SELF IMPROVEMENT AND SUCCESS

Everything that happens to us happens in purpose. And sometimes, one thing leads to another. Instead of locking yourself up in your cage of fears and crying over past heartaches, embarrassment and failures, treat them as your teachers and they will become your tools in both self improvement and success.

I remember watching Patch Adams – its my favorite movie, actually. Its one great film that will help you improve yourself. Hunter "patch" Adams is a medical student who failed to make it through the board exams. After months of suffering in melancholy, depression and suicidal attempts – he decided to seek for medical attention and voluntarily admitted himself in a psychiatric ward. His months of stay in the hospital led him to meeting different kinds of people. Sick people in that matter. He met a catatonic, a mentally retarded, a schizophrenic and so on. Patch found ways of treating his own ailment and finally realized he has to get back on track. He woke up one morning realizing that after all the failure and pains he has gone through, he still want to become the a doctor. He carries with himself a positive attitude that brought him self improvement and success. He didn't only improved himself, but also the life of the people around him and the quality of life. Did he succeed? Needless to say, he became the best damn doctor his country has ever known.

So, when does self improvement become synonymous with success? Where do we start? Take these tips, friends…
*Stop thinking and feeling as if you're a failure, because you're not. How can others accept you if YOU can't accept YOU?

*When you see hunks and models on TV, think more on self improvement, not self pitying. Self acceptance is not just about having nice slender legs, or great abs. Concentrate on inner beauty.

*When people feel so down and low about themselves, help them move up. Don't go down with them. They'll pull you down further and both of you will end up feeling inferior.

*The world is a large room for lessons, not mistakes. Don't feel stupid and doomed forever just because you failed on a science quiz. There's always a next time. Make rooms for self improvement

*Take things one at a time. You don't expect black sheep's to be goody-two-shoes in just a snap of a finger. Self improvement is a one day at a time process.

*Self improvement results to inner stability, personality development and dig this …. SUCCESS. It comes from self confidence, self appreciation and self esteem.

* Set meaningful and achievable goals. Self improvement doesn't turn you to be the exact replica of Cameron Diaz or Ralph Fiennes. It hopes and aims to result to an improved and better YOU.

*Little things mean BIG to other people. Sometimes, we don't realize that the little things that we do like a pat on the back, saying "hi" or "hello", greeting someone "good day" or telling Mr. Smith something like "hey, I love your tie!" are simple things that mean so much to other people. When we're being appreciative about beautiful things around us and other people, we also become beautiful to them.

*When you're willing to accept change and go through the process of self improvement, it doesn't mean that everyone else is. The world is a place where people of different values and attitude hang out. Sometimes, even if you think you and your best friend always like to do the same thing together at the same time, she would most likely decline an invitation for self improvement.

We should always remember that there's no such thing as 'over night success'. Its always a wonderful feeling to hold on to the things that you already have now, realizing that those are just one of the things you once wished for. A very nice quote says that "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear." We are all here to learn our lessons. Our parents, school teachers, friends, colleagues, officemates, neighbors… they are our teachers. When we open our doors for self improvement, we increase our chances to head to the road of success.

If you are interested in learning more, probably the best self improvement information resource online today can be found at http://www.selfimprovement.thegreat.info.

www.readbud.com

READ MORE - SELF IMPROVEMENT AND SUCCESS

How to be Successful

Is it not what we all are dreaming of? Being a Success! We want to be successful in school, in our jobs, in our relationships. In fact, we dream about being successful in everything. But what a challenge this is!

Most of the people believe that they just can't achieve great success because they don't have what it takes, or because they're not educated enough! They complain that luck is never on their side or that they weren't born to be successful, or even that they are too poor to ever even think about being something else!

You know what? You don't need luck or any diploma to accomplish the success you deserve.

You just need faith. Faith that you will indeed be successful, faith that you have all that it takes to make it to the top! You have to BELIEVE that YOU ARE the most successful person you ever met.

If you don't believe in yourself, who on earth do you think will?

The most successful persons in the world (businessmen (women), signers, physicians, etc.) all have that point in common: They all believed firmly that they were going to be exactly what they expected to be. They never doubted themselves, they had faith in their potentials and they were absolutely convinced that they would make it to the top! They never accepted a No for an answer. Nothing as ever stopped them, slowed down maybe, but never stopped!

Well that is very neat on paper, but I can hear you tell me: "It's easier said than done! How can I have faith in myself, when all that I have done so far hasn't brought me the success I am dreaming of? Everything that I'm trying ends up in a mess! Oh, I have attained some results of course, but I want more than that!" And that could go on and on...

There is a lot of things that ANYBODY can do to become a success in any field they choose: relationships, business, career, anything you can think of!

First, you have to understand that you will need to make an effort, not necessarily a huge one, but let's put it that way: you will definitely need consistence in your doings.

With anything that you're trying to attain if you don't give consistent efforts, you'll just simply NEVER get what you expect. The main point is to believe that YOU CAN be successful, and YOU WILL indeed.

One good method I am using for years now is Affirmation. And that doesn‚t really take a great deal of an effort to do. Simply keep repeating to your self some sentences like these ones:

- I am a successful person.
- I can attain any success level I desire.
- I will be rich because I deserve it!
- Etc.

There are some rules that have to be followed when using the Affirmation Method.

Never use any negative form in you sentences (i.e.: I will not fail in anything anymore. It's better to use: I will succeed in everything I'm undertaking from now on.) And trust me, affirmations really works! So if you affirm anything negative, this is what you'll get! So be aware of it, and very careful in your affirmations.

You also have to be repetitive. Repeat at least 10 to 20 times each affirmation every day, for several days. What I like to do when I have a goal to attain is to pick up 2 or 3 sentences that make sense to me. Then I write them down 10 times each, and I repeat the process for at least 7 days in a row.

Remember, consistency!!! You can even go further and do it for 2 to 3 weeks in a row. The longer you do it, the better results you'll get.

You will be surprised on how effective that simple and easy method is. Few years ago I started with affirmations to help me care about my self. Yeah! I was like that! A person that didn't like herself enough to believe that she could do anything good. Well that simple method had simply change my life for the better! Now I am happy with myself, my life with my family and friends is fill with joy and happiness, I run a successful business in Graphic Arts and I do have a great success with my spare time e-businesses.

So, let me tell you that this method can really change your life too if you only give it a try! I went from living in a stressful mood all the time, never expecting anything good could ever happen to me, to being loaded with confidence in my possibilities and chances of being successful in all the aspects of my life! And still sometimes when something doesn't go the way I want it, I grab my pen and start writing positive affirmations. And back on the good track I am!

So pick up your pen, and start climbing the road to success!

With that simple method you too can become successful in any of your goals. I simply wish the information I just gave you, will help you out! Don't hesitate to contact me, I'll be more than glad to hear from you and discuss that method with you.

www.weeno.com/

READ MORE - How to be Successful

Relax Your Way To Public Speaking

Believe it or not, fear of death is actually second to the one greatest fear that the majority of humanity seems tensely afraid of: fear of speaking in public.

If fear is all that you are thinking, then forget about that presentation that could earn your company and you the necessary sales. Presentation and public speaking is one of the most efficient as well as effective manner in making your products and services known. Why deny your product or service the chance to be heard? If you are still afraid, try your very best to focus on the various positive after effects of making that presentation. Create in your mind the numerous clients, customers and contact persons you might not get to see or be involved with if you let that unnecessary and irrelevant anxiety take hold of you. Your presentation may only take thirty minutes but the long term effects of your pitch or presentation might go a long way.

If the fear is still gripping you, try to do the following exercises to help your body relax and warm up to whatever it is you plan to do in your presentation. Turn that negative energy into a positive one and see who benefits best from it.

Warm up your body

Are you wearing high heeled shoes now? If you are, please take them off now. Then go and stand up. Try to stand on only one leg. Then shake the leg that is off the floor. Switch legs and do the same thing again. What you are doing is taking the negative energy of anxiety towards the floor and out of your body. Though this may appear and sound so out of this world, it actually works. For your information, actors use this as a warm-up exercise prior to attacking any scene. <

Hold out your hands, shake them, fast. Put your hands over your head and bring them to your sides. Repeat the same process. Doing this continually will take the tension off your hands and arms so any movements you make with them during your presentation gets to appear natural.

Ease the tension present in the muscles of your face. In order to do this what you could do is chew in a manner that is exaggerated.

These exercises are done for the purpose of warming any part of your body that is edgy, uptight or taut from being too nervous thinking about how you will do in your presentation. Do not think too much though as it only adds unnecessary stress. Relax and your audience will relax along with you.

www.readbud.com

READ MORE - Relax Your Way To Public Speaking

ow To Be Successful

[Note: I've republished this article at the beginning of the year the last couple of years. With many people looking to have their best year ever, I feel like doing my best part to provide a semblance of a road map.]

The Most Important Key to Success

• Do What You Love - You aren't going to be successful at something you spend all day dreading. When I was excited about software engineering, I was good - perhaps even above average ;-). When I got stuck on a project that didn't interest me, I was honestly a poor software engineer.

Preparation and Planning

• Make a List of Short, Medium, and Long Term Goals - Each night before I go to sleep, I try to write down 5-10 things that I want to accomplish the next day. I make sure that at least 3-4 are things that I can complete that day and purge from my to-do list. I also make sure to add a couple of small parts of medium or long-term projects. Here's an example. I'm looking to write an eBook. One day my goal was to create an outline of the book - 9-12 chapters and 3-5 things that I wanted to cover in each chapter. The next day one of my goals was to write at least one of those 3-5 things in one chapter. In 1-2 months, I'll have my eBook written.
• Catalog Your Progress - I started this blog to keep me accountable. I can't go out and buy a Ferrari on credit and then write about it here. Instead, I catalog my alternative income progress here. Each day, I think about how I'm going to grow that so that next month I don't have to live up to my moniker.

Learn These Skills

• Sales / Marketing - Even if you don't think you have a product to sell, you do... yourself. I've learned that sales and marketing are not easy skills to learn. You can't shout "look at me!" or people will think you are obnoxious. You have to find people who might be genuinely interested in what you have to offer. I always find it best to be open and honest with what I have to sell. If the product is of value, you price it accordingly, and have the right buyer, it should sell itself. I've found that if you have to "sell" to hard, it's probably going to be a sale you regret making.
• Public Speaking - I might be one of the most shy people on Earth. Talking to someone one-on-one often ties my stomach in knots. Imagine how I must feel about public speaking. I remember it was a required class in high school. I started off horrible, but by the end, I had earned an A. It's really a case were practice means everything. I suggest an organization such as Toastmasters.
• Writing - Even if you are crafting a short e-mail, try to use proper grammar. You'd be surprised how many e-mails I receive where people make 6 mistakes in 6 sentences. Perhaps it shouldn't, but poor writing skills on the first impression impacts my view of the person's intelligence and/or professionalism - and not in a good way. A person who can write great commands my respect and my trust.
• Networking - Get out there and meet new people in your areas of interest. When you know a lot of people, opportunities multiply. To go back to my eBook example above, I found someone who already has a successful eBook. He's in the process of getting it translated into an audio book now. He could definitely be a great resource for me to learn from. He's newer to blogging and doesn't have the number of readers that I have. I can probably give him a few tips and help him out. Now if I knew 100 people like this guy, I'd have a solution to almost every question I'd ever have at my fingertips.
• Read More and Faster - I have always been a very slow reader. I simply don't scan text very well. Perhaps I'm afraid I'll miss a critical word or something silly like that. This is one area that I'm going to work on in the new year. Much of my time is spent reading, you'd think I'd at least be good at it.

Take Action

• Help Someone with Something Everyday - This may sound like some kind of "Pay It Forward" hype. In some ways it is. I estimate that I've given guidance to around 50 or 100 bloggers who are just getting going that were looking for advice. Some of them became successful bloggers and some stopped blogging. The successful ones have returned the favor 100 times over or more. They link to my articles, they comment on my site, and fill me in with opportunities that I would have otherwise missed. This isn't limited to blogging. If you mentor someone, you'll be seen as a natural leader. I've always seen a strong correlation between leadership and success.
• Make Mistakes - When I just got out of college, I took a job with a top ten Internet company. It was a very high profile job as I managed the search engine myself. It was about 20% of this 2 billion dollar company's traffic. The thought that I'd make a mistake scared me to death. I spent each day walking on eggshells until the day that I made a mistake. A strange thing happened. No one got upset with me, and we were able to recover pretty quickly. From that experience, I learned to always have a back-up plan. This allowed me to take some risks, experiment more, and eventually produce ideas that made the company millions. Just as importantly, I realized that I should tolerate other people's mistakes.
• Surround Yourself with Like-Minded Individuals - There are studies that show an individual's income will be somewhere around the average of your closest five friends. That formula works for me and my closest friends - or it did until I decided to build my career from websites. There are also studies that show your weight will reflect those who you hang around with. It makes sense if you think about it. If your circle of friends likes to bounce business ideas off each other while playing a game of pickup basketball, you'll probably put yourself closer to the path of prosperity than if you tell fart jokes while eating Bon-Bons.
• Exercise - Whenever I work out, I am all pumped up with endorphins for hours. It feels like nothing can stop me - as if I could tackle a bear. Instead of tackling a bear, I focus that energy on my list of goals and churn through it like never before.
• Start a Website or Blog - It's easy to talk the talk, but what matters is if you can walk the walk. A website or blog not only makes you accountable for the goals that you set, but can also help you network and gather useful information. For more inspiration read how personal finance blogging helped me.

Be More Productive

• Don't Get Wrapped Up in Television - I love television. However, I try to watch shows that you don't have to follow too closely. This way I can work while it's on. You won't see me watching a lot of Law and Order because it requires too much of my focus. However, having the Red Sox on the background doesn't distract me from accomplishing what I'm trying to.
• Commute with Books on Tape (or Podcasts) - Most of the people I know have a 30-60 minute commute to work each day. You can listen to some morning talk show or a shock-jock DJ or you can learn some of the skills that I mention above. I'm not saying that you should throw away all entertainment, but if you are looking to increase your productivity, utilizing this downtime is a great start.
• Declutter and Organize Your Home and Work Area - I used to waste a lot of time looking for stuff. The problem? I had stuff everywhere. I couldn't find the stuff that I needed from the old stuff that was piled around it. It's amazed me the number of things that I had around the home that I didn't use. Finally I simply said "Stuff It!" and got rid of most of the stuff that I didn't use and put other special stuff in a closet that I'll probably ignore for another years. Just like in What About Bob, "baby steps..." I tell myself.

Think Your Way To Success

• Think Positively - I'm not going to get Stuart Smalley, Motivational Speaker on you, but making the conscious decision to focus on being financially successful is extremely helpful. Bringing finances to front of my mind, instead of the back has made a huge difference in my finances.
• Don't Hate Money - Lose the thinking that money is the root of all evil. Start thinking about it as a key to freedom to do whatever interests you. Think of it as a way to help friends, family, and charities important to you. Think about how you could use money to make the world a better place.
• Appreciate What You Have - Schedule a day to just appreciate yourself. Appreciate the things that you do have. The fact that you are reading this likely means that you are much better off than others in the world.
• Be In A Good Mood - One of my favorite lines from Say Anything is when Lloyd Dobler (played by John Cusack) says to his sister, "Why can't you be in a good mood? How hard is it to decide to be in a good mood and be in a good mood once in a while?"

www.lazymanandmoney.com

READ MORE - ow To Be Successful

Think You Can't Own Your Own Business? Think Again!

When you check the statistics, only a very small percentage of Americans ever try to own their own business. To be sure, a great many more of us are trying our hand at owning a business than in days past, but the vast majority of Americans still work for a boss.

Why is that? When I ask people why they don't start their own business, most don't mention a lack of money or even a lack of skills. Most will tell me something like, "I'm not the kind of person who can own their own business."

When you start asking them WHY they aren't the right kind of person to be self-employed, most say "I don't like to sell. I can't be pushy. I don't feel comfortable talking people into buying something. It all sounds like too much work."

In the past, I would have told you that you are right; being a business owner wouldn't be right for you. You're probably saving yourself a lot of money, work, and heartache by staying in your job.

But today things have changed. I no longer discourage anyone from going into to business for themselves. The simple reason is it's so EASY now to outsource the parts of business you don't feel comfortable with.

Don't like to look for new customers? Prospecting is a vital part of any business, especially for a new business that NEEDS more customers. But today, you can outsource prospecting to online systems that advertise for prospects, get their information, then separate the tire kickers from the solid potential buyers.

Don't like to sell? No problem. If you're not good at closing a sale, there are teams that can do all that for you. Some services have very experienced rooms of sales people who call your prospects for you, sell them over the phone, close the deal, and send you a check.

Don't have a product or service you can sell? Don't worry about that either. There is a huge and increasing supply of successful firms who give you products and services to sell. In fact, they'll store the products, take the orders, ship the products, and send you a nice commission.

Gone are the days when you have to rent an expensive office, hire employees, or keep boxes of product in your garage. Also gone are the evenings of spending hours on the phone calling total strangers, and sitting through boring sales meetings.

That is how business was done in the past, and a BIG reason why so many people opted not to go into business for themselves. Today, those objections have evaporated. Just about anyone CAN successfully operate their own business. Simply outsource the jobs you don't like, and concentrate of the aspects of the business you enjoy.

www.readbud.com

READ MORE - Think You Can't Own Your Own Business? Think Again!

The Business of Torture

On January 16, 2003, the European Court of Human Rights agreed - more than two years after the applications have been filed - to hear six cases filed by Chechens against Russia. The claimants accuse the Russian military of torture and indiscriminate killings. The Court has ruled in the past against the Russian Federation and awarded assorted plaintiffs thousands of euros per case in compensation.

As awareness of human rights increased, as their definition expanded and as new, often authoritarian polities, resorted to torture and repression - human rights advocates and non-governmental organizations proliferated. It has become a business in its own right: lawyers, consultants, psychologists, therapists, law enforcement agencies, scholars and pundits tirelessly peddle books, seminars, conferences, therapy sessions for victims, court appearances and other services.

Human rights activists target mainly countries and multinationals.

In June 2001, the International Labor Rights Fund filed a lawsuit on behalf of 11 villagers against the American oil behemoth, ExxonMobile, for "abetting" abuses in Aceh, Indonesia. They alleged that the company provided the army with equipment for digging mass graves and helped in the construction of interrogation and torture centers.

In November 2002, the law firm of Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll joined other American and South African law firms in filing a complaint that "seeks to hold businesses responsible for aiding and abetting the apartheid regime in South Africa ... forced labor, genocide, extrajudicial killing, torture, sexual assault, and unlawful detention".

Among the accused: "IBM and ICL which provided the computers that enabled South Africa to ... control the black South African population. Car manufacturers provided the armored vehicles that were used to patrol the townships. Arms manufacturers violated the embargoes on sales to South Africa, as did the oil companies. The banks provided the funding that enabled South Africa to expand its police and security apparatus."

Charges were leveled against Unocal in Myanmar and dozens of other multinationals. In September 2002, Berger & Montague filed a class action complaint against Royal Dutch Petroleum and Shell Transport. The oil giants are charged with "purchasing ammunition and using ... helicopters and boats and providing logistical support for 'Operation Restore Order in Ogoniland'" which was designed, according to the law firm, to "terrorize the civilian population into ending peaceful protests against Shell's environmentally unsound oil exploration and extraction activities".

The defendants in all these court cases strongly deny any wrongdoing.

But this is merely one facet of the torture business.

Torture implements are produced - mostly in the West - and sold openly, frequently to nasty regimes in developing countries and even through the Internet. Hi-tech devices abound: sophisticated electroconvulsive stun guns, painful restraints, truth serums, chemicals such as pepper gas. Export licensing is universally minimal and non-intrusive and completely ignores the technical specifications of the goods (for instance, whether they could be lethal, or merely inflict pain).

Amnesty International and the UK-based Omega Foundation, found more than 150 manufacturers of stun guns in the USA alone. They face tough competition from Germany (30 companies), Taiwan (19), France (14), South Korea (13), China (12), South Africa (nine), Israel (eight), Mexico (six), Poland (four), Russia (four), Brazil (three), Spain (three) and the Czech Republic (two).

Many torture implements pass through "off-shore" supply networks in Austria, Canada, Indonesia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Albania, Russia, Israel, the Philippines, Romania and Turkey. This helps European Union based companies circumvent legal bans at home. The US government has traditionally turned a blind eye to the international trading of such gadgets.

American high-voltage electro-shock stun shields turned up in Turkey, stun guns in Indonesia, and electro-shock batons and shields, and dart-firing taser guns in torture-prone Saudi Arabia. American firms are the dominant manufacturers of stun belts. Explains Dennis Kaufman, President of Stun Tech Inc, a US manufacturer of this innovation: ''Electricity speaks every language known to man. No translation necessary. Everybody is afraid of electricity, and rightfully so.'' (Quoted by Amnesty International).

The Omega Foundation and Amnesty claim that 49 US companies are also major suppliers of mechanical restraints, including leg-irons and thumbcuffs. But they are not alone. Other suppliers are found in Germany (8), France (5), China (3), Taiwan (3), South Africa (2), Spain (2), the UK (2) and South Korea (1).

Not surprisingly, the Commerce Department doesn't keep tab on this category of exports.

Nor is the money sloshing around negligible. Records kept under the export control commodity number A985 show that Saudi Arabia alone spent in the United States more than $1 million a year between 1997-2000 merely on stun guns. Venezuela's bill for shock batons and such reached $3.7 million in the same period. Other clients included Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mexico and - surprisingly - Bulgaria. Egypt's notoriously brutal services - already well-equipped - spent a mere $40,000.

The United States is not the only culprit. The European Commission, according to an Amnesty International report titled "Stopping the Torture Trade" and published in 2001:

"Gave a quality award to a Taiwanese electro-shock baton, but when challenged could not cite evidence as to independent safety tests for such a baton or whether member states of the European Union (EU) had been consulted. Most EU states have banned the use of such weapons at home, but French and German companies are still allowed to supply them to other countries."

Torture expertise is widely proffered by former soldiers, agents of the security services made redundant, retired policemen and even rogue medical doctors. China, Israel, South Africa, France, Russia, the United kingdom and the United States are founts of such useful knowledge and its propagators.

How rooted torture is was revealed in September 1996 when the US Department of Defense admitted that ''intelligence training manuals'' were used in the Federally sponsored School of the Americas - one of 150 such facilities - between 1982 and 1991.The manuals, written in Spanish and used to train thousands of Latin American security agents, "advocated execution, torture, beatings and blackmail", says Amnesty International.

Where there is demand there is supply. Rather than ignore the discomfiting subject, governments would do well to legalize and supervise it. Alan Dershowitz, a prominent American criminal defense attorney, proposed, in an op-ed article in the Los Angeles Times, published November 8, 2001, to legalize torture in extreme cases and to have judges issue "torture warrants". This may be a radical departure from the human rights tradition of the civilized world. But dispensing export carefully reviewed licenses for dual-use implements is a different matter altogether - and long overdue.

www.readbud.com

READ MORE - The Business of Torture

Motivation Quotes

Isaac Asimov: Business: Motivation Quotes
It is change continuing change, inevitable change that is the dominant factor in society today.
John Wooden: Business: Motivation Quotes
It is not so important who starts the game but who finishes it.
Greg Hickman: Business: Motivation Quotes
It is time to break through the barriers that have held you back and held you down for such a long time. It is time to reach out and indelibly etch your place in history.
Norman Vincent Peale: Business: Motivation Quotes
It's always too soon to quit.
Paul "Bear" Bryant: Business: Motivation Quotes
It's not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes the difference.
Vince Lombardi: Business: Motivation Quotes
It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get up.
Michael Jordan: Business: Motivation Quotes
Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.
Martha Washington: Business: Motivation Quotes
Keep your business affairs in your own hands. It's the only way to be happy.
Zig Ziglar: Business: Motivation Quotes
Keep your thinking right And your business will be right.
Sun Tzu: Business: Motivation Quotes
Know yourself and you will win all battles.

www.quotations.about.com

READ MORE - Motivation Quotes

The Business of Torture

On January 16, 2003, the European Court of Human Rights agreed - more than two years after the applications have been filed - to hear six cases filed by Chechens against Russia. The claimants accuse the Russian military of torture and indiscriminate killings. The Court has ruled in the past against the Russian Federation and awarded assorted plaintiffs thousands of euros per case in compensation.

As awareness of human rights increased, as their definition expanded and as new, often authoritarian polities, resorted to torture and repression - human rights advocates and non-governmental organizations proliferated. It has become a business in its own right: lawyers, consultants, psychologists, therapists, law enforcement agencies, scholars and pundits tirelessly peddle books, seminars, conferences, therapy sessions for victims, court appearances and other services.

Human rights activists target mainly countries and multinationals.

In June 2001, the International Labor Rights Fund filed a lawsuit on behalf of 11 villagers against the American oil behemoth, ExxonMobile, for "abetting" abuses in Aceh, Indonesia. They alleged that the company provided the army with equipment for digging mass graves and helped in the construction of interrogation and torture centers.

In November 2002, the law firm of Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll joined other American and South African law firms in filing a complaint that "seeks to hold businesses responsible for aiding and abetting the apartheid regime in South Africa ... forced labor, genocide, extrajudicial killing, torture, sexual assault, and unlawful detention".

Among the accused: "IBM and ICL which provided the computers that enabled South Africa to ... control the black South African population. Car manufacturers provided the armored vehicles that were used to patrol the townships. Arms manufacturers violated the embargoes on sales to South Africa, as did the oil companies. The banks provided the funding that enabled South Africa to expand its police and security apparatus."

Charges were leveled against Unocal in Myanmar and dozens of other multinationals. In September 2002, Berger & Montague filed a class action complaint against Royal Dutch Petroleum and Shell Transport. The oil giants are charged with "purchasing ammunition and using ... helicopters and boats and providing logistical support for 'Operation Restore Order in Ogoniland'" which was designed, according to the law firm, to "terrorize the civilian population into ending peaceful protests against Shell's environmentally unsound oil exploration and extraction activities".

The defendants in all these court cases strongly deny any wrongdoing.

But this is merely one facet of the torture business.

Torture implements are produced - mostly in the West - and sold openly, frequently to nasty regimes in developing countries and even through the Internet. Hi-tech devices abound: sophisticated electroconvulsive stun guns, painful restraints, truth serums, chemicals such as pepper gas. Export licensing is universally minimal and non-intrusive and completely ignores the technical specifications of the goods (for instance, whether they could be lethal, or merely inflict pain).

Amnesty International and the UK-based Omega Foundation, found more than 150 manufacturers of stun guns in the USA alone. They face tough competition from Germany (30 companies), Taiwan (19), France (14), South Korea (13), China (12), South Africa (nine), Israel (eight), Mexico (six), Poland (four), Russia (four), Brazil (three), Spain (three) and the Czech Republic (two).

Many torture implements pass through "off-shore" supply networks in Austria, Canada, Indonesia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Albania, Russia, Israel, the Philippines, Romania and Turkey. This helps European Union based companies circumvent legal bans at home. The US government has traditionally turned a blind eye to the international trading of such gadgets.

American high-voltage electro-shock stun shields turned up in Turkey, stun guns in Indonesia, and electro-shock batons and shields, and dart-firing taser guns in torture-prone Saudi Arabia. American firms are the dominant manufacturers of stun belts. Explains Dennis Kaufman, President of Stun Tech Inc, a US manufacturer of this innovation: ''Electricity speaks every language known to man. No translation necessary. Everybody is afraid of electricity, and rightfully so.'' (Quoted by Amnesty International).

The Omega Foundation and Amnesty claim that 49 US companies are also major suppliers of mechanical restraints, including leg-irons and thumbcuffs. But they are not alone. Other suppliers are found in Germany (8), France (5), China (3), Taiwan (3), South Africa (2), Spain (2), the UK (2) and South Korea (1).

Not surprisingly, the Commerce Department doesn't keep tab on this category of exports.

Nor is the money sloshing around negligible. Records kept under the export control commodity number A985 show that Saudi Arabia alone spent in the United States more than $1 million a year between 1997-2000 merely on stun guns. Venezuela's bill for shock batons and such reached $3.7 million in the same period. Other clients included Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mexico and - surprisingly - Bulgaria. Egypt's notoriously brutal services - already well-equipped - spent a mere $40,000.

The United States is not the only culprit. The European Commission, according to an Amnesty International report titled "Stopping the Torture Trade" and published in 2001:

"Gave a quality award to a Taiwanese electro-shock baton, but when challenged could not cite evidence as to independent safety tests for such a baton or whether member states of the European Union (EU) had been consulted. Most EU states have banned the use of such weapons at home, but French and German companies are still allowed to supply them to other countries."

Torture expertise is widely proffered by former soldiers, agents of the security services made redundant, retired policemen and even rogue medical doctors. China, Israel, South Africa, France, Russia, the United kingdom and the United States are founts of such useful knowledge and its propagators.

How rooted torture is was revealed in September 1996 when the US Department of Defense admitted that ''intelligence training manuals'' were used in the Federally sponsored School of the Americas - one of 150 such facilities - between 1982 and 1991.The manuals, written in Spanish and used to train thousands of Latin American security agents, "advocated execution, torture, beatings and blackmail", says Amnesty International.

Where there is demand there is supply. Rather than ignore the discomfiting subject, governments would do well to legalize and supervise it. Alan Dershowitz, a prominent American criminal defense attorney, proposed, in an op-ed article in the Los Angeles Times, published November 8, 2001, to legalize torture in extreme cases and to have judges issue "torture warrants". This may be a radical departure from the human rights tradition of the civilized world. But dispensing export carefully reviewed licenses for dual-use implements is a different matter altogether - and long overdue.

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