Do we need internet police? You bet! The internet is still the wild west, and the sheriff hasn't yet come to town. Scams are everywhere, and there is little to stop the criminals. For example, I estimate that my online articles have been used in violation of my copyright at least 2000 times. Two thousand times - this is not an exaggeration.
Is there anything I can do about it? Yes, when someone in another country steals my article and puts their own name on it, I can find it online using search engines. At that point, the most I can really do is send a threatening email mentioning a lawyer that I can't actually afford to hire for each of these many violations.
In these cases the thieves usually remove the article, but they will almost always keep stealing other articles. They know that it is too much trouble and expense for anyone to pursue a legal case against them.
Of course there are larger crimes. I get "scam" emails almost daily, looking like they came from my PayPal account or my bank. You have probably seen the same. They try to get the information necessary to empty our accounts.
The Internet Police To The Rescue
There are few police qualified to fight crime online, and no political will to allocate money for training. My solution is to encourage someone or some company start their own for-profit internet police department. It would be a company that charges for protecting our rights.
They would know all the tricks necessary to go after the criminals. They would have technical knowledge needed to shut down web sites of criminals, for example. They could go after web hosts or others that repeatedly did business with known criminals. They could punish the wrong-doers.
To finance these operations, they could charge for each enforcement action, or sell a basic security package that might even include virus protection and such. Many, including myself, would pay for this protection, particularly if they could truly punish and deter criminals.
This would essentially be a "vigilante" operation. I am okay with this, because it is clear that the legal authorities are so far defaulting on their responsibilities in this area. Of course the company would have to develop a reputation for true integrity.
How would this work in action? Suppose I found an article of mine that was stolen. I would contact the Internet Police.com (or whatever their name was). They would then verify that I have used their service without problems before (to be sure I am not making bogus claims against others). Then they would look at documentation I sent them. I might have a service contract with them, or I would pay a set fee.
They would contact the owner of the website where my stolen article is, telling them to cease and desist in their copyright violation. If this site or person had a record of such violations, punitive action would be taken, which could include notification of all who do business with them that they are stealing articles. It might also mean being listed on the internet police "most wanted" list, a site the public could visit.
If this didn't convince the offenders to change their ways, other actions could be taken. Web hosts might be convinced to close their accounts. Volunteers might be used to overload their server with non-stop visits.
Criminals who engage in scams like trying to access people's bank accounts, could be "tricked" into divulging information. Criminals are always susceptible to being fooled, because they are always hoping for unearned power and money. Information thus obtained would be used to punish them, or could be forwarded to the appropriate authorities near them.
There are many ways internet criminals could be legally punished by the internet police, especially in conjunction with internet users who want to help clean up the web. Eventually, after a few good stories of this "vigilante justice" get into the press, fewer people would choose to engage in internet crime.
About the Author
Copyright Steve Gillman. For inventions, new product ideas, business ideas, story ideas, political and economic theories, deep thoughts, and a free course on How To Have New Ideas, visit : http://www.999ideas.com
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Phoenix Schools' Roosevelt District in Serious Trouble with Arizona Department of Education
The Roosevelt Elementary School District, located in the Phoenix Schools area on the south side of the city, is in serious trouble. The primarily low-income district has been dealing with turmoil for years, and the possible takeover by the Arizona Department of Education only exacerbates the situation.
Last December, Arizona Department of Education held a meeting in one of Roosevelt's school gyms to present the situation to all concerned. Over 200 parents, teachers and other community members were present as Arizona Schools Chief Tom Horne, flanked by 25 of his top staff members, laid out the Phoenix schools Roosevelt district's problems. Five members of the Phoenix schools Roosevelt district board were present.
Horne, a Harvard-trained lawyer, did not mince his words as he presented slide after slide and graph after graph that illustrated the large negative numbers that concerned this Phoenix schools district. Many in attendance were visibly stunned by the enormity of the situation with which they and the district are faced.
One point that Horne hammered home to the five Phoenix schools' Roosevelt district board members present, as well as the audience, was that other school districts were doing much better with similar resources. Three neighboring Phoenix schools' districts have just as many impoverished families as the Roosevelt district. They have just as many students with English as a second language, who need the extra time, resources and coursework to learn English in order to succeed in the Phoenix schools. Yet, these three Phoenix schools' districts have between 64 and 78 percent of their students performing at grade level in math for the third grade, with Roosevelt at 45 percent; and 62 and 72 percent in reading, with Roosevelt at 34 percent. The same is true in the other score measurements. In all 27 separate measurements, Roosevelt is substantially below the other three comparable Phoenix schools' districts. That is nearly double the number of students showing academic achievement, as compared to Roosevelt. (You may view Horne's graphs at: http://www.ade.az.gov/administration/superintendent/articles/RooseveltDistrictSpeech.pdf.)
What really hit home for the people in attendance is that Roosevelt receives per student funding above the state average, yet no other district in the state has performed so poorly. In 2005, the Arizona Department of Education ranked 10 of the Roosevelt schools as "underperforming". The district has only 21 schools. This was an unprecedented amount of "underperforming" schools in the Phoenix schools area.
Things must improve rapidly for the Phoenix schools' district. Otherwise, the state will take over the district and all its schools. Horne is applying pressure to overhaul the district's practices and replace ineffective personnel. Meanwhile, Horne has called for legislation to allow the state to take over entire districts and school boards for poor student performance.
The Roosevelt district has taken the threat of takeover by Horne to heart. This year, they have initiated many major changes, including:
* New and innovative practices; * District educators are working together to develop a guaranteed and viable curriculum; * Teachers at all levels are involved in curriculum mapping, which helps a teacher understand what standards to teach students and when to teach them; * A standards-based progress report now replaces the number grade reporting system, helping teachers and parents understand the language of standards and create a consistency between district reports and the results of the statewide test; and * A comprehensive curriculum guide was developed and implemented that includes standards and a curriculum pacing calendar.
Only time (and a very short time, at that) will tell if these changes will be enough to elevate the Phoenix schools' Roosevelt district's underperforming schools. If not, then the district will be under new management -- the state.
About the Author
Last December, Arizona Department of Education held a meeting in one of Roosevelt's school gyms to present the situation to all concerned. Over 200 parents, teachers and other community members were present as Arizona Schools Chief Tom Horne, flanked by 25 of his top staff members, laid out the Phoenix schools Roosevelt district's problems. Five members of the Phoenix schools Roosevelt district board were present.
Horne, a Harvard-trained lawyer, did not mince his words as he presented slide after slide and graph after graph that illustrated the large negative numbers that concerned this Phoenix schools district. Many in attendance were visibly stunned by the enormity of the situation with which they and the district are faced.
One point that Horne hammered home to the five Phoenix schools' Roosevelt district board members present, as well as the audience, was that other school districts were doing much better with similar resources. Three neighboring Phoenix schools' districts have just as many impoverished families as the Roosevelt district. They have just as many students with English as a second language, who need the extra time, resources and coursework to learn English in order to succeed in the Phoenix schools. Yet, these three Phoenix schools' districts have between 64 and 78 percent of their students performing at grade level in math for the third grade, with Roosevelt at 45 percent; and 62 and 72 percent in reading, with Roosevelt at 34 percent. The same is true in the other score measurements. In all 27 separate measurements, Roosevelt is substantially below the other three comparable Phoenix schools' districts. That is nearly double the number of students showing academic achievement, as compared to Roosevelt. (You may view Horne's graphs at: http://www.ade.az.gov/administration/superintendent/articles/RooseveltDistrictSpeech.pdf.)
What really hit home for the people in attendance is that Roosevelt receives per student funding above the state average, yet no other district in the state has performed so poorly. In 2005, the Arizona Department of Education ranked 10 of the Roosevelt schools as "underperforming". The district has only 21 schools. This was an unprecedented amount of "underperforming" schools in the Phoenix schools area.
Things must improve rapidly for the Phoenix schools' district. Otherwise, the state will take over the district and all its schools. Horne is applying pressure to overhaul the district's practices and replace ineffective personnel. Meanwhile, Horne has called for legislation to allow the state to take over entire districts and school boards for poor student performance.
The Roosevelt district has taken the threat of takeover by Horne to heart. This year, they have initiated many major changes, including:
* New and innovative practices; * District educators are working together to develop a guaranteed and viable curriculum; * Teachers at all levels are involved in curriculum mapping, which helps a teacher understand what standards to teach students and when to teach them; * A standards-based progress report now replaces the number grade reporting system, helping teachers and parents understand the language of standards and create a consistency between district reports and the results of the statewide test; and * A comprehensive curriculum guide was developed and implemented that includes standards and a curriculum pacing calendar.
Only time (and a very short time, at that) will tell if these changes will be enough to elevate the Phoenix schools' Roosevelt district's underperforming schools. If not, then the district will be under new management -- the state.
About the Author
Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Patricia has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues. For more information visit Phoenix Schools
Legal Aid Society
The oldest and largest provider of legal services in the United States to its community was founded in 1876. The Legal Aid Society's main function is to provide free legal services to the people living in New York who are living at or below the poverty level. This will help to ensure that the justice system does not miss out on these groups of people who cannot afford to hire a lawyer. These groups of people are unable to even have enough for their daily basic necessities much say a lawyer should they require one when they face a legal situation. The Legal Aid Society basically provides services such as criminal defense and juvenile representation in Family Court for these groups of people in New York.
Every year, the Society will have to handle about more than 200,000 indigent criminal cases. On top of these criminal cases, the Society has to act as legal guardian to more than 30,000 children, representing individuals, families and community groups in more than 30,000 cases. The number of cases taken by the Society has only increased since it was founded in 1876. This could only imply that the income gap between the rice and poor in New York is growing further and further apart as the country progress. This has resulted in more and more people having to turn to legal aid service provided when they face a legal situation they need help with.
On top of representing in the above mentioned cases, the Legal Aid Society will also frequently conduct major class action litigation on behalf of thousands of welfare recipients, foster children, elderly poor, homeless families, inmates and prisoners. The amount of working and responsibility taken by the Society has increased over the year. Today, the Society plays an active and important role in the providing of justice to the people living in poverty.
Current, the Society has more than 800 lawyers working with approximately 600 paraprofessionals working based in neighborhood and court-based offices in 18 facilities in the five boroughs of New York City. The Society basically gets its resources from public funding from criminal defense work and representation of juveniles in child protective and delinquency matters. Public funding contributes about 90% of the Society's fiscal budget of $140 million. The remaining 10% comes from the annual fund raising activities organize by the Society. This includes private donations from individual, associates, law firms, corporations, foundations and special events.
The Legal Aid Society can be seen to have the largest pro bono programs in the country. There are about 900 talented voulnteer lawyers working for the Society every year. Ever since it started its pro bono program, the Society has done a lot to ensure it is able to retain and maintian its relationships with the volunteer lawyers throughout their carrers in the legal field. A unit located at the Society's headquarters at 199 Water Street holds the usual pro bono activities. To the Society, these individuals are very valuable as they help to provide a strong base of contacts and relationship.
The Legal Aid Society can be said to be a forerunner in the legal field. It can be considered to have more experienced in more practice areas on a larger scale than any other large institution in New York. The Society can be seen to hold quite a powerful standing in the legal field in its country. This can be witness by how the Society's developed programs affect certain approaches in the national and international arenas. On top of that, it is one of the few legal services organizations in New York who can pursue immigration and welfare representations, class actions and prison litigation. In order not to restrict the Society's practice, it has retained a full range of advocacy options for the clients' it serves by declining funding.
When it comes to the resolution of their clients' problems, the Legal Aid Society can be seen to continuously seek the most effective approaches throughout its existence. The Society has a strong believe that the continuation of any legal involvement will erode their client's potential to build and enjoy productive lives, while incurring high social costs. Due to this strong believe, new innovative strategies and efficient models of service delivery has been made. One of these strategies is to break the patterns of escalating involvement with the criminal and civil legal systems. By using this strategy, the Society's clients are able to receive comprehensive legal and social services.
For more information on obtaining legal aid advice, hiring a legal aid lawyer and online legal aid assistance, please visit http://legal-aid.mygeneralknowledge.com
About the Author
Skyjoe is a well known author, website publisher and owner of http://legal-aid.mygeneralknowledge.com/. ©Skyjoe. All rights reserved. This article may be freely distributed as long as it remains unaltered and the copyright notice is intact. No alteration is allowed without express written permission from the author.
Every year, the Society will have to handle about more than 200,000 indigent criminal cases. On top of these criminal cases, the Society has to act as legal guardian to more than 30,000 children, representing individuals, families and community groups in more than 30,000 cases. The number of cases taken by the Society has only increased since it was founded in 1876. This could only imply that the income gap between the rice and poor in New York is growing further and further apart as the country progress. This has resulted in more and more people having to turn to legal aid service provided when they face a legal situation they need help with.
On top of representing in the above mentioned cases, the Legal Aid Society will also frequently conduct major class action litigation on behalf of thousands of welfare recipients, foster children, elderly poor, homeless families, inmates and prisoners. The amount of working and responsibility taken by the Society has increased over the year. Today, the Society plays an active and important role in the providing of justice to the people living in poverty.
Current, the Society has more than 800 lawyers working with approximately 600 paraprofessionals working based in neighborhood and court-based offices in 18 facilities in the five boroughs of New York City. The Society basically gets its resources from public funding from criminal defense work and representation of juveniles in child protective and delinquency matters. Public funding contributes about 90% of the Society's fiscal budget of $140 million. The remaining 10% comes from the annual fund raising activities organize by the Society. This includes private donations from individual, associates, law firms, corporations, foundations and special events.
The Legal Aid Society can be seen to have the largest pro bono programs in the country. There are about 900 talented voulnteer lawyers working for the Society every year. Ever since it started its pro bono program, the Society has done a lot to ensure it is able to retain and maintian its relationships with the volunteer lawyers throughout their carrers in the legal field. A unit located at the Society's headquarters at 199 Water Street holds the usual pro bono activities. To the Society, these individuals are very valuable as they help to provide a strong base of contacts and relationship.
The Legal Aid Society can be said to be a forerunner in the legal field. It can be considered to have more experienced in more practice areas on a larger scale than any other large institution in New York. The Society can be seen to hold quite a powerful standing in the legal field in its country. This can be witness by how the Society's developed programs affect certain approaches in the national and international arenas. On top of that, it is one of the few legal services organizations in New York who can pursue immigration and welfare representations, class actions and prison litigation. In order not to restrict the Society's practice, it has retained a full range of advocacy options for the clients' it serves by declining funding.
When it comes to the resolution of their clients' problems, the Legal Aid Society can be seen to continuously seek the most effective approaches throughout its existence. The Society has a strong believe that the continuation of any legal involvement will erode their client's potential to build and enjoy productive lives, while incurring high social costs. Due to this strong believe, new innovative strategies and efficient models of service delivery has been made. One of these strategies is to break the patterns of escalating involvement with the criminal and civil legal systems. By using this strategy, the Society's clients are able to receive comprehensive legal and social services.
For more information on obtaining legal aid advice, hiring a legal aid lawyer and online legal aid assistance, please visit http://legal-aid.mygeneralknowledge.com
About the Author
Skyjoe is a well known author, website publisher and owner of http://legal-aid.mygeneralknowledge.com/. ©Skyjoe. All rights reserved. This article may be freely distributed as long as it remains unaltered and the copyright notice is intact. No alteration is allowed without express written permission from the author.
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