The Church of Scientology: Copyright vs. Free Speech -- Legal Law Essa

The Church of Scientology: Copyright vs. Free Speech Abstract: In 1995, the Church of Scientology sued a number of parties, including the Washington Post, in an attempt to prevent the circulation of secret documents about the â€Å"religion.† This paper examines both sides of this issue, explores the implications to copyright law and the First Amendment, and describes the actual results of the case. The Church of Scientology is a global organization with over 270 churches or missions worldwide. For decades, it has possessed followers with an almost fanatical devotion to their leader, L. Ron Hubbard. Since the advent of the Internet, the Church has begun to resort to various legal actions to maintain the secrecy of their â€Å"scriptures.† On August 4, 1995, Arnaldo Lerma received a fax from a lawyer representing the Church of Scientology. This letter demanded that he remove from his webpage certain â€Å"Advanced Technology materials† from the Church. In the letter, the Church claimed both copyright and trade secret protection for the materials [1]. The next day, Lerma received an unannounced visit from two members of the Church who wanted to express their â€Å"concern† over the materials he posted. In response to this, Lerma sent a reply to the Scientologists’ lawyer and claimed that the materials he posted were affidavits taken from the public record, and so were not subject to copyright or trade secret protection. He also informed the law firm that he had sent a copy of the disputed materials along with a tape recording of the Scientologists’ visit to a reporter from the Washington Post [2]. On the morning of August 12, 1995, Arnie Lerma’s house was raided by lawyers of the Church of Scientology two armed Federal Marshals. A... ...mputer Seized in Internet Lawsuit.† Washington Post, 13 Aug 1995. 5. http://www.xs4all.nl/~kspaink/cos/rnewman/lerma/cos-sues-washpost-8.22.95: A press released issued by the Church of Scientology on August 22, 1995. 6. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.text.html: Title 17, Section 107 of the U.S. Code 7. http://www.xs4all.nl/~kspaink/cos/rnewman/media/bj-8.25.95: A posting to the Usenet group alt.religion.scientology regarding the 25 Aug 1995 hearing before Judge Leonie Brinkema. 8. http://www.xs4all.nl/~kspaink/cos/rnewman/lerma/brinkema-post-11.28.95: An opinion issued by Judge Leonie Brinkema on 28 Nov 1995. 9. Hall, Charles W. â€Å"Church of Scientology Wins Cyberspace Copyright Fight.† Washington Post, 20 Jan 1996. 10. http://www.xs4all.nl/~kspaink/cos/rnewman/media/bj-10.8.96: An opinion issued by Judge Leonie Brinkema on 8 Oct 1996.

Egoism in Crime and Punishment :: Crime Punishment Essays

Egoism in Crime and Punishment An egocentric attitude can be seen in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. Dostoyevsky's young Raskolnikov is staggeringly arrogant. Raskolnikov commits a murder and a failed robbery in the story. His journey in overcoming his ego can be seen through his initial crime, denial of failure, and acceptance of mistakes. Raskolnikov commits his initial crime out of arrogance. "The old hag is nothing.... I killed not a human being," he says. (245) Raskolnikov feels that he has justification for killing the pawn broker. He thinks that the woman has no reason to live. He believes that the woman is less than a human, and that he is a superior being. Raskolnikov thinks that he has a right to kill. After the botched crime Raskolnikov is plagued his failures. "He was conscious at the time that he had forgotten something that he ought not forget, and he tortured himself." (107) After he carelessly kills both women, and allows for the evidence to be found, Raskolnikov realizes he did not commit the perfect crime. This devastates his ego, so he tries to cling to his previous self perception. He is also plagued with feelings of guilt. His guilt, combined with the mistakes he made during the crime, shatter his self perception of perfection. When Raskolnikov surrenders he accepts his mistakes and rejects his self-centered attitude. "It was I who killed the old woman and her sister, Lizaveta, with an axe, and robbed them," Raskolnikov confesses. (476) With his surrender he not only accepts his methodical mistakes in the execution of the crime, but he sees something beyond himself. He begins to see the magnitude and horror of his act. He had taken a life. By realizing the immorality of his crime and rejecting his self glorifying mind set, Raskolnikov accepts his own humanity. In Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov's initial crime, failure, and acceptance of mistakes are his road to overcoming his ego, as well as self discovery.

Facebook Privacy Restrictions Essay

It is alarming how fast technology is improving. Nowadays, it seems like having a Facebook account is a daily necessity or even a trend. According to a research done by TIMES magazine, more than one in four people who browse the Internet not only have a Facebook account but have returned to the site in the past thirty days. It is truly alarming how much Facebook has expanded. â€Å"Sometime in the next few weeks, Facebook will officially log its 500 millionth active citizen. † (Fletcher, 2010, TIMES, p. 6) Fletcher (2010) also stated that Facebook would be the world’s third largest country by population, which is two- thirds larger than America, if it were granted terra firma. With such a high popularity, an increasing number of Facebook users had raised the issue on privacy – limiting what others can say about you and who can say it. I believe that everyone does have the right to privacy. However, when it comes to sharing information on such a virtual yet convenient media, the Internet, can privacy restrictions really be achieved that easily and securely? In addition, will Facebook take that chance to make a major loss in its business? Devils are in the details. The Facebook’s Terms of Use may not be as fair and protective on their users’ privacy disclosure. As argued by Yoder in his website article â€Å"Top Ten Reasons You Should Quit Facebook†, Facebook not only compels its users to keep updating by threatening to terminate their accounts, it also states that it owns your data. Some may argue that these terms may only be set to defend the interests of Facebook. However, who can protect the interests of the many Facebook users? Being such a broadly used media, is it not the least reasonable to review the ethics policy and start readjusting the privacy settings? On the other hand, Facebook is not the only one to take the blame. The account users may have most likely overlooked the Terms of Use and simply jumped to click on the â€Å"I Agree† button just to start using Facebook as soon as possible. When these users found out that things are not going as they had expected, they start pointing their fingers to others and maybe neglecting their own responsibilities on the faults. Readjusting the privacy settings seems to be the only solution. However, who really has the persistence to fight for the change? How many people are really willing to give up the most widely- used socializing network just to defend a right that may take a considerable time to be protected? This shows successfulness of Facebook’s tactic – allowing a channel for emotional investments of its users and creating a cultural shift, making the public more accustomed to openness. The research done by TIMES magazine founded that over seventy percent of current Facebook users expressed negative feelings when asked how life would be like without Facebook. This may be attributed to Facebook’s development of a formula for the precise number of aha! moments a user must have before he or she is hooked, reported from an interview with the CEO (Fletcher, 2010, TIMES, p. 19). If the users leave Facebook, they might get the oh-no! moment in which they find out how much social updates they had missed. Facebook had been so successful in making itself indispensible. Who would really want to lose the connection? Some may have tried to remove their accounts. However, Yoder (2010) revealed that it is difficult to genuinely delete your account. Facebook will only deactivate your account but you will still be spammed by Facebook. Facebook is not really worried about losing its users because of the uproar on privacy control on its site. Similar protest had been demonstrated before such as the default settings of news feeds on the website which allows the action of a user to be published on the social update wall of their friends. Now, it seems silly to protest against news feeds. Though the nature of the two incidents are not at most similar, Facebook has so little to worry about as it is still operating within the restrictions set by the law. It is a frustrating matter to define the suitable extent of restriction on privacy for data disclosure on the Internet. Protection is undeniably necessary. However, when it comes to security on such a virtual ground, it seems the only one who can protect you is yourself.

Endoplasmic Reticulum

Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum The smooth endoplasmic reticulum functions as a packaging system, and unlike its counter part, the rough endoplasmic reticulum, it does not have ribosomes attached to it. The endoplasmic reticulum works closely with the Golgi apparatus, ribosomes, RNA, mRNA, and tRNA. It creates a network of membranes found through the whole cell. The endoplasmic reticulum may also look different from cell to cell, depending on the cell's function.Smooth endoplasmic reticulums are shaped more like tubes. The endoplasmic reticulum is important because it plays a big part in a cell because it acts like a storage organelle. It helps create steroids and proteins then stores them. In muscle cells, it stores calcium. Smooth endoplasmic reticulum is also used to synthesise lipids. This synthesis creates lipoproteins which is found in the liver. The endoplasmic reticulum also stores glycogen.The endoplasmic reticulum consists of tubules and vesicles that branch forming a network. In some cells there are dilated areas like the sacs of rough endoplasmic reticulum. The endoplasmic reticulum is folded and stacked layer upon layer within the cell and is connected to the cell's nuclear membrane Another function of the endoplasmic reticulum is to control the movement of newly synthesized proteins to their proper locations in the cell or to the membrane to be sent outside the cell.This is done by a process called budding, where small vesicles of smooth endoplasmic reticulum are cut off to carry the proteins to their new spots in the cell. It also stores ions in solution that the cell may need at a later time. The endoplasmic reticulum allows molecules to be moved between the lumen and the cytoplasm, and since it is connected to the double-layered nuclear envelope, it gives a route between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. In muscle cells the endoplasmic reticulum releases calcium to trigger muscle contractions.The endoplasmic reticulum also has a role in drug toleranc e. The smooth endoplasmic reticulum functions to get rid of poisons, and drugs are considered a poison to the cell, if you consume more drugs, your cells will make more endoplasmic reticulum to get rid of the poisons. The cycle will the continue, the more drugs you take, the more smooth endoplasmic reticulum your cells will make. Your body builds up a tolerance for drugs because it will have a lot of smooth endoplasmic reticulum to discard the drugs, and Endoplasmic Reticulum The primary purpose of this research paper is to find out whether the endoplasmic reticulum in the eggs of animals undergoes any structural or morphological changes during fertilization. The experiment studies this phenomenon by microinjecting a dye in unfertilized egg and then visualized using a confocal microscope to detect any alterations in structure. Eventually, this paper tries to explain the role played by the endoplasmic reticulum in fertilization. The research question that is being tested in this paper was about the Endoplasmic reticulum and how it plays a role in the fertilization which can be evidenced by structural changes that taking place during the fertilization process. The most important aspect of this experiment in the paper is the microinjection of eggs with soya beans oil saturated with DiI solution which enables visualization of the endoplasmic reticulum using the confocal microscope. The dye then spreads through the ER only in 30 minutes during which the cisternae and tubules of the ER can be identified. This method of staining is also utilized to stain the plasma membrane which is also a bilayer membrane. This experiment, therefore, teaches that the ER is a complex organelle, bilayer membrane with lipophilic layers.The weakness of this paper shows the changes in calcium levels in the fertilized eggs of Sea Urchin during the first few minutes when ER structural changes are thought to take place. The ER has an internal compartment that is involved in regulation of calcium. There is evidence that calcium is produced during fertilization. Is this calcium from the ER? Does calcium generation cause the structural changes in ER? These questions have not been answered by this research paper. Also, the control experiment for this would include a repeat of the tests under similar temperature conditions as previously conducted research experiments to compare the calcium levels. If this was my experiment, I would conduct similar research (ER changes) on large mammal animal models using unfertilized eggs incubated and fertilized at room and atmospheric temperature (conditions).

Christmas party Essay

The dorm that I am supposed to live in was a terrible sight. At least that was my initial reaction during my â€Å"college move in day†. Countless staircases, smelly and scary corridors, a room that is so small and a chatty roommate gave me such a negative first impression of where I am to be stuck in throughout college life. An impression that fortunately is not going to last†¦ Countless Staircases and Odd-Smelling Corridors The seemingly countless staircases and endless climbing to the third floor of the dormitory made it excruciatingly difficult for my feet to move on. The corridors that lead to my room are quite dark and wood-smelling making it more creepy and intolerable to walk through. Miniature Room The room is exceedingly small that there is almost no space in between those two sets of twin bunk beds and one king size foldout bed that may be turned out into a sofa during daytime. In spite of its size though, it holds a private bath with shower. It also has a cable television, coffeemaker, DVD player, microwave oven, as well as, refrigerator. Conversational Roommate The dorm room is made lively by an exceedingly talkative roommate. We are four in the room: one is a senior, another is a sophomore and two of us are freshmen. Our roommate who is already in the senior year greeted me by bombarding me with countless questions including: â€Å"What course are you enrolled in? Are you going to take up BS Biology as well? Do you know the scientific name of spider? What is your favorite animal? Do you have the courage to hold large frogs, remove the skin of a cat, and dissect a horse? † When I responded â€Å"yes† to the first two questions and â€Å"no† to the third and last question, she was quick to comment and suggest that I should be prepared with college life and that even it is only the first day the following day, our professors are sure to already give us excruciating quizzes. Dwellers’ Relationship Our room in the dormitory though it looks and smells very old is still exceptionally lively because of the dwellers’ relationship with each other. Sometimes, we do not bother to go to the mess hall and eat or to the mini library and study room to browse through our lessons. We just stay in our room no matter how cramped or inadequate the space is. We bond together in our room when â€Å"working out, eating, and even studying† (Xplore.. n. p. ). Sleeping Difficulties Since the dorm room is designed to hold all beds close to each other and no dividers were made available, I had troubles resting or sleeping because two of my roommates have been engaged in non-stop snoring especially at night. Enjoyable Dorm Room There are other pleasant things or descriptions that go along with our dorm room in spite of all the aforementioned complaints and negative adjectives mentioned though. First of all is when there are social events, for instance, â€Å"open house†, â€Å"Christmas party†, â€Å"valentine’s day celebration† etc. During these days/events, the dorm room, especially ours is full of life. During â€Å"open house† days, the room is full of decoration, sandwiches, donuts, as well as, fruits are set on the table, the coffeemaker is continuously switched on; while during â€Å"Christmas party†, even the corridors are spray painted with green and red, the walls of the room are newly painted with Christmas designs as well, then gold-colored balls and multi-colored lights are placed after also, miniature trees are placed in a corner along with small socks and gifts beside and around it; during â€Å"valentine’s day† however, red hearts of all sizes may be seen, either they are glued on to the walls or hanging from all over the ceiling. The decorated dorm room at the time of social events uphold the emotions of an individual that even if loved ones are not living with you in that room, you are bound to feel that you are at home and they will be there for you no matter what (Xplore.. n. d. ). Second, we have our own lockers outsized enough for our backpacks. The hassle of packing before leaving and unpacking after arrival is avoided because we can just place our things there when we get to the dorm and we can just pick it up the next time we leave for school again. Third, folded study tables are provided to us to make studying more interesting and motivating. These study tables have several drawers wherein we can place our school supplies including our books, notebooks, pens, pencils, etc. there are other small compartments as well for any school-related material that needs to be placed where it can be taken speedily and conveniently. Fourth, the dorm room is also provided with an â€Å"exterior patio† where you can enjoy your cup of coffee in the morning while watching the ever bright rising sun. It is also the perfect area for making abstract paintings during a lazy afternoon. In addition to that, it is wonderful to just sit there and observe the slowly setting of the sun and even the moon and stars in the middle of the night. A place that is just right for students who wanted to relax, reminisce, or just stare into blank space while passing the time. Finally, the dorm room is full of life because of the things that are in it. These include shining gold and silver medals, as well as, elevated & soaring trophies. All these are bagged by our higher level roommates during the previous semesters. The gold and silver medals were typically acquired from academic contests like science, math, and history quiz bees; while the trophies were obtained from soccer championships. The room seemed to be very much alive because it has gotten hold of such awards. The room is radiating with brilliance, sport-mindedness, determination, intelligence, competence, and excellence as it exhibits the recognitions, prizes, and rewards of the people that it houses. Reference Xplor Communications. On- Versus Off- Campus: Part 1. 2004. n. a. 22 January 2008 http://getouttoday. com/collegelife/living/apartment/aptvdorm. htm

Islam Traditions

Islam is a tradition of love and submission to God that ultimately strives for peace. The ancient religion emerged in the seventh century and was able to appeal to the public through its deeply entrenched attitudes to peace. Islam’s constant endeavour for peace can be presented through its ancient traditions and sacred texts, history and historical events and current practices and contemporary events of the religion. The sacred texts of Islam are the Quran, which contains the revelations from Allah and the Hadith, which outlines the way of the prophet Muhammad. These sacred texts are fundamental to Islam and it is through these texts that Muslims formulate an understanding of peace. This is reflected through the Quranic statement: â€Å"O ye who believe! Come, all of you, into complete peace and follow not the footsteps of evil. Surely he is your open enemy. † (2:208) Despite the world of violence and belligerence that Muhammad was born into, his approach to the ethics of war and peace differed from the prevailing tribal culture of the time. Muhammad’s attitude with regards to the concept of peace was one of active non-violent resistance and open defiance of persecution by non-believers. The essence of this is represented in the Quranic verse: â€Å"The recompense of evil is punishment like it, but whoever forgives and amends, he shall have his reward from Allah; surely he does not love the unjust. † (Sural al-Shura 42:40-43 ‘The counsel’) The history of the religion emerged in Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad, and later in Medina. Medina was situated on one of the Middle East’s principal trade routes and is home to a large religious shrine and sacred site known as the Kaaba. It was here that that the news of the new prophet was carried from distant lands. One of the most historical events within the history of Islam was the death of the prophet Muhammad in 632 CE. After Muhammad’s death, Abu Baker; Muhammad’s successor and father in law, along with three other ‘rightly guided’ caliphs led the early Muslim community to further success and rapid growth. There is some dispute, however, between the Shi’i and the Sunni branches of Islam as to who is the rightful successor of Muhammad. Shi’is believe that Ali, Muhammad’s closest relative and fourth caliph is indeed the true leader or imam of the Muslim community. The Muslim objective of worshipful submission to God is practiced through the five pillars of Islam. These five duties are a unifying force for Muslims all over the world. The ‘pillars of faith’ are described as the declaration of faith, daily prayer, obligatory almsgiving, fasting in Ramadan and the pilgrimage to Mecca. These everyday practices demonstrate how the individual, through their current, personal devotion, strives for peace. Within Islam, the concept of peace is twofold. Firstly one must achieve peace with God and therefore with oneself; in order to secondly, be at peace with the rest of the world. Islam teaches the importance of strengthening one’s individual relationship with god. Sufism, an ancient mystical movement that marks the spiritual dimension of Islam stresses the importance of the Muslim transcending their base desires and worldly attachments in order to fully allow God’s light to enter their heart. This further reinforces that there can be no universal peace until inner peace and submission to the will of God is achieved. Islam notes that those who strive for peace will experience positive consequences from god. These positive actions can only be experienced by people if there is peace in the world, as written in the Quran. â€Å"Enter it [al-janna] in peace and justice. † (15:46) the place referred to in this verse is the Islamic concept of the ultimate paradise, or essentially heaven. This shows that the qualities for al-janna or the ultimate paradise for which all Muslims aspire are peace and justice. Muslims acknowledge that humans can have a tendency towards aggression, violence and greed. Jihad is the internal struggle against evil temptations in order to fulfil Allah’s desire for peace throughout humankind. It is the Muslim’s duty in the world to do good and prevent harm and evil in every way, therefore jihad essentially runs through all aspects of a muslim’s life. Contemporary Islam unfortunately faces a great amount of criticism and suspicion from the western world. This is due to misunderstandings of the religion, as well as extremist groups that believe that they must fight and act in violence in order to achieve peace for Islam. This contradicts the majority of Muslims, who constantly try to portray peace and kindness to the world, as the Quran informs them to do. And those who believe and do good are made to enter gardens, beneath which rivers flow, to abide in them by their lord’s permission; their greeting therein is, peace! † This reflects the positive consequences that are promised to Muslims who act peacefully throughout their life. It also further reinforces that acting in a way of peace, justice and goodwill will eventually have positive advantage s for all Muslims. Because of such contradictions, Australian Muslims in particular join in initiatives established to increase non-Muslim Australian’s knowledge of the religion. Through these initiatives and through increasing the dialogue between Muslims, Christians and Jews; contemporary Islam attempts to inform the world of their peaceful intentions. It is in the interest of many Muslims to conduct peaceful campaigns such as marches and protests that publically condemn war as well as showing that they do not condone the behaviour of confused, violent and extreme Islamic behaviour. There are a myriad of Muslim organisations for peace activism that contribute to educating people-as well as getting people together to speak up for peace and non-violence. Some of these organisations are: The Coalition of Women for Peace, Muslim Peace Fellowship, Muslim World Initiative, and the World Assembly of Muslim Youth. These organisations clearly show that the majority of the contemporary Muslim community are striving for both peace in Australia, and peace in the world. It can therefore be said that Islam, rich in its ancient history and contemporary practices, is a religion that constantly strives for peace in the world and peace in the minds of all followers.

Forensic Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Forensic Accounting - Essay Example (Lexicom, 2007) The standards that have been set are usually fixed making it hard for investors from other states to operate using the same starndards.Foreign investors usually have their standards and it becomes hard for them to cope with the new standards. (Lexicom, 2007) Principle based systems will provide a conceptual framework basis that will be followed by the accountants. In centrally, rule based systems has detailed rules which are to be followed. Under the principle based system, one will lay out the objectives of good reporting and then provides guidance that explains the objectives. In rule based systems the rules are unavoidable and its intent is not to provide guidance. Both systems are used by accountants depending on the nature of the objective. (Toppe, 2008) 1.2.1 IASC.This was formed as a not for profit organisation that is incorporated in the US. It is the parent entity of the IASB which is mandated with setting of standards. Its structure includes Trustees, Standard Advisory council, IASB and the International Financial Reporting Interpretation committees. (IFRS, 2012) 1.2.2 IASB assumes the accounting standard setting responsibilities from the IASC.This is because there was restricting on the move to shape IASC for the future. The structure includes IASC foundation. (IFRS, 2012) 1.2.3 SAC (Standard Advisory Council) is vital for it ensures that the objectives of the companies are met. This consists of the selected board of directors. They address on the matters that relates to the standards of the organisation. (Board, 2008) 1.2.4 IFRS Interpretation committee ensures that a consensus on the appropriate accounting treatment and providing an authoritative guidance on those issues. This normally consists of 14 voting members appointed by the trustees. (Board, 2008) 1.3.2 EC (European Commission) is mandated to regulate and