A right is the power or liberty to which a person or a group is justly entitled or a thing to which they have a moral or legal claim. The specific enumeration of rights accorded to citizens has historically differed greatly from one century to the next, and from one regime to another, but nowadays is normally addressed by the constitutions of the respective nations. Rights serve as rules of interaction between people and groups, and, as such, they place constraints or positive obligations on individuals, groups, institutions, and governments.

These rights are variously interpreted. For example, in a given country, a right to free speech may merely mean that the government may not actively engage in censorship, and may apply only to speech that the courts of that country deem political, not, for example, sexually related speech, even in realms that such as a discussion of birth control that other countries might deem political. But, in any case, a right to free speech is generally not interpreted to mean that anyone else has a right to facilitate one's speech. In A.J. Liebling's words, "Freedom of the press belongs to those who own one." On the other hand, an individual right to healthcare implies an obligation on others to provide that healthcare. Thus, an individual having a right places responsibilities, either negative or positive, on others. (See negative and positive rights and three generations of human rights) Though rights usually refers to individual rights, in certain societies there may be group rights, where all members of a group have certain rights by virtue of being in that group. Contrast with license.

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TechCrunch

No ChaChing For ChaCha Guides
Michael Arrington Sun, 07 Sep 2008 10:29:08 -0000
ChaCha used to be a ridiculous human powered web based search engine that's best use appeared to be for killing time when bored. They raised a boatload of money from Jeff Bezos and others and eventually switched to an all-mobile interface. They also began offering their platform to third party marketers. But now there are indications that the company is having cash flow issues, even after a recent pay cut to guides. As before, the information is coming from their poorly-paid and poorly-treated human guides.
Everyone Needs To Calm Down
Michael Arrington Sun, 07 Sep 2008 08:39:06 -0000
I haven't had a lot of time to jump into the fracas this weekend emerging about TechCrunch50 because the team has been busy organizing the conference, working with the Expert Panelists on scheduling issues and spending hours and hours working with the 52 startups that will be launching at the event to make sure their demos properly reflect what they've worked so hard to create. But I do have a few things to say. First, thanks to Chris O'Brien at the San Jose Mercury News who wrote such a great article on TechCrunch and the conference. What a wonderful, positive way to kick things off as we go into the craziness on Monday. He really gets what we're trying to accomplish and how honored we are that these startups have chosen to launch at our event.
Family Tree Wars Continue: MyHeritage Raises Big Round, Shows Impressive Growth
Michael Arrington Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:30:06 -0000
It's been just a few days after our post on Geni's big growth numbers - and now big news from Israeli competitor MyHeritage. The site has grown from 180 million profiles a year ago to 260 million today, they say. Registered users have also grown, from 17 million to 25 million. Compare that to almost 2 million users for Geni. 230 million photos have been uploaded to the site, which is available in 25 languages and has 5 million monthly unique visitors. Support for ten more language will be released this month. Investors have certainly noticed MyHeritage's stellar growth. The company has raised a new round of funding - $15 million in a Series D round led by Index Ventures and joined by current investor Accel Partners. That brings their total capital raised to $24 million.
ContestMachine: A Product Giveaway Widget For Bloggers
Erick Schonfeld Sat, 06 Sep 2008 21:28:38 -0000
Giving away products can be a logistical pain. For instance, when we give away a T-shirt or laptop, we have to go through hundreds of comments, contact the person, and do a lot of manual processing. A new Y Combinator startup called ContestMachine that just launched makes giving stuff away as easy as putting a widget on your blog. You create a contest widget by entering all the details of the giveaway: prizes, deadlines, rules. Winners can be randomly chosen by ContestMachine or judged by the blogger. It automates the process of creating giveaways, and opens up contests to any blogger or small business who has a Website. The service is free to try out for up to two contests a month, and then charges $9 a month or $90 a year for more contests.
The Big Conference Launch: How to Stand Out from the Crowd
Brian Solis Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:31:27 -0000
Editor's Note: This post represents the professional advice of Brian Solis who is not formally affiliated with TechCrunch50. If you are a participating TC50 company, resident TechCrunch PR expert Sarah Ross is available to share and review the public relations guidelines with you. It is important to work directly with Sarah to ensure you are in compliance with these guidelines to maximize your PR opportunity while also avoiding disqualification. How do you launch a startup at a big tech conference without getting lost in the crowd? With TechCrunch50, Demo and several other major tech conferences around the corner, this question is on the minds of more than one entrepreneur. How do you create visibility for your startup, and do you need PR to do it, or just a great demo? The coming days and weeks will be filled by some of the industry’s most anticipated, attended and watched conferences. They’re all competing for mind share and they are attracting influential attendees and spectators who will report their experiences and observations far and wide. In the next two to three weeks, over 150-200 companies will vie for attention and precious blog and media real estate. Your story, as wonderful as it is, will need help rising above the flurry of news that will jockey to reach the ears and eyes of bloggers, press, customers, investors, and partners.
The Push To Cure Spinal Muscular Atrophy
Michael Arrington Sat, 06 Sep 2008 19:05:40 -0000
Gwendolyn DeBard Strong was born on October 4, 2007 and was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1 (SMA1) in April 2008. SMA1 is a terminal genetic disease that results in loss of nerves in the spinal cord and weakness of the muscles connected with those nerves. Her parents are asking that you consider signing a petition asking Congress to fund research into a cure for the disease. The NIH has said that a cure is possibly only a few years away. The petition is here. Please read and sign it, and pass this on to others. The goal is 50,000 signatures. If each of you reading this sign now, we'll get to that number in just a few hours. And if you watch the video, you'll sign.

ENN Investing and Corporate Social Responsibility

Study Suggests Carbon Market Encourages Chopping Forests
The current carbon market actually encourages cutting down some of the world's biggest forests, which would unleash tons of climate-warming carbon into the atmosphere, a new study reported Monday.
Technology Companies Tout Greener Credentials, but Significant Improvements Are Distant
With energy costs high and environmental friendliness making for good public relations, more tech companies are touting ways they are "greening" data centers, which serve up Web pages, swap Internet traffic, and process and store business information.
Westinghouse Seals Mega China Nuclear Deal
U.S.-based Westinghouse Electric signed on Tuesday a multi-billion-dollar deal with Chinese partners to build four nuclear reactors in eastern China, finalising a pact agreed between Beijing and Washington seven months ago.

The Financial Page

James Surowiecki: What drives market volatility?
James Surowiecki Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0000
American investors are frazzled. True, oil prices have fallen from their most vertiginous highs, the dollar is a bit stronger, and the stock market has actually risen over the past month. But none of those things have happened in a smooth and steady fashion. The stock market’s “ascent,” in particular . . .
James Surowiecki: Too many stakeholders can be a deal-breaker.
James Surowiecki Mon, 04 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0000
In the second decade of the twentieth century, it was almost impossible to build an airplane in the United States. That was the result of a chaotic legal battle among the dozens of companies--including one owned by Orville Wright--that held patents on the various components that made a . . .
James Surowiecki: Sponsoring Recklessness
James Surowiecki Mon, 21 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0000
When do the words “not guaranteed” actually mean “guaranteed”? Whenever the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are involved. The two companies have long been required to tell investors that their securities are not guaranteed by the federal government. But in the financial markets everyone has always assumed that . . .

NYT > Your Money

Fundamentally: Why the Bear Is Alive and Well
Sun, 07 Sep 2008 04:25:55 -0000
If there’s a silver lining to bear markets, it is that they make stocks cheap for the next wave of investors. But so far in this downturn, it isn’t working out that way.
Your Money: Counseling on Student Loans Now May Ease Pain Later
Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:18:09 -0000
What students about to take out their first loan should know.
Cost of Living: Justifying the Cost of an iPhone
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 05:27:30 -0000
I don’t know how any of this stuff works, and I don’t want to pay for it. Yet, I am on the brink of buying an iPhone.

The Economist: The World Bank and the IMF

Poverty: The bottom 1.4 billion
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:35:37 -0000
The world is poorer than we thought, the World Bank discoversCorrection to this articleIN APRIL 2007 the World Bank announced that 986m people worldwide suffered from extreme poverty—the first time its count had dropped below 1 billion. On August 26th it had grim news to report. According to two of its leading researchers, Shaohua Chen and Martin Ravallion, the “developing world is poorer than we thought”. The number of poor was almost 1.4 billion in 2005. ...
Who runs the world?: Wrestling for influence
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:02:45 -0000
The post-war global institutions have largely worked well. But rising countries and growing threats are challenging their pre-eminence THE powerful, like the victorious, do not just write history. They grab the seats at the top tables, from the United Nations Security Council to the boards of the big international economic and financial institutions. They collude behind closed doors. They decide who can join their cosy clubs and expect the rest of the world to obey the instructions they hand down. That is how many outsiders, not just in the poor world, will see the summit that takes place from July 7th to 9th of the G8, the closest the world has to an informal (ie, self-appointed) steering group. Leaders of seven of the world’s richest democracies, plus oil-and gas-fired Russia, gather this year in Toyako, on Hokkaido in northern Japan, to ruminate on climate change, rising food and energy prices, and the best way to combat global scourges from disease to nuclear proliferation. ...
International government: What a way to run the world
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:02:45 -0000
Global institutions are an outdated muddle; the rise of Asia makes their reform a priority for the WestCLUBS are all too often full of people prattling on about things they no longer know about. On July 7th the leaders of the group that allegedly runs the world—the G7 democracies plus Russia—gather in Japan to review the world economy. But what is the point of their discussing the oil price without Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest producer? Or waffling about the dollar without China, which holds so many American Treasury bills? Or slapping sanctions on Robert Mugabe, with no African present? Or talking about global warming, AIDS or inflation without anybody from the emerging world? Cigar smoke and ignorance are in the air.The G8 is not the only global club that looks old and impotent (see article). The UN Security Council has told Iran to stop enriching uranium, without much effect. The nuclear non-proliferation regime is in tatters. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the fireman in previous financial crises, has been a bystander during the credit crunch. The World Trade Organisation’s Doha round is stuck. Of course, some bodies, such as the venerable Bank for International Settlements (see article), still do a fine job. But as global problems proliferate and information whips round the world ever faster, the organisational response looks ever shabbier, slower and feebler. The world’s governing bodies need to change. ...

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