Excerpts on Death Penalty

The Death Penalty is a form of torture

The cruelty of torture is evident. Like torture, an execution constitutes an extreme physical and mental assault on a person already rendered helpless by government authorities. Abolitionist groups claim that the cruelty of the death penalty is manifest not only in the execution but in the time spent under sentence of death, during which the prisoner is constantly contemplating his or her own death at the hands of the state. Prison is an extraordinarily severe punishment that should not be exacerbated with torture or the death penalty.

Torture Defined
Torture of prisoners violates the Eight Amendment’s provision against Cruel and Unusual Punishment, and also constitutes a violation of several international laws. The United Nations Convention on Torture defined torture as “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.”

An example of torture in the US Criminal Justice System

In May 1998, a lawsuit was filed concerning conditions for death row inmates in Idaho Maximum Security Institution. The suit states that inmates are held in solitary confinement for 163 of every week's 168 hours in small concrete and steel cells with solid metal doors and a narrow slit for a window. Inmates are allowed out of their cells for a maximum of one hour a day, excluding weekends, for recreation, alone and handcuffed in one of 12 enclosed wire mesh pens measuring approximately seven by 15 feet. The prisoner named in the lawsuit, Randy McKinney, states that he has lived under such a regime for 16 years, and that such treatment constitutes torture.

The World Trade Center Bombing

On Friday, February 26, 1993, a massive explosion occurred in the public parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City. As a result of the explosion, 6 persons were killed, and more than 1,000 injured. The site of the blast became one of the largest crime scenes in NYPD history. Estimates showed property damage in excess of onehalf billion dollars. The sense of fear and panic in the city was palpable. Indeed, many in law enforcement thought of this investigation as the "case of the century."
The JTTF stepped into the maelstrom and helped restore calm to the city. Within a month of the blast, the JTTF apprehended four individuals responsible for the attack. The suspects went on trial on September 13, 1993. The trial lasted 6 months with the presentation of 204 witnesses and more than 1,000 pieces of evidence. A jury convicted the four defendants on March 4, 1994, in federal court on all 38 counts against them. On May 25, 1994, a judge sentenced each of the four defendants to 240 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. On February 7, 1995, authorities in Pakistan arrested the prime fugitive wanted in connection with the bombing and subsequently rendered him to U.S. authorities. This suspect, the mastermind behind the bombing, was sentenced to 240 years in prison on January 8, 1998.
The quick action taken by the JTTF did much to allay fears and return a sense of normalcy to New York City. The World Trade Center bombing will be remembered as the gravest attack of international terrorism to occur directly on American soil. As part of the plot to strike at the United States, these international terrorists intended to disrupt the dynamics of daily life, commerce, and finance in one of the most heavily populated cities in the United States. The suspect and his associates had hoped to kill upwards of 35,000 innocent people. The excellent work accomplished by the JTTF in investigating and successfully resolving the case dispelled the sense of vulnerability the terrorists had hoped to instill.

Source: http://www.adl.org/learn/jttf/wtcb_jttf.asp

By: Bárbara Villanueva:*

Pan Am Flight 103 (1988)

Pan Am Flight 103 was Pan American World Airways's third daily scheduled transatlantic flight from London's Heathrow International Airport to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. The event took place when the aircraft was overflying Lockerbie, a town located south of Scotland on Wednesday 21 December 1988, a bomb inside the plane exploded, killing all 243 passengers, 16 crew members and large sections of the plane that felt in Lockerbie killed 11 people. The bomb was located in the airplane´s cargo section and the explotion made a hole into the fuselage, and due to the difference of pression in the inside and outside of the plane and velocity the fuselage fell apart very fast. Investigation on the case leaded that the bomb was contained on a suitcase, and it belonged two Lybians, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi and Lamin Khalifah Fhimah. Libya has never formally admitted carrying out the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. In a letter to the United Nations it "accepted responsibility for the actions of its officials".The motive that is generally attributed to Libya can be traced back to a series of military confrontations with the US Navy that took place in the 1980s in the Gulf of Sidra, the whole of which Libya claimed as its territorial waters.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_103

By: Alan Mar

Bombing of USS Cole (2000)

It all happened in the morning of 12th of October at around 11:18, it happened just in the middle of the fueling routine... a small craft approached the port side of the destroyer, and an explosion occurred, putting a 40-by-60-feet gash in the ship's port side according to the memorial plate to those that lost their lives. 

Before the accident, the sailors didn't expected something out of the normal state, because when they saw the attacker boat, it pretended to be a garbage transporting boat, so they exchanged greetings with them just before the impact.

Seventeen sailors died in the accident and thirty nine were wounded, they were taken to an hospital in Ramstein, Germany and then to U.S.

It was revealed that the attackers where, in fact, members of Al- Qaeda, and were led by Osama Bin Laden himself.

Seven years later, it is stated that the U.S. accused Sudan for being liable with bombing, because they claimed that Al-Qaeda could not have carried out the attacks without the support of Sudanese officials.

So they charged Sudan 8 millions dlls. to the families of the 17 sailors who died, estimated by the amount of money they would have got if they continued working.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cole_bombing

By: Antonio Báez

Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (1941

On the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941 a military hit by the Japanese navy surprised the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack was the trigger for the US becoming directly and militarily involved in World War II.

The attack intended the prevention of the US Pacific Fleet from influencing the war Japan planed against Britain, the Netherlands and the United States. It consisted of two attacks which sank four US Navy battleships and damaged four more; it also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers and one minelayer, destroyed 188 airplanes and caused personnel losses of 2’402 killed and 1’282 wounded. By the other hand, the Japanese losses were minimal, at 29 airplanes and four submarines with 65 servicemen killed or wounded.

The surprise nature of the attack was a factor in changing US public opinion from the isolationist position of the mid-1930s to support for direct participation in the war. The lack by Japan of any formal declaration prior to the attack led President Roosevelt to proclaim "December 7th, 1941—a date which will live in infamy".

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor

BY: Carla Millán

Anthrax letters in New York and Washington, DC (2001)

I selected this attack because it was not long ago. Anyway, on September 11 , potent anthrax letters described as "weapons grade" material ( the brown material) mailed from Princeton reached: ABC News, CBS News, NBC News and the New York Post, all located in New York. At least 22 people developed anthrax infection and five died of inhalational anthrax. Then weeks later (September 18, 2001) new letters reached two Democratic U.S. Senators on Washington DC, killing five people and infecting 17 others. The anthrax on these new letters was “weaponized” (fine powder) unlike the first letters. The FBI narrowed its focus, Authorities traveled to six different continents, interviewed over 9,000 people, conducted 67 searches. They expected the Middle East countries to be responsible, but a weaponized material would requiring sophisticated equipment and that was unlikely to have been produced in some "cave”.
In mid-2008, the FBI narrowed its focus to Bruce Edwards Ivins. He was a scientist who worked at the government's biodefense labs at Fort Detrick in Frederick, (Maryland). Ivins had been told about the impending prosecution and died from an overdose of "Tylenol with Codeine," which was considere a suicide (August 1, 2008), and although the FBI now attributes the anthrax attacks to a scientist acting alone, evidence connects the September 11 hijackers to the 2001 anthrax attacks.

by: Laura García :*

Source :

2001 Anthrax Attacks , obtained on Feb. 7 , 2009 , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_anthrax_attacks#Investigation

OUTSOURCING

Benefits for Small Businesses

The article defines “outsourcing “ as “the practice of using outside firms to handle work normally performed within a company” (whether the comapany is big or small on their income). Usually the big businesses use outsouring to save money, while the small businesses use it because they can verly keep up with other debts, they also have to worry about: processing, accounting and distribution.

Truth is, it does not only help the small industries , it can be very useful. People assume that it saves money and that is it. They do not really take the time to considere the other advanteges that come along with outsourcing. By outsourcing you:
-Control capital costs ( mainly it avoids expenditures in the early stages of your business, which makes your firm attractive to the market.)
-Increases efficency (competitive advantage)
-Reduce labor costs ( you can focus your resources where they are needed the most)
-Start new proyects quickly (your company grows and develops faster with more income)
-Focus on your core business ( outsourcing helps you shift your focus)
-Level the playing field (it gives a competitive chance to the small firms vs. The big firms. )
-Reduce risk ( a better management of risks)

It’s not only about the cheaper stuff, all this advantages help the small firms “survive” the rocky start.

Source : The benefits of outsouring for small businesses , obtained on Feb. 1 2009 , http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/workforce-management-hiring/1084-1.html

BY: LAURA GARCÍA

Outsourcing, good or bad?

Chris M Evans (Storage Consultant) posted 4/19/2004
Summary: Well, basically the article says that Insourced companies have a certain focus on delivery quality within the restrains of the budget provided by other financial companies and this becomes a problem when the financial failure is high. On the other hand, Outsourced companies also look for a high quality of their services however they do have a big budget which let them work within the terms they need to. So this can lead companies to try working outside the contract looking for tight costs, which at the end of the day it can actually be a mistake because they will have to face extra and unexpected costs. In addition, the work environment isn’t very favorable because of the quality of the offices, PC equipment and so on.

Source : http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/storage-consultant/outsourcing-good-or-bad-748

BY. CARLA MILLÁN

Outsourcing: Pros and Cons

In this article you can read different points of view about Outsourcing. On one hand, for companies this is a good way to save some bucks, for example the anual salary of an Indian (a person from India) hire starts about $6,000 US dollar, also the real state savings are lowered. But not always the interests of U.S. corporations are often the same as those of the country and its citizens. Lots of people lose their jobs, and more lose the prospect of job.

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/archives/2007/02/outsourcing_whe.html

By: Alan Mar :3

Outsourcing

Ok here we go, in this era of globalization, we have been able to comunicate to every place in the world, and the companies (it doesn't matter if it is big or small) have taken advantage of this, and something called "outsourcing" has been created, but what is outsourcing?, well, it refers to a company that contracts with another company to provide services that might otherwise be performed by in-house employees.
This means that one company can hire or create another company in another country that the minimum salary is less than in the U.S. for example, and they'll save a lot of money that can contribute in the growth of that company, but it has his drawbacks, the first one is that the company will lose contact with the customers and therefore they won't know what the clients are expecting or won't listen to their opinions at all.

Source: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-outsourcing.htm

By: Tony Baez >:)