With reference to the headscarf debate in France, analyze the extent to which laicite has played a major role in the French law 2004-228. The WritePass Journal

With reference to the headscarf debate in France, analyze the extent to which laicite has played a major role in the French law 2004-228. Introduction With reference to the headscarf debate in France, analyze the extent to which laicite has played a major role in the French law 2004-228. ). The majority of them are the immigrants from former French colonies in North and West Africa. Muslims constitute 5-10% of the French population, while Islam is the second largest religion in France (Tarhan, 2011). Hence, the law from 2004 led to objections and protests amongst French Muslims. They regarded the decision of French government as a sign of discrimination and violation of religious freedom in France (Wing and Smith, 2006). French government, in turn, emphasized that French secularism (known also as laicite), assuming separation between state and religion, was a main reason standing behind its decision (Astier, 2004)). Until nowadays the French law 2004-228 is very controversial. The supporters of this law believe that a ban on religious symbols confirmed a secular character of French Republic and defended French national identity. They also postulate that a ban contributed to a greater equality amongst women and men within Muslim society. The opponents, in turn, emphas ize a largely symbolic character of the ban, as it affected only Muslim girls attending public schools and did not apply to Muslim women on the streets or university students. The opponents often also rejected laicite as a basis of the French law 2004-228. Instead, they postulate that a fear of multiculturalism and growing division within the French society, especially after September 11th, had a key impact on the governmental decision (Scott, 2005). The following essay aims to examine whether French secularism, laicite, was a key factor responsible for the banning of headscarves in France. First, the essay explains the role of female headscarf in Muslim religion and tradition in order to understand a strong objection against a ban from Muslim side. Second, the essay presents shortly a debate on wearing headscarves in France that had its beginning in the 1980s. Further, the essay considers the concept of laicite in France and its impact on passing the French law 2004-228.   The essay analyzes other factors that influenced on the banning of religious symbols in France in order to compare their role and the role of laicite in passing the law. Finally, the essay considers the ban as an unsuccessful reform and presents policy recommendations. The role of headscarf in Muslim tradition The headscarf[1] is an important religious symbol in the Islamic tradition. The Quran, perceived as the source of Allah’s command by Muslims, states that: â€Å"believing women (†¦) should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils   over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers, or their brothers’ sons or their sisters’ sons, or their women or the servants whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex, and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O you Believers, turn you all together towards Allah, that you may attain Bliss.† (Quran 24:31)Therefore, following Allah’s law, Muslim women are obligated to remain modest and to cover the ir beauty. Moreover, the Quran says: â€Å"O Prophet! Tell Thy wives And daughters, and the Believing women, that They should cast their Outer garments over Their Persons (when outside): That they should be known (As such) and not Molested† (Quran 33:59). It indicates that there are two purposes of the wearing of headscarves by Muslim women. First, headscarf should protect Muslim women from gazes of strange men and from being an object of stranger’s desire. Second, headscarf should help to distinguish Muslim women from women of other religions (Syed, 2001). It is worth adding that the Quran does not state precisely which parts of woman’s body should be covered. Hence, there are different types of head (and body) coverings amongst Muslim women in various countries, depending on Quran’s interpretation and culture. They range from the simple hijab, covering the head and neck to Afghani burqa, covering the entire body and leaving only so-called mesh screen so that the woman is able to see (Wing and Smith, 2006). Further, the following sentence from the Quran: â€Å"O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them (when they go abroad). That will be better so that they may be recognized and not annoyed† (Wing and Smith, 2006, p.751) indicates that Muslim men are also obligated to Quran to make sure that their wives have got appropriate covering when they leave their houses. With the beginning of decolonization in the 1950s and the 1960s, the European countries, in particular France and the United Kingdom, had experienced massive immigrations from the Middle East and African countries. Most of the immigrants were Muslims. Hence, the Western countries, characterized by Christian roots had to face different religion, culture and values brought to the Europe by Muslims. Headscarf has become one of the most visible elements of these differences in the European’s public eyes (Wing and Smith, 2006). Headscarf debate in a contemporary France There are currently around 5 million of Muslims in France, constituting 5-10% of the total French population (CIA, 2012). Mostly they are immigrants from the regions such as the Maghreb, the Middle East, Turkey and Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Additionally there is an increasing number of people of European descent in France who are deciding to convert into Islam. In the recent years, Muslims in France has strongly manifested its cultural and religious separateness. They aimed to â€Å"create an Islamic identity with local institutional, societal and cultural structures† (Wing and Smith, 2006, p.753) and they focused on building new mosques and loud practices of their religion. It led to Islamophobic tendencies in France which were often manifested by hostility, discrimination in employment and housing as well as larger socio-economic exclusion of Muslim society. Currently Muslims continue to be separated from the rest of French society. Key indicators of this exclusion are li mited access to the education for Muslims, houses in the urban ghettos (known also as the zones of economic and social exclusion) but also lack of involvement in French political life and culture from the Muslim side. The debate on headscarves in France has got its root in 1989 and is known as the affaires de foulard (Scott, 2005, p. 1). At that time, three Muslim girls were expelled from their secondary state school in the town of Creil after they refused to take off their headscarves. Although it was not a first such a case (the director of this school had earlier banned Jewish students from wearing the Kippah in school), it brought an extensive attention of French media. The director of school argued that he made a decision on the basis of French laicite[2], a concept postulating separation between the state and religion (Tarhan, 2011). Muslim society was supported by Catholic, Protestant and Jewish leaders. Together, they postulated that laicite should have been regarded as toleration for other religions rather than condemnation of religion (Scott, 2005).   This approach was also accepted by the former Minister of Education, Lionel Jospin. He announced that religious symbols and clothing at schools were allowed as long as they did not threaten other religious beliefs (Tarhan, 2011). Despite this governmental announcement, a number of similar cases has dramatically increased between 1989 (400 cases) and 1994 (3000 cases), what led to racial and religious violence in France (Bowen, 2007). In 1994 the tensions were so intense that education staff were sending letter to the French government, asking for advices on how to deal with the situation. In result, new Minister of Education, Francois Bayrou implemented new rules on religious symbols in schools. He allowed only discreet symbols in schools, while he prohibited ostentatious symbols. Discreet symbols were defined as those that â€Å"demonstrated personal religious conviction† (Tarhan, 2011, p.18), while ostentatious – as those that led to discrimination and differences into the educational communities. Bayrou’s claim was controversial and brought the attention of French media. In result, the Consei l d’Etat, the highest administrative court in France, decided to investigate the controversial issue. The court rejected Bayrou’s decision and obligated school administrations and teachers to make decision on the actions of their students. The French government appointed a Muslim woman, Hanifa Cherifi, as a governmental mediator responsible for handling the wearing of headscarves. In result, the issue has grown quiet for nine years (Scott, 2005). The issue of headscarves was brought to the public attention again in 2003, when the Minister of Interiors and Cults, Nicolas Sarkozy postulated that Muslim women should take off their headscarves while posing for official identity photographs. As Muslims became an important minority in France with the beginning of the twenty first century, Sarkozy’s claim reflected growing frustration and intolerance towards visibility of religious symbols in public places amongst French politicians and society. It also brought back the issue of headscarves in schools.   In effect, French President, Jacques Chirac formed a commission led by Bernard Stasi in order to investigate the implementation of laicite in French educational institutions. . Students, teachers, intellectuals and also the European Commission got involved in the work of Stasi’s Commission. Muslim girls chose to be interviewed undercover, as they wanted to voice their opinions about wearing the hijab anonymously. The report produced by Stasi’s Commission presented an in-depth study on the role that the hijab plays in the Muslim community. In reference to Islam, one of the most important results was that young Muslim girls, that used to grow up in a society dominated by western culture and values found difficult to reaffirm their identities as Muslims by the way they had to dress. Further, it showed that young Muslim girls were often not participating in classes such as P.E (physical education) as they were afraid of violence and assaults from Muslim men’s side. Moreover, Muslim girls often confessed that they were being forced to wear the hijab by their families and peer groups. The Stasi’s Report also drew open other issues su rrounding Muslim women such as female genital mutilation and forced marriages (Vaisse, 2004). The Stasi’s Report pointed out that the existence of religious symbols in schools was not compatible with the concept of laicite. The Report postulated that the veils were responsible for the alienation of women. As secularism and gender equality were regarded as the important features of laicite, the Report recommended banning religious symbols in schools[3] (Wing and Smith, 2006). It is important to add that the critics of the Stasi’s Report aimed to undermine the validity of the report. They postulated that the report was mainly based on western perceptions on the hijab and Muslim women. The link between forced marriages, female genital mutilation and the hijab, were all based upon the commission negative image of Islam, there was no empirical research to back their findings (Schiek and Lawson, 2011). Muslim women argue that the hijab is worn voluntarily and it brings them a sense of belonging and community (Schiek and Lawson, 2011). Following the Stasi’s Report, on February 10th, 2004, French National Assembly passed the law on the banning conspicuous religious symbols in schools. A huge majority of the Assembly, 494 members, were in favour of the ban, while only 36 members voted against the ban. At the same time, 31 members abstained from voting. Similarly, on March 3rd, 2004, the French Senate also passed the same legislation. 276 voters were in favour of the ban, while 20 of them voted against the ban (Weil, 2009). The implementation of the new law was preceded by three demonstrations, respectively, on December 21st, 2004; on January 17th, 2005; and on February 14th, 2005 that aimed to stop passing the law 2004-228. Mohammed Latreche, an Islamist activist   mobilized and encouraged French citizens to participate in these demonstrations. He established a political party, Pati des msulman de France (the Party of French Muslims) with the headquarters in Strasburg. The demonstrations, showed the Muslim p ublics outrage at the law that was about to be passed. The legislative ban was regarded as an attack on Muslims with the Muslim society. Two girls even went as far as hunger strikes to show their opposition to the ban.   Some posters propagated slangs such as ‘Stasi killed me’ and ‘1 veil= 1 vote’ (Bowen, 2007). Officially, the law was implemented on March 15th and it is known as the law 2004-228. Despite the demonstrations, the legislative ban in France has been largely supported by the French society. According to Pew Research Centre (2006) 78% of the French population have supported the ban, while only 22% of the population have regarded the banning as a bad idea. The concept of laicite and its impact on the banning of headscarves in France Many scholars (i.e. Wing and Smith, Scott) believe that the concept of laicite was a key factor behind the decision on the banning of headscarves in France. Laicite has a long tradition in France and hence, it is crucial to analyze its influence on the ban of religious symbols. As it was mentioned above, laicite, known also as a French secularism, postulates separation between the state and religion as well as freedom of religion (Tarhan, 2011).   It can be viewed as passive neutrality or non-intervention by the state in the private religious domain. This interpretation suggests that the exercise of religion in the private sphere is permissible, and that the French state will not openly support overt religious practices in public spheres (Scott, 2005). Another interpretation of the laicite’ can be viewed as a more active secularism, in terms of which the nation is promoted as a fundamentally political society fiercely independent of any religious authority (Wing and Smith, 2006), and one in which the values of the state can be defended through the concept of L’ORDRE PUBLIC in order to justify interference where necessary with some religious organisations. This definition of laicite’ gives the government more control over public institutions and the amount of religious activity that goes on there, for example schools (Weil, 2009). The concept of laicite was developed during the French Revolution (1789). Initially it concerned the separation between the state and the Catholic Church, which played a major role in France in the seventeenth century. Revolutionaries aimed to redefine citizenship and nationhood and hence, to separate Catholicism from the French identity. New citizenship was meant to be universal, secular and inclusive. Instead, the French Revolution led to ‘xenophobic nationalism’ (Tarhan, 2011, p.4) which targeted foreigners as well as priests, rebels, political opponents and noblemen. Similarly, the Revolution started to reject religion rather than tolerate it. The laicisation of French public schools began with an article that was passed on June 28th, 1833. This law entailed that primary school teaching should have no religious affiliation. Further, laicite was implemented in France through the creation of the public school system, in the years 1881-2 with Jules Ferry’s public school laws (Bowen, 2007). However, despite these steps Catholicism remained an important element of French regime until the end of nineteenth century. More significant changes started in 1901 when France passed a new law, Law of Association according to which religious associations became obligated to have a state supervision. Further, in 1904 the religious communities were forbidden to provide education. In result, approximately 30,000 of clergy lost their teaching jobs and stopped taking salaries from the state. Nonetheless, the legislation passed in 1905, known as the Separation Act, is regarded as first meaningful success of secularists in France (Tarhan, 2011). The 1905 law has become the legal guideline for the separation of the state and the church. The word laicite did not appear in the 1905 law. However, the first article of the law emphasized freedom of religion in France, as it stated that: â€Å"the republic ensures freedom of conscience. It guarantees the free exerci se of religions with the sole restrictions decreed hereafter in the interest of public order† (Tarhan, 2011, p.7). The second article, in turn, declared that â€Å"The Republic does not recognize, fund or subsidize any religion. [†¦]State, departmental and commune budgets, together with all expenses relating to the exercise of religions will be abolished.† (Tarhan, 2011, p.7) and hence, it guaranteed state’s neutrality towards religions. The legislation from 1905 gave a political and legal character to the concept of laicite in France.   More importantly, it indicated that laicite was a process that had emerged in France through the confrontation about national identity between Clerics and Republicans (Scott, 2005). Although the concept of laicite in France does not show any historical links to the Islam religion, the ban on religious symbols from 2004 seems to emphasize an impact of laicite on the French politics and tradition. Nowadays laicite is regarded in France as one of the foundations of French Republic and the French collective (national) identity (The Economist, 2004). It represents a sharp contrast to Anglo-American model of multiculturalism. French believe that laicite guarantees tolerance, freedom of religion, peace as well as social cohesion. Further, laicite postulates a sharp division between public and private spheres. Religion and ethnicity can be manifested in the private sphere. However, the only visible legitimate identity in the public sphere should be French national identity. Further, the laic state has right to interfere in the religious issues if the national unity and common values of the French Republic are threatened (Weil, 2009). According to the concept, Muslim soc iety should accept French norms and culture in order to become a part of French political unity. Nonetheless, Muslims have become a significant minority in France, unwilling to adopt French tradition and lifestyle. Instead, they strongly manifested own culture, tradition and identity (The Economist, 2004). Islam was perceived not only as a religion but also as a rigorous lifestyle that rejected Western values such as liberty, freedom and laicite. Muslims were often regarded as the extremist group. Hence, French started to perceive Muslims and Islam religion as the threads to the French national unity that had to be addressed and resolved. The debate on headscarves in France confirms this negative perception of Muslims within French society (Tarhan, 2011). With the exception of laicite, there were also other factors that had an influence on the ban of religious symbols in France. As stated in the Stasi’s Report, the ban aimed to empower Muslim women and to guarantee greater equality amongst the Muslim women and men. However, in this case, the ban was just a symbolic gesture, as it only applied to the young Muslim girls in public schools and did not affect adult Muslim women, working in some public places or just walking on the streets (Bowen, 2007). In contrast, there are several external factors that might have influenced the timing of headscarves debate in France. When the first debate on headscarves took place in 1989, the Communist system in the Central and Eastern Europe collapsed. Instead, the Europe experienced massive inflows of Muslim immigrants and spreading Islam religion across the European countries. Hence, Islam quickly started to be perceived as a thread to the Western values that replaced an old thread, communism . Further, in 1994 there was a civil war in Algeria, a former colony of France that was caused by the conflict between the secular military government of Algeria and Islamic fundamentalists. The Algerian conflict indicated a possibility of similar problems between the state and its largest religious minority in France. Finally, in 2003 the Europe was still strongly affected by the consequences of September 11th (2001). Additionally, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the worsening of the conflict between Israel and Palestine resulted in sharp divergence between the West and Islam culture. At that time, French Muslims definitely identified with the Muslims in other parts of the world and the wearing of headscarves manifested such identification. French government, on the other hand, faced real threads of terrorism. Hence, the main principle of French defense became to prevent French citizens and institutions from potential challenges to their integrity (Scott, 2005). Conclusions To sum up, the ban of religious symbols in schools implemented in France in 2004 was very controversial and led to numerous protests and demonstrations in France. The supporters of the ban underlined the secular character of France and the need to separate religion from the public sector. The opponents, in turn, postulated a minor impact of the ban, as it only affected Muslim schoolgirls, constituting relatively insignificant percentage of Muslim female population in France. Without a doubt, laicite had a key impact on the legislative ban. However, the main factor behind the governmental decision was not separation between the religion and the state, regarded as a traditional element of the concept of laicite. In the contemporary France, key elements of laicite have become nation identity and unity. As the French society was characterized by a strong division on Muslims and non-Muslims as well as by strengthening Muslim influences, the French conservative government of Chirac has become responsible for protecting the French national identity. The ban was believed to be a successful tool to achieve this goal. Except laicite, there was a number of international events such as Afghan war, Iraqi war or Israeli-Palestinian conflict that strengthened Islamophobic in Western countries, in particular in secular France that has always been characterized by the opposition to multiculturalism and foreignness. Although some scholars postulate that gender equality wa s also a factor influencing French decision on the ban, there is no strong evidence to support this claim. In fact, the ban affected only small number of young Muslim girls being in public education. Nowadays it is certain that Muslims have to accept cosmopolitan values and freethinking if they aim to stay in the Western countries. Currently a number of Western countries such as United Kingdom, Spain or Germany have been characterized by a trap of two conflicting cultures. However, forcing Muslims to go against their religious practices, as applied in France seems to be counterproductive. The ban of religious symbols in France led to the riots (2005) in so-called les cites, ghettos focusing North Africans and Arabs that spread around the major French cities. During these riots two Muslim teenagers were accidently killed. However, the ban of religious symbols could have disastrous consequences. Young Muslims, rejected by the French government and regarded as a second-class society, often accept extremism and violence as the solution of their problems. The example of the United States demonstrates prominently the negative consequences of rejecting and underestimating its ethnic min ority. The young, radical Muslims in the US, trained by the conservative European imams became responsible for the dramatic events from September 11th (Kiersh, 2008). The French government should have learnt a lesson from the United States and should stop pushing its Muslim society towards extremism and encouraging violence amongst them. Instead, the French government should establish a long-term strategy in order to incorporate their Muslim minority into the environment they regard as unfriendly. The government must develop new, comprehensive measures that will help Muslims to identify with the rest of the French society and to become involved in various aspects of French lifestyle. In order to achieve these goals, the French government must focus on the reduction of job and housing discrimination in the first place as well as on changing the attitudes within the French policy towards Muslim male immigrants.   The French government can expect that other European governments (in particular British, German and Spanish governments) will be also willing to address the problem of separation between Muslims and mainstream society, as they struggle wi th the same problem. Together, these countries have enough resources to implement reforms and changes so that the Muslims can assimilate with the rest of the societies. Also the United States could probably get involved in such a cross-countries program in the framework of the War on Terror. Without a doubt, the European governments would be more willing to accept such a form of terrorism fighting rather than military interventions in the Middle East. The following concept requires in-depth analyzes and detailed policy planning. However, it would definitely bring larger and more positive outcomes than the ban of religious symbols in public schools (Kiersh, 2008). List of references: Astier, H., (2004). The deep Roots of French Secularism [online] available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3325285.stm (Accessed on 25.04.2012). Bowen, J., (2007). Why the French do not like the Headscarves. New Jersey: Princeton University CIA, (2012). The World Factbook: France [online] Available from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fr.html (Accessed on 25.04.2012). Kiersh, A., (2008). Why the Headscarf Ban is wrong for France [online] Available from: sikhcoalition.org/documents/AaronKiershEssay.pdf (Accessed on 25.04.2012). Morin, R. and Horowitz, J., (2006). European debate the Scarf and the Veil [online] Available from: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/95/europeans-debate-the-scarf-and-the-veil (Accessed on 25.04.2012). Scott, J., (2005). Symptomatic Politics: The Banning of Islamic Head Scarves in French Public Schools. New Jersey: Institute for Advanced Study. Schiek, D and Lawson, A., (2011). European Union Non-Discrimination Law and Intersectionality: Investigating the Triangle of Racial, Gender and Disability Discrimination. London: Ashgate Publishing. Syed, , (2001). Women in Islam: Hijab [online] Available from: islamfortoday.com/syed01.htm (Accessed on 25.04.2012). Tarhan, G., (2011). Roots of the Headscarf Debate: Laicism and Secularism in France and Turkey. Journal of Political Inquiry, 4, p. 1-32. The Economist, (2004). The war of the headscarves [online] Available from: economist.com/node/2404691?story_id=2404691 (Accessed on 25.04.2012). Vaisse, J., (2004). Veiled Meaning: the French Law Banning Religious Symbols in Public Schools. Washington: The Brookings Institute. Weil, P., (2009). Why the French Laicite is liberal? Cardozon Law Review, 30(6), p.2699-2714. Wing, A. and Smith, M., (2006). Critical Race Feminism Lifts in Veil?: Muslim, Women, France and the Headscarf Ban. California: UC Davis. [1] The headscarf wore by Muslim women is commonly known as hijab in the Europe. However, Quran uses two Arabic terms: â€Å"khimar† and â€Å"jilbaab† in reference to headscarf or veil. [2] The concept of French laicite will be discussed in details in the next chapter. [3] It is worth adding that Stasi’s Report also postulated the recognition of majority religious feasts as public holiday. However, this law was not passed.

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Street Racing Essay Example for Free

Street Racing Essay Now lets talk about a 15-17 year old kid who does not have the best judgment and make a traffic mistake, or a 17-25 year old who also makes a mistake, but should those traffic mistakes make him or her a convicted felon. Street racing goes on all over the U. S. and is so underground right now that you would not know it is even going on. We raced on the NEWS one mile from the police station. The news reporters had been at that same police station the night before interviewing the cops and the cops said they did not have a street race problem in their town, or one that they knew off. San Diego has even told the mayor it worked for them with Qualcomm Race Legal Program, but the mayor already knows that caused it worked here first with T. I. They put all these new laws into effect and this months street racing incidents have gone up with deadly results. The laws were ineffective. The Harbor Commission is all about the money, they got billions from China to land fill the area and increase the Harbor to make more land but failed to include a spot for the track, but on the other side of the harbor there is 2 vacant lots that has been sitting there for 9 years+ that could hold a track. Willie has told the mayor he could be up and running in a matter of weeks, it was up to the mayor to give him the OK. So the mayor has assigned someone from his office to work with Willie and to go over the land site. As Willie said to the mayor, there is nothing to go over I am ready to get started. But it is still the mayors call so we wait and keep calling his office and asking when is Terminal Island going to open? A soon as Terminal Island closed, San Fernando Rd in the SFV got busy, Compton and Main got busy, Alameda and Del Amo in Carson got busy, 4 lanes in City of Industry got busy (1 mile from the police station) Santa Ana Rd in Ontario got busy, Sand Canyon Rd in Irvine got busy, Nabisco in Buena Park got busy, The Box Factory in Whittier got busy, Aviation Rd near LAX got busy, Edwards in Anaheim got busy, Dale Rd and Commonwealth behind Fullerton Airport got busy, 210 frwy in San Dimas got busy (before they finished it), Bolsa Chica and Westmister Bl in Seal Beach got busy. Bolsa Chica and Bolsa near Skylab Rd in Huntington Beach got busy (Yeah NASA and again a police station a couple miles away). And there is a lot I am sure I missed, and not to worry about rat-ing out these sites, major busts happen at most of these places, and others dont exist any more, but after T. I. shut down street racing exploded again, and is still going on. That is Terminal Islands track we are talking about, it was a street racers track, if you look at the cars in the staging lanes, the street cars out number the full race cars in the evening hours. During the day the race cars would use the track, during the night the street racers used the track. When T. I. (Terminal Island) was open, street racing in Los Angeles, San Fernando, Ontario, Riverside and Orange County areas were down to null. Its city politics that keep them from opening it back up, they would rather spend millions on a street racer task force then the track. Why? Well, the task force is paid by the federal government, so the extra cops dont show on the city budget and they use these cops for other things including drug busts. In drunk driving (as many people will know) the drunk usually goes home in cuffs with a few scratches while the other cars passengers families are notified by an officer in the middle of the night. Sources: www. madd. org and www. NHRA. com The street racers I know do not condone street racing, but they do street race. It is more orginized but still just as dangerous and illegal. The street racers that make the news are the ones getting killed/or killing someone racing from stop light to stop light. I think it is a normal reaction when you are young to answer the challenge even if you are not a street racer. We had a solution it was Terminal Island. Now San Deigo had took the same steps and started Quailcom. They gave an alternitive to street racing, a place to answer the challenge. Here is how the did it. With funding from the California Office of Traffic Safety, both RaceLegal. com and San Diego Police Departments Drag Net Unit were formed with the express intention of addressing San Diegos epidemic of illegal street racing activity. A grass root community based coalition entitled the Closing the Loop approach to intervention was also developed. The coalition involved city/county government, law enforcement, Bureau of Automotive Repair, Superior Court, City Attorney, District Attorney, county probation and the safer and sanctioned track alternative to street RaceLegal. com. The award-winning program to redirect would-be street racers into organized drag racing. RaceLegal has a grant of $350,000 from the California Office of Traffic Safety. With funding from the California Office of Traffic Safety, both RaceLegal. om and San Diego Police Departments Drag Net Unit were formed with the express intention of addressing San Diegos epidemic of illegal street racing activity. A grass root community based coalition entitled the Closing the Loop approach to intervention was also developed. The coalition involved city/county government, law enforcement, Bureau of Automotive Repair, Superior Court, City Attorney, District A ttorney, county probation and the safer and sanctioned track alternative to street. The highly successful RaceLegal program hosts Friday night runs at Qualcomm Stadium. Through the middle of 2003, RaceLegal was run out of a San Diego State University program founded by Dr. Stephen Bender. When Bender decided to retire, he also decided to shift the program from the control of San Diego State to the city of San Diegos Traffic Division. Our purpose in this paper is to inform people of what is going on in So Cal. Things start here, positive or negitive, and end up spreading like a cancer to other states. Dragracing claims to have started on the West Coast. So Cal had more Dragstrips than anywhere else, and then for a while there were none, all were closing. A new interest in dragracing has developed today and more tracks are starting to open up again. One track in particular is Terminal Islands Brotherhood Raceway, whose purpose was to get street racers off the street, and did it effectively for many years. City ** politics closed it down 11 times, and it is on its 12th time of reopening again, after 13 years of being closed. There are many naysayers out there, but if this track serves as an example as how not to give up, and a track in another part of the country opens up, well, that would make it worth while to post it. Sorry there is a lot of rhetoric, but many are posts from other forums and re-posted threads that may not make as much sense if edited. Many members of the Brotherhood of Street racers from as far back as the 70s have moved all over the country. They were a part of history and like to have the heads up on current activity with the Brotherhood. This is just some history of what has been going on and how many people have helped from the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles city coincil members, to the Mayor of Los Angeles to name a few. We are even getting a little help from Teamsters and residents of the various streets that are being used as race tracks. I wish I was a writer and could make it more clear, but Im not, and it its very raw but very real. All constuctive criticisim is welcomed. I have reuinited with many street racers through many forums, cause car guys are car guys, even if they are into different cars, different types of racing, or just into cruising. At Brotherhood Raceway all were welcome and all got along. It was a place were the head of the notorious Crips gang got along with a head engineer from Genral Motors. Jim Wagner, head advertising from Pontiac fequented the track to name a few. ) Stop the violence, increase the peace. -Big Willie Robinson. In the Los Angeles area we have experienced many street racing deaths since a certain track that was located in the Habor of Los Angeles was closed. For ten years now, Big Willie has been fighting to get this historic track reopened. It has closed dow n 11 times in 30 years and now, today it looks like it will reopen before summer or even before next month. The reason this track is different is that it opens on Friday evening and does not close till Monday morning. Many street racers have trouble getting to the track after work and then being frustrated with only getting only one or two runs before the track closes. 2nd many street race cars do not pass NHRA tech. So they go and race on the street. This track is a street racer track. Nobody is turn away, but NHRA rules are suggested and in the long run most racers start to value their lives and start adding the safety equipment. On the street no matter how mush saftey equipment you have, it is no match for a telephone pole. Trying to get this track open is a lot of work from a lot of people, I, myself, have been to many meetings on the streets with different groups, and am attending Nieghborhood Watch meetings plus working a job, so sometimes I dont have the time to post an original post, so I post what has been posted on other boards to try to inform people on what is currentlly going on with the openinng of Terminal Islands Brotherhoood Raceway.

human trafficking Essay -- essays research papers

human trafficking issues: the article starts out with a clear emphasis on the cooperation between the different segments of society; cooperation between the state, civil society , and religious groups and institutions on the issues of human trafficking and prostitution, stating how they are immoral, illegal, unethical and how they should be considered as a taboo by societies in Europe, especially Cyprus since the exploitation of women has been rapidly increasing recently. Where all the 800bars and 70 cabarets take advantage of uneducated, poor, unlucky and socially corrupted women at the cost of reasons such as profit and pleasure, which may seem as lame reasons when compared to the life and future of a young woman. The article also states that some of these women, coming from countries such as Romania, Russia. Bulgaria, the Ukraine, Moldavia, and Belarus enter Cyprus unaware of what is included in their job descriptions, and are forced into prostitution by traffickers, which is humanly unacceptable and shoul d without a doubt be banned from societies regardless of what kind of profit they may bring to the traffickers and to the public even as a whole. The article does mention trafficking in different manners and types, but I chose to pay bigger attention to the issues regarding prostitution here in Cyprus. As I would like to make a clear emphasis on how this issue relates directly to the issue of poverty. The article mentions a few solutions agreed upon by the state, th...

Qualitative and Quantative Research Method Essay

Globalisation in business is a historical process, the term â€Å"Globalisation† begun to use more commonly in 1980s, which happened due to of innovations and the research which has been done from a long time on improving the communication and technology. Just because of the fastest communication today more or less every business is dealing their customers using technology and having the communication with them using modern devices. Here in my assignment i will discuss about the globalization and what are the reason for the growth of globalization?.I will also discuss about the process of globalization and its effect in the market.In my case study i will take the Siemens AG company. Siemens AG is a global electrical and electronics business with a turnover of  £53 billion. The business employs over 450,000 people. Siemens is multi-national. It operates across 190 separate nation states. Executives in Germany and across the world must make decisions in the best interests of Siemens’ shareholders. Most multinationals have many capabilities. They must make decisions about where their separate activities should be. For Siemens it is not efficient to design and manufacture all products in all countries. It is more efficient to concentrate manufacturing to keep economies of scale through specialization. Products can be shipped anywhere within the group. Globalisation: According to modelski et al,(2007) â€Å"globalization† as (the process of) â€Å"emergence of institution of planetary scope† As readied by Isard (2005) in globalization and international financial system. Imagine the world twenty years ago when there were no personal computers, no laptops, no mobile phones the communication was very slow and because of not having the internet facility there was a limited communication not for the people within the country but internationally as well, as we do emails today which takes only few seconds to reach the recipient there was no concept like that and the messages sending and receiving was dependent on days and weeks, this all is changed now just because of globalisation. According to J.Ali (2000) â€Å"Firms across the world have recognized that globalization is a reality that creates unlimited opportunities while intensifying competitors and threats† Globalisation is the integration between the markets, nations, states and technologies it is the way which enables the individuals, corporations, organisations, nations and states to reach the world easier, cheaper, faster and safer than ever before, it affects everyone like the internet has enabled everyone to connect to each other at any time and to learn the aspects of any culture in the world, now the trade is much easier and is diversified, the ideas are being shared among all people of earth the cultures are being refined the globalisation is conquering markets and capturing hearts. There are a lots of organisations which are selling their products throughout the whole world the picture of international trade has been totally changed. Reasons for the growth of globalisation: As the communication barriers have been removed the need of international trade exposed, the company’s thought to expand their businesses for these reasons the globalisation has got the rapid growth. Growth of regional economic or trading blocs such as EU, NAFTA (north American free trade agreement) APEC(Asia pacific economic cooperation forum) has contributed in making the globalisation happen and to promote the trade between the counties the allowance of free trade between the members of the blocs countries, this helps the countries to grow together and that is the way of making the economy of different countries better and stronger. By this the countries are included in the same blocs or the member countries help each other country people to maintain their economic stability as well. The development of transport links and networks capable of moving goods, quickly and relatively cheap is also one of the main reasons behind the growth of globalisation, the shipping transportation has improved very much and the product are being shifted to one another countries in bulky amount. The advancement in technology and communication made the possibility of transferring the financial capitals due to which people were attracted to do businesses in other countries as well, the production cost is not same for any product all over the world so many businesses wanted to install their production plants in those countries which are more cheaper which tends the global market again to rise. Other then these every business wants their customers to be satisfied by their product for that purpose the feedback is necessary the feedback is being received by the companies by having the online feedback forms where the suggestions and recommendations are been given by the consumers for the product. The companies are providing the assistance services to their customers by giving them an option to call the assistance team at any time the services are provided through internet or phones, live chat, live calls and live video conferencing. Process of Globalisation and Effects To explain the effects of globalisation and the process we are adding a case study of a multinational company that how the company is handling the issues regarding the customers worldwide. A Siemens case study: Meeting global and local needs A Siemens case study: Meeting global and local needs by times100 As readed by Gills,bThompson (2006) globalization and global history: Multinational companies are the agents of globalisation the access of product from all over the world is a very good gift given by the internet to the companies who wants to have more potential customers. Globalisation has linked the first world countries to the third ones most of the manufacturing setups are in third world countries and this made a very beneficial impact on both as the first world countries are enjoying the cost minimisation by having cheap labour and low production costs and the third world countries are having the employments and jobs by having the plants in their countries on the other side mostly the service sector is being served by the first world countries. As explained by collier, dollar and lank in globalization and environment (2002): Keeping in view that what the customers actually need is the main aim of Siemens for this there is expertise working with Siemens form 150 years which makes the company to stand where it is today. The company has channels in about one hundred and ninety countries and the diversification of different cultures and different languages with different people is being keenly handled by the managers of organisation. As readed on Turchin,p (2003) why states rise and falls: However due to of easy trading throughout the world the outsourcing is happening that puts the positive impact on Siemens as they are producing electronic products so most businesses are using Siemens product because of the reliability and the company is also producing the power distribution and transmission equipments which are very popular with them the power generators are also being produced. The trade barriers has been removed by the governments and people are able to move from one to another country and can easily take their money with them to open business in other countries, Siemens has expanded their business in many countries and are running their businesses in 190 countries which is because of the innovative approach of organisation. Huge amount is spending upon the research and development sector to improve the company’s abilities to serve as good as they can. Technology is improving day by day new inventions are coming up, Siemens is also contributing in the technological sector as well by producing product related to latest technology. In the field of automation and control Siemens is one of the finest service providers for the industrial solution and services as the world has been globalised and innovation is very important for the survival of any company, Siemens has got a very huge success because of the innovative approach the company has adopted the trend of innovation and inventing more than thirty new inventions a day, the company is assumed second strongest power technologies worldwide. Conclusion: Well globalisation has given lots of benefits for mankind people are having much ease to get knowledge and having more opportunities, have the access to explore the whole world but there are few problems which globalisation has created but these can also be removed by using the globalisation itself. Any how the world has become a global village now the trade, communication and transportation is getting easier as the new innovations are being made by the information technology. Information technology played a very important and vital role in making the world as it is today, there are companies which products are so popular that everyone is known to them like the name which is most prominent in making the products related to electronics is â€Å"Sony†. This is company which sell their product to the whole world. The market for a product is now very vast because of globalisation, the products are being delivered to the consumers no matter where they are, marketing is done to the whole world and it is just possible because of the fastest communication and the credit is again going to technology. References: Modelski,Devezas and Thompson. (2007) globalization as evolutionary process modeling global change, Rutledge, USA and Canada ISARD(2005) globalization and international financial system: what’s wrong and what can be done, Cambridge university press,USA Gills,b. and w.r Thompson(eds.)(2006) globalization and global history.london:routledge. J.Ali globalization of business: practice and theory, International business press, NY Collier, dollar and lank.(2002) globalization, growth and poverty, oxford university press, Washington 2002. Turchin,p.(2003) historical dynamics: why states rise and falls,Princeton,NJ:Princeton university press. http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/siemens/meeting-global-and-local-needs/globalisation

Philippine Republic Act No. 8436

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8436 AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS TO USE AN AUTOMATED ELECTION SYSTEM IN THE MAY 11, 1998 NATIONAL OR LOCAL ELECTIONS AND IN SUBSEQUENT NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTORAL EXERCISES, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. Section 1. Declaration of policy. — It is the policy of the State to ensure free, orderly, honest, peaceful and credible elections, and assure the secrecy and sanctity of the ballot in order that the results of elections, plebiscites, referenda, and other electoral exercises shall be fast, accurate and reflective of the genuine will of the people.Sec. 2. Definition of terms. — As used in this Act, the following terms shall mean: 1. Automated election system — a system using appropriate technology for voting and electronic devices to count votes and canvass/consolidate results; 2. Counting machine — a machine that uses an optical scanning/mark—sense reading device or any similar advanced technol ogy to count ballots; 3. Data storage device — a device used to electronically store counting and canvassing results, such as a memory pack or diskette; 4.Computer set — a set of equipment containing regular components, i. e. , monitor, central processing unit or CPU, keyboard and printer; 5. National ballot — refers to the ballot to be used in the automated election system for the purpose of the May 11, 1998 elections. This shall contain the names of the candidates for president, vice-president, senators and parties, organizations or coalitions participating under the party-list system. This ballot shall be counted by the counting machine; 6.Local Ballot — refers to the ballot on which the voter will manually write the names of the candidates of his/her choice for member of the House of Representatives, governor, vice-governor, members of the provincial board, mayor, vice-mayor, and members of the city/municipal council. For the purpose of the May 11, 19 98 elections, this ballot will be counted manually; 7. Board of Election Inspectors — there shall be a Board of Election Inspectors in every precinct composed of three (3) regular members who shall conduct the voting, counting and recording of votes in the polling place.For the purpose of the May 11, 1998 elections, there shall be special members composed of a fourth member in each precinct and a COMELEC representative who is authorized to operate the counting machine. Both shall conduct the counting and recording of votes of the national ballots in the designated counting centers; 8. Election returns — a machine-generated document showing the date of the election, the province, municipality and the precinct in which it is held and the votes in figures for each candidate in a precinct directly produced by the counting machine; 9.Statement of votes — a machine-generated document containing the votes obtained by candidates in each precinct in a city/municipality; 10. City/municipal/district/provincial certificate of canvass of votes — a machine-generated document containing the total votes in figures obtained by each candidate in a city/municipality/district/ province as the case may be; and 11. Counting center — a public place designated by the Commission where counting of votes and canvassing/consolidation of results shall be conducted. Sec. 3. Qualifications, rights and limitations of the special members of the Board of Election Inspectors. No person shall be appointed as a special member of the board of election inspectors unless he/she is of good moral character and irreproachable reputation, a registered voter, has never been convicted of any election offense or of any crime punishable by more than six (6) months imprisonment or if he/she has pending against him/her an information for any election offense or if he/she is related within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity to any member of the board of elec tion inspectors or any special member of the same board of Election Inspector or to any candidate for a national position or to a nominee as a party list representative or his/her spouse. The special members of the board shall enjoy the same rights and be bound by the same limitations and liabilities of a regular member of the board of election inspectors but shall not vote during the proceedings of the board of election inspectors except on matters pertaining to the national ballot. Sec. 4. Duties and functions of the special members of the Board of Election Inspectors. — 1. During the conduct of the voting in the polling place, the fourth member shall: a) accomplish the minutes of voting for the automated election system in the precinct; and (b) ensure that the national ballots are placed inside the appropriate ballot box; 2. On the close of the polls, the fourth member shall bring the ballot box containing the national ballots to the designated counting center; 3. Before t he counting of votes, the fourth member shall verify if the number of national ballots tallies with the data in the minutes of the voting; 4. During the counting of votes, the fourth member and the COMELEC authorized representative shall jointly accomplish the minutes of counting for the automated election system in the precinct; 5.After the counting of votes, the fourth member and the COMELEC authorized representative shall jointly: (a) certify the results of the counting of national ballots from the precinct; and (b) bring the ballot box containing the counted national ballots together with the minutes of voting and counting, and other election documents and paraphernalia to the city or municipal treasurer for safekeeping. Sec. 5. Board of Canvassers. — For purposes of the May 11, 1998 elections, each province, city or municipality shall have two (2) board of canvassers, one for the manual election system under the existing law, and the other, for the automated system. For the automated election system, the chairman of the board shall be appointed by the Commission from among its personnel/deputies and the members from the officials enumerated in Sec. 21 of Republic Act No. 6646. Sec. 6. Authority to use an automated election system. To carry out the above-stated policy, the Commission on Elections, herein referred to as the Commission, is hereby authorized to use an automated election system, herein referred to as the System, for the process of voting, counting of votes and canvassing/consolidation of results of the national and local elections: Provided, however, That for the May 11, 1998 elections, the System shall be applicable in all areas within the country only for the positions of president, vice-president, senators and parties, organizations or coalitions participating under the party-list system. To achieve the purpose of this Act, the Commission is authorized to procure by purchase, lease or otherwise any supplies, equipment, materials and services needed for the holding of the elections by an expedited process of public bidding of vendors, suppliers or lessors: Provided, That the accredited political parties are duly notified of and allowed to observe but not to participate in the bidding.If, inspite of its diligent efforts to implement this mandate in the exercise of this authority, it becomes evident by February 9, 1998 that the Commission cannot fully implement the automated election system for national positions in the May 11, 1998 elections, the elections for both national and local positions shall be done manually except in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) where the automated election system shall be used for all positions. Sec. 7. Features of the system. — The System shall utilize appropriate technology for voting, and electronic devices for counting of votes and canvassing of results. For this purpose, the Commission shall acquire automated counting machines, computer equipment, devices and materials and adopt new forms and printing materials.The System shall contain the following features: (a) use of appropriate ballots, (b) stand-alone machine which can count votes and an automated system which can consolidate the results immediately, (c) with provisions for audit trails, (d) minimum human intervention, and (e) adequate safeguard/security measures. In addition, the System shall as far as practicable have the following features: 1. It must be user-friendly and need not require computer-literate operators; 2. The machine security must be built-in and multi-layer existent on hardware and software with minimum human intervention using latest technology like encrypted coding system; 3.The security key control must be embedded inside the machine sealed against human intervention; 4. The Optical Mark Reader (OMR) must have a built-in printer for numbering the counted ballots and also for printing the individual precinct number on the counted ballots; 5. The ballot paper for the OMR counting machine must be of the quality that passed the international standard like ISO-1831, JIS-X- 9004 or its equivalent for optical character recognition; 6. The ballot feeder must be automatic; 7. The machine must be able to count from 100 to 150 ballots per minute; 8. The counting machine must be able to detect fake or counterfeit ballots and must have a fake ballot rejector; 9.The counting machine must be able to detect and reject previously counted ballots to prevent duplication; 10. The counting machine must have the capability to recognize the ballot's individual precinct and city or municipality before counting or consolidating the votes; 11. The System must have a printer that has the capacity to print in one stroke or operation seven (7) copies (original plus six (6) copies) of the consolidated reports on carbonless paper; 12. The printer must have at least 128 kilobytes of Random Access Memory (RAM) to facilitate the expeditious processing of the printing of the consolidated reports; 13. The machine must have a built-in floppy disk drive in order to save the processed data on a diskette; 14.The machine must also have a built-in hard disk to store the counted and consolidated data for future printout and verification; 15. The machine must be temperature-resistant and rust-proof; 16. The optical lens of the OMR must have a self-cleaning device; 17. The machine must not be capable of being connected to external computer peripherals for the process of vote consolidation; 18. The machine must have an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS); 19. The machine must be accompanied with operating manuals that will guide the personnel of the Commission the proper use and maintenance of the machine; 20. It must be so designed and built that add-ons may immediately be incorporated into the System at minimum expense; 21.It must provide the shortest time needed to complete the counting of votes and canvassing of the results of the election; 22. The machine must be able to generate consolidated reports like the election return, statement of votes and certificate of canvass at different levels; and 23. The accuracy of the count must be guaranteed, the margin of error must be disclosed and backed by warranty under such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Commission. In the procurement of this system, the Commission shall adopt an equitable system of deductions or demerits for deviations or deficiencies in meeting all the above stated features and standards.For this purpose, the Commission shall create an Advisory Council to be composed of technical experts from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the Information Technology Foundation of the Philippines (ITFP), the University of the Philippines (UP), and two (2) representatives from the private sector recommended by the Philippine Computer Society (PCS). The Council may avail itself of the expertise and services of resource persons of known competence and probit y. The Commission in collaboration with the DOST shall establish an independent Technical Ad Hoc Evaluation Committee, herein known as the Committee, composed of a representative each from the Senate, House of Representatives, DOST and COMELEC.The Committee shall certify that the System is operating properly and accurately and that the machines have a demonstrable capacity to distinguish between genuine and spurious ballots. The Committee shall ensure that the testing procedure shall be unbiased and effective in checking the worthiness of the System. Toward this end, the Committee shall design and implement a reliability test procedure or a system stress test. Sec. 8. Procurement of equipment and materials. — The Commission shall procure the automated counting machines, computer equipment, devices and materials needed for ballot printing and devices for voting, counting and canvassing from local or foreign sources free from taxes and import duties, subject to accounting and a uditing rules and regulations. Sec. 9. Systems breakdown in the counting center. In the event of a systems breakdown of all assigned machines in the counting center, the Commission shall use any available machine or any component thereof from another city/municipality upon the approval of the Commission En Banc or any of its divisions. The transfer of such machines or any component thereof shall be undertaken in the presence of representatives of political parties and citizens' arm of the Commission who shall be notified by the election officer of such transfer. There is a systems breakdown in the counting center when the machine fails to read the ballots or fails to store/save results or fails to print the results after it has read the ballots; or when the computer fails to consolidate election results/reports or fails to print election results/reports after consolidation. Sec. 10. Examination and testing of counting machines. The Commission shall, on the date and time it shall set and with proper notices, allow the political parties and candidates or their representatives, citizens' arm or their representatives to examine and test the machines to ascertain that the system is operating properly and accurately. Test ballots and test forms shall be provided by the Commission. After the examination and testing, the machines shall be locked and sealed by the election officer or any authorized representative of the Commission in the presence of the political parties and candidates or their representatives, and accredited citizens' arms. The machines shall be kept locked and sealed and shall be opened again on election day before the counting of votes begins.Immediately after the examination and testing of the machines, the parties and candidates or their representatives, citizens' arms or their representatives, may submit a written report to the election officer who shall immediately transmit it to the Commission for appropriate action. Sec. 11. Official ballot. à ¢â‚¬â€ The Commission shall prescribe the size and form of the official ballot which shall contain the titles of the positions to be filled and/or the propositions to be voted upon in an initiative, referendum or plebiscite. Under each position, the names of candidates shall be arranged alphabetically by surname and uniformly printed using the same type size. A fixed space where the chairman of the Board of Election inspectors shall affix his/her signature to authenticate the official ballot shall be provided. Both sides of the ballots may be used when necessary.For this purpose, the deadline for the filing of certificate of candidacy/petition for registration/manifestation to participate in the election shall not be later than one hundred twenty (120) days before the elections: Provided, That, any elective official, whether national or local, running for any office other than the one which he/she is holding in a permanent capacity, except for president and vice-president, shall be deemed resigned only upon the start of the campaign period corresponding to the position for which he/she is running: Provided, further, That, unlawful acts or omissions applicable to a candidate shall take effect upon the start of the aforesaid campaign period: Provided, finally, That, for purposes of the May 11, 1998 elections, the deadline for filing of the certificate of candidacy for the positions of President, Vice President, Senators and candidates under the Party-List System as well as petitions for registration and/or manifestation to participate in the Party-List System shall be on February 9, 1998 while the deadline for the filing of certificate of candidacy for other positions shall be on March 27, 1998. The official ballots shall be printed by the National Printing Office and/or the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas at the price comparable with that of private printers under proper security measures which the Commission shall adopt. The Commission may contract the services o f private printers upon certification by the National Printing Office/ Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas that it cannot meet the printing requirements. Accredited political parties and deputized citizens' arms of the Commission may assign watchers in the printing, storage and distribution of official ballots.To prevent the use of fake ballots, the Commission through the Committee shall ensure that the serial number on the ballot stub shall be printed in magnetic ink that shall be easily detectable by inexpensive hardware and shall be impossible to reproduce on a photocopying machine, and that identification marks, magnetic strips, bar codes and other technical and security markings, are provided on the ballot. The official ballots shall be printed and distributed to each city/municipality at the rate of one (1) ballot for every registered voter with a provision of additional four (4) ballots per precinct. Sec. 12. Substitution of candidates. — In case of valid substitutions after t he official ballots have been printed, the votes cast for the substituted candidates shall be considered votes for the substitutes. Sec. 13. Ballot box. There shall be in each precinct on election day a ballot box with such safety features that the Commission may prescribe and of such size as to accommodate the official ballots without folding them. For the purpose of the May 11, 1998 elections, there shall be two (2) ballot boxes for each precinct, one (1) for the national ballots and one (I) for the local ballots. Sec. 14. Procedure in voting. — The voter shall be given a ballot by the chairman of the Board of Election Inspectors. The voter shall then proceed to a voting booth to accomplish his/her ballot. If a voter spoils his/her ballot, he/she may be issued another ballot subject to Sec. 11 of this Act.No voter may be allowed to change his/her ballot more than once. After the voter has voted, he/she shall affix his/her thumbmark on the corresponding space in the voting r ecord. The chairman shall apply indelible ink on the voter's right forefinger and affix his/her signature in the space provided for such purpose in the ballot. The voter shall then personally drop his/her ballot on the ballot box. For the purpose of the May 11, 1998 elections, each voter shall be given one (1) national and one (1) local ballot by the Chairperson. The voter shall, after casting his/her vote, personally drop the ballots in their respective ballot boxes. Sec. 15. Closing of polls. After the close of voting, the board shall enter in the minutes the number of registered voters who actually voted, the number and serial number of unused and spoiled ballots, the serial number of the self-locking metal seal to be used in sealing the ballot box. The board shall then place the minutes inside the ballot box and thereafter close, lock and seal the same with padlocks, self-locking metal seals or any other safety devices that the Commission may authorize. The chairman of the Board of Election Inspectors shall publicly announce that the votes shall be counted at a designated counting center where the board shall transport the ballot box containing the ballots and other election documents and paraphernalia.For the purpose of the May 11, 1998 elections, the chairman of the Board of Election Inspectors shall publicly announce that the votes for president, vice-president, senators and parties, organizations or coalitions participating in the party-list system shall be counted at a designated counting center. During the transport of the ballot box containing the national ballots and other documents, the fourth member of the board shall be escorted by representatives from the Armed Forces of the Philippines or from the Philippine National Police, citizens' arm, and if available, representatives of political parties and candidates. Sec. 16. Designation of Counting Centers. The Commission shall designate counting center(s) which shall be a public place within the cit y/municipality or in such other places as may be designated by the Commission when peace and order conditions so require, where the official ballots cast in various precincts of the city/municipality shall be counted. The election officer shall post prominently in his/her office, in the bulletin boards at the city/municipal hall and in three (3) other conspicuous places in the city/municipality, the notice on the designated counting center(s) for at least fifteen (15) days prior to election day. For the purpose of the May 11, 1998 elections, the Commission shall designate a central counting center(s) which shall be a public place within the city or municipality, as in the case of the National Capital Region and in highly urbanized areas.The Commission may designate other counting center(s) where the national ballots cast from various precincts of different municipalities shall be counted using the automated system. The Commission shall post prominently a notice thereof, for at least fifteen (15) days prior to election day, in the office of the election officer, on the bulletin boards at the municipal hall and in three (3) other conspicuous places in the municipality. Sec. 17. Counting procedure. — (a) The counting of votes shall be public and conducted in the designated counting center(s). (b) The ballots shall be counted by the machine by precinct in the order of their arrival at the counting center.The election officer or his/her representative shall log the sequence of arrival of the ballot boxes and indicate their condition. Thereafter, the board shall, in the presence of the watchers and representatives of accredited citizens' arm, political parties/candidates, open the ballot box, retrieve the ballots and minutes of voting. It shall verify whether the number of ballots tallies with the data in the minutes. If there are excess ballots, the poll clerk, without looking at the ballots, shall publicly draw out at random ballots equal to the excess and without looking at the contents thereof, place them in an envelope which shall be marked â€Å"excess ballots†.The envelope shall be sealed and signed by the members of the board and placed in the compartment for spoiled ballots. (c) The election officer or any authorized official or any member of the board shall feed the valid ballots into the machine without interruption until all the ballots for the precincts are counted. (d) The board shall remain at the counting center until all the official ballots for the precinct are counted and all reports are properly accomplished. For the purpose of the May 11, 1998 elections, the ballots shall be counted by precinct by the special members of the board in the manner provided in paragraph (b) hereof. Sec. 18. Election returns. After the ballots of the precincts have been counted, the election officer or any official authorized by the Commission shall, in the presence of watchers and representatives of the accredited citizens' arm, p olitical parties/ candidates, if any, store the results in a data storage device and print copies of the election returns of each precinct. The printed election returns shall be signed and thumbmarked by the fourth member and COMELEC authorized representative and attested to by the election officer or authorized representative. The Chairman of the Board shall then publicly read and announce the total number of votes obtained by each candidate based on the election returns.Thereafter, the copies of the election returns shall be sealed and placed in the proper envelopes for distribution as follows: A. In the election of president, vice-president, senators and party-list system: (1) The first copy shall be delivered to the city or municipal board of canvassers; (2) The second copy, to the Congress, directed to the President of the Senate; (3) The third copy, to the Commission; (4) The fourth copy, to the citizens' arm authorized by the Commission to conduct an unofficial count. In the conduct of the unofficial quick count by any accredited citizens' arm, the Commission shall promulgate rules and regulations to ensure, among others, that said citizens' arm releases in the rder of their arrival one hundred percent (100%) results of a precinct indicating the precinct, municipality or city, province and region: Provided, however, that, the count shall continue until all precincts shall have been reported. (5) The fifth copy, to the dominant majority party as determined by the Commission in accordance with law; (6) The sixth copy, to the dominant minority party as determined by the Commission in accordance with law; and (7) The seventh copy shall be deposited inside the compartment of the ballot box for valid ballots. The citizens' arm shall provide copies of the election returns at the expense of the requesting party. For the purpose of the May 11, 1998 elections, after the national ballots have been counted, the COMELEC authorized representative shall implement the provisions of paragraph A hereof. B.In the election of local officials and members of the House of Representatives: (1) The first copy shall be delivered to the city or municipal board of canvassers; (2) The second copy, to the Commission; (3) The third copy, to the provincial board of canvassers; (4) The fourth copy, to the citizens' arm authorized by the Commission to conduct an unofficial count. In the conduct of the unofficial quick count by any accredited citizens' arm, the Commission shall promulgate rules and regulations to ensure, among others, that said citizens' arm releases in the order of their arrival one hundred percent (100%) results of a precinct indicating the precinct, municipality or city, province and region: Provided, however, That, the count shall continue until all precincts shall have been reported. 5) The fifth copy, to the dominant majority party as determined by the Commission in accordance with law; (6) The sixth copy, to the dominant minority party as de termined by the Commission in accordance with law; and (7) The seventh copy shall be deposited inside the compartment of the ballot box for valid ballots. The citizens' arm shall provide copies of election returns at the expense of the requesting party. After the votes from all precincts have been counted, a consolidated report of votes for each candidate shall be printed. After the printing of the election returns, the ballots shall be returned to the ballot box, which shall be locked, sealed and delivered to the city/municipal treasurer for safekeeping. The treasurer shall immediately provide the Commission and the election officer with a record of the serial numbers of the ballot boxes and the corresponding metal seals. Sec. 19.Custody and accountability of ballots. — The election officer and the treasurer of the city/municipality as deputy of the Commission shall have joint custody and accountability of the official ballots, accountable forms and other election documents as well as ballot boxes containing the official ballots cast. The ballot boxes shall not be opened for three (3) months unless the Commission orders otherwise. Sec. 20. Substitution of Chairman and Members of the Board of Canvassers. — In case of non-availability, absence, disqualification due to relationship, or incapacity for any cause of the chairman, the Commission shall appoint as substitute, a ranking lawyer of the Commission.With respect to the other members of the board, the Commission shall appoint as substitute the following in the order named: the provincial auditor, the register of deeds, the clerk of court nominated by the executive judge of the regional trial court, or any other available appointive provincial official in the case of the provincial board of canvassers; the officials in the city corresponding to those enumerated in the case of the city board of canvassers; and the municipal administrator, the municipal assessor, the clerk of court nominated by th e judge of the municipal trial court, in the case of the municipal board of canvassers. Sec. 21. Canvassing by Provincial, City, District and Municipal Boards of Canvassers. — The city or municipal board of canvassers shall canvass the votes for the president, vice-president, senators, and parties, organizations or coalitions participating under the party-list system by consolidating the results contained in the data storage devices used in the printing of the election returns.Upon completion of the canvass, it shall print the certificate of canvass of votes for president, vice-president, senators and members of the House of Representatives and elective provincial officials and thereafter, proclaim the elected city or municipal officials, as the case may be. The city board of canvassers of cities comprising one (1) or more legislative districts shall canvass the votes for president, vice-president, senators, members of the House of Representatives and elective city officials by consolidating the results contained in the data storage devices used in the printing of the election returns. Upon completion of the canvass, the board shall print the canvass of votes for president, vice-president, and senators and thereafter, proclaim the elected members of the House of Representatives and city officials.In the Metro Manila area, each municipality comprising a legislative district shall have a district board of canvassers which shall canvass the votes for president, vice-president, senators, members of the House of Representatives and elective municipal officials by consolidating the results contained in the data storage devices used in the printing of the election returns. Upon completion of the canvass, it shall print the certificate of canvass of votes for president, vice-president, and senators and thereafter, proclaim the elected members of the House of Representatives and municipal officials. Each component municipality in a legislative district in the Me tro Manila area shall have a municipal board of canvassers which shall canvass the votes for president, vice-president, senators, members of the House of Representatives and elective municipal officials by consolidating the results contained in the data storage devices used in the printing of the election returns.Upon completion of the canvass, it shall prepare the certificate of canvass of votes for president, vice-president, senators, members of the House of Representatives and thereafter, proclaim the elected municipal officials. The district board of canvassers of each legislative district comprising two (2) municipalities in the Metro Manila area shall canvass the votes for president, vice-president, senators and members of the House of Representatives by consolidating the results contained in the data storage devices submitted by the municipal board of canvassers of the component municipalities. Upon completion of the canvass, it shall print a certificate of canvass of votes f or president, vice-president and senators and thereafter, proclaim the elected members of the House of Representatives in the legislative district.The district/provincial board of canvassers shall canvass the votes for president, vice-president, senators, members of the House of Representatives and elective provincial officials by consolidating the results contained in the data storage devices submitted by the board of canvassers of the municipalities and component cities. Upon completion of the canvass, it shall print the certificate of canvass of votes for president, vice-president and senators and thereafter, proclaim the elected members of the House of Representatives and the provincial officials. The municipal, city, district and provincial certificates of canvass of votes shall each be supported by a statement of votes. The Commission shall adopt adequate and effective measures to preserve the integrity of the data storage devices at the various levels of the boards of canvass ers. Sec. 22. Number of copies of Certificates of Canvass of Votes and their distribution. (a) The certificate of canvass of votes for president, vice-president, senators, members of the House of Representatives, parties, organizations or coalitions participating under the party-list system and elective provincial officials shall be printed by the city or municipal board of canvassers and distributed as follows: (1) The first copy shall be delivered to the provincial board of canvassers for use in the canvass of election results for president, vice-president, senators, members of the House of Representatives, parties, organizations or coalitions participating under the party-list system and elective provincial officials; (2) The second copy shall be sent to the Commission; (3) The third copy shall be kept by the chairman of the board; and (4) The fourth copy shall be given to the citizens' arm designated by the Commission to conduct an unofficial count. It shall be the duty of the c itizens' arm to furnish independent candidates copies of the certificate of canvass at the expense of the requesting party. The board of canvassers shall furnish all registered parties copies of the certificate of canvass at the expense of the requesting party. b) The certificate of canvass of votes for president, vice-president and senators, parties, organizations or coalitions participating under the party-list system shall be printed by the city boards of canvassers of cities comprising one or more legislative districts, by provincial boards of canvassers and by district boards of canvassers in the Metro Manila area, and other highly urbanized areas and distributed as follows: (1) The first copy shall be sent to Congress, directed to the President of the Senate for use in the canvas of election results for president and vice-president; (2) The second copy shall be sent to the Commission for use in the canvass of the election results for senators; (3) The third copy shall be kept by the chairman of the board; and (4) The fourth copy shall be given to the citizens' arm designated by the Commission to conduct an unofficial count. It shall be the duty of the citizens' arm to furnish independent candidates copies of the certificate of canvass at the expense of the requesting party. The board of canvassers shall furnish all registered parties copies of the certificate of canvass at the expense of the requesting party. c) The certificates of canvass printed by the provincial, district, city or municipal boards of canvassers shall be signed and thumbmarked by the chairman and members of the board and the principal watchers, if available. Thereafter, it shall be sealed and placed inside an envelope which shall likewise be properly sealed. In all instances, where the Board of Canvassers has the duty to furnish registered political parties with copies of the certificate of canvass, the pertinent election returns shall be attached thereto, where appropriate. Sec. 23. N ational Board of Canvassers for Senators. — The chairman and members of the Commission on Elections sitting en banc, shall compose the national board of canvassers for senators.It shall canvass the results for senators by consolidating the results contained in the data storage devices submitted by the district, provincial and city boards of canvassers of those cities which comprise one or more legislative districts. Thereafter, the national board shall proclaim the winning candidates for senators. Sec. 24. Congress as the National Board of Canvassers for President and Vice-President. — The Senate and the House of Representatives in joint public session shall compose the national board of canvassers for president and vice-president. The returns of every election for president and vice-president duly certified by the board of canvassers of each province or city, shall be transmitted to the Congress, directed to the president of the Senate.Upon receipt of the certificates of canvass, the president of the Senate shall, not later than thirty (30) days after the day of the election, open all the certificates in the presence of the Senate and the House of Representatives in joint public session and the Congress upon determination of the authenticity and the due execution thereof in the manner provided by law, canvass all the results for president and vice-president by consolidating the results contained in the data storage devices submitted by the district, provincial and city boards of canvassers and thereafter, proclaim the winning candidates for president and vice-president. Sec. 25. Voters' education. — The Commission together with and in support of accredited citizens' arms shall carry out a continuing and systematic campaign through newspapers of general circulation, radio and ther media forms, as well as through seminars, symposia, fora and other non-traditional means to educate the public and fully inform the electorate about the automate d election system and inculcate values on honest, peaceful and orderly elections. Sec. 26. Supervision and control. — The System shall be under the exclusive supervision and control of the Commission. For this purpose, there is hereby created an information technology department in the Commission to carry out the full administration and implementation of the System. The Commission shall take immediate steps as may be necessary for the acquisition, installation, administration, storage, and maintenance of equipment and devices, and to promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act. Sec. 27. Oversight Committee. An Oversight Committee is hereby created composed of three (3) representatives each from the Senate and the House of Representatives and three (3) from the Commission on Elections to monitor and evaluate the implementation of this Act. A report to the Senate and the House of Representatives shall be submitted within ninety (9 0) days from the date of election. The oversight committee may hire competent consultants for project monitoring and information technology concerns related to the implementation and improvement of the modern election system. The oversight committee shall be provided with the necessary funds to carry out its duties. Sec. 28.Designation of other dates for certain pre-election acts. — If it shall no longer be reasonably possible to observe the periods and dates prescribed by law for certain pre-election acts, the Commission shall fix other periods and dates in order to ensure accomplishment of the activities so voters shall not be deprived of their suffrage. Sec. 29. Election offenses. — In addition to those enumerated in Sec. s 261 and 262 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 881, As Amended, the following acts shall be penalized as election offenses, whether or not said acts affect the electoral process or results: (a) Utilizing without authorization, tampering with, destroying or s tealing: 1) Official ballots, election returns, and certificates of canvass of votes used in the System; and (2) Electronic devices or their components, peripherals or supplies used in the System such as counting machine, memory pack/diskette, memory pack receiver and computer set; (b) Interfering with, impeding, absconding for purpose of gain, preventing the installation or use of computer counting devices and the processing, storage, generation and transmission of election results, data or information; and (c) Gaining or causing access to using, altering, destroying or disclosing any computer data, program, system software, network, or any computer-related devices, facilities, hardware or equipment, whether classified or declassified. Sec. 30. Applicability. — The provisions of Batas Pambansa Blg. 81, As Amended, otherwise known as the â€Å"Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines†, and other election laws not inconsistent with this Act shall apply. Sec. 31. Rules a nd Regulations. — The Commission shall promulgate rules and regulations for the implementation and enforcement of this Act including such measures that will address possible difficulties and confusions brought about by the two-ballot system. The Commission may consult its accredited citizens' arm for this purpose. Sec. 32. Appropriations. — The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act shall be charged against the current year's appropriations of the Commission. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for the continuous implementation of this Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.In case of deficiency in the funding requirements herein provided, such amount as may be necessary shall be augmented from the current contingent fund in the General Appropriations Act. Sec. 33. Separability clause. — If, for any reason, any Sec. or provision of this Act or any part thereof, or the application of such Sec. , provision or portion is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder thereof shall not be affected by such declaration. Sec. 34. Repealing clause. — All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. Sec. 35. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation. Approved: December 22, 1997