This charity which is heavily involved with the disabled is calling for modifications about how employers are operating their recruitment procedures.  They have issues some guidelines and best practices to help employers with this situation.

The report was fairly comprehensive and looked at 100 different job application forms primarily in Scotland.One of the most obvious findings was that many employers were not complying with equality legislation in one important aspect. This was that the applicants were being asked to disclose too many details about their disability earlier in the process.

The report looked at the questions with regards health, disability and absence through sickness – all information that would be visible to short listing panels. This report is interesting because many will think employment practices have improved alongside legislation.

The problems seems to be that employers will frequently ignore the laws on employment and equality, this report seems to support this view.

According to Capability Scotland, over the period of the report from 1988.   There is over a 5% difference in employment levels between the disabled and able-bodied individuals. The gap had previously been improving and in 2004 it had fallen to under 2.5% but it’s been rising steadily ever since.

It is important that we change  these attitudes to both disabilities and also the legislation designed to protect disabled people.When employers start to realise that disabled people are capable and in many cases more capable than able bodied people – this difference will start to fall again.  For the latest in news, information on disability, legislation the it’s worth checking out the resources on the BBC website.  There are links there to all the relevent authorities and agencies too, if you have trouble watching any of the content from iPlayer because of location – this resource is worth checking – How to Watch UK TV Online.

Obviously the economic downturn is partly to blame for these figures, although it does seem to be unfairly affecting disabled candidates more than able bodied job seekers.

But what about people with disabilities who might have those same yearnings to throw off the shackles of the limited choice of motel chains that cater specially for handicapped visitors? Are there RVs adapted for handicapped use? You bet!

There are several manufacturers that also make customizable accessories that convert a regular RV into a wheelchair accessible RV and even some that manufacture them to order. They encompass the many needs of the individual, which of course will vary from person to person but generally will adapt a vehicle so that they can be driven and used by a person with disabilities, of course as long as those disabilities are not so severe that would really make it dangerous to undertake, every bit as much as anyone else.

The driver section can be customized with driver controls to enable those with limited or no use of their feet or legs to drive. This is achieved using controls mounted on or near the steering wheel in much the same way as the smaller disabled automobiles are designed.

As for the mobile home section of the RV is concerned, there are customizable extras as well as wider aisles to accommodate wheelchairs, specially adapted showers and bathtubs with handrails and non-slip surfaces. There are kitchen accessories that make them easy to use with special faucets and levers that turn on and shut off at the lightest touch.

Special ramps and powered wheelchair lifts aid the user’s boarding and disembarking from the vehicle. For internal convenience in reaching those items from wheelchair level, things like lighting and plugs can be re-sited for easier access.

Above all, being able to hit the road in your own RV even if you are a wheelchair user or have some form of physical disability that might otherwise exclude you from this pursuit is a real pleasure. You can join the happy throngs of RV’ers who enjoy their freedom anytime and make the open road your home wherever you feel like setting down. To find out more, please visit: HandicappedRV.com for a full, detailed explanation of the whole process and more besides.

The phenomenon is based on an internet dance craze that if you’ve surfed the web in the last year you’ve almost certainly come across. It’s called the Harlem Shake and involves two scenes – first a single person dances to the Harlem shake song whilst people carry on around regardless, then all hell breaks loose and everyone joins the dance in various crazy ways.

It’s just some fun and has been mimicked by all sorts of group from offices, emergency services and colleges across the world.  However it is considered immoral and provoacative by many conservative religious groups in many middle eastern countries.  One group in Tunisia the Salafi’s who are attempting to gain a foothold in the country are calling those participating in this dance as unbelievers.  Of course in Religious loony land – unbelief equals apostacy which usually ends up meaning the death penalty.

However the young protesters don’t seem to care and more and more of  these videos are being uploaded, recently spreading across to Egypt and Palestine. Many are being cordinated by tech savvy students who use technology and proxies based in different countries like this one – http://www.proxyusa.com/usvpn. This video is actually outside the Egyptian leaders office – President Morsi.

There are hundreds of people protesting via the dance, deliberately taregting the offices of teh Muslim Brotherhood.  It was also a direct reponse to the arrest of four students the previous week who had danced to the song in another protest.  Their crime was doing it in their underwear and thus violating the country’s decency laws.  Thta’s got to be bad news for sequinned belly dancers who are so popular in Cairo !

The protests are fantastic, check them out lots more on YouTube. 

It just isn’t right that so many of these larger firms seem to want to put all of their effort into selling you something but then don’t seem too bothered when it comes to the actual customer service behind things. It’s as if there are so many individuals throughout the country (and the world) that these companies just don’t seem to want to take action, notice and actually change the way they treat people. This is where you, as a consumer, need to take action. If we all react against poor customer service by large firms then there is something that is going to be done. This doesn’t mean just telecoms and communication firms, such as Internet providers and cell operators, but all of the other ones too: such as bed specialists and computer makers; they’re all in on it and they need to understand that we, as customers of theirs, are willing to ’take the fight to them’.

I’ve linked to a video below about a customer, like you and I, who received terrible customer service from a large telecommunications firm over in the UK. When you view the video think about what is said to the customer and how disheartened he feels. Is this you? And how many other people have been in a similar situation? I’m guessing a lot.

If you watched the above video then you will see what I mean. You really don’t have to be a genius to consider what was going on in the call and what mistakes were made. Some of us don’t understand the true nature behind our rights and how companies just aren’t providing the correct amount of service to us as buyers of their products and services. This is something that we, as members of the public – which means you, your friends and your family – should start to take action and not settle for mediocre or rubbish outcomes from these buffoons.

When it comes to dieting for health, fitness and also weight loss, there are certain things that need to be borne in mind if success is to be achieved. The most important factor is in ensuring that the diet is well balanced, as natural as possible and contains all the nutrients necessary for the body to maintain a healthy aspect. There are several ways of going about this but one of the best ways is to make use of the services of a qualified nutritionist who will be able to ascertain your own personal requirements and match them to your body shape and size while formulating a personal diet plan that is best suited to you as an individual.

Getting a good balance of all the essential nutrients and food groups is essential for good health. These are proteins, carbohydrates, fats and dietary fiber. carbohydrates can be subdivided into low and high glycemic index versions, with the low GI version most beneficial as the sugars are released more slowly and don’t produce the glucose “hit” which floods your blood with high sugar levels fast as does the high GI carbs.

Fats can also be subdivided into saturated and unsaturated fats, with the unsaturated ones being further subdivided into polyunsaturated and monounsaturated. There are the omega fatty acids that are essential to health and olive oil provides the best source of monounsaturated fats.

Another option which is favored by people who lead busy lives is to pay for a propriety diet plan that is delivered to their home and is ready to go in a convenient package. This type of diet is generally an acceptable alternative when no other option is viable. There are several major diet companies that provide this type of diet. More information and details about Nutrisystem can be found at this site: http://nstuf.com, which specializes in information from Nutrisystem, one of the most popular and best known of the diet food delivery companies.

Whichever way you go about dieting for health and fitness, you should still make a point of combining it with an exercise plan. This is in order that you gain the maximum benefit from the food you are eating and the diet’s own nutritional benefits to enjoy the right to good health for all of your life.

And here, I’d like to introduce the government of Iceland – a country whose government has precided in one of the more monumental errors of judgement in the financial crisis.  Did you invest or save with an Icelandic Bank, well I’m so sorry and I hope you got your money back!   So they have critics and being a Western democracy, they are under a duty to let them speak both in in real life and the internet.  But if your people are still suffering from your huge misjudgements then it’s best to switch focus to something else.  

A common target is protecting people from some threat – perhaps crime, terrorism or paedophiles and of course the best way to stop them is via the internet.  So this is Iceland’s plan – they will reduce all the nasty sex crimes against people by allowing the Government to censor pornography you can view from Iceland.  It’s a stupid idea on many levels, the technical side is currently baffling the mighty wealth and resources of the People’s Republic of China – Iceland presumes it must be possible.  Their rationale is that we have put people on the moon so it must be.

The fact they have no clue how to implement this badly thought out censorship is no real comfort though as a technical solution badly implemented just buggers up everyone’s internet access.  Censorship is not a solution, all it does is takes away people’s right to choose themselves – just like Rosa did so many years ago.  Does the state have the right to choose what you can or can’t see based on some vague premise it might be good for society?  I think not, so people of Iceland I urge you to vote against if you can. Also make sure you are unaffected and get access to a proxy or VPN outside Iceland – just like this site illlustrates on using proxies to watch the BBC from abroad – here’s the link.  

It’s a small step, but a significant one – censoring and filtering the internet is addictive to any government. When the infrastructure is in place the blocked sites and pages usually start to grow, first one page then the next.  Do you want your government to decide what you can see, listen or do on the internet?  Or would you just like it to go and arrest anyone guilty of a criminal act online or off.  I know which I would prefer.

The study was published by the ESRI and the Equality Authority which has used the study to call for renewed efforts in promoting equality in the country.  Some of the responses are quite startling for example black Africans suggest they are seven times more likely to experience some sort of discrimination during the process of job hunting.  

The problem doesn’t seem to be limited to the specific group from Africa though, many ethnic minorities seem to suffer similar problems.  Overall they reported that they were four times more likely to suffer discrimination during job hunting too.   There seems to be a serious problem in integrating minorities into Irish society.

They are surprising results but in some ways Ireland has perhaps not put in as much effort into legislation and processes to protect the rights of minorities in a practical way.  There is a lot of data to support the existence of these issues however solving them does need some concerted effort.

There is perhaps some solutions to be found in the methods of dealing with asylum seekers.  There was recently a Panorama study on how in the UK, asylum seekers were forced to rely on benefits which created isolation and a dependency culture.  It was quite an eye opener, you can still catch  the show on Panaorma although from Ireland you’ll need a proxy to access Iplayer abroad from outside the UK.

The figures really speak for themselves and it’s difficult to deny that some discrimination must be taking place.  It is likely that much of this is made worse by the recession and overall harsh economic climate.  However it is important that the issue is addressed and resolved in any case.

The idea that the rights in the digital world should be protected to the same extent as the physical world is an important step in the development of the internet.  Many countries are beginning to recognise the potential the internet has for global development too.  It is important that all citizens of the world have access if at all possible.

There is a growing concern at how access to the internet is being increasingly filtered and censored.  Even in UN member states like Cuba and China extensive filtering and selective blocking takes place.  The Great Firewall of China blocks many thousands of sites and delivers heavily filtered pages on many subjects.  Of course it is possible to circumvent using proxies and VPNs like this site demonstrates - http://thenewproxies.com/, but again this creates a privileged class of people who have either the technical knowledge or resources to pay for such services.

The internet might be taken for granted in many countries, but in places like China,Iran and Syria to name just a few – that right is being controlled and eroded firther every single day.

But even within these forward thinking and prospering nations, there are many who are being left behind in terms of their lifestyle and the knock on effect this has on their health and life expectancy. In many cases, it is the individual, not the system that is at fault for their situation.

You Reap What You Sow

It is said that God helps them that help themselves. And in that sense, modern civilization complies by providing the circumstances for anyone to prosper if they choose to do so. However, that doesn’t mean that prosperity should be handed to everyone on a plate.

Far too many people feel that life owes them a living and they are going to collect that benefit in any way they can as long as they don’t have to work hard for it! Of course, if a person has that attitude, they are hardly likely to ever succeed at anything and as a result may find themselves at the back of the queue when it comes to the payout.

To achieve anything and that includes prosperity, good health, happy relationships and contentment in life, a certain amount of input is required from the person who wants those things. You get out what you put in, or you reap what you sow.

Things that Do Not Grow On Trees

There are many things that we would like to have from life that are there for the taking. We just have to put in the work to get them. The old saying that money doesn’t grow on trees is quite true in every sense. By the same token, good health, happy relationships and achievement of life goals do not grow on trees either. They have to be achieved!

At the root of all things in life worth having is good health. With that, a person has nothing because when in poor health, their life is apt to take on a dreary, gloomy aspect. Poor health means experiencing physical pain, limited mobility and heavy reliance on doctors and medicines.

To enjoy better health, it has to be worked for by taking good care of the physical body that is so important to each and every one of us. Feeding it the right foods, providing it with fresh air and exercise while treating it to lots of calm relaxation and freedom from unnecessary stress all contribute to a healthy aspect. You can read more about enjoying good health by visiting this excellent website: healthandfitnessinfo.com that explores many aspects of maintaining a positive attitude toward a healthy physical body and enjoying life along the way.

So how do we recognize when our rights to a healthy life are being violated and what can we do about it?

Defining Right from Wrong

First of all, it helps to put a definition on how this actually violates a person’s own rights to be healthy.

Civilized society creates various laws to protect citizens from a variety of violations that can impact their lives. These include protection and recourse against personal injury, violence, robbery, fraud, libel and a whole host of other aspects of civilized life that a governing body of publicly elected people can confer on their charges. Those laws also protect an individual’s health up to a point, but become less effective when certain elements come into play.

Environmental Health

Governments will claim that they have little power to produce and then enforce certain laws over the way in which the environment happens to exist in any given place. For instance, it would be fruitless to attempt to control the weather or the tides, or to place limits on the amount of sunlight is available each day. But it can place controls on the way in which humans interact with that environment in ways that could bring  harm to others.

A major area is agriculture. Crops are routinely sprayed with a cocktail of lethal chemicals several times in every growing season. The existing controls in place over what chemical concoctions can or cannot be used are far too lenient and it is well known that extended exposure to these chemicals can be detrimental to a person’s health. Yet little is done to curb their use, with the excuse being made that we need the food to live and in order to make sure it is produced, we have to use chemicals to promote their production.

Keeping Your House in Order

While the individual can do little to sway the working practices of large industries such as agriculture, they can keep their own house in order. One way to do this is in only buying those foods that are certified organic and thus effectively snubbing the large growers and users of so many unhealthy chemicals.

A healthier house is a happier house and you can read more about it here: www.healthierhouse.com. Just make sure you do what you can. If every consumer did the same, large industries would be forced to change their working practises to obey and appease their customers and their human rights by ultimately falling into line with the way in which they spend the dollars in their pockets.