Human Rights Violations Essay

Human rights are commonly understood as â€Å"inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being.†[1] Human rights are thus conceived as universal (applicable everywhere) and egalitarian (the same for everyone). These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national and international law. The doctrine of human rights in international practice, within international law, global and regional institutions, in the policies of states and in the activities of non-governmental organizations, has been a cornerstone of public policy around the world. The idea of human rights states, â€Å"if the public discourse of peacetime global society can be said to have a common moral language, it is that of human rights.† Despite this, the strong claims made by the doctrine of human rights continue to provoke considerable skepticism and debates about the content, nature and justifications of human rights to this day. Indeed, the question of what is meant by a â€Å"right† is itself controversial and the subject of continued philosophical debate. Many of the basic ideas that animated the human rights movement developed in the aftermath of the Second World War and the atrocities of The Holocaust, culminating in the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Paris by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The ancient world did not possess the concept of universal human rights. Ancient societies had â€Å"elaborate systems of duties†¦ conceptions of justice, political legitimacy, and human flourishing that sought to realize human dignity, flourishing, or well-being entirely independent of human rights†. The modern concept of human rights developed during the early Modern period, alongside the European secularization of Judeo-Christian ethics. The true forerunner of human rights discourse was the concept of natural rights which appeared as part of the medieval Natural law tradition that became prominent during the Enlightenment with such philosophers as John Locke, Francis Hutcheson, and Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui, and featured prominently in the political discourse of the American Revolution and the French Revolution. From this foundation, the modern human rights arguments emerged over the latter half of the twentieth century. Gelling as social activism and political rhetoric in many nations put it high on the world agenda. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. History of concept The modern sense of human rights can be traced to Renaissance Europe and the Protestant Reformation, alongside the disappearance of the feudal authoritarianism and religious conservativism that dominated the Middle Ages. Human rights were defined as a result of European scholars attempting to form a â€Å"secularized version of Judeo-Christian ethics†. Although ideas of rights and liberty have existed in some form for much of human history, they do not resemble the modern conception of human rights. According to Jack Donnelly, in the ancient world, â€Å"traditional societies typically have had elaborate systems of duties†¦ conceptions of justice, political legitimacy, and human flourishing that sought to realize human dignity, flourishing, or well-being entirely independent of human rights. These institutions and practices are alternative to, rather than different formulations of, human rights†. The most commonly held view is that concept of human rights evolved i n the West, and that while earlier cultures had important ethical concepts, they generally lacked a concept of human rights. For example, McIntyre argues there is no word for â€Å"right† in any language before 1400. Medieval charters of liberty such as the English Magna Carta were not charters of human rights, rather they were the foundation and constituted a form of limited political and legal agreement to address specific political circumstances, in the case of Magna Carta later being recognised in the course of early modern debates about rights. One of the oldest records of human rights is the statute of Kalisz (1264), giving privileges to the Jewish minority in the Kingdom of Poland such as protection from discrimination and hate speech. The basis of most modern legal interpretations of human rights can be traced back to recent European history. The Twelve Articles (1525) are considered to be the first record of human rights in Europe. They were part of the peasants’ demands raised towards the Swabian League in the German Peasants’ War in Germany. The earliest conceptualization of human rights is credited to ideas about natural rights emanating from natural law. In particular, the issue of universal rights was introduced by the examination of the rights of indigenous peoples by Spanish clerics, such as Francisco de Vitoria and Bartolomà © de Las Casas. In the Valladolid debate, Juan Ginà ©s de Sepà ºlveda, who maintained an Aristotelian view of humanity as divided into classes of different worth, argued with Las Casas, who argued in favor of equal rights to freedom of slavery for all humans regardless of race or religion. In Britain in 1683, the English Bill of Rights (or â€Å"An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown†) and the Scottish Claim of Right each made illegal a range of oppressive governmental actions. Two major revolutions occurred during the 18th century, in the United States (1776) and in France (1789), leading to the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen respectively, both of which established certain legal rights. Additionally, the Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776 encoded into law a number of fundamental civil rights and civil freedoms. Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen approved by the National Assembly of France, August 26, 1789. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. —United States Declaration of Independence, 1776 These were followed by developments in philosophy of human rights by philosophers such as Thomas Paine, John Stuart Mill and G.W.F. Hegel during the 18th and 19th centuries. The term human rights probably came into use some time between Paine’s The Rights of Man and William Lloyd Garrison’s 1831 writings in The Liberator, in which he stated that he was trying to enlist his readers in â€Å"the great cause of human rights†. In the 19th century, human rights became a central concern over the issue of slavery. A number of reformers, such as William Wilberforce in Britain, worked towards the abolition of slavery. This was achieved in the British Empire by the Slave Trade Act 1807 and the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. In the United States, all the northern states had abolished the institution of slavery between 1777 and 1804, although southern states clung tightly to the â€Å"peculiar institution†. Conflict and debates over the expansion of slavery to new territories constituted one of the reasons for the southern states’ secession and the American Civil War. During the reconstruction period immediately following the war, several amendments to the United States Constitution were made. These included the 13th amendment, banning slavery, the 14th amendment, assuring full citizenship and civil rights to all people born in the United States, and the 15th amendment, guaranteeing African Americans the right to vote. Many groups and movements have achieved profound social changes over the course of the 20th century in the name of human rights. In Europe and North America, labour unions brought about laws granting workers the right to strike, establishing minimum work conditions and forbidding or regulating child labor. The women’s rights movement succeeded in gaining for many women the right to vote. National liberation movements in many countries succeeded in driving out colonial powers. One of the most influential was Mahatma Gandhi’s movement to free his native India from British rule. Movements by long-oppressed racial and religious minorities succeeded in many parts of the world, among them the African American Civil Rights Movement, and more recent diverse identity politics movements, on behalf of women and minorities in the United States. The establishment of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the 1864 Lieber Code and the first of the Geneva Conventions in 1864 laid the foundations of International humanitarian law, to be further developed following the two World Wars. The World Wars, and the huge losses of life and gross abuses of human rights that took place during them, were a driving force behind the development of modern human rights instruments. The League of Nations was established in 1919 at the negotiations over the Treaty of Versailles following the end of World War I. The League’s goals included disarmament, preventing war through collective security, settling disputes between countries through negotiation and diplomacy, and improving global welfare. Enshrined in its charter was a mandate to promote many of the rights later included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At the 1945 Yalta Conference, the Allied Powers agreed to create a new body to supplant the League’s role; this was to be the United Nations. The United Nations has played an important role in international human-rights law since its creation. Following the World Wars, the United Nations and its members developed much of the discourse and the bodies of law that now make up international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Philosophy The philosophy of human rights attempts to examine the underlying basis of the concept of human rights and critically looks at its content and justification. Several theoretical approaches have been advanced to explain how and why human rights have become a part of social expectations. One of the oldest Western philosophies of human rights is that they are a product of a natural law, stemming from different philosophical or religious grounds. Other theories hold that human rights codify moral behavior which is a human social product developed by a process of biological and social evolution (associated with Hume). Human rights are also described as a sociological pattern of rule setting (as in the sociological theory of law and the work of Weber). These approaches include the notion that individuals in a society accept rules from legitimate authority in exchange for security and economic advantage (as in Rawls) – a social contract. The two theories that dominate contemporary human rights discussion are the interest theory and the will theory. Interest theory argues that the principal function of human rights is to protect and promote certain essential human interests, while will theory attempts to establish the validity of human rights based on the unique human capacity for freedom. Non-governmental Organizations International non-governmental human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Service for Human Rights and FIDH monitor what they see as human rights issues around the world and promote their views on the subject. Human rights organizations have been said to â€Å"†translate complex international issues into activities to be undertaken by concerned citizens in their own community† Human rights organizations frequently engage in lobbying and advocacy in an effort to convince the United Nations, supranational bodies and national governments to adopt their policies on human rights. Many human-rights organizations have observer status at the various UN bodies tasked with protecting human rights. A new (in 2009) nongovernmental human-rights conference is the Oslo Freedom Forum, a gathering described by The Economist as â€Å"on its way to becoming a human-rights equivalent of the Davos economic forum.† The same article noted that human-rights advocates are more and more divided amongst themselves over how violations of human rights are to be defined, notably as regards the Middle East. There is criticism of human-rights organisations who use their status but allegedly move away from their stated goals. For example, Gerald M. Steinberg, an Israel-based academic, maintains that NGOs take advantage of a â€Å"halo effect† and are â€Å"given the status of impartial moral watchdogs† by governments and the media. Such critics claim that this may be seen at various governmental levels, including when human-rights groups testify before investigation committees. Human rights defenders Main article: Human rights defender A human rights defender is someone who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. Human rights defenders are those men and women who act peacefully for the promotion and protection of those rights. Corporations Multinational companies play an increasingly large role in the world, and have been responsible for numerous human rights abuses. Although the legal and moral environment surrounding the actions of governments is reasonably well developed, that surrounding multinational companies is both controversial and ill-defined.[citation needed] Multinational companies’ primary responsibility is to their shareholders, not to those affected by their actions. Such companies may be larger than the economies of some of the states within which they operate, and can wield significant economic and political power. No international treaties exist to specifically cover the behavior of companies with regard to human rights, and national legislation is very variable. Jean Ziegler, Special Rapporteur of the UN Commission on Human Rights on the right to food stated in a report in 2003: [T]he growing power of transnational corporations and their extension of power through privatization, deregulation and the rolling back of the State also mean that it is now time to develop binding legal norms that hold corporations to human rights standards and circumscribe potential abuses of their position of power. —Jean Ziegler In August 2003 the Human Rights Commission’s Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights produced draft Norms on the responsibilities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises with regard to human rights. These were considered by the Human Rights Commission in 2004, but have no binding status on corporations and are not monitored. Human rights violations Human rights violations occur when actions by state (or non-state) actors abuse, ignore, or deny basic human rights (including civil, political, cultural, social, and economic rights). Furthermore, violations of human rights can occur when any state or non-state actor breaches any part of the UDHR treaty or other international human rights or humanitarian law. In regard to human rights violations of United Nations laws, Article 39 of the United Nations Charterdesignates the UN Security Council (or an appointed authority) as the only tribunal that may determine UN human rights violations. Human rights abuses are monitored by United Nations committees, national institutions and governments and by many independent non-governmental organizations, such as Amnesty International, International Federation of Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, World Organisation Against Torture, Freedom House, International Freedom of Expression Exchange and Anti-Slavery International. These organisations collect evidence and documentation of alleged human rights abuses and apply pressure to enforce human rights laws. Wars of aggression, war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide, are breaches of International humanitarian law and represent the most serious of human rights violations. In efforts to eliminate violations of human rights, building awareness and protesting inhumane treatment has often led to calls for action and sometimes improved conditions. The UN Security Council has interceded with peace keeping forces, and other states and treaties (NATO) have intervened in situations to protect human rights. Substantive rights Right to life Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life. —Article 6.1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights The right to life is the essential right that a human being has the right not to be killed by another human being. The concept of a right to life is central to debates on the issues of abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, self defense andwar. According to many human rights activists, the death penalty violates this right. The United Nations has called on states retaining the death penalty to establish a moratorium on capital punishment with a view to its abolition. States which do not do so face considerable moral and political pressure. Freedom from torture Throughout history, torture has been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion. In addition to state-sponsored torture, individuals or groups may be motivated to inflict torture on others for similar reasons to those of a state; however, the motive for torture can also be for the sadistic gratification of the torturer, as in the Moors murders. Torture is prohibited under international law and the domestic laws of most countries in the 21st century. It is considered to be a violation of human rights, and is declared to be unacceptable by Article 5 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Signatories of the Third Geneva Convention and Fourth Geneva Convention officially agree not to torture prisoners in armed conflicts. Torture is also prohibited by the United Nations Convention Against Torture, which has been ratified by 147 states. National and international legal prohibitions on torture derive from a consensus that torture and similar ill-treatment are immoral, as well as impractical. Despite these international conventions, organizations that monitor abuses of human rights (e.g. Amnesty International, the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims) report widespread use condoned by states in many regions of the world. Amnesty International estimates that at least 81 world governments currently practice torture, some of them openly. Freedom from slavery Main article: slavery Freedom from slavery is an internationally recognized human right. Article 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms. Despite this, the number of slaves today is higher than at any point in history,[68] remaining as high as 12 million to 27 million, Most are debt slaves, largely in South Asia, who are under debt bondage incurred by lenders, sometimes even for generations. Human trafficking is primarily for prostituting women and children into sex industries. Groups such as the American Anti-Slavery Group, Anti-Slavery International, Free the Slaves, the Anti-Slavery Society, and the Norwegian Anti-Slavery Society continue to campaign to rid the world of slavery. Right to a fair trial Main article: Right to a fair trial Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him. The right to a fair trial has been defined in numerous regional and international human rights instruments. It is one of the most extensive human rights and all international human rights instruments enshrine it in more than one article. The right to a fair trial is one of the most litigated human rights and substantial case law has been established on the interpretation of this human right. Despite variations in wording and placement of the various fair trial rights, international human rights instrument define the right to a fair trial in broadly the same terms. The aim of the right is to ensure the proper administration of justice. As a minimum the right to fair trial includes the following fair trial rights in civil and criminal proceedings: the right to be heard by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal the right to a public hearing the right to be heard within a reasonable time the right to counsel the right to interpretation Freedom of speech Main article: Freedom of speech Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. In practice, the right to freedom of speech is not absolute in any country and the right is commonly subject to limitations, such as on libel, slander, obscenity, incitement to commit a crime, etc. The right to freedom of expression is recognized as a human right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognized in international human rights law in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Article 19 of the ICCPR states that â€Å"[e]veryone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference† and â€Å"everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, eit her orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice†. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion Main articles: Freedom of thought, Conscience, and Freedom of religion Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. —Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Freedom of thought, conscience and religion are closely related rights that protect the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to think and freely hold conscientious beliefs and to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any religion. The freedom to leave or discontinue membership in a religion or religious group—in religious terms called â€Å"apostasy†Ã¢â‚¬â€is also a fundamental part of religious freedom, covered by Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Human rights groups such as Amnesty International organises campaigns to protect those arrested and or incarcerated as a prisoner of conscience because of their conscientious beliefs, particularly concerning intellectual, political and artistic freedom of expression and association. In legislation, a conscience clause is a provision in a statute that excuses a health professional from complying with the law (for example legalising surgical or pharmaceutical abortion) if it is incompatible with religious or conscientious beliefs. Rights debates Events and new possibilities can affect existing rights or require new ones. Advances of technology, medicine, and philosophy constantly challenge the status quo of human rights thinking. Future generations In 1997 UNESCO adopted the Declaration on the Responsibilities of the Present Generation Towards the Future Generation. The Declaration opens with the words: Mindful of the will of the peoples, set out solemnly in the Charter of the United Nations, to ‘save succeeding generations from the scourge of war’ and to safeguard the values and principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and all other relevant instruments of international law. —Declaration on the Responsibilities of the Present Generation Towards the Future Generation Article 1 of the declaration states â€Å"the present generations have the responsibility of ensuring that the needs and interests of present and future generations are fully safeguarded.† The preamble to the declaration states that â€Å"at this point in history, the very existence of humankind and its environment are threatened† and the declaration covers a variety of issues including protection of the e nvironment, the human genome, biodiversity, cultural heritage, peace, development, and education. The preamble recalls that the responsibilities of the present generations towards future generations has been referred to in various international instruments, including the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (UNESCO 1972), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (UN Conference on Environment and Development, 1992), the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (World Conference on Human Rights, 1993) and a number of UN General Assembly resolutions relating to the protection of the global climate for present and future generations adopted since 1990. Sexual orientation and gender identity See also: LGBT rights by country or territory Sexual orientation and gender identity rights relate to the expression of sexual orientation and gender identity based on the right to respect for private life and the right not to be discriminated against on the ground of â€Å"other status† as defined in various human rights conventions, such as article 17 and 26 in the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 8 and article 14 in the European Convention on Human Rights. Through the way many because of their religious beliefs claim that they support human rights in general while denying that LGBT rights are human rights, LGBT rights stand prominent in the very defense of the universal principle of the human rights. If human rights are understood in a way that makes it possible to exclude the basic rights of certain groups only because of certain religious and cultural prejudices, we find that the principle of universality is taken right out of the human rights, and human rights are trans formed to a set of rules only reflecting certain historically values. Homosexuality is illegal in 76 countries[citation needed], and is punishable by execution in seven countries. The criminalization of private, consensual, adult sexual relations, especially in countries where corporal or capital punishment is involved, is one of the primary concerns of LGBT human rights advocates. Other issues include: government recognition of same-sex relationships, LGBT adoption, sexual orientation and military service, immigration equality, anti-discrimination laws, hate crime laws regarding violence against LGBT people,sodomy laws, anti-lesbianism laws, and equal age of consent for same-sex activity. A global charter for sexual orientation and gender identity rights has been proposed in the form of the ‘Yogyakarta Principles’, a set of 29 principles whose authors say they apply International Human Rights Law statutes and precedent to situations relevant to LGBT people’s experience. The principles were presented at a United Nations event in New York on November 7, 2007, co-sponsored by Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. The principles have been acknowledged with influencing the French proposed UN declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity, which focuses on ending violence, criminalization and capital punishment and does not include dialogue about same-sex marriage or right to start a family.[95][96] The proposal was supported by 67 of the then 192 member countries of the United Nations, including all EU member states and the United States. An alternative statement opposing the proposal was initiated by Syria and signed by 57 member nations, including all 27 nations of the Arab League as well as Iran and North Korea. Trade Although both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights emphasize the importance of a right to work, neither of these documents explicitly mention trade as a mechanism for ensuring this fundamental right. And yet trade plays a key role in providing jobs. Some experts argue that trade is inherent to human nature and that when governments inhibit international trade they directly inhibit the right to work and the other indirect benefits, like the right to education, that increased work and investment help accrue. Others have argued that the ability to trade does not affect everyone equally—often groups like the rural poor, indigenous groups and women are less likely to access the benefits of increased trade. On the other hand, others think that it is no longer primarily individuals but companies that trade, and therefore it cannot be guaranteed as a human right.[citation needed] Additionally, trying to fit too many concepts under the umbrella of what qualifies as a human right has the potential to dilute their importance. Finally, it is difficult to define a right to trade as either â€Å"fair† or â€Å"just† in that the current trade regime produces winners and losers but its reform is likely to produce (different) winners and losers. See also: The Recognition of Labour Standards within the World Trade Organisation and Investor state dispute settlement Water See also: Water politics and Right to water In November 2002, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights issued a non-binding comment affirming that access to water was a human right: the human right to water is indispensable for leading a life in human dignity. It is a prerequisite for the realization of other human rights. —United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights This principle was reaffirmed at the 3rd and 4th World Water Councils in 2003 and 2006. This marks a departure from the conclusions of the 2nd World Water Forum in The Hague in 2000, which stated that water was a commodity to be bought and sold, not a right. There are calls from many NGOs and politicians to enshrine access to water as a binding human right, and not as a commodity. According to the United Nations, nearly 900 million people lack access to clean water and more than 2.6 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. On July 28, 2010, the UN declared water and sanitation as human rights. By declaring safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right, the U.N. General Assembly made a step towards the Millennium Development Goal to ensure environmental sustainability, which in part aims to â€Å"halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation†. Reproductive rights Main article: reproductive rights Reproductive rights are rights relating to reproduction and reproductive health. The World Health Organisation defines reproductive rights as follows: Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. They also include the right of all to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence. — World Health Organisation Reproductive rights were first established as a subset of human rights at the United Nations 1968 International Conference on Human Rights. The sixteenth article of the resulting Proclamation of Teheran states, â€Å"Parents have a basic human right to determine freely and responsibly the number and the spacing of their children.† Reproductive rights may include some or all of the following rights: the right to legal or safe abortion, the right to control one’s reproductive functions, the right to quality reproductive healthcare, and the right to education and access in order to make reproductive choices free from coercion, discrimination, and violence. Reproductive rights may also be understood to include education about contraception and sexually transmitted infections, and freedom from coerced sterilization and contraception, protection from gender-based practices such asfemale genital cutting (FGC) and male genital mutilation (MGM). Information and communication technologies Main articles: Right to Internet access and Digital rights In October 2009, Finland’s Ministry of Transport and Communications announced that every person in Finland would have the legal right to Internet access. Since July 2010, the government has legally obligated telecommunications companies to offer broadband Internet access to every permanent residence and office. The connection must be â€Å"reasonably priced† and have a downstream rate of at least 1 Mbit/s. In March 2010, the BBC, having commissioned an opinion poll, reported that â€Å"almost four in five people around the world believe that access to the internet is a fundamental right.† The poll, conducted by the polling companyGlobeScan for the BBC World Service, collated the answers of 27,973 adult citizens across 26 countries to find that 79% of adults either strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the statement: â€Å"access to the internet should be a fundamental right of all people†. Relationship with other topics Human rights and the environment There are two basic conceptions of environmental human rights in the current human rights system. The first is that the right to a healthy or adequate environment is itself a human right (as seen in both Article 24 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and Article 11 of the San Salvador Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights). The second conception is the idea that environmental human rights can be derived from other human rights, usually – the right to life, the right to health, the right to private family life and the right to property (among many others). This second theory enjoys much more widespread use in human rights courts around the world, as those rights are contained in many human rights documents. The onset of various environmental issues, especially climate change, has created potential conflicts between different human rights. Human rights ultimately require a working ecosystem and healthy environment, but the granting of certain rights to individuals may damage these. Such as the conflict between right to decide number of offspring and the common need for a healthy environment, as noted in the tragedy of the commons. In the area of environmental rights, the responsibilities of multinational corporations, so far relatively unaddressed by human rights legislation, is of paramount consideration.[citation needed] Environmental Rights revolve largely around the idea of a right to a livable environment both for the present and the future generations. National security See also: National security and Anti-terrorism legislation With the exception of non-derogable human rights (international conventions class the right to life, the right to be free from slavery, the right to be free from torture and the right to be free from retroactive application of penal laws as non-derogable),[120] the UN recognises that human rights can be limited or even pushed aside during times of national emergency – although the emergency must be actual, affect the whole population and the threat must be to the very existence of the nation. The declaration of emergency must also be a last resort and a temporary measure. —United Nations. The Resource Rights that cannot be derogated for reasons of national security in any circumstances are known as peremptory norms or jus cogens. Such United Nations Charter obligations are binding on all states and cannot be modified by treaty. Examples of national security being used to justify human rights violations include the Japanese American internment during World War II, Stalin’s Great Purge, and the modern-day abuses of terror suspects rights by some countries, often in the name of the War on Terror.

History and Development of Mac Cosmetics

History and development of M. A. C It all started with two Canadians, a hair salon owner Frank Angelo and a makeup artist, named Frank Toskan, The two men started MAC in Toronto in 1984. They wanted to create cosmetic products that could withstand all the rigorous wear required to do photo shoot, such as the heat from bright lighting. Frank Toskan was the idea man in the company. Before he partnered with Angelo, he spent hours experimenting with formulas to try and create this â€Å"super makeup† with the help of chemist Victor Casale, who was also his brother-in-law.He then formed a business relationship with Frank Angelo since he was a skilled entrepreneur. Since they already had connections in the field of makeup and fashion, they spread the idea of MAC through their networks. The quality and durability of the cosmetics soon gave the company the boost it needed on the celebrity scene. This led to endorsements from celebrities such as Pamela Anderson, Boy George, Debbie Harr y and other big '80s stars.MAC opened its first stateside store in 1991 in New York City and opened its first European store in Paris in 1996. It also has a store in several more European countries as well as in China and distribution deals with several department stores in the U. S. A. such as Nordstrom's and Macy's. In 1994, they sold interests of their company to Estee Lauder, another prominent cosmetics company, four years later Estee Lauder took over the company completely.In 1997 Frank Angelo passed away and Frank Toskan quit MAC to devote his time to an AIDS charity. Estee Lauder kept the MAC name and continued some of the original owners' charity work, such as the MAC AIDS Fund. Although MAC is now available the average consumer, the company maintains its focus on professional makeup artists. The MAC brand continues to grow, and the line now consists of hundreds of products worldwide and the brand's reputation of quality remains intact.

Analyzing Gender Roles in Billy Elliot Essay

During his first visit to The Bahamas and representing the Queen abroad for the Diamond Jubilee, Prince Harry addressed crowds of dignitaries and admirers in the capital, Nassau. The Island-hopping Prince Harry continues his 10-day Diamond Jubilee tour through the Caribbean in Jamaica this week after stops in Belize and the Bahamas over the weekend in honor of the Queen’s 60thyear on the throne. Proving to be a skilled diplomat with the common touch that characterized his late mother Princess Diana, Harry favored solo interviews with the local press and spent a great deal of time with the everyday people of the former British Honduras. The prince laid a wreath for British soldiers at Price Barracks in Belize City before departing the English-speaking Central American nation for the Bahamas. The young royal caused quite a stir in Nassau Sunday when he appeared in public for the first time ever in his crisp white ceremonial uniform, also known as the No. 1 Tropical Dress of the Blues and Royals. His uniform was punctuated with the first public reveal of the Diamond Jubilee medal. Throngs of fans lined the streets as Harry made his way to the Christ Church Cathedral to meet and greet. Though he mingled with several dignitaries in his special outfit, his encounter with Miss Bahamas, Anastagia Pierre, got tabloids buzzing. â€Å"I’m here to fall in love with Harry,† Pierre told reporters on Sunday. â€Å"He’s hot! He is single now so I would marry him, yes. † Harry brushed the comments aside and he seemed to truly enjoy himself in the Bahamas. In a speech he delivered a message from the Queen to the people of the Bahamas. Video1 Harry called at Government House in Nassau to pay his respects to the Governor General of the Bahamas and other members of the cabinet. The iconic pink-painted house is where his late great-great uncle the Duke of Windsor lived during the Second World War in his role as Governor General of the region. 3 Earlier in the day, Harry was meant to join the crew of a Royal Bahamian Defense Force patrol boat on a naval exercise but had to move to a media boat after the military vessel broke down. He eventually landed on tiny Harbor Island where he was greeted by crowds of tourists and locals. Harry will continue his Diamond Jubilee tour with a stop in Jamaica beginning Monday and end in Brazil where he will help launch a government trade mission in Rio.

Reaction paper 9 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reaction paper 9 - Essay Example It is true that quantitative easing is done for the following reasons; foster employment, encourage lending, encourage borrowing, increase spending and reduce interest rates. However, it should be noted that quantitative easing has various risks such as it increases inflation, reduces international trade, it is also a threat to the value of the US dollar, and it also encourages debt by both organisations and consumers. In relation to this, I think stopping quantitative easing after unemployment has fallen below 7 % will not be bad for the economy. I agree with the author, if the rate of inflation increases from 2% to 2.5% then it will be prudent to stop quantitative easing. In addition, the rate of real GDP has been falling from 2.2 % to 2.4 % and finally to 1.7 %. It means the quantitative easing has very little effect. Furthermore, the reason why federation bank exist is to increase on a sustainable basis real per capita income. However much quantitative easing has various benefits it does not increase economic

RECOVERY OF PLATINUM GROUP METALS (PGMs) FROM SCRAPPED FUEL CELLS Research Paper

RECOVERY OF PLATINUM GROUP METALS (PGMs) FROM SCRAPPED FUEL CELLS - Research Paper Example Fuel cell technologies are the most appealing options to oil reliability. Fuel cell releases no pollutants and in reality give off pure water as a result. Although engineers are focusing on creating hydrogen from sources such as natural gas for the short-haul, the hydrogen program has strategies to concentrate on renewable, ecologically harmless means of producing hydrogen in the future. Highly dependable power is fundamental to many enterprises as well as residential societies. The United States loses $29 billion years from computer glitches because of power blackouts. Information centers, banks, hospitals amid others all depend on persistent power that is available nearly 100 percent. Many Fuel Cells operate on hydrogen and all will persist to produce electricity as long as oil is supplied. Nevertheless, the source of the hydrogen does not matter in many fuel cells. Since fuel cells do require to be connected to the electrical cabal, they are a variety of disseminated production th at permits to shift away from depending on high voltage central power production, which is susceptible to attacks and natural calamities (Sorensen 22-45). A fuel cell functioning on unpolluted hydrogen releases zero emissions at the source. Various fixed fuel cells use organic gas or hydrocarbons as hydrogen feedstock. Nevertheless, these usages generate far lesser emissions than traditional power stations. Founded on computed information, a fixed fuel cell power plant produces little less than one scrap of populace per kilowatt-hours of energy generated. Traditional ignition producing technologies generated twenty-pounds of emissions for the same measure of energy. Pollutants from fuel cells are so minimum that various regions of the U.S. have given exception fuel cells from air permitting regulations. Fuels cells have a long-standing reputation that their minimize noise pollution. Because fuel cells do not depend on ignition and very few moving components, they are incredibly sile nt. The only sound they make reaches approximately 60 decibels, the volume of an archetypal conversation. Because noise emissions are all but eradicated, fuel cells can be located at home or out-of-doors without being interfering. Furthermore, fuel cell electric vehicles are the slightest of all cars kinds that use fuel directly, releasing zero pollutants during usage. On the other hand, fuel cells could be utilized as supplementary power units to power air conditioners accessories. Since fuel cells produce electricity electrochemically, and do not combust fuel, they are essentially more productive than ignition techniques. Fuel cell method currently accomplishes 40-50% fuel-to-energy productivity utilizing hydrocarbons fuels such as s natural gas. When a fuel cell is positioned adjacent the point of electricity utilization, like in some fixed applications, the waste heat cab be tapped for coproduction (Srinivasan, 13-46). A fuel cell is an electrochemical machine that mixes oxygen and hydrogen to generate electricity. Usually, water and heat are its by-product. In its simplest nature, a solitary fuel comprises of two electrodes, including an anode and a cathode with an electrolyte among them. Hydrogen on the other hand chemically reacts with a catalyst at the anode. It is through this chemical reaction that a patron passes through the electrolyte, whereas the electron moves via a circuit, generating a

Information management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Information management - Essay Example 38). It provides an opportunity to introduce best practices and organizational transformation to deliver significant contribution for result-based corporate achievement. This paper will explicate the role of information and knowledge management in company development but focused on the application of the principles to case at hand—the THB Confectionary, a producer of hazel nut toffees which evolved and maximized e-commerce to expand its products from what was originally produced. Tim Hazel-Brown (THB) operated a factory in Derby by selling hazel nut toffees. Recently, THB Confectionery expanded its business line by launching an online competition to guess the time and place of old coins and stamps imprinted on to the inside of their product’s sweet wrappers. This added a new angle in the business management. The guessing competition pertaining to sourcing coins and stamps was sustained and gathered responses globally; from those who shared interests and enthusiasm. Most of those who joined are presumed to be coins and stamp collectors. This inspired Tim to add more value in customer management because the approach evokes new meaning that ‘last longer than the taste and memory of a delicious candy.’ What the company has done was to imprint coins and stamps in gold and silver foil that are historically emanating from AD60 – a historic representation of gem indeed. Tim professed that the entry of modern information technology hastens their decision to integrate e-commerce in their business operations – which is supporting the whole chain from supply, delivery, and customer service. Through internet and social media, THB Confectionery was able to develop its global market, thus, the expansion of confectionary and the sourcing of coins and stamps in 2007 that enticed supports from other businessmen in Asia. These online communities, which came from varied countries, have wealth of information that has

Marketing Proposals for Jones Lang LaSalle Essay

Marketing Proposals for Jones Lang LaSalle - Essay Example In a global environment that is constantly changing, Jones Lang LaSalle hopes to deliver and create value services for its shareholders, clients and its employees (Jones LangLaSalle). There are indications of economic opportunities coming from the growing interest in corporate rentals, investments and government housing priorities in Hong Kong that is a sign of rebound of its economy. In this context, it is proposed to take this opportunity to maintain its leadership in the real estate business and strategic proposals are presented to implement this decision. In my earlier study about this company, I have found out that the corporate rentals in Hong Kong show promising opportunity and it is an area where Jones LaSalle should act speedily. Competition is putting JLL in a difficult situation as it is getting a big share of the market. Competitively, JLL is financially strong, it has expertise and capable of handling a project of this magnitude. However, there are certain areas that bother its operation such as responding to the environmental laws and regulations of the government. The immediate plan is to respond to the interests of multinationals to establish offices in Hong Kong. Second is to support the government’s housing project for the locals. ... In my earlier study about this company, I have found out that the corporate rentals in Hong Kong show promising opportunity and it is an area where Jones LaSalle should act speedily. Competition is putting JLL in a difficult situation as it is getting a big share of the market. Competitively, JLL is financially strong, it has expertise and capable of handling a project of this magnitude. However, there are certain areas that bother its operation such as responding to the environmental laws and regulations of the government. The immediate plan is to respond to the interests of multinationals to establish offices in Hong Kong. Second is to support the government’s housing project for the locals. JLL is managing properties that could easily be used as corporate offices and be offered to multinationals. On the housing project, partnership with government is an ideal set up to get the project off from the drawing board. Marketing Proposals for JLL 1. Introduction A marketing plan i s proposed in order to take action on the opportunity to increase sales and revenue of Jones LangLaSalle. My previous study confirmed the interests of foreign companies in doing business in Hong Kong and in renting office spaces. Another business opportunity comes from Hong Kong government policy in providing affordable houses to its citizens. Taking this into account, a proposal is presented to address the opportunities present. As an evidence of foreign confidence to Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Financial Secretary, in a speech delivered at a seminar on office development, reported that the city of Victoria in Hong Kong has 6,500 foreign companies that give employment to 350,000 people

The Monetary Behavior as Created by the Federal Reserve Essay

The Monetary Behavior as Created by the Federal Reserve - Essay Example e instances, the value can be significantly higher, or even lower, than the dollar amount denoted on the paper, all due to the acts of the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve also has the responsibility for the behavior of the dollar on the global exchange market, alongside the bigger picture of controlling how much currency is printed and in circulation at any one time (Federal Reserve Publications Committee, 2005). Any action taken by the Federal Reserve in regards to these factors can in some way, shape, or form, influence and controls the behavior of the US dollar. The Federal Reserve has the power, and has always had the power since its creation, to control the amount of funds in its regional banks throughout the United States. By the Federal Reserve requiring any Federal Reserve banks to keep reserves on hand to handle unexpected outflows as well as meet the demands for the daily operations, it was believed that stability in the behavior and value of a dollar would result (Fed eral Reserve Bank of San Francisco). These reserves, however, also play an important part in how the Federal Reserve controls the behavior of a US dollar throughout the nation and the world. From day to day, the amount of reserves a bank wants to hold may change in accordance with its daily transactions. Therefore, when a bank finds that it needs additional reserves on a short-term basis, it can borrow them from other banks that happen to have more reserves than they need (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco). The interest rate associated with this overnight borrowing of reserves is called the federal funds rate, which adjusts to balance the supply of and demand for reserves. The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) sets a target for the federal funds rate, and keeps the rate on... The Federal Reserve has the power, and has always had the power since its creation, to control the amount of funds in its regional banks throughout the United States. By the Federal Reserve requiring any Federal Reserve banks to keep reserves on hand to handle unexpected outflows as well as meet the demands for the daily operations, it was believed that stability in the behavior and value of a dollar would result (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco). These reserves, however, also play an important part in how the Federal Reserve controls the behavior of a US dollar throughout the nation and the world. From day to day, the amount of reserves a bank wants to hold may change in accordance with its daily transactions. Therefore, when a bank finds that it needs additional reserves on a short-term basis, it can borrow them from other banks that happen to have more reserves than they need (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco). The interest rate associated with this overnight borrowing of reserves is called the federal funds rate, which adjusts to balance the supply of and demand for reserves. The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) sets a target for the federal funds rate, and keeps the rate on target by increasing and decreasing bank reserves through transactions such as the buying and selling of U.S. Treasuries (Federal Reserve, 2011). This is all done in accordance with the long-term goals of monetary policy as stated above.

Management and Administration Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Management and Administration - Case Study Example This essay will also elaborate more on the possible solutions available to solve each problem identified. Thorough explanations accompanying my recommendations will also be provided. Lack of trust within the management The Red Cross management and the subordinate staff relationship never had a strong foundation (Meyers & Young, 1996). This was due to the lack of communication and understanding among the entire staff. Consequently, every member of the staff was criticizing the management while the management criticized the junior staff. In addition to this, there were severe consequences for example some junior staff members were suspended without pay while others were relieved of their duties. Considering the factors that led to the management problem, there are various theories that different staff members have stated. The C.E.O of Red Cross known as Harold J. Becker was very uncomfortable at her position despite it being a prestigious position within the organization. Apparently, s he had decided to call it quits after she was attacked by critics within Red Cross. During the day in question, she was showing the jittery strain of the previous two months. She recalls the first time that she had commanded a huge disaster relief effort only to endure humiliation and rejection of every order she gave by the Red Cross’s 50 member board of governors. ... During these staff meetings, there should be an open forum where the people air their grievances, complaints and dissatisfaction. Afterwards, the board should hold a meeting for the purposes of sorting out the major problems aired out. Individually, the most damaging aspect as a result of mistrust is the psychological impact that produces paranoid thoughts. Recommendations The strategies recommended are several for instance developing other relationships hence gaining self empowerment. Other relationships to be developed are between the junior staff and senior staff for example the C.E.O did not have a working relationship with her junior staff hence the major reason why they were all criticizing her authority and leadership. Another recommendation is the creation of alternatives where individuals employ the principles of GRIT (Graduated and Reciprocated initiatives in Tension Reduction) (Fells, 2009). This is a strategy meant to reduce dysfunctional distrust in various levels of aut hority. Basically, GRIT consists of a series of steps meant to correct biased and distorted views, reduce tension cultivating an atmosphere of mutual trust. Resultively, this will enable a more co-operative approach enhancing effectiveness. GRIT framework once established distrust will subside as parties involved in arguments achieve a neutral ground. However, it is important to retain some retaliatory capacity. This is the ability to mount a defense should it become necessary and also build a reputation of trustworthiness through self defense by stating facts. Incompetency within the organization In a confidential memo sent to the board of governors by Healy, she had complained about the irregularities within Red Cross. She ultimately laid out the

Cheap Escape v. Haddox and Tessman Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cheap Escape v. Haddox and Tessman - Case Study Example This case was brought before the Franklin County Municipal Court, State of Ohio. The municipal court awarded a default judgment, in favor of Cheap Escape. The municipal court denied Tessman’s motion to vacate. Tessman appealed. Judgment was reversed by the appeals court and remanded for dismissal (p. 1, 2). Issues Presented or Questions of Law Does the municipal court have jurisdiction over subject matter when relevant events occurred outside the county (Cheap Escape Co., Inc. v. Haddox, L.L.C., 2008)? Arguments or Objectives of the Parties Appellant argues that â€Å"the municipal court has subject-matter jurisdiction over any statutorily prescribed action, regardless of where underlying events occurred. Conversely, Appellee argues that the phrase (original jurisdiction within its territory), limits subject-matter jurisdiction to those actions which occurred within the territorial limits of the court† (p. 3). Holding/Rule of Law â€Å"R.C. 1901.18(A) limits municipal court subject-matter jurisdiction to actions or proceedings that have a territorial connection to the court† (p.6). â€Å"The parties admittedly did not have territorial connections to the Franklin County Municipal Court†, (so) the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction† (p. 6). Judgment of the municipal court is void for lack of jurisdiction and the holding of the court of appeals is affirmed (p. 6).

Marketing Assignment. SABIC Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing . SABIC - Assignment Example SABIC was founded in 1976 and operates globally in more than 44 countries in the world. The company is estimated to have more than 33,000 employees all over the world (Sabic.com, 2012). The organisational structure of SABIC includes a total of six different business units, namely Chemicals, Performance Chemicals, Polymers, Fertilizers, Innovative Plastics and Metals. All these business units are engaged in the production of four product types, namely Chemicals which includes Performance Chemicals, Fertilizers, Metals and Plastics which includes Innovative Plastics and Polymers (Companydatabase.org, 2009). For the year 2011, SABIC recorded a net profit equalling SR 29 billion and its annual turnover for the year was SR 129 billion. PEST Analysis Political The government of Saudi Arabia follows a system of monarchy. No political party is officially recognised in the country. Holy Quran is considered to be the constitution of Saudi Arabia and Sharia (Islamic Law) forms the basis for its governance. A central government has been developed by the kings of Saudi Arabia. A wide range of powers are concentrated in the hands of the king of Saudi Arabia. Political reforms have been initiated in the country with the formation of Shura or National Constitutive Council. The members of Shura have advisory powers regarding issues related to public interest. There has been a gradual expansion of the royally appointed Sharia over the past few years (US Department of State, 2011). No income taxes are imposed on Saudi nationals and foreigners working in the country. Only foreign investors are required to pay taxes on their net profit. However the Sura Council members are thinking of the proposal of taxing foreign expatriates. Economic Major economic activities are strongly controlled by the government of Saudi Arabia. Major revenue earnings are derived from the petroleum sector. Private sector growth is being encouraged in the country to promote diversification of economy and emp loyment of Saudi nationals. The effort of diversification is concentrated on telecommunications, power generation, petrochemical sector and exploration of natural gas. There is an unemployment problem mainly because of lack of education and technical expertise amongst Saudi nationals and government is making concentrated efforts to address this issue. Foreign investment is being promoted in the country (CIA, 2012). Socio-Cultural Islam is the predominant religion in the country and Arabic is its official language. Saudi Arabia has a conservative cultural environment. Officially the country strictly adheres to the Islamic law and its Wahhabi interpretations. Cultural presentations are supposed to be in conformity with the ethical standards which are narrowly defined. Technological The country is experiencing rapid advancements in technology. Increased use of internet in business activities in the country. Growing advancements in e-Commerce and electronic service technologies (Al-Ghai th, Sanzogni, & Sandhu. 2010, p.1). Analysis of Ten Trends Affecting the Organisation Political Trends 1. The political environment of Saudi Arabia is quite stable. The country is devoid of any democratic system. National elections are not held in the country and political parties do not exist. Hence it has a positive impact on the business environment of SABIC and the company is

What is globalization Essay Example for Free

What is globalization Essay Globalization: The following will elaborate on globalization, and some theories on traditional trade. AlsoGlobalization as defined by Charles Hill, of the University of Washington†¦ refers to the shift toward a more integrated and interdependent world economy. Globalization has several facets, including the globalization of markets and the globalization of production. Free trade is an example of a situation where government makes no attempt to influence what its citizens can buy from other countries. Under the free trade system Smith, 2009 argued that †¦the in visible hand of the market mechanism, rather then government policy, should determine what a country imports and what it exports. When looking at globalization there are two major factors. The first is the decline in barriers that could have impeded the free flow of goods, services, and capital. This decline in barriers has been on going since the end of World War II. The second factor is the changes in technology. Technology has in recent years has allowed dramatic developments in communication, information processing, and an easy in transportation, that past businesses did not have. (Hill, 2009)One example of a declining barrier to international trade that occurred after World War II was the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The goal of GATT was to remove the barriers to the free flow of goods, services, and capital between nations. Through eight rounds of negotiations among members of state this was accomplished. From GATT the World Trade Organization (WTO) was also founded. The WTO was established to police the international trading system. (Hill, 2009)The lowering of trade barriers made globalization of markets and production a theoretical possibility (Hill, 2009). Since the end of World War II the gains of technology have exploded. The world has seen major advances in communication, information processing, and transportation technology. Telecommunication gives even the smallest companies the ability to gain a global audience. When the computer was first introduced, the computer could easily fill a room and was capable of only a few hundred computations per minute, with a cost the put even the thought of owning a computer in the hands of the government. With the invention of the microprocessor the cost of computing was significantly reduced while the power of the computer increased dramatically. As a result the lower costs of  technology companies today can communicate with potential suppliers, retailers, consumers anywhere in the world at prices that were unheard up only 10 years ago. (Hill, 2009)Technological advances in the transportation have also improved rapidly. The commercial jet of today makes a trip from New York to Tokyo in less time then it would have taken someone to get from New York to Philadelphia in the Colonial days. Other advances such as containerization have help to reduce the cost of transportation while increasing efficiency. (Hill, 2009)Some effects of globalization found locally are in almost any store, from food to auto parts and most things in between, many items we use are not make in the United States as a whole or in part. With out globalization supply of many of these items would be lower due to an increased cost of production. The city of Jacksonville, Fl also offers appeal to global companies. The location of Jacksonville in relation to: an international air and shipping port, major highways, and easy access to rail terminals makes the city an ideal location for global companies such as Bridgestone. Bridgestone is a global company based in Japan with manufacturing facilities in Central, South, and North America, as well as Japan and Africa. The ability of Bridgestone to acquire supplies for production of a wide range of products from around the world allows the company to supply a product of the highest qualities while allowing the price to remain competitive. Globalization has become a reality for almost any company regardless of size. Reference: Hill, Charles W.L. (2009). International Business. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-Text]. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Retrieved April 2, 209, from University of Phoenix, Mgt 448.

Scene Analysis Of Casablanca Film Studies Essay

Scene Analysis Of Casablanca Film Studies Essay Second Essay Question: Deconstruct a scene from one of the films weve seen this semester. Address how the director used the actors, dialogue, lighting, camera movement, sound, editing, and production design to get their point across in the film. Casablanca was released in 1942 by the director Michael Curtiz. The film was considered one of the best motion pictures ever made. The films actors, strong emotions, and loving triangle all helped out in having a classical film. The last scene in Casablanca where Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) and Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) were saying their final goodbyes as an airplane was in the background setting was one of the greatest scenes in the history of cinematic. Actors: Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart): Rick Blaine was the owner of Ricks Cafà © Amà ©ricain. He apparently appears in the whole film to be a man who is not moved by anyone. He refuses to take drinks from the customers of the cafà ©. He also didnt seem to care about the war and that refugees have gathered in Casablanca. From the start of the film and Rick shows himself as a mysterious and complicated man but on the other hand he is also generous, discriminating, and political. After Ilsa has arrived to Casablanca, flashbacks came across Ricks mind and reminded him of the time they spent in Paris. He appeared to be so much happier than he is without her. Another difference is also that back in Paris he was called Richard. After the attack of the Nazis, Rick and Ilsa agreed to leave Paris together. But Ilsa stood Rick up in the train station, and this was their separation. Rick was in so much pain of what Ilsa did to him and suffered from heartbreak. After that, Ilsa showed up at the bar, Rick reacted so angrily and refused to give her and Victor Laszlo the letters they need of transit. Finally, at the end of the film Rick becomes the hero and he sacrifices his love to Ilsa and his life in Casablanca so that Victor Laszlo can get away with Ilsa and finish his political work. So basically there were three characters that Ricks appeared in the movie with. First, In Paris he was so romantic, then in Casablanca he was hard-hearted, and finally at the end of the film he appeared to be self sacrificing hero (Turner, Casablanca, 1999). Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman): Ilsa is extremely loyal to her husband, Victor Laszlo. She believes she love Laszlo, but on the other hand she also says that she is in love with Rick, back when they were in Paris and also after she arrived to Casablanca. She had a very good reason to tell Rick that she loves him when she was in Casablanca so that she can get the letters of transit that she needs. Her feelings are always dreamy and vague which makes it hard to understand her right. Long time ago when Rick was in Paris, she sent him some letters claiming that she cant see him anymore. And that now can be a proof of her capability to protect her real feelings from those people who loves her. From all the characters in Casablanca, Ilsa was one of the most people who clearly had a lot of pain from the unexpected change of wealth. First of all, her husband Victor got arrested and reported to be dead. Then, when he came, she was supposed to escape with him throughout Europe with the Nazis. After that, in Casablanca she met Rick once again and fell in love with him all over, but unfortunately she was suppose to leave him once again. Ilsa didnt had an easy life, and one of the greatest tragic in the whole film is her fate. Finally, at the closing scene of the film, we can feel that the chances of Ilsa living happily ever after ending do not exist. Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid): One of the main characters in Casablanca is Victor Laszlo, who is the least complicated person. He is an absolute noble hero. Victor Laszlo is a handsome and confident man. His wife was Ilsa and he loves her so much to the extent that when he knew about her and Rick he accepted the fact and claimed he understands. He was ready to give anything for Ilsa to get away safely from Casablanca. Victor likes politics. His want of beating the Nazis is the best ambition for all the actions he ever took. He places himself as a favored to battle through it. As much as Victor Laszlo is priceless to the Allies as much as he is critical to the Nazis. Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains): Louis is not a man of strong opinion, but was a friend to whoever had power. He never likes Strassers believes but he works with him. For a part in the film, Louis was shown as a careless and selfish man who cared about absolutely nothing but himself. He takes advantage of pretty women refugees and usually gets fixed winnings from the casino of Rick. He told Rick not to count on him as a friend, but he couldnt hide his feelings for his friend (Rick). Towards the ending scene of the film, the men committed to their friendship when they committed themselves to the Allied cause. Rick committed by shooting Strasser and letting Ilsa escape with Victor out of Casablanca, while Louis committed by choosing to get away from Casablanca along with Rick. Lighting: The lighting has a great effect on the mood of the whole film. At the beginning of the movie most of the scenes and shots were brighter than when the film came towards the end where they were darker. There was a scene close to the ending scene of the film in Ricks cafà © where Victor Laszlo was taking refuge after the meeting was attacked. The scene inside the cafà © was at night and it had an absolutely low key lighting. The drama of the movie was being built slowly through the beginning up till the end of the movie. The dimness of the film increases the drama and the worry of the viewers more. The shots towards the end of the film become more extreme due to the gap among special parts of the shots. This Chiaroscuro effect also helped in raising the worry due to the clear bright lights and deep dark shades. Against the light of the background, there was Captain Renault, a poster boy, wearing his black uniform. Those two were shots from the final scene when Rick holds Cap tain Renault as a hostage and pressure him into letting Victor Laszlo getaway. Moreover, there was a fog in this final scene in the airfield, that had a gray invading of the scene and actors, which generate a feeling of suspicious. That resulted in making the viewers not knowing how the fight is going to be solved. Here the lighting technique was sharp and differs from the cinematography that is in all the other parts of the film. Sound: The director used the sound in this scene effectively. While filming the movie, he discovered that the sound stage was very small to be suitable to an actual airplane. So he decided to put the actors on a soundstage at Warner Bros where there was no real airplane. He also puts up half and quarter size models of Lockheed Electra 12A. The scene was raped around the machine that produces fog to cover up the artificiality of the background set. In this last scene of the movie, the actors never left the soundstage of the airplane. Also, towards the last scene of the movie, there was a shot that shows very quick two aircraft engines that has dramatic noise from the strong piston engines driving up and the fan spinning round in a high speed. One of the shots was showing the right side of the engine of the aircraft. And the other shot shows the left side of the engine. Along with those shots, the fog was being spread to go with the cloudy smoggy look that covers the rest of the closing scene. The director was so talented in making a great job in sound editing so that the sound of the engines makes the film mix together well with the soundstage of the film. Camera Movements and Dialogue: The ending scene of Casablanca had many camera movement techniques. After Captain Renault (Claude Rains) and Victor Laszlo depart, the camera starts to follow Rick and Ilsa, where it was neither of their view points. The camera was from the side. After that, Rick sends Ilsa to escape with Victor. After a cut away to Captain Renault, the camera builds up again to highlight the remarkable conversation; the camera was also from the side. As the camera follows up again at the final minute it shifts to Rick. Then the camera goes into a series of reverse angle shots first from Rick to Ilsa, then to Rick again, then to Ilsa, then to Rick again, and finally back to Ilsa one more time. The camera shifted either to the face of the person who was talking or to the other person. There was a hidden meaning in these shifts of the camera. It either meant stressing the conversation or drawing attention to understanding what is said. Another frame got both characters (Rick and Ilsa) in, that changed into an analytical point of view shot of Ilsa. Her tears were glowing in her eyes and the feeling of the light was becoming softer at her face. At the same time, Rick was talking to her and said Im not good at being noble, but it doesnt take much to see that the problems of three little people dont amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. After that, Ilsa dropped down her chin, because she felt that she was crushed by fate. Then Ricks hands held Ilsas chin and raised it up again saying Now, now . And this was a close up in the camera movement. After that there was a cut of the point of view of Ilsa, and the hidden meaning here is so that women viewers will be able to understand her situation. Rick said Heres looking at you kid. Then a shot of a close up happened again, where it demonstrates that Ilsa understood that Rick wants the best for her and that she accepted his decision of letting her escape with her husband. Then there was a cut back to the point of view of the guy that she really loves. After that the emotions stopped for a few seconds with a fast cut away to Major Strasser, who is the Nazi commander in charge of Casablanca, who was walking fast to reach to the airport. The camera then goes back to the airport, where a private conversation was held between Rick and Victor who were facing each other. Ilsa was at the background of the scene trying to wipe her tears away. Then there was a fast shot of Captain Renault from Ricks point of view. There was again couple of reverse angles which were used to highlight the speakers conversation. First, from Victors point of view there was a fast cut away to Ricks point of view of Ilsa. Here all three of them were in the frame together. And she backs up what Rick is saying. The shot after that returns to Rick then to Victors face who believed what Rick said and accepted his brave explanation. Then there was a three shot right after the two shots of Rick and Victor, with Ilsa on the right side wiping her tears away and she was considered in the staging position. Then a shot went back to Rick and Victor alone when Victor was saying: Welcome back to the fight. This time I know our side will win. After that a shot went to the engines of the plane. Then there was a three shot of the characters looking at the plane. Then a few series of close ups follows with a great awareness of the eyes of the actors as they act in response to the actions. First, Rick looks at the plane then at Ilsa, and Ilsa looked back at him, then both Rick and Ilsa looked at Victor, then Victor looked right into Ilsa and said: Are you ready, Ilsa?, so she turned her head for the last time and looks at Rick, then at Victor and she said: Yes, Im ready. In this scene Rick is giving up on Ilsa and making her getaway with Victor, and Ilsa on the other hand is accepting Ricks decision in letting her go. Next, a cut to a wide shot of all the three actors appeared. Ilsa stepped in front and the camera movement started following in and to the left to set up some characters significant. For the first time, Ilsa stands next to Victor and Rick was alone facing them. Ilsa said: Good-bye, Rick. Then there was a close up of Ilsas face that softly softened the light at her face and completed saying: God bless you. Next, there was a high angle shot of Rick, the Director is trying to emphasize that we are looking for the first time down to Rick, because Ilsa was gone from his life forever, and was back with Victor. Then he said: Youd better hurry. Youll miss that plane. We were seeing this scene from Victors point of view because now the couple is Ilsa and Victor. After that, the camera was far away from the staging position when Ilsa and Victor were walking away towards the plane. That scene was taken again from Ricks point of view, where he was seeing both of them walking out of his life. And by that he realized the generous sacrifice he has done. After that, the camera showed a reverse angle shot of Victor and Ilsa, as a couple this time, walking to the camera. Then they looked at one another and we can see that Ilsa was trying to hold herself together. And as they get closer to the camera, we see that Victor was slowly cut off when the camera was slowly moving to the left side. The director wanted to focus the attention here on Ilsas face because she was walking away from the man she loves. After that the camera cuts into a close up to Rick alone in the frame (Turner, Casablanca, 1999). After that, the camera cut away to both Captain Renault when Major Strasser just came. Major Strasser tries to make a phone call for help, when Rick asked him not to, but since he didnt respond, Rick shot him. Then the police arrived, and in few seconds Captain Renault said: Round up the usual suspects. Now, Rick and Captain Renault are alone at the closing scene of the film. They watched the plane as it took off from both their point of view and then from a revered angle shot. The director tries here to make the viewers feel the loss of Rick in his eyes. After that another revered angle shot to their point of view appeared then the plane faded away within the fog (Turner, Casablanca, 1999). Finally, Rick and Captain Renault walked away together. Then the camera gets into a crane shot by rising up by looking down in a high angle shot at them as they keep walking from the staging position. Then Rick says: Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Then as they continue walking the music arise (Turner, Casablanca, 1999). As for this Dialogue, the beautiful friendship that will start to begin between Rick and Captain Renault was the last closing sentence in Casablanca. Moreover, the dialogue of Casablanca was all filmed on a soundstage, but that doesnt make it any less of great dialogue. Editing: The editing of Casablanca was attractive and high in excellence. At the closing scene of the film, the close ups of the airplane with the engines represented the scene as if it was in a real airport with a real plane, and was so hard to find out that all of that was acting in front of a fake plane. Moreover, when the shot was on the airplane taking off, it appeared that the first part of the airplane was the real one and the second part was the studio effect. All together, the story, casting, acting, dialogue, staging, music, sound, lighting, camera movement, editing, and production are so great that viewers just cared about whats happening, not about how the film was created and done. Third Essay Question: Some historians argue that films reflect the political and social mores of society at the time of its creation, is this accurate statement? Is the subject matter of the movies weve watched driven by society or does society drive the entertainment industry to create films within a specific moral, social, or political context? Discuss. More frequently, American movies reflected the absolute influence of the society. The industry is willing to sell more products. That case was mainly right when it came to studio era. J. Dudley Andrew, who is a movie scholar, saw and noticed that in The Major Film Theories: A natural rapport grew up between the public which went to the movies weekly and the producers who needed to supply the people with a variant of what they liked and were used to. (Gehring, 1997). Some movies influence society. For instance: Star Wars it still has a continuing force, which was released again in 1997. Gehring, who is a professor and an author of lots of film books, his occupation covered a some of his adolescence of the 1967s which is called dark comedy to get back on the1930s fashion of clothings. Hollywood tries to safegaurd its contribution, because they are not new nor warrantied. Furthermore, the film production is more involved in reflecting societys desires and needs than in directing them. People who puts all the responsibility and guilt on Hollywood for the most part of the societys troubles are not noticing nor considering real life mores and films (Gehring, 1997). The fiction part in Hollywood has been acknowledged for a long time by the majority of critics and reviewers of the genre between high art and mass culture. For the common audience of those fictions, there has been a lot of questioning about the behavior and sexual mortality in the film trade; there was also a concern about the moral value of films and their impact on the society as a whole (Springer, 2008). Some Hollywood movies reflect social attitudes or generalize from specific films. Fictional films are very difficult and hard to make. Social products are completed, distributed, and received by the audience. The critics examine completely in order to evaluate their roles as historical evidence. For instance: it is too risky to take into consideration only some films from a particular period of time as an easy reflection to the American society. Furthermore, the attitudes that are represented in a particular film might symbolize a chain of compromises cautiously designed to be non-offensive. Also, some individual firms and companies might point out indicate very unusual attitudes toward race relations or womens rights for example. Approaches about class, gender, ethnicity, work, and all other aspects of life are represented in fictional films and movies as they are novels and plays. As a mass visual entertainment, those fictional films reflect the social attitudes in a precise dramatic manner. Some movies which were released from 1915 to about 1955 were Americas mainly popular structure of narrative entertainment. At that time, movies tended to be targeted to larger group of audience, who are even larger than most of the audience of plays and novels. Moreover, movies by then reflected social attitudes more precisely than any other medium, as they got into the maximum number of people. The huge amount of audience doesnt necessarily mean that movies in America characterized all points of view. In filming a movie, directors and staff tries to avoid certain controversial points of view in order not to offend a huge number of people. Also, the producers of films try not to insult any wide groups of people and they normally stay away from political controversial, so that they can be able to sell the film internationally to make profit. A film that is driven by the society is basically stating whats really happening in the real world in a movie. Some movie directors try to reflect the picture of whats happening in the world or society by exaggerating a little more. Other film directors might just mirror real life in their movies. Others might be brave and in their movies that they show what is hidden in the society and represent it in their movies. A great example of a movie that is driven by the society could be Casablanca. Since it was filmed during War World II and it has some political and social mores of the society. Another example is the movie Amadeus, since it was a story about the lives of Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, who are two composers and that was during the latter half of the 18th century On the contrary, some movie director wants to add something to the society or want to drive a new idea or message into it, so they do that in their movies. This is what its called society drives the entertainment industry to create films within a specific moral, social, or political context. Those kinds of movies are more open minded, because it requires more creativity and imagination to come up with something new more than the movies that are driven by the society. Most of those kinds of movies are imaginary movies. Another issue of argument of the same field might be that modern society is addicted to media entertainment. Simply, people in society couldnt live without all the noises, the images, the technology weve reached to nowadays. Media and films might affect society as well. It could have positive or negative influence on people. For example, violence movies might affect children, teenagers, or adults as well. They might get influenced unconsciously with what they watch in those violent movies. It can affect ones moral values, political, and social mores and make them more aggressive. Moreover, films of teenagers drinking or dealing with drugs also affect adolescence negatively. On the other hand, movies that have great morals affect people positively. For example, movies that might deal with family gathering throughout the whole film, can teach the audience the importance and the value of a family. In conclusion, a lot of writers, historians, and people argue about weather films reflect our political and social mores of our society or vice versa. The subject of the matter here is still and will remain a subject of argument and discussion, although it defers from one movie to another. Some movies combine both. For instance, a movie can be driven by society and also could be that society drove the entertainment industry to create the film or parts of it within a specific social moral and political context.

Slavery In USA And Serfdom In Russia

Slavery In USA And Serfdom In Russia Slavery, condition in which one human being is owned by another  [1]  , has been part of countless civilizations since the dawn of Mankind. From the fields and mines of Ancient Mesopotamia, through great Rome and sophistic Greece, and all the way until just but a century ago in America and Russia, slavery was a basic foundation of the society. In its beginning, and several times since, slaves were kept almost as family members, but mostly they were put to do the hard, physical work. Slavery was always weld together with the economy of the owners, be it civilians or the monarch crown. Even today some slavery still exists. We might hear and read about evil criminality referred to as human trafficking, forced prostitution, child soldiers, forced and bonded labour and the use of children in international drug trade, children labour  [2]  . Also Conservative estimates indicate that at least 27million people, in places as diverse as Nigeria, Indonesia and Brazil, live in conditions of forced bondage  [3]  . International organizations like the UN, with its Anti-Slavery Commission, still fight to abolish these modern remains of slavery. In our everyday life language we tend to say that we are slaves of our work, our money or some other materialistic need. Fortunately slavery in its ancient and medieval context has been abolished in practically the whole world. Serfdom, condition in medieval Europe in which a tenant farmer was bound to a hereditary plot of land and to the will of his landlord  [4]  , differs principally from slavery in the fact that serfs obtained their subsistence by cultivating a plot of land that was owned by a lord. The reason for then comparing serfdom in the Russian Empire with slavery in the USA lies in the fact that in 18th- and first half of 19th century Russia the nobility, the Dvoryanstvo, possessed the power to practically do everything they wanted with their serfs. This power was identical to the slave owners in the Southern States of America, also in the 18th- and 19th century. This essay aims at showing how fundamentally different the American and Russian society was, and, ironically, how both contained unfree human beings in miserable conditions. The difficult conditions will be looked at too, and the interesting difference that can be found when comparing the fall of slavery and serfdom will be given so me attention. The research question is then; What were the simmilarities and differences between slavery in the USA and serfdom in the Russian Empire? The topic is worthy of investigation since the effects of slavery and serfdom still affect people living in the USA and Russia today. The United States of America The New World On October 12, 1492, when Columbus (1451-1506) reached land in the West Indies for the first time and met the indigenous people there, he made especially many notations in his log book. (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦)they [native people] indicated that people from other nearby islands come to San Salvador [Columbus named the island so] to capture them; they defend themselves the best they can. I believe that people from the mainland come here to take them as slaves  [5]  . Columbus log indicates that the Native American civilizations already consisted of some sort of slavery, unless Columbus own wish to make slaves of them made him misunderstand what they were trying to tell him. Columbus thinking like this is not unreasonable, considering what we can read further in the log: They ought to make good and skilled servants, for they repeat very quickly whatever we say to them and, perhaps most surprisingly I could conquer the whole of them with 50 men, and govern them as I pleased. This was day o ne, not counting the days it took to sail to this new land, and already some sort of prediction about the future of the new continent could be drawn, like in a novel consisting of foreshadowing. This was the beginning of the colonization of the West Indies, and later, the whole Northern- and Southern American continent. Portugal, Britain and France soon joined the scene, and successfully conquered and established themselves in the New World. Because of the cruel enslavement and barbaric behavior of the Spanish conquistadors, but mainly due to the unexpected European diseases like smallpox, typhus, influenza, diphtheria and measles, thereby killing millions upon millions of people  [6]  of the Indians. The tragic result of these biological genocides was the need for more workers, workers that would be found in Africa, and from there be brought to America. The Transatlantic Slave Trade The Bible says that the root of all evil is the love [lust] for money  [7]  . This was the case with the Transatlantic Slave Trade, a fundamental part of the Triangle Trade. This trade moved slaves from Central and Western Africa across the Atlantic Ocean to the West Indies [current Caribbean Islands], Brazil and North-America. It is estimated that about 9.4-12million Africans arrived in the New World from Africa. These were from Ghana and Nigeria, Congol and Angola. They were sold by West African kings and leaders, who often were put on the throne by the European traders themselves: The principal European traders took active part in installing kings who they judged would favour their activities irrespective of whether such kings were acceptable to their subjects  [8]  . Kings sent military expeditions against nearby tribes, captured their people and sold them to the Portuguese. The Portuguese acted out of personal, but also Spanish, need for slaves  [9]  . 10 A group of Africans captured by African slave market suppliers. After being captured, most Africans were separated from their families, men, women and children alike. They were then forced to walk hundreds of kilometres in order to reach the Slave Coast in West Africa, and the Atlantic Ocean. After arrival there, they were stowed together on ships like animals, with almost no place to even turn around, travelling for weeks among the filth of vomit-filled tubs, blood, urin, children crying, women shrieking and the dying groaning in despair. They could feel the stench of death spreading throughout the whole ship. These were the horrors of the Midlle Passage. 11 At any attempt of mutiny or resurrection terrible reprisals were carried out, like on the American ship Kentucky in 1844 where 46 men and one woman were hanged, tortured and mutilated and shot in the breast and the bodies thrown overboardà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦sometimes they shot at the body while it still hung living, and all kinds of sport was made of the business  [12]  . One can imagine that the poor survivors of these atrocities asked themselves if the situation could get worse. Nations like Holland, Britain, France and Spain followed up the Portuguese in the triangular trade. When arriving in America the slaves, who were in much smaler numbers than at departure, were sold profitably in auctions and the money was used to by sugar , tobacco and cotton. These raw materials were transported back to the individual countries of Europe and manufactured there. Sugar became rum, cotton textiles, and the tobacco used. To maintain this buisness slave transport ships were sent to West Africa again with products from Europe that were desirable for the merchants and leaders that were settled there. The 13 colonies and slavery Britain, one of the greatest colonising nations, had several colonies all around America from British Honduras [Honduras] in the south to Newfoundland in the north. 13 of these colonies had settled together like neighbours on the North-American continent. These colonies did not differ from others in the matter of slavery. Also here a master could enjoy absolute rights over his property  [13]  . Two of the earliest established colonies, Virginia (1607) and Maryland (1632), were especially determined to repress the blacks, both free and slave. This was mainly due to fear of slave insurrectons, like e.g at St. Domingo [Haiti]. Laws and codes were created, restricting assemblies of black slaves, forbidding escape and travel without pass (Virginia,1705). Any kind of violence against the white owner(s) (or any other white person for that sake) allowed the owner to correct such a slave very physically, and also, if the slave died during this correction, no punishment towards the owner e xisted. It was ()as if such accident never happened.  [14]  (Virginia,1705). Anti miscegenation laws were established (Maryland, 1664), not allowing sexual relations or marriage between people of different races [Declared unconstitutional in 1967]. The penalty for such inter-racial marriages was that the white women who had succumbed to this terrible act, would lawfully become a slave herself, and so any children that she might give birth to. To bear firearm (unless allowed by the owner for protection against the Indians) and witness in court proceedings against any but other blacks was illegal too (Virginia,1639 and Virginia,1705), as well as any excercisement in any ecclesiastic [church], civil or military office (Virginia,1705). Convertion to Christianity through baptism did not change civil rights either (Virginia,1667). Noteably, greatest influence was played by the above partly mentioned Slave Codes of 1705. These subsequently came to serve as models for the other colonies. It was because of these Slave Codes that slaves would be considered by the law as real estate, property, a thing. Due to lack of co-operation and stubborness from the British Parliament and King in former taxual matters concerning the 13 colonies, militia of the New England colony surrounded the city of Boston on April 18th 1775. The attack was a result of a confiscation and arrestation attempt in Concord  [15]  . Armed clashes between the British troops and the colonies began the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). The Second Continental Congress met the same year. This Congress formed the Continental Army and fought the British Army. What is highly relevant to my research question is what the Second Continental Congress did but a year after its gathering. They wrote and signed the most important act in American history, on July 4th 1776. It was the United States Declaration of Independence. Second Continental Congress  [16]   In the second sentence of this document we find the famous words:We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. One could assume that this clear separation from Imperial England and forming of a new nation based upon such beautiful words and honorable ideals must have contributed directly towards abolishment of slavery in the United States of America. The great paradox is that it didnt. Yes, the Revolutional ideas helped the Quakers together with Tomas Jefferson and Luther Martin in their pro-abolishment fight, resulting in illegalisation of slave trade in New York and Pennsylvania, but not much more. South Carolina temporarily illegalized the trade, while Massachusetts were hypocritical in their law by only prohibiting slave trade directly from Africa. Eli Whitneys cotton gin invention strenghtened the economic foundation of slavery in the Southern states and restored the African slave trade in North-America. Apparantly the former made changes affects did not last long. Officially only South Carolina had restored the slave trade, but the rest of the States smuggled in slaves and used them as well. The Bill of Rights (1789), the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution from 1787, guaranteed the white people in the United States that The Congress shal make no Law respecting the Establishment of Religion, or prohibiting the free Exercise thereof; or abridging the Freedom of Speech, or of the Press, or to the Right of the People peaceably assemble  [17]  . Through this they layed down a democratic foundation and example for the whole modern world. The United States should have been quite perfect, only that the great paradoxal and moral problem of slavery due to racism persisted. The Russian Empire Part of the culture Russia as a nation has gone through many changes throughout its history. The Kievan Rus state, which started in the 880s, contained the predecessors of several Slav people and is the oldest Russia we know of. Prince Vladimir (978-1015), a successor of the Kievan Rus crown, converted to Christianity and Eastern Orthodoxy. It was through this conversion and acceptance of Eastern Orthodoxic religion that the Byzantine culture, statecraft and art came to Kievan Rus. These three were mixed with the Slavs culture and thereby created traditions which influenced the rise of the Russian autocratic state  [18]  . Russias autocratic system in the 19th century was therefore quite old. The medieval state of Kievan Rus disintergrated in the end though, starting to divide into principalities in the 12th century because of domestic conflicts. The Mongol-Tartar invasion, starting with an attack in 1223, did not improve the situation. The Mongol-Tartars destroyed Kiev along with many other cities at the time, so that many of the Slav people, mainly peasants, became homeless and had no choice but to move and settle on the land of wealthy Russian princes and nobles. A starting serfdom was therefore partially one of the consequences of the Mongol-Tartar invasion. The peasants-serfs, became attached and dependent upon the mercy of higher ranked Russians. As the Mongol-Tartars power diminished, especially with the defeat at the Battle of Kulikovo (1380), the grand princes of Muscovy [Moscow], had created a strong and wealthy Grand Duchy. Ivan III (ruled 1462-1505), one of the most successful grand princes there, was the first Muscovite ruler to use the titles of tsar and Ruler of all Rus. He had the right to claim it, Muscovy trippled in size under his rule. In order to keep strict order and reject any smaller princes who claimed to rule specific territories, Ivan the III forced all lesser princes, the nobility, to acknowledge him the sole and unquestionable ruler of Muscovy. This would also count for his heirs. Ivan IV  [19]   The formation of the very powerful and autocratic tsardom came to exist. With Ivan IV, grandson of the III, the word autocratic was no longer only a property of an independent ruler, it came to mean unlimited rule. Between 1565 and 1572, under Tsar Ivan the IV [the Terrible], none in Muscovys prosperous and important district was safe. The Tsar, for uncertain reasons, started killing advisers, government officials and the aristocrats (boyars/nobles) The peasants started moving away in fear their problems with unpayed taxes. In order to prevent them from moving, the Tsar started binding them to the land, bringing the russian peasantry closer and closer to legal serfdom. Boris Godunov  [20]   The consequence of such a fools rule was constant chaos from 1598 to 1613. Despite the frequent change of tsars, tsardom itself survived and was consolidated as peasantry went through a gradual enserfment. Boris Godunov (1551-1605), brother-in-law of Ivan IVs mentally ill heir to the throne, practically became the Tsar of Russia from 1584-1605. In 1597 a decree made by him to attach peaseants to the land on which they lived and worked with was set out. Peasants could no longer move from one landlord to another as they wanted. This was done in order to keep rural stability in Russia. Godunov formed serfdon in its most oppressive form, while at the same time the rest of Europe was getting rid of domestic serfdom. The Legal Code of 1649, which further legalised the attachment of serfs to the land, came about because the state prepared the serfs with land as presents of compensation for the new nobilities, the Dvoryanstvo, but also presents for acts of loyality and military service  [21]  The main factor in this development was the governments central bureaucracy, which had expanded significantly by the 1650s. There were many peasants who tried to run away, becoming fugitives. Anyhow, thousands upon thousands of Russians became enserfed and controlled by other Russians. It was in racial aspects different than the situation of the African slaves in the US. But, like slaves in America, the now legimite serfs also started making riots, some more serious than others. The tsar and the government managed to keep their power though, through the nobility, the Russian Orthodox Church and autocracy. Backwardness Peter the Great (1672-1725) indirectly separated the Russian serfs culturally from the Dvoryanstwo through his westernisation of Russia. He forced the nobility to wear Western dresses, tastes and social customs, splitting the Dvoryanstvo with serfdom even more. In 18th century Russia metallurgical and textile industries used serf labour, and practically all of agriculture used serfs. It was possible to maintain the country with this system of serfs, but from then on Imperial Russia would be backwarded compared to Western Europe with its Industrial Revolution. Russian serfs Russias westernisation was based upon the governing elites of Western Europe like e.g in France, but in 1789 with the French Revolution at hand, the Russian Tsar would not and could not keep contact with countries like France. When Tsar Nikolas I came to the throne he thought that all contact with Western Europe had to be sensured or stopped. The central tool of the Tsar was His Imperial Majestys Private Chancery. The Third Section was in charge of state security. Tsar Nicholas I (1825-1855) was especially afraid of revolts against him because of the Decembrist revolt in 1825. This was a military protest in St. Petersburg by Russian army officers and intellectuals who had been affected by liberalism in Western Europe, deriving mainly from France through the Napoleonic Wars. These officers had realised the backwardness of Tsarist autocracy, and now sought to abolish serfdom, as an obstacle to economic prosperity, and modernize Russia through western technical and philosophical ideas. This was, ironically, the same thing that Peter I had wanted to do. The problem this time was that the Tsars autocracy was at stake. Nikolas I regarded the West as his personal enemies, and therefore ordered the Third Section of his Chancery to use censorship and surveillance methods in order to strictly limit reports of events in Western Europe and to suppress criticism of domestic social conditions. The criticism revealed itself through works of people like Alexander Pushkin and Pyotr Chaadaev, but also through the plays of Nikolai Gogol, who satirised the institution of serfdom in his novel Dead Souls. This is highly similar to what was happening in the USA, where Slave narratives like Uncle Toms Cabinand other literary publications were written by the pro-abolitionists. These works were not censored like in Russia, due to the First Amendment in the United States Constitution Bill of Rights where it is written: Congress shall make no law(à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦)abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. This also clearly shows how completely different the American and Russian society was. In 1858 there were 22.5 million serfs in the Russian countryside. Another 19 million where tied to lands owned by the state. 41.5 million out of a 74 million population  [22]  . The everyday life of a slave and serf in the 19th century While the white americans in the last part of the 19th century enjoyed a better standard of living than any other people on earth  [23]  , the black americans suffering was below criticism. In Russia conditions were of the medieval kind. The North of the USA was more industrialised, while the South continued their traditional farming. Of course, there was much farming in the North as well, but due to the industry they posessed, they produced almost 90% of the nations manufactured output in the 1850s. Slavery therefore existed only in the South, were there was a supposed need for it. In some defence of the South, only 25% of Southern families owned slaves. In Russia on the other hand, the whole country was based upon the vast countryside. Little industry existed, thus keeping Russian serfs intact on the fields. The number of serfs was naturally greater than the number of slaves. At least in the beginning of the 19th century auctioning was less brutal. Now dealers and owners advised against splitting up families. It still happened though, and many family members never saw each other again. The splitting up of families ended in Russia with a law of 1833. Most of the slaves were put to do the hard physical work on the cotton fields and farms. The white owners were most often performing hard work themselves, but the slaves were always inferior to them because in need for money slaves could be sold. In Russia the nobility didnt have to do the hard physical work. The simple and inferior serfs where to do it. Many slaves turned to Christianity and faith in God. In Russia, where the serfs were mainly Orthodox, the Church told people to withstand their hard conditions patiently. Still many, quite understandably, protested against their owners both through resistance to work and violence against them. In the US this often resulted in a visit to the Lashing House. The Lasher was a legally-appointed functionary to whom slaves were sent with just a letters notice from the owner as to how many lashes the slave was to recieve. This show that even though few people owned slaves in the South, most of them accepted it to rather big extents. Emancipations compared The abolishment of slavery in the USA and the emancipation of the serfs in Russia happened as a consequence of two wars. The American Civil War (1861-1865), where the blacks proved themselves through great acts of courage and valour, and the Crimean War (1853-1856), where Russian serf soldiers, even though brave, could not defeat the Western modern troops of Britain and France. The Civil War was to a significant extent the result of tensions between pro- and anti-slavery states, and as the war progressed slavery became the main theme. The Crimean War was the war of one supposed very strong power, Russia, verses Britain and France. Autocracy and serfdom against democracy and industrialisation. I find it very interesting to at this moment observe how the Civil War was about the neccesity of victory to abolish slavery, while the Crimean War resulted in defeat and pre-unintendedly led to emancipation of the serfs as the beginning of tremendous reforms. Note also that both wars and emancipations occurred at approximately the same time. Conclusion When we look upon how the United States of America and the Russian Empire came to be, there are practically no similarities, except the law making which defined slaves and serfs. By the mid-19th century slaves and serfs possesed almost the same identical status in their societies, which meant not possesing anything at all. The ethnical difference between slaves and serfs thus loses any significance. Both groups where human beings being oppressed by other human beings who acknowledged themselves as being superior. The everyday life of slaves and serfes were both characterised by bad conditions with practically no legal protection. Both slaves and serfs tried some form of riots, both groups consisted of runaways, and physical punishment happened if the owner wasnt satisfied. Suspicion and mistrust was an everyday reality. Both groups experienced auctioning and splitting up of families. Slaves and serfs alike were needed for agricultur in the rural parts of their respective countries. Slave and serf were understood to be inferior to their owners. There was, in quantity, more serfdom in Russia than there was slavery in the US, but in quality they experienced the same discrimination and unrightousness. Even though the slaves came from Africa, and lived as a minority in the USA, they ended up fighting like true heroes for their freedom in the American Civil War. The serfs of Russia where no minority, but actually the majority. They were Russians in bondage. A final comparing of slavery and serfdom would be to try to find out wheter it was worse in the USA or in Russia. I have come to the conclusion that it would be unwise to do so. Both systems consisted of people doing terrible acts against fellow people, black or white doesnt matter. This is also what we should learn from this history, and enlighen ourselves minds to fight this kind of atrocity to ever happen again.