31785: Sep 6, 2007

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Trying to Define Criminal Law

We hear about law everyday whether we realize it or not. It's in our Government, in our work, and even in our houses. One type of law is Criminal law, which is also known as Penal law. This is "The body of statutory and common law that deals with crime and the legal punishment of criminal offenses."

Inside of criminal law there is four major theories of criminal justice:

- Punishment

- Deterrence

- Incapacitation

- Rehabilitation

This form of law is essential in many cases because it can distinguis between crimes from civil wrongs. Criminal law has been around for ages, and is seeing as the fundamental system of regulating the behavior of individuals and groups relatively to what is defined as the social norms. This differs between civil crimes, where the difference is between two individuals and their individual rights and obligations under the law which is ruling the entire society.

An example of a civil law case is a dispute between two individuals over a contract that they made to for example sell an automobile. In that case one individual feels that their individual rights for a fair automobile sale have been breached by the other party. Where as in a criminal case, you would have for example a murderer, who is infringing on the right of safety that we all have. Given those two examples I'm sure you can appreciate how important Criminal law is, and the important role that it plays in everyone of our societies.

Feel free to reprint this article as long as you keep the article, this caption and author biography in tact with all hyperlinks.

Ryan Fyfe is the owner and operator of Good Criminal Lawyer - http://www.good-criminal-lawyer.com, which is the best site on the internet for all criminal lawyer related information.

Buildings Insurance and the Threat of Flood

What is the impact of increased flooding risk in the UK? What happens if your home becomes effected by flood?

Flood is an increased problem in the UK. Buildings insurance companies are concerned about the rising risk of flood. Claims to settle flooded properties are by nature quite expensive. Flood also tends to be a recurring threat at properties which means that once effected a home could suffer more than one flood in a short period of time.

This makes accepting flood risk properties difficult for UK insurance companies as there is almost an inevitability that the property will once again face flood damage.

The general rule amongst house insurance companies is that if a building suffers flood, the present insurer will continue to cover it at renewal of the policy. However you will be unable to switch insurer at this stage. Whilst this may mean you are stuck with a limited choice of insurers willing to cover the property, at least you are offered protection.

If you move into a property that is liable to flooding, you should investigate who previously insured the home. this might be your only chance of getting proper buildings cover for the property.

There are some flood specialists on the market who may be able to offer cover. Yourhomeinsurance.co.uk, a site dedicated to house insurance in the UK does not accept flood risk properties.

Tim Larden writes for yourhomeinsurance.co.uk - buildings insurance a buildings and contents insurance site in the UK. The site also carries a house insurance news centre and has a useful zone for tips on reducing your home insurance premiums

Fellow Baby Boomers - Are We Destined to Become the Last Generation That Actually Likes to Read?

I think the first time I really became aware of what is going on with what seems to be waning interest of our kids generation in reading of the printed page, was when my own three children - all in their 20 ' - thanked me for their signed copies of my latest novel, Shadow of Innocence, but somewhat guiltily confessed, they'd probably never read it.

What!?

Hey, wait a minute, I write novels and my own kids aren't even going to read them? What gives? Have my schoolteacher wife and I somehow managed to produce an illiterate brood of offspring? Well to be fair, they do read - sometimes. However, my boys read only non-fiction business books and my daughter, as she tells me, is not 'into', my genre. But as I began to look into this reading reluctance more closely, it seems that there is a definite trend away from reading for enjoyment in the under 30 population. And Harry Potter aside, most kids would rather watch TV or play video games, then read.

And it's not just a limited to the 'too busy' 20 Something's.

While at a book signing earlier this week, I got to talking with a young mom and her three grade-school age children, all of whom she admitted, hate to read. And not even the magic and hype of around the marvelous Harry Potter could break through their reluctance to forsake the 'Tube' for the printed word.

As near as I can ascertain, these advanced cases of 'literary phobia' seem to revolve around one a central theme. Reading is work. Videos are fun.

Oddly enough, the reading aversion doesn't seem to extend to reading off of a computer screen. But before my fellow authors start effervescing about 'e-books' replacing the printed word, I'd have to respectfully and sadly disagree. It's not necessarily the medium that delivers the story, novel or essay; its the words themselves. The generation that has been raised on the flashing lights and blaring sounds of video games, music videos and TV commercials, don't like reading blocks of words - unless they flash, move and sing.

In a nutshell, almost everyone I spoke to under the age of 30 feels that all reading means work; for school, the job, or in navigating on-line forms. And work that they are perfectly willing to do by the way for things like on-line registrations, i-pod warranties and the endless minutia involved in setting up a My space, Face Book, or any other number of on-line, tell-all forms detailing everything from sexual orientation to shoe size.

In an attempt to ascertain whether or not it's the story line or plot of novels that turns today's generation off from recreational reading as a form of entertainment, I've actually discussed the plots and story lines of some of my favorite books and authors with many of these very nice and very bright, young people. Often they get really interested in them and when they do, can you guess what question they asked me? "Is it out on DVD?"

Sigh

But maybe it's our fault. Maybe all of the electronic flashing, and jumping, noisemaking cyber entertainment and communications devices with which we've flooded our kids generation, has atrophied their ability to visualize and enjoy a written story using nothing but - imagination. On the other hand, who knows, maybe it will all work out. Maybe undreamed of new technologies will come along to save the day - and imagination.

Perhaps we can imagine a future day when some new remarkable electronic cyber device will give kids the opportunity to imagine their own story and create it in words, pictures and sound. Perhaps in the form of holograph as in Star wars.

So buck up my fellow boomers. Maybe by the time we're all hanging out in the nursing home and cackling about our 'glory days' spent blowing out our brain cells back in the groovy '60s and '70s, our grand kids will be creating literary flights of fancy that will bring a imagination and storytelling back full circle.

Lets hope!
Ric

Ric Wasley - Author
Shadow of Innocence - Kunati - April 2007
Acid Test - Fall 2004

New from Kunati Publishing: SHADOW OF INNOCENCE - The Newport Folk Festival provides a groovy backdrop for this fun and exciting mystery set in the music and drug soaked sixties. The Baby Boomers and everyone else are sure to enjoy this appealing mystery featuring a pair of musician partners in love and danger. Don't miss Shadow of Innocence From Kunati Publishing. Available now on; Amazon, Barnes & Noble and at bookstores everywhere. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1601640064/ref=cm_arms_pdp_dp/102-9493123-7988954

31785

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Trying to Define Criminal Law

Buildings Insurance and the Threat of Flood

Fellow Baby Boomers - Are We Destined to Become the Last Generation That Actually Likes to Read?

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