The Concerns of Internet Censorship Essays -- Censoring Internet Right

The Concerns of Internet Censorship As a professional Internet publisher and avid user of the Internet, I have become concerned with laws like the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA) that censor free speech on the Internet. By approving the CDA, Congress has established a precedent which condones censorship regulations for the Internet similar to those that exist for traditional broadcast media. Treating the Internet like broadcast media is a grave mistake because the Internet is unlike any information medium that has been created. My concerns about Internet censorship prompted me to write "Internet Censorship is Absurd and Unconstitutional." In the essay, I outline why I believe that the Internet should not be censored in any way for two reasons. First, any law advocating censorship of the Internet is too broad and unenforceable on this global information medium. Second, Internet censorship is a breach of First Amendment rights for those users residing in the United States. The essay will provide insight into why self regulation is the only viable solution to the problems that have and will be presented to the Internet. Should it be illegal to publish literature with "indecent" content on the Internet but perfectly legal to publish that same work in print? This question has spawned the debate over Internet censorship, which is currently raging in the United States Congress as well as in other political forums around the world. The question as to whether the Internet should be censored will continue to be debated for many years to come. As with any political topic, the debate over Internet censorship has its extremes. Many proponents of Internet censorship want strict control over this new information medium. Proponents of Internet censorship such as Senator Jim Exon (D-NE), co-author of the Communications Decency Act (CDA), are in favor of putting strict laws into place regulating the Internet in order to protect children: "The Decency Act stands for the premise that it is wrong to provide pornography to children on computers just as it is wrong to do it on a street corner or anywhere else" (Exon). These proponents suggest creating laws for the Internet similar to those now in place for television and radio. Those strongly opposing Internet regulations, such as the Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition (CIEC), assert that the Internet is not li... ...1997): n. pag. Online. Internet. 19 Mar. 1997. Available: http://pathfinder.com/@@sAbDXgQAlb0upRm2/time/daily/1997/970319/970319-1.html. [Time magazine report on the Supreme Court appeal of the CDA case.] Net Nanny Software International. Untitled. n. pag. Online. Internet. 3 Jun. 1997. Available: http://www.netnanny.com/. [Home page for the Net Nanny Software company which describes the software’s purpose and appropriate usage.] Plummer, James C. "Decent Information?" Consumers’ Research Magazine Aug. 1996: 33. [An editorial on the CDA questioning it’s premise.] Recreational Software Advisory Council Web Site. Online. Internet. 3 Jun. 1997. Available: http://www.rsac.org/. [Web site for the RSACi rating system which explains the system’s purpose and appropriate usage.] Sirico, Robert A. "Don’t Censor the Internet." Forbes 29 July 1996: 48. [Editorial outlining concerns about governmental control of the Internet and alternatives.] Whitmer, Clair. "Man Gets 5 Years for Online Child Porn." CNet, Inc. (23 Feb. 1996): n. pag. Online. Internet. http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,787,00.html. [Report of a man sentenced for sending child pornography via the Internet.]

Raising the Minimum Wage for the Lower Class Is Actually Good for the E

Do a search online about raising the minimum wage and you will see any number of articles, and essays detailing why it shouldn’t be done. As detailed or as long winded as these articles are, they all have one central argument, and that is; if we raise the wages of the lower class, than the providers of goods and services will have to raise their prices, which in turn makes everything go up. To this I say bah humbug. It is asinine to think that a company such as Wal-mart whose CEO makes an annual salary of $20.7 million would have to raise prices along with employee salaries in order to make any substantial profit margin. This is simply not true, especially when you consider that the average Wal-mart employee only makes close to $9.00 an hour, and it’s not just Wal-mart, but other consumer based companies, such as Target, and TJ MAXX. The CEOs of these companies make ridiculously high salaries while not even paying their workforce enough to live on. The question is why. The reason is simple. It’s greed. The more a CEO makes the more they want to make. The economy is no longer about providing a good or service for the population at large, but about amassing as much wealth as possible, and you’re stupid if you think you have the same opportunities to obtain wealth as those Wal-mart and Target CEOs. The truth is the deck is stacked against you, and it keeps getting worse as the world moves along its orbit. The economy has become based largely on the trading and selling of commodities, and the worker has become a cheap disposable commodity, to be used up by megalomaniacs who sit atop cash mountains, casting down crumbs as they see fit. The collective bargaining rights of the worker are disappearing at alarming rates. Data from the... ...some sort of nanny state to make everyone dependent upon the Socialist government. The hard truth is the majority of people on these programs work full-time jobs, and aren’t the only ones in their households doing so. To reiterate the point being made a higher wage means less people on welfare, and it frees up tax money that could be used for other things, or it could go back into the pockets of the American worker. Many would read this and call me a Socialist, and if offering an argument in favor of the rights of workers makes me a Socialist then so be it. The blogs and articles and essays, some written by economists with advanced degrees, people academically more capable than I am, will continue to deride the raising of wages for the low class worker, or the need for regulation to be put in place. I’m just stating that they’re wrong, and that this essay proves it.

State-funded faith schools

This paper will look at the manner in which state-funded religion schools came into being in the United Kingdom. It will reason that authorities educational policy and its in-migration and integrating policies play a cardinal function in finding the demand for the proviso of province religion schools. The province support of religion schools has a long history in the United Kingdom. The National Society of the Church of England founded 17,000 schools to offer instruction to the hapless between 1811 and1860. ( DfES, p.2 ) The province support of these schools began in 1870 when Church and other voluntary establishments began to have financess to supplement and help them in their educational proviso. ( Cush, p.435 ) As at January 2008, of the 20,587 maintained primary and secondary schools in the UK, 6,827 have a spiritual character and of these nine are Muslim. ( Bolton, 2009, Table 1 ) There are three types of schools with spiritual character in the UK – maintained, academies and independent schools – with the province providing support for the first two. Maintained schools are either: volunteer controlled which means the Local Education Authority provides all the support in return for control largely over spiritual instruction and administration ( most Church of England schools are voluntary controlled ) ; and voluntary aided where the province provides 90 % of the support for more control over spiritual instruction and administration ( most other denominations fall into this class, particularly Roman Catholic schools ) . ( Cush p. 435-436 ) . Christian and Judaic religion schools were the lone religion schools having province support until 1998 when the Islamia Schools Trust, a fter a conflict of 12 old ages, was awarded voluntary aided position for its schools. Whilst there are merely nine province funded Muslim schools, there are over 100 Muslim schools in Britain. These independent schools tend to organize their attempts through the Association of Muslim Schools. On November 11th, 2007 during Prime Minister ‘s Questions, the authorities stated that sing instruction it â€Å" is committed to a diverse system of schools driven by parental demands and aspirations ; that the Government does non hold marks for faith schools but remains committed to back uping the constitution of new schools by a scope of suppliers. † ( Bolton, 2009, p.14 ) Reaffirming the Government ‘s place on religion schools, Ed Balls, the so Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families said on January 9th, 2008: â€Å" It is non the policy of the Government or my Department to advance more faith schools. We have no policy to spread out their Numberss. That should be a affair for local communities. † ( Bolton, 2009, p.16 ) The thrust for some members of the Muslim community towards their ain religion schools needs to be understood in visible radiation of the background of Muslim migration into the UK, their subsequent integrating and recent universe events. The first Muslims geting from South Asia in the 1950s were semi-skilled or unskilled laborers. They had a inclination to remain insulated from the wider community – this being every bit much a map of their ain pick as a response to the racism and societal exclusion they were sing. ( Hefner, p.227 ) Subsequent unfastened in-migration policies of the 1970s allowed their households to follow and now 75 % of all Muslims in the UK are from South Asia. Harmonizing to the 2001 nose count, the about 1.6 million British Moslems make up approximately 3 % of the population. ( Hefner, p. 227 ) In the UK, â€Å" Muslim † has become synonymous with â€Å" Pakistani † . Third coevals British-born Muslim households no longer believe of themselves as immigrants, although what it means to be a British Muslim is still a construct being negotiated. Our individualities are defined as much by our ain apprehension of our histories as by how we think others perceive us. In recent old ages, the individuality of Muslims has been tied up with universe events and striking representations in the media. Since September 11th, 2001, Muslims have been bombarded by an overpoweringly hostile media and a authorities seemingly captive on encroaching on the autonomies and human rights of its Muslim citizens. Salma Hafejee described an event that evoked non uncommon feelings in her 21 twelvemonth old boy. Talking on a movie for â€Å" Our Lifes † , a undertaking which explored the penetrations and experiences of Muslim adult females in Bradford, she told the narrative of a weekend visit her boy took to Barcelona. Coincidently, on the weekend of his trip there had be en a series of apprehensions made in Barcelona in connexion with what had been described as terrorist activities. On his return place, her boy was met by constabularies and questioned for several hours. She said he had ever felt British and believed that his British passport would protect him, but for the first clip he felt an foreigner in his ain place. ( Speak-it, 2009 ) One can good conceive of that this experience and the changeless bombardment of negative images associating to his religion in the media must hold been perplexing. Naturally surrounded by such ill will and â€Å" other † ised in this manner, a community would hold a inclination to shut ranks and look inward for comfort, protection and security. This state of affairs can be seen as some justification for why the Muslim community turned to Muslim schools to continue their communal individuality and Muslim patterns. The Education Reform Act 1988 provinces that schools should â€Å" advance the religious, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of students at the school and in society†¦ † Some Muslims were get downing to oppugn whether a non-Muslim schooling environment would be able to adequately carry through that demand for their kids. The Education Act of 1944 made faith the lone topic it was mandatory to learn in school, but the instruction of faith is comparatively superficial, intending that from the position of those for whom a spiritual ethos is of import, mainstream schools are unable to supply the religious and spiritual dimension adequately. How authoritiess deal with the proviso of faith does look to hold some bearing on the educational picks of parents. An scrutiny of Belgium and The Netherlands shows that when the authorities proviso of spiritual instruction is high, the demand for spiritual schools is muted. In Belgium, 4 % of the population is Muslim – chiefly of Turkish or Moroccan descent. Since 1975, it has been the jurisprudence to supply Islamic direction in province schools on the same footing as other faiths are taught. The first, and merely, province funded Islamic primary school opened in 1989 and seems to be linked to the inability of two municipalities to name officially recognized instructors and thereby their refusal to supply Islamic direction. In The Netherlands, 6 % of the population is Muslim and besides chiefly of Turkish or Moroccan descent. The province does non hold a policy for the specific proviso of Islamic direction and there are 45 Islamic schools in The Netherlands. ( Merry, 2005 ) In the UK, the deficiency of equal proviso of spiritual instruction in mainstream province schools, the ill will of the media, the authorities and the populace to their religion and community, and the recorded underachievement of Pakistanis in mainstream schools combine to organize a powerful incentive for Muslim parents to take over control of the instruction of their kid. Given the UK authorities ‘s expansive rhetoric about advancing and back uping Britain to be a multi-cultural society, and its declared committedness to a diverse system of schools driven by parental demands and aspirations, the support of Muslim province funded schools is an easy stretch. But an in agreement definition of a multicultural society seems deplorably missing. The authorities has a ‘policy of advancing multiculturalism ‘ but if it is unable to specify what a multicultural society could look like, how does it cognize that the policies it is advancing are effectual to run intoing this terminal? Today ‘s multicultural Britain has many faces dependent mostly on ethnicity, geographics and societal category, which in bend is one of the determiners of educational accomplishment. Is multicultural merely the recognition of diverseness in our society or is it an battle with that diverseness to make a society that is pluralistic? Does it intend that we are all free to populate in our ain sub-worlds without interface with the wider community or does it intend that we are encouraged to prosecute with each other? Where is the yarn that binds us as citizens if we live wholly culturally independent lives? This was a inquiry that was raised by Ray Honeyford more than twenty old ages ago and it is still a inquiry that warrants turn toing thoughtfully today. In 1982 Bradford Council issued guidelines for its purpose in instruction. These included: preparing kids for a life in a multicultural society ; countering racism and the inequalities of favoritism ; developing the strengths of cultural and lingual diverseness ; and reacting to the demands of minority groups. Ray Honeyford was a headteacher in a Bradford in-between school and he was concerned that the educational policies he was expected to implement were impracticable. He argued that the 20 % of Bradford ‘s Islamic immigrant population had purposes to stay in Britain. For their interest and for the interest of others, they should take part to the full in British life, and that in order to make so efficaciously their instruction needed to emphasize the primacy of the English linguistic communication, and British civilization, history and traditions. ( Dalrymple, 2002 ) In 1984, Honeyford wrote an article that was rejected by The Times Educational Supplement before being published by the far right Salisbury Review. The fact that it was this publication that was the first method of transmittal connoted a batch to its readers and no uncertainty would hold influenced the subsequent reading of the article itself. In â€Å" Education and Race – an Alternate position † Honeyf ord ( 2006 ) suggested that the perversion of linguistic communication ( he had a Masters in linguistics ) around race and cultural issues had made it impossible to talk candidly about the concerns and worlds that our progressively diverse society was throwing up. He highlighted that chunking together all non-whites into one class that was â€Å" black † created a duality of anti-white solidarity. What we, today, name â€Å" other † -ing. His primary concern was the impact of an imposed multicultural mentality on the instruction of his pupils. British jurisprudence obliges a parent to guarantee that his or her kid is registered and attends school on a regular basis. He argued that the inclination for Asiatic households to take their kids out of school and direct them to the sub-continent for months at a clip was non merely illegal but had obvious negative educational effects. The Department of Education and Science turned a unsighted oculus go forthing headteachers, li ke Honeyford, to follow with an attending policy based on the parent ‘s state of beginning. He found this untenable and cast it as an â€Å" officially canonic policy of racial favoritism. † ( Honeyford, 2006 ) Honeyford farther highlighted that the absence of English as a primary linguistic communication of direction at the school left the â€Å" cultural white † minority pupils in his schools educationally disadvantaged. His broader concern was how the operation of interior metropoliss with its production of cultural ghettos, and multi-racial educational policies could bring forth an integrated and harmonious society. He concluded: â€Å" I suspect that these elements, far from assisting to bring forth harmoniousness, are, in world, runing to bring forth a sense of atomization and strife. And I am no longer convinced that the British mastermind for via media, for puddling though, and for good natured tolerance will be sufficient to decide the inevitable tensen esss. † ( Honeyford, 2006 ) Post-publication, Honeyford endured a drawn-out and acrimonious run against him taking to his eventual early retirement. The acerb response to his averments for better and more integrative instruction did non raise the authorities action. Issues raised by the â€Å" Honeyford Affair † continue to be debated more than two decennaries subsequently. Honeyford ‘s tough and brave inquiring of issues that the authorities was excessively uncomfortable to raise and seek and work through have left a permanent vacuity on integrating and the harmonious and â€Å" multicultural † universe we reasonably aspire to. In visible radiation of these personal businesss, the argument on religion schools – which preponderantly relates to keep schools – leads us foremost to inquire what the purpose and intent of instruction is. Is instruction intended to supply us with accomplishments for employment, in which instance it is driven by a practical measurable end product? Or is in intended for, as Aristotle called it, human booming? And are these two needfully reciprocally sole? If instruction is deemed a human right, so what function does the kid drama in finding the instruction that he receives? These inquiries do n't look to hold been straight touched upon by those debating the desirableness of religion schools. Given the faith school argument touches on countries of instruction, political relations and faith it is improbable to be a cold-eyed 1. Most of the argument is opinion- instead than evidence-based ( Cush p.440 ) and authors on the issue repeatedly bemoan the deficiency of empirical grounds to confirm claims from either side. As Moslems are going acutely cognizant of their minority position, the thrust towards Islamic schools is every bit much a response to the onslaught on their individuality as it is about the ethos of instruction. Harmonizing to Heffner and Zaman ( 2007, p. 228 ) â€Å" In recent old ages, the issue of Islamic instruction has been a critical portion of the argument about what it means to be a British Muslim today and an of import terrain in the dialogue of individuality, citizenship and co-existence. † Mainstream instruction tends to see the universe though an Anglo-saxon lens and accomplishments are Europeanised. The survey of the parts made by Muslim bookmans over the centuries in many capable countries is a encouragement to self-esteem and those naming for Muslim schools are looking for a alteration in the manner the universe is viewed. The mission statement of the Islamia Trust Schools states that it â€Å" strive [ s ] to supply the best instruction in a secure Islamic environment through the cognition and application of the Qur'an and Sunnah. † ( Islamia ) What this requires is a reconception of the manner in which any topic can be taught, negociating as it must through the Qur'an and the Sunnah. The statement being made is that Muslim kids are going de-Islamised ( Khan-Cheema, p.83 ) and that mainstream schools are neglecting to supply an ethos in which all, non merely secular, facets of a kid ‘s life are catered for. Concern for the deficiency of individual sex proviso in the mainstream for miss is besides voiced as a concern and a ground for necessitating the proviso of Muslim schools. The academic underachievement of Pakistanis in mainstream schools is good recognised, but their accomplishment in religion schools is good above norm ( Bolton, 2009 ) . The direct connexion associating improved academic consequences and faith schools should be made carefully as academic accomplishment is besides liked to the economic and societal category of the household. The instance against Muslim religion schools is a obliging one. Those contending this place say that these schools are a genteelness land for fundamentalist and intolerant spiritual positions that are non inclusive of the bulk. They propagate segregation and voluntary apartheid and create ghettos which exclude other races and religions, therefore making societal division. With Islam about universally cast as a menace to universe order this raises inquiries associating to citizenship and trueness. Those in this cantonment may pull some of their inspiration from the place Honeyford took on the demand to incorporate instead than segregate more than 2 decennaries ago. Why would, and how could, an immigrant who lands in the UK who is able to make for himself an environment that reflects – culturally, socially, and educationally – the one which he left, have any chance to construct trueness to his host state. Clearly the authorities ‘s place on what a multicultural Britain would look like demands to be debated much more openly – if merely so we can seek and understand how we will acquire at that place. A individualistic each-to-his ain policy can non certainly supply the manner frontward. The inquiries Honeyford asked more than 20 old ages ago, unsavory as they were, are inquiries we might necessitate to inquire once more today.MentionsBolton, Paul & A ; Gillie, Christine ( 2009 ) . Faith schools: admittances and public presentation. House of Commons Library Standard Note SN/SG/4405Cush, Denise ( 2005 ) . Reappraisal: The Faith Schools Debate. British Journal of Sociology and Education, Vol.26, No.3 ( Jul.,2005 ) , pp. 435 -442Department for Children, Schools and Families ( DfES ) . Faith in the System: The function of schools with a spiritual character in English instruction and society.Hefner, Robert W. & A ; Zaman, Muhammad Q. ( 2007 ) Schooling Muslimism: The civilization and political relations of Modern Muslim Education. Princeton University Press.Hewer, Chris ( 2001 ) . Schools for Muslims. Oxford Review of Education, Vol. 27, No. 4, The State, Schools and Religion ( Dec. , ) 2001 ) , pp.515-527Hewitt, Ibrahim ( 1996 ) . The Case for Muslim Schools in Issues in Islamic Education. The Muslim Educational Trust, London.Hussain, Imitiaz, A. ( 2003 ) , Migration and Settlement: A Historical Perspective of Loyalty and Belonging in British Moslems: Loyalty and Belonging, ed Mohammad Siddique Seddon, Dilwar Hussain, Nadeem Malik. The Islamic Foundation, Leicestershire.Khan-Cheema, Muhammad, A. ( 1996 ) . British Muslims in State Schools: a positive manner frontward in Issues in Islamic Education. The M uslim Educational Trust, London.Lawson, Ibrahim ( 2005 ) . Leading Muslim Schools in the UK: A challenge for us all. National College for School Leadership.Merry, Michael S. & A ; Driessen, Geert ( 2005 ) . Muslim Schooling in Three Western States: Policy and Procedure. Comparative Education, Vol. 41, No. 4 ( Nov. , 2005 ) , pp. 411-432Parker, Stephen ( 2005/2006 ) . Reappraisal: In Good Religion: Schools, Religion and Public Funding. Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. 21, No. 1 ( 2005/2006 ) , pp. 217-219Speak-it Productions ( 2009 ) . Film – Our Lifes Project hypertext transfer protocol: //www.youtube.com/ourlivesproject # p/u/4/lFnuhPijzXM

Discourse Communities

DC Essay, Draft 1 Discourse Communities Essay There is a very large variety of academic discourse communities available at the universities today. Deciding to go to college is deciding to enter an academic discourse community all on its own but deciding to choose a major is entering a more specified discourse community. There are many similarities and differences between every separate community which makes it difficult for some people to choose.Understanding a community must be done before involving oneself. Comparing and contrasting majors can make it easier for someone to choose which academic discourse community they decide to involve themselves in. Comparing and contrasting majors can be much simpler than it seems. Taking the time to describe a rhetorical purpose, audience, and values can be a good outline for to understand the community. An example of this would be comparing the discourse communities of a nursing major and an education major.According to the Sacramento State Co urse Catalog, â€Å"Nursing is a caring discipline with a foundation of nursing science guided by the application of moral and ethical principles of care and responsibility† and â€Å"The professional educator brings together subject matter knowledge, appropriate strategies, and interpersonal skills essential to providing successful learning experiences for children. † Preparing to work first-hand with people, possibly even very young children, is the main similarity between the two majors.Although the two prepare to help the community, they plan to help in different ways. The two majors are in a sense the same in their future purpose caring the same values, but different in the actual action it will entail. Both Nursing and Education carry the social value of an equal opportunity. The majors do not discriminate between the sexes or age of a person unlike athletics major possibly would. A woman at a very elderly age most likely wouldn’t be able to run a triathlo n and be successful at the same time.Nursing provides health and well-being for the community also providing safety. By treating someone of a contagious and deadly disease a nurse could possibly prevented a whole community from contact of this disease. Education provides common and even uncommon knowledge also building a future for the community. Teaching a young community to read and write makes them literate allowing them to seek high-end careers in the future.Rhetorically, an audience or a nurse could be doctors, parents, or the elderly while the audience of an educator would most likely be parents, their students directly, or the community no longer directly tied to the education environment. A typical purpose a nurse might have would be to provide health and safety to the community in order to keep a community alive. On the other hand a purpose for an educator would be to educate the community of the importance of a health and safety so they are aware of the seriousness of the matter.Personas in both fields would most likely be informative and professional. Comparing and contrasting the similarities between two separate majors can ease the decision of joining a discourse community. Values of the community can be very similar which may be what draws a person to both but the purpose of them can be completely different. Understanding the communities is done by exploring these aspects and applying rhetorical cases to them. Works Cited â€Å"Sacramento State University Catalog† (2012-2014)

High School Students on the Job Essay

High school is an important time in life; students in high school have a lot of responsibilities. Students are beginning to drive and getting into trouble. High school students that have entered the work force have less of a chance to get in trouble. Working students also have an advantage over their peers that haven’t worked. They learn money management, social skills, and responsibility. Money management is a very important part of life. Usually once high school students start working they begin to learn the importance of money and how to spend it. Saving money is one very important life lesson that high school students can learn once they start working. Saving money can help the students save up for their future, helping with bills and possibly buying their own car. Owning a car comes with expenses oil changes, unfortunate accident, tires, gas, etc. To pay for these expenses there has to be money. There also comes a time when parents may need a little help. While working, students can help their parents with a bit of money every month. Having all of these expenses students will have to learn how to manage their money so they have some left over for themselves. Next, if high school students have a job, they learn about social skills. The most important thing is treating people politely. Thus, they need to get a better communication such as talking to each other and listening very carefully. When high school students are on the job, they have to speak correctly and courteously so their customers could get the correct information. Also they have to listen very carefully. They should know what the customers are asking. In addition, they could learn about physical demeanor. At the work place, they have to keep a friendly smile and then keep a good posture by keeping themselves upright. Further, working students can learn to take responsibilities. Time management and appearance are two important responsibilities. First, working students have to get to work on time. Also, they should manage and make balance between school, work, sleep, home, family and friends. Second, many work places have special uniforms that represents them in what position they  work. They need their workers to put these specific dresses on. Working students take this responsibility too. Students have to take care of their hygiene to go into work, which includes keeping their hair clean, shaving, cutting nails, and keeping a clean scent. Money management, social skills, and responsibility are skills that are need in life to succeed. High school students that begin working learn these skills earlier than those students that don’t. Before students become adults, they need to develop money management, social skills, and sense of responsibility, so they have been preparing to adjust themsel ves to society. Therefore, I recommend teenagers work while attending high school.

Issues and Controversies

Position Paper Garrett Kaufmann ISSUES AND CONTROVERSIES ON FILE Citizenship 2nd Period â€Å"Gun Control† Due 1/14/2013 May 29, 1998 Pages 225-233 I strongly believe that our right to keep and bear arms that was given to us as American citizens in the second amendment of the constitution should be upheld and gun control is not the answer to stopping gun violence.A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. – The Second Amendment. Our nations’ forefathers gave us this right when they signed the constitution of the United States of America September 17, 1787. Although there has been debate over the wording of the amendment and whether it actually means every individual person or only people who belong to a state-regulated militia.I think it is obvious that they meant each individual person. In a December 1989 article in the Yale Law Journal, titled ‘The Embarra ssing second amendment’ by scholar Sanford Levinson, a liberal democrat who supports gun control said that â€Å"The second amendment was clearly written to give all citizens, not merely trained soldiers belonging to a militia the right to keep firearms†. Other scholars agreed and noted that in 1792 congress actually passed a militia low to mandate every able-bodied man to arm himself with a musket.The Brady Act is a controversial law which was signed by President Clinton in 1993 and that took effect in 1994 (named for President Reagan’s press secretary who was paralyzed when shot in a 1981 assassination attempt on the president) which requires prospective gun buyers to wait 5 days before they can buy a gun while local law enforcement officials do a background check to make sure anyone who is prohibited from owning a firearm such as convicted felons, minors, druggies or illegal immigrants can’t buy a gun.Although gun control advocates say that laws such a s this one are responsible for a drop in gun fatalities and violent crime Tania Metaska , executive director for the National Rifle Association (NRA) rejects this claim and says violent crime began to decline before 1993 and that the background checks and waiting periods are â€Å"Irrelevant to criminals since the vast majority of felons obtain firearms on the black market or through theft, not through dealers affected by the Brady law†.The Supreme Court agreed that the Brady Bill wasn’t the answer when they overturned major portions of the law in the 1997 case â€Å"Printz vs US† when they said the law infringed on state sovereignity rights and it put an unfair burden on local officials. The NRA and other gun-rights groups contend that it is not the Brady law that has helped to spark a nationwide decline in crime but ‘Right to Carry’ or the passing of concealed weapons laws in many states. Florida began the national trend towards more permissive co ncealed weapon laws in 1987 and since then 30 other states have followed.Florida’s â€Å"Shall Issue† law requires law enforcement officials to immediately issue permits to any eligible applicant, eligible meaning that they don’t have a criminal record or history of serious mental illness. Gun-right advocates say these types of laws are necessary because people need to be able to protect themselves from a high crime rate, a legal system that can’t deep criminals in jail and the lack of resources or manpower of law enforcement to protect them.In surveys of convicted felons, criminals admit that they target victims that they believe to be unarmed and avoid those who might have weapons. A study done between 1977 and 1994 by two researchers at the University of Chicago found much lower crime rates in Illinois counties that allowed concealed weapons, and that murder rates dropped 8. 5%, rapes 5% and aggravated assaults by 7%. In May 1998 15 year old Kip Kinkle fatally shot both his parents then took 3 guns to Thurston High School in Springfield, OR. here he shot 24 students, killing 2 of them. One Month later in Jonesboro, Arkansas two boys were arrested for fatally shooting 5 people and wounding 10 others. Then of course there was the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary just this last December when 20 year old Adam Lanza shot his mom dead then went to the school and shot and killed 26 people, most of them little kids. School shootings are a horrible tragedy and they only give gun-control groups more ‘ammunition’ for their argument.I guess I can see their point but I agree with the gun rights advocates when they say it is a mistake to blame guns for all the school shooting. I agree with the saying ‘Guns don’t kill people- people kill people’. I think the people that do these things are sick in the head and that they need mental help and would still probably find a way to hurt people even if they didnâ€℠¢t have access to guns. I’m sure it’s gone up some since this article was written but studies have shown that violence in our nations’ schools is actually pretty rare.A March 1998 White House study found only 10% of all schools reported serious violence. I don’t really feel that I need to carry a gun to protect myself here where I live but if I did live in a big city I would definitely what to have the right to carry a gun to protect myself and my family. But I do love to hunt and I own 5 guns for that purpose. My dad has taught me about gun safety since I was a little kid. I have been through required gun safety training which I think is a good thing.The article states that in many rural areas of our country guns are not regarded by many as an evil, but simply as part of a way of life. In those regions, hunting is a popular sport and learning how to use a gun is often a rite of passage for many young boys and girls. Guns are treated with pride and respec t and gun safety is a paramount concern. Because many young people in those regions are exposed to guns at an early age and trained to use them safely, they are much more likely to understand the risks of guns and treat them properly.

FINANCIAL AND INVESTMENT (research Vodafone plc and British Telecom Essay

FINANCIAL AND INVESTMENT (research Vodafone plc and British Telecom plc of Telecommunications company in uk) - Essay Example This report identifies the relevant industry-related and economic-related factors which drive today’s strategic decision-making in both companies. Both Vodafone and BT thrive within a very regulated environment. Depending on the nature of the product or services, various regulation exists which dictate pricing limitations and overall service provision. British Telecom recognizes this and routinely expresses the business’ awareness of regulatory issues and how they relate to the long-term stability of the business. The Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone describes regulation as a risk to â€Å"market share, competitive position and future profitability† (Verwaayen, 2007: 27). From a strategic standpoint, regulation is a routine part of business operations, however when various legislation is provided in different, multinational regions the business must consider whether the foreign environment is worth the investment or whether new market opportunities should be researched. Moving either Vodafone or British Telecom presence into different markets which maintain less regulatory activities (such as price controls) w ould allow the company to have autonomy regarding the provision of competitive pricing which best befits the business model and profit expectations. It is clear that both Vodafone and BT must consider regulatory compliance in many varieties of business decision-making. Regulatory activity also comes in the form of litigation, where different foreign taxing powers regularly assess the value of company activities and demand capital gains taxes or other regional taxing expectations. Currently, Vodafone has appealed a case to the Supreme Court in which the business is being requested by the government in Bombay, India to pay approximately  £2 billion in capital gains taxes (Leahy and Betts, 2008). In a situation where both Vodafone and British Telecom have leveraged the