Terrorism as a response to U.S. foreign policy Essay

Terrorism as a response to U.S. foreign policy - Essay Example (2009) cites, â€Å"the US arms uncritically supports Israel in its barbaric war against the Palestinians; it is hard to overemphasize the damage this does to the American image and interest in the Middle East† (p. 3). The foreign policy that focused only on the home security and border defense boosted sales of weapons but by cutting down the values of morality to a great extent. More logically, transformation of aggression and enmity into productive enthusiasm based on humanity can improve the situations and manage the conflicts to a great level. But the US foreign policy faces the criticism for arrogance against Muslims. A journal critically points out that â€Å"the zealotry that led to the tragedy of September 11th cannot be tolerated, but some grievances in the Islamic world deserve more serious consideration by Americans† (Johnson & Caruson, 2003, p. 9). Instead of the focusing on rivalry, America can utilize foreign interest in education and scientific researches by inviting global partnership. The country can make ties with developing economies and promote global peace. It can also stop instigating wars for the settlement of international issues, and promote the prospects of modernization through westernization in the fighting countries. Moore, D. (2007). A book review of Terrorism and American foreign policy: Intelligence in recent public literature, by P. R. Pillar (2001). Retrieved from

FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa as a business event Essay

FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa as a business event - Essay Example The choice of the host country is very important moment in the preparation of World Cup since it is, beyond the purely sporting aspects of economy. In order to obtain the nomination by the FIFA authorities, cities and nations compete in projects. This event requires the construction of reception infrastructure, transport and communication inevitably leads to strong changes in terms of city planning. Often, the FIFA World Cup becomes an excuse to initiate or accelerate some of urban changes resulting in the initiation of work. FIFA World Cup is an opportunity to orchestrate an extensive modernisation of the country by fostering urban renewal and social changes. The organisation of the Cup was such a chance for South Africa to initiate huge upgrades with respect to certain routes and urban infrastructure. Indeed, this radical change in the appearance of the country was not done without pain, as South Africa found itself plunged into a very important phase of work that disrupts the rhyt hm of life in South Africa and, most importantly, led to a substantial financial contribution to taxpayers. In South Africa, ten stadiums will be used throughout the World Cup 2010. Distributed throughout the territory of Polokwane to Cape Town, these stages hosted the greatest football competition in the world. Of the ten stages of the World Cup, some were just renovated, while others are out of land recently, to offer viewers a high quality of comfort and safety. South Africa regularly hosts major international sporting events since 1994 and has successfully organised some of the most important ones; the Rugby World Cup 1995, World Cup Cricket in 2003, the Women's World Cup Golf (2005 to 2008) and the only race in the streets of opening of the A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport (from 2006 to 2008). But the FIFA World Cup is the largest sporting event in the world in terms of television audience. World Cup 2010 in South Africa is announced as a major turning point for the host country b ut also for the entire continent. Bold alternative to the Afro-pessimism, it would now "Africa" to be placed in the heart of the international scene. FIFA and Cup organisers intend to explicitly celebrate the humanity of the continent. Political leaders in South Africa placed the hosting of the FIFA World cup at the top of their agenda. Mandela said when the role of football in the struggle against apartheid and said that "football was the only joy for prisoners "on Robben Island (Jones, 2004). Mbeki added that the hosting of World cup project is a journey of hope for South Africa, Africa and the world, a journey that gives the strength and endurance we need to walk the difficult road that still separates us from African renaissance. While FIFA announced in 2008 that the 2010 Cup will be even more profitable than the last, some question the benefits and economic benefits in terms of construction of new stages (Pillay, Tomlinson & Bass, 2009). As far as the non financial benefits of World Cup are concerned, it is said that South African media enjoyed and participated in this myth of nation building through sport. Others, however, underline the symbolic dimension of this event; some scholars suggest that playing at the Cape Town may be interpreted as a way of "doing justice to history" (Hill, 2003). It was evident, however, that the 2010 World Cup in South Africa was the intersection of meanings, actions and multiple political aspirations and that local and national interests intertwine. This World

Gender Role and Sexuality Essay Example for Free

Gender Role and Sexuality Essay I can fortunately and happily say that I personally have not experienced unequal treatment in regards to my chosen career, educational path or previously held jobs. What I do still see currently being stereotyped are gender roles and the way they are allowed or not allowed to sexually express themselves in the public eye. From my experience it is more acceptable for men to compose music about sex, be in main stream media selling sex, have successful careers in sex, and everyday unequal expectations in dating, sex and relationships. Men have more sexual freedom in the world today. Men are encouraged and in most cases applauded on the discussion of how many partners they have had in the past and the specifics of each experience, yet woman are still expected to hide their sex from the world in fear of ridicule and isolation. In our society today woman who are overly sexual or dress in form fitting clothes or lack thereof are automatically stereotyped as the promiscuous type. Why the double standard? I don’t agree at all with displaying private sexual acts to the general public to gain fame and wealth and in by doing such corrupting children and destroying the beauty of sex but I don’t believe that we should have to hide that women are as much sexual beings equally as men. I feel religion and culture play major roles in the history of sexual repression of woman. Even dating back to the Puritan who believed that anything resulting in pleasure was a sin, women’s freedom to express their sexuality has been suppressed in fear of domination because we are just as powerful as men. Growing up in a strict catholic home I was always taught to act like a lady in public. Exactly what was meant by that I wasn’t fully sure but I knew its underlying symbolism was repressing my sexuality. I wasn’t allowed to wear spaghetti straps, mid drift shirts, shorts above my knees, or make up till I was 18 years old. Sex was not spoken of in my household at all, and if it happened to be seen in a movie or on television I was instructed to cover my eyes because sex was forbidden. Being a sexy woman was seen as vulgar. If I had male friends I could not talk on the phone with them or play outside of school with them without a parent or chaperone. On that contrary my younger brother was encouraged to dress well, wear cologne and have many female friends. It was a symbol of popularity. In my father’s Hispanic culture the young men were pampered and treated as kings with double standards. The women were there to serve them. We are not allowed to be sexy or let alone discuss sex in anyway shape or form. As an adult now I can understand why I completely rebelled against the stereotypes created by my religion and culture. It’s not fair to make women feel less than human than men. We are sexual creatures who share the same desires and needs. I now embrace my sexuality. I’m not afraid to be who I am, and say how I feel. Being a single mother in society today puts me in another stereotype as well. Having a child out of wedlock is still looked down upon, and more so with the mother. We are labeled as â€Å"promiscuous†, â€Å"unholy†, and â€Å"irresponsible†, but to me I loved a man for 8 years and wanted to create a life with him. Unfortunately the abuse I endured was too great to allow after the child was born, so I chose to leave. On the other hand the single father is praised and labeled as â€Å"hard working†, and â€Å"honorable†. In news and media woman are portrayed as sex objects in order to entice society. It draws women in because they either want to be like them or look like them and it draws men in because they love the visual stimulation. Sexuality is used as a shock value for ratings. Are sexy woman who love their bodies and the way it makes them feel really that shocking? Instead of conditioning our young woman to hide their sexuality we should be teaching them healthy ways to explore and express their human desires of sexuality in a safe, healthy way.

The Economy Of Delta State In Nigeria Economics Essay

The Economy Of Delta State In Nigeria Economics Essay Nigerian economy, at first was based mainly on agriculture; it exported agricultural products like cocoa, rubber, palm products, cotton, groundnut, hides and skin etcetera. But then oil was discovered in the south-south of Nigeria i.e. Rivers, Bayelsa, Edo and Niger Delta states, and agric production was abandoned. The essay question is What are the economic cost and benefits of oil industry in Delta, Nigeria? The objective of this essay is to find out what the economy cost and benefits of the oil industry in Delta state, Nigeria, and also I will examine just how the state has put up with the production of oil and also the effects i.e. the cost and benefits. 1.1 State Background Delta State is named after the delta region of the River Niger. Its capital is Asaba  [1]  . It is found in the south-south areas of Nigeria. Delta state consists of different ethnic groups like Urhobo, Igbo, Ezon, Isoko and Itsekiri but consist mainly of the Igbo people.Nigeria has a population of 151, 870, 000 people of which Delta state has a population of 4, 098, 291; the males are up to 2, 674, 306 while the females are up to 2, 024, 085  [2]  . Delta state is the second oil producing state in Nigeria after Rivers State, of which this oil production tends to be the most dangerous business in this economy. The local governments that produce oil in the Delta state are Warri North and South, Burutu, Isoko North and South, Ughelli North and South, Okpe, Ethiope East and West, Sapele and Ndokwa East and West  [3]  . The biggest oil refinery is found in Warri, which is a local government in Delta. 1.2 Map showing the location of Delta state in Nigeria: 4Delta State. 1.3 Research Methodology My process of research was divided into two methods; primary research and secondary research. 1.3.1 Primary Research My primary research involved The use of a questionnaire: The questionnaire was created addressing specific questions like; what has the government put in place to help the economy? and also what has the economy benefited from the oil production? A survey was used to get more personal information like; Government share of income and income of Petroleum Company. Interview was done; I interviewed the people living in the villages, the leaders of the town/villages. Asking them what the costs and benefits has been for oil production. I also interviewed employees from the Petroleum company (SHELL) I took pictures of the benefits from the oil production. 1.3.2 Secondary Research Secondary information was gained from the various websites, textbooks and articles. The information includes: a study of economic theory relating to externalities. Textbooks were used to get definitions. The internet was used to review other information that is relating to this topic. The reason for this is to see how this state is managing with its externalities. Internet was used to get background information on the state Internet was also used to get the cost of oil production in the state Images of the cost of oil production in the villages were gotten form the internet. The use of articles in the newspapers was used to get information on the current situation Problems Proposed Solutions Interviews and with the people in villages and the leaders of villages Language barrier Finding someone to help in translating. Interview with the employees of SHELL Release of private company information Use of other sources to get information like the radio, internet, newspapers etcetera Sharing of questionnaire and survey on land Riots in these areas were questionnaires were being distributed Go to areas where there is no riot to distribute questionnaires and do a survey.1.3.3 Possible difficulties and proposed solutions. 2 PRIMARY DATA ANALYSIS The employees and few people living in Delta were given questionnaires to find out certain information, about what the oil industries and the government have done with the economy from the benefit of oil production. The questionnaire was given to 20 employees at SHELL who were randomly selected from various departments and 20 people living in the economy. This section is showing the sets of results gotten from these individuals. Table 1: Results concerning responsibility by individuals in the community Issues Number of people Government Politicians Oil Industries Who do you think is responsible for the pollution in Delta? 20 2 0 18 90% of the people living in the community believe that the oil industries are the cause of the pollution which is right, and it is good to know that only 20% believe that the government is responsible which is not true. Table 2: Results concerning responsibility by SHELL employees Issues Number of people Agree Disagree Unsure Do you think it is your responsibility to make it right? 20 10 4 6 In the above pie chart 50% of the employees at Shell think it is their responsibilty to make things right in the economy that means they sould be able to stop the pollution the oil company is causing. This illustrates that half of the people in company are taking respnsibility for their actions. Table 3: Results concerning responsibility by the individuals in the community Issues Number of people Agree Disagree Unsure Do you think it is your responsibility to make it right? 20 5 7 8 40% of the individuals in the community are not sure whose responsibility it is to stop the pollution in Delta, 35% of the individuals dont think it is their responsibility to control pollution in the economy. This illustrates that most of the people in this community could be seen as ignorant since it is a few that are ready to take some responsibility to make things right. Table 4: Results concerning government action by the individuals in the community Issues Number of people Agree Disagree Unsure Is the government doing anything about the situation? 20 5 12 3 From the pie chart it has been shown that government is not taking action from the negative externality taken place in the state which is not good. From the primary data analysis it is seen that there are some problems Delta such as pollution etc and this is due to market failure. From the economic theory it is seen that if the marginal social benefits is > the marginal social costs or vice versa there would be market failure  [5]  . Market failure is due to the positive and negative externalities in the economy. The next section in this essay is going to state those economic cost and benefits of the oil production in Delta State. 3 INDENTIFICATION OF ECONOMIC COSTS AND BENEFITS. This section will contain the analysis of the economic costs and benefits in Delta state. There are a lot of problems in Delta state such as oil spills, waste dumping and gas flaring. The main problem in Delta is the oil spillage. The type of oil produced in the south-south is deep sea oil, which causes oil spillage and then leads to pollution; air, land and water pollution, the cause of this pollution has led to the damage of soil, water and air. The oil spills has caused farmers in the area not to fish and farm again because the pollution has spread in their sea and lands, thus thousands of people have been affected especially the poor people and those who rely on traditional way of living such as fishing and agriculture. But there are not only costs in the oil production there are also benefits in the fact that the state is making a lot of money in producing oil since oil is needed in a lot of countries. Externality occurs when the production or consumption of a good or service has an effect upon a third party  [6]  . If this effect is dangerous it can therefore be called a negative externality but if the effect is advantageous it is said to be a positive externality. Negative externalities bring about external costs and positive externalities bring about external benefits. The production of oil in Delta state can bring about both external costs and external benefits. 3.1 External Costs from Oil Industries. The people in the economy have endured oil spillage for years now. Oil spills are caused by corrosion of oil pipes, poor maintenance of infrastructure, and leaks during processing at refineries.  [7]  This oil spillage usually happens on the land and in the sea. The cause of oil spills in water is that, the oil has contaminated the water, so the fishes in the sea would die that means there wouldnt be any fishing or it would become poisonous and if it is poisonous when it is eaten the people in the economy would get ill. It could also harm the plants; plants could die because of oil spills and also animals that drink from the water. Also some places in Delta are not yet developed; in those places the people that live there usually have their bath in the sea so if they do that where the water has been affected the people could get skin disease. The oil spills on land would destroy crops; damage the soil the farmers use in farming for their family. The production of oil is making th e rich to get richer and the poor to stay poor and die of poverty. Gas flaring is when gas is burnt unsteadily. Gas flaring occurs when oil is pumped from the ground, this oil burnt then produces gas and the gas produced is burnt as waste in enormous flares. Thus the burning of this gas results to the damage of the environment, especially the areas which are nearest to the oil industries. The government and the industries have done nothing to stop the people from burning the gases and also they havent given any solution to the situation. People in that area are now having health problems; there would be air pollution thus leading to people inhaling chemicals that are not good for their health and sanitation problems; there would be water pollution, chemicals from the gas flare would make water dirty, that is the water the people in the area used to take their bath is going to affect their hygiene because the water would very dirty. The people in this area do not have money for medical bills and they do not have health insurance. The farms of these p eople living in this area have been destroyed so there is no other source of getting money to pay medical bills so this leads to the increase in death rate in that area. When oil is made from the industries, waste are also produced these waste are then dumped on the land and in the sea, thus destroying the environment and weakening the peoples right in their standard of living. The government have not tried anything to stop people from disposing this waste on the land and the sea, they have not realised that the sea has been contaminated by the various mixture of the oil and if they had they would have treated their water. These chemical substances in oil are very toxic and it can affect the people living in the area. People in this areas are dying of hunger, because their farms have been destroyed so there is nowhere else to get food from, farmers are now unemployed because their plants are dying so they have nothing to plant and sell to make money, hunters are also unemployed because the animals are dying due to them drinking water from the sea or eating plants that were poisonous. The children of these hunters and farmers cannot go to school again because there is no money to pay their school fees. Poverty hits these innocent people who depend on livelihoods Due to the negative impacts on the production of oil there have been a lot of complaints by the local communities, because of these complaints it has made some people from this community to become militants. Since the production of oil has caused poverty it has led some of these militants too undergo criminal acts like stealing the oil that has been produced; militants steal this to make money out of it, and also illegal bunkering of oil; that is shipping oil illegally to another country to make money without the consent of the government. Also another cause of militancy due to the production of oil is because the government, the industries and the politicians have refused to do something about the oil spillage, the government has not done anything to develop the state practically because they are gaining from the oil production and keeping the money to themselves; the people from the economy have watched these politicians, governments and the industries get richer so this now leads the militants among them in kidnapping the rich peoples children, there are also armed robberies; these militants rob the rich, and if people are being too aggressive when they are being robbed then the militants might kill them, so this could lead to death, they also take on fights with the Nigerian security forces; this makes the security force to fight back extremely and not considering the people in that area. Militants could go into fraud also known as 419 in Nigeria, they could do business that could cheat people and by cheating them, they could get money from them. All negative things are done because of the government, the industries and the politicians ignorance to the situation. Picture below shows gas flare at Ughelli West, Delta State, Nigeria. 8 Picture below shows the militants with their guns 9 Picture below shows damage of crops because of oil spills. 10 Figure 1: Diagram showing external cost of oil production in Delta State. Price of oil Welfare loss MSC MPC Negative externality P* a p1 Q* Q2 Quantity of oil. In figure 1, it shows that the marginal private cost of the industry is lower than the marginal social costs because of the pollution that was brought about when oil was produced, this pollution might have caused breathing problems for people and also poisoned food like fish. The industry would just be concentrating on its own private costs; because of this the industry would produce at Q1. At Q* marginal social cost is equal to the marginal social benefit resulting to a market failure. Too much oil is being produced at too low a price; this causes the misallocation of the societys resources. There is welfare loss i.e. where marginal social cost is greater than marginal social benefits. There are also negative externalities of consumption i.e. the pollution that is caused and how it affects the consumers. Negative externalities would make marginal social benefits less than the marginal private benefits. Figure 2: Diagram showing negative externality of consumption. Price of oil Welfare loss MSC P1 P* MPB Negative externality MSB Q* Q1 Quantity demanded. In figure 2 it shows that the oil industry keep on producing oil, and there is still oil spillage, they pay no attention to the negative externality they are creating, Marginal social cost becomes equals to marginal private cost. There is over-use of oil from Q* to Q1, there is also a welfare loss because Marginal social cost is greater than Marginal social benefits. It is difficult to reduce this pollution. First of all the costs of pollution are external in the sense that the cost of pollution are not paid for by the agents causing it, so there is no economic incentive in the market system to cause them to stop Second of all the people benefiting from the activities; those are the people producing the oil, they are causing pollution and imposing some costs on others. So the pollution needs to be reduced although the victims are meant to be compensated. 3.2 External Benefits from Oil Industries. The oil industries may have destroyed the communities in Delta but they have also made a lot of money for the state because of the production of their oil. As it is said above Delta state is the second oil producing state after Rivers state. The economy has benefited from the oil production. The money used from the oil production has been used for the improvements of infrastructural facilities such as construction of roads, bridges and provision of pipe borne water which benefits the villagers, increased use of electricity, better transport facilities and usefulness of petroleum products. The biggest oil company in the Delta state, The Shell Petroleum Development Company (Shell), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, is the main operator on land. Shell is located in Warri. Many Nigerians specifically those from Delta state are employees of Shell, working in an oil company means that those employees would be making a lot of money this means that there would be an increase in income per capita thus an increase in urbanization that means Delta would be more developed in the standard of living. Shell has provided a lot of benefits for the economy and for the workers. Such benefits is the provision of education for the children of the employees at the shell company, provision of houses, cars and also they pay for all the bills of the employees. Shell has contributed money to the construction of new private and public schools, schools for people of low and high classes. There are also schools for the residents of the state that is for those who could not afford to go to school. This is thus increasing the literacy rate in the economy. Educational competitions are organised and also sports to promote academic and physical excellence which benefit the individuals in the state. SHELL has also benefited from its own production of oil such as increased revenue from sales; their increase in production brings about huge profits to the company. There is also an increase in development in the SHELL Company; there is now advance technology like drilling equipment in which they can use to prevent or stop the oil spills. There is also an improvement in International relations such as an increase in production which has led to an agreement with oil consuming economies such as the United States and China. The oil company shell has tried to do its best in developing the economy but because of the corruption problems in Nigeria it affects the economy. The money used for infrastructure development has been taking by the government or the politicians for their own benefits. Pipe borne water that has been installed for the villagers has broken and the government take the money that has been giving to use it to fix it. Oil spills caused by the production of oil has spoilt the road, the money contributed by the economy to fix the roads has been stolen by the government. The public schools where children are meant to be going for free the government waste time in paying teachers their salaries, so these teachers go on strike and refuse to teachers these children, thus making the literacy rate unstable. There are benefits from the production of oil, but because of corruption by the government all the benefits are not taking place. If the benefits take place, there would be positive externalities because of the oil produced. Since there are positive externalities it means that the there would be welfare gain i.e. the marginal social benefit is greater than marginal social cost. The diagram below illustrates where the welfare gain is and that is between Q1 and Q*, it also shows that oil is produced at Q1 , if the production of oil is increased to Q* more welfare would be gained. Figure 3: Diagram showing positive externality. Price Welfare gain MPC P1 MSC P* MSB Q1 Q* quantity. Picture below shows an over-head bridge in Delta. Picture below shows house of a shell employee in Delta Picture showing a factory in Delta Picture below shows one of the good roads in Delta. 4 THE FUTURE This section is going to impose ways the government can control the negative externalities in the state. There are different ways the government can control these negative externalities but first of all the government should stop being ignorant and help the economy. If government stops being ignorant they can enforce laws to control and monitor pollution in the villages; introduce more national and marine; ensure that forestry companies re-plant trees; regulate use of contaminated land. Government can impose tax on oil companies to increase the private costs, if the government should do that the Marginal private would move upwards, there might still be welfare loss but it would be less than before. There should also be subsidies that is the amount of money paid by the government to a producer, it lowers the firms cost, these subsidies could be inform of grants, reduced taxation etcetera. With the money gotten from oil production government can use it to compensate victim of the negative externalities of oil production so that victims would not sue the offending firms. The government can pay damages to victims through free health coverage. Also since oil has now taking over the agricultural production which has caused the farmers and fishermen their jobs cause of the pollution, the government should build centers where they bring in professionals to teach them skills like mechanics, welding, painting, etcetera. If government cant find professionals they can encourage companies there to teach them the skills. If the government does this there would be fewer crises because those people would no longer be unemployed and there would now be less kidnapping, armed robbery, fraud etcetera. But if the oil industry continues with its act of polluting the environment the government should control their output in some way because it will not be possible to ban, if that doesnt work out the government could make new environmental laws and if the oil industry dont follow it then they would have to pay some amount of money since they have disobeyed the law, paying the money would increase their private costs. The diagram below shows the result if the oil industry has to pay tax. Figure 4: Diagram showing negative externality. MSC Price P* welfare loss MPC + tax P2 MPC P1 Q* Q2 Q1 Quantity of oil. Firms should also be able to help, at the moment in Delta state the oil industry that is really helping in the negative externalities in the economy is SHELL. Other firms should take part in helping and do things like changing its production of its techniques and operation like economizing on the amount of waste disposal from the oil production. Changing the materials used in packaging the oil, something that can be recycled should be used that it would be used again thus prevent burning of waste disposal. If government does this for the state there would a short term effect of pollution but in long term there will be no pollution. Therefore there would be less cost on the production of oil and also an increase in economy growth. But if government takes no action there would be a long term effect of oil production, and also a decrease in economy growth and an increase in the negative externalities of the economy. In conclusion it is only the government that has the power in stopping the increase of negative externalities in the economy especially if the industries do no take action, but if government takes no action and continues taking bribes or being corrupt the economy would therefore be suffering for the costs of oil production.

Birth Of Nazism :: essays research papers

BIRTH OF NAZISM "Until the German people understand that one can conduct politics only when one has the support of power—and again power. Only so is reconstruction possible… It is not an economic question which faces the German people, it is a political question—how shall the nation’s determination be recovered?" (Bullock, 1962) Adolf Hitler posed this question to the German people in 1923. The face of post World War I Germany was truly battered, in all senses of the word. Germany had lost the war politically, which essentially meant emotionally. The country had no sense of leadership, and was suffering from many economic hardships. With the loss of the war, came the humiliation of the Treaty of Versailles. Within the treaty, many demands of Germany were made which nearly raped her of her economic capacities. Industries had suffered, causing great unemployment. With this unemployment came inflation as well. The hardships posed upon the country not only harmed her economically, but socially too. The state of the people was equally harsh. Stripped of any sign of nationalism that may have once reigned within them, there was very little to have pride in. They were the joke of Europe, not to mention the brutal force which had caused the hardships within her neighbors as well. Leadership was also lacking at t his time. The control of state that had once governed in Germany was strongly ousted away. Germany knew nothing but monarchical rule, but this had been replaced with the democratic attempt of the Weimar Republic. This was the state of 1933 Germany, one that not endured since the Thirty Years War. Everything familiar to Germany had been replaced by the Treaty of Versailles. This state was the "breeding ground" of Nazism, or National Socialism. At a time of severe depression, the ideas and promises of the National Socialists looked very promising. Many Germans lacked faith in the existing government and began to turn to political groups that called for extreme changes. Nazis had divined a plan, and were willing to lead Germany to the grandeur that she deserved. Lead by the bold and charismatic Adolf Hitler, the light of a brighter future began to shine through the clouds of the post war era. Though new to Germany when Nazism was embedded within the system in 1933, its roots spawn much further back into history. It is general thought that Nazism is nothing more than a branch of Fascism.

Modern-day Witch Hunts :: essays research papers

Is the accuser always holy now? Were they born this morning as clean as God's fingers? I'll tell you what's walking Salem-vengeance is walking Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! (p73, The Crucible) Arthur Miller's classic play, The Crucible, is about the witch-hunts and trials in seventeenth century Salem, Massachusetts. What starts with several girls practicing European white magic in the woods escalates to a massive hysteria, with the "afflicted" girls falsely accusing even the respected women in the community of being witches. Eager to "utterly crush the servants of the devil", church leaders and townspeople insist on trying the accused. The punishment for failing to confess to witchcraft is death by hanging. In the end, many are hanged for imaginary crimes, for which no actual proof is ever presented, the only evidence being the word of a handful of girls. Miller wrote The Crucible as a parallel to the anticommunist hysteria in the 1940's. It may also be seen as a mirror to Hitler's Germany, and the pseudo-science of the time which dictated "purity". Today, however, The Crucible shows a resemblance to an entirely different kind of social hysteria. Accusations of sexual-abuse against child-care providers and others are now sometimes referred to as "witch hunts" when the accusers are suspected of lying, as in Miller's play. Children's advocates will of course tell us that we must believe children's claims of abuse, because, tragically, it does occur. However, a recent trend has shown that more and more accusations are false, and even when the accused are found innocent, their lives can be changed forever. This paper will examine the similarities between Miller's The Crucible, and the sexual-abuse "witch hunts" of today. Gordon Waugh, member of Casualties Of Sexual Allegations (COSA) writes: †¦many people now acquire "victimhood" through counseling. Being a "victim" draws sympathy. It explains the tragedies, the failures, the hardships, the health problems and the disappointments of life. It relieves people of some of life's natural burdens: dealing with complexity, facing things beyond their control, and accepting responsibility for decisions and actions. Many counselors attribute their clients' woes to long-buried "repressed" memories of childhood sexual abuse. They help clients to unlock these, and rewrite their pasts. Clients sever all former ties with "families of origin" and surround themselves only with other "survivors", to prevent confirmation or denial.

Khaled Hosseini Essay

The story is about Amir and Hassan, a Hazara. They spend their days in a peaceful Kabul, kite fighting, roaming the streets and being boys. Amir’s father loves both the boys, but seems critical of Amir for not being manly enough. Amir also fears his father blames him for his mother’s death during childbirth. However, he has a kind father figure in the form of Rahim Khan, Baba’s friend, who understands Amir better, and is supportive of his interest in writing stories. Assef, a mean and violent older boy, blames Amir for socializing with a Hazara. According to Assef, the Hazaras were an inferior race that should only live in Hazarajat. He prepares to attack Amir with his steel knuckles, but Hassan bravely stands up to him, and threatens to shoot Assef in the eye with his slingshot. Assef and his friends back off, but Assef says he will take revenge. Hassan is a successful â€Å"kite runner† for Amir. He knows where the kite will land without even watching it. One triumphant day, Amir wins the local tournament, and finally Baba’s praise. Hassan goes to run the last cut, it was a great trophy. Hassan then said â€Å"For you, a thousand times over. † Unfortunately, Hassan runs into Assef and his two henchmen. Hassan refuses to give up Amir’s kite, so Assef exacts his revenge, assaulting and raping him. Wondering why Hassan is taking so long, Amir searches for Hassan and hides when he hears Assef’s voice. He witnesses the rape but is too scared to help him. Afterwards, for some time Hassan and Amir keep a distance from each other. Amir reacts differently because he feels ashamed, and is frustrated by Hassan’s saint-like behavior. Already jealous of Baba’s love for Hassan, Amir worries if Baba knew how bravely Hassan defended Amir’s kite, and how cowardly Amir acted, that Baba’s love for Hassan would grow even more. To force Hassan to leave, Amir frames him as a thief, and Hassan falsely confesses. Baba forgives him, despite the fact that, as he explained earlier, he believes that â€Å"there is no act more wretched than stealing. † Hassan and his father Ali, leave anyway. Hassan’s departure frees Amir of the daily reminder of his betrayal, but he still lives with his guilt. Five years later, the Russians invade Afghanistan; Amir and Baba escape to Peshawar, Pakistan and then to Fremont, California, where Amir and Baba, settle in an apartment and Baba works at a gas station. Amir eventually takes classes at a local community college to develop his writing skills. Every Sunday, Baba and Amir make extra money selling used goods at a flea market in San Jose. There, Amir meets fellow refugee Soraya and Soraya’s father, who was a high-ranked officer in Afghanistan. Baba is diagnosed with cancer but is still capable of granting Amir one last favor: he asks Soraya’s father’s permission for Amir to marry her. He agrees and they marry. Shortly thereafter Baba dies. Amir and Soraya get to know that they cannot have children. Fifteen years after his wedding, Amir receives a call from Rahim Khan, who is dying from an illness. Rahim Khan asks Amir to come to Pakistan. He tells Amir â€Å"there is a way to be good again. † Amir goes. Ali was killed by a land mine. Hassan had a wife and a son, named Sohrab, and had returned to Baba’s house as a caretaker at Rahim Khan’s request. One day the Taliban murdered Hassan, along with his wife. Rahim Khan reveals that Ali was not really Hassan’s father. Hassan was actually the son of Baba, therefore Amir’s half-brother. Rahim Khan tells Amir that the true reason he has called Amir to Pakistan is to go to Kabul to rescue Hassan’s son, Sohrab, from an orphanage. Amir returns to a Taliban-controlled Kabul with a guide, Farid, and searches for Sohrab at the orphanage. He does not find Sohrab where he was supposed to be. The director of the orphanage tells them that a Taliban official comes often, brings cash and usually takes a girl back with him. Once in a while however, he takes a boy, recently Sohrab. The director tells Amir to go to a soccer match and the man â€Å"who does the speeches† is the man who took Sohrab. Farid manages to secure an appointment with the speaker at his home, by saying that he and Amir have â€Å"personal business† with him. At the house, Amir has his meeting with the man in sunglasses. The man is revealed to be his childhood enemy, Assef. Assef is aware of Amir’s identity from the very beginning, but Amir doesn’t realize who he’s sitting across until Assef starts asking about Ali, Baba and Hassan. Sohrab is being kept at the home where he is made to dance dressed in women’s clothes, and it seems like Assef might have been sexually assaulting him. Assef agrees to release him, but only for a price – a fight with Amir. Amir is the protagonist of the story. He lives with his father, while his mother died when he was born. He has trouble getting attention and love from his father. He is best friends with Hassan, and the story follows him from the time he is a child to adult. He is good at school, but he is a boy who is struggling to get his father to be happy, he feels that he is the disappointment of his father. He characterizes himself as a coward, with little purpose. He changes his personal beliefs twice throughout the history. First time when Hassan is raped, after the event he is not talking with Hassan because of his guilt and gets Hassan kicked out of the house. The second is when he goes back to Afghanistan to retrieve the son of Hassan. As an adult, he proved what he can do, and is presented as a man with so much courage that no one else ever had. Hassan is the son of Ali, who is the servant of Baba. Hassan is a Hazara and he is often discriminated against and oppressed by others. Hassan is brave, loyal and always protects Amir. Since Hassan has not gone to school, he learns to read and write from Ali. He’s doing what he’s told. He is incredibly loyal to Amir. When Amir accuses him of stealing his watch, he said to Baba that he was the one who took it, without Amir asking him about it. Hassan is the character that changes at least throughout the history. Assef is the evil character in this book. He hates Hazaras, which is shown clearly in the book. Therefore, he is looking for Amir. He believes that it is his fault that Hassan lives with him. He is the one that causes problems between the childhood friends Amir and Hassan. We have two turning points in this book. The first comes when Hassan is sexually abused by Assef and his gang. It changes the friendship of Amir and Hassan. Amir stops talking with Hassan because he feels ashamed and feels that he has betrayed Hassan. The second turning point comes when Rahim Khan calls Amir. Amir changes and realizes that he can make things better. He decides to find Sohrab and get him to safety. This is the structure of the story. The story starts with a short introduction where the narrator tells us a little about himself and Kabul. Then we get more excitement and we get the climax. The climax is when Hassan got raped by Assef. Anything could happen at that point because Amir was looking at everything that happened. The excitement fell down after that incident because Hassan and Ali left the house, but it became more and more interesting after that because the Russians invaded Afghanistan and Amir had to leave Afghanistan. That was a big change in the story. Once again we got a climax when Amir stood face to face against Assef. He had a chance to take revenge now. This was our presentation of ‘’The Kite Runner’’. We have told you a little about the plot, the characters, the turning-points, climax, the setting, the themes and the message in the book. I will end the presentation by talking about my opinion about the book. I loved this book. It has a good structure, the content is really good and you don’t want to stop reading. I don’t like to read books, but this book was special. Sources:The Kite Runnerhttps://thekyterunner. wikispaces. com/Dragel%C3%B8peren| http://www. smartguy. no/klaer/t-shirt/t-shirt-logo/marinebla_polo-ralph-lauren-t-shirt_179718_21 http://www. smartguy. no/klaer/t-shirt/poloshirt/hvit_lacoste-poloskjorte_175476_3 http://www. smartguy. no/klaer/t-shirt/poloshirt/mellembla_tommy-hilfiger-poloshirt_187632_74 http://www. smartguy. no/klaer/t-shirt/poloshirt/svart_hugo-boss-orange-poloskjorte_182674_4 http://www. smartguy. no/klaer/jeans-bukser/bukser/sand_vito-chino_192150_27 http://karrierestart. no/jobb? jobtype=2&municipality=89&page=5 http://www. free-tv-video-online. me/internet/the_ellen_degeneres_show/season_10. html http://www. handelsportal. no/butikk/iphone-4-4s/iphone-4-deksel-og-etui http://max100. no/index. php? route=product/product&path=20_64_67&product_id=292.