The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd - Questions

'The Invention of Wings' by Sue Monk Kidd - Questions The Invention of Wings is Sue Monk Kidds third novel. Her first, The Secret Life of Bees, was a book club favorite that gave groups a chance to discuss race issues in the South in the 1960s. In The Invention of Wings, Kidd returns to issues of race and a Southern setting, this time tackling slavery in the early nineteenth century. Kidds novel is fiction, but historical fiction where one of the main characters is based on a true historical figure Sarah Grimke. These questions seek to get at the heart of the novel and help book clubs discuss the many facets of The Invention of Wings. Spoiler Warning: These questions contain details from throughout the novel, including the end. Finish the book before reading on. The novel is presented as a story about two characters, Sarah and Handful. Do you think their relationship with each other is central to how they developed? Or was the chance to read two perspectives more important than the actual relationship?This is also a novel about family relationships and history, particularly as seen through the women in the story. Discuss Sarahs relationship with her mother and sisters and Handfuls with her mother and sister. In what ways did these other women define who Sarah and Handful became?Charlottes story quilt is her greatest treasure. Why do you think that is? How does the ability to tell ones own story shape ones identity?Sarahs familys story relies on slavery. Why was it necessary for Sarah to leave all the things dear to her mother and family Charleston society, beautiful ornamentation, reputation and even place in order to live with her personal convictions? What was the hardest for her to break with?Religion is important throughout the novel, and Kidd gives readers the chance to see many sides of the early nineteenth century church: the white high church in the South, which defended slavery; the black church in the South with its liberation theology; and the Quaker church, with its progressive ideas about women and slaves along with its denial of beautiful clothes and celebrations. Slavery is one of the keys to understanding the complex history of the church in America. Discuss how the novel brings that to light? What did the book make you think about the role of the church? Were you surprised to learn that even among abolitionists the idea of racial equality was radical?Were you surprised by the reactions in the North to the Grimke sisters speaking tour? Were you aware of how strongly women were limited?Even the Grimkes allies suggested they hold back on their feminist views because they thought it would hurt the cause of abolition. Indeed, it did split the movement. Do you think this compromise was justified? Did you think the sisters were justified in not making it?Were you surprised to hear about any of the punishments that were common for slaves, such as the Work House or the one legged punishment? Were any other parts of the history of slavery new to you, such as the information about Denmark Vessey and the planned revolt? Did this novel give you any new perspectives on slavery?If you have read Sue Monk Kidds previous novels, how did this one compare? Rate The Invention of Wings on a scale of 1 to 5. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd was published in January 2014It was chosen for Oprahs Book Club before publicationPublisher: Viking Adult384 pages

The eNotes Blog Naughty, NaughtyEnter to Win a Stack of BannedBooks!

Naughty, NaughtyEnter to Win a Stack of BannedBooks! Banned Books Week 2015 is just around the corner, and your pals are feeling impish.  We handpicked a selection of our favorite and most requested books that continually battle the iron fist of censorship. Win them all here. The bundle includes the following titles with their censored reasonings  found on www.ala.org: 1. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited to age group, violence The Kite Runner   Summary  Ã¢â€ â€™ 2. The  Perks of Being a Wallflower by  Stephen Chbosky Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: â€Å"date rape and masturbation† The Perks of Being a Wallflower   Summary  Ã¢â€ â€™ 3. The Complete Persepolis  by Marjane Satrapi Reasons: Gambling, offensive language, political viewpoint. Additional reasons: â€Å"politically, racially, and socially offensive,† â€Å"graphic depictions† Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood Summary  Ã¢â€ â€™ 4.  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian  by Sherman Alexie Reasons: Anti-family, cultural insensitivity, drugs/alcohol/smoking, gambling, offensive language, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group, violence. Additional reasons: â€Å"depictions of bullying† The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Summary  Ã¢â€ â€™ 5.  The Bluest Eye  by Toni Morrison Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: â€Å"contains controversial issues† The Bluest Eye   Summary  Ã¢â€ â€™ 6.  Brave New World  by  Aldous Huxley Reasons: Insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit Brave New World   Summary  Ã¢â€ â€™ *The winner will also receive a 1-Year Subscription to access our library of over 30,000  Literature Study Guides  (a $49.99 value)! Entering is easy:  click this link  and provide your name and email address, and youre automatically entered to win the book bundle and Pass. Get bonus entries for visiting our Facebook page and tweeting about the contest on Twitter (simply follow the instructions on the entry form)! Entries accepted until October 3, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. PST. We will contact the winner on October 5, 2015 via email. What do you think about censorship, especially literature titles like these, in school? Wed love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! Questions? Please send us an email at dispatch@ we are happy to help. Good luck!

A Recurring Theme in the Letter of James is that of Doubleness' People Essay

A Recurring Theme in the Letter of James is that of Doubleness' People Say One Thing and Do Another - Essay Example In verse eleven, he stresses this point by saying that a fountain does not shed sweet and bitter water at the same since this is a powerful contradiction. Nor can a fig tree bear olive berries (McCartney, 2009, p.243). In (James 2:14-17), he stresses that faith without actions is death. For instance, if a brother is cold, ill-dressed and lacks food and you say to him ‘go well eat and keep warm, you have not actually helped him because you have not provided to him his actual needs. Thus, this is faith without actions and should not be seen among Christians. Just as the body without the spirit is dead, faith without works is also dead (James 2:26). James, therefore, earnestly and unconditionally discourages the act of double-mindedness among Christians. He encourages Christians to put what they say into actions or in other words that Christians should practice their actions (Batten, 2009, p.145). Circumstances and Background of the Letter Some Christian scholars claim that the le tter of James was authored by James the Just, who served Jesus Christ and the Lord as a slave. The postulation also describes James to be the brother to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is, however, denied by some other group of scholars who argue that the letter is pseudonymous. Although the book is named after James, it was actually written long after his death. This was written, as they say, by a Christian member of the early church James led before being stoned to death in the ‘60s. The book is purported to have been written and named after James in order to honor and respect him for his works (Johnson, 1995, p. 163). The author of this book could not be one of the disciples of Jesus Christ since one of them was called James, the Zebedee’s son, who was martyred in the year 44 CE. The epistle was not written by then, thus, he could not have been the author. The other was James the son of Alphaeus who was not particularly prominent in the record of the scriptures. This dis ciple was unusually outspoken and, thus, could he have written the book of James, he would have indicated that he was among the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ. There is a strong evidence that the book was written by James the half-brother of the Lord Jesus Christ to whom the resurrected Jesus had appeared to in a special way (Mathew 13:55; Galatians 1:19, 2:9). This James was also remarkably prominent to the disciples of Jesus and popular among them (Acts 21:15-25). According to the teaching of the book with the Symmachian sect, it is questioned as to whether the teachings of James were heretical (McCartney, 2009, p.265). The greatest portion of the scholars of the Bible has a belief that the book of James was authored by James, who was the brother to Jesus the Lord. However, scholars like Jerome do not marry the idea and think that the book was written by James son of Alpheus (Mathew 10:3). The view of Jerome is widely supported by the catholic believers to date. The protestant c ommunity strongly deems that the writer of the book of James is James the brother to the Lord (Mathew 13:55). The Jews of Jerusalem once valued James so much and enthroned him at Jerusalem (Acts 25:11). James is recorded to have supported some of the Mosaic Law, and this might have led him to write that letter which was in conflict with the epistles of Paul (Acts

Corporate Risk Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Corporate Risk Management - Assignment Example Derivatives Derivatives refer to a method where one party owning a risk transfers the risk to another individual (Malz 189). The party receiving the risk bears the risk but at the same time has the advantage of making a profit is the risk does not materialise. The original owner of the risk does not have to pay anything to the risk buyer but has to forego any benefits derived from the non-occurrence of the risk. The advantage of this method of risk management to the business over using insurance is that the business is not obliged to pay any insurance premiums and therefore the only cost is the opportunity cost which the business has to bear due to not being able to benefit when the risk does not occur (Deventer & Imai, 48). The market for derivatives has grown significantly for some time, perhaps because of the increasing risks in the global business environment. Globalisation and technology have brought numerous opportunities to the business environment but at the same time brought numerous risks to businesses around the worlds (Norman, 58). As several risks have increased and their intensity in terms of likelihood and impact has increased, the need to have better ways to manage the risks has also increased. In such an environment, derivatives made from financial risks have increased and there are firms which are dedicated to trading on derivatives. Derivatives come on all sorts of nature, depending on the nature of risk (Triantis, 563). Forwards Forwards are a very good tool for managing some types of financial risks. These are risks associated with unexpected unfavourable changes in the market environment in the future (Darrell, 78). For instance, a firm may be concerned that the rate of exchange will change unfavourably in the future and thus affect its revenues. This usually happens with regard to firms which operate across international borders. In this kind of scenario, the firm can choose to have a forward contract with its customers or suppliers (Verz uh, 59). Forward contracts help the business in guaranteeing that its revenues or its business will not be affected in the future by making sure that the natural laws of the market will not come into action. For instance, in the example given above, a firm may have a forward contract which binds its suppliers to deliver the goods at a predetermined dollar rate regardless of the currency exchange rates in the future. This means that such a firm will operate without worrying that unexpected foreign exchange rates will affect its revenues in a negative way. Decentralising the business functions As identified above, currency risk is one of biggest risk which international businesses have to face today. In a modern business environment, even a slight change in the currency exchange rates can lead to massive losses for firms which manufacture their products locally and sell them abroad (Gregory 57). In this regard, apart from forward contracts, there are other options which such firms can consider in order to eliminate currency risks. These include the decentralisation of business to other countries especially where the business has the biggest markets. This has been demonstrated by the recent trend of American manufacturers going to china to set their manufacturing firms there. One of the firms which have been known to have been the first one to use this strategy of

Research Paper Tax Questions Problems Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Tax Questions Problems - Research Paper Example Partnership X reports in response to question 3b that B owns, directly or indirectly, 75 percent of the profit, loss, or capital of partnership X. B owns 50 percent indirectly through entity T and 25 percent indirectly through family attribution from A. (IRS 2010) By allowing Thetribe to contribute 100% of the investment amount to IBS, and IBS was required to distribute 50% of the investment amount to Edwardian within 60 days of the contribution the income of both IBS and Edwardian could mitigate the income earned. b. What would be the tax consequences if Edwardian choose option one? Edwardian would receive 20% as income to report during the 2010 tax year. Despite the 40% IBS received, Edwardian would not have to report that income. IBS would have to report that as income. f. Partnership X reports in response to question 3b that A owns, directly or indirectly, 75 percent of the profit, loss, or capital of partnership X. A owns 25 percent indirectly through entities W and Y and owns 50 percent indirectly through family attribution from B. Partnership X reports in response to question 3b that B owns, directly or indirectly, 75 percent of the profit, loss, or capital of partnership X. B owns 50 percent indirectly through entity T and 25 percent indirectly through family attribution from A. (IRS 2010) g. What would be the tax consequences if Edwardian choose option three? There would be no tax consequences for Edwardian, but no profit either if the shares were bought from Lupus, Vampir and Sapiens directly. Edwardian would still have interest in IBS, but the income would not come from the direct sale. k. Partnership X reports in response to question 3b that A owns, directly or indirectly, 75 percent of the profit, loss, or capital of partnership X. A owns 25 percent indirectly through entities W and Y and owns 50 percent indirectly through family attribution from B. Partnership X reports in response

Impacts of the 2003 Iraq War

Impacts of the 2003 Iraq War The impact of the 2003 Iraq war on both the war on terror  and the prospects for peace in the Middle East Introduction The reasons for the U.S. led war in Iraq in 2003 were numerous and, as it turns out, rather complicated. But, for better or worse, the U.S. led coalition of nations invaded Iraq with â€Å"shock and awe† in 2003. This war in Iraq was conducted under the banner of â€Å"the war on terror.† This second U.S. led military endeavor into Iraq had a twofold mission, which was combative and aggressive on the one hand, and more conciliatory and democratizing on the other. These were the original intentions. The questions to be explored in this paper revolve around these dual aspects of the 2003 Iraq war. How has it affected the overall and global â€Å"war on terror,† and has it achieved a measure of peace and stability in the Middle East? From the beginning of the recent U.S. led war efforts in Iraq, there has been a twofold mission announced by President George W. Bush. The first mission is centered in the war against all terrorists and those who harbor terrorist organizations.[1] The second has been the desire to plant the seed of democracy in the Middle East; a desire which the President hoped might flourish into an eventual, lasting peace. In his 2002 State of the Union address, President Bush said, â€Å"We seek a just and peaceful world beyond the war on terror.†[2] In this line, his commitment to a war against terror is evident, but so is his desire to help bring about a peaceful world. The very name of the military offensive dubbed by the Bush Administration was â€Å"Operation Iraqi Freedom.† A â€Å"Just War† and the Necessity of Peace In all recent discussions of Just War theories, scholarship is united at least in the aspect of the theory that involves the attempt at peace following the war. That is, no war can be considered â€Å"just† if the winner merely walks away from the loser of a given war without any attempt to bring about a measure of stability, security, and peace. Much of this reasoning has to do with the ideas bound up within the just-war tradition. There are many scholars, secular, Catholic, and otherwise, writing within this tradition, as it pertains to the 2003 Iraq war. As George Weigel notes in a recent essay, in the writings of contemporary scholars in this tradition (e.g., James Turner Johnson and Michael Walzer), one encounters the essence of an approach to war that is commensurate with the U.S. President’s intentions expressed above. To engage in a war justly is not only to fight those forces of evil that seek to dominate or corrupt one’s society, nor is it merely about how nations ought to engage in warfare. Although those are considerations brought to bear on just-war theorizing, the fundamental underpinning of this approach to thinking about war â€Å"is ultimately about the peace we seek to establish in contrast to the war the terrorists have set in motion.†[3] That is, the overarching goal in all wars (including the war on terror) should be the eventual achievement, not merely of removing immediate threats to national security or of pacification of an enemy, of using war as an instrument to establish peace in a land. Peace brings prosperity, whereas continual war and factionalism never bring about progress or prosperity – only suffering which seems endless to those affected by it. The Successes, Trials and Tribulations of the War Perhaps because we are still so near the beginning of the war and because the operation continues to this moment, it is difficult to gauge the relative success of the war efforts themselves and as regards the broader â€Å"war on terror.† In fact, the situation today is still the reality that the success or failure of the war depends largely on who you ask. The war effort has been a politically polarizing issue, which has certainly affected the press, as well as the scholarly community. A simple survey of the books on the shelves to the articles and essays within journals will reveal this truth. It is therefore somewhat difficult to get a proper understanding of exactly what the ramifications of the 2003 Iraq war may be for the broader war on terror, but there is at least some consensus in a few areas useful for exploration in this regard. There are those who, like Charles Hill, can find little more than wide-reaching success in the current war efforts. He writes, â€Å"Iraq is moving toward the full legitimacy that Saddam Hussein stole from the Iraqi people. Sovereignty has been restored, free elections have been held, and a constitution has been approved.†[4] The press and other scholars have, on the other hand, not been so friendly in their detractions and perceptions of the war efforts. The â€Å"Reviews Responses† section of recent editions of the journal Foreign Affairs have been filled with review essays of books very critical of the war.[5] Sometimes the reviews are sympathetic; often times they are not. All of this is supportive of the difficult task ahead of scholars regarding the effort to separate the hubris from the reality of what implications the 2003 Iraq war may have for peace and the larger war on terror. There is no denying the success of disposing of the Taliban in Afghanistan and of Saddam Hussein and his regime in Iraq. This success was decisive, dramatic, and, in the words of Victor Davis Hanson, â€Å"audacious.†[6] Both of these regimes were legitimately argued to have been the most oppressive and potentially dangerous in the region. This is perhaps one of the most compelling reasons adhered to by most Americans originally supporting both war efforts. The question on the minds of most in the scholarly community is whether there was adequate planning for the immediate post-war environment.[7] However, even for those who were very supportive of the initial decision to invade Iraq, recent events over the last year at least, have been sobering. In an article written for the April edition of the journal First Things, George Weigel identifies four distinct wars that have constituted the entire Iraq war since 2003. The first war was the obvious one of deposing Saddam Hussein and creating conditions for the responsible establishment of an interim government and relative stability. This war was concluded quickly and successfully, most all scholars agree. The second war erupted shortly after the first had ended, and this one was against the Baathist loyalists and recalcitrants. The third war broke out as Jihadists (i.e., â€Å"al-Qaeda in Iraq†) began to flood into Iraq through the under-watched and unprotected borders and tried to disrupt the democracy being established there as well as drive out the â€Å"infidels† from the Gulf. The fourth, and perhaps most danger ous today, is the practical civil war that broke out in earnest between Sunnis insurgents and Shia militias after the bombing of a major Shia shrine in February, 2006. Weigel argues that only the first of these four wars has ended. The other three continue to this day and overlap each other.[8] Is it possible that the U.S. led coalition could have anticipated these mini-wars which followed the success of the first? Is it likely that the coalition did all it could to establish a peaceful, post-war environment? Reconstruction Challenges One of the sharpest criticisms of the 2003 Iraq war, even by those who originally supported it, is that there was not enough planning in terms of rebuilding the nation after the decisive defeat of the Iraqi military. First, by any reasonable standards, the amount committed to the reconstruction of Iraq after the war was not nearly enough. In hindsight, all seem to recognize this. Though the intentions of the Bush Administration were admirable in that they sought the just-war approach, which was to replace the dangerous regime with democracy, freedom, and a re-built nation, the reality was that through the combination of inadequate funds and bloated bureaucracy, the U.S. did not adequately anticipate what would realistically be needed to bring their intentions about.[9] George Weigel points out that only $2.5 billion had been originally budgeted for reconstruction assistance, and this was far away from the actual amount needed, given the dilapidated state of the nation due to Saddamâ €™s misrule and a decade of U.N. sanctions.[10] Peace through Civil War? The war created what most analysts have agreed to be a political vacuum. Once the rule of Saddam Hussein was done away with, there was not a quick enough turnaround time for a new and, perhaps most importantly, legitimized ruling government. The largest looming danger now is the risk of civil war in Iraq, which will almost certainly follow from the near-future withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country, as most scholars agree. â€Å"Especially if the United States withdraws from Iraq, the odds are good that a military coup in which some subset of the Iraqi army leadership declares that the elected government is not working and that a strong hand is necessary to impose order will result.†[11] As alluded to above, the civil war began to erupt after the bombing of the Shia holy site in February, 2006. At this point, it seems that the Sunni minority in Iraq, which has been a constant trouble from nearly the beginning, is only exacerbating its violence against the Shia to the south . Under the self-styled leadership of Muqtada al-Sadr, the various Shia militia forces have engaged in gross acts of terror in return.[12] Conclusion In a recent article, Victor Davis Hanson takes a realistic approach to the successes in Iraq. They cannot be underplayed, nor devalued. The overturning of the Iraqi regime, which was the main goal of the war, was achieved and likely the world is better for it. On the other hand, in retrospect the post-war aftermath was not fully appreciated until it was far too late. Three separate wars therefore erupted, and the most significant (the civil war) looms on the not-too-distant horizon. The prospects for peace are still available to the Middle East but only with properly calculated U.S. led coalition strategy for the future. If nothing else, the various shortcomings of the recent war will hopefully serve as a corrective and impetus to future successes in the war on terror. Successes have occurred, to be sure, but so have enormous challenges to peace, world-wide. Bibliography Bottum, Joseph, and Michael Novak. â€Å"The Leadership of George W. Bush: Con Pro.† First Things. March, 2007, No. 171, pp. 31-35. Diamond, Larry. â€Å"The Pressure Builds.† Hoover Digest. 2006, No. 3, pp. 21-29. Dobriansky, Paula J., Henry A. Crumpton, and F. Gregory Gause III. â€Å"Tyranny and Terror: Will Democracy in the Middle East Make Us Safer?† Foreign Affairs. Jan/Feb, 2006. Vol 85, No. 1, pp. 135-138. Fearon, James D. â€Å"Iraq’s Civil War.† Foreign Affairs. Mar/Apr, 2007. Vol. 86, No. 2, pp. 2-15. Feldman, Noah. What We Owe Iraq: War and the Ethics of Nation Building. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2004. Hanson, Victor Davis. â€Å"Five Years On.† Hoover Digest. 2006, No. 4, pp. 82-86. Hanson, Victor Davis. â€Å"Hard Pounding.† Hoover Digest. 2006, No. 3, pp. 10-17. Hill, Charles. â€Å"The Rogues are Losing: Why the Rogues of the Middle East Have a Very Short Future.† Hoover Digest. 2005, No. 4, pp. 66-68. Kagan, Frederick W. â€Å"Iraq is Not Vietnam.† Policy Review. Dec, 2005 Jan, 2006, No. 134, pp. 3-14. Weigel, George. â€Å"Just War and Iraq Wars.† First Things. April, 2007, No. 172, pp. 14-20. Yoo, John. The Powers of War and Peace: The Constitution and Foreign Affairs after 9/11. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2005. 1 [1] These commitments are very readily found in his 2002, 2003 and 2004 â€Å"State of the Union† addresses, as well as in his â€Å"Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People,† given on September 20, 2001. All of these speeches are available at http://www.whitehouse.gov. [2] It would seem that there are few who disagree with the President’s intentions in this regard. Renowned Middle East scholar, Bernard Lewis has long argued that the war on terror and the search for freedom are bound up the one with the other. The two must exist side by side and cannot exist one without the other. NYU law professor Noah Feldman argues that â€Å"the most defensible account of our nation-building policies in Iraq 2003–4, and the standard to which future U.S. efforts should be held, is the production of a basically legitimate, functioning democracy there.† What We Owe Iraq: War and the Ethics of Nation Building (Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2004), p. 20. [3] George Weigel, â€Å"Just War and Iraq Wars,† First Things, April, 2007, no. 172, p. 14. Weigel is here quoting James Turner Johnson. [4] Charles Hill, â€Å"The Rogues are Losing: Why the Rogues of the Middle East Have a Very Short Future,† Hoover Digest. 2005, no. 4, p. 68. In this same essay, he goes on to point out the various ramifications of the initial stages of success of the Iraq war: Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Lebanon all having positive moves and reactions to the strength of the initial war in 2003. Libya’s decision to give up its arsenal is probably the most dramatic ramification of the initial successes of the war that supporters can point to, as Hill does in his essay. [5] The January/February 2006 edition of Foreign Affairs is a perfect example of this phenomenon. Every single review essay of that edition deals with the Iraq war. [6] â€Å"Five Years On.† Hoover Digest, 2006, no. 4, p. 84. Regarding the progress wrought by the Iraq war, Hanson writes, â€Å"thousands of terrorists killed, Al Qaeda scattered, Europe galvanized about Islamism and sobered about the consequences of its cheap anti-U.S. rhetoric, Iran’s nuclear antics revealed, democracy birthed in the Middle East, Palestinian radicals exposed for their fraud, the United nations under overdue scrutiny, America much better defended at home† came largely as a result of the war on terror, beginning with Afghanistan and culminating in Iraq. There is much significant impact there to be pondered. [7] Victor Davis Hanson, â€Å"Hard Pounding,† Hoover Digest, 2006, no. 3, pp. 14-15. [8] Weigel, â€Å"Just War and Iraq Wars,† p. 15. Frederick W. Kagan agrees with this assessment of the various wars being fought in Iraq, although he believes that Weigel’s second war largely ended with the capture of Saddam Hussein. Cf. â€Å"Iraq is Not Vietnam,† Policy Review, Dec, 2005 Jan, 2006, no. 134, p. 6. [9] Although, to be fair, it should be pointed out that former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, did anticipate that the cost of military operations and rebuilding efforts would amount to $3.9 billion per month in 2003. Cf. John Yoo, The Powers of War and Peace: The Constitution and Foreign Affairs after 9/11 (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2005), p. 157. [10] Weigel, p. 17. [11] James D. Fearon, â€Å"Iraq’s Civil War,† Foreign Affairs, Mar/Apr, 2007, vol. 86, no. 2, p. 6. For concurring opinions see Larry Diamond, â€Å"The Pressure Builds,† Hoover Digest, 2006, no. 3, p. 29 and Weigel, p. 19. [12] Diamond, â€Å"The Pressure Builds,† pp. 26-8.

Essay --

In the 20th century, numerous ideas of the future have entertained society. Movies such as Star Wars and Back to the Future have greatly influenced how society views the future. No one could have predicted that George Orwell’s 1984 novel came in first place when discussing about the present day. The primary goal of 1984 is to paint how life will be like under the control of a totalitarian government. This novel is way ahead of its time and gave frighteningly realistic insights into the future. Currently, the people of America are living in this reality, which Orwell prophesied. Advancement in technology today is world changing; however, it can become a dangerous weapon when left in the wrong hands. It is used as a form of distraction and control. There is a vision that, one day, there will be a monitor in every household that regularly observes people’s interest and loyalty. Even though there are no helicopters flying by and peeking through the neighbor’s windows, the government manages to spy on the average Joe in a realistic manner. Many people do not believe that the American government can implement such action, but it has been achieved and is far worst than what Orwell could have imagined. The nature of the National Security Agency revelations with the help of Edward Snowden, who leaked top secret government information, are within the scope of the Orwellian vision of the all-seeing Big Brother. Readers of the novel are able to visualize the dark and unearthly world through the eyes of Winston Smith, the protagonist. The world that he inhabits is cruel and ran by a government that controls the entire population. Big Brother is an entity in the novel who is seen as the all knowing and powerful. He is said to exists; however... ...om the government. There are no more anonymous masses. Jump forward to today, and it seems that the American people are openly giving away all sorts of freedoms and their right to privacy. There needs to be a balance. People need to take action. Also, Orwell's points out that the government is appointed too much power over apparently small things such as the Patriot Act; however, it is just a blueprint that will help widen the window of opportunity for the government to attain more power. Society is headed for a downfall where the government increasingly takes away civil liberties, whistle blowers and journalists are prosecuted, and truth is becomes a crime. It is difficult to see how anyone could make the claim that society is not headed closer to that direction. 1984 made a bold prediction. There are evidently parallels between society today and Orwell's book.

Benefits of Traditional Foods Essay

1. Contain fewer chemicals Traditional food traditional food is no chemicals food. 2. Health benefits Many traditional foods are beneficial to health. Example: the sweets or pickles made of fruits and vegetables. 3. Nutritious Indonesian traditional foods contain a lot of good nutrition and nutrients that good for health. Like rendang from West Sumatera, made from meat containing proteins. 4. Made from natural ingredients Indonesian traditional food made from ingredients that highly nutritious, healthy, and safe. Like artificial colorings made from pandan leaves. 5. According to the taste of Indonesian society Indonesian traditional food accordance of the public taste. So it is believed to have good potential to be developed. 6. Cheaper Indonesian traditional foods are cheaper than foreign foods. 7. Easier to find Indonesian traditional foods are available and easier to find. Like the sale of souvenirs and traditional local markets. 8. Creates jobs Another positive economic effect of a more locally-based food system is shown by creation of new jobs and small businesses. 9. Economic progress One advantage of local food is not talked about much but should be since it has tremendous potential to bring about positive change in communities all over the industrialized world. This is the economic impact of shifting to a more locally-based diet. Since every household in every community spends a significant chunk of money on food, the impact on the local economy of shifting even a portion of the expenditures to local items can be quite large. 10. Economic benefits The existence of economic ( forward or backward linkages) profits in line with more options and variety of food from traditional food product, imported and the combination of both Indonesian and foreign food. So it can also be introduced to foreign markets.

Old Men essays

Old Men essays Ernest J. Gaines was the brilliant author of the novel, A Gathering of Old Men. This book mainly is a fictional story about the real life prejudices whites had against blacks in the 1970's. Earnest displays these prejudices through carefully thought out characters. The main protagonist of the story is a white woman known as Candy. She is an orphan who was raised by neighbors near a plantation in the Deep South where the story takes place. At the time of the story, Candy is around 18 years old. Another main character is a white sheriff known as Mapes. He is also a protagonist in the story but is more of a neutral character than Candy. Many antagonists appear throughout the book, but the only one who takes any action is Luke Will. He is a huge young man who appears to be bull headed and never backs down from a fight. Also, Luke has a great dislike for the blacks in the area, and feels that whites are superior to blacks. In all these are the major characters that appear throughout the n ovel. The story begins with a young boy, known as Snookum, running from house to house telling all the "old men" in the area to meet at Mathu's house with a twelve gauge shotgun and an empty number five shell. Each old timer is rounded up one by one and many come from towns far away from the Marshall Quarters, the small town in which Mathu's house lies. In this part of the novel the reader is introduced to all the abused black folks who are fed up with being picked on by the whites. Each and every man has a different story about how the white folks, especially the plantation owner Fix and his son Beau, had abused him or his family. Around this time, the reader learns that Beau has been shot in Mathu's yard. Also, the reader is lead to believe that Mathu did indeed shoot him but Candy, being like Mathu's daughter was going to protect him by having all the old fed up men around the plantation come down and say that they had shot Beau. Even Candy her self clai...

Words for Extreme Weather Events

Words for Extreme Weather Events Words for Extreme Weather Events Words for Extreme Weather Events By Mark Nichol What’s the difference between a hurricane, a typhoon, and a tropical storm? The first two types of weather events are cyclones that sustain surface winds of at least 74 miles per hour- faster than virtually any highway speed limit in the United States. The term â€Å"tropical storm† refers to a degraded hurricane or typhoon. And why are there separate designations for hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones, which are essentially identical weather events? Hurricanes are storms that develop east of the International Date Line, which runs north to south through the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Hurricane is derived from the aboriginal Taino language’s word hurakn, which was borrowed into Spanish as huracn and thence into English. Taino was spoken throughout the islands of the Caribbean Sea, so it is natural that the language would inspire present-day usage. (A number of other words survive by assimilation from that dead language into English, including barbecue, hammock, and tobacco.) Typhoon, by contrast, stems from Greek, although it refers primarily to storms occurring in the vicinity of China and the Philippines, on the other side of the International Date Line. What’s the connection? The Greek term typhon was appropriated by the Arabs and thence found its way into Chinese, influenced by a similar-sounding Chinese word for â€Å"big wind.† And cyclone, also from Greek (ultimately from kyklos, also the origin of circle and cycle), is used popularly in the South Pacific Ocean, though scientists worldwide use the term when speaking or writing in English. Why do we capitalize names of hurricanes, typhoons, and tropical storms, and why are they assigned people’s first names? These are conventions established in the early 1950s by the scientific community to distinguish between two or more weather events occurring at or near the same time. (For the first quarter-century, only female names were used, following an alphabetized list. Starting in 1978, male names were used as well.) The tradition of assigning personal names to severe storms actually goes back hundreds of years, however; Caribbean hurricanes were named after saints based on which saint’s day the storm occurred, and the assignment of women’s names dates to the late nineteenth century. Some eighty names have, because of the catastrophic severity of the event, been retired from the list, an average of more than one a year; in 2005, Hurricane Katrina was only one of five storms whose names were retired because of the especially devastating nature of the storm. The score given to quantify a hurricane’s strength is also capitalized; the highest level is Category 5. Todays YouTube video: Inquire vs. Enquire Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Arrive To vs. Arrive AtCapitalization Rules for Names of Historical Periods and MovementsHow Long Should a Synopsis Be?

Anorexia nervosa Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Anorexia nervosa - Case Study Example Thus, the patient does not see herself as a person without an eating disorder would see herself; she needs to control her thoughts and emotions (ANAD, 2009). Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the typical treatment for both types of anorexia. SSRIs may be indicated if the anorexia co-occurs with another psychiatric disorder (APA, 2009). Sometimes it is a singular event in the child’s life which leads to eating disorders; sometimes it is a pattern of repeated behavior. The physician may not be equipped to assess the extent of the patient’s emotional states regarding her relationship to food, but a few well-placed questions can reveal much. The fact that Sara was diagnosed by a previous medical professional as having an eating disorder will probably lead to a repeat diagnosis; this may or may not be true. The child will not recover from her disorder without psychiatric intervention including cognitive behavior therapy, in which her behaviors and emotional states are modified and she is retrained to think and act in healthy ways. A complete review of systems should be performed. Growth patterns, weight, weight loss or gain (especially when there is no evidence of weight gain), general health, and so on should be explored, along with asking about usual activities such as eating and exercise. An examination of the skin could reveal excess hair; dry, yellow or blotchy skin; cracked fingernails; and other signs of malnutrition. An overview of eyes, ears, nose, mouth and throat may reveal complaints of headaches or dizziness, nose bleeds, dental difficulties (especially in the case of a binge-purge anorexic), or stiffness or tenderness in the thyroid area. A muscular examination could reveal atrophy; if the patient exercises excessively, body fat levels will be extremely low. A cardiovascular exam including listening to the heart and taking blood pressure

World Bank and the International Monetary Fund Essay

World Bank and the International Monetary Fund - Essay Example Through lending money, the bank supports the ambition of developing nations to join the European Union. This is done through Country Assistance Strategy. Work Bank provides both technical and financial assistance to the developing countries based on the assessment of the priorities of the country, creditworthiness and past portfolio performance (Sadler, 2009). In addition, the World Bank maintains macroeconomic stability, fosters human development, promotes sustainable growth of private sector and improves business environment, and also improves governance and strengthens institutions via building inclusive and efficient public institutions. The role of International Monetary Fund in providing loans to countries is somehow similar to those of World Bank. The International Monetary Fund has a mandate to oversee international financial and monetary system as well as monitor the financial and economic policies of the member countries. This is done through surveillance which enhances international cooperation. The International Monetary Fund also puts up lending conditions that ensure borrowing countries will repay the loan and that the nation will not solve its balance of payment in a manner to negatively affect the international economy (Sadler, 2009). Summarily, International Monetary Fund fosters economic stability and global growth, and poverty reduction through