Patriot Act 2: The Domestic Security Enhancement Act :: essays research papers

Patriot Act 2: The Domestic Security Enhancement Act   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the horrendous terrorist attack on the New York Trade Center a new Bill was passed by congress shortly after September 11, 2004. This bill is known as The Domestic Security Enhancement Act also called Patriot Act 2. This bill was designed as a follow-up to the USA Patriot Act to work in increasing government surveillance, detention and other law enforcement powers while reducing basic checks and balances on such powers. By the beginning of the year 2003 a draft of the legislation was available.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Amongst the most severe problems the bill diminishes personal privacy by removing checks on government power, diminishes public accountability by increasing government secrecy, and diminishes corporate accountability under the pretext of fighting terrorism. Also the bill undermines fundamental constitutional rights of Americans under overboard definitions of â€Å"terrorism† and â€Å"terrorist organization† or under a terrorism prete xt. Furthermore, unfairly targets immigrants under the pretext of fighting terrorism. (http://www.aclu.org/Safeand Free/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=11835&c=206)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Patriot Act 2 would give more power to the government, eliminating and weakening many of the checks and balances that remained on government surveillance, wiretapping, detention and criminal prosecution even after passage of the USA Patriot Act. The Patriot Bill was drafted by the Bush Administration that would expand law enforcement and intelligence gathering authorities, reduce or eliminate judicial oversight over surveillance, authorities secret arrests, create DNA database based on unchecked executive â€Å"suspicion,† create new death penalties, and even seek to take American citizenship away from persons who belong to or support disfavored political groups. A few renditions and provisions of the bill is explained in the next few paragraphs. These are only a few of the examples of the powers the new bill will give the government. (http://www.cdt.org/security/usapatriot/030210cole.pdf)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Section 201 authorizes secret arrests, overturning federal court decision requiring government disclose identity of persons it has detained during the 9/11 investigations. This part mandate that all arrests in connection to international terrorism investigations remain secret until indictment is filed. In our history we have never permitted secret arrests, it contradicts our rights and liberty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Section 312 end the consent Decrees Against Illegal Police Spying. Automatically eliminating any consent decree governing police spying abuse entered before 9/11 no matter the basis of the pronouncement. This section states that it would eliminate consent pronouncements for the future with respect to police spying, and place substantial restrictions on judicial injunctions   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Section 503 provide the Attorney General unchecked power to deport foreign nationals, including lawful permanent resident aliens.

A Good Friday Celebration Essay

In many countries of the world that celebrate Easter, we think of dressing in our best clothes and going to church to pass our respects to Christ. If not Catholic or Christian, we think of a nice peaceful day with bunnies, Easter Egg Hunts for the kids, and a nice day to barbeque with family and friends. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world in a small country made up of thousands of islands is Philippines, a country that contains a majority of uneducated religious people, mostly Catholics and Christians, whom celebrate Easter in a much more traditional sense: through crucifixion re-enactments. This annual celebration of the death of Christ merges traditions of the Catholic Church with Filipino folk superstitions. So why do Filipinos go against the church wishes to emulate the crucifixion when religion is clearly a major role in their lives? Many of the people participate for penance, others as a sign of sacrifice for their prayers to God, some to honor their vow they made to the mselves and God, and others just for the experience whilst the church objects and cry out in objections of corporal punishment. Unfortunately for the church, tradition trumps the advice of the bishop and church leaders annually. Months before the scheduled re-enactments of the crucifixion begins, many of the participants will start forging their own three-inch, stainless steel nails (as seen from the photo on the on the bottom left, above, taken in 2011). The nails appear to frame the man’s face whose eyes looked glazed over and his overall appearance to be burdened with years of suffering. The points of the nails show the sharpness of the object, exposing the man’s tolerance for physical discomfort. The photo taken by Erik de Castro, captured the devotion and the man’s grub work for his chance to show his God his faith through his own crucifixion during Good Friday. In the early morning of Good Friday, thousands of people in the Philippines get ready for the celebration by first attending church then going home to cook a feast while a few hundred people start to get ready for the parade before the crucifixion. During this time, many local and foreign tourists start lining the streets, making the religious ritual into more of a gimmick, which seems to raise tourism. At around mid-day, the participants start their journey through the towns and cities to the crucifixion site. Participants will wear white and will whip their backs (as seen in the photo on the right) for every sin they have performed throughout the year. These worshipers will not only whip themselves with bamboo and rope but wear crowns of thorns on their heads—made of barbwire, as shown in the photo below– and walk barefoot to the sacred ground where the crucifixion portrayals come alive. The photo above shows the beauty of unison through the color of pants and the contrast of the blood, the symmetrical lines the men are in, and the whips going back and forth during the infliction of pain for sins. If you look closer, one man’s back is not nearly as bloody as the rest rendering us to question if he doesnâ €™t have as many sins or if he is trying to cheat pain and scarring by not whipping himself with as much force as the others. In the course of an interview with a twenty-sixth year veteran of the ritual, Arturo Bating, a faith leader in his community, has stated that he does the annual ritual because it was â€Å"a vow [he] had made to God so that He will spare [his] family from sickness.† While another twenty-sixth year veteran, Ruben Enaje, stated that he started engaging in the crucifixion ceremony because he believes that God was watching over him when he survived after falling from a building during work. Countless other devotees participate for reasons of atoning for sins or to â€Å"pray for the sick or a better life or give thanks for what they believe were miracles.† From these veterans, we can understand how these folk superstitions ties in with the traditions of the Catholic Church. But why does the Catholic Church object to a tradition of crucifixion re-enactments? Some like Amparo Santos, meanwhile, believe: â€Å"It was not my will, it was God’s will†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and cla iming â€Å"to have received ‘divine messages’ while hanging on the cross.† But many church leaders are unconvinced; which is somewhat ironic for them being men of the Church and where belief and faith in the divine supernatural is part of their job description. Church leaders like Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Pampanga encourage the meditation of Christ’s death rather than the â€Å"self-flagellation and crucifixions† expatiating that the practices â€Å"are an imperfect imitation with doubtful theological and social significance.† Bishop David also states that â€Å"most of those who get themselves crucified or those who hurt themselves are the ‘un-churched.’† In other words, the Bishop is saying that the people who are most likely to participate in emulating crucifixions are the baptized Catholic people who hardly attend church services, which seem to be an unfair way to perceive the Catholic devotees. In final consideration, nearing the end of the parade and coming to the crucifixion site, a multitude of on-lookers gasp and hold their breaths while they admire the participants go through the agonizing torture of nails through their palms and feet while wearing a crown of thorns. What we can take away from the two photos above, is that women, although quite uncommon, can too be seen participating in the traditional crucifixion. The photo on the left shows more of how the Filipino tradition is becoming more gimmicky to attract tourists by the helpers dressed in costumes as Roman soldiers, while the image on the right, shows more of the traditional ritual, where people come together to help crucify the people wanting the experience or doing it for a reason entirely their own. While church leaders continue to object, we can see that tradition will outrival the advice of the Church to end crucifixion re-enactments. Works Cited AFP. Filipino fanatics re-enact crucifixion for Good Friday. 6 April 2012. 15 January 2013 . Bernardino Balabo, Julian Labores and D’jay Lazaro. Tradition Trumps Church Teachings. 4 April 2011. 14 January 2013 . Press, Associated. â€Å"17 crucified in Philippines in Good Friday re-enactment.† 6 April 2012. Chicago Sun-Times. 15 January 2013 . Press, Assoicated. â€Å"Philippine Worshippers Endure Crucifixion for Good Friday.† 21 March 2008. Fox News. 14 January 2013 .

Human Trafficking And Its Effects On Society - 1273 Words

Slavery. When you hear that word, what images come to mind? Most see loaded boats filled with kidnapped Africans, the brutality of greedy men, and the pain of the victims. Although some think slavery is an ideal of the past, it is in fact still very present in the modern day world, and the images associated with it are almost identical. Human trafficking, or â€Å"the modern slavery,† is defined as the â€Å"organized criminal activity in which human beings are treated as possessions to be controlled and exploited (as by being forced into prostitution or involuntary labor)† by Merriam Webster Dictionary (np). At any given time this affects 2.4 million people, 80% of whom are sexually exploited. This paper will highlight the tragic past of human trafficking for sexual exploitation and its current effect on society. To begin with, the mindset behind slavery and captivity has always intrigued me. As a child, I never understood the reason why someone would ever treat another human so terribly. As I have gotten older, I now understand the evil that is in the world, specifically that is connected to greed and power. I have selected this topic because I would consider myself to be an activist when it comes to the rights of those in captivity, particularly females, and I believe the only way this monstrosity could ever end is by spreading awareness and giving the people in captivity a voice when they cannot defend themselves. Human trafficking has existed since before written recordsShow MoreRelatedHuman Trafficking And Its Effects On Society2954 Words   |  12 PagesNothing drives our emotions or influences our understanding of horrific stories-than those of the modern-day trafficking. Human trafficking is a very problematic issue in our society today and more victims are being taken advantage of w hether it’s through slavery, sexual exploitation, organ trade, or even forced labour. In most cases, the victims of trafficking is often known to be transferred from one country to another and forced to work for a benefit of the crime. In other words, it’s very commonRead MoreHuman Trafficking And Its Effects On Society2231 Words   |  9 PagesHuman Trafficking When the word slavery is heard, what usually comes to mind? For me, something of the past that usually involves the deportation by means of force of Africans into a colonizing America. The word usually makes me reflect on all of my history classes that I’ve been in throughout the years learning about how tragic it was, and how we, over the course of many years, abolished it. If you asked me a couple weeks ago what I knew about modern slavery, I would tell you that it’s a smallRead MoreHuman Trafficking And Its Effects On Society2095 Words   |  9 Pagesof women have disappeared due to sexual labor and trafficking in Moldova, Ukraine, and Russia. There are people around the world suffering from psychological damage, PTSD, anxiety, flashbacks, fear, insomnia, depression, sleep disorders, panic attacks, self-blame, and suicidal thoughts. Men and women are locked in factories at night to prevent escape. Traffickers use their patterns of travel to move terrorists. The prof its made from human trafficking are part of the funding power for conflict and corruptionRead MoreHuman Trafficking And Its Effects On Society1206 Words   |  5 PagesHuman rights are something that everyone receives as soon as they are born in the world. These rights are given to everyone just for simply living on the earth no matter their race, sex, religion, or ethnicity. When someone tries to take one of those rights away it is called a human rights violation. A right that is interesting is the Right to Freedom. 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The pimp is a person thatRead MoreHuman Trafficking And Its Effects On Society1173 Words   |  5 PagesHuman trafficking is organized crime where human beings are controlled and exploited (Merriam-Webster).   Despite slavery being illegal in the United States and countless countries around the world, human trafficking known as the modern slavery still exists both domestically and internationally.   There are multiple forms of human trafficking such as forced labor, sex trafficking, child exploitation, organ and tissue trafficking, and people smuggling (INTERPOL).   Specifically looking at sex traffickingRead MoreHuman Trafficking And Its Effects On Society Essay1829 Words   |  8 Pages Human Trafficking Imagine an individual having a pet that they raised and loved for, then one day that pet got taken away from them by another individual. The one who stole the animal then claims it as their own and forces the pet to breed with another and then keeps it locked in a cage until they find a new use for it. They barely provide it with the efficient amount of attention and feed it only enough to not starve it out. Picturing this is disgusting and hard to imagine to happen to suchRead MoreHuman Trafficking And Its Effects On Society Essay1751 Words   |  8 PagesHuman Trafficking is one of the many horrors that occur across the world that is not spoken about enough in society. Human trafficking can include organ trafficking, prostitution, child pornography, forced labor, debt bondage, child labor and child soldiers. In all cases of human trafficking, human beings are controlled and exposed for profit the most common type of profit being money. People who are victims of human trafficking can be found working in a myriad of places such as massage parlorsRead MoreHuman Trafficking, the Modern Slavery1034 Words   |  5 PagesGlobal Perspectives Essay #2 Human Trafficking Causes and Effects Human Trafficking, The Modern Slavery Introduction Human trafficking is a big problem all around the world. Every year, thousands of men, women and children are kidnapped by traffickers, and forced into sexual exploitation and slavery. In this essay, I will talk about the causes of human trafficking and what effects it has on the victims, families, and society. Causes The cause of human trafficking is mainly the organizedRead MoreHuman Trafficking Is A Grave Crime And A Serious Violation Of Human Rights1555 Words   |  7 PagesHumana Trafficking Introduction Human trafficking refers to the practice of recruiting, transferring, transporting, receiving, or harboring people through the use of force, threat, or other forms of abduction, coercion, deception, fraud, as well as abuse of power or vulnerability position (Segrave 2). Human trafficking is a grave crime and a serious violation of human rights as it involves a broad range of human exploitations, including forced labor, sexual exploitation, slavery practices, as well