as school boards with only some States as Utah and Wyoming granting them the right to vote in national elections.

Women gained the right to vote in 26 States when the 19th Amendment of 1920 was ratified prohibiting both the federal government and all United States from using a person's sex as a qualification to vote. However, due to this Amendment being passed in August, some States did not have enough time to properly prepare for the increased number of voters and women were therefore refused voting privileges in those States. In 1964, the “Civil Rights Act,” also referred to as the “Voting Rights Act,” resolved lingering right to vote issues.

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