10 Things NEVER to Do on a Cruise

by Cathay Che
Roughly 35 million people take a cruise ship holiday every year and spend upwards of $60 billion dollars. Maybe it’s the appeal of only having to unpack your suitcase once, or the idea that you travel from destination to destination while you sleep, maximizing your precious vacation time. But yes, cruising can be fun. Of course, there are the occasional accidents, illnesses, crimes and mysteries – with that many people onboard in somewhat cramped quarters, how could there not be? Also, being out on the open ocean has its inherent risks. But for those who don’t care to fly or who have their grandmothers in tow, cruises are a solid, family friendly option, as long as you follow a few simple rules.

NEVER: Touch a Bible!

No one is judging you for your piety or lack thereof, but Bibles were among the items replaced in cruise ship cabins after multiple outbreaks of the Norwalk virus from 2002 to 2007. The Norwalk virus is named after Norwalk, Ohio, the town where the earliest documented cases over thirty years ago. Though the symptoms are rarely life-threatening, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea for up to three days is no picnic on the high seas. The Holland America line got serious about debugging their ships and enlisted 600 crew and subcontractors supervised by Harvard School of Public Health epidemiologist Megan Murray. Everything touched by hands that might have carried the virus—from Bibles to poker chips, railings to remote controls—had to be sanitized to a temperature of 170 degrees or thrown out.

NEVER: Rock the boat.

Much in the same way passengers are required to be on their best behavior in-flight, despite unnaturally cramped quarters and access to booze, if you're traveling aboard a cruise ship, the same rules apply. Despite the image of drunken and disorderly behavior running rampant, cruise lines often hire former military and police officers for their private security forces. These guys are no pushovers, as seven idiots discovered in 2008 when they were arrested on P&O Arcadia for literally smuggling a boatload of heroin onto the ship. And here's something to keep in mind before you decide to get romantic on a deserted deck—hidden surveillance cameras security allow personnel, officers, staff and crew to visually monitor virtually every area of the ship. Do you really want your vacation highlights to be caught on tape?

NEVER: Assume those pirates are part of the entertainment.

Not all pirates are "of the Caribbean." Though Somali pirates, who generally operate in small bands, usually choose more modest targets (like less populated naval ships), there was a cruise ship attacked by these scoundrels in Gulf of Aden (near Oman) in 2008. Though that was a scenario akin to Chihuahuas attacking a Great Dane, anyone who has ever met a viscous Chihuahua knows, they have sharp teeth. Or in this case, very big guns. Somali pirates have collected an estimated $200M in ransom money since 2008, so you can understand why they are motivated. But the good news is that 15 countries are now cooperating to police these waters.

NEVER: Fall overboard

Sound obvious? You'd be surprised how many people end up overboard. Earlier this week, a man and his companion were too busy kissing to think about the danger the open window behind them posed and they both ended up falling overboard. Even if you survived the fall (in this case the female did, the man did not), you'll be contending with the force of a floating hotel creating suction and a massive wake. Consider that the Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas ship is a floating skyscraper at 237 feet high and 1,112 feet long and carries 4,000 passengers. Even if you're stone cold sober, a sudden tilt of the boat could occur, as it did in 2007 when a Crown Princess ships autopilot malfunctioned and bowed so far to one side, passengers reported that the pool was half empty when it came back upright.

NEVER: Surf those pool waves.

Notice that there are suddenly monster waves inside the ships’ usually placid pool? It's probably not a good idea to grab a boogie board and jump in, unless you’re prepared to paddle all the way back to land. All cruisers have tales of rocking and rolling aboard even the largest, most stable ships—it’s the ocean equivalent of airplane turbulence. But akin to fastening your seatbelts, you’re better off heading inside while the crew battens down the hatches. Eating in those conditions is asking for it, so skip the buffet. Lying down may rock you to sleep or just make you more aware of the tilting movement. So instead, hit the ships’ disco. There is something about line dancing or doing the electric slide on a moving dance floor that really should not be missed. It's like a rhythmic fun fair ride for adults!

NEVER: Ignore that "sinking" feeling.

Your spirits may be soaring with vacation endorphins, but don’t ignore those animals instincts if sense something is wrong. With modern technology and the monitoring of the international seas, it is very unlikely, that a Titanic situation could happen again on a major cruise line. Still, it does happen occasionally, as the Sea Diamond demonstrated when it hit rocks and began listing off the coast of the Greek Island of Santorini in 2007. There was a dramatic three-hour rescue effort, which involved Greece's military, commercial ships and the island's local fishermen. No one was hurt, but the ship did sink, 15 hours after the accident. No doubt that put a real cramp in the guests' holiday plans, but if you have to be shipwrecked someplace, lovely Santorini (remember the 1983 movie Summer Lovers?) isn’t too shabby.

NEVER: Assume that what happens on land, stays on land.

Even though casinos abound on many ships, a cruise is not Las Vegas. Not only does everything that happens on the cruise have consequences, but don’t think that just because you’re sailing at sunset, you can leave chaos and destruction in your wake. Your stops may be brief and feel like a treasure hunt scramble, but the locals aren’t just props in your play. Three couples arrested in the Caribbean in 2008 learned this lesson the hard way after squabbling with a taxi driver who had given them a rushed tour of the island. In a hurry to get back to the ship, they refused to pay. Oops. Not only were they apprehended (um, the police knew exactly where to find them) and subsequently missed the boat, but they had to spend the night in spent the night in a not-so-deluxe, no-meals-included jail cell.

NEVER: Lose track of time off the ship.

You only have a few hours in Rome, and no, its clearly not enough to hit the major sites, BUT, remember that you’re on a cruise. Think of it as a tasting menu—you can always go back to the places you really like. Whatever happens, keep an eye on the clock and be sure to get back to the ship on time. Outside of the US and Canada, the ship will actually sail away and leave you. It will be up to you to pay for flights, trains, taxis, hotels and meals until you can find your own way to catch up with the ship (say, if you’re left in Rome, you might have to get yourself to Athens in a hurry which will be pricey). Or, you might be required to hire a speedboat to catch up with the cruise ship and do a James Bond type high-speed boat jump. Scary. As for domestic and UK cruises, ships are obligated to wait for non-returning passengers and sometimes charge hefty fees to latecomers. And you can just imagine what the hundreds of other passengers, who painstakingly made it back on time, will be standing on the decks and saying about you.

NEVER: Go AWOL

As pretty as your stopover and the residents of the island may be, its a very bad idea to just decide to go AWOL and just stay on island. If you disappear from the ship, the cruise line is obligated to stage a search. If the person is not quickly found on board the vessel, then the vessel must return to the last location where the person was seen—land or sea. Needless to say, they may assume you fell overboard. About 5 people a year do for a variety of reasons, but have often been rescued, even after hours have gone by. When someone goes missing, it's a very serious situation (thank stars), in part because if cruise line fails to perform a reasonable search and rescue, it may be held liable for the passenger's disappearance. So maybe it's your dream come true to live in Aruba, fish and run a fish fry shack and once you get there, you can’t wait a second longer. Fine—just go through the proper channels and notify them that you’re not lost, just abandoning ship.

NEVER: Ignore the safety briefings.

A floating resort with multiple passenger decks, pools, restaurants, theaters, gyms, spas, nightclubs and casinos it may be, but a cruise ship is still a boat out on the open water. Sudden storms and rouge waves similar to the one made famous in Sebastian Unger’s book The Perfect Storm are an unlikely but still possible phenomena. Passengers aboard the Norwegian Dawn report being hit by rogue wave 7-stories tall during an otherwise typical sail in 2008. It says a lot that the ship stayed upright—after all, modern cruisers are basically the size of small island nations. But you may want to actually pay attention to the safety briefings before and during your sail, and have a general sense of where your loved ones are enjoying themselves.

THE RULE OF LAW

The rule of law, also called supremacy of law, simply means that the law is above everyone and it applies to everyone. Whether governors or governed, rulers or ruled, no one is above the law, no one is exempted from the law, and no one can grant exemption to the application of the law.

Friedrich Hayek in his book, ”The Constitution of Liberty” (1961), wrote: “By ‘law’ we mean the general rules that apply equally to everybody… As a true law should not name any particulars, so it should especially not single out any specific persons or group of persons... the rules must apply to those who lay them down and those who apply – that is, to the government as well as the governed – and that nobody has the power to grant exceptions.”

There are two important implications for this. One, the laws should be very transparent and clearly worded so that all mature citizens would clearly understand what are strictly prohibited and the penalties associated with violating the laws. And two, the laws and prohibitions should be as few as possible. Both citizens and law enforcers can easily remember them and people can grow in freedom, in an environment of very few restrictions and prohibitions.

Rule of law can also be viewed as a general legal maxim according to which decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws, without the intervention of discretion in their application.[2] This maxim is intended to be a safeguard against arbitrary governance. The word "arbitrary" (from the Latin "arbiter") signifies a judgment made at the discretion of the arbiter, rather than according to the rule of law.[3][4]

Generally speaking, law is a body of rules prescribed by the state subject to sanctions or consequences.[5] The predominant view is that the concept of "rule of law" per se says nothing about the "justness" of the laws themselves, but simply how the legal system operates.[6][7] As a consequence of this, a very undemocratic nation or one without respect for human rights can exist with a "rule of law" — a situation which may be occurring in several modern dictatorships. The "rule of law" or Rechtsstaat may be a necessary condition for democracy, but it is not a sufficient condition

The idea behind the principle is that everybody is equal before the law of the land.

The principle or characteristics of the rule of law are as follows:

The principle of equality:

This principle specifically says that all were equal before the law of the land.

Independent of the judiciary:

The judiciary should be independent from the other organs of the government to discharge their work effectively. It further stated that immunity should be given to the judges for effective discharge of their duty, but I argue this, under the Rule of Law, no one should be immune to charges. Those of us that have lived in the third world countries no this.

Justice should not be delay:

Justice delay in legal parlance is termed justice denied. Justice should not be delay.

Judicial Impartiality:

The judiciary shoud be impartial in discharging their duty.

Free and Fair Election:

the election in the state should be free and fair.

LIMITATION OF THE RULE OF LAW

The following are the limitation to the rule of law in my country:

Diplomatic Immunity:

The ambassadors representing another country cannot be arrested in the country his or she is discharging their duty.

The immunity also covered them from been detained in the country where they are discharging their duty.

Immunity of the head of state and government:

This principle specifically said that the head of state should not be prosecuted for any offences, in fact the president can not appear in the court of law.

the president should not be arrested or detailed for any reason although when he step down from the power or corridor of power he may be apprehended. This also can not be said to be correct, I know you will agree with me to a large extended

Parliamentary Immunity:

The legislature are protected from any statement made in the floor of the house. Any statement made in the floor of the house by the legislature are protected by the law.

Riches and Affluence:

The rich can buy the rule of law. In fact, the rich can use their wealth to by justice.

The partial judges: Some judges are corrupt which can affect the discharge justice to favor the people that bribe them. In fact some judges are corrupt. This are the reasons why there should not be immunity for any.

Police Brutality:

the police often arrest and detailed the citizens without any prove of crime.

Bribering and corruption among the judges, politicians, etc.

How the Iranian Election Was Stolen

There is, perhaps, no greater potential for evil than the power of priests speaking in the name of God.

With this power, one Iranian Ayatollah, Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi -- the spiritual leader of President Ahmadinejad -- seems to have stolen the Iranian election, to have justified the now-ongoing arrests of reformers, and to be trying to eliminate such democracy in Iran as now exists.

According to an open letter of early June by a group of employees who work on elections in the Interior Ministry -- after May polls showed that Ahmadinejad would lose the election -- Yazdi gave the Interior Ministry employees a Fatwa, a religious degree, authorizing the changing of votes.

Extract from http://www.huffingtonpost.com

The Ayatollah told them: "If someone is elected the president and hurts the Islamic values . . . it is against Islam to vote for that person." After harshly criticizing the other candidates (Mousavi, Karroubi, and Rezaie) he went on: "You should throw away those who are unqualified, both morally and lawfully."

The letter reported that the elections' supervisors subsequently became "happy and energetic for having obtained the religious Fatwa to use any trick for changing the vote and began immediately to develop plans for it." (The letter indicated that the same thing had been done in March 2006 to help fundamentalists allied with Ahmadinejad in that election. But when the Interior Minister at that time, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, reported these irregularities to the Supreme Leader, he was fired by President Ahmadinejad.)

Among other things, the election supervisors reduced the number of voting stations, increased the number of mobile voting stations, reduced the number of eligible voters, insisted that vote-containing boxes must have two official seals, and printed 12,000,000 more ballots than were necessary.

Yazdi has been called the most conservative and influential cleric in Qom. He espouses complete isolation from the West and proclaims nonliteral interpretations of the Koran to be heretical. He is said to have great influence with the Revolutionary Guards and the Basiji paramilitary force. In 1997, he is said to have encouraged them to use any means, including violence, to stop reform agitation. In 2006, he said to use atomic bombs had religious legitimacy. Above all, he would like to eliminate the democratic element in the Iranian system.

Now, following four years of appointments made by President Ahmadinejad, Yazdi has many loyal supporters in the Government, including the head of the election commission.

A perfect political storm has arisen in Iran. Ironically, May polls showing that democracy might prevail in Iran have created conditions that could lead to the loss of such democracy as exists in Iran.

A weird president, mentored by a fundamentalist Ayatollah, may now use ongoing arrests to eliminate, politically if not physically, his reform opposition and then govern by repression. Recent unconfirmed reports suggest that Mohammad Asgari, an interior ministry official who had reportedly leaked evidence that the elections were rigged, has been killed in a suspicious car accident in Tehran.

Nonviolent opposition is the only answer. And protests are, after all, widespread and not only in Tehran. They have spread to Isfahan, Ahwaz, Shiraz, Gorgan, Tabriz, Rasht, Babol, Mashhad, Zahedan, Qazvin, Sari, Karaj, Tabriz, Shahsavar, Orumieh, Bandar Abbas, Arak, and Birjend. Many of these cities do not have riot police. The revolutionary guards and the Basiji have to be dispatched to many sites -- and an order to crack down everywhere could be more than the authorities would dare.

The Iranian reform movement is trying to seize the high ground, to avoid violence, and to appeal to the forces of repression not to use force. With the world watching, and with so many new techniques of communication, it may be that the reformers can give the authorities a run for their money. But it will take an awful lot of Iranian courage and ingenuity to make it work.

Iran Elections was rigged

I believe the Iranian people want more life than what the ruling Government is providing, I will say, stop rigging elections Iran and the rest of the world 

THE STRENGHT OF DETERMINATION

Where there is a will, there is always a way. Determination is the fire that burns out resistance. It is one of the greatest keys of success. The moment a man decides to be determined to carry a task through to the finish, it appears a new strenght flows from heaven to assist him to success. He knows no other language than victory! No wonder, Napoleon Bonaparte said, “The truest wisdom is a resolute determination.”
Be determined as you reach for success. Your victory is just tucked down your will. One of George Washington Carver’s favorite poems says it beautifully:

Figure it out for yourself, my lad,

You've all that the greatest of men have had,

Two arms, two hands, two legs, two eyes

And a brain to use if you would be wise.

With this equipment they all began,

So start for the top and say, "I can."

Look them over, the wise and great

They take their food from a common plate,

And similar knives and forks they use,

With similar laces they tie their shoes.

The world considers them brave and smart,

But you've all they had when they made their start.

You can triumph and come to skill,

You can be great if you only will.

You're well equipped for what fight you choose,

You have legs and arms and a brain to use,

And the man who has risen great deeds to do

Began his life with no more than you.

You are the handicap you must face,

You are the one who must choose your place,

You must say where you want to go,

How much you will study the truth to know.

God has equipped you for life, but He

Lets you decide what you want to be.

Courage must come from the soul within,

The man must furnish the will to win.

So figure it out for yourself, my lad.

You were born with all that the great have had,

With your equipment they all began,

Get hold of yourself and say: "I can."