Music duo The Bellamy Brothers accuse Britney Spears of plagiarism

Sunday, February 20, 2011

US pop and country duo The Bellamy Brothers are accusing pop music singer Britney Spears — also from the United States — of plagiarism in her latest single “Hold It Against Me”. The group believes that Spears is “ripping off” one of their songs, a 1979 track entitled “If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me”; they are thought to be attempting to have Spears prosecuted.

Howard and David Bellamy claim that Britney Spears’ single, the first to be released from her upcoming album Femme Fatale, is “too close” to The Bellamy Brothers song. Both tracks have reached number one on various music charts.

Speaking to British tabloid newspaper The Daily Star, David Bellamy said, “Howard and I have no personal beef with Britney. She’s a talented gal. But professionally we feel completely ripped off. We will without doubt take the appropriate legal action if our attorneys agree we’ve been ripped off.”

A spokesperson for Britney Spears, made a statement to the same newspaper. “If this is now a legal matter then I am afraid we would have nothing to say until our lawyers have been alerted,” the spokesperson stated.

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The Myth Of Social Justice

The Myth of Social Justice

by

John Russell Turner

“Social justice”? What is it? Social justice refers to the concept of a society in which justice is achieved in every aspect of society, rather than merely through the administration of law. It is generally thought of as a world which affords individuals and groups fair treatment and an impartial share of the benefits of society. The strict dictionary definition of justice is: the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness: to uphold the justice of a cause. Also, justice is rightfulness or lawfulness, as of a claim or title; justness of ground or reason. Combine that with social : of or pertaining to the life, welfare, and relations of human beings in a community.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOBK6NGfMtE[/youtube]

Right away there are problems with the “concept” of social justice. Who decides what is just or not for which individuals? Is it just that one man doesn’t have a Mercedes, and another does? I might decide that becaue I’m poor and can’t even afford a bicycle to get to my minimum wage job, it is unjust that someone else rides a Mercedes, or a Lincoln, or a Honda, etc., to work. Now the question becomes, how am I to collect on my claim of injustice? Who will provide me with a new car (or even a used one), since it is “unjust” that I have to walk while others can ride in comfort? Should I walk up to any car owner I see and demand that he or she supply me with a car, since that would be the just thing to do? Or should I apply to the government to redress this alleged injustice? The more likely case would be the latter, applying to the government for a car. Got to have social justice, right? But why should I stop there? Others live in mansions in beautiful neighborhoods, while I live I live in a slum hovel in a crime infested neighborhood. That’s unjust! I must have that mansion! I demand that you pay for it, rich boy! If you refuse, why, I can join the Democratic Party and force you to pay for it through higher taxes…soak the rich! Hell, might as well eat the rich (can you say “moral cannibalism”?) Not so, you say? Perhaps you think social justice doesn’t mean just an “impartial share of the benefits of society”. Perhaps you are thinking along the lines of ending racism, sexism, homophobia, et al. Now that is at least theoretically possible, if we can get ahold of kids at a young age and make sure they don’t succumb to the psychological and intellectual vices that leads to such ills. But how are we going to do that, exactly? Isn’t this all a matter of personal decision, and in some cases a function of intelligence? How are you going to stop a stupid man from becoming a racist, aside from putting the fear of jail in him? (and that doesn’t always work). There will always be poor people, and there always will be stupid people who just can’t be taught such things. In other words, poverty, racism, sexism, homophobia, et al, will always be around, and it is futile to use the power of government to try to stop it. Instead, start at home. Teach your kids about love, rather than hate. Teach them to respect differances. Teach them healthy, legitimate self-esteem, along with virtues such as productivity, honesty, integrity, rationality, etc., etc. The thing about trying to end these evils through the government is that the government can only do one thing: use its’ power against the individual. This can only be done, in essence, by criminalizing thought. How on Earth can you ever hope to prove what a man or woman is thinking? Pretty soon Orwell’s thought police will become a reality, and we’ll have the cops studying up on reading facial expressions and body language to determine if a thought crime has been commited. Really, there is no such concrete thing as “social justice.” In the abstract, it can be reduced to absurdity. But you can certainly get youngsters to get all fired up about it. You can use this ardor to harness it for your own ends, if you’re a socialist. You see, as Ayn Rand pointed out, you can fill people’s minds with this sort of right-seeming mush, inflame them with a fake vision of Utopia, and they will flock to the first credible tyrant/thug that comes along promising to deliver this Utopia. Exactly like Barack Obama.

http://johnturner.110mb.com/politics

Article Source:

The Myth of Social Justice

Manitoba volunteers go to war against Red River flooding

Monday, April 6, 2009

Over 1,600 volunteers registered to help build approximately 65,000 of the 500,000 sandbags to create dikes 20.5 feet (6.2 meters) high to protect the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba in the war against the Red River of the North flood.

700 volunteers answered at the rural municipality of St. Andrews alone. Once sandbags are filled for West St. Paul, St. Andrews, and Selkirk, then frozen culverts must be cleared.

The height of the river is expected to be Thursday, and predictions are that it will be less than Flood of the Century of 1997. There is no precipitation in the forecast, and snow in the province should be melted by the end of the week.

“The fear right now is we have to get that ice out of the river. The Amphibex [Excavators] are still working and breaking the ice apart, and everyday we buy with the warm weather and the current, it is thinning the ice down a bit, so when it does start to move, the better chance it’ll move right out into the lake,” said Paul Guyder, the emergency coordinator for the RMs of St. Andrews and St. Clements.

“I feel that we’ve done everything humanly possible to get ready,” said Gary Doer, Premier of Manitoba, “But … there are fallibilities with human behaviour. We can take every preventative measure as human beings possible and we can still get Mother Nature proving again she is superior.”

Communities with ring diking will partially or fully close their dikes at the beginning of the week. Provincial officials are considering opening the Red River Floodway gates around mid-week before ice is fully melted.

Ice jams could cause flooding within the city, however opening the gates could spare neighbourhood flooding when the river rises to the estimated 6.3 meters (20.7 feet) height. The province does have back up plans for dealing with ice jams within the city if they do occur. The unpredictability of ice jams and the ensuing water level rise may cause neighbourhood flooding. The city is raising dikes where the river has jammed with ice in the past such as on tight curves and past bridges. Likewise there are excavators and backhoes positioned at these points.

Vulnerable neighbourhoods on the river banks have been reinforced with sandbag dikes at vulnerable areas from the massive volunteer effort over the weekend. Guyader feels no more extra volunteers are needed, however volunteers are still being asked to leave their names and number in case of unpredicted need. Existing personnel will assess roads, and help with clean up.

Approximately 400 of the 800 people who evacuated the Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation have returned to their homes.

Former Premier, Dufferin Roblin, brought forward the floodway as a protection for Winnipeg residents and economy following the 1950 Red River Flood. The Red River floodway, “Duff’s Ditch” was finally finished in 1968, and its floodway gates have been opened 20 times saving Winnipeg from an estimated CA$10 billion in damages. The floodway expansion began in 2005 at a price of $665 million.

Polish and Chinese experts have come to survey the Red River Floodway, and Dennis Walaker, mayor of Fargo, North Dakota recognises the need for Red River flood defences down river. “Every town that you drive by from the Canadian line up to Winnipeg is either elevated or ring-diked,” said Walaker.

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John Reed on Orwell, God, self-destruction and the future of writing

Thursday, October 18, 2007

It can be difficult to be John Reed.

Christopher Hitchens called him a “Bin Ladenist” and Cathy Young editorialized in The Boston Globe that he “blames the victims of terrorism” when he puts out a novel like Snowball’s Chance, a biting send-up of George Orwell‘s Animal Farm which he was inspired to write after the terrorist attacks on September 11. “The clear references to 9/11 in the apocalyptic ending can only bring Orwell’s name into disrepute in the U.S.,” wrote William Hamilton, the British literary executor of the Orwell estate. That process had already begun: it was revealed Orwell gave the British Foreign Office a list of people he suspected of being “crypto-Communists and fellow travelers,” labeling some of them as Jews and homosexuals. “I really wanted to explode that book,” Reed told The New York Times. “I wanted to completely undermine it.”

Is this man who wants to blow up the classic literary canon taught to children in schools a menace, or a messiah? David Shankbone went to interview him for Wikinews and found that, as often is the case, the answer lies somewhere in the middle.

Reed is electrified by the changes that surround him that channel through a lens of inspiration wrought by his children. “The kids have made me a better writer,” Reed said. In his new untitled work, which he calls a “new play by William Shakespeare,” he takes lines from The Bard‘s classics to form an original tragedy. He began it in 2003, but only with the birth of his children could he finish it. “I didn’t understand the characters who had children. I didn’t really understand them. And once I had had kids, I could approach them differently.”

Taking the old to make it new is a theme in his work and in his world view. Reed foresees new narrative forms being born, Biblical epics that will be played out across print and electronic mediums. He is pulled forward by revolutions of the past, a search for a spiritual sensibility, and a desire to locate himself in the process.

Below is David Shankbone’s conversation with novelist John Reed.

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5 Easy Steps To Get Rid Of Cellulite

Submitted by: Stephanie Curtis

If you are a woman struggling with cellulite around the thighs, buns or hip areas, believe me, you are NOT alone. There are so many women out there that are experiencing the exact same thing you are. Some of these women believe that they are stuck with these unsightly “cottage cheese” like bumps on their skin. Luckily for you, I’m here to tell you that they are dead wrong. What if I told you that there are a number of techniques and tools that when used in conjunction with each other can drastically reduce the appearance of cellulite on your skin, leaving your problem areas looking smooth as a baby’s butt! Would you believe me? For your sake I would hope that you would.

Let’s face it ladies, cellulite is pretty unpleasant, am I right? I’m going to explain to you exactly how to expel cellulite from your life once and for all so you can finally look good in that bikini or skirt. First off, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of exactly what cellulite is so we can better understand on how we can get rid of it. Cellulite is, by definition, the topography of skin caused by fat cells leaking through the connective tissues into the upper dermis. In layman’s terms, fat cells are leaking through in the upper portion of your skin. This is what causes the cellulite dimples that we dread so much. As a fit and in-shape woman that has suffered from cellulite, I’m here to tell you that cellulite is not necessarily directly related to being overweight. In fact, many women, who have what is to be considered average and even below average body fat percentage levels suffer from the effects of cellulite. That must sound like some pretty bad news, but I’m not finished.

Now that you know a bit about what cellulite really is, let’s talk about what we can do to get rid of it, and yes you really can get rid of cellulite. Here are some tactics and tips that when combined together will not only help you get rid of cellulite, but my hope is, increase your quality of life as a whole. We all know that when you look better, you feel better.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7tDhS3Hlao[/youtube]

1. Cut out all unnatural foods. I put this one first because it will probably be the most difficult to achieve but at the same is also one of the most important factors. Stay away from processed foods, especially anything with high fructose corn syrup. Foods such as white breads, donuts, sugar filled cereals, or anything else that is processed should be completely eliminated from your diet if you are serious about getting rid of your cellulite. Some examples of good foods would be: one-hundred percent whole wheat bread, honey instead of table sugar, fruits and vegetables, and skim milk.

2. Maintain a healthy weight. While being overweight doesn’t directly cause cellulite, it most certainly doesn’t help. If you are overweight, be sure to lose your weight gradually and over time with proper diet and exercise, if you lose weight too fast this will result in loose skin.

3. Target muscle groups. Go on the internet and research exercises that specifically target the muscle groups in your cellulite problem areas. Toner muscle means toner skin, and toner skin means less cellulite. Pretty simple right?

4. Use a cellulite massager in conjunction with a good cellulite cream. This is a must. You may have to pay a little bit of money for a massager and cellulite cream but it is worth it. Research has shown that combining deep massage with the right cellulite cream can drastically reduce the appearance of cellulite. Be sure to visit the website at the bottom of this article for full reviews of the best creams on the market.

5. Stay focused. Maintain your diet and exercises, and be sure to use your cream and massager on a daily basis.

That’s all there is to it. With a little time, dedication, and self discipline your cellulite will diminish, you won’t be able to stop looking at yourself in the mirror, and you will finally be able to show off your new smooth skin.

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16-year-old arrested over alleged plot to hijack US airliner

Saturday, January 26, 2008

A 16-year-old male from Novato, California has been arrested in Tennessee over allegations he intended to hijack a commercial passenger airliner in the United States.

The boy, who was unnamed due to his age, was a passenger on board Southwest Airlines Flight 284 from Los Angeles to Nashville on Tuesday, with his parents reporting him missing at 11:30 am the same day. Although he remained calm throughout the flight and made no hijacking attempt, authorities report he had handcuffs, duct tape and yarn inside the aircraft cabin with him. Although his arrest was only made public on Friday, it is reported that he was detained immediately on reaching Nashville International Airport.

George Bolds, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said that the items were “suspicious” and that the boy had informed the FBI he had indeed intended to hijack the aircraft. An FBI agent told reporters that he felt the plot was ill-conceived, saying “His plan had a low probability of success.”

The FBI also conducted a search of his home on Thursday, finding in his room “a photograph of the inside of a small aircraft, something you’d find in a bookstore.”

Subsequent to his arrest he pled guilty on Friday to a “delinquent act,” according to local officials. A juvenile court judge ordered him to be returned to California for continued perusal of that charge as well as others set to be made. He is currently in Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center in Nashville.

Authorities believe that the teen was suicidal, but the FBI dismissed earlier reports alleging that he intended to crash the airliner into a Hannah Montana concert in Lafayette, Louisiana.

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Dumpers Hire Cheshire And Its 3 Benefits}

Dumpers hire Cheshire and its 3 benefits

by

Sia Benet

If you are associated with the construction industry, we dont need to tell you what the different machines you require for conducting your business. Excavators and dumpers are among the most commonly seen machines in various construction sites and both of these machines perform extremely important tasks. There are large construction companies that own their excavators and dumpers but many of the smaller companies dont go for outright purchase. It is highly possible that you opt for excavators hire Merseyside and dumpers hire Cheshire because hiring for you makes more business sense than outright purchase.

The most sensible entrepreneurs take risks because this is the only way they can grow their business. However, senseless risk taking has downed many a business and similarly, entrepreneurs who have taken risk with prudence have been able to ensure that their business hasnt gone down. We dont need to remind you that you want to be part of the successful list of entrepreneurs and hence, you need to take risks in a more sensible manner.

Through this article you would be going towards a direction that will benefit you and this article will help you to make right decision in this regard. You may have enough capital to buy excavators and dumpers and other construction machinery. The point is do you really need to purchase when there are options available in the form of excavators hire Merseyside and dumpers hire Cheshire? If you are prudent, you will opt for hire first and when your business becomes large enough, then it could be time for you to purchase these pieces of machinery that, let us remind you, can be rather expensive. Let us see why hiring makes more sense than purchasing.

Your capital is not locked

Once you opt for purchasing construction machinery, you make a capital infusion. You will now feel added pressure to do more business to make your purchase make sense. On the other hand, if you opt for hiring, you only use a machine when you want and pay for it when you use it. This keeps your capital free that you can use elsewhere.

There is no need for maintenance

When you opt for excavators hire Merseysideordumpers hire Cheshire, there is no need for you to maintain these machines. The person or agency you hire from will do the maintenance job. What you will get is a piece of machine that works perfectly fine and to your satisfaction.

You will not need to make additional purchases

When it comes to excavators and dumpers, there are different models available. If you plan to purchase, you may need to buy more than one and this would mean more capital spending. On the other hand, when you opt for excavators hire Merseysideordumpers hire Cheshire, you dont need to worry about this at all. You can hire the specific model that is need for the job.

If you keep all these three points in mind, it does look that excavators hire Merseyside and dumpers hire Cheshire is the way to go for you. This is a highly convenient option for any budding entrepreneur.

Rather than opting for a straight purchase, you may consider the option of

excavators hire Merseyside

or

dumpers hire Cheshire

.

Article Source:

eArticlesOnline.com}

Five convicted in abortion case in Portugal

Wednesday, July 5, 2006

A doctor, his assistant and three women who were found to have undergone abortion were convicted of violating abortion laws in Portugal.

The three women were found to have undergone abortion in violation of Portuguese law. Abortion is illegal in Portugal except where a pregnancy is caused by rape or when the health of the mother is in danger due to the pregnancy. Further, abortion cannot be performed after the first trimester (the end of 12th week).

Twelve other defendants, mostly women and their partners, were found not guilty. The doctor was sentenced to 3 years and 8 months in prison. His assistant was deemed an accomplice and sentenced to 1 year and 4 months in prison. The three women were given 6 month suspended sentences.

Wikipedia has more about this subject:

All the defendants had earlier been acquitted of the charges in 2004 for lack of evidences. That decision was declared void by a superior court on appeal. The court decided that the medical examinations conducted on the women, which were performed without a court order or the presence of a state witness, were legal.

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