House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster.

Unlike the elected House of Commons, most members of the House of Lords are appointed. The membership of the House of Lords is made up of Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal. The Lords Spiritual are 26 bishops in the established Church of England. Of the Lords Temporal, the majority are life peers who are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, or on the advice of the House of Lords Appointments Commission. However, they also include some hereditary peers including four dukes. Membership was once an entitlement of all hereditary peers, other than those in the peerage of Ireland, but under the House of Lords Act 1999, the right to membership was restricted to 92 hereditary peers. Very few of these are female since most hereditary peerages can only be inherited by men.

While the House of Commons has a defined 650-seat membership, the number of members in the House of Lords is not fixed. There are currently 816 sitting Lords. The House of Lords is the only upper house of any bicameral parliament to be larger than its respective lower house.

Human rights

Human rights are moral principles or norms, that describe certain standards of human behavior, and are regularly protected as legal rights in municipal and international law. They are commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights "to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being," and which are "inherent in all human beings" regardless of their nation, location, language, religion, ethnic origin or any other status. They are applicable everywhere and at every time in the sense of being universal, and they are egalitarian in the sense of being the same for everyone. They require empathy and the rule of law and impose an obligation on persons to respect the human rights of others. They should not be taken away except as a result of due process based on specific circumstances; for example, human rights may include freedom from unlawful imprisonment, torture, and execution.

Constitutional law

Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary.

Not all nation states have codified constitutions, though all such states have a jus commune, or law of the land, that may consist of a variety of imperative and consensual rules. These may include customary law, conventions, statutory law, judge-made law, or international rules and norms. Constitutional law deals with the fundamental principles by which the government exercises its authority. In some instances, these principles grant specific powers to the government, such as the power to tax and spend for the welfare of the population. Other times, constitutional principles act to place limits on what the government can do, such as prohibiting the arrest of an individual without sufficient cause. In most nations, including the United States, constitutional law is based on the text of a document ratified at the time the nation came into being.

Viva Palestina

Viva Palestina ("Long live Palestine") is a British-based organisation formerly registered as a charity.<ref name=3rd sector">David Ainsworth "Commission removes Galloway's Viva Palestina from the charities register", Third Sector", 5 November 2013</ref> The body came into being in January 2009 with the initial intention of running a convoy of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Its aims are the "provision from the UK of food, medicine and essential goods and services needed by the civilian population" [of the occupied Palestinian Territories] and "highlighting the causes and results of wars with a view to achieving peace."

Background

Viva Palestina was established during the Gaza War in January 2009 by a group including British politician George Galloway.

First convoy (early 2009)

On 14 February 2009, after raising over £1 million-worth of humanitarian aid in under four weeks, hundreds of volunteers launched the first convoy comprising approximately 110 vehicles intended for use in Gaza. Among these were a fire engine donated by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), twelve ambulances, a boat and trucks full of medicines, tools, clothes, blankets and gifts for children. The 5,000-mile route passed through Belgium, France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.

Part 3 (KC and the Sunshine Band album)

Part 3 is the fourth studio album by the funk and disco group KC and the Sunshine Band. The album was produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch and was released in October 1976 on the TK label.

History

Part 3 contains three of the band's biggest hits, "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", "I'm Your Boogie Man", and "Keep It Comin' Love". The first two reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 while the third peaked at number two. Two other singles, "I Like to Do It" and "Wrap Your Arms Around Me" found moderate success on the charts. The album was remastered and reissued in 2006 by Collector's Choice Music.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch. 

Personnel