Human Rights anyone?

I have just read that the Yorkshire Ripper is appealing for freedom on the grounds that his human rights have been breached but frankly, should he even be allowed to have human rights? Let alone critcise them!

I mean what about the human rights of the 13 women he killed, and the many more who were at risk? He certainly did not consider theirs so why on earth should his be considered now?

Too often it seems that the law does not differenciate between right and wrong but between who can give the best argument due to ludicrous loopholes.

His lawyer Saimo Chahal, was named Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year 2006 for “repeatedly pushing the boundaries of the law on behalf of those with mental illness”. But this one woman’s crusade against breaching the law should not put the rest of us at risk. How would she feel if he did it again?

He has been responsible for countless physical and mental torment and should not be allowed to walk the streets again.

In a campaigning blog for human rights, former United Nations Secretary General, and Elder, Kofi A. Annan, said every state had to protect its people by respecting fundamental human rights. But what happens when one’s human rights put another’s at risk?

I’m all for human rights but they should have to be of a decent human standard to warrant it.

The future of magazine websites

Hachette Filipacchi have set their sites on revolutionising their magazine websites. With the launch of Sugarscape, the new social networking site for Sugar magazine, and the introduction of Elle girl online, they have fast secured their place at the top of the teenage market.

But will all the other publishers follow suit? And more importantly do they need to?

It appears that people, teenagers especially, want more than just content from their magazine websites, they want interaction and technology. Gone are the days when the Internet was merely used for information, it is now one of the top forms of entertainment and will inevitabley continue to grow.

However it could very possibly just be a phase, after all there are many critics that have argued the same about the integral social networking sites we use, but despite losing a small percentage of their audience, pulling in approximately 8 million people in the UK alone is generally not bad.

I for one, can see the benefits of such a site, after all why just read it when you can fully interact with it. People always want more, that is just the way things are.

Just like Facebook has changed the way people interact with one another on the web, Sugarscape is surely set to do the same for magazine websites.

Re-new, re-use, recycle

With a little inspiration from, Mommypie, and I thank my mother, I think it is time we all looked at what we can do to help the world we live in. After reading their blogs I understand where they are coming from. I mean this is the planet we are living in- people need to be more aware…and the first person I have started with is myself!

Recycling is not something I’d ever bothered with or even thought about much before. I’d never considered where all our rubbish goes or what happens to it and I was quite content to think it disappeared entirely after I’d left the bin out for the collectors.

Like so many other people out there I didn’t think I had much of an impact on the the preservation of our environment.

However once I’d separated my first set of plastics from paper and bought my first bag for life, i felt a new found sense of achievement, not only was I helping to save tons of energy but I was reducing greenhouse gas emissions and saving trees.

And that was just me, recycling schemes can not only help the environment but they can also save the economy millions of pounds and raise money for good causes. A recent scheme to recycle textiles from homes in Northamptonshire collected more than 25 tonnes and raised nearly £13,000 to run their air ambulance service.

However some people find even more inventive ways to help the environment and re-use materials. A New York artist has used recycled plastic bags to create animated designs. He uses the updraft coming through vents in the streets from the subway to inflate the plastic animals.

We all have ways in which we can help so now instead of just throwing things away with no concern I think about what I can do. My discarded magazines can help save trees and my diet coke bottle could light a lamp for a few hours.

Even if it’s only the basics it’s a start.

Internet bans for those who illegally download???

It is claimed that illegal downloads are costing film and music companies billions of pounds in lost revenue every year and in the latest government crackdown people who download illegally could be cut off from their Internet on a three strike basis.

This new law proposes users will recieve a warning for the first offence, a suspension for the second and the termination of their internet contract if caught a third time. Broadband companies who fail to do this could face prosecution whilst their customers could find their details being passed on to the courts.

This might seem very thought out, with over six million broadband users estimated to download illegally in this country alone, how can the Internet companies possibly afford to enforce and substain this? Let alone what it means for the Internet itself, and all the technological advances of the last decade.

It appears that whilst the government is looking for ways to punish people who don’t pay for their entertainment they should be looking for ways to make legal downloading cheaper and more beneficial to users. After all they can’t possibly prosecute everyone, so rather than scare people they need to look at actually solving the problem.

With living costs constantly rising and the latest products forever churned out it is impossible to keep up with our favourite trends and entertainment without a little help, but rather than provide this it appears the government wants to safeguard its money-making operation at all costs.

It seems that we can not be a society that retains its right to privacy, instead we are moving further towards a ‘big brother’ institution whereby our actions are constantly scrutinised and penalised.

If this law were to go ahead it could just be the start of the infringement of our human rights.

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