Encountering Conflict Essay Example for Free

Encountering Conflict Essay Encountering Conflict Conflict can both crush people and inspire people to greater heights. Conflict presents itself in various forms; it can occur in different places, can be intentional or unexpected and affect people in diverse ways. To survive people then need to develop coping mechanisms to overcome or at least begin their Journey of recovery. If they cannot do this, then they will not be able to move on. Conflict is a subject that everyone in the world faces on a day to day basis, but at different levels and emotions. Conflict can be exceptionally heart wrenching, by tearing people and amilies apart. But these wounds motivate many inspiring people who then make a difference. Conflict is a part of life; it cannot be avoided or put on hold. People from all around the world deal with conflict, in various ways and it affects people to a different extent. Throughout life, people may experience many conflicting situations, some are built by little ongoing problems, some explode and are left to dissolve, others are blown apart the pieces scattered, never to be put back together again. Conflict has been exposed and expressed in many films, novels and songs over the ears. The documentary Omagh by Pete Travis is an example of the devastation that conflict can wreck on lives. The film explains how conflict can affect innocent lives. For hundreds of years there has been tension between the Catholic Irish and Protestant English. This began as Ireland divided as a country due to religion but the tension increased with British interference in Northern Ireland. The documentary focuses on one specific event within the conflict which was the bombing in the Omagh high street. This caused 29 deaths and 220 injuries, of innocent people. The result left amilies crushed, broken hearted and dealing with their own conflict for a long time. The root of this devastation was religion; the Catholic Irish and Protestant English have fought for many years. Ironically the purpose of religion is to create peace, where as in Omagh it was the primary cause and branch of all the conflict. A very similar ongoing religious conflict is the fight for homeland between the Jewish and Zions (Israel and Palestinians conflict). The Jewish were sent from Israeli homelands many hundreds of years ago, but since have suffered persecution in Europe and now ish to return to their religious homeland of Israel. This however has been met with aggression by Palestinians and the Arab nations who now inhabit the area. Like the tension in Northern Ireland, peace is a long and painful patch to find. Conflict that has dwelled upon innocent lives has an impact on others who believe it should be brought to Justice. 1. 2 the Irish band wrote a song to express their feelings of their anger in response to the devastation in Omagh. One verse that stands out is: And the battles Just begun Theres many lost, but tell me who has won The trench is dug within our hearts And mothers, children, brothers, sisters torn apart. This particular verse links with the concept that conflict can devastate innocent people and their families, which are then being torn apart by the religion and also politicians in Omagh they did nothing. Thus people, like 132, stand up so hopefully the politicians can see that the conflict that has happened is still wounding many people lives, and that only they can bring it to Justice. So, conflict is a piece of everyones lives, even though you may shun conflict, it can come up unexpectedly. Omagh is an example of how conflict can be unexpected and totally crush lives. Conflict can also inspire people to create better lives for themselves and those around them. Kate Miller-Heidke wrote the song Caught in Crowd about a real story of lingering childhood regret. She wanted to raise awareness to people across the world, especially adolescents, of how bullying and peer pressure are causes of conflict. The song is about a relationship growing between a teenage girl and an outcast boy who is often bullied. It discusses how both had similarities, for example they both dealt ith conflict at home. Towards the end it talks about the boy getting thrown to the ground and him shouting out to her to help him. But she turned her back, and Just walked away. Kate Miller-Heidke encountered conflict and regrets the decision she made. Now she is motivated to make sure people of the younger generation do not make the same decision she made. Like Kate Miller- Heidke, Michael Gallagher, the father of Aidan Gallagher who was killed in the Omagh bombing wanted create a more satisfying life for himself, but also wanted to raise awareness that murders ere not being brought to Justice. He set up an Omagh Support and Self Help Group, which since 1998 have not stopped their fght. They have protested outside IRA meetings, written to the English Prime Minister and have talked to numerous newspapers but nothing has happened in relation towards the terrorist. In 2002, Michael Gallagher stated what happened in Omagh is still capable of happening in other towns. Because of him he has taught the world many lessons; the most important is never to give up on a Just cause Traumatic conflict can motivate people o immense heights, which can make an inspiring difference to our world today. Like Michael Gallagher, Glen McGrath lost a loved one and has not stopped fighting for what he believes in since his personal conflict. His wife, Jane was diagnosed with breast cancer. Jane McGrath had a passionate belief that every woman diagnosed with breast cancer in Australia should be able to benefit from the support of a specialist breast care nurse. Therefore, together they started up the McGrath Foundation in 2002. An additional aim of the project was to increase the awareness f breast cancer in younger women. Jane passed away at the age of 41 . Glen McGrath is more determined and devoted to the McGrath foundation by the inspiration of his loving wife. This proves that conflict can really touch people which motivates them to make a change, encouraging them to greater heights. These people have so much strength, their experiences power them on. Encountering painful conflict can bring out the best in people such as the old saying What doesnt kill us makes us stronger suggests people acknowledge they ave made a difference in the world and become satisfied. This is the beginning to the start of their Journey to recovery or acceptance. In the movie Omagh, Michael Gallagher, his wife and two daughters have not stopped fghting for the loss of their son, who was killed in the bombing. This tragedy caused conflict between the family, but they have learnt that they need to stick together to succeed their mission of family close, them standing up for what they believe in has helped them start their journey of recovery with each other. Another inspiration for making something out of terrible situation is in the novel Triage by Scott Anderson, the character Joaquin Morales managed to escape his village that was invaded. Joaquin lost his family dealing with the conflict of losing his family and survivors guilt. Joaquin become a psychologist for war criminals, hoping to change them and make them realise what monstrosities they caused. This would save many lives and hopefully bring peace to Spain. This experience helped Joaquin to begin his Journey of acceptance of what had happen to him. Joaquin quoted Im still here. Im still smiling meaning that he has learnt to live with himself after encountering conflict, which motivated him in saving many lives. Conflict is a subject that everyone in the world deals with everyday, from light issues to vigorous intensities. Conflict is incredibly powerful, it can tear people apart but it also brings the best out of many inspirational humans. Conflict can motivate people to extreme lengths which can make a huge difference in the world. These differences also help the individual to deal and maybe even overcome their own conflict.

Human Rights And Global Justice

Human Rights And Global Justice The principle of human rights aims to identify the fundamentals required by each individual to live in a good life. The emergence and success of human rights are emphasized by three allied features; human rights are distinctively modern, are a political invention and are inherently revolutionary. To say that human rights are a distinctively recent construction does not refute the long history of values which have facilitated human rights into becoming the leading idealism it is today. Until a few centuries ago, a vast majority of political philosophers held the stance that rights were natural, god-given and self evident. Thus this essay will focus explicitly on the three allied features to explain how the nature of human rights is neither grounded in eternal truth or self evident. It will also look at significant figures involved in drafting the current ideas of human rights. Lastly, it will then proceed to demonstrate that only in recent times that it has become agreeable that right s are social constructs, open and subject to change determined by evolution of society. (www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-rights.html) The emergence of human rights is primarily due to societys reaction to ideas of natural and revolutionary rights. Natural rights are those rights allowing one to act as an individual for his own comfort and happiness, in a manner which does not affect the natural rights of others. These were seen as undeniable rights, rights that individuals intrinsically possess, which cannot be revoked by anyone. Natural rights were also juxtaposed heavily to the laws of nature. The comparison of the rights to the laws of nature however proves to be rather flawed. Laws of nature cannot be violated, yet for centuries, the human rights of people have been breached through situations in instances such as war and slavery. (introduction, Inventing Human Right: A history (New York: Norton, 2007) The modern era of human rights stress two significant concepts; the concept of human rights which dominated Europe during the Eighteenth-century (and societies to follow ) and the idea that peoples rights were determined by god. The concept of rights during the Eighteenth century was anchored by hierarchical establishments whereby rights were pertained to social classes rather than an individual. Right of citizens were not based on a liberal concept of society, natural law and human reason, but based on the conception that those capable of human reason posses rights. In other words, only those from higher classes were capable of reason, and thus, capable of possessing human rights. Interestingly, this contradicts our understanding of universal human rights. All human beings by virtue have certain fundamental rights; in an ideal world, these fundamental rights cannot be taken away from any one person; there is nothing one can do to deprive others of these rights. Disturbingly however, Those who confidently declared rights to be universal in the late eighteenth century excluded from political process those without property, slaves, and free blacks and in some cases, religious minorities. This raises the question of whether these declarations in fact contained any real emancipatory meaning. (introduction, Inventing Human Right: A history (New York: Norton, 2007) Although it can be argued that founders and declarers can be judged discriminatory for their inability to consider everyone truly equal in rights, their actions were what essentially prompted the political invention of human rights. Human rights are, debatably, a product of political invention rather than a result of societal evolution. Monarchist Hobbes and philosopher Locke are two predominant figures .Hobbes innovation was to suggest that by state of nature all individual should be viewed as equal however be subject to an all powerful ruler in order to prevent anarchy. In direct contrast, Lockes interpreted this to potentially justify political revolution by making authorities dependant on Governments consent. Lockes perception that political powers were better off lying in the consent of government rather than in the consent of divine authority ensured that human rights remain protected. Lockes argued that the whole objective of government was to protect and maintain public rights; the state could never have the power to destroy or impoverish its subject. If in the case a government begins to do this and breaches the contract, people have a right to replace it. This, in turn, imposed limits on what rulers co uld do, and limited the power that rulers could exercise, ensuring yet again that human rights were not violated. This resulted in a profound transformation in societys reactions to natural rights. As human rights emerged into a more modern form, allowed the fostering of humanism, rationalism and individualism, which is now embodied in modern human rights. Through its reliance on reason as a justification, human rights ultimately transcend and thus threaten traditional values and beliefs, grounded in eternal truth. (introduction, Inventing Human Right: A history (New York: Norton, 2007) Rights were often seen as god-given and self-evident. Thomas Jefferson, in the declaration of Independence declared that we hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among them are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In saying that, Jefferson is essentially saying that human rights are god given and self-evident. Had Jefferson provided an adequate explanation for his claim, the self-evidence of the claim would have evaporated as an assertion which requires argument. Jefferson sidestepped this by simply claiming that rights are self-evident. The mere fact that ongoing debate still exists in regards to Jeffersons declaration, shows that Human Rights are anything but obvious. (introduction, Inventing Human Right: A history (New York: Norton, 2007) Human rights exist not just because of reason, but also because of emotion. In this sense, rights thus are not found, but depend on the shift of emotional regimes and the means by which society sees others within themselves and society as a whole. In respect to the act of torture, much of our response to torture is a result of the emotional response and what anti-torture organizations play on our emotions. The practice of torture has a long history in the worlds democracy dating back from ancient Greece to Rome. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education and coercion, being carried out on government orders to those who had committed the more serious crimes. Torture was performed in public to demonstrate the consequences other citizen would also encounter if they decide to perform the same deed. Nevertheless, as people developed the ability to look beyond social boundary and see others as people who shared the same moral universe, a profound transformation occurred through which, people adopted an emotional lead that torture was a violation of ones basic human rights. This shows that Human rights are subject to revision and change as circumstances changes, more specifically, where there exists a psychological shift in the way people understand the concept of equality and fair justice. Human rights thus were an invention not because of philosophers and revolutionaries logically derived them from first principle, but rather as a result of the acceptance of equality, regardless of social status and order. Critiques of figures such as Jefferson have had a lasting repercussion on the understanding of human rights. The tension which exists between individual rights and social responsibility is an ongoing tension, something which influences human rights today, yet again showing that rights are not at all self-evident. They are without doubt a reason construction, subject to change determined by the evolution of societys moral values. QUESTION 3 Human rights is an interdisciplinary quest through which various theories of knowledge in field such as medicine, political sciences, law and history contribute to each other and form a more comprehensive understand of what rights and wrongs. The rise of concerns in respect collective rights, not just the right to self determination and protections against discrimination, but also rights to live in a secure society, clean environment, food and basic human needs shapes our political perspective of what encompasses human rights. A broader understanding of human rights further facilitates in enabling experts in fields of law and medicine to create convincing theories and enforce standards to protect its violations in respect to mental health and female circumcision. A comprehensive understanding of human rights assists in regulating the relationship between individuals and public authorities such as medical professionals. The primary purpose of practioners is to provide care. The world medical association, in its Declaration of Tokyo, advocates that it is the privilege of the physician to practice medicine in the service of humanity, to preserve and restore bodily and mental health without distinction as to person. Violations of these practices, undertaken in the forms of torture, rape and genocide or inadequate health care can have an adverse effect on a persons mental health. The complementary nature between mental disability and the rights of humans positions human rights to serve as a tool to safeguard and promote the rights and welfare of persons with mental disability. Through the implementation of these rights, medical professionals are given a sense of guidance as to what is meant by accepted good practice and the necessity to act in the interest of patients; especially in the case of treating those with mental disability. Doctors finding on what factors trigger mental disability, whether it be inside or outside governments control allows states to ensure rights arent being breached, or improve the standard of care where needed. (Declaration of Tokyo, Human Rights and Global justice student reading guide, page 176) Complementing the medical perspective (who diagnose the factors resulting in mental health) the states are required to improve the meant health of individuals by providing decent economical facilities such as hospital-based treatment. The idea of human rights does not rely on government beneficences but rather asserts that these rights and freedoms are possessed by people simply as a result of their humanity; they are neither granted nor can they be denied by government. However, International human rights, an evolving body of law holds the promise for advancing the welfare of rights of a person with disabilities through providing fundamental rights to fairness and protection from governmental interference with autonomy, bodily integrity and liberty. (Beyond moral claims: A human rights approach to mental health, medicalization of female circumcision) Another instance in which an understanding of human rights integrates into the works of both medical professionals and the law is the practice of female circumcision. Challenges to the practice of female circumcision as a violation of human rights can be taken on through both a legal and medical perspective. Although legislations prohibiting the act of female genital cutting were introduced in Guinea in 1965, prosecutions under the law in regards to this practice were rare. This was primarily a result of sexuality being a private issue and sexual behaviour being largely determined by cultural beliefs. In most cases, those who have been subject to circumcision often felt morally or socially accepted proceeding the event, and argue that the practice does not breach violations of human rights. In this circumstance, it cannot be argued that those involved are opposed to the practice of circumcision. However, through the argument of right to health, an act which considers female circumcis ing to produce menacing health problems presents the means by which the womens right to health were being breached. Beyond moral claims: A human rights approach to mental health, medicalization of female circumcision) Thus it can be seen, in order to gain a comprehensive understanding whether human rights are being breached, one must not only be knowledgeable in any particular field, but have a collective idea of rights based on these disciplines. Both the legal and medical understandings of factors resulting in mental health ensure that both the needs of those with mental health are met in a medical environment whilst ensuring that their fundamental rights to freedom and healthcare are not violated. Similarly, in the case of female circumcise, both legal and medical implications must be understood in order for convincing theories to be derived in regards to the health and further enforce standards to protect violations of basic human rights.

Are Canadian Political Values Becoming Americanized?

Are Canadian Political Values Becoming Americanized? Canada and the United States may be the most extreme case of the small nation, big neighbor syndrome but when asked to point the main differences between the two countries, more than 70 people from both the sides said that Canada is just like a shadow of America. But what makes them make this confound argument? On what basis have they decided that they are the same? And on the other hand why does the rest of the 30% think that they are different? Going against all the odds, I would like to oppose the fact that Canadian Values are becoming Americanized by evaluating healthcare, the global culture and the free trade agreement between the two countries. Since the early 90s, the US has been successful in making a security system for the elder people, a medical help for the welfare recipients which can be called disorganized as there was no public funding in the health care center for the rest of the population. Canada on the other hand relied on a constitutionally entrenched system of equalization transfers from have to have-not provinces to balance roughly welfare state provisions, while the US adopted no such approach. . When needed, it is easy for Citizens of Canada to get healthcare or needs some assistance from welfare then it is easily available. The United States have said that they desire to have the same. Along with universal health care, Canadas welfare system is distinct from the United States. As Bashevkin pointed out, Canadas remain even while the United States remain uneven. Canada is portrayed as an executive political system with different languages and various significant regional bonds, where legislative, executive and judicial power and control lies largely in the hands of the prime minister. This horizontally centralized control system allows Canadian political elites in a majority government to impose their preferences more readily than executives in a horizontally decentralized case like the US, where a constitutional separation of powers creates multiple veto points across the three branches of government. In a more racially divided society with a diffuse congressional regime, American presidents are generally unable to command the concentrated institutional levers available to their Canadian counterparts. My next argument will state about the free trade argument between the two countries and its evaluation. Since before Confederation, Canadas national identity has been defined in part by its relation- ship to the United States. In Canada, this relationship has been characterized by divisive tensions between believers in the economic benefits of closer commercial relations with the US and those who have feared that free trade would Americanize Canada, either literally in the form of joining the union or figuratively in terms of values and culture. These conflicts have been particularly evident over the past 15 years, as Canada entered into the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement in 1988, which was expanded six years later to include Mexico in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Opponents of these agreements argued that they would cause jobs to be lost, wages to decline, inequality to increase, Canadas national identity to be undermined, and the capacity to forge distinctive policies to be vitiated. Proponents of free trade claimed that it would foster tremendous economic benefits and vehemently denied that it would lead to the Americanization of Canada. For Canada, globalization is effectively 80 percent Americanization. That figure represents the percentage of Canadian exports that go to the United States. Clearly, it is too simplistic to reduce the complex nature of US influence to trade relations. Nonetheless, that percentage is an effective representation of the importance of the United States in Canadas external relations with the world. Indeed, when one considers the cultural content of the media to which Canadians are exposed, the 80 percent figure is probably conservative. The main theme of the North American integration research for the Project on Trends is that the consequences of continental integration have not been as formidable as widely believed. Despite a sharp rise in trade dependence as a result of the Free Trade Agreement and growing American dominance of global media, the border between the two countries still matters. Admittedly, some policy instruments have been surrendered in exchange for access to larger mark ets. In addition, pressures for harmonization do exist, and have probably in- creased. But Canada still retains significant room to manoeuvre even in the areas of policy most affected by growing economic integration. (Hoberg, G. 350) The next argument is related to Globalization and Culture. With its awe-inspiring characteristics like limited government, an open society and Internationalism, Canada holds a position somewhere between France and United States when it comes to Cultural Politics. Just like India and Nepal, Canada and United States practice International Culture co-operation by engaging themselves in bipartite and multipartite activities. Like Kevin V. MULCAHY said that it represents an interesting case when countries like Canada-United States define statements like where you sit determines where you stand. For the United States, culture is judged generally to be a sidebar in the spectrum of politics among nations, as cultural expression is more often considered to be a commodity than a value of identity. For Canada, culture is a much more central concern in its bilateral relations with the United States given this asymmetrical relationship. The International trade agreement has really affected the cultural, political and economic relations between the two countries, to a limit that is very unusual but the artistic provisions of such a commitment, the work process of the cultural sector can clearly raise a debate on this political subject of Canadian Values becoming Americanized. Even though Canada is sensitive about its identification and coherence, there is awareness and the cultural practices ARE given a lot of importance. The counter arguments: Virtually, the cultural relations of these 2 peas in a pod may have their own identity in their own divergent and heterogeneous ways between power and smaller neighbor commonality, their adjoining population and keeping in mind the geographical condition of Canada. This may conclude for many others that Cultural, Rational and Political mix of Canadian Values and Culture stand more on the side of dependency of the United States. As is often the case, where a small nation has a big neighbor, geographic propinquity can create awkward, even difficult, cultural relations. (De la Garde, Gilsdorf, and Wechselmann, 1993) None of this is to suggest a loss of Canadian political sovereignty. Yet, Canada has had to grapple with a persistent stereotype of being the fifty-first American state. As such, colonialism (the cultural dominance of a stronger power over another) persists in its post-colonial era: moreover, there is a significant question about whether political sovereignty can be sustained without cultural independence and the concomitant value of individual identity. In sum, how can a distinct Canadian identity thrive in the face of a hegemonic American culture? Evidence- Canada does not have that unique point which acts as an advantage of differentiating them and giving them an edge over the other countries like the United States does. For example barely one percent of the movies that Americans watch are foreign (Mulcahy,2003). The attitude and their vast cultural diversities that American Industry has, galvanizes the fact about the Americanization of Canada. The US has clearly been dominating the Canada Free Trade agreement since the beginning of this new decade. The rivalry with the UK and US were preety much the same since the early 19th Century but after the Second World War there was a clear increase in trade with the US. The imports were measurable but the imports were much more from the US then it was from the UK. The world war had clearly left a major impact on the trade and the economic policies. The markets were devastated as 70% of the imports for Canada came from the US. In the wake of the Free Trade Agreement, there was a sharp (15 percentage point) increase in Canadas dependence on trade with the US. In 1998, total exports constituted a staggering 40 percent of GDP, with the US accounting for 84 percent of that total, Or 33 percent of GDP. Thus, while trade dependence was quite high previously, the current levels of trade dependence, globally and on the US in particular, are record setting. The Rebuttal Although small in population, Canada is home to two major linguistic societies and may be ideally positioned to mediate a global cultural perspective that is an alternative to the hegemony of American entertainment. A hybrid Canadian culture, which is post-colonial, bi-lingual and multi-cultural, could serve as a model for other nations that seek to retain their heritage and identity without retreating into autarchy or dependency. Like Kevin said Unlike Canada, the United States does not have such a distinct society, which Accounts for about 22% of its population. Accordingly, Canadian commitment to Multiculturalism has had to accommodate both individual rights and collective rights. In the U.S., everyone is legally equal to be American. In Canada, one is guaranteed the right to be Canadian, as well as the right to retain ones ascriptive identity. In this sense, Canada has had significant experience with policies that protect cultural diversity. Canadian culture does not rest as heavily on American principles of assimilation and homogenization; rather, there is accommodation and heterogeneity. As a broad generalization, Canada is a cultural mosaic in contrast to the American melting pot. Talking about the Free Trade Agreement, I agreed Canada has a few tough choices to make and the road ahead is not smooth but it is attainable. The Free Trade Area of the Americas is under negotiation, but the US Congress denied President Clinton the fast-track authority necessary to get Americans properly engaged. Nonetheless, the momentum still appears to be in the direction of increasing rather than decreasing international economic integration. Given the geography of trade, it seems unlikely that even if these agreements fail to go forward, the close integration of the Canadian and US economies is likely to change in any fundamental way. Conclusion: Being a part of North America and sitting right on the North of North America, it is not surprising that many might believe that Canada is slowly turning to be a sub-nation or is becoming Americanized but considering the facts like healthcare, welfare, the free trade agreement and other policies and various other elements of the political culture of this country would clearly define them to be different then the United States of America. Even the free trade agreement gives Canada quite an edge over the US. The imports might have been higher as compared to the exports in the early 2000 but ever since after that the imports have been similar to the exports i.e. 70%.. The culture of Canada is totally different as compared to the United States even though they celebrate the same festivals the way they celebrate is different and differences like these affect a lot and leave a major impact when differentiating the two countries. The culture has always been kind of similar but that does not mean that Canada is becoming Americanized. The government is totally different and the only part which I think is becoming Americanized is that Canada has more Starbucks now than it used to. Court Report Essay: Sexual Offences Court Report Essay: Sexual Offences Court Report Name of the Court: The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) (the Supreme Court) Location: 6 Knowles Place Canberra ACT 2600 Honourable Judge: Justice Hilary Ruth Penfold Court Room No: No.5 in Supreme Court building Name of the case: R v Michael John Stratford Case No.: (SCC250/2016) Defendant: Michael John Stratford (Grandfather) Date of hearing: 22.03.2017 Time of hearing of case: 12.30pm Legislation: Crimes Act 1900 (ACT) INTRODUCTION On 22 March 2017 at 12:30pm, I attended the criminal trial of R v Michael John Stratford (SCC250/2016) in Court Room 5 of the ACT Supreme Court located 6 Knowles Place Canberra ACT 2600 where Honable Justice Hilary Ruth Penfold heard the matter and sentence hand down to the accused/offender. Present in the court room was Crown Prosecutor, who was assisted by an instructing solicitor from the Director Public Prosecutions. Representation for the defendant included defence barrister and instructing by solicitor. Also present at the trial were court officers, members of the public and the family members of victim and accused. THE CHARGE the accused aged sixty-four-year-old was charged with the ten time sexual offences/indecency act with his 12-year-old granddaughter without her consent which carries minimum sentence of 12 year of imprisonment. However, s70(2) of Crimes Act[1] allows the jury to find alternative verdict for an act of indecency (s60(1))[2] instead, which carries a maximum penalty of 7 year of imprisonment[3]. FACTS OF THE CASE Mr. Statford was charged under the offence of indecency act with his granddaughter. He committed this crime in his own house while his son and daughter-in-law was going to New Zealand for business trip and left their daughter for babysitting into his real parents house. Accused was the real grandfather of victim. The age of the victim was 12-year-old and age of accused/offender was 64 year old at the time of sexual act of indecency. Accused did ten times act of indecency with his granddaughter. Accuseds wife who are also real grandmother of the victim was witness of that act when accused did that tenth time with victim and then she reported to the police. According to Mr. Statford, victim also involved with consent in that activity. He also stated that he always asked permission from victim before did that act. IS THIS A SUMMARY MATTER OR INDICTABLE MATTER? This is an indictable matter because these types of offenses are serious in nature and requires many hearing and take a longer time to resolve. Jury and Judge consider each aspect of this matter for conclusion and for final verdict. This matter was reported to police in July 2016 and today court hand down sentence to the offender/accused. PAST HISTORY AND CRIMINAL RECORD OF ACCUSED Honable judge read-out some previous life and criminal history of accused that Mr. Statford was a single parent child and abused by his mother also faced financial hardship. He has ten charge of theft in 1998 and 6 charge of dishonesty but not on his real name. He was also patient of two mental hospital one was Batsman-Bay Hospital and other was Goulbourn Mental Hospital. THE LAW Sexual Intercourse without Consent: Crimes Act 1900(ACT) Section 54 A person who engages in sexual intercourse with another person without the consent of that other person and who knows that that other person does not consent, or who is reckless as to whether that other person consents, to the sexual intercourse is guilty of an offence punishable, on conviction, by imprisonment for 12 years.[4] Indecent assaults/Acts of Indecency: Crimes Act 1900 (ACT) S60 Act of indecency without consent (1) A person who commits an act of indecency on, or in the presence of, another person without the consent of that person and who knows that that other person does not consent, or who is reckless as to whether that other person consents, to the committing of the act of indecency is guilty of an offence punishable, on conviction, by imprisonment for 7 years.[5] Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) S61L Indecent assault Any person who assaults another person and, at the time of, or immediately before or after, the assault, commits an act of indecency on or in the presence of the other person, is liable to imprisonment for 5 years.[6] Act of Indecency with consent or without consent: Indecency is an ordinary English word which means indecent behaviour. It is for the jury to decide that whether the facts of the case amount to indecency or not.[7] Generally, it has sexual meaning which followed by the ordinary meaning approach which connected with the areas of the body associated with the sexual activity.[8] Courts has also referred to what right-minded persons would consider in directing the jury: This case also recognized that some conduct might be considered inherently indecent, some might be vague. (This case Accused had spanked 12-year girl across the buttocks admitted to buttock fetish).[9] ELEMENT OF THE OFFENCE Physical element (Actus Res) of this case: In my observation while I was listening the sentencing order, actus res was present and the conduct of offender was voluntary during every time he touched the private parts of victims body and also did the indecency act while no body present at home and he repeated that act of indecency several times. Fault element (Mens Rea) of this case: Offenders intention towards victim was not good. Offender has knowledge about his act which he did with victim. He had malafide intention of sexual act towards victim. Mental Element of Indecent Assault: Under common law, accused intentionally or recklessly touched victims body or intentionally or recklessly threatened that unlawful force would be applied.[10] PURPOSE OF THIS OFFENCE In my opinion, there was two purpose of this offence; Accused/Offender had dark hidden fantasy about incest and fulfilled his dark fantasy. Accused/Offender had a psychiatric disorder named Pedophilia[11] in which a person has sexual attraction to prepubescent children, generally age 13 years or younger. JUSTICE PENFOLDS CONSIDERATION TOWARDS ACCUSED Prior to sentencing Mr Statford, Justice Penfold discussed the following observations of Mr Parkinsons circumstances: Criminal record of theft and dishonesty. An unhappy childhood, with an abusive mentally ill mother. Financial hardship. Employment history comprising mainly trade and labour jobs. Patient in two Mental hospital one was Goulbourn Hospital and other was Batsman bay hospital. Unsuccessful married life. Three time divorced. Two time tried to suicide due to his mental condition/ JUSTICE PENFOLDS CONSIDERATION TOWARDS VICTIM 12-year-old girl who never know what happed with her. Breach of trust towards trustworthy relations. Her short but strong statement, you have to kept this secret from everyone. TOTAL PENALTY/SENTENCE AWARDED BY COURT Generally maximum penalty of this offence is 7 years of imprisonment [12]but after all consideration and circumstances as well as observations of jury in this matter, Honable court awarded sentence 6 year and 6 month of imprisonment. CONCLUSION After attending a sentence hearing, now I understand that there is a lot of considerations to be taken while sentencing and sentencing is a really complicated and complex issue. In my opinion, accused did very serious offense which might affected the mental health of victim in future as well as worst impact on society because it is also a matter of trust between the close relations. To conclude this, I strongly agreed with the sentence handed out by the Honable judge. I also understand that a persons past history and relevant cases must be taken into consideration when assessing these types of issues. Finally, through sex offender programme in relation to child abuse should prevent the offender from committing the crimes again. Bibliography: A- Books David, Brown, David Farrier Sundra Egger Luke McNamara Alex steel Michael Grewcock and Donna spears, Criminal Laws materials and commentary on Criminal Law and Process of New South Wales (The Federation Press 6th ed, 2015) B- Legislation Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) Crimes Act 1900 (ACT) Criminal Code 1995 (Cth) [1] Crimes Act 1900 (ACT). [2] Ibid. [3] Ibid, s60. [4] Ibid. [5] Ibid. [6] Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). [7] R v Nazif [1987] 2 NZLR 122 at 127. [8] Harkin (1989) 38 A Crim R 296 at 301. [9] R v Court [1989] AC 28 at 42 per Lord Acker. [10] Drago v The Queen (1992) 8 WAR 488. [11] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedophilia [12] Crimes Act 1900 (ACT) s60.

Fallacies of Internet Censorship Essay -- science

Fallacies of Internet Censorship Laws, enforcements, and censorship have been developed since the beginning of civilization. With freedom, comes responsibility, and with responsibility comes common sense. In a society or nation of few, laws and restriction tend to be smaller, and less complex. This is contributed by the fact that in small groups, their will be less diversity amongst them. In larger society ranging in millions to billions, the need for a more complex, organized government begins to form. No human is in fact alike, each person possess their own form of will, and much their own point-of-view. In a large mass society, it becomes tedious, and complex to try and rule by anarchy. The need for a common law amongst this civilization is usually formed. One of the most critical needs of a civilization is communication. In the past, communication was presented by means of both oral and written forms. Unfortunately, this form of communication is slowly beginning to fade with the invention of the Internet. The internet in its whole is nothing more then a mass networked form of wires that send information throughout the entire world. With this invention, the gaps and boundaries of nations or civilization of our entire planet begin to crumble. Internet, or at least the computers that are connected to it, have a common language known as Binary, a mass complex language read in series of on and off signals. All computers read the same language, and since this is a true form of communication, it allows for cultures, nations and society to communicate with each other, whereas before a simple oral or written communication could not be understood commonly from all nations. What reasons or needs would there be to censor the internet? As with written or oral language, all of its information is created in fact by a human, which can lead towards being corrupted, destructive or mis-interupted by another. Since the internet is a world wide access of information that is available by all nations having the resources for it, rules and laws in one country are not the same in another. Another commonly known use of the internet is for commerce. It allows a person to sell goods from any country to another. This in return could be things such as illegal weapons, plants, and even pictorial art, to that neighboring or distant country or nation that might be prohibited... ... meeting in one location at a given time is an expensive endeavor, not to mention the cost of having to police or enforce the laws decided. Also, the cost of software programming, vast libraries of stored data, and teaching un-educated computer users in all countries around the world, but be an expansive process. Their would have to be a massive form of data collection of what type of IP address, certain types of words, and certain type of ports to block. This would not just make the cost of internet access massive incremental raise; it would also slow the speed of the entire network around the world down but a horrible mass decrease. In short, I believe the internet is the new revolution in communication, but the fact of its mass-connections that span the entire world; it would be like trying to run a government of trillions of people, with thousands of languages, and millions of different cultures to boot. In order to truly censor the internet, the only fool-proof, absolute solution would be to destroy it, which would deny the very tool and breakthrough in technology that has allowed the entire world to for once communicate, if not agree, on a universally accepted level.

Compare And Contrast Essay -- essays research papers

One of my favorite things to do is to reminiscence with my father. It is so relaxing just to sit back and talk about old times. Something that it really funny when my father and I discuss things from the past is the major differences between our pasts even though we both grew up in the same town. Now when people say that "times are a changing'" I really know what they mean. In my town there is a beautiful lake. The scenery around the lake is absolutely breath taking. When my father was younger, him and his friends would always swim in the lake. He would tell me amusing stories of the bike rides and walks down to the lake. My favorite part of the stories of the lake have to be what him and his friends did before they actually jumped in the lake. They had to throw rocks in the water to scare away the snakes! I couldn't even imagine swimming in a lake knowing that there were snakes in the water. When I was younger, I was never aloud to go to the lake. The bike ride was extremely to far away for me and my friends to take on. The lake was posted private property by new owners of homes in the area. Plus, as rumor has it, the lake is contaminated from a new large company in the area. Hence, I never spent my summer days swimming around in the lake in my town like my father did. One of my beloveded memories deals with going to the local park. My mom or dad used to bring me there wi...

Niccol? Machiavelli - The Qual :: essays research papers

Machiavelli’s views on human nature are unjust; nevertheless, his philosophy, or rather instructions, is reasonable in capturing the selfishness of men. As written in The Qualities of the Prince by Machiavelli, “Men are ungrateful, fickle, simulators and deceivers, avoiders of danger, greedy for gain; and while you work for their good they are completely yours, offering you their blood, their property, their lives, and their sons… when danger is far away; but when it comes nearer to you they turn away.'; Machiavelli’s generalization demonstrates his low opinion on the nature of men because he views them as selfish and lacking in both loyalty and honesty. Machiavelli’s general opinion that men are selfish contains an underlying truth to the human nature. Inside every human being, there is a sense of selfishness that lay dormant until given cause to awake. It is a truth that many will not be willing to admit or acknowledge. Many will even say that there are people who are or were selfless in their actions. Yes, there are, but when the situation comes, normally no one can take away their selfishness to still act like “saints'; when they cannot even save themselves. Selfishness is an ugly trait among people; however, disloyalty is probably the most offensive trait found in human nature. Machiavelli’s says, “when it comes nearer to you they turn away';, which clearly establishes where a person’ true loyalty stands. Loyalty is more consistent to oneself rather than to others. Past events in history supports Machiavelli’s opinion with Julius Ceasar and Brutus as an example. Brutus’s loyalty to his most trusted friend, Caesar, went astray when a problem arose among his Roman peers, and the betrayal was committed against Caesar which resulted in death. A lesson worth learning from this example is that a person’s loyalty can never be trusted unless it is proves to stand strong through any situations. As Machiavelli wrote, “a prince must be cautious in believing and in acting…';. His instructions for the prince stand true for almost everyone nowadays. Unlike disloyalty, dishonesty, according to Machiavelli, is an important factor in the relationship of all human beings. Machiavelli wrote, “princes who have accomplished great deeds are those who have cared little for keeping their promises and who have known how to manipulate the minds of men by shrewdness; and in the end they have surpassed those who laid their foundations upon honesty.

Human Nature Essay

After reading Mencius essay â€Å"Mans Nature is Good† and Hsun Tzu’s essay â€Å"Mans Nature is Evil† It made me realize that men are shaped by experience. People are born with a blank mind with a desire of some knowledge. Much of what we learn affects our behavior. Throughout our life, experiences have been shaping what we are. Both Mencius and Tzu believe the complete opposite, arguing that men are born with a nature of being good or evil. By reading these articles I’ve come to assume that people are born neither good nor evil; instead both of these are obtained through the filling of our mind with experiences and all this together has influenced what we become. Hsun Tzu’s theory about how human nature is inherently evil and Mencius about how we are good caught my attention, because it made me realize that man can go either way. Even though I don’t agree with either of them entirely, they opened my mind about how nature can turn one way or another. People are not born inherently good because if that’s the case then every society would have to be good and would not bother with problems like violence and other chaotic scenarios. To go into a good pathway, people must be straightened by mentors. Like Tzu uses on his essay â€Å"A warp piece of wood must wait until it has been laid against the straightening board, steamed, and forced into shape before it can become straight; a piece of blunt metal must wait until it has been whetted on a grindstone before it can become sharp† (101). Family, schools, and religion are a fair way to obtain this goodness. For example these three sources have taught us since childhood to be respectful. This is the kind of experiences one has to follow in order to be good. Family has taught us to have good manners; therefore they work as our mentors. It is just your choice whether to implement these experiences of being good into your life or to go by the experience you been having with the wrong people. People aren’t born evil either. Instead people learn this through experience as well. For example traumatic experience and experiencing poor family conditions can make a child into a delinquent. Mencius said that â€Å"If you plant the seeds carefully at the same time and in the same place, they’ll all sprout and grow ripe by summer solstice. If they don’t grow the same- it’s because of the inequities in richness of soil, amounts of rainfall, or the care given to them by farmers. And so, all members belonging to a given species of thing are the same† (97). In this metaphor Mencius is trying to say that if you are placed in a different habitat where you learn from the outsiders, you are grown by the influence of them, which in his opinion is evil. I found this to be true but also I want to add that it is not always evil, it can be for the good of somebodies development. Being with the family can be good however sometimes we experience inconsistent parenting or poor parenting where it affects our development. Sometimes people can’t avoid these kinds of experiences but others like being with friends and acting up to their level of immaturity can be avoided. It is up to the experiences you’ve had that will form into what you become. After going through both essays my mind is set into these ideas. People are born with a blank mind but also we can change after what become of us, either it is for the good or for the evil. Peers have much to do with a person’s behavior. As friends you might have the feeling of just fitting in, having to change your manners to feel part of the group. It depends much on our surroundings; this is what triggers our brain to learn from others and development starts operating. Society is an important factor to our development because it is that, what forms our way of living and thinking. People might not like society because they don’t agree with something cultural or religious but whatever the circumstances are they still are triggered by it. At last, my beliefs are now more explained and understood after going through the readings. These articles influenced me to the point that I now believe human nature starts as a blank mind which means we are born without any knowledge and habits. This is when experience comes in. Through our experience with everything around us we become what we are. Our experience since childhood has a great impact in what we are; in other words most of our nature comes from family. Nevertheless, I don’t mean that everyone is shaped from their parents, what I mean is that there are other sources from experience out there that shapes our development (nature). It is your choice to either keep following those experiences, whether the good or the evil, but any how nurture is what will define what you become. Works Cited Austin, Michael, ed. Reading the World: Ideas that Matter. New York: Norton. 2010. Print. Mencius â€Å"Man’s Nature is Good†. Austin 94-98 Tzu, Hsun â€Å"Man’s Nature is Evil†.