Personal Record Safeguards- Cell Phones

Image via WikipediaWhat some people think is private pertaining to personal records is not always the case. Not too long ago if you had a reason to think your spouse or lover was being unfaithful a way to spy on them entailed going online to search or hiring a private investigator. And additional way was to buy a copy of their cell phone bill if you didn't already have access to it. In this way you could get a total breakdown of all of their calls, both incoming and out going from their cell phone. This was widely used by PI's and was a great way for cheating victims to find out what was really going on and be able to make informed decisions about where the relationship was going.

However, just like all things that can be used for good it was open to abuse. An example of this would be when the blogsters at AMERICAblog was able to obtain General Wesley Clark's cell phone records for $89.95. Now unless you are Mrs Wesley Clark this is an obvious abuse of an investigative tool. Terrorists could just as well bought those cell phone records and used the information nefariously and put the General, his family and even the nation at risk.

A Democratic Senator from New York, Chuck Schumer, proposed legislation H.R. 4709: Law Enforcement and Phone Privacy Protection Act of 2006, and S. 2178: Consumer Telephone Records Protection Act of 2006. These two laws were both passed and now make it illegal to purchase this type of information. The only way to buy these records now is to be the owner of the cell phone and additionally be able to prove it.

While this is a good safeguard and should help to protect most people from identity thieves and terrorists, what about the typical soccer mom that suspects her significant other is out doing her wrong? what recourse is open to her to now investigate him?

Well there are still some ways to obtain info from cell phones, ways that are considered perfectly legal. One such way is called digital forensics. If you are the legal owner of the phone you can hire investigators like EmailRevealer.com and have the phone examined forensically. Many people don't realize it but deleted text messages, deleted Caller ID records and deleted address book entries can still be retrieved from cell phones or Blackberrys and many other hand held electronic devices.

Another option that is open to the person who has suspicions would be to give a cell phone as a gift that has a GPS installed which will then track their every move. It's also possible and perfectly legal to do an online search of thousands of personal ads to see if your lover's email address is being used for online cheating. Doing a search online will find you a list of companies that offer these services.

Sometimes technology moves faster than the law, and this is especially true with the Internet. As long as investigators are being responsible and making sure these tools are not being made available to potential terrorists and are limiting them to only legitimate investigations they should be able to keep being used. This should help ensure that everyone can be safe from terrorists, identity thieves and cheaters all at the same time.

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How Important Are Birth Certificates?

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Birth certificates contain a lot of valuable info, including private distinguishing data; information about the female parent and, if possible, the male parent; the date, site, and manner of birth; and the birth weight. The infant's place in birth order compared to his or her brothers and sisters, and data about other biological facts, such as race or ethnicity, is registered in some jurisdictions.

Nearly all hospitals in the U.S. issue a token birth certificate, which typically includes the footprints of the newborn. Still, these birth certificates are not legally acknowledged as proof of age or nationality, and are often rejected by the Bureau of Consular Affairs when submitted with passport applications. Numerous Americans think these souvenir records to be their legitimate birth certificate, when actually it possesses slight legal value.

Any American has a right to their birth certificate. In most states, birth certificates are released only to the person cited on the certificate and the parents.Parents need a record of the birth of their children in order to receive child benefits, tax credits and as validation of age of minors (less than 18 years old).

A Birth Certificate is one of the most essential documents in a individuals life. It is an item a person will need in order to be able to do many things in their life. Several instances of special things you need a birth certificate for: Obtain a drivers license, enroll in school, get a passport, get a social security card, get social security benefits and to get a marriage license.

If you discover that you need to get your birth certificate then you will desire to use a skilled business service that can do this for you. Many times this is able to be realized in merely a few days using a company that is qualified. It doesn't have to be a hassle to get your birth certificate. A accomplished company to try for this service is United States Birth Certificates.

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Birth Certificates and Overseas Adoptions

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When couples are in the process of adopting a child from a foreign country, the excitement of having a child may trump any of the thoughts of paperwork they will have to be sure is prepared and in order. However having the paper work, especially the birth certificate, is one extremely important procedure that cannot be dismissed. New babies bring lots of love and joy to a family and this is most often what is on the minds of the individuals that are looking to adopt. It can be easy to get caught up in all of the joy of having a new child and bringing it home to the United States, however a proper birth certificate must be in order for a legal adoption to be completed.

Adoptions that happen within foreign countries differ than those in the United States in many ways. Once is in how the birth certificate must be obtained. The adoption papers must be filed in the adoptive parents county of residence from the country of birth of the prospective adoptive child. It is then up to the district court in the county of the adoptive parents residence to complete the Certificate of Adoption of form and then mail it to the Office of the State Registrar. The Office of the Registrar in the state of adoption then uses the information contained on the Certificate of Adoption form to establish a birth certificate that will show the information regarding the adoptive birth.

The new birth certificate that is issued containing the information regarding the adoption will replace the birth certificate that was issued at the time of the child's birth. While these are the procedures, for the most part that need to be followed, it is extremely important to check with the rules and regulations governing both your state and the country of child that is being adopted. These rules can may change within different countries and even within different states within the U.S.

Every year, it seems more and more birth certificates are being issued for children that have been adopted from foreign countries. In 2007, around 20,000 children were adopted from overseas. While this number has dwindled down since 2004, which saw 22,884 overseas adoptions, it seems to be holding steady at the present. Of course, as these children are being brought into loving homes, there is the need for birth records showing their birth information.

If you are considering adopting a child, either overseas or within the United States, it is important to find out all of the information needed in order to be able to obtain a birth certificate for your prospective adoptive child. While most of the paperwork will be taken care of by the attorneys that you are using and the adoption agency, it is always important to search out the rules and regulations yourself. This allows you to understand the process that goes into obtaining a birth record for your new son or daughter and will help answer any questions that you may have.

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Obama Birth Certificate Validated

Image by jmtimages via FlickrJust as the beginning of end of the election was upon us, it seems that the authenticity of President-elect Barack Obama's birth certificate was finally settled. The Friday before the much anticipated election, the Director of the Department of Health in Hawaii came forth with a statement to verify the validity of the document.

The document was brought into question months ago, when rumors arose that his birthplace was actually Kenya and not Hawaii. Of course, these rumors brought on quite a stir, as no individual that is not a natural born United States Citizen can hold the office of President of the United States. There was quite a response to these rumors and many individuals requested a copy of the birth certificate. These requests, however were denied, as no person, except that of a family member can request such a document. It was brought up that such a rumor was ridiculous since Obama had already held the office of United States Senator. However, this did not seem to give rest to the rumors and those that chose to put them out on the table. While, it did not by any means stop the campaign, it did prove to be a small obstacle in the way of seeking the office of President of the United States.

The campaign for President-elect Obama provided copies of his birth certificate, which could be viewed on many different websites, but this only proved to add to the rumors. It was then suggested that the copies that had been produced were not the actual document and had been forged, even though they came from those in charge of the campaign itself. Despite several attempts from the Obama campaign to prove that he indeed was a resident of the U.S., the rumors continued to flourish.

These rumors even became the topic of more than one lawsuit to attempt to force President-elect Obama to prove that he was in truth a Citizen of the United States. One such lawsuit was dismissed a few months ago, when a judge ruled that a private citizen could not bring forth such a lawsuit. While most of the lawsuits had been dismissed far previous to November 4th, one such lawsuit was dismissed on the Friday before the election. A magistrate in Southwest Ohio decided to reject one attempt to challenge the citizenship of Obama.

It is still yet to be seen if all of the rumors have been stifled, as with Obama winning the election, those that chose to contest the validity of the birth certificate are most likely not happy with the result. While those that chose to believe the rumors may try to continue to fuel the fire, after the outcome of the election on Tuesday and the statement from Hawaii's Director of the Department of health, these rumors will be put to rest.

Birth Certificates and Voting

Image by Dom Dada via FlickrA 2004 law called Proposition 200 may stop a 97 year old Surprise Arizona woman from voting. Shirley Preiss has been voting since 1932 but this law might just stop all of that.

"I'm a legal American," Preiss said. "I'm born here. Born and raised in America."

The Arizona law requires voters to produce specified types of identification when casting ballots at polling places and to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote either for the first time or in a different county.Preiss was born in 1910 in Clinton, Ky., before birth certificates were issued.

Ms. Priess also no longer has a drivers license at 97 years of age, as she no longer drives. She also has never had a passport. Her son has tried everything and filed documents attempting to get her registered to vote. "A delayed birth certificate," he said. "You have to have witnesses. Everybody's dead."When the family tried to get school records from Tennessee, they found out the school no longer exists."We're talking about something that is so precious, that right to vote, "said Linda Brown of the Arizona Advocacy Network. "How many hurdles are OK to jump through? How many barriers are we going to accept?"

State Rep. Russell Pearce spearheaded the law and said it protects the integrity of the voting system."To get a movie, you have to prove who you are," Pearce said. "To go rent a car, you have to prove who you are. That's part of life."

Ms. Preiss who is a former school teacher and was also alive before women secured the right to vote, feels this law is a step backwards. The former school teacher said she has voted in every presidential election since 1932. Her son said his next recourse is to try to appeal to the Governor's office for help.

Experts claim it is difficult to ascertain how many other people that are legitimate citizens are being thwarted by this law. The Arizona Advocacy Network said almost 40,000 voter registration forms have been rejected since the state's voter ID law went into effect.

Birth Certificates

Image by bowbrick via FlickrBirth Certificates are a fairly new concept in the course of human history. Birth Certificates first came about in the early 20th century. Before the development of official certificates in order to record births it was pretty much an educated guess to know when some one was born. Especially if it was a person of historical importance.

There were basically historical detectives that would try to put the clues together to determine what famous personality was born when. Luckily, in these more modern times we don't have to rely of such archaic methods and can know that we have more accurate means to record these details.

Birth certificates are official documents that help to identify who a person is. Nowadays there are strict regulations in order with regards to birth certificates. In the coming weeks we are going to be going through different regulations and rules for birth certificates by state.