Film responses 13 Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Film responses 13 - Movie Review Example The jump cut shows Antoine in the bathroom. He wipes the mirror and there is a voice-over of the teacher saying: â€Å"I deface the classroom walls.† The voice-over is a distancing technique. It helps people to think about the kind of boy that Antoine is and the kind of life that he has than feel for him as a delinquent. When his father appears in the mirror to show his socks with many holes, it shows the theme of mixing genres, of including comedy in a dramatic moment. This is part of the auteur theory where Truffaut includes small things that matter to a leisure narrative development, especially the wit and charm of the characters. Try to make a point of not choosing opening scenes or scenes that are featured on You Tube.When you find a scene that clearly shows French New Wave technical & thematic elements--note those elements as you  describe each scene in vivid detail--using film terms whenever appropriate.  Remember--its always easiest to work your way chronologically through the scene--describing what you see as the narrative unfolds.   Important--Make sure you also extend your description into a discussion of the purpose and/or effect of various technical or elements of mise-en-scene choices. The assignment this week will help prepare you for next weeks

Emotional Intelligence Essay Example for Free

Emotional Intelligence Essay The strong correlation between emotional intelligence and managerial skills has instigated speculation as to whether managers must possess proficient emotional intelligence, namely, interpersonal and intrapersonal skills in the areas of self-awareness, self-regulation, self-motivation, empathy and social awareness (Rahim et al. 2002), in order to manage successfully in the workplace. The purpose of this essay is to explore the role emotional intelligence plays in one’s ability to effectively manage a workplace. Managers must possess a high degree of emotional intelligence to manage successfully for a myriad of reasons. Managers who exhibit high levels of emotional intelligence and an awareness of how their actions will impact others are more proficient at resolving conflict within the workplace. Furthermore, a high level of emotional intelligence within the workplace, promoted by managers who encourage said environment, increases the employee’s job satisfaction which in turn results in greater productivity. A manager who can effectively communicate, conscious of the emotions of others will ultimately prove to be a more successful leader in the workplace. A self-awareness of how one’s actions can influence others, inherent of a manager’s high emotional intelligence allows them to manage successfully within the workplace by allowing effective conflict resolution. Emotions play a crucial role in conflict, as ‘all conflict is inherently emotional’ (Jordan amp; Troth 2004, pp. 200) . The relationship between emotional intelligence and conflict management strategies has been explained by various organisational theories, the findings of which have many practical applications within the workplace. Those who possess a higher degree of emotional intelligence are able to resolve conflict more effectively, by adopting an approach which can fulfil the emotional needs of both parties. If an individual lacks a self-awareness of their emotions and an inability to control such emotions further conflict will often arise. Thus, an emotionally intelligent manager will have â€Å"superior conflict resolution skills and engage in greater collaboration†¦ to develop new solutions that satisfy both parties’ needs† (Jordan amp; Troth 2004, pp. 201). Social skills are a vital aspect of emotional intelligence, associated with one’s ability to resolve problems without demeaning employees, to prevent negative emotions inhibiting collaboration â€Å"and to handle affective conflict with tact and diplomacy† (Rahim et al. 2002, pp. 5). Managers who use their own emotional competencies can support their employees to improve their problem solving capacities. An employee’s perception of their manager is determined by factors such as the manager’s communication skills, conscientiousness within the workplace and social capabilities. Such a perception can have a positive influence on the employee’s conflict resolution capabilities and problem solving strategies. Thus, enhancing the emotional intelligence of managers within the workplace proves to be beneficial for contemporary organisations as it provides managers with the appropriate skills to resolve conflict with integrity and also provides a positive example to employees, encouraging them to adopt a similar approach. Statistical evidence carried out by Jordan and Troth (2004) corroborates this notion stating that those with a higher WEIP (Workplace Emotional Intelligence Profile) adopted more cooperative conflict management strategies. Mangers who exhibit a high degree of emotional intelligence promote a positive workplace environment in which the employees have a high level of job satisfaction, subsequently resulting in a lower staff turnover rate. A high level of job satisfaction within an organisation is an extremely desirable quality. According to Brunetto et al. (2012 pp. 429) employees who are content within the workplace exhibit increased productivity, lower levels of absenteeism and have lower turnover intentions. Furthermore, employees with high levels of job satisfaction display greater organisational commitment to their occupation, in which an employee identifies with their workplace and its objectives and wishes to maintain membership in the organisation. Managers who have substantial emotional intelligence are more likely to instil their employees with a higher level of job satisfaction as the managers are more proficient at controlling and assessing their own emotions and those of others in the workplace, which in turn increases morale and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is vital within the workplace as it is inextricably linked to customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Employees who experience high levels of job satisfaction can through their attitude instil a sense of customer satisfaction and loyalty which in turn escalates profitability and revenue growth. Therefore, an emotionally intelligent manager is more successful in the workplace as they increase the job satisfaction of their employees resulting in numerous benefits for the organisation including a low turnover rate and increased customer loyalty. An emotionally intelligent manager, with the ability to understand emotions in their self and others, will prove to be a successful leader. Moods and feelings play a vital role in the leadership process thus a strong aptitude for emotional intelligence is required of managers to be successful within the workplace. Whilst there is no singular theory of effective leadership, essential elements include collective objectives, instilling an appreciation of work behaviours and generating enthusiasm and optimism (George 2000). Managers with apt emotional intelligence are more capable in communicating their goals for the organisation in a manner that enhances a collective sense of enthusiasm. For example, a manager who exhibits high emotional intelligence may adopt such knowledge implies that employees have a tendency to be â€Å"supportive of the leader’s goals and objectives when the leader expresses con? ence in followers and serves to elevate their levels of self-ef? cacy† (George 2000, pp. 1040). Whilst accurately appraising employee’s emotions and influencing followers’ emotions can result in support for the leader’s objectives, there can also be negative repercussions. Managers who are so in tune to emotional needs of their employees â€Å"can be manipulative and emotionally demanding† (Ashkanasy amp; Daus 2002, pp. 81), particularly when the employees are susceptible to such exploitation. This behaviour can often result in mistrust and suspicion within the workplace, which can lessen the manager’s effectiveness. Furthermore, the decisive emphasis placed on the importance of emotional intelligence in being a successful leader can be problematic, as it drives the notion that emotional intelligence is the only characteristic required to be a successful leader and can misconstrue the realities of organisational leadership. It must be noted that despite the numerous characteristics encompassed by emotional intelligence which are associated with effective leadership, they aren’t an exhaustive list. Other factors, namely actual intelligence, are fundamental to effective leadership and critical to organisational success, including business success (Locke 2005). For the numerous reasons outlined, emotional intelligence is very important, indeed a necessary requirement, in the list of positive attributes a manager must possess for successfully managing employees in the workplace.

Challenges to Defining Cybercrime

Challenges to Defining Cybercrime What is Cybercrime? At this point of time there is no commonly agreed definition of ‘Cybercrime’. The area of Cybercrime is very broad and the technical nature of the subject has made extremely difficult for authorities to come up with a precise definition of Cybercrime. The British police have defined Cybercrime as ‘use of any computer network for crime’ and council of Europe has defined Cybercrime as ‘any criminal offence against or with help of computer network. The two definitions offered by the British police and council of Europe are both very broad and they offer very little insight into the nature of conduct which falls under the defined term. Most of us do a vague idea what Cybercrime means but it seems that it is very to difficult to pinpoint the exact conduct which can be regarded as Cybercrime. For the purposes of the dissertation, I shall attempt to come up with my own definition of Cybercrime; the available definitions do not adequately explain the concept of Cybercrime. In order to understand and provide better insight into nature of Cybercrime, it will be a good idea to divide Cybercrime into two categories because computers can be used in two ways to commit Cybercrime. The first category will include crimes in which the computer was used as tool to commit the offence. The computer has enabled criminals to use the technology to commit crimes such as fraud and copyright privacy. The computer can be exploited just as another technical device which can be exploited, for e.g. a phone can be used to verbally abuse someone or stalk someone, someway the internet can be used to stalk someone or verbally abuse someone. The second category will include offences which are committed with intention of damaging or modifying computers. In this category the target of the crime is the computer itself, offences such as hacking. Whichever categories the offence committed falls in, ultimately it are us the humans who have to suffer the consequences of Cybercrime. Now we know that there are two ways in which the computer can be used to commit offences, my definition of Cybercrime would be: â€Å"Illegal acts using the computer as instrument to commit an offence, or targeting a computer network to damage or modifying computers for malicious purposes† Even my definition cannot be regarded as precise, as pointed earlier that due to the broad and technical nature of Cybercrime, it almost impossible to come up with a precise definition. The term Cybercrime is a social term to describe criminal activities which take place in world of computers; it is not an established term within the criminal law. The fact that there is no legal definition of Cybercrime within criminal law makes the whole area of Cybercrime very complicated for concerned authorities and the general public, it creates confusion such as what constitutes as Cybercrime and if Cybercrime cannot be defined properly how will the victims report the crime? The lack of proper definition means that majority of the Cybercrime which takes place is unreported as the victims and the authorities are not sure whether the conduct is a Cybercrime. It is estimated that 90% of the Cybercrime which occurs is unreported. Types of Cybercrime Computer can be used to commit various crimes, in order to have a better understanding of Cybercrime; we shall look at individually the types of crimes which are committed in the world of computers. It will not possible to describe every type of Cybercrime which exists due to the word limit, we will only concentrate on crimes which are considered to be major threats to our security. First Category Fraud Fraud can be defined as use of deception for direct or indirect financial or monetary gain. The internet can be used as means targeting the victim by replicating â€Å"real world† frauds such as get rich quick schemes which don’t exist, emails which demand an additional fee to be paid via credit card to stop loss of service such as internet or banking. The increasing availability of the internet means that fraudsters can carry out fraudulent activities on a grand scale. Fraud is a traditional crime which has existed for centuries and internet is merely a tool by which the fraudsters actions are carried out. Fraud has become a serious threat to e-commerce and other online transactions. Statistics suggest that internet only accounts for 3% of credit card fraud, credit card fraud is one of the more difficult frauds to commit on the internet, however other forms of fraud such as phising are more easier to carry out using the internet and equally lucrative. Phising is a form of fraud which is rapidly increasing. Phising is when you get emails from commercial organizations such your bank and other financial institutions, they would ask you to update your details, emails look genuine and it is a scam to trick people on giving their details. There are no official figures available on ‘phishing scams’ but on average I receive about three emails everyday asking me to update my bank account details. Recently there was email going around asking the staff members and students of LSBU to update their personal details, the email looked genuine but the ICT staff informed students/staff to ignore as it was a trick to gain personal information. Since the advancement of technology, it is has become easier and cheaper to communicate and fraudsters are also taking advantage of technology because it is easier to exploit the internet and it is cheaper than other alternatives such as phone and postal mail. There are other forms of fraud such as auction fraud, it is when buy goods in auction and you pay for the item but your item will never turn up. Fraud is one of the lucrative crimes on the internet; experts suggest that it is more than trafficking drugs. The reasons why fraudsters prefer internet is because: Internet has made mass communication easy and it is cheap, same email can be sent to millions of people very easily and cheaply with just one click of button. Majority of users do not have adequate knowledge on how technology works, this makes it easy for fraudsters to fool innocent people into taking an action such as giving their personal details. Internet users are considered naà ¯ve in the sense that they have too much faith in the information they receive via the internet, therefore, they do not take necessary steps to verify the information and often get tricked in handing out their credit card or personal details. Offences against person(s) Offence against a person can either be physical or mental, it is not possible to cause direct physical harm to a person using a computer but it is possible to cause mental harm such as anxiety, distress or psychological harm. It can be done by sending abusive or threatening emails or posting derogatory information online. Stalking is a crime which is done to harass another person repeatedly. As the number of user on the internet increased, the opportunities for abuse have also increased. It is possible to use internet as a tool for sending abusive emails, leaving offensive messages on guestbooks, or posting misinformation on blogs. In some cases, cyberstalkers have morphed images of their victims onto pornographic images and then emailing the pictures to relative and work colleagues to cause embarrassment. There are mainly three reasons for committing a crime such as stalking, Main reason is usually when relationships fail, former intimates usually target their ex-boyfriend/girlfriend to get revenge. Second reason for cyberstalking is boredom; some people usually pick random people and target them by sending them abusive and threatening emails just for fun. Cyberstalkers take advantage of anonymity of the internet to cause distress to their victim’s life. Hate and racist speech is also a form of crime which escalated since the introduction of the internet; it can cause traumatic experience and mental distress to those who are targeted. Post 9/11, there have been many websites set up to mock the religion Islam, such as www.laughingatislam.com, this website has been cause of distress to many Muslims around the world. Sexual offences This category includes offences which have sexual element, such as making undesired sexual approaches in chat-rooms and paedophiles harrasing children. Child pornography and child protection are one of the main concerns on the internet. Paedophiles are taking full advantage to exploit the technology for viewing and exchanging child pornography. Paedophiles use the internet to their advantage, they use chat rooms and other popular social networks such as facebook to entice and lure children into meeting them. Many popular chat rooms such as MSN Chat and Yahoo chat have closed down their chat rooms to protect young children but closure of popular chat rooms have not stopped paedophiles from using less popular chat rooms and other social networks. Second category Hacking related offences Hacking can be defined as gaining unauthorised access to a computer system. As soon as we hear the word ‘hacking’, we tend to think that it is a crime, it should be noted that hacking started of as show of skill to gain temporary access to computer systems. It was rather an intellectual challenge than a criminal motive. But now, many hackers misuse their skills to inflict damage and destruction. Examples of hacking include stealing confident information such credit card details. In a recent incident of hacking, Harriet Harman whose is a politician, taking part in upcoming elections. Her website was hacked and the blog section of her website encouraged the audience to vote for Boris Johnson whose is a competitor of Harman Harriet. Boris Johnson has also complained that his email account was hacked recently. Most politicians believe that internet as a medium will be a major part of election campaigns and activities such as hacking can sabotage election campaigns by posting disinformation on candidate’s websites. Virus and Other Malicious Programs Virus is a malicious code or program that replicates itself and inserts copies or new versions onto other programs, affecting computer systems. Viruses are designed to modify computer systems without the consent of the owner or operator. Viruses are created to inflict senseless damage to computer system. It is a widely accepted perception that crime is committed in times economic distress. Criminals do not gain any monetary benefit; it is simply done to show off their computer skills. Some viruses are failed programs or accidental releases. The most famous virus which was released is the I LOVE YOU virus or commonly known as the ‘love bug’. The virus damaged millions of computers worldwide; it caused damage worth of $8.5bn, the author of the virus claims that it was released to impress his girlfriend. Legislation on Cybercrime It is often believed that the internet is just like the ‘wild west’ where there no rules and regulations and people are free to carry out illegal activities. Fortunately, this is not true at all; there is legislation which exists to protect us from cybercrimes. Type of crime Legislation Fraud Fraud Act 2006(Covers all types of possible frauds) Offences against person(s) The Public Order Act 1986(Hate speech) Sexual Offences The Protection of children Act 1978 The Criminal Justice Act 1988 The Criminal Justice an Public Order Act 1988 Sexual Offences Act 2003 After carefully reviewing all pieces of legislations mentioned above, I can conclude by saying that legislation we have at the moment is adequate enough to protect us from any sort of traditional crime carried out using computers. There were few anomalies which have been removed now. Anomalies The Theft Act 1968 which previously covered fraud has been replaced by Fraud Act 2006 to cover anomaly under the previous legislation. In the case of Clayman, it was held that it is not unlawful to defraud a computer; the courts do not regard computers as deceivable as the process is fully automated. In theory if we apply the principle deriving from the Clayman case then it will not be unlawful to false credit card number when signing up for an online service such as subscription to a newsgroup or online gaming. There is only exception to this rule that it will not apply if deception involves licensed telecommunications services, such as dial-up chat lines pay-per-view TV. Second anomaly before us was that information was not regarded property. In the case of Oxford v Moss, in this case a student took a copy of forthcoming exam from a lecturer’s desk and made a photocopy of that exam paper, it was held that the student cannot be charged under the theft act as he did not deprive the owner of the asset, a copy had simply been taken. Computers only contain information, by applying the principle deriving from this case, it means that it is acceptable to print other people’s files as long they do not deprive the owner of the file by deleting it, one would only be prosecuted if he/she steals trade secret or confidential information. Decisions in both cases mentioned above are absurd, both of them were decided in 1970s, the only possible reason for reaching absurd decision could only be lack of knowledge on technology. Previous legislation took into account the consequences of the fraudster’s activities when deciding whether the conduct in question is an offence. The Fraud Act 2006 aims to prosecute the fraudsters on the basis of their actual conduct rather than the consequences of their activities. How serious is the threat? In order to determine the seriousness of the threat, it is important to look at the statistics available on cybercrime. Type of crime Number of cases reported Fraud 299,000 Offences against the person 1,944000 Sexual offences 850,238 Computer Misuse(Hacking) 144,500 Virus related incidents 6,000000 Total number of cases reported 9,237738 Source of statistics: Garlik According to the figures, they were approximately 9.23 million incidents of cybercrime reported in the year 2006. Statistics show that 15% of the population of the UK was affected by cybercrime in someway, after looking at these figures; one can easily conclude that we are having an epidemic of cybercrime. These statistics could only the tip of the iceberg of the totality of cybercrime; experts believe that real figure could be 10 times higher as cybercrime is massively under-reported. Reasons for under-reporting Reporting any crime involves a three stage process: The conduct needs to be observed. The conduct needs to categorised as criminal. The relevant authorities need to be informed of the criminal conduct. A particular crime will not be reported if there is failure in any of the stages, therefore the relevant authorities will not take action against the criminal. There are certain factors which affect reporting of cybercrime, factors include: Sometimes the criminal conduct is not noticed, internet fraud usually comprises of low-value transactions across a bulk body of victims, and victims are not always able to spot discrepancy in their bank accounts. Lack of awareness means that the victims may not know whether the conduct in question is a crime. Victims of viruses don’t see them as victims of crime, people tend to see viruses as technical issue, and therefore, the victim would believe that no one has broken the law. Most victims don’t know which authorities they should contact to report cybercrime. Police officers have inadequate amount of resources and don’t have the expertise to deal with cybercrime at the moment, therefore, pursuing a formal complaint can be a difficult process. Once I tried reporting a cybercrime, a laptop was purchased on EBay but the seller took my money and never sent the laptop, this is a common case of auction fraud. I did try to make a complain, the whole process was extremely slow, the officer dealing with me had no clue what EBay is, I was able to register a complaint but it has been two years and my complain is still unresolved. Under-reporting is factor which contributes towards increase in cybercrime, under-reporting mean that criminals will have less fear of getting caught and therefore, they are more likely to commit illegal acts online. People’s attitude towards cybercrime Traditional crimes such as murder, rape and robbery can have serious effects on the victim’s life; in some cases the victim may not be able to lead a normal life after being a victim of crime. In contrast to cybercrime, the impact is not that serious, majority of users have insurance against financial frauds, and frauds are usually of low-value. Viruses can easily be filtered using antivirus software. Other offences such as cyberstalking usually cause some anxiety and distress. Only crimes such as child pornography have a greater impact, it is the only the crime which can have a serious consequences on the victims life. A recent survey suggest that only 37% are afraid to use the internet after being a victim of crime, majority of the users do continue to use the internet after being a victim. Cybercrime and e-commerce Cybercrime is a growing concern for all of us, however, the effects of cybercrime are not hindering the growth of the internet, and the effects of cybercrime on the e-commerce have not been drastic. Financial transactions over the internet are on the rise, number of people using internet for shopping is increase day by day and over one third of population is using internet banking. One of the reasons why cybercrime spiraling out of control is the fact that it is very easy to commit if have the technical knowledge, all you need is a computer connected to the internet, the crimes on the internet are hard to detect. It can be committed from anywhere in the world, the criminal could sitting in Africa and targeting his victim in Australia. In the next chapter, we shall examine the problems faced by authorities when investigating cybercrime. Jurisdiction Jurisdictional issues and the cyberspace Cyberspace is a world without defined boundaries; anyone can access any website using his computer. It can very difficult to locate the source of crime in cyberspace because relative anonymity and as easy way to shield identity. Even if the relevant authorities are able to identify the source of crime, it is not always easy to prosecute the criminal. Double criminality When dealing cross border crime, it is imperative that both countries should recognise the conduct as illegal in both jurisdictions. The principle of double criminality prohibits the extradition of a person, if the conduct in question is not recognized as a criminal offence by the country receiving the request for jurisdiction. Imagine a situation where a computer programmer from Zimbabwe sends Barclays bank a virus which causes the computers in Barclays bank to malfunction, the bank cannot carry out their business for 1 hour and as a result they lose about $1 million worth of revenue. English authorities would want to extradite the offender to England so they could prosecute the offender. In an action for extradition, the applicant is required to show that actions of the accused constitute a criminal offence exceeding a minimum level of seriousness in both jurisdictions. Imagine now that they are no laws on spreading viruses in Zimbabwe, therefore it will not possible to show offender’s action constitute as criminal behavior. If they are no laws regarding on cybercrime in Zimbabwe then he cannot be extradited and he will walk free after deliberately causing damage to Barclays bank. Cybercrime has an international dimension, it is imperative that legal protection is harmonised internationally. There are still about 33 countries such as Albania, Yugoslavia and Malta; they have no laws on cybercrimes. If there are no laws then those countries are considered as computer crime havens. The perpetrator of ‘I LOVE YOU’ virus which caused $8.5 billion worth damage was caught in Philippines but he could not be prosecuted as Philippines had no laws on cybercrime. Cybercrime is global issue and the world will need to work together in order to tackle cybercrime. How real world crime dealt across borders? In relation to real world crime which transcended national borders, an idiosyncratic network of Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties(MLATs) bound various countries to assist each other in investigating real world crime, such as drug trafficking. If there was no treaty agreement between two countries then they would contact the relevant authorities to ask for assistance and obtain evidence, this mechanism was sufficient in dealing with real world crime. This mechanism can only work if both countries have similar cybercrime laws; if any country lacks cybercrime laws then the process would fail. How should Jurisdiction be approached in Cybercrime? In a case of cyberstalking, An Australian man was stalking a Canadian Actress. The man harassed the actress by sending unsolicited emails. Australian Supreme Court of Victoria held that crimes ‘committed over the internet knows no borders’ and ‘State and national boundaries do not concern them’, therefore, jurisdiction should not be the issue. He was convicted. This case was straightforward as both nations recognise stalking as a criminal offence, however, there can be conflicts if both nations do not recognize the act as criminal. In Licra v Yahoo, French courts tried to exercise jurisdiction over an American company. Yahoo was accused of Nazi memorabilia contrary to Article R645-1 of the French Criminal Code. Yahoo argued that there are not in breach of Article R645-1 as they were conducting the auction under the jurisdiction of USA and it is not illegal to sell Nazi memorabilia under the American law. In order to prove that Yahoo is subject American jurisdiction, they argued the following points: Yahoo servers are located in US territory. Services of Yahoo are primarily aimed at US citizens. According to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, freedom of speech and expression is guaranteed and any attempt to enforce judgement which restricts freedom of speech and expression would fail for unconstitutionality. The court ruled that they have full jurisdiction over Yahoo because: The auction was open to worldwide bidders, including France. It is possible to view the auction in France, viewing and displaying Nazi memorabilia causes public nuisance and it is offence to public nuisance under the French law. Yahoo had a customer base in France, the advertisements were in French. Yahoo did have knowledge that French citizens use their site; therefore they should not do anything to offend French citizens. Yahoo ignored the French court ruling and kept saying that they French court does not have the right to exercise jurisdiction over an American company. Yahoo was warned that they would have to pay heavy fines if they don’t comply. In the end Yahoo owners did comply with the judgement they had substantial assets in France which were at risk of being confiscated if they don’t claim. The sole reason why French courts were able to exercise jurisdiction over Yahoo because it is a multinational company with large presence in France. Imagine instead of France, if the action would have been taken by courts of Saudi Arabia on auctioning playboy magazines, under the Saudi Arabian Sharia law, it is illegal to view or buy pornography. Saudi Arabia court would have failed to exercise jurisdiction over Yahoo as they don’t have any presence in Saudi Arabia but it was possible to view Yahoo auctions from Saudi Arabia. The case of Yahoo is a rare example where a court was able to exercise jurisdiction over a foreign company. In majority of the cases concerning individuals, courts trying to exercise jurisdiction over foreign elements are usually ignored. In the case of Nottinghamshire County Council v. Gwatkin (UK), injunctions were issued against many journalists to prevent them from publishing disseminating a leaked report that strongly criticises [the Councils] handling of allegations of satanic abuse of children in the 1980s. Despite the injunctions, a report appeared on an American website. The website refused to respect the English jurisdiction as they argued that the report was a public document. The Nottinghamshire had no option then to drop the case. Cybercrime has an international dimension. International law is complicated area, it can be very difficult to co-operate with authorities if there is no or weak diplomatic ties, for e.g. Pakistan and Israel have no diplomatic ties, if a situation arises where Israeli citizen hacks into State bank of Pakistan steals millions of dollars from the bank, in a situation like this, one easily assume that both countries would not co-operate with each other even though both countries recognise hacking as a offence but they do not have diplomatic ties with each other, most probably the hacker would get away with the crime. A case involving Russian hackers, they hacked into Paypal and stole 53,000 credit card details. Paypal is an American company. The Russian hackers blackmailed Paypal and asked for a substantial amount of money, they threatened they would publish the details of 53,000 credit cards if they do not receive the money. Russia and American both have signed extradition treaty but still Russian authorities failed to take action, it is still not clear why they did not take appropriate action against the Russian hackers. Both nations struggled to gain jurisdiction over each other. FBI decided to take things into their own hands by setting up a secret operation, undercover agents posed as reprenstatives of a bogus security firm Invita. The bogus security firm invited the Russian hackers to US with prospects of employment. When the interview for employment by the bogus firm Invita was being carried out, the Russian hackers were asked to display there hacking skills, one of the hackers accessed his own system in Russia to show off his skills, the FBI recorded every keystroke and later arrested the Russian hackers for multiple offences such as hacking, fraud and extortion. The keystrokes recorded were later used to hack into one of the hacker’s computer in Russia to access incriminating evidence. All this took place without the knowledge of Russian authorities. When Russian authorities came to know about whole incident, they were furious and argued that US misused their authority and infringing on another sovereign nation’s jurisdiction. Lack of co-operation in relation to jurisdiction can lead to serious problems between nations, in order to avoid such conflicts, there is need to address the jurisdiction issue and come up with a mechanism which ensures that countries co-operate with each other. Where is the Jurisdiction? In the real world crime, the conduct and the effect of the conduct are easy to pin down because we can visibly see the human carrying out the conduct and the effect of the conduct is also visible. The location of the offence and the location of the perpetrator can easily be identified. Imagine a situation in which a shooter in Canada shots an American across Niagara Falls, it is clear from the example that the conduct took place in Canada and the effect of the conduct took place in Canada. Cyberspace is not real, people say that events on cyberspace occur everywhere and nowhere, a man disseminating a virus could release a virus which travel through servers of many different country before reaching the victim, for e.g. a person makes a racist website targeting Jews in Malta, uploads the website on American servers and the website is available for everyone to see, a Jewish living in Israel comes across the website and gets offended. In a situation like this where would you bring an action, should you bring an action in Malta because the perpetrator is based over there, would bring an action in America where the server is hosted or would bring the action in Israel where the victim is? There are specific laws regarding jurisdiction issues on the internet, the world is still struggling to come up with a solution which would solve the problem of jurisdiction. Positive or Negative Jurisdiction? The principle of negative jurisdiction occurs when no country is willing to exercise jurisdiction for a cybercrime. Cybercrime can have multiple victims in different countries; the ‘love bug’ caused damage in many different countries including USA, UK, France and Germany. If the damage is caused to multiple countries then who should claim jurisdiction over the cybercrime, should it by prioritised by the amount of damage suffered by each country. If the effected countries decide not to take action against the perpetrator because it is not in their best interest, the country may be occupied by other internal problems. If no country is willing to exercise jurisdiction over a cybercrime then the perpetrator would walk free. Positive jurisdiction is opposite of negative jurisdiction, how will the issue of jurisdiction be decided if more than two countries want to exercise t Challenges to Defining Cybercrime Challenges to Defining Cybercrime What is Cybercrime? At this point of time there is no commonly agreed definition of ‘Cybercrime’. The area of Cybercrime is very broad and the technical nature of the subject has made extremely difficult for authorities to come up with a precise definition of Cybercrime. The British police have defined Cybercrime as ‘use of any computer network for crime’ and council of Europe has defined Cybercrime as ‘any criminal offence against or with help of computer network. The two definitions offered by the British police and council of Europe are both very broad and they offer very little insight into the nature of conduct which falls under the defined term. Most of us do a vague idea what Cybercrime means but it seems that it is very to difficult to pinpoint the exact conduct which can be regarded as Cybercrime. For the purposes of the dissertation, I shall attempt to come up with my own definition of Cybercrime; the available definitions do not adequately explain the concept of Cybercrime. In order to understand and provide better insight into nature of Cybercrime, it will be a good idea to divide Cybercrime into two categories because computers can be used in two ways to commit Cybercrime. The first category will include crimes in which the computer was used as tool to commit the offence. The computer has enabled criminals to use the technology to commit crimes such as fraud and copyright privacy. The computer can be exploited just as another technical device which can be exploited, for e.g. a phone can be used to verbally abuse someone or stalk someone, someway the internet can be used to stalk someone or verbally abuse someone. The second category will include offences which are committed with intention of damaging or modifying computers. In this category the target of the crime is the computer itself, offences such as hacking. Whichever categories the offence committed falls in, ultimately it are us the humans who have to suffer the consequences of Cybercrime. Now we know that there are two ways in which the computer can be used to commit offences, my definition of Cybercrime would be: â€Å"Illegal acts using the computer as instrument to commit an offence, or targeting a computer network to damage or modifying computers for malicious purposes† Even my definition cannot be regarded as precise, as pointed earlier that due to the broad and technical nature of Cybercrime, it almost impossible to come up with a precise definition. The term Cybercrime is a social term to describe criminal activities which take place in world of computers; it is not an established term within the criminal law. The fact that there is no legal definition of Cybercrime within criminal law makes the whole area of Cybercrime very complicated for concerned authorities and the general public, it creates confusion such as what constitutes as Cybercrime and if Cybercrime cannot be defined properly how will the victims report the crime? The lack of proper definition means that majority of the Cybercrime which takes place is unreported as the victims and the authorities are not sure whether the conduct is a Cybercrime. It is estimated that 90% of the Cybercrime which occurs is unreported. Types of Cybercrime Computer can be used to commit various crimes, in order to have a better understanding of Cybercrime; we shall look at individually the types of crimes which are committed in the world of computers. It will not possible to describe every type of Cybercrime which exists due to the word limit, we will only concentrate on crimes which are considered to be major threats to our security. First Category Fraud Fraud can be defined as use of deception for direct or indirect financial or monetary gain. The internet can be used as means targeting the victim by replicating â€Å"real world† frauds such as get rich quick schemes which don’t exist, emails which demand an additional fee to be paid via credit card to stop loss of service such as internet or banking. The increasing availability of the internet means that fraudsters can carry out fraudulent activities on a grand scale. Fraud is a traditional crime which has existed for centuries and internet is merely a tool by which the fraudsters actions are carried out. Fraud has become a serious threat to e-commerce and other online transactions. Statistics suggest that internet only accounts for 3% of credit card fraud, credit card fraud is one of the more difficult frauds to commit on the internet, however other forms of fraud such as phising are more easier to carry out using the internet and equally lucrative. Phising is a form of fraud which is rapidly increasing. Phising is when you get emails from commercial organizations such your bank and other financial institutions, they would ask you to update your details, emails look genuine and it is a scam to trick people on giving their details. There are no official figures available on ‘phishing scams’ but on average I receive about three emails everyday asking me to update my bank account details. Recently there was email going around asking the staff members and students of LSBU to update their personal details, the email looked genuine but the ICT staff informed students/staff to ignore as it was a trick to gain personal information. Since the advancement of technology, it is has become easier and cheaper to communicate and fraudsters are also taking advantage of technology because it is easier to exploit the internet and it is cheaper than other alternatives such as phone and postal mail. There are other forms of fraud such as auction fraud, it is when buy goods in auction and you pay for the item but your item will never turn up. Fraud is one of the lucrative crimes on the internet; experts suggest that it is more than trafficking drugs. The reasons why fraudsters prefer internet is because: Internet has made mass communication easy and it is cheap, same email can be sent to millions of people very easily and cheaply with just one click of button. Majority of users do not have adequate knowledge on how technology works, this makes it easy for fraudsters to fool innocent people into taking an action such as giving their personal details. Internet users are considered naà ¯ve in the sense that they have too much faith in the information they receive via the internet, therefore, they do not take necessary steps to verify the information and often get tricked in handing out their credit card or personal details. Offences against person(s) Offence against a person can either be physical or mental, it is not possible to cause direct physical harm to a person using a computer but it is possible to cause mental harm such as anxiety, distress or psychological harm. It can be done by sending abusive or threatening emails or posting derogatory information online. Stalking is a crime which is done to harass another person repeatedly. As the number of user on the internet increased, the opportunities for abuse have also increased. It is possible to use internet as a tool for sending abusive emails, leaving offensive messages on guestbooks, or posting misinformation on blogs. In some cases, cyberstalkers have morphed images of their victims onto pornographic images and then emailing the pictures to relative and work colleagues to cause embarrassment. There are mainly three reasons for committing a crime such as stalking, Main reason is usually when relationships fail, former intimates usually target their ex-boyfriend/girlfriend to get revenge. Second reason for cyberstalking is boredom; some people usually pick random people and target them by sending them abusive and threatening emails just for fun. Cyberstalkers take advantage of anonymity of the internet to cause distress to their victim’s life. Hate and racist speech is also a form of crime which escalated since the introduction of the internet; it can cause traumatic experience and mental distress to those who are targeted. Post 9/11, there have been many websites set up to mock the religion Islam, such as www.laughingatislam.com, this website has been cause of distress to many Muslims around the world. Sexual offences This category includes offences which have sexual element, such as making undesired sexual approaches in chat-rooms and paedophiles harrasing children. Child pornography and child protection are one of the main concerns on the internet. Paedophiles are taking full advantage to exploit the technology for viewing and exchanging child pornography. Paedophiles use the internet to their advantage, they use chat rooms and other popular social networks such as facebook to entice and lure children into meeting them. Many popular chat rooms such as MSN Chat and Yahoo chat have closed down their chat rooms to protect young children but closure of popular chat rooms have not stopped paedophiles from using less popular chat rooms and other social networks. Second category Hacking related offences Hacking can be defined as gaining unauthorised access to a computer system. As soon as we hear the word ‘hacking’, we tend to think that it is a crime, it should be noted that hacking started of as show of skill to gain temporary access to computer systems. It was rather an intellectual challenge than a criminal motive. But now, many hackers misuse their skills to inflict damage and destruction. Examples of hacking include stealing confident information such credit card details. In a recent incident of hacking, Harriet Harman whose is a politician, taking part in upcoming elections. Her website was hacked and the blog section of her website encouraged the audience to vote for Boris Johnson whose is a competitor of Harman Harriet. Boris Johnson has also complained that his email account was hacked recently. Most politicians believe that internet as a medium will be a major part of election campaigns and activities such as hacking can sabotage election campaigns by posting disinformation on candidate’s websites. Virus and Other Malicious Programs Virus is a malicious code or program that replicates itself and inserts copies or new versions onto other programs, affecting computer systems. Viruses are designed to modify computer systems without the consent of the owner or operator. Viruses are created to inflict senseless damage to computer system. It is a widely accepted perception that crime is committed in times economic distress. Criminals do not gain any monetary benefit; it is simply done to show off their computer skills. Some viruses are failed programs or accidental releases. The most famous virus which was released is the I LOVE YOU virus or commonly known as the ‘love bug’. The virus damaged millions of computers worldwide; it caused damage worth of $8.5bn, the author of the virus claims that it was released to impress his girlfriend. Legislation on Cybercrime It is often believed that the internet is just like the ‘wild west’ where there no rules and regulations and people are free to carry out illegal activities. Fortunately, this is not true at all; there is legislation which exists to protect us from cybercrimes. Type of crime Legislation Fraud Fraud Act 2006(Covers all types of possible frauds) Offences against person(s) The Public Order Act 1986(Hate speech) Sexual Offences The Protection of children Act 1978 The Criminal Justice Act 1988 The Criminal Justice an Public Order Act 1988 Sexual Offences Act 2003 After carefully reviewing all pieces of legislations mentioned above, I can conclude by saying that legislation we have at the moment is adequate enough to protect us from any sort of traditional crime carried out using computers. There were few anomalies which have been removed now. Anomalies The Theft Act 1968 which previously covered fraud has been replaced by Fraud Act 2006 to cover anomaly under the previous legislation. In the case of Clayman, it was held that it is not unlawful to defraud a computer; the courts do not regard computers as deceivable as the process is fully automated. In theory if we apply the principle deriving from the Clayman case then it will not be unlawful to false credit card number when signing up for an online service such as subscription to a newsgroup or online gaming. There is only exception to this rule that it will not apply if deception involves licensed telecommunications services, such as dial-up chat lines pay-per-view TV. Second anomaly before us was that information was not regarded property. In the case of Oxford v Moss, in this case a student took a copy of forthcoming exam from a lecturer’s desk and made a photocopy of that exam paper, it was held that the student cannot be charged under the theft act as he did not deprive the owner of the asset, a copy had simply been taken. Computers only contain information, by applying the principle deriving from this case, it means that it is acceptable to print other people’s files as long they do not deprive the owner of the file by deleting it, one would only be prosecuted if he/she steals trade secret or confidential information. Decisions in both cases mentioned above are absurd, both of them were decided in 1970s, the only possible reason for reaching absurd decision could only be lack of knowledge on technology. Previous legislation took into account the consequences of the fraudster’s activities when deciding whether the conduct in question is an offence. The Fraud Act 2006 aims to prosecute the fraudsters on the basis of their actual conduct rather than the consequences of their activities. How serious is the threat? In order to determine the seriousness of the threat, it is important to look at the statistics available on cybercrime. Type of crime Number of cases reported Fraud 299,000 Offences against the person 1,944000 Sexual offences 850,238 Computer Misuse(Hacking) 144,500 Virus related incidents 6,000000 Total number of cases reported 9,237738 Source of statistics: Garlik According to the figures, they were approximately 9.23 million incidents of cybercrime reported in the year 2006. Statistics show that 15% of the population of the UK was affected by cybercrime in someway, after looking at these figures; one can easily conclude that we are having an epidemic of cybercrime. These statistics could only the tip of the iceberg of the totality of cybercrime; experts believe that real figure could be 10 times higher as cybercrime is massively under-reported. Reasons for under-reporting Reporting any crime involves a three stage process: The conduct needs to be observed. The conduct needs to categorised as criminal. The relevant authorities need to be informed of the criminal conduct. A particular crime will not be reported if there is failure in any of the stages, therefore the relevant authorities will not take action against the criminal. There are certain factors which affect reporting of cybercrime, factors include: Sometimes the criminal conduct is not noticed, internet fraud usually comprises of low-value transactions across a bulk body of victims, and victims are not always able to spot discrepancy in their bank accounts. Lack of awareness means that the victims may not know whether the conduct in question is a crime. Victims of viruses don’t see them as victims of crime, people tend to see viruses as technical issue, and therefore, the victim would believe that no one has broken the law. Most victims don’t know which authorities they should contact to report cybercrime. Police officers have inadequate amount of resources and don’t have the expertise to deal with cybercrime at the moment, therefore, pursuing a formal complaint can be a difficult process. Once I tried reporting a cybercrime, a laptop was purchased on EBay but the seller took my money and never sent the laptop, this is a common case of auction fraud. I did try to make a complain, the whole process was extremely slow, the officer dealing with me had no clue what EBay is, I was able to register a complaint but it has been two years and my complain is still unresolved. Under-reporting is factor which contributes towards increase in cybercrime, under-reporting mean that criminals will have less fear of getting caught and therefore, they are more likely to commit illegal acts online. People’s attitude towards cybercrime Traditional crimes such as murder, rape and robbery can have serious effects on the victim’s life; in some cases the victim may not be able to lead a normal life after being a victim of crime. In contrast to cybercrime, the impact is not that serious, majority of users have insurance against financial frauds, and frauds are usually of low-value. Viruses can easily be filtered using antivirus software. Other offences such as cyberstalking usually cause some anxiety and distress. Only crimes such as child pornography have a greater impact, it is the only the crime which can have a serious consequences on the victims life. A recent survey suggest that only 37% are afraid to use the internet after being a victim of crime, majority of the users do continue to use the internet after being a victim. Cybercrime and e-commerce Cybercrime is a growing concern for all of us, however, the effects of cybercrime are not hindering the growth of the internet, and the effects of cybercrime on the e-commerce have not been drastic. Financial transactions over the internet are on the rise, number of people using internet for shopping is increase day by day and over one third of population is using internet banking. One of the reasons why cybercrime spiraling out of control is the fact that it is very easy to commit if have the technical knowledge, all you need is a computer connected to the internet, the crimes on the internet are hard to detect. It can be committed from anywhere in the world, the criminal could sitting in Africa and targeting his victim in Australia. In the next chapter, we shall examine the problems faced by authorities when investigating cybercrime. Jurisdiction Jurisdictional issues and the cyberspace Cyberspace is a world without defined boundaries; anyone can access any website using his computer. It can very difficult to locate the source of crime in cyberspace because relative anonymity and as easy way to shield identity. Even if the relevant authorities are able to identify the source of crime, it is not always easy to prosecute the criminal. Double criminality When dealing cross border crime, it is imperative that both countries should recognise the conduct as illegal in both jurisdictions. The principle of double criminality prohibits the extradition of a person, if the conduct in question is not recognized as a criminal offence by the country receiving the request for jurisdiction. Imagine a situation where a computer programmer from Zimbabwe sends Barclays bank a virus which causes the computers in Barclays bank to malfunction, the bank cannot carry out their business for 1 hour and as a result they lose about $1 million worth of revenue. English authorities would want to extradite the offender to England so they could prosecute the offender. In an action for extradition, the applicant is required to show that actions of the accused constitute a criminal offence exceeding a minimum level of seriousness in both jurisdictions. Imagine now that they are no laws on spreading viruses in Zimbabwe, therefore it will not possible to show offender’s action constitute as criminal behavior. If they are no laws regarding on cybercrime in Zimbabwe then he cannot be extradited and he will walk free after deliberately causing damage to Barclays bank. Cybercrime has an international dimension, it is imperative that legal protection is harmonised internationally. There are still about 33 countries such as Albania, Yugoslavia and Malta; they have no laws on cybercrimes. If there are no laws then those countries are considered as computer crime havens. The perpetrator of ‘I LOVE YOU’ virus which caused $8.5 billion worth damage was caught in Philippines but he could not be prosecuted as Philippines had no laws on cybercrime. Cybercrime is global issue and the world will need to work together in order to tackle cybercrime. How real world crime dealt across borders? In relation to real world crime which transcended national borders, an idiosyncratic network of Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties(MLATs) bound various countries to assist each other in investigating real world crime, such as drug trafficking. If there was no treaty agreement between two countries then they would contact the relevant authorities to ask for assistance and obtain evidence, this mechanism was sufficient in dealing with real world crime. This mechanism can only work if both countries have similar cybercrime laws; if any country lacks cybercrime laws then the process would fail. How should Jurisdiction be approached in Cybercrime? In a case of cyberstalking, An Australian man was stalking a Canadian Actress. The man harassed the actress by sending unsolicited emails. Australian Supreme Court of Victoria held that crimes ‘committed over the internet knows no borders’ and ‘State and national boundaries do not concern them’, therefore, jurisdiction should not be the issue. He was convicted. This case was straightforward as both nations recognise stalking as a criminal offence, however, there can be conflicts if both nations do not recognize the act as criminal. In Licra v Yahoo, French courts tried to exercise jurisdiction over an American company. Yahoo was accused of Nazi memorabilia contrary to Article R645-1 of the French Criminal Code. Yahoo argued that there are not in breach of Article R645-1 as they were conducting the auction under the jurisdiction of USA and it is not illegal to sell Nazi memorabilia under the American law. In order to prove that Yahoo is subject American jurisdiction, they argued the following points: Yahoo servers are located in US territory. Services of Yahoo are primarily aimed at US citizens. According to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, freedom of speech and expression is guaranteed and any attempt to enforce judgement which restricts freedom of speech and expression would fail for unconstitutionality. The court ruled that they have full jurisdiction over Yahoo because: The auction was open to worldwide bidders, including France. It is possible to view the auction in France, viewing and displaying Nazi memorabilia causes public nuisance and it is offence to public nuisance under the French law. Yahoo had a customer base in France, the advertisements were in French. Yahoo did have knowledge that French citizens use their site; therefore they should not do anything to offend French citizens. Yahoo ignored the French court ruling and kept saying that they French court does not have the right to exercise jurisdiction over an American company. Yahoo was warned that they would have to pay heavy fines if they don’t comply. In the end Yahoo owners did comply with the judgement they had substantial assets in France which were at risk of being confiscated if they don’t claim. The sole reason why French courts were able to exercise jurisdiction over Yahoo because it is a multinational company with large presence in France. Imagine instead of France, if the action would have been taken by courts of Saudi Arabia on auctioning playboy magazines, under the Saudi Arabian Sharia law, it is illegal to view or buy pornography. Saudi Arabia court would have failed to exercise jurisdiction over Yahoo as they don’t have any presence in Saudi Arabia but it was possible to view Yahoo auctions from Saudi Arabia. The case of Yahoo is a rare example where a court was able to exercise jurisdiction over a foreign company. In majority of the cases concerning individuals, courts trying to exercise jurisdiction over foreign elements are usually ignored. In the case of Nottinghamshire County Council v. Gwatkin (UK), injunctions were issued against many journalists to prevent them from publishing disseminating a leaked report that strongly criticises [the Councils] handling of allegations of satanic abuse of children in the 1980s. Despite the injunctions, a report appeared on an American website. The website refused to respect the English jurisdiction as they argued that the report was a public document. The Nottinghamshire had no option then to drop the case. Cybercrime has an international dimension. International law is complicated area, it can be very difficult to co-operate with authorities if there is no or weak diplomatic ties, for e.g. Pakistan and Israel have no diplomatic ties, if a situation arises where Israeli citizen hacks into State bank of Pakistan steals millions of dollars from the bank, in a situation like this, one easily assume that both countries would not co-operate with each other even though both countries recognise hacking as a offence but they do not have diplomatic ties with each other, most probably the hacker would get away with the crime. A case involving Russian hackers, they hacked into Paypal and stole 53,000 credit card details. Paypal is an American company. The Russian hackers blackmailed Paypal and asked for a substantial amount of money, they threatened they would publish the details of 53,000 credit cards if they do not receive the money. Russia and American both have signed extradition treaty but still Russian authorities failed to take action, it is still not clear why they did not take appropriate action against the Russian hackers. Both nations struggled to gain jurisdiction over each other. FBI decided to take things into their own hands by setting up a secret operation, undercover agents posed as reprenstatives of a bogus security firm Invita. The bogus security firm invited the Russian hackers to US with prospects of employment. When the interview for employment by the bogus firm Invita was being carried out, the Russian hackers were asked to display there hacking skills, one of the hackers accessed his own system in Russia to show off his skills, the FBI recorded every keystroke and later arrested the Russian hackers for multiple offences such as hacking, fraud and extortion. The keystrokes recorded were later used to hack into one of the hacker’s computer in Russia to access incriminating evidence. All this took place without the knowledge of Russian authorities. When Russian authorities came to know about whole incident, they were furious and argued that US misused their authority and infringing on another sovereign nation’s jurisdiction. Lack of co-operation in relation to jurisdiction can lead to serious problems between nations, in order to avoid such conflicts, there is need to address the jurisdiction issue and come up with a mechanism which ensures that countries co-operate with each other. Where is the Jurisdiction? In the real world crime, the conduct and the effect of the conduct are easy to pin down because we can visibly see the human carrying out the conduct and the effect of the conduct is also visible. The location of the offence and the location of the perpetrator can easily be identified. Imagine a situation in which a shooter in Canada shots an American across Niagara Falls, it is clear from the example that the conduct took place in Canada and the effect of the conduct took place in Canada. Cyberspace is not real, people say that events on cyberspace occur everywhere and nowhere, a man disseminating a virus could release a virus which travel through servers of many different country before reaching the victim, for e.g. a person makes a racist website targeting Jews in Malta, uploads the website on American servers and the website is available for everyone to see, a Jewish living in Israel comes across the website and gets offended. In a situation like this where would you bring an action, should you bring an action in Malta because the perpetrator is based over there, would bring an action in America where the server is hosted or would bring the action in Israel where the victim is? There are specific laws regarding jurisdiction issues on the internet, the world is still struggling to come up with a solution which would solve the problem of jurisdiction. Positive or Negative Jurisdiction? The principle of negative jurisdiction occurs when no country is willing to exercise jurisdiction for a cybercrime. Cybercrime can have multiple victims in different countries; the ‘love bug’ caused damage in many different countries including USA, UK, France and Germany. If the damage is caused to multiple countries then who should claim jurisdiction over the cybercrime, should it by prioritised by the amount of damage suffered by each country. If the effected countries decide not to take action against the perpetrator because it is not in their best interest, the country may be occupied by other internal problems. If no country is willing to exercise jurisdiction over a cybercrime then the perpetrator would walk free. Positive jurisdiction is opposite of negative jurisdiction, how will the issue of jurisdiction be decided if more than two countries want to exercise t

Transcription from a Broadcast of Network 23 :: Television Programs Los Angeles Essays

Transcription from a Broadcast of Network 23 The following is a complete verbatim transcription from a recent broadcast of "Network 23", a program shown on a local Los Angeles Public Access Cable Channel.Good evening, I'm Michel Kassett. This is Network 23. A couple of weeks ago we had a program on the subject of AIDS, addressing the question of whether AIDS-the AIDS virus-was created by the government; and I'm sure that some people were quite shocked by what they heard. We spent that entire program relating to you the evidence of a very substantial amount of factual evidence which supports the proposition that AIDS is a synthetic biological agent that was deliberately engineered by the US government as an instrument of depopulation. This is by far the most controversial and dangerous subject that we have ever addressed on this program, so I would like to review briefly the major points-the most significant pieces of evidence-that I presented two weeks ago.The first point was that in the early 1970's, Henry Kissinger wrote a top secret document-a National Security Memorandum ("NSM 200") -- in which he indicated that "depopulation should be the highest priority of US foreign policy towards the Third World." This Memorandum which can be obtained from the US National Archives, which was only declassified very quietly in 1990, was adopted by the National Security Council as official US foreign policy towards the Third World. Now, this is a classic example of the "secret government" in action, because of none of this was known to the Congress, and certainly, it was not known to the American people. Did any of you know that depopulation was considered a matter of US national security? Did any of you know that for the p ast 20 years, depopulation has been the highest long-range priority of US foreign policy towards the Third World? No you didn't, because it was classified-it was a secret.I would like to read for you just a piece of this document. It is written by Henry Kissinger:"Reduction of the rate of population in these States is a matter of vital US national security." [National Security Memorandum, Henry Kissinger]And we even have a map of those areas in which Kissinger indicates where depopulation would be desireable. It's all Third World countries- it's all brown people and yellow people, of course."The US economy will require large and increasing amounts of minerals from abroad, especially from less-developed countries.

The Stars Are My Destination :: essays research papers fc

The Stars My Destination Introduction '...The key turned in the lock of his soul and the door was opened. What emerged expunged the Common Man forever.'; The Stars My Destination ~pg 22 Gully Foyle. Uneducated. No skills. No merits. No recommendations. A short description given by the author Alfred Bester of his main character as the stereotypical Common Man of humanity. A man who later motivated himself to become something more than just a 'mere' man. Within the few pages of just the first chapter, Bester had pulled me into the diluted, freakish mind of Gully Foyle. the Story... As the story began, Gulliver Foyle was awaiting death aboard the wreckaged ship NOMAD in deep space. It's been six months since the NOMAD was left out to rust. Foyle just happened to be the sole survivor. Until one day, a sister ship to the NOMAD, VORGA managed to cross paths with the wreckage. Foyle did everything he could to send out rescue signals. But alas, his actions were wasted time and effort, for she had rejected him. And thus began his quest for vengeance upon the VORGA. As his ship drifted out further into space, Foyle had spent his entire time aboard not welcoming death anymore. Instead he was now obsessing himself with the destruction of VORGA. For the first time in his life, Foyle was now motivated. He felt the need to punish and there was nothing anybody could do. He had vowed to himself to fight anything that was a threat towards his plans to destroy the ship that could have saved him. While floating, into an asteroid belt, he was saved by the Scientific People of the Sargasso Asteroid. A tiny planet that was built by man. Primarily made of rock and two hundred years of salvaged ships. The tiny planet had made a new addition to their planet and population. It's rather ironic that of all people, Bester had decided to reverse the psychological role of scientists on this planet. He had turned the scientists into our definition of uncultivated savages in society. During his stay with the Scientific People, Foyle was forced into their society whether he liked it or not. They had given him a new name and tattoo across his face: NOMAD. Foyle knew he couldn't stay. He still had a score to settle and so he busted off the asteroid with a vengeance burning higher. After escaping the Sargasso Asteroid, Foyle was then picked up by the Navy and

Unforgiving Rapids :: Personal Narratives Whitewater Rafting Essays

Unforgiving Rapids The unforgiving water rushes past the boat, waiting for a false move. Called a class 5, this rapid looks more like a class 6 with the water as low as it is. Six to ten foot swells come crashing down from time to time keeping the crew sharp and wet. To the right, a thousand-foot wall of stone reaches for the sky, yearning for the omnipresent. The canyon walls look as smooth as silk, yet upon contact are as coarse as sandpaper. Quartz crystals glisten in the summer sun. No storm clouds today. The skies are clear. To the left, a valley stretches into the distance, winding back and forth like a drunk driver. Weeds take over much of the bank on either side. They stretch out for miles in either direction like they are the sole owners of the canyon. It didn't used to be this way. Ten years ago you could actually see the sandy banks most of the way down the river. Now scouting is the only way to find a nice sandy beach to set up camp. Elk along the shore are a reminder of the necessity for b oiling even the cleanest water. Lawsuits loom large and safety is a priority. The speed of the water is frightening, yet exhilarating. The water's spray is cool and keeps us laughing. The captain looks anxiously about for rocks and logs. To one side, a cliff that must be four thousand feet tall looms over the raging river like an overgrown skyscraper. The canyon contrasts against the sky like black carpet in a house with white walls. Little metallic pieces of rock mirror the sun's rays and create a magical ambiance. The sky is very blue here, like the bluest water in the ocean on a clear day; not a cloud to be seen. To the other side of the river, a canyon winds into the distance like a freeway overpass. Lots of beautiful plants line the shore of the river, leaving only a few bare places where a sandy bank can be seen. Today, elk was spotted along the shore drinking from the muddy water. What a magnificent rack! It's all a great adventure. The old boat has seen better days; gray patches stick to the orange rubber of the 16 footer. Flexible yet sturdy, the boat is comfortable, like an old shoe. There are no surprises here.

English Language Essay

English has emerged as the global language of trade and commerce in the past few decades, affecting many key aspects of business in the modern world. The English language has become the standard for all important official communications in an increasingly large number of countries with a wide variety of native languages. In the modern world, English continues to spread as the major medium through which both small businesses and large corporations do business. There are about 5,000 languages in the world today. Some have gained international status; some are developing; others are used in isolation in their region, community, or village; a few have gone extinct or have died (like Latin and Sanskrit). The number of users of the English language has grown by leaps and bounds. Second language and foreign language users are seen to exceed the number of native speakers.  · Worldwide more or less two billion people live in countries where English has official status.  · One out of five of the world’s population, speaks English with some degree of fluency.  · Over one billion had been seen in the year 2000 to continue their studies in English.  · As language of science and technology, English, the universal language, claims more or less 90% of all information in the world’s electronic retrieval systems being stored in English. English is used regularly by more than 350 million people scattered over the globe. It is the native or official language of one-fifth of the world. Of the languages of colonization it has been the one most important in Africa, Asia and the islands of the central and southern Pacific. The use of English is widespread in international trade, international scholarship, and scientific research. More than half of the world’s scientific and technical journals, as well as newspapers, are printed in English. Three-fourths of the world’s mail is in English. The Soviet Union and China use English in their propaganda broadcasts to the developing countries of Africa and Asia. English is the most widely-studied language in areas where it is not native. In Japan English is widely used in the upper grade level. In India, English is the alternate official language to Hindi. In the Philippines it is the common language or medium of communication of people speaking different languages. More or less 80% of Filipinos speak/understand English. Doing Business Worldwide English is a global language for doing business. In some industries, English is the official standard language. Therefore, an excellent command of English is required for key jobs. In addition, English has emerged as a major language for finance and the stock markets around the world. People wishing to do businesses globally need to have a good command of spoken English. The ability to clearly write in English is also of key importance, as many forms of business communication, from emails to presentations and marketing to important business contracts, are written in English. A CNN Report (CNN) Hiroshi Mikitani sees nothing wrong with the word, incorporating it easily into our discussion about Japan’s future. The internet entrepreneur and CEO of Rakuten Inc, Japan’s largest e-commerce site, intends to change his country from the inside out. â€Å"And Englishization is a part of it,† he says bluntly. With 6,000 employees and sales topping $3 billion a year, Mikitani intends Rakuten to keep growing into a global player. The goal: be as common a household name as Google in 10 years. The path to that goal, believes Mikitani, is to speak the global language of business, English. â€Å"English is the only global language. We’re doing a global business. I think this is the only way a Japanese service organization can become a global organization.† By 2012, Mikitani’s pledge is to make Rakuten an English-only corporation. All communication, verbal and email, would be sent not in Japanese, but in English. It’s a daunting task for a Japanese company headquartered in Tokyo. Last year’s Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) rankings showed Japanese test takers scored second worst in the East Asia region, below North Korea and Myanmar. Only Laos ranked lower than Japan. Honda’s CEO, Takanobu Ito, said publicly, â€Å"It’s stupid for a Japanese company to only use English in Japan when the workforce is mainly Japanese.† Mikitani doesn’t flinch at the criticism. In fact, he seems to relish it. â€Å"The nature of our business is totally different,† he says, pointing out Honda manufactures a hardware item and Rakuten deals with users on the internet. â€Å"If you want to become successful in other countries, you need to internationalize the headquarters.† Rakuten is expanding despite Japan’s macro-economic struggles. They are starting a Chinese version of Rakuten and purchasing ecommerce sites in the U.S. and France. â€Å"One thing I know, the definition of ‘country’ is going to change. Definition of ‘currency’ is going to change,† says Mikitani. â€Å"There is going to be less importance which country you’re operating from. And there’s going to be global competition, not local to local.† Mikitani is everything â€Å"Corporate Japan† is not: young, a risk-taker, outspoken and fluent in English. He started his company with a friend in 1997, using their own money. The two friends grew the business into the public corporation and powerhouse it is today. The 45 year old, energetic CEO says he is, at the core, utterly Japanese. But he disagrees with how corporate Japan and the policy makers have run the economy and country. Look at the aging demographics and the economy of Japan, says Mikitani, and the writing is on the wall for corporate Japan. Growth, he says, can only happen if Japanese companies go outside of the country for expansion and look for opportunities outside of Japan’s famously produced cars and electronics. â€Å"I felt (sic) those kind of ages is over. Now we need to really dramatically change the structure of economy of Japan and IT is going to be an extremely important part of it,† says Mikitani. â€Å"But none of the Japanese†¦ for example, politicians, truly understands from the bottom of the heart, how important that is.† Mikitani feels the two decades-long economic stagnation for Japan has fundamentally affected the country’s young, which spells trouble for the country’s future. â€Å"Japanese society, especially younger people, are so inward looking. They don’t even want to go to other countries. They want to stay here. They want to have a good life; they don’t want to be rich. They want to have a good day to day life. That’s it. And I think we need to be more sort of dynamic, outward looking,† he says. The solution, hopes Mikitani, will be found in concrete economic policy from Tokyo’s lawmakers and strong leadership from Japan’s companies. Japan can produce innovative, high quality ideas and products, says Mikitani, but the talent needs a direction. He remains positive about his country’s future, despite its problems. Rakuten means optimistic, he points out. â€Å"I think that in absolute terms, we [Japanese] are lagging. We are slowing down. I don’t think we need to be pessimistic, but our window is not so long.† An Indian Perspective English even after 36 years of independence occupies an important place in the social educational, administrative, scientific industrial and commercial life of the country. Ever since India became independent, the fortunes of English have seen many ups and downs. In accordance with the prevalent mood of hostility against everything foreign, English, considered only a foreign language, could not also escape the wrath of many people. It was decided to do away with it as early as possible. It was given a lease of fifteen years, and after that it was to be replaced by Hindi as the national and official language of the country. English was spoken and used by a micro-scopic minority of the people and they could not dominate the majority which spoke Hindi. Educationally also it was desirable to impart instruction in Hindi. Educationally also it was desirable to impart instruction in Hindi and other regional languages. Moreover, the continuance of English as the official language of the country was regarded as some sort of an affront to national honor. Did not every country have its own national and official, language, it was asked. There was much weight in all these arguments. But when the deadline, 1965, for the switch-over to Hindi came, there were unseemly controversies and riots in the country. The main opposition to Hindi came from the South. After long and tedious deliberations it was decided to continue English as an associate official language. The States were free to adopt their own languages and were to correspond with one another and the centre either in Hindi or English. Later the the three language formula was also devised. The general feeling is that Hindi as it develops and as people while learning it show, and are shown patience, will continue to gain in importance and will increasingly take over as many functions of English as possible. But along with the spread of Hindi, English will continue to be used in one way or another and it will play its due role in the nation. India is a land of many languages, cultures and religions. It is rich in variety and diversity, but there is a real danger that in the absence of a link language, its unity may just fall to bits. Considering the situation as it is today, English is the only language to discharge this important obligation. At the official level, the importance of English is obvious. It is the associate language of the Centre and most of its employees use it in official work. Since the States have adopted their regional languages for official business and many of them are averse to the use of Hindi, a virtual linguistic chaos would result if English were not used for inter-State communication. So in this sphere also, the importance of English is obvious. Interestingly, the state of Nagaland has English as its official language. In education too, the use of English cannot be dispensed with. Hindi and the regional languages, though they are developing and enjoy official patronage, are still inadequately equipped for imparting education, particularly at the university level. There is a general lack of standard text books and it may well take several decades before there is sufficient development of these languages. Again, English still enjoys a commanding position in science, technology, engineering, law, medicine, commerce, industry and the diplomatic services. It is virtually impossible to replace English in these disciplines by Hindi or any other Indian language. Considering then for a moment the absence of English from India, exchange of professors, doctors administrators, and students will cease. Research will slacken and there will be a steep decline in the quality of education. The efforts of the country to industrialize itself rapidly and to raise the standard of the masses will be seriously undermined. There will widespread disunity and this will jeopardize our freedom. So the role of English today for us is twofold. It knits the country and maintains equality and standard at all levels. Considering this important place of English, we Indians are today learning it in larger numbers than they ever did before. It is a world language and even in Russia, China etc., it is being learnt eagerly. In India those who oppose it seem to be a little prejudiced either for political reasons or because of some absurd sentimentality. Don’t they accept foreign goods, clothes and technical know-how? They do, because it is good and useful. Why then oppose English, simply because it is a foreign language? They should not forget that it was the knowledge of English that helped India gain freedom. The overall situation then appears to be this. English even after 36 years of independence occupies an important place in the social educational, administrative, scientific industrial and commercial life of the country. Those who know and support it need not despair. English will continue though it may occupy a secondary place to Hindi.