Euthanasia Essay

Countless debates have been conducted in recent years regarding euthanasia. It is a topic of great significance and sensitivity, because in the simplest terms, it is a debate about someone’s right to take his/her own life. Ultimately the legalization of euthanasia is a matter of human rights, and therefore the outcome of its debate has great implications on how humans define those inalienable rights. The arguments against euthanasia are numerous, and many of them are valid, good, humanitarian points. After all, euthanasia has been used to justify some of history’s most horrific and terrible genocides and injustices throughout the world. However, the debate of euthanasia, like life, is very complicated. It is very opaque, not black and white. By and large, euthanasia should be illegal. However, to outlaw it universally no matter the circumstance, forces suffering upon certain people and deprives them of their only relief. Legalizing euthanasia is a very controversial topic, however it should be legal in very limited and exact, fiercely regulated situations. Respect for patient autonomy is a standard for human rights within the medical practice, and the choice of euthanasia is an essential part of these rights. The concept of patient autonomy is a fairly recent standard in medical ethics. After World War II, all the despicable Nazi medical experiments became known to the world. After much litigation and evaluation, the current concept of patient autonomy became very important. The result was that no one may force another to be the subject of research against his/her will. The patient has the option to choose how he/she should be treated. This standard is now all but universally accepted in democratic countries. Currently, the right not to suffer is an indispensible part of patient autonomy and of human rights the world over (Annas 1992). The choice of euthanasia should be available to patients who are physically incapable of taking their own lives. There are people who are paralyzed in a tragic accident or dying a slow miserable death for years. These people don’t have the choice to decide about their own life. Some of them are alive only by some elaborate medications or machinery without which their bodies will stop living. It used to be the law of natural selection that decided the fate of an injured human being. These days we have machines and committees to â€Å"choose† life to continue, though it is more like forcing life without consent. According to nature, our bodies would die far earlier than we sometimes allow. However, it is considered an offense when somebody is helping another person to take his/her own life. There is no law against suicide. Paralyzed or physically inept people have already been robbed of enough: their physical faculties. Is it really the right of another person, a politician, to force their suffering and ensure the inferiority of their liberty by denying them a right a non handicapped person has: suicide? There is a main difference between euthanasia and suicide. Euthanasia is the last choice for people who are suffering and dying, incapable of taking their own lives. In countries where euthanasia is illegal, patients who are mortally ill or wounded, don’t have the option to choose when death will meet them. Healthy, non-handicapped people who decide to commit suicide have the option to choose when they will meet their death (Leavitt 1996). To deny these people the only escape from their suffering and misery, through suicide, is to prolong their suffering and in effect to sustain it. Euthanasia can be legal in limited, patient chosen scenarios without running the risk of being abused to justify the systematic murder of people. Many opponents of euthanasia agree that to deny a person incapable of choosing suicide is to â€Å"force† that person to continue to suffer. Such people oppose the legalization of euthanasia, based on the â€Å"slippery slope† argument. That is, if euthanasia is legal at all, eventually an evil person will be able to justify murder as legal (Dees). These possibilities are very important for lawmakers to take into consideration. However, the slippery slope arguments are not inevitable. The physical evidence does not support opponents. As Leavitt reports, there is no support for the â€Å"slippery slope† arguments. Legislators were scared that euthanasia will be overused, but the number of people who accessed euthanasia increased only in small amounts (p. 48). Because pain is subjective, and can be caused by a very complex number of things, it becomes difficult to create legal boundaries to define and quantify it (Dees,Vernooij-Dassen, Dekkers, & van Weel p. 339-352). Though this is true, it does not mean it is absolutely inevitable that all people suffering and wanting to die should be denied that privlege. Approaches to euthanasia vary from country to country, and even within the same country opinions are divided. Euthanasia is legal in Netherlands (2000), Switzerland, Belgium (2002), Luxemburg (2009), and Albania (1999). In the USA, Oregon became the first state to pass The Death With Dignity Act (2005), which â€Å"allows terminally ill Oregon residents to obtain and use prescriptions from their physicians for self-administered, lethal medications. Under the Act, providing these medications to end one’s life does not constitute illegal assisted suicide. Of course, the individual has to meet certain requirements, such as being over age of 18 years old and diagnosed with a terminal illness and capable to make conscious decisions. The â€Å"Death with Dignity Act† doesn’t include patients who are in a vegetable state and not able to make decision, but this is a big step in right direction (Law and Medicine 1995). Another important argument for legalizing euthanasia is the cost of keeping patients alive. It is common for a terminally ill patient to lose all their savings while sitting helplessly in the hospital, against their will, with no hope of recovery. This is especially true for people without health insurance. A patient in this situation must sit passively, as they suffer in helpless pain, while the money of their families and loved ones is drained for a hopeless cause, for the maintaining of the misery and terror that life is for them. They take up time, resources of the hospital and its staff, and taxpayer dollars. All a patient in this circumstance wants is to end it all. Yet somehow, by denying them their wish to end it all, the suffering of that individual is spread like a virus, and becomes a collective suffering, shared by all and alleviated by nothing but that which the government and â€Å"law† denies them. As Taylor (2005) reported that â€Å"Some 28 percent of this year’s Medicare budget of $290 billion (projected to grow to $649 billion by 2015) will be spent on people in their last year of life. In many cases, the main effect will be to prolong the pain of impending death† (p. 58). Not only does this money go to a â€Å"lost cause† whereby the beneficiary of the law and resources is only made to suffer by those same offerings, others who want to choose life are further denied in their options because of how those government funds are allocated. As Taylor points out again, â€Å"If the right-to-lifers put our money where their mouths are, we may spend more tax dollars to postpone the expiration of post-sentient Alzheimer’s patients than we spend to educate poor children† (p. 959). Illness has a great impact patients, family, and friends. The results of studies showed that caregivers of patients with cancer and dementia have increased health problems and psychosocial stress. We should be very careful to make the legal limits of euthanasia very strict. So racial or prejudiced euthanasia will never possible in justifying murder for a cause other than a patient’s individual will and choice. Citizens should ensure that the government or private sector can never end the lives of innocent people who hinder their agendas. This said, it’s a person’s right to end his or her own life. Should we rob someone who is too weak or otherwise physically unable to choose this liberty by her/his own power? To force suffering upon someone whose only available relief is death is a gross injustice. Every life deserves equal liberty, and we should grant the same choices and freedoms for all humankind. Clipboard Edits: †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ (Apted 1996). †¢ There is big debate over legalization of euthanasia. This is topic there is controversial among politician, religious organization and citizens. Everyone wants to make decision about the fate of a ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬nother human being. However, rarely do the policy makers ask the opinion of the patient, the subject of all the debate in making their decisions about that patient’s fate, his/her rights. â€Å"There is no law†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Using new technologies the human population is continually trying to prolong individual life. One negative consequence is that by extending the length of a person’s life, the process of dying and suffering can also be extended The economic effect of keeping patients alive against their own will or without their consent, has significant consequences on these patients’ families. For example, The Study to Understand Prognoses and Preferences for Outcomes and Risks of Treatment (SUPPORT) reports that â€Å"families of seriously ill patients experienced substantial economic losses, in 20% of families, a family member had to stop working; 31% of families lost most of their savings† (Emanuel, E. , Fairclough, Slutsman, ; Emanuel, L. , 2000, p. 451-459). It makes very little (Starrs, 2006, p. 13-16).

Indian Monsoon Essay

Remember the ‘Famine 1975!’ (?) – A bestseller by William and Paul Paddock which had created ripples throughout the world by their comments on the underdeveloped countries especially India. Their message was loud and clear â€Å"Let the (hopeless) Indians starve to death†. Humiliated by the inefficiency due to lack of advanced technology and inability to be self-dependent to feed the population drastic changes were implemented by then policy makers of Democratic Republican of India. Mr Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan led the crusade to make India self-sufficient by spreading the green revolution throughout India. Since then India has never looked back despite weak monsoons frequently. Impact of green revolution – So what led to the doomsday being averted? The modern practices in agriculture were implemented with newer technology. But the turning point was the introduction of high yielding variety of seeds which made the dependence on monsoon much less. The genetically modified seeds increased India’s production from 120 tonnes to 170 tonnes in a span of just one year. India also invested in agricultural universities to promote research in drought resistant seeds. Land reforms in that era resulted in the consolidation of small holdings which resulted in implementation of technology optimally. MS Swaminathan was instrumental in spreading the awareness rapidly regarding the ill effects of fertilizers and pesticides which eroded the quality of soil. New policies were implemented to make the credit supply for farmers easy and convenient. The cumulative effects of all these changes made sure India would not have to be completely dependent on monsoons in future. Initially the food grain production did increase with the implementation of green revolution but after ten years it reached its saturation. The food grain available per person reached its peak at 480 gms per person. The consumption of protein rich foods which were not dependent on agriculture increased simultaneously with growth of India’s economy. Although the penetration of superior foods among the lower strata of population was still insignificant but the consumption among the higher end of the society increased considerably. Implementation of PDS – The game changer however was the improved public distribution system. Monsoon in India is peculiar in the sense that the rainfall may be deficient in some areas whereas abundant in other. So the production also follows the same pattern being under target in the monsoon deficient areas whereas bumper production in the abundant monsoon areas. But the irony was that he food grain in the bumper production region were left to rot despite of the people starving in other regions. The rapid development of roads led to a better connectivity which ensures that the food grain output can be equitably distributed across India. So even if the monsoon being deficient in some areas the excessive output from other regions could be sent across to compensate or the low production. Improved irrigation – The dependence of agriculture on monsoon has declined over the years. Compared to 1965, when 67% of the agriculture was dependent on monsoon, only 40 % of the agriculture is dependent on rainfall today. The irrigation earlier was due to canals which were indirectly dependent on rainfall but now the irrigation is mostly by tube wells which are not dependent on monsoons. So a decline in monsoon won’t affect the production output drastically. India traditionally produces two crops, kharif and rabi. Kharif crops are cultivated in the monsoons and rabi crops are cultivated in the winters. So kharif crops are dependent on, whereas rabi crops are unaffected by, monsoons. Earlier the kharif crops accounted for three fourths of the total output but in the contemporary scenario the output of kharif and rabi crops are almost equal. So a deficient monsoon may change the output of kharif crops slightly but the rabi output won’t be affected. Inflation rendered ineffective – Weak monsoon will fuel inflation due to the supply and demand mismatch. The increase in level of prices will have some effect on other commodities as well. Having said that, as per the the PDS scheme the population under the BPL gets 35 kg of food grain every month. So the poor won’t be affected much by increase in the food inflation Effect on GDP – India’s agriculture contributed to around 52% of the total GDP in 1950. The investments in the manufacturing sector as well as the rise of Indian services sector led to decrease in the share of the agriculture in India’s GDP. Presently agriculture contributes only 14% to the GDP. So even if the production decreases due to weak monsoon its effect on the GDP will be negligible. Even 7% drop in the output, though very unlikely would decrease the GDP by only 1 %. Forex sufficiency – Earlier India received foodgrains on charity – primarily from USA, Australia and Canada. But dependencies have been worked upon. Scenarios have been mitigated. Today, India has $300 billion as foreign reserves and has earned enough forex reserves to buy food grains in times of emergency. The current reserves of the food grain stands at 80 million tonnes, so a situation of import is highly improbable. These all contribute as the major reasons which have ceased Indian-draughts & fickle monsoon conditions from being calamities anymore. Foodgrain availability remains as low as in the 1960s, despite the green revolution. But rapid GDP growth, by hugely boosting the share of services and industry in GDP, has made agriculture a relative pygmy, greatly reducing the economy’s monsoon dependence. Yet when everything is said and read, things aren’t as rosy as we have depicted above. There remains a catch : a drought may no longer mean mass starvation, but it still means food inflation!

Crash Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Crash - Essay Example Hysteric Jean became suspicious of him because he also changes locks at the Persian shop owned by Farhad. They have a Mexican maid she trusts. Farhad had a break in at his shop, so he went with his daughter Dorri to buy a gun. He suspected Daniel, the locksmith, because they had a misunderstanding and he did not pay him for his last job. So found his address and tried to shoot him, but Daniel’s daughter jumps in-front of him. Luckily, the gun had no bullets, so no one is hurt. Police officers John Ryan and Tom Hanson work together. Hanson feels Ryan is racist so he wants to file a complaint but the boss refuses because they could both loose their jobs. Hanson gave Peter a lift one day but shoots him because he thought he had a gun, they then throw his body out on the street. Ryan calls his very sick fathers’ health insurance company for his medication but yells at the black customer service lady. Ryan pulls over film directors Cameron and Christine who get into a fight after she is inappropriately touched by Ryan and believes her husband should have stopped

Superbowl ad strategy placement for Coke Zero Assignment

Superbowl ad strategy placement for Coke Zero - Assignment Example Coca Cola could connect themselves with one of the teams playing, and have some of its fans wearing jerseys with sponsorship that does not refer directly to the event (Scaria 23). Coke Zero will take advantage of the fact that most Americans do not show up to their workplaces the day after the Super Bowl, while some arrive late. Thus, Coke Zero should launch a campaign on twitter called #Zero Monday, which would be emblazoned on the fans’ jerseys. The viewers would then be directed to the Coke Zero website on searching the term. Coke Zero should launch a campaign to get the day after Super Bowl declared a Federal holiday using fans of a specific team. Some fans could be placed in the crowd with placards inviting citizens to give ideas through twitter on how to turn #Zero Monday into reality using this hash tag. Coke Zero will then seek to tie the campaign to an effort aimed at giving fans of the chosen team a day off, in which they will either mourn, or celebrate the defeat or success of their team. Low Nielsen ratings are bad news for any TV station that makes money out of advertising (Sissors 56). Therefore, for the Tulsa NBS affiliate with low ratings, it is crucial to spike their ratings in order for them to get ad placements from the Ford automobile dealership. One such way is to run special promotions and contests during the week in which Nielsen is due to conduct its sweeps. This will be aimed at spiking the ratings, which will convince the ford dealer that there are just as many people watching the station as other competitors. For example, the TV station can urge its viewers to note the programs being watched in their households, which will encourage households that have Nielsen diaries to watch shows on their channel. The station could also mark the four months during which ratings are held on their

Alexander Dumas' Georges Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Alexander Dumas' Georges - Essay Example Alexandre Dumas wrote some of the most well-known tales of adventure in history. His historical epic adventures listed The Count of Monte Cristo, The Man in the Iron Mask, and The Three Musketeers among his many titles, although originally his fame was derived from the plays that he wrote in Paris. He was born on July 24, 1802 with the name Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie and laid to rest on December 5, 1870. He wrote prolifically using many styles and genre’s to complete his portfolio. He wrote plays, novels, children’s stories, magazine articles, and even Alexandre Dumas‘ Dictionary of Cuisine. His career began with writing for magazines, but by 1829 he would see his first play produced. That play, Henry III and his Court would be followed the next year by Christine. His career was a success by his intuition on marketing his work and it was the business of writing that created a successful career for him along with the talent for the work. In 1840 he would marry an actress by the name of Ida Ferrier, but it would be one of his four illegitimate children, Alexandre Dumas fils, who would write the novel La Dame aux Camelias, from which Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi would develop his famous opera, La Traviata. Because of the success of both writers, the father would be known as Alexandre Dumas pere, and the son as Alexandre Dumas fils. Dumas did a great deal of collaborating in order to develop his work. The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Three Musketeers were developed by Auguste Maquet who would create the plot and the characters after which Dumas would add in the details and dialogue. This collaboration would create speculation about the extent to which Dumas contributed, however â€Å"ninety-nine surviving pages of Maquet’s manuscript outline for The Three Musketeers reveal that he not only supplied significant and

Homework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 31

Homework - Essay Example To start with, I have found incorporation of technology in my studies to be very useful because of the readily available information in the internet. According to Educause, technology provides access to vast amount of information trough use of tools such as internet and online data bases (n.d). This is true because personally I do not encounter unsolvable academic problems considering the fact that I have easy access to internet tools at home and at the school library. For instance, whenever I need clarification on certain topics during my personal revision, I look up in the internet where there is virtually an answer to every kind of question. Secondly, incorporation of technology in training by our lectures has helped to grasp the ideas put forward easily. This is because technological presentations enable the lecturers to point out the key information easily and at ease. According to Nacada, use of good presentations can impact the success of students in their studies (2011). Considering how technological presentations are made, students are attracted to the method of presentation hence making them to pay full attention to the tutors. This is arguably true because presentations made through incorporation of technology, for instance PowerPoint presentation, appeal greatly to learners. Lastly, incorporation of technology in education has helped me to improve my academic performance by enabling my lecturers to have individual based supervision. The use of computers by students facilitates flexible training by lecturers because every student can submit their own work at their convenient time. Further, use of computers enables the lecturers to identify students with weakness on particular topics and attend to them individually as opposed to training the whole class at once. This is the reason for my improved academic performance because I have received

Freedom as it Exists Today Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Freedom as it Exists Today - Essay Example Democracy does not look the same as it did in 1620. Self-professed Christians do not believe everyone should have the right to worship in their own manner. They believe their version of religion should be taught in schools regardless of its intellectual merit and foisted on American citizens for their own spiriual good. Renaissance humanism has become so much a part of the consciousness of people in Western societies, that the idea of someone telling them how they should worhip never even occurs to them. Many people who live in the United States also never consider the priveleges of living in a democracy, the ability to have equal say in how the government is run. In fact, people in the United States have become so accustomed to the notion of democracy, many do not even participate in it. That is, they do not exercise their right to vote, which is the privilege of democracy, having an equal voice in what laws are passed and who will represent citizens in government. Even worse, accor ding to Frances Fox Piven is â€Å"the sheer complexity of our economic and political system [that] makes democratic choice and deliberation difficult if not impossible. Democratic possibilities depend crucially on the ability of the public to understand what is happening to our society and why, and especially on the ability of the public to decipher the role of government policies (Howard, 2011, p. 68). Each session of the congresses result in more laws that the average citizen may not understand or even have knowledge of. The candidates for office are chosen on their ability to pay for their campaign and not so much on their fitness for office or their ideas. These people with lots of money pass laws favoring their own kind and cloak it in propaganda that fools the gullible electorate into believing it is for their welfare. When and if the people who were fooled into voting for it find out they have been duped, it is too late. Is it any wonder that many do not vote? They do not k now what they are voting for, and

Critical appraisal and evaluation evidence Research Paper

Critical appraisal and evaluation evidence - Research Paper Example This balances the energy consumption in the body thereby reducing significantly the amount of energy that the body requires for normal functioning. The body's energy requirement further influences the pressure of blood flow within the vessels. It regulates the heart beat thereby regulating the amount of blood flowing within the tissues. The reduced amount of blood in the vessels keeps the arteries open to accommodate the blood thus containing the condition. This is therefore the first step towards managing hypertension. Relaxation performs similarly actions to meditation only that the former includes other secondary body activities. Relaxation is a process in which the body calms down, this is a time in which the body minimizes its activities leaving the basic life sustenance activities such as breathing and little selective secondary activities (Wright &Musini, 2009). Relaxation is relative and different people relax differently, this therefore implies that different people use diff erent amount of energy during relaxation. While others take short walks in cool weather for relaxation, others derive such privileges from small talks with friends. Besides the energy that the body consumes to sustain breathing, the body consumes substantial amount of energy to sustain the talks or the walks that different people refer to as relaxation. ... Hypertension occurs in stages but is more prevalent in the elderly and the overweight whose arteries are thus constricted. Poor lifestyles results in an uncontrolled weight gain which is caused by increased underlying fat that the body reserves below the skin. As the fat piles, it narrows the blood vessels specifically the arteries. Narrowed arteries constrict the flow of blood thus causing higher pressure of the bold eventually bursting the blood vessels leading to internal bleedings. Hypertension is linked to shortened life expectancy and causes a number of other associated chronic conditions such as chronic kidney disease, heart failures and stroke among other opportunistic infections. Uncontrolled hypertension is a heightened level of the increased blood pressure that mainly occurs in adults. Being a lifestyle condition, hypertension requires a strict lifestyle regimen to control and manage. With effective management, it is possible to contain the condition or even treat it compl etely. The poor management results from heckles lifestyle which includes excessive consumption of alcohol and unregulated diet. Hypertension contributes to more than a thousand deaths annually in the United States of America alone. These deaths do not arise directly from the actual hypertension but from other related chronic conditions such as kidney infections and heart failures. Pharmacotherapy for mild hypertension Controlling the condition therefore requires one to engage in activities that lower blood pressure. One such activity is meditation. Therapeutic mediation begins with an effective understanding of oneself. This implies that one understands himself or herself and aware of the conditions he or she is suffering from. This

Principles of Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Principles of Accounting - Essay Example Whenever any individual wants to invest in any certain industry then he must research about the scope of the industry. Whether the industry is profitable or not, who are the giant players at this time in the market, how these giant players can restrict any new entrant in the market and all these type of questions must be answered initially before going for an investment. If the feasibility of any project is not completed before its start up then the chances of success are surely reduced. Another important consideration is to check one’s own interest towards the new venture. If the specific individual is not capable of grabbing that investment opportunity then he may not be able to take it successfully. The external factors play a very important role in the operations of a single firm. Therefore it is necessary to check these external factors not only their influence but also its intensity on the specific venture or the company which we are going to take on. Markets trends are very much important because they help to devise the strategies to operate in the market. Demand plays a very important role to boost up the profit margins of the company. It is important to check whether the products or the services which the specific company or we can say hotel in our case is offering, are fulfilling the public demands or not. Whether the company has good reputation in the customer’s minds or not? It is also a worth considerable point that either the firm is just covering its costs or also making profits. Whenever we are going to talk with the owner of the company which we are going to purchase, there are certain things which should be clarified before any further negotiation. We should ask the owner about the track record the hotel. Track record means the reputation of the hotel in the industry or we can say the market. The owner should be asked about the capability or in other words we can say

Civil Rights Movement Essay Example for Free

Civil Rights Movement Essay Gandhi was an Indian civil rights leader. Throughout life he was misunderstood, defied in death and was taken to the point of error. Gandhi took down the British Empire, he improved the governments of the three nations, and he imbued the spirits of a global network of neo-Gandhians, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. If anyone could be described as the most adequate civil rights movement leader of the 20th century, it would be Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 and died January 30, 1948. Mohandas Gandhi was the last child of his father and his father’s fourth wife. In his youth years Gandhi was shy, he always spoke in a soft or gentle voice, and wasn’t a neither good nor bad student in school. Although he was an obedient child, one time Gandhi tried eating meat, smoking, and stole a little, which he later regretted. When Gandhi was 13, he married a girl named Kasturba in an arranged marriage. Kasturba and Gandhi had four sons and she supported Gandhis endeavors until her death in 1944. When Gandhi was 23 years old he set-off for South Africa once again, he arrived in British governed Natal in May 1893. Though Gandhi was hoping to earn a little bit of money and gain more knowledge about law, it was in South Africa that Gandhi changed from being a very quiet and shy man to a dedicated leader against discrimination. The beginning of this change happened while he was on a business trip that was taken a little while after he arrived in South Africa. Gandhi was in South Africa for about a week when he was asked to take the long trip from Natal to Transvaal, the province of South Africa for his case. It was supposed to be a several day trip, including transportation by train and by stagecoach. When Gandhi went on the first train of his journey at the Pietermartizburg station, railroad officials told Gandhi that he needed to move to the third-class passenger car. When Gandhi refused to move because he was holding first-class passenger tickets, a policeman came and threw him off the train. That wasn’t the end of the unfair treatment that Gandhi suffered on this trip. Gandhi wen and talked to the other Indians in South Africa. He found out that his experiences with the policemen were not rare mistakes, but instead these types of problems were common. During that first night of his trip, he sat in the cold outside of the railroad station after being thrown off the train, Gandhi debated whether he should go back home to India or fight the discrimination for all people. After thinking it through, Gandhi decided that he could not let the discrimination continue and that he was going to fight so that he could change the discrimination in South Africa forever. Gandhi spent the next twenty years working on improving Indians rights in South Africa. During the first three years, Gandhi learned more about Indian complaints that were made, studied the law, wrote letters to officials, and organized petitions. On May 22, 1894, Gandhi created the Natal Indian Congress (NIC). The NIC started as an organization for rich Indians, Gandhi worked hard and long to expand its membership to all classes and people who were in a high position. Gandhi became known for his activism. His acts were covered by newspapers in England and India. In a few short years, Gandhi had become a leader of the Indian community in South Africa. In 1896, after living three years in South Africa, Gandhi took a trip to India with the intention of bringing his wife and two sons back with him. In India, there was a deadly plague outbreak. Since back then they believed that poor health and hygiene were the cause of the plagues, Gandhi offered to help search for toilets, especially ones on a military base and offer suggestions for better supplies. Others were willing to search the toilets of the wealthy; Gandhi personally searched the toilets of the untouchables as well as the rich. He found that it was the wealthy that had the worst hygiene and health problems. After spending twenty years in South Africa helping fight discrimination, Gandhi finally decided it was time to head back home to India on July 1914. When World War I broke out during his journey, Gandhi decided to stay and help by forming another ambulance corps of Indians to help the British. As World War I reached its finale, it was time for Gandhi to focus on the fight for Indian politics. In 1919, the British gave Gandhi something worth fighting for the Rowlett Act. This Act gave the British in India nearly no restrictions to root out revolutionary elements and to restrain them for sure without trial. In addition to this Act, Gandhi organized a huge protest, which began on March 30, 1919. Even though Gandhi called off the protest, once he heard about the violence, over 300 Indians had died and over 1,100 were injured from British war in the city of Amritsar. The violence that formed from the protest showed Gandhi that the people didn’t fully believe in the power of Satyagraha. On March 1922, Gandhi was jailed for rebellion and was sentenced to six years in prison. After two years, Gandhi was released due to illness and needed surgery to treat his appendicitis. Upon his release, Gandhi found his country mixed up in violent attacks between Muslims and Hindus. As self-punishment for the violence, Gandhi began a 21-day fast, known as the Great Fast of 1924. Still ill from his recent surgery, many people thought he would die on day twelve, but he pulled through. The fast created a temporary peace treaty. Also during this decade, Gandhi began giving support as a way to gain freedom from the British. Unfortunately, not everyone was too happy with this peace plan. There were a few basic Hindu groups who believed that India should never have been divided. They blamed Gandhi for the separation. On January 30, 1948, the 78year old Gandhi spent his last day like all the other days. The majority of the day was spent debating problems with numerous groups and individuals. A few minutes past 5 p.m., when it was time for the prayer meeting, Gandhi started the walk to Birla House. A crowd had surrounded him while he walked; he was helped by two of his grandnieces. In front of him, a young Hindu boy named Nathuram Godse stopped before to greet him by bowing. Gandhi bowed back. Then Godse rushed forward with a gun and shot Gandhi three times with a black, semi-automatic pistol. Although Gandhi had survived five other assassination attempts, this time, Gandhi fell to the ground, dead.

Corporation tax and tax avoidance essay

Corporation tax and tax avoidance essay After the financial crises, the public has started to raise their attentions to the tax avoidance of some of the Global firms, such as Starbucks, Google and Amazon. These companies have a huge business turnover in UK, but they just pay a few or even no corporation tax to the government. Since that, the public has labeled this tax avoidance action as â€Å"immoral†. Before discussing the â€Å"immoral† behavior, I would like to briefly explain the rules of HMRC on corporation tax. The government levies the corporation tax on the limited companies incorporated in the UK and the foreign-based companies with a permanent place of business in the UK and the amount of corporation tax is based on the amount of profit that the company has made. However some of the global companies just pay a small amount of corporation tax comparing with their profits, and it is due to the loophole of the rules. These companies transfer their profits to the tax heaven countries, therefore they can reduce the tax liabilities to the minimum. Google, a multinational corporation which provides Internet searching service, declared a profit of  £3 billion for 2012, but the company paid UK corporation tax of  £11.2 million, which is around 0.37% of its profit. This unbalance tax-profit ratio is because of the loophole of the rules. Although Google has set up offices in UK, and the advertisements of the business have made in the same country, the company does not close up the offers in UK, and the transactions are made in Ireland, which is a tax heaven. Since the profit of the business is not made in UK, it is not obligated to pay the corporation tax for their business profit. Due to the tax avoidance of Google, UK has lost a huge amount of taxation revenue. Someone has been suggested that the behavior of Google tax avoidance is â€Å"immoral†. First, it is unfair to the hardworking, honest UK taxpayer and the public. Taxation revenue is one of the main revenue of the government. It is the source of fund of supporting the public benefits, such as child benefit, carers and disability benefits, etc. For the taxpayer in UK, they pay different taxes to the governments, based on the requirement of the UK tax law. Since they have fulfilled their responsibilities of paying the taxes, they should have the right of enjoying the benefits which provided by the government. However, Google paid just around  £11 million for the corporation tax, in spite of making a profit of  £5.5 billion in the UK business, and it is because of the tax avoidance scheme used by the company. One of the former employees from Google said that his former employer has â€Å"cheated† British taxpayers out of hundreds of millions of pounds. (The independent, Sunday 19th May 2013) Due to the behavior of â€Å"cheating†, the revenue of UK govern ment has been reduced, and some of the public benefits have been taken away, such as children’s centers, legal aid, etc. It will be unfair to the public as they have fulfilled their responsibilities, but they cannot enjoy their benefits that provided by the government due to the tax avoidance of those companies. Secondly, Google has an unfair competitive advantage to the UK companies. According to the rules of HMRC, limited companies incorporated in UK is required to pay corporation tax. In 2013, the small profits rate is 20%[1] and the main rate of corporation tax is 23%[2], which means that if the company is making a profit that exceed  £1,500,000 after deduct the allowance, it will require to pay 23% of its profit as a corporation tax. However, Google just paid less than 1 % of its profit by using a tax avoidance scheme. It developed a system that able to transfer the profit of UK business through Ireland to the tax heaven. Since the tax rate in tax heaven is lower than UK, therefore Google is able to reduce its tax liabilities to a low level even it has a great turnover in the UK business. This behavior helps Google to gain a huge but unfair advantage over UK companies. Since Google develop the tax avoidance system, it able to lower the company’s tax liabilities, as well as rema ins more profits in the company. Also, it has a higher opportunity to optimize its business than other UK companies, as other UK companies may not have enough resources focusing on optimizing the business after paying the corporation tax. These unfair advantages makes Google more attractive to be invested than other companies and the investors may not be willing to invest in other UK companies. Finally, someone suggested that the behavior of Google is immoral as it is bad for the economic growth. Google claimed that they did pay tax on profits generated from the services that they provided, but the profit on sales to UK business were transacted in Ireland. These actions have caused a great tax gap[3] in UK, and it has affected on the development of the economy. Since government will plan to develop and improve its economy, and the budget is supported by the tax revenue of the government. If there is a huge tax gap in the country, there may be insufficient finance to support the plan and therefore the budget may need to postpone or cancelled. Referring to the case of Google, Google has avoided part of the corporation tax by using transferring the profit to Ireland, it has caused a tax gap in UK. Due to the tax gap in UK, the development of the country has been delayed and leads to a decreasing competitive to other countries. Therefore someone said the behavior of Google is i mmoral as it is taking advantages by damaging the development of the country. However, someone argued that it is the responsibility of Google to maximize the profit of the company. The main goal of every company is to act on the shareholders’ interest and help them to maximize their wealth. Therefore, Google will try their best to reduce the expenses of the company, as well as keeping the tax cost at a minimum level within the realms of what is legal. Since if Google is being â€Å"moral† and does not reduce the tax liabilities to the lowest level, the profit of the company will decrease, which means that the earning of each shareholder will decrease too, and they may not continue to invest in the company. Also, Google may not distribute a high level of dividends to the shareholders as the profit has decreased and Google may decide to reserve more profit in the company instead paying dividends to the shareholders. Investors then may not continue to invest in Google as the company will not maximize their wealth and they may think investing in othe r companies will be better than investing in Google. It may lead to lack of extra financial from new investors, and therefore the business cannot improve or expand, and its competitive will decrease in the long term, leading to a potential risk of bankrupt. Hence that it is the responsibility of Google to reduce the tax cost to the minimum level in order to reach the company’s goal—maximize the shareholders’ wealth. Moreover, there are arguments that it is not the fault of Google avoid to pay part of the corporation tax, it is the fault of the lawmakers that making the companies too easy to avoid tax. UK tax system is huge and complicated, and most of the tax laws are introduced in an early time by the lawmakers. Since the commercial society when the laws are introduced is different from the present commercial society, therefore the laws may not suitable for the present commercial society or there are loopholes which the company can take advantage of. Hence Google able to avoid a huge amount of corporation tax legally through these loopholes. Since the loophole of the tax laws has caused a great tax gap in the country, the lawmakers has introduced different strategies to seal the loopholes and therefore company will not able avoid the tax easier and the tax gap can be reduced. Thus it is the responsibility of the lawmakers to seal the loophole of the laws so the corporate company like Google can not avoid the tax easily. Finally, even if Google has used some â€Å"evil† systems to reduce its tax liabilities, but the company has â€Å"compensated† the public with different moral activities. The public complained because of the immoral behavior of Google, it has affected the government to reduce the public benefits, and it did not fulfill its moral obligation to contribute to the public. However, Google has contributed to the society by using different methods. For example, Google has provided free training and tools for the charities in UK, and helped them to increase their fundraising and popularity through the Internet. Also Google has offered grants to the charity in the UK through the Google AdWords Grant Account, so those charities can raise more funds from Google and use the account to reach more donors, volunteers and consumers. Besides that, Google provides different products with a discount rate or for free to the non-profit making organizations, so the organizations can manage with cost effective and high flexibility. Therefore, Google has compensated the public with different methods even if it is immoral for Google to use the system to avoid the corporation tax. Lastly, even if the loophole of the tax law has been sealed and the companies are paying the expected amount of corporation tax, it may solve the moral problem of those companies, but it may have negative impact on the economy of UK. Once the loopholes are sealed, the tax gap of UK will narrow down since the companies are difficult to avoid the tax. However, the foreign companies may think the tax laws will be too strict and it is difficult to making profits in UK, therefore these companies may set up businesses in the countries that have low tax rates instead of investing in UK. Decreasing investment from foreign investors may affect the economic growth of the country, since less business is set up in the country, the gross domestic product (GDP) may have a negative impact and it may decrease the competitive of the country comparing with the tax heaven. To conclude, there is always a conflict between the main goal of a company and the morality and since morality is very subjective, there is no exact answer for the discussion. In the case of Google, they have developed a system to divert the business profit to the tax heaven, someone suggested that the behavior of Google is immoral because it is unfair to the UK taxpayers, as they have fulfilled their responsibility to pay the tax, but they can’t enjoy the public benefits provided by the government as the behavior of Google has reduced the revenue of the government. Secondly, Google has taken unfair advantages over the UK local companies, as Google is paying an extremely low corporation tax rate comparing the tax rate of the local UK companies due the tax avoidance system, it allows to remain more profit in the company, therefore it will have higher opportunity to optimize and improve the quality of business by using the profit effectively. Finally, the behavior of Google is b ad for economic growth. A tax gap has caused in UK as the tax avoidance of Google, therefore the development plan of the country may need to be postponed or cancelled and it may caused a navigate effect on the economic growth in the long term. On the other side, someone argued that it is the responsibility for Google to reduce the tax cost of the company, since the main goal of a company is to maximize the business profit and the shareholders’ wealth. Fail to fulfill the goal may affect the future development of the company and the benefits of the shareholders. Moreover, it is not the fault of Google to avoid the tax, but it is the fault of the lawmaker to let the company can avoid the tax easily through the loophole. Last but not least, even if the behavior of Google is immoral, the company has contributed to the society through different activities, for example: providing free tools and training to the charities, offering grants to the charities and providing products with a discount rate or for free to the non-profit making organizations. Even if sealing the loopholes of the tax laws solves the moral problem, it may affect the economy of the country, as the strict tax law may discourage the investors to set up businesses in the country, leading to low competitive by comparing with other countries. [1] Small profits rate applies when augmented profit is less than  £300,000 [2] Main rate applies when augmented profit exceeds  £1,500,000 [3] The different between the actual amount of corporation tax that have received and the amount that should be received without tax avoidance

Journey Theme in Whitman’s O Captain! My Captain! and Tennyson’s Crossing the Bar :: Captain! My Captain! Essays

Journey Theme in Whitman’s O Captain! My Captain! and Tennyson’s Crossing the Bar The theme of a journey is a common metaphor used in poetry. This is no exception in two poems by famous poets of the 19th century: Walt Whitman and Alfred, Lord Tennyson. In Whitman’s poem â€Å"O Captain! My Captain!† from his collection Leaves of Grass, he writes of the sorrow over a fallen ship captain coming into the home harbor. Lord Tennyson’s â€Å"Crossing the Bar† expresses the hopes on the departure of a journey. Both poems use the metaphor of a boat’s trip over the sea as a spiritual journey to death. The poems have many similarities, but also differences that give character to each poem. Each poem is shaped by its imagery, speaker, and emotional invocation. Without such literary devices, the poems would not have such an emotional impact of the reader. Both â€Å"O Captain! My Captain!† and â€Å"Crossing the Bar† are similar in their themes of a journey. In Whitman’s poem, the crew of a ship is returning to their home port from a long journey. All is finished, with the purpose of the expedition completed, except their captain has fallen dead on the deck of the ship. The speaker describes the festivities on the shore as the boat arrives, the joyous townspeople celebrating the return of their captain. This contrasts the sullen mood on the ship, where the crew deeply mourns the loss of their captain. In â€Å"Crossing the Bar,† the speaker is about to depart on a journey, one from which he expects not to return. He hopes that his journey will not be difficult, especially when he first sets out. He pleads to the reader not to mourn or protest against his departure. Although these are both journeys, there are key differences. Whitman addresses the mournful return from a voyage, while Lord Tenn yson writes of a final exit from a life. While the speaker in â€Å"O Captain!† appeals that his captain be not dead, the speaker in â€Å"Crossing the Bar!† implores almost the complete opposite. He says in lines 11-12 â€Å"And may there be no sadness of farewell,When I embark;† He is content in leaving the life he has known, to go on this final journey to see his â€Å"Pilot.

Irving Howe and Inivisble Man :: Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

Invisible Man is a novel based on the journey and experiences of an unnamed Negro man during contemporary America. He is in search of success, companionship, and himself. Irving Howe says that, "The beginning is a nightmare," because it begins with a black timid boy who is awarded a scholarship and sent to the South and invited to a ballroom with other black boys and they observe and are frightened by a woman dancing nude. The boys who are blindfolded create a "battle royal" or a raucous, but after the chaos the black boy give a thank you speech. Although the beginning of the novel is a bit frightening, the rest of however is pretty straight forward, it basically just tells the life story of this "unnamed hero" (the Negro boy who is the Invisible Man). The "hero" goes to his Southern college, but is expelled, so is forced to leave for New York, where he works in a factory and becomes a soap boxer. Next Howe comments on Ellison’s style by calling him "gifted" but "not a finished craftsman." Howe means that Ellison tries to overwhelm the reader, when instead he should be either persuading or telling the story. The novel is written in first person singular and therefore Howe mentions that it is hard to distinguish between the hero and himself (the matured "I" telling the story and the "I" who is the victim). The middle section of the novel concerns the Harlem Stalinists (Communists), to Howe it appears untrue, due to the fact that Ellison wrote with bitterness and made the Stalinists seem stupid, vicious and cynical. He was not surprised either by the Invisible Man’s final discovery that after he quit the Communist Party, "my world has become one of infinite possibilities," because he did not want to be rejected nor not seen by various social groups. I agree with Howe, that Ellison is a very gifted writer, with an amazing style. I would have to disagree with Howe however, when he mentions that Ellison tries to overwhelm the reader and that it gets confusing because it is written in first person. Although Ralph Ellison, relies heavily on various symbol (visions and black and white), which can get confusing at times, but they can only help the novel and in no way destroy it. Also, Ellison’s style is also creative because it allows the novel to appear as if you were actually listen to a Negro telling the story, in the sense that Ellison’s wrote in the local dialect of the time (with a Southern Negro accent).

Booker T. Washingtons Up from Slavery Essay -- Up from Slavery

The book, Up From Slavery, written by Booker Taliaferro Washington, profoundly touched me when I read it. Washington overcame many obstacles throughout his life. He became perhaps the most prominent black leader of his time. Booker T. Washington belived that African Americans could gain equality by improving their economic situation through education rather than by demanding equal rights. Washington’s life story was told during the mid to late 1800’s into the early 1900’s, in the time when the Emancipation Proclamation had gone into effect. The Emancipation Proclamation was one major event in history that forever changed our country. All slaves were free and had to go find a new place to live and a new place to work. When the slaves were first freed there was alot ofhostile feelings from the whites towards the newly freed slaves. To blacks living within post- Reconstruction South, Washington offered industrial education as the means of escape from sharecropping and allowed blacks to become self-employed, while owning their own land, or small business. Booker over came the obstacles of the free black man by educating himself and other blacks to become â€Å"equal† to whites. Until the start of World War I African Americans had a difficult time. His speaking tours and private persuasion tried to equalize public educational opportunities and to reduce racial violence. There were many gains earned after the Civil War seemed lost by the time of World War I because racial violence and lynching reached an all time high. However, both the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the National Urban League (NUL) were founded by blacks and whites during this time. Both of these major civil rights organizations make efforts on the part of blacks and their white allies to insure that the United States provides "freedom and justice to all". The year of Washington's death marked the beginning of the Great Migration from the rural South to the urban North. He is known as one of the best civil rights leaders for the African American people in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Booker began his life as a slave for the Burroughs family. He was born in Franklin Co., Virginia around the year 1858 or 1859, he was not sure exactly when he was born because there was never any paper work kept on slaves. His mo... ...to be equally educated. His speeches not only attracted the black people but also, northern and southern white people. Booker worked hard for all that he achieved during his life time. People all over were followers of Booker T. Washington. One example of how much these followers appreciated Washington is through raising money for a trip to Europe. Not just anyone went to Europe in those days. The trip showed how much the people appreciated Booker’s efforts for civil rights and education of blacks. They sent him and his wife away for three months of strictly relaxation. I believe that this is a very inspirational book giving the message â€Å"you can do anything if you put your mind to it†. Booker shows his reader this through all the things he does in his life time. This book was a very enjoyable book to read. I would highly recommend all people to read Up From Slavery to see the impact Booker T. Washington had on the African American civil rights that are present in the United States today. I believe that Up From Slavery showed how blacks improved their economic situation through gaining education. Bibliography: Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington

Rizal as Inspiration

There is nothing wrong to study Rizal’s works and doings. For me, it’s a good thing to know and understand his history. Rizal became a hero because of his accomplishments not because he was made to be. In his writings, he mentioned characters and scenarios related in reality. It focuses his ideals and misery in our country. Indeed, he is an inspiration but only some people sees that. Many Filipino knows Rizal is our national hero and being a hero is what they knew about him and that is wrong. It is more than that. It is not enough only knowing him as a hero. We should also understand and learn something from him.Fighting for a freedom of a country is not a simple thing. I know you will needed so much courage, knowledge and a presence of mind. Like him, he used the power of his mind to fight for good and that’s we should try to imitate from him. The social cancer Rizal mentioned still exist today and we are the one living in present so I think we should at same as him. But not literally same. Being patriotic is also what made me inspire him. His selfless love in our country is remarkable. The values he has is also what we need to have. He inspired readers through his words. His real words.Rizal has become the constant model that inspires man and woman across the land to dream and work for its realization no matter the cost is brings for the sake of nationhood and promoting the liberty for the people. He also proven education is the answer to our struggle nation. So we student should value education because in the future we are the one who will get benefit from it. That’s why I will strive hard to get my diploma because I believe someday I can also do remarkable things for our next generation. Education will helped us broadened our minds, so that we’re not confined to our countries and comfort zones anymore.

Analysis of Bao-yu’s dream in Cao Xueqin’s ‘Story of the Stone’ Essay

The Story of the Stone by Cao Xueqin is an animated, lively account of life in a large Chinese household in the mid-18th century Qing dynasty. It remains a fascinating novel for modern readers with its vivid and detailed descriptions of the minutiae of daily life – from clothing, food and interior design to education, marriage and death. For all its realism however, The Story of the Stone is not set entirely in reality. The very premise of the whole tale, that of a single rock left out of the goddess Nu-wa’s repairing of the sky, is one based on a magico-religious dream world. The rock is found by a Buddhist and a Taoist who take it down to the mortal world where it lives out a human life, that of Jia Bao-yu, before attaining Nirvana. Once a rock again, a Taoist copies the inscription on its surface †from beginning to end and took it back with him to look for a publisher†. Cao Xueqin’s emphasis on dreams can be seen in the alternative titles for his m asterpiece. A Dream of Red Mansions is the title by which the book is perhaps most commonly known. Twelve Young Ladies of Jinling is also a title suggested in chapter one. Both of these titles refer to the same dream. As David Hawkes explains, ‘hong lou’, red mansion, has the more specialised meaning of the residences of the daughters of rich men and thus, the young ladies themselves. The dream alluded to in these appellations occurs in the fifth chapter of volume one, The Golden Days. Cousin Zhen’s wife, You-shi, has invited the women of the Rong-guo house, accompanied by Bao-yu, round for a flower viewing party. Needless to say, Bao-yu soon tires and asks to take a nap. Rather than going back to the Rong mansion, the wife of his nephew, Jia Rong, leads him to her chamber to sleep. Bao-yu immediately drops off into a vivid dream world. He meets the fairy of Disenchantment who shows him to the Land of Illusion and into the Department of the Ill-Fated Fair. Within this department is housed the ‘Jinling, Twelve Beauties of, Main Register’, a record of the twelve most notable females in Bau-yu’s own province of Jinling. The fairy of Disenchantment allows Bao-yu to read the fates of the twelve girls as recorded in the form of four-line verses. Bao-yu can make little sense of what he reads. Later, the quatrains are expanded into a series of twelve songs entitled A Dream of Golden Days. While the words are sung by a troupe of entertainers, Bao- yu reads along with the manuscript. He still does not understand. Indeed, both the verses in the register and in the song-cycle contain allusions and metaphors not immediately obvious and not easily deciphered. Yet at a most basic level, they provide an outline of the fate of twelve principle female characters in The Story of the Stone. Their fate unfolds throughout the course of the five volume novel. The Golden Days therefore, is only the beginning. But, by the end of the first volume, to what extent have the women already prepared the way for their future course? The first verse in the Main Register is a joint record of Lin Dai-yu and Xue Bao-chai. These two young girls share the affection of Bao-yu and Grandmother Jia. In their own individual ways, they are both paragons. It seems odd therefore that they share only one verse between them. Hawkes puts forward the argument that Dai-yu and Bao-chai †represent two complementary aspects of a single ideal woman†. Evidence for this interpretation lies in the first two lines of their quatrain: One was a pattern of female virtue, One a wit who made other wits seem slow. The combination of wit, or intelligence, and virtue were ideal traits in a Qing woman of the upper class. Arguably it was Dai-yu who held the upper hand in wit while Bao-chai, with her †generous and accommodating disposition†, was the more virtuous. Although in the song-cycle there are two songs for Dai-yu and Bao-chai, it is not the case that one is dedicated to Dai-yu and one to Bao-chai. Albeit the second so ng is solely about Dai-yu, but there are references to both characters in the first song. The character ‘lin’ in Lin Dai-yu is made up of two tree radicals and has the meaning ‘forest’. ‘Xue’ in Xue Bao-chai sounds the same as the Chinese word for ‘snow’ while ‘bao chai’ can be translated as ‘precious’ or ‘gold hairpin’. Thus, the references come in the form of gold, flowers, snow and trees. Bao-yu is alluded to using jade or stone as he was born with a jade stone in his mouth. The first song, The Mistaken Marriage, refers to †the marriage rites of gold and jade†. This foreshadows the marriage of Bao-chai (gold) and Bao-yu (jade). The speaker however, still remembers the relationship between ‘stone and flower’. There is indeed, a special bond between Bao-yu and Dai-yu. Although Bao-yu, †a child†¦whom nature had endowed with the eccentric obtuseness of a simpleton†, fails to recognise it, Dai-yu is an intensely jealous character and resents any time he spends with Bao-chai and not her. Bao-yu struggles to understand the cause of Dai-yu’s mainly irrational sulks, yet always attempts to comfort her: Take kinship first: you are my cousin on Father’s side; cousin Bao is only a mother-cousin. That makes you much the closer kin. And as for length of acquaintance: it was you who came here first. You and I have practicaly grown up together†¦Why should I ever be any less close to you because of her? There is a profound love between Bao-yu and Dai-yu that seems to grow with the progression of the first volume. They share an understanding †so intense that it was almost as if they had grown into a single person.† The speaker suggests however, that later on Dai-yu (†that fairy wood†) dies. Thus, even a wife †so courteous and so kind† as Bao-chai is no substitute for the wife that Dai-yu could have been. Their marriage, even though †others all commend it†, is a mistake. This is succeeded by Hope Betrayed which deals specifically with the close relationship between Dai-yu (†a flower from paradise†) and Bao-yu (†a pure jade without spot or stain†). They are clearly meant for each other but the poem augurs future disaster. The pain heartache that stems from such an ardent love will all be in vain. In one sense these two poems pose an insurrmountable contradiction. Fate, the belief in which provides the premise for this entire dream scene, will have them be together but they are not. They are meant to be but cannot and this inability is portrayed as some kind of mistake, a going against the natural order. Is there then, even such a thing as fate? This question aside, it can be seen that, in the case of Dai-yu and Bao-chai, their journey has barely begun by the end of The Golden Days. Their relationship with Bao-yu is entirely platonic (physically at least) and, although it is perhaps assumed that one of them, most likely Dai-yu, will be be Bao-yu’s future bride, this is only hinted at in jest among the maids and is a source of great embarassement to Dai-yu. The second quatrain and the third poem can be interpretted as Yuan-chun’s fate. Yuan-chun, daughter of Lady Wang and Jia Zheng, is Bao-yu’s elder sister. The first two lines describe her, age twenty, leaving her family to live in the emperor’s palace as a royal concubine. As can be seen by the subsequent effort put into a lavish garden compund in honour fo her visit, this was a posi tion held in great esteem. Although out of modesty, Yuan-chun later changes the name, the setting for her reunion with her family within Prospect Garden initially bears the inscription ‘Precinct of the Celsetial Visitant’. Hence perhaps, the use of the phrase †pomegranate-time†. Hawkes stresses the †redness’ of the original Chinese text, the colour red being a symbol of good-fortune and prosperity. Although much of this sense has inevitably been lost in translation, the red skin of the pomegranate could perhaps be taken as emphasising the great advantages such a position could bestow on both concubine and family. The second half of the quatrain however, does not bode so well for the future. Although Yuan-chun is superior if not in beauty and intelligence then in success to her half-sister Tan-chun and her cousins, Ying-chun and Xi-chun (the †three springs†), her charmed life will come to an end †when hare meets tiger†. Hare and tiger refer to Chinese years. Thus, this prophecy specifies that the date of Yuan-chun’s death will fall at the end of a tiger year and at the beginning of a rabbit year. The third song, Mutability, again prophesises Yuan-chun’s departure from the Rong-guo household to the emperor’s palace. It goes on to describe her appearing before her parents in a dream to pay her †final duty†, forewarning again of her death. By the end of The Golden Days Yuan-chun has indeed left home to become a royal concubine. Although the location of the Jia clan in The Story of the Stone is questionable, it is clear that Yuan-chun and he r family feel cut off from each other in spirit if not by physical distance. Their reunion in chapter eighteen is an emotional one and although the emperor allows visits in the palace once a month, special permission must be granted for a once-yearly return to the family home. It is for this reason, †so far the road back home did seem†, that Yuan-chun will be forced to pay her final filial duties in a dream. (Hawkes points out that this dream sequence never in fact took place. He suggests that Xueqin used the material for this episode in chapter thirteen instead, when Qin-shi appears before Xi-feng in a dream.) Tan-chun, half-sister to Yuan-chun, one of the †three springs† referred to above and daughter of Jia Zheng and a concubine, is the subject of the fourth quatraine in the Main Register. She is †by far the most gifted of the three springs† as well as possessing a kind, generous nature. The first line, †Blessed with a shrewd mind and a noble heart†, is countered however, by the second, †Yet born in time of twilight and decay†. Although The golden Days is essentially a story set in the happy, carefree years of childhood, the bigger picture reveals a time of political and social upheaval, a sense of which permeates many aspects of the novel. Tan-chun’s prophesised marriage in the final two lines will thus perhaps be related to economic considerations. The marriage will clearly not be a happy one. The very title of the fourth song, From Dear Ones Parted, suggests the insuperable distance between Tan-chun and her home and her intense homsickness. The song has Tan-chun referring to †our rising, falling†, meaning the rise and fall of the Jia family. As a result of this, †each in another land must be, each for himself must fend as best he may†, again suggesting that the marriage will be one of economic convenience. Apa rt from allusions to her wit and good character, we learn little about Tan-chun in the first volume of The Story of the Stone. There are however, hints to be found as to her fate. In chapter 22, she attends Grandmother Jia’s riddle party. Asked to compose a riddle, the answer to Tan-chun’s is ‘a kite’. This image of a kite as associated with Tan-chun symbolizes her departure †a thousand miles† away, her flight from the nest. Her riddle also foreshadows her unhappiness once in the marriage: My strength all goes when once the bond is parted, And on the wind I drift off broken hearted. This description of drifting off in the wind ties in with the suggestion in the song that she will be taken to her new husband by boat †through rain and wind†. Like Tan-chun, relatively little reference is made to Shi Xiang-yun, the subject of the fourth quatrain and fifth song. She is the daughter of Grandmother Jia’s brother’s son. Orphaned as a young girl, she first lived with Grandmother Jia before moving in with her uncle, Shi Ding, and his wife. It seems from both the register and the song, that Xiang-yun is destined to find the man of her dreams, †a perfect, gentle husband†. But happiness will be fleeting: Soon you must mourn your bright sunâ€⠄¢s early setting. The Xiang flows and the Chu clouds sail away. The Xiang was a river flowing through the ancient kingdom of Chu. This was believed to be home to a goddess of lovers. But soon †the clouds of Gao-tang faded, the waters of the Xiang ran dry.† This suggests another calamity, perhaps the sudden death of her husband. There is no intimation of Xiang-yun’s fate in The Golden Days. The main scene involving her is one of comic relief as Dai-yu teases her about her lisp and Xiang-yun responds good-humouredly. The impression created is of a happy-go-lucky, lively young girl, quite a contrast from the rather intense and moody Dai-yu. This is best illustrated in Xueqin’s description of them asleep: Dai-yu was tightly cocooned in a quilt of apricot-coloured damask, the picture of tranquil repose. Xiang-yun, by contrast, lay with her hank of jet black hair tumbled untidily beside the pillow, a white arm with its two gold bracelets thown carelessly outside the bedding and two white shoulders exposed above the peach-pink coverlet, which barely reached her armpits. ‘A tomboy, even in her sleep!’ Bao-yu muttered†¦ The sixth woman included in the register is the only one of the twelve who is not a member of the Jia family. Adamantina nevertheless lives among them in Prospect Garden after Yuan-chun issues an edict stating that the garden is not to be closed up. She is a nun and this is reflected in the descriptions of her †otherworldliness† and her †grace and wit to match the gods† that set her †with the rest at odds. Nauseous to [her] the world’s rank diet.â⠂¬  Her final destination however, is clearly one of disrepute. In both the quatrain and the song, she ends up in the mud, impure and shameful. The fact that down here, †only wealthy rakes might bless their luck† suggests that Adamantina will end her days as perhaps a prostitute. By the end of The Golden Days however, she is still a nun who †looks down on common flesh and blood† The seventh of the Twelve Beauties of Jinling is Ying-chun, the eldest of the three springs. She is Jia She’s daughter by a concubine. With the arrival of Dai-yu and Bao-chai, the three springs are relugated to a secondary position in Grandmother Jia’s affections. Ying-chun is thus a rather underdeveloped character in The Golden Days. The sixth entry in the register and the seventh poem both suggest that she will be married off to a violent, unfaithful and cruel bully. There is no hint of this fate in the first volume of the novel. The Golden Days gives away equally little about the subject of the next quatrain and song, Xi-chun. Sister of Cousin Zhen and the youngest of the three springs, seems destined to seek release †from youth’s extravagance† and †to win chaste quietness and heavenly peace† by becoming a Buddhist nun. Wang Xi-feng on the other hand, wife of Jia Lian and cousin to Bao-yu, plays a far more prominent role in The Golden Days. She is a very strong character, a feminist role-model. She has all the qualities of the ideal wife with her managerial prowess and defere nce to her elders, and yet she always manages to be on top. This combination of cunning and virtue can best be seen in the chapters dealing with Qin-shi’s funeral. Having been relegated posthumously to the status of a Noble Dame, the funeral is a grand affair. The sheer cost and man-power involved is staggering and Xi-feng is put in charge of it all. Nevertheless, she manages it with †the decisiveness of a little general†. On the night of the wake, her maturity and superior social skills are further demonstrated when it is left entirely to her to do the honours. Xi-feng’s vivacious charm and social assurance stood out in striking contrast†¦She was in her element, and if she took any notice of her humbler sisters it was only to throw out an occassional order or to bend them in some other way to her imperious will. This can be juxtaposed with the episode in the next chapter when, after the funeral, Xi-feng, Bao-yu and Qin-zhong spend the night in the Water-moon Priory. The prioress Euergesia, catching Xi-feng alone, tells her the story of a benefactor of the priory called Zhang. He is desperate to call off his daughter’s engagement to the son of a captain in the Chang-an garrison. The captain however, is being thoroughly unreasonable and refusing to take back the betrothal-gifts. Euergesia beseeches Xi-feng to use her unfluence to get Jia Zheng to write a letter to General Yun asking h im to †have a word with† the captain because †It is hardly likely that he would refuse to obey his commading officer.† Xi-feng coyly turns her down until Euergesia questions Xi-feng’s ability. Xi-feng ‘relents’ and agrees to take part for the the not so small sum of three thousand taels of silver. Xi-feng is clearly fiscally-minded and savvy, never one to let an opportunity for profit slip by. The hush-hush manner in which this matter of the captain is broached also suggests that it is rather shady business. Yet, any qualms Xi-feng feigns to have about getting involved seem to be easily forgotten. Xi-feng is indeed, as the ninth song states, †too shrewd by half†. She is too focused on self-advancement but with the fall of the Jia family later in The Story of the Stone, Xi-feng’s plotting and manouevering will all come to nothing: Like a great building’s tottering crash, Like flickering lampwick burned to ash†¦ Although the exact nature of Xi-feng’s future is not specified, it is clear that it is not a bright one. She will, as the title of the ninth song says, be †caught by her own cunning†. Although we see none of her decline in The Golden Days, there are hints of a fall to come. When Qin-shi appears to her in a dream, she warn s Xi-feng of the future fall of the Jai family as a whole. She quotes a proverb: †The higher the climb, the harder the fall.† Could this be referring equally to Xi-feng as to the family? Is there a reason why Qin-shi appears before Xi-feng specifically? The tenth Beautiy of Jinling, interestingly enough, does not even appear in the first volume. Qiao-jie, daughter of Xi-feng, nevertheless has some sort of trouble ahead of her. It seems that no one will be spared pain and grief as the Jia family declines. The penultimate Beauty included on the Main Register is Li Wan, mother of Jia Lan. Li Wan was married to Jia Zhu, brother of Bao-yu. Jia Zhu died before the start of the novel as implied by the third line in the eleventh song, †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦the pleasures of the bridal bed† soon fled. The quatrain suggests that their son, Jia Lan, †her Orchid†, will be successful. The song goes further to describe the †awesome sight† of †the head with cap and bands of office on, and gleaming bright upon his breast the gold insignia†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Jia Lan will later pass the civil service exam and become a high official. It is perhaps slightly far-fetched but one of the few mentions of Jia Lan comes in chapter nine, set in the Jia clan school house. As for Li Wan, there is no hint that †the black night of death’s dark frontier lay close at hand.† It would seem that she tragically dies after her son’s appointment. Finally, there is Qin-shi, the twelfth Beauty of Jinling. She is the young wife of Jia Rong but dies of a mysterious unidentified disease half way through The Gol den Days. Of all the women, Qin-shi is the only one whose whole fate is played out in the course of the first volume. It does not, however, run according to plan. Both the quatrain and the song, The Good Things Have an End, explicitly express that she will hang herself. The most likely reason for her suicide is the family’s discovery of her incestuous affair with her father-in-law, cousin Zhen: Say not our troubles all from Rong’s side came; For their beginning Ning must take the blame. Indeed, there are indications of such intrigue. A drunken servant lets slip, in a fit of rage, †Father-in-law pokes in the ashes†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The reader is clearly meant to take note of this comment, as Bao-yu subsequently questions Xi-feng as to it’s meaning. Xi-feng is quick in quashing any ideas Bao-yu may have on the subject and †terrified by her vehemence, Bao-yu implored her forgiveness.† There is obviously something to hide. Cousin Zhen’s hysterical reaction after her death is also a sign that their relationship was not as it seemed. He is inconsolable, proclaiming: †Now that she has been taken from us it’s plain to see that this senior branch of the family is doomed to extinction!† The poem accordingly, states that her death, †the ruin of a mighty house protended.† Qin-shi’s suicide does not however, take place and she instead dies of natural causes. A reason for this discrepancy is put foward by Hawkes. While Xueqin did originally have Qin-shi hanging herself †from painted beams†, a notation by one of the commentators on the original manuscript states that her †ordered† Xueqin to remove the scene. Xueqin reluctantly did so but, unenthusiastic about the change, failed to make the necessary alterations to the rest of the text. Having examined the fates of the Twelve Beauties of Jinling as expressed in the Main Register of the Department of the Ill Fated Fair and in the fairy of Disenchantment’s song cycle, it becomes immediately obvious that tradgedy lies ahead. With the decline of the Jia family will come a decline in the fortunes of each of the women. It is also clear that by the end of the first volume of The Story of the Stone the story has, in fact, barely begun. The Jia household is still powerful and rich, the child heros are still young and and insouciant, these are still the golden days.

Home School vs. Public School Essay

I prefer home schooling over public schooling; which one do you prefer? There are both pros and cons for both Home Schooling and Public Schooling. I am going to explain this all to you in my essay. I personally was home schooled for a few years during middle and high school. All of elementary school and part of middle school I went to a regular school. My reasoning for choosing to be home schooled is I have Agoraphobia which is an anxiety disorder caused by situations where people perceive the environment as being difficult to escape or get help. As soon as I would walk into a class room I would have a panic attack. One thing I liked about public school was being able to play volleyball. I loved playing it for the little bit of time that I was in middle school. Even though I wasn’t really all that great, So I didn’t play very much. That is one con of being home schooled. You cannot play sports affiliated with any school. A pro for public schooling is you have a group environment to learn in with others to help you. On the other hand with home schooling you are on your own. In home schooling you have less choices of curriculum as you would if you were going to public school. You also have more diversity in public school. When going to public school you have a higher student to teacher ratio, now with home schooling there is a small teacher to student ratio. In home schooling you are free to choose your schedule, as in public school your schedule is strict and chosen for you. Public school chooses the curriculum for you. Unlike in home schooling you can choose your own. There are now roughly millions of children being home schooled. Being home schooled teaches students to be independent in their learning choices. Sometimes home schooling can be more expensive than going to public school. Teachers are not always qualified to teach all subjects, and colleges sometimes have stricter admission policies concerning home schooled students. It is also harder to provide social interaction when being home schooled. Like I had stated before I prefer home schooling but everyone has their own opinions. This is the reason why I have enrolled myself into the University of Phoenix online. So that I can have the flexibility of my classes, this way I can work around my everyday life and not miss out when it comes to spending time with my boys. I hope that the information in my essay was helpful to you.

Analyzing the legalization of drugs

Introduction The increase in the drug cases during the years has lead several propositions from various individuals, one of which is the legalization of drugs. Since the widespread use of illegal drugs has eventually persisted throughout the expanse of time, and with the failure to contain the issue of illegal drug use, one suggested solution is to amend the law by legalizing the use of drugs or by putting it finally under the control and mandate of the law. However, the judicial system has had to cope with the situation. The need to reexamine the existing methods of managing and handling these drug cases proportionally rose with the persistence of illegal drugs amidst existing legal sanctions. This had led to the processing of drug cases not only in court but even outside the court. This is to cope with the great number of drug offenders of varying levels getting apprehended everyday. There were several judicial strategies conceived in order to deal with the massive amount of drug cases. These judicial strategies include the creation of specialized divisions of a drug court in some trial courts, sped-up case processing procedures, deferred prosecution programs requiring court-supervised treatment and counseling and more. There are also combinations of these strategies, all to speed-up the processing of these cases. These cases are screened beforehand in order to know what degree and what level of judicial supervisions would be applicable for the case. This is also essential for early treatment intervention and rehabilitation of the offenders, so as to stop the continued drug abuse and the likelihood of crimes. On the other hand, arguments for the legalization of drugs are constantly being hurled forward in order to finally resolve the existing contentions against the ill-effects of drugs as well as for the perceived benefits both the government and the individuals can actually obtain from legalizing these substances. Arguments for the legalization of drugs One of the most common drugs in the society today is Marijuana. It is known scientifically as the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa, where the leaves are being dried up, rolled into sheets of paper and be smoked just like cigarette or tobacco. It is the most often used illegal drug in the world, known in various names all over, like â€Å"pot,† â€Å"herb,† and â€Å"Mary Jane.† Some users can make use of marijuana by mixing it into food substances or drink it by brewing it with tea. The addictive element of marijuana is its Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC content. The effect of marijuana would depend on how strong or how potent is its Tetrahydrocannabinol content, thus also giving various effects on the marijuana users (Dell and Snyder 630). One of the reasons for finally legalizing drugs, especially marijuana, is founded on the historical context of the â€Å"illegal† substance. In America, for instance, those who lived in the area of Jamestown back in 1611 raised marijuana under the order of King James I for the purpose of crafting rope for the naval force of the British. The â€Å"herb†, as it has been called, also served as a medicinal substance specifically for George Washington who planted marijuana within the premises of Mount Vernon and that the plant was categorized as a prescription medicine until 1937 (Smith 101). Marijuana also has positive sides which can be used as an argument for its eventual legalization. One of the beneficial effects of the use of marijuana rests on its utility for the control of symptoms, especially in chemotherapy procedures, as an â€Å"effective antiemetic† among patients with health profiles such as cancer and â€Å"AIDS patients with wasting syndrome† which led to â€Å"a greater ability to cope emotionally with disabling or life-threatening illness (Gorman 23). Moreover, under the rule of Emperor Chen Nung of ancient China five centuries ago, marijuana has been declared as well as a plant that has medicinal value in terms of curing malaria, rheumatism, constipation, â€Å"absentmindedness† as well as the claims for mental and bodily disorders suffered by women (Grinspoon and Bakalar 3). There is also the contention for the prospect of establishing a regulated drug market which can be a profitable source of government tax. This idea illustrates the observation that the widespread use of illegal drugs and its potential to be a market commodity can overcome the legal restrictions ascribed unto it.   A controlled degree of the regulation of marijuana, for example, creates, instead, an increase in government revenues that may outweigh or, at least, come close to the actual government payments on law enforcement against the production, distribution and consumption of marijuana (Caputo and Ostrom 475). Refutations Drug Abuse is one of the most common criminal cases in the society today. It is a form of substance abuse, just like alcoholism, since these illicit drugs are actually addictive in nature. Because of this, many people who are hooked on drugs cannot easily let go of the addiction, and would often lead to drug-related crimes like robbery, physical assault, or even murder. Not only does these drugs dangerous to others, but it is also harmful in the drug users’ body, causing the body to take into negative turns, like deterioration and organ failures. When a person smokes or inhales marijuana smoke, he would usually feel rapid heart beats, loss of coordination and decreased sense of balance, slow reaction rate and a dry mouth. These are already signs of marijuana intoxication, along with the expansion of blood vessels in the eye, that’s why marijuana users usually have red eyes. The effects of marijuana would usually last two to three hours, where the marijuana user would usually tend to be sleepy. The negative effects of using marijuana would be hindering the user’s short term memory, wherein it would be difficult for him to remember recent events. This would usually lead to car crashes and other accidents, since their sense of coordination is greatly affected. Another dangerous drug would be cocaine. This drug’s effect on the body is really damaging, where addiction to cocaine could bring about permanent damages in one’s body or even death. Cocaine has both short term and long term effects. The short term effects are immediately noticeable, but not that damaging as compared to the long term ones. The common short term effects are a feeling of boosted energy, a decrease in a person’s appetite, and a rather hyped heart rate and blood pressure. There are still many other types of illegal drugs and similar forms of substances that create ill-effects to the overall health of individuals, oftentimes resulting for them to commit crimes that they could not have possibly committed had they not taken these illegal substances. Conclusion Although several illegal substances can actually bring forth benefits for individuals, the negative consequences outweigh these positive sides. Further, not all of these substances have positive effects when used, and that the negative consequences of illegal drug use oftentimes lead to crimes and violence. For these reasons along with the refutations against the legalization of drugs, it can be asserted that the legalization of drugs should not be taken as the ultimate measure for solving illegal drug issues. Rather, the reasons behind the legalization of drugs should be taken as a means in finding the deeper refutations against it. References Caputo, M. R., and B. J. Ostrom. â€Å"Potential Tax Revenue from a Regulated Marijuana Market: A Meaningful Revenue Source.† American Journal of Economics and Sociology 53.4 (1994): 475-90. Cocaine-Effects.com. â€Å"Cocaine Effects.† 2001. Dell, D. D., and J. A. Snyder. â€Å"Marijuana: Pro and Con.† The American Journal of Nursing 77.4 (1977): 630. Gorman, M. â€Å"Substance Abuse.† The American Journal of Nursing 97.11 (1997): 23. Grinspoon, L., and J. B. Bakalar. â€Å"The History of Cannabis.†Ã‚   Marihuana, the Forbidden Medicine. London: Yale University Press, 1997. 3. Smith, G. R. W. â€Å"Possession of Marijuana in San Mateo County: Some Social Costs of Criminalization.† Stanford Law Review 22.1 (1969): 101.   

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 6

Management - Essay Example The Multinational companies are those which have more than one branch in different foreign countries. A global company is a kind of company which has no boundary, for a global company there is more than one head office in different foreign countries and there is no boundary in appointing the board of directions also (Lou, 1999). The difference between the global company and the multinational company is that the global companies don’t differentiate between the home country and host country employees. It is evident that though many international companies claim themselves as multinational companies but from their R & D, know-how, and technicalities they keep the host country aside. Here, it is important to note that, host country is the country in which the organization wants to do business and the home country is said to be the country in which the organization has its base that is the origin. A company is said to be a global company when the country would have similar amount o f representatives present in their board of directors from the home country as well as from the host country Recommendation: The recommendations depend on the nature of the company. If a company has sufficient amount of production so that it can export it in the international market then off course it is recommended for going outside of the country. For example, a dairy company can easily sell the oversupply of cheese and milk to the outside country. If a country has key competence in any of the field then the company can move to the international market to capture the international market. When the firm sufficiently produces surplus products it can go for international market. There are many other reasons for going international of firms. Justification: The move of a company for going international depends on the company’s strength on some parameters. There are mainly three reasons present for the justification of a company’s move towards international market. One is the increased of market share, possibility of increasing economies of scale and scope or learning, gaining competitive advantage, branding of the company (Lou, 1999). Increasing the market share is very important reason to go in the international market. Creating brand awareness among the customers is required to enhance the brand position. Global brand itself is a positioning of any company. If a company is positioned itself as a global brand then it can automatically create popularity and loyalty among the customers. Implementation: The organization should execute both primary and secondary market research for new foreign market to determine the market demand. Recommendation: Establishing franchisee is also a kind of international business strategy. For example, KFC has established its franchise system in different countries even in the third world nations by adopting the culture of the developing countries. Justification: Franchisee would be effective global expansion strategy. T he organization can capitalize on the international business opportunities through the seer knowledge of the franchisee owners about the market demand and several key cultural factors. Implementation: The organization should consider favorable location and footfall regarding the establishment of franchisee. A transparent agreement with the owners will help the organization to perform effective business performances. Recommendation:

Middle Eastern Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Middle Eastern Studies - Essay Example It is important to understand how the countries came to be and what the balance of power has been. But things are changing rapidly. By looking at the following three media sources, we can get a sense of what is happening and how modern people from the Middle East view the world. Haaratz is a liberal Israel newspaper. One of the main issues in Israel these days is the problems in Iran. Israeli government officials are plotting a potential attack on Iran. Haaretz, as a liberal voice, can sometimes be critical of this idea. There is clearly an emphasis on politics over other issues. The paper is not concerned with oil (as Israel has none) or youth issues. Much of the discussion is existential: how should Israelis live, how should they treat the Palestinians, etc. There is much opinion and much discussion in this newspaper, and many ideas are generated by it. It is a great example of Israel’s free press. There is no censorship of the materials—and the paper is frequently cr itical of the government. Tehran Times appears to be strongly influenced by government censors. The stories present the president of Iran in a favourable light. The paper also pushes a paranoid line, suggesting that Iran is surrounded by enemies which wish to do it harm. There is an article about Iranian prisoners who may be executed in Saudi Arabia. The attitude appears to be negative. The oil sanctions are clearly affecting the Iranian economy, and there are stories about this. Youth unemployment is high. Iran is suffering from the kind of huge demographic change which Richards talks about in his chapter. The old order is fading, but not fast enough. The old order still has enough power to put down uprisings, as they did in 2009, but this will last forever. One day they will fall and the consequences of this will be unforeseeable. Reading the Tehran times, it is clear that there is kind of siege mentality the people of Iran are suffering from. All of this is evident from the paper . It appears to be a sad country. The United States is considered to be an enemy, according to this paper. We can see how Iran is trying to build alliances with other misfit countries in the region. Overall, this is a depressing newspaper for a depressing country. Al Jazeera is like the CNN of the Middle East. It is based out of Qatar and provides regional coverage in a less biased manner than other local media. The headlines are often outward looking and focus on the international scene, but from the point of view of all people in the Middle East. The tone is a unifying and quite liberal one. It is clear that Al Jazeera is not the organ of any dictator or tyrant. They have done a lot to inspire the revolutions that have occurred over the last few years. They appear to support democracy and even women’s rights—ideas which are alien to many Arabs in the region. There is even some objectivity shown towards Israel. There is an emphasis on oil news as this the main commodi ty traded in the Middle East and the source of much wealth. Overall, the news is a bit soft-ball but it is clearly not censored by any government. The Middle East is a rapidly changing area of the world. Every month brings something new. All of last year the world focused on Libya. Now, with Gaddafi dead, the world has turned to watch the civil war unfolding in Syria. Only a few years ago, we all watched Iraq