McCarthyism and the Red Scare Essay

Have you ever had that moment in your life when you thought to yourself, â€Å"Why would he do that, or why would that happen?† Well, that is just what many people thought about McCartyism and the Red scare after that time period had passed. The Red Scare was a point in time when many Americans believed that the uprising of communism would be among them. These waves of the Red Scare happened twice, once after World War One, and the second time, which was more significant, after World War Two. During this time period many people were extremely afraid of communism, so the ideals of McCarthyism rose up. McCartyism was named after Joseph McCarthy, who was the Senator of Wisconsin at the time. Joseph McCarthy’s actions, as well as The House Un-American Activities Committee, and Congress were not justified. It was breaking people’s Constitutional rights, ruining many peoples lives and careers, and because they interrogated hundreds and thousands of people who didn†™t even believe that communism should exist in our country. One of the main reasons to prove that the actions during the Red Scare weren’t justified was because it broke people constitutional rights. During a speech Senator Margaret Smith of Maine said this inspiring quote, â€Å"The right to criticize; The right to hold unpopular beliefs; The right to protest; the right of independent thought.† Now, to some this might just look like a list of rights an American has. But to many, this is an inspiring quote of the things great about America and the things that McCarthy, Congress, and the HUAAC attacked. This shows that McCarthyism broke many of the rights that they as Americans had and deserved to keep. Another important reason why the actions of McCarthyism weren’t justified was that they ruined many people’s lives and careers. One group collected and published the names of people in the world of the arts and entertainment thought to be un-American in their politics (Picture seen in back). The most famous victims were able to successfully fight off such attacks, but Red Channels, radio stations, weren’t destroyed for many years. Red Channels reported on possible Communists and they faked information in order to keep their stations alive. These Channels ruined and/or harmed many people’s  careers. The last major reason why all this was not justified is because they interrogated hundreds and thousands of innocent people who didn’t even believe that communism should exist in our country. Refusal to cooperate with the HUAAC could ruin careers. If a witness refused to testify about past political associations, relying on the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the witness would be cited for contempt of Congress. The government would then prosecute the witness for criminal contempt of Congress. Some people were convicted and sent to federal prison for several years. Mcartyism was not justified because it broke many constitutional rights, ruined people’s careers, and led to a state of panic throughout America. So next time your in a situation where you dont know what to do or what to say. Think about how it will affect others, not just yourself.

Effectiveness of Educational Technology”

The purpose of this research â€Å" Effectiveness of Educational Technology† â€Å"From a Department of Education 1995 forum, some panelists contended that rather than debating the connections between technology-based instruction and test scores, schools should focus on the most obvious and compelling reason form implementing technology-namely, those students needs strong technology skills to succeed in the world of work. From research studies it shows positive benefits from the use of technology for educational purposes. The data method use to collect this information was â€Å"First, a U. S. Department of Education-funded study of nine technology-rich schools, concluded that the use of technology resulted in educational gains for all students regardless of age, race, parental income, or other characteristics. The second, a 10-year study supported by Apple Computer, Inc. Concluded that student provided with technology-rich learning environments ‘continued to perform well on standardized tests but were also developing a variety of competencies not usually measured. † Some success seen by there research, rising scores on state tests, improved student attendance, increased student comprehension, self motivation, more parent/ teacher support improved student retention. Another issue the research hoped to confront was the possibility of negative effects from prolonged exposure to computers. Some critics have worried those students who use computers extensively will become ‘brain-dead’ or less social from looking at the computer screen all day. At the end of two years, the researchers learned that some of their worst fears had been groundless. † In a 1994 Software Publisher's Association (SPA) study, research found that: Educational technology has a significant positive impact on achievement in all subject areas, across all levels of school, and in regular classrooms as well as those for special-needs students. Educational technology has positive effects on student attitudes. The degree of effectiveness is influenced by the student population, the instructional design, the teacher’s role, how students are grouped, and the levels of student access to technology. Technology makes instruction more student-centered, encourages cooperative learning, and stimulated increased teacher/student interaction. Positive changes in the learning environment evolve over time and do not occur quickly. †

Analysis of Tyrells Potatio Chips business

Analysis of Tyrells Potatio Chips business The team of the Tyrrell potato chips is very passionate about growing potatoes and turning them into delicious chips. Having travelled the world in the last nineties in search of the perfect potato chips production method and equipments. Therefore later on the equipment and methods were brought to Tyrrell’s court farm and launched a product that would be Britain’s best loved â€Å"premium† snack product. The main objective of the Tyrrell’s potato chips was to get closer to the customers. Therefore as a result Tyrrell potato chips developed a more sophisticated chip. He mainly cut the potatoes thicker so that it retained more potato flavor. Due to this the final product was very different from other products and therefore the customers were happy to pay a premium price for a superior quality and a better tasting product. Since the launch of Tyrrell potato chips in 2002, it has built over 4000 customers. They include independent retail customers and many pr estigious food retailers. Therefore Will Chase continues to evolve his dream and remain devoted to develop the Tyrrell’s brand using his Herefordshire farm. What advice would you offer Will Chase, the owner of â€Å"Tyrrell’s chips†, as to how to develop and grow its customer base amongst customers from higher social grades, without either changing or losing the perception of its product coming from a Herefordshire farmer. With reference to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_base 2010 11:30am customer base is defined as: The customer base is the group of customer and/or consumers that a business serves. In the most situations, a large part of this group is made up of repeat customers with a high ratio of purchase over time. These customers are the main source of consumer spending. In many cases, the customer base is considered the business’s target market, where customer behaviors are well understood through market research or past experience. All act ions the company takes would be through consideration of its customer base. Companies with a customer base consisting mainly of large companies may increase their customer base by pursuing small and mid-size companies Businesses in war zones may temporarily expand their customer base to include military personnel, but ongoing violence can drive away a local customer base. The advice offered by me to Will Chase will be based on three main points i.e.: Maintaining company’s image Customer relationship management (CRM) Emphasis on core benefits of unique selling proposition (USP) Maintaining company’s image means that whatever action is taken by the members of the company it should make sure it gives a rise to the company’s name and not a fall. The company’s image can be maintained by considering the 4p’s of marketing, the 4p’s of marketing are as follows: product, price, place and promotion. Customer relationship management (CRM) is the overal l process of building and maintaining profitable customer relationships by delivering superior customer value and satisfaction. Unique selling proposition (USP) is a marketing concept that was first proposed as a theory to explain a pattern among successful advertising campaigns of the early 1940s. It states that such campaigns made unique propositions to the customer and that this convinced them to switch brands. The term was invented by Rosser Reeves of Ted Bates & Company. Today the term is used in other fields or just casually to refer to any aspect of an. object that differentiates it from similar objects

Industrial Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Industrial - Research Paper Example This would be a very secure measure if in fact the key was not simply placed inside the top drawer of the desk. The key is not labeled, but anyone who found it could easily deduce that it would be to unlock the file cabinet. This is a breakdown of the original control measure for this workstation. The workstation also has displays of important phone numbers and contact information for staff members within our department. These are posted on the walls of the cubicle within the workstation and are easily used to reference who to contact and what phone numbers and email addresses to contact them at. The company logo is also placed on the monitor and CPU of the computer in the workstation to show ownership as well as institute a sense of pride for the company. Therefore, the logo in this circumstance is also considered to be a symbol for the company and the workstation. This logo is always made available on all documents and equipment; hence, the logo is also printed on a sticker which i s found on the top of the printer in the workstation. Overall, the workstation is equipped to perform the functions that are desired by the company and its supervisors. References Understanding internal controls. (2009). Retrieved from http:// www.ucop.edu/ctlacct/under-ic.pdf

Implementing and Managing Budgets Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Implementing and Managing Budgets - Case Study Example Omega College is a private institution in the Midwest that experiences budgetary challenges because of their limited number of students and resources. The college experience many challenges because they rely on the tuition fees paid by the students to meet their daily operational costs whilst the number of students is not adequately high. For instance international students enroll at the college and study for only a semester then return to their hometowns. The college did not meet their enrolment targets in the last four years and students in other colleges were transferred to the State University to complete their Bachelor’s Degrees. Omega College relies on the generosity of the alumni, friends, and board members to assist finance the annual operating budget. I would recommend the institution in the short term to advertise the programs offered at Omega College at fair prices using various forms of media such as newspapers, televisions, radio stations, and social network sites such as Facebook, which is the most popular social site. Advertising will promote awareness in the society and hence individuals will be aware of the existence of the college and consider enrolling their children at the college. The college can get other additional revenues from projects such as clean water projects and renewable energy projects where they can generate biomass and solar energy and sell to the communities in the area hence generating more finances. I will conduct interviews with the community members to gather data to find out if the options being considered are viable and cost effective. The college will need to work with the master budget to summarize all their projected activities by the way of cash budget, budgeted balance sheet, and the budgeted income statement. Zierdt (2009) noted that the master budget is an all-inclusive projection of how the management plans to conduct all their activities over the fiscal year of the budget period. The college will

Audit risk analysis of a company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Audit risk analysis of a company - Essay Example This is mainly due to an increase in taxes paid by the company. The Group might have been induced to manipulate the taxes because previous tax losses available for claim might be expiring this year. Exceptional items were more than the current year in the previous year, yet there was no taxation charge in the previous year (Scapa Group, 2013a). The calculation of the tax over the exceptional items has to be checked in detail. The operating profits increased by 14 % and the tax charge on them increased by 32%. The application of the new (changed) tax rate over the profits has to be reviewed. Classification of the exceptional items is also of high risk. The rationale for such classification of exceptional items has to be inquired for. Scapa has disposed off one of its subsidiaries and faced pressures from European side (Scapa Group, 2013b). In order to present a better picture, Scapa might have engaged in showing a better Trading profit to Revenue ratio. This ratio is 6.5%, which is 1.1% better than the previous year ratio. Had exceptional items been included in trading profit, the ratio would have come down to 6% showing just 0.5 % improvements with respect to previous year ratio. Other Receivables have decreased by 98.5 % from $19.6 mn to $0.3 mn. This variation is mainly because of the re-classification of the assets of the Georgia subsidiary (Scapa Group, 2013c). This amount pertained to the insurance claim. The status of the claim and its valuation is a critical matter. It might be possible that a claim might have decreased, but it is transferred at the amount of the opening balance. Moreover, this liability is discounted at risk free interest rate of 3.35% (Scapa Group, 2013d). The assumption on the basis of which this rate is taken has to be reviewed. Change in rate may change the valuation of the insurance claim. Secondly, the discounted asset has not been unwound by the

Leisure law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Leisure law - Assignment Example It was actually in Donoghue v. Stevenson, in which the concept of duty of care was significantly and formally conceptualized and developed. Hereby the court of law established some concrete tests which ought to be satisfied so as to establish the duty of care. However, it was actually in Caparo Industries v. Dickman that happens to be a prominent British Tort Law case, in which a tripartite test for establishing the duty of care was set up (Cane 1996). Dickman happened to be the auditors of the accounts of the company Fidelity plc, while Caparo Industries happened to be a company that purchased the shares of Fidelity plc. After purchasing the shares of Fidelity plc, Caparo Industries found out that the accounts prepared by Dickman at no time indicated or showed that the firm has been running into large losses. It needs to be mentioned that before Donohue v. Stevenson, the claimants had to verify the existent duty clause to achieve success. In contrast, the subsequent cases tried to o rganize and limit the tests given by Donohue v. Stevenson. Caparo Industries v. Dickman was a step in that direction. The court established that in case of Caparo Industries v. Dickman, for the emergence of care to arise in the cases of negligence, the three essential criteria needed to be verified: There is no denying the fact that human relationships tend to thrive under the aegis of a large and wide range of situations and circumstances. Hence, the very establishment of duty of care in any particular case may give way to many confusions and variations. Traditionally speaking, the law has always tried to verify and establish the duty of care in a range of circumstances, each and every circumstance being incumbent to its own specific characteristics and peculiarities. However, this practice has lead to the creation of a whole body of

ASB'S Framework for Preparation and Presentation of Financial Research Paper

ASB'S Framework for Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements - Research Paper Example Three more important concepts which are identified by IAS 1 are Prudence, substance over form and materiality. These concepts form the basis of the selection and implementation of the accounting policies. The basic purpose of the framework presented by the IASB is to provide the definition of why the financial statements are required. It also ascertains the qualitative characteristics that eke the process of making the information provided by the financial statements more useful. The framework also elaborates about the basic elements included in the financial statements and the concepts for recognizing and measuring them in financial statements. The general purpose financial statement is required to provide information regarding the financial position including the cash flow and performance of the company. The information provided in the financial statement helps a company in comparing its performance from the last year and supports the management in undertaking important decisions regarding the business. The purpose can only be fulfilled if the financial statements provide information regarding the following aspects of the company. Other information in the notes and related documents help the users in estimation and evaluation of the present and future position of the entity. The framework provided by the IASB addresses the general purpose financial statements prepared by every business entity for addressing the information requirements of a wide range of users in making economic decisions. As the framework addresses the purpose of preparing the general financial reports it may not apply to the special purpose financial reports.  

MGT Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MGT - Assignment Example The video â€Å"Cremation Urn† presents the importance of the cremation urn in our households and the process of making the product. I derived the complex process, chemical materials, time, and equipment used in making cremation urn from the video. I also established the uses and the factors that determine the quality and size of this product. This information helps me to decide on the efficiency and quality of the cremation urn. Unfortunately, the video did not say the cost of making and the buying price of this product. Having watched the â€Å"contact lenses† video, I established the difficult process of making a single contact lens. Additionally, I learnt and understood the 14 steps involved in making a contact lens. The video also show the efficiency and uses of a contact lens. This information helped me to understand the process of making traditional contact lenses, how to store them, and the technicians involved. However, the video fails to address the computerized and modern way of making contact lenses. The video â€Å"Tetra park containers† presents the process, materials, and equipment used to make a Tetra park containers. I also derived the quality of the containers and the three layers that make the container. It also presents the technicians involved in this process. With this information, I will be able to assess the environmental impact and effectiveness of such containers. However, the video did not show how the product is eco-friendly and failed to show the process of attaching the plastic opening system. Indeed, the video also failed to present the capacity of the manufacturing machine and neglected the cost of making Tetra park containers. Finally, the â€Å"Financial services† videos showed the professionals associated with financial services and presented the operational efficiency in financial services. I also established the different types of financial services as well as the challenges in the financial sector. The video showed a

Outline Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Outline - Assignment Example The study goes on to discuss different products that are processed from organic Aloe Vera together with the health benefits associated with these products. There is a detailed review of the different farming associations that aide the farmers with the expertise and financial loans that they require to succeed in organic farming. The report is going to discuss and document the findings from extensive research on the organic farming practices that are used to grow Aloe Vera. This is because farmers around the world are investing heavily in organic farming, shunning the popular practice of using chemicals (Gage, 1996). This is evidenced in regions that have abundance of fertile soil that is rich in nutrients and a forest-free environment with a favourable climate that supports the growth of Aloe Vera all year long (Zan Min Jina, 2007). The Aloe Vera leaves are tested on a daily basis, a process which facilitates monitoring the health of the plant and ensures a bumper harvest at maturity (Coats, 1996). The report will also include a detailed review of the tests used to determine the health of the plants (M. Pol, 2007). The Aloe Vera leaves are harvested by hand, and the research will propose mechanized systems that can harvest these leaves; however, the report will also document the main reasons for the farmers’ choice to harvest the leaves by hand (Chattopadhyay, 1998). The Aloe Vera plant has also found a wide application in the manufacture of different products that include medicines, juices and skin jelly (Douglas Grindlay, 1986). The report will document the main buyers of this raw material, the returns that the farmers obtain by selling their produce and the impacts of these returns on their lives (Ricardo D. Valdez-Cepedab, 2006). The report will cover the challenges that the farmers face in their daily lives and how they overcome these challenges (Y. Saks, 1995). Organic farming has gained popularity globally and it is slowly replacing the use

President Reagan’s Diplomacy Essay Example for Free

President Reagan’s Diplomacy Essay Ronald Reagan is ranked highly as amongst the greatest presidents the United States has ever seen. His achievements silenced critics who had earlier decried his lack of administrative experience during the race to the Whitehouse. His prowess and masterly of effective foreign policy has left scholars and analysts baffled.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ronald Reagan was born in 1911 and served as the president of the United States in a delicate period between 1981 and 1989. It is termed as a rather delicate period as it was the climax of the cold war. During this period too, the public’s confidence in the presidency and its ability to unify and inspire Americans had been shattered by the Richard Nixon’s tenure in office. Ronald Reagan came on to the public limelight by capturing the attention of the media as a Hollywood star. He emerged from the entertainment industry having cut for himself an insurmountable personal profile. His popularity was from the conservative wing that saw him as representing conservative traditional values. His leadership in the workers unions and rather strong sentiments against communism plunged him into politics. His charisma played well with the public who were inspired by his calls for a free enterprise system. He ran for governor in 1966 winning with a landslide. He ran for presidential nomination in 1968 on a Republican ticket but lost, he also lost to Gerald Ford in 1976. He successfully ran for president in 1980, be coming the 40th president of the United States. His tenure in office had notable achievements in both foreign and domestic policies, though still riddled with controversies and scandals; the hall mark of his presidency was his prowess in diplomacy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   President Ronald Reagan was an avowed anti communist, his rhetoric’s and campaigns against communism had led to the rise in his popularity with people seeing him a president who would restore a sense of patriotism and reassert the position of the United States in the global scene. By the time be assumed office dà ©tente was in place. Reagan exhibited rather a radical shift from his predecessors; his views on dà ©tente and the reigning foreign policy of isolationism and appeasement were in the negative. He had an inner drive to cripple communism on the mere ground that it was repressive and immoral. His diplomacy was driven by the need to achieve this (John P. D., 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The hallmark of Reagan diplomacy was in thawing the relationship with the Soviet Union through his close interaction with the then General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. This is rather ironic considering Reagan was committed to undermining the Soviets interests and influence in the world. His denouncement of dà ©tente policy was seen as having aggravated the already sour relations with the Soviet, this however was not to be as the end would justify him. Shifting form dà ©tente, Reagan immediately ordered a massive military build up and running any stalled military program that would have demonstrated the undeniable military might of the United States; it is the Strategic Defense Initiative Program (SDI) that would remain controversial and box the Soviet Union to a corner readying it for open diplomacy. The Strategic Defense Initiate was a controversial project that was supposed to step up the United States military defense in its ability to defend itself against any ground or space missile attacks. The program was dubbed â€Å"Star Wars† and was led by Reagan’s belief that with such a program in place the United States would fend it self off any nuclear attacks. Russia was quite apprehensive of this program and these concerns were certainty voiced by the then Russian leader Yuri Andropov.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Before the coming of Mikhail Gorbachev into power President Reagan’s attitude to the USSR was rather lacking in any hint of diplomacy. His policy towards USSR and its cahoots was one of open hostility and filled with imperialistic tendencies. Many Analysts referred to him as a warmonger. He had rather harsh words for USSR referring to it as an evil empire. A shift in policy and attitude was however witnessed as the USSR began also to shift towards the ideas of free market under Gorbachev, moves that would bring the cold war to a close. In achieving this, Reagan did not apply diplomacy solely; rather it was a multifaceted approach that included even arms building. Reagan was optimistic that the Soviet Union would not match the United States in an all out arms race. True to his words, the economic crisis that later faced USSR impeded on its ability to compete in the race. USSR was going through a tough time in its economic backyard as a result of both its own undoing and the overbearing influence of the United States (Paul Kengor, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One outstanding fact that comes up is the willingness of Ronald Reagan to meet with the leader of an enemy faction. Many had scoffed at such as an idea but Reagan was particularly interested in meeting Gorbachev, who was coming up as more accommodating to the western values than his predecessors. He was also younger than the earlier leaders and had initiated reforms towards free enterprise to cope with the economic crisis facing the nation. Reagan’s strategy had been to strengthen the military so that he could have an elevated position in the diplomatic talks (Michael S., Gale W., and Lila F., 1987)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   His skills emerge clearly as the talks were not held during the usual summit sessions only but also after. According to Edwin Meese, an attorney general during Reagan’s tenure, Reagan waited to â€Å"establish a personal relationship and to break what he viewed as the barriers of mistrust that divided our countries.† (http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed061404c.cfm) When finally Reagan and Gorbachev met, a cordial relationship was founded and would blossom signifying the start of the end of the cold war and history took a new shape. The first meeting between the two leaders came in November 1985, in Geneva; it was later to be followed by a series of meetings in Washington and Moscow. In these meetings, these two most powerful leaders then did not exhibit arrogance and bitterness rather they displayed tact and skills. What he was able to achieve silenced critics. It is Margaret Thatcher who puts his achievements in diplomacy more accurately when she said that Reagan â€Å"won the cold war without firing a shot† (LaFeber, Walter, 2002)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1987 for example, President Reagan and Gorbachev were able to negotiate their way to the destruction of all intermediate range nuclear missiles as well as agreeing on the need for inspections.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The whole diplomatic turnaround of President Ronald Reagan is though full of contradictions. He came into office on a bedrock of demonization of communism having referred to it as an â€Å"evil empire† discouraging any diplomatic ties between the two nations, as Michael s. et al. (1987) notes his administration could not offer to â€Å"review the official cultural exchange programs, denied visa to many would be Soviet visitors and increased restrictions on the movement and activities of the Soviets it did allow to visit.† This changed however in 1985 (Matlock, Jack, 2004).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One key fact that emerges in the analysis of Reagans diplomatic skills is how he had a well mapped out strategy of combining negotiations with military strength. The congress stepped up military spending; this though could not happen after 1984 as congress declined further increases halting the military buildup initiatives. Negotiations with the soviets after that become quite inevitable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reagans diplomatic skills stemmed from his earlier positions he held. He had refined his charismatic skills as an entertainer and media personality. He was also the president of the Screen Actors’ Guild and had toned up his negotiating skills especially as he sought to strike better deals for those he represented.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Carnes Lord and Helle C. (2007) in their article Public Diplomacy and the Cold War: Lessons Learnt, notes how the public diplomacy was re-invigorated under the presidency of Ronald Reagan. Prior to Reagan’s regime, few presidents had perfected the institutionalization of public diplomacy as an effective tool of winning the cold war. Canes and Helle note that â€Å"reagan placed renewed emphasis on psychological operations and public diplomacy† in tandem with his military build up. Reagan gave impetus to the public diplomacy with an intention of publicizing the ideological flaws of the Soviet Union. Skeptics were expecting little from this strategy but it is hailed for having hastened the end of cold war. Public diplomacy according to these two scholars is the multifaceted approach of promoting a countries ideals and superior attitudes to both within its citizenry and across the borders.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In addition to personal diplomacy, Ronald Reagan had perfected the art of public diplomacy having brought together a think tank comprising of competent propagandists and foreign policy makers. He combined aptly both propaganda and diplomacy hoping to win public and international support. Reagan formed what came to be known as â€Å"project truth† and â€Å"project democracy†. This was a combination of both domestic and international policies aimed at winning the support of the citizen at the domestic level as well as at the international front.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Despite the fact that Ronald reagan is hailed for having brought diplomacy to a new level by agreeing earlier in his governor days to meet with the USSR leaders, his administration was not without a number of diplomatic breaches and scandals that would taint his established image. For example he failed to initiate diplomacy in negotiating with the air controller workers in 1968 instead he relieved them of their duties. Reagan went against his political advisors opinion and sacked all the striking workers presenting to the public another face of his administration.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   His diplomatic skills also failed to see him wriggle his way out of the Iran Contra Affair. Iran Contra Affair is a scandal that involved top level government officials who oversaw the selling of weapons with an intention of funding insurgents. The International Court of Justice highly criticized Reagan’s administration for participating in the covert operations. Reagan pleaded ignorance claiming that the scandal was going on without his consent. A commission was set up to investigate the ongoing. They could not find a direct link to Reagan’s involvement, but he was highly criticized for his hands off style of staff management. He was also criticized for his handling of the affairs and of his intention to attack other countries driven by his sheer hate for communism. The Iran-Contra Affair became the biggest scandal of the 1980s. This scandal would lead to a number of his high profile staff being charged and convicted.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   President Ronald Reagan had a special interest in the countries Latin Central America not only due to its proximity but also due to the encroachment of communism in the region. This was the reason the Iran Contra Affairs scandal got there in the first place. Reagan’s representatives claimed that the help accorded to the insurgents was to stop the flow of weapons to the wrong hands in Nicaragua. The handling of the Iran Contra Affair not only put Reagan on a bad spotlight but also his diplomacy team. His public diplomacy efforts were seen as aiming at misrepresenting information especially in regard to the Iran Contra Affair, with an intention of influencing the opinion of the public. Reporters and congress members were in constant attack from his diplomacy team. Carla Binion (1990) notes this team â€Å"did not limit their attacks to out of step members of congress, they also attacked journalists who wrote anti contra stories†   This however is how President Reagan worked, he believed in diplomacy and strength. The diplomacy that he helped built stands up to today and has helped the United States stand where it is today. His diplomatic strategies in Latin America and central Europe have been consistently followed almost three decades later.   His regime though was largely criticized for selective application of diplomacy. His administration infringed on the sovereign rights of nations especially in the third world especially those with despotic leaders and leaning towards the east. His diplomatic tact was not seen when it came to the small and non strategic states. A bit of diplomacy was seen in some of the Latin American countries though most of them tasted the wrath of the United States military which assisted topple some of third world regimes. In spite of these flaws in his administration, his charisma and negotiating skills helped elevate his profile compared to that of those in power during the cold war era, the likes of Jimmy carter and Lyndon Johnson. When Ronald Reagan won the presidential elections in the early 1980s not many would have thought he would make great strides in both domestic and foreign policy. By the time his tenure came into completion, he had made a name for himself mostly due to his prowess in both personal and public diplomacy. He came to power at the height of cold war. His first move was to make it clear that his administration would not pursue Dà ©tente and isolationism rather it would go on a military build up. With such a policy in place, the US relations with USSR became more strained. His diplomatic skills would be demonstrated when he was able to negotiate the scaling down of nuclear weapons and missiles in the historic summit meeting with the then USSR leader Mikhail Gorbachev. These negotiations would put an end to a war that had been ranging on for years highlighting his diplomatic skills to the world.   References Paul Kengor, 2006. The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism. New York: Regan Books, an imprint of HarperCollins publishers. John Patrick Diggings, 2007. Ronald Reagan: Fate, Freedom, and the Making of History (New York: W.W. Norton Company. Michael Shuman, Gale Warner, and Lila Forest, 1987. Citizen diplomacy: what it is, how it began, and where he it is going. Retrieved on 13/ 04/ 2007 from http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC15/Shuman.htm Carnes Lord and Helle C. 2007. Public Diplomacy and the Cold War: Lessons Learnt. HarperCollins publishers Carla Binion. George H. W. Bushs many lies. Retrieved on 13/ 04/ 2007 from http://www.onlinejournal.com/archive/01-20-00_Binion-Pt_4.pdf. LaFeber, Walter, 2002. America, Russia, and the Cold War, 1945–1971. New York: Wiley. Matlock, Jack, 2004. Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War Ended. New York: Random House. Edwin Mesee, June 2004. The Personal Diplomacy of Reagan. Heritage foundation. Retrieved on 13/ 04/ 2007 from http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed061404c.cfm

Dont Blame the Eater Essay Example for Free

Dont Blame the Eater Essay In his article dont blame the eater Zinczenko blames the food industry for the obesity epidemic. Zinczenko opens his articles with a personal story about growing up eating fast food because his parents split up, his mom had to work and he had no other options. He goes on to give statistics on childhood diabetes due to obesity. Zinczenko then insists that complicating the lack of alternatives is the lack of information about what exactly were consuming. over all Zinczenko is advocating changes in the fast food industry because he believes there is a direct link between obesity, monies spent on fast food advertising and the costs of health care. I agree with Zinczenko that the fast food industry needs to change by as Zinczenko put it â€Å"providing the nutrition information people need to make informed choices about their products. However I question his claim of not blaming the eater that the food industry is to blame for todays rate of childhood obesity. After all I do believe as Zinczenko states â€Å"shouldn’t we know better than to eat two meals a day in fast food restaurants? † Growing up my parents divorced and, like Zinczenko, I was a latch key kid. Everyday my parents made sure my brother and I had lunch for school and dinner that night. As a parent today I understand the pressure of taking care of things, kids, school, work, extracurricular activities, laundry, making dinner and then trying to squeeze in quality time with the family and possibly a social life. With all that going on we always have a choice. I make my family and what they eat a priority, so I make it a point to buy health easy snacks like fruit, yogurt, cheese sticks, and granola bars. Dont get me wrong we buy and eat cookies, and on a Friday night dinner is takeout. But the rest of the week I make it a priority to cook and eat at home. This means planning ahead, it may mean I cook in advance during a really busy week, we will have leftovers once a week and the crockpot at times is my best friend. I do it because the health of my family is important to me and I choose not to feed them fast foods. Over all I believe it is the responsibility of the individual and the parents of children to make the right choices and to educate themselves and their children about making the right choices and typo educate themselves and their children about healthy eating habits. Hopefully with education and the help of government regulations we can help guide people into making better choices and help fight disease due to obesity, after all as Zinczenko said the problem isnt just theres its all of ours.

Network Aware Adaptive Media Streaming in Mobile Cloud

Network Aware Adaptive Media Streaming in Mobile Cloud Authors Name/s per 1st Affiliation (Author) line 1 (of Affiliation): dept. name of organization line 2-name of organization, acronyms acceptable line 3-City, Country line 4-e-mail address if desired Authors Name/s per 2nd Affiliation (Author) line 1 (of Affiliation): dept. name of organization line 2-name of organization, acronyms acceptable line 3-City, Country line 4-e-mail address if desired Abstract—This electronic document is a â€Å"live† template and already defines the components of your paper [title, text, heads, etc.] in its style sheet. *CRITICAL: Do Not Use Symbols, Special Characters, or Math in Paper Title or Abstract. (Abstract) Keywords—multimedia streaming; mobile cloud; ranking; QoS I. Introduction In recent years, mobility of computing devices has caught the fascination and attention of many users all over the world. This has led to rapid advancement in mobile technology and now users can easily stream high quality multimedia content like audio and video on the go. A huge limitation to this, however, is the loss of quality that is incurred while transferring the data. Due to the mobile nature of the devices, varying signal strength can lead to packet loss which ultimately leads to the reduction in the quality of service (QoS). In addition, the memory available in mobile devices is relatively low. To overcome these constraints, data is stored and retrieved from a cloud. Cloud computing addresses the QoS related issues and reliability problems. The cloud has a large amount of storage space and computation power. Harnessing the power of the cloud, it will be possible to service the needs of multiple mobile clients simultaneously. Using the cloud, it is possible to allocate resources on demand and reallocate them dynamically. In order to stream data from a cloud to a mobile device, a coding and decoding architecture like H264/SVC is necessary. This architecture is an extension of the H.264/AVC. It ensures that the same quality of video that can be obtained using H.264/MPEG-4 AVC design on the mobile device. It employs spatial scalability and temporal scalability. According to spatial scalability samples of high quality data can be predicted from their decoded low quality counterparts. Using temporal scalability, the entire video is modelled in such a way that the motion is encoded as dependencies so that the picture for subsequent frames need not be encoded directly. In order to boost QoS, a technique called Bayesian-Gaussian method is used to predict the bandwidth available to the mobile user. Once the bandwidth has been predicted, the data is encoded using xuggler transcoding algorithm. To finally stream the video, multipath routing protocols are used and ranks are provided to each node to ensure that none of them have to wait indefinitely to be serviced. Following this, a comparison is made to the existing Bayesian technique proposed by Keshav[1]. II. Related Work A. Mobile Cloud Compuing A mobile cloud computing setup is one in which mobile devices outsource the computational power of the cloud. Data storage and processing are both performed outside the mobile device. B. Streaming Content C. Role of Cache in Real Time Streaming The role of the cache has been outlined by Wu et al[2]. When a Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) request is sent by a machine, the cache memory is initially searched. In case a cache miss occurs, the original server services the request. D. Improving Quality of Service A number of different approaches have been proposed in order to ensure that the quality of service is maximized. One such method presented by Wang and Dey[3] uses a technique that varies the complexity of the content depending on the network. Non-essential data in a scene are omitted to accomplish this. Lai et al[4] have also put forth an approach to data streaming that depends on the network. Prediction of the bandwidth is done based on measured historical data. This will help prevent the wastage of bandwidth. It is also noted that the video format to be used is to be chosen. This is performed by a Bayesian prediction module. A third approach is detailed by Thuy An et al[5]. Enhancements are made to the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) in order to provide an overall better experience. The data separated into two categories and compressed. Lossless techniques are used to provide the best possible output. E. Ranking The various approaches mentioned in the previous section discuss improving QoS with respect to one user. But in reality, the cloud is simultaneously accessed by more than just one user. For this reason, it is important to ensure that there is some scheduling mechanism in place that will monitor the incoming requests so that no client request is forced to wait for too long without being serviced. Zhou et al[6] have proposed a novel approach in which all the competing mobile devices work together to minimize congestion. This approach aims to strike a balance between reducing the distortion in data and increasing the performance of the network as a whole. III. Proposed Work The proposed model has two major components: the mobile device and the cloud. The mobile device simply issues the request while the cloud provides a rank, predicts the bandwidth and then streams the video accordingly. The architecture has been outlined in Fig.1. A. Mobile Device The implementation of the mobile portion of the architecture is fairly straight forward. The user is provided with the option to specify the location of the video in the cloud server. Then, the cache is check to see if the requested data is available. If it is, the data is transferred directly from the cache. This type of cached data will be accessible offline as well. In the case where a cache miss occurs, the server is accessed to retrieve the data. B. The Cloud The videos that are to be stream are stored in a separate database. When a request is made, the video is streamed using the cloud. In order to do this, three major modules are implemented in the cloud. In the cloud, the users are ranked and then the bandwidth available is estimated. Finally, xuggler transcoding is used to encode the data and the encoded data is transferred to the mobile device for viewing. Each operation is handled by a different module as show in Fig.2. C. Bandwidth Prediction D. Xuggler Transcoding E. Ranking The ranking module is used to ensure that QoS is improved while transmitting the data. Once the bandwidth has been determined, the data has to be sent in such a way that the congestion in the network is as low as possible. Ranking is done based on the user profile. The user profile contains a history of the user’s downloads as well as the bandwidth measured. Poorly performing nodes in the system are identified using this ranking system and they can be enhanced to improve the overall functioning of the network as a whole. F. Channel Assignment Once ranking is done, multipath routing algorithms are used to transfer the data. Link states are determined and the several feasible paths are selected. Since several paths are selected, the chances of congestion and packet loss are reduced. The most suitable channel for transmission of the data can be determined by solving the linear programming equation Min (1) The process of selecting the best channel is shown in Fig. 3. IV. Output The proposed system has been implemented and its results have been compared with that of the Keshav’s Bayesian technique. It can be seen that the proposed system works better than Keshav’s system consistently. Comparative studies have been undertaken on the basis of bandwidth and peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR). A. Bandwidth The bandwidth predicted by the proposed system is a lot closer to the actual measured bandwidth than that predicted by Keshav’s system. The graph in Fig.4 clearly shows the deviation of both techniques from the actual measured bandwidth. B. PSNR and Bit Rate The quality of the video streamed can be determined based on the bit rate as well as the PSNR. The proposed system performs better than Keshav’s system on both counts. This is shown in the graph in Fig.5. C. Video Quality The comparative study only shows us how the system works in comparison to Keshav’s existing system. To determine the effectiveness of this system, a detailed study of the video quality was performed and has been summarized in Table 1. Conclusion It is clear from the studies undertaken that the proposed Bayesian-Gaussian technique works well at predicting the bandwidth available. The xuggler transcoding also ensures that quality is preserved. Thus, using a mobile cloud it is possible to stream videos without a loss in quality and also without forcing the user to wait for the video to load. Acknowledgment (Heading 5) The preferred spelling of the word â€Å"acknowledgment† in America is without an â€Å"e† after the â€Å"g.† Avoid the stilted expression â€Å"one of us (R. B. G.) thanks †. Instead, try â€Å"R. B. G. thanks†. Put sponsor acknowledgments in the unnumbered footnote on the first page. References The template will number citations consecutively within brackets [1]. The sentence punctuation follows the bracket [2]. Refer simply to the reference number, as in [3]—do not use â€Å"Ref. [3]† or â€Å"reference [3]† except at the beginning of a sentence: â€Å"Reference [3] was the first † Number footnotes separately in superscripts. Place the actual footnote at the bottom of the column in which it was cited. Do not put footnotes in the reference list. Use letters for table footnotes. Unless there are six authors or more give all authors’ names; do not use â€Å"et al.†. Papers that have not been published, even if they have been submitted for publication, should be cited as â€Å"unpublished† [4]. Papers that have been accepted for publication should be cited as â€Å"in press† [5]. Capitalize only the first word in a paper title, except for proper nouns and element symbols. For papers published in translation journals, please give the English citation first, followed by the original foreign-language citation [6]. G. Eason, B. Noble, and I.N. Sneddon, â€Å"On certain integrals of Lipschitz-Hankel type involving products of Bessel functions,† Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. London, vol. A247, pp. 529-551, April 1955. (references) J. Clerk Maxwell, A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism, 3rd ed., vol. 2. Oxford: Clarendon, 1892, pp.68-73. I.S. Jacobs and C.P. Bean, â€Å"Fine particles, thin films and exchange anisotropy,† in Magnetism, vol. III, G.T. Rado and H. Suhl, Eds. New York: Academic, 1963, pp. 271-350. K. Elissa, â€Å"Title of paper if known,† unpublished. R. Nicole, â€Å"Title of paper with only first word capitalized,† J. Name Stand. Abbrev., in press. Y. Yorozu, M. Hirano, K. Oka, and Y. Tagawa, â€Å"Electron spectroscopy studies on magneto-optical media and plastic substrate interface,† IEEE Transl. J. Magn. Japan, vol. 2, pp. 740-741, August 1987 [Digests 9th Annual Conf. Magnetics Japan, p. 301, 1982]. M. Young, The Technical Writer’s Handbook. Mill Valley, CA: University Science, 1989.

Are Computers Putting Our Childrens Education at Risk? :: essays research papers

Computers are woven into every aspect of our lives. From the microwave oven that small children can learn to use to heat up a hot dog, to the computers under the hoods of our cars, we interact with computers whether we realise it or not. (Campbell, 1999). But when it comes to the education of our children, the use of computers becomes a controversial issue. Of course, as stated above, computers are an everyday tool in the education of children, but the question being asked is, what effect do these computers really have on our children? Are computers being used in age-appropriate ways? Do program designers take into account the developmental needs of children? Are teachers receiving sufficient technology training? Is "learning software" really what it purports to be, or is it simply "edutainment" that reinforces impulsive point-and-click behaviour in the pursuit of a trivial goal? (Healy 1998) Many people are beginning to wonder about these questions, and are comin g to the conclusion that computers may be very harmful to the development of our children. Academically, physically, socially and emotionally. There are many negative issues surrounding the use of computers as educational tools. These range from ineffective learning, impacts on children’s health, creativity, brain development and social and emotional growth. Also, besides the issue of computers affecting children’s development, there is the ongoing issue of costs of this new and constantly updating technology. These issues, combined with many others, are beginning to emerge, and we can see why many people are reconsidering the validity of computers in education, especially that of young, primary school-aged children. In relation to the issue of the negative effects computers have on the physical development of children, Jane Healy has presented the following fact: The American Academy of Paediatrics has expressed concern about the amount of time children spend in front of various types of screens, and several experts in eye development have stated that computer use is creating problems in children developing visual systems. (Healy 1998, p.18) Healy also cites literature that suggests that during the first six years of life, misuses of technology may adversely affect brain maturation and development. Computers do have physical effects on those who use them, and these effects can be serious and long lasting, even permanent. Moreover, they contribute to a wide range of disorders – to muscle, joint and tendon damage, to headaches and eyestrain, to seizures and skin problems.

Business Cycle Theory :: essays research papers

The Sticky-Wage Model In this model, economists pursue the sluggish adjustment of nominal wages path to explain why it is that the short-run aggregate supply curve is upward sloping. For sticky nominal wages, an increase in the price level lowers the real wage therefore making labor cheaper for firms. Cheaper labor means that firms will hire more labor, and the increased labor will in turn produce more output. The time period where the nominal wage cannot adjust to the changes in price level and output signifies the positive sloping aggregate supply curve. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The nominal wage is set by the workers and the firms based on the target real wage, which may or may not be the labor supply & demand equilibrium, and on price level expectation. W =   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ãƒ ¹   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   *   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pe Nominal Wage = Target Real Wage * Expected Price Level After the nominal wage has been set but before any hiring, firms learn the actual price level (P). From this the real wage is derived W/P = à ¹ * Pe/P Real Wage = Target Real Wage * Expected Price Level/Actual Price Level From the equation, real wage = target real wage when expected price level = actual price level real wage > target real wage when expected price level < actual price level real wage < target real wage when expected price level > actual price level The bargaining between workers and firms determine the nominal wage rate but not the actual level of employment. This is determined by the firms’ hiring decisions and the labor demand function L = Ld(W/P) Output is determined by the production function, Y = F(L). The aggregate supply curve, under the sticky-wage model, summarizes the two functions and the relationship between the price level and output. Any unexpected changes in the price level cause a deviation in the real wage, which in turn, affects the amount of labor and output. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The major weakness of the sticky-wage model however, is that in any model with an unchanging labor demand curve, unemployment falls when the real wage falls. Under this model the opposite happens, which means that the real wage should be countercyclical. Economic data over the past decades in the U.S. shows that the real wage in fact tends to rise along with output. This is evidence contrary to Keynes predictions in the General Theory. The Imperfect-Information Model Characteristics: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Assumes that the market is clear – all wages and prices are free to adjust in order to balance supply and demand – and that differences in the short-run and long-run aggregate supply curves are from misperceptions about prices

The Educational Benefits of Video Games Essay -- Persuasive Teaching E

The Educational Benefits of Video Games The repetition of the statement claiming that video games do not help children in their educational enterprises is unfair. There have been numerous studies conducted providing evidence that children gain structural knowledge while engaging in video game play (Pillay 2002). Certainly, different styles of video games may produce different results. It is important for us to understand the different benefits from the various styles of games. Because students play a wide variety of games, they may have a repertoire of schemas with different information (Pillay 2002). Visual Skills A majority of the studies conducted discussed results regarding visual skills. The appreciation of visual skill increase is attributed primarily to action video games. Due to the number of varied tasks, the demands may result in brain changes and improve visual skills. Action video games could be used in the treatment programs of people with visual problems (Chudler 2003). They may increase children’s hand-eye coordination and attention to detail (Cesarone 1994). Action video gamers tend to be more attune to their surroundings. Medal of Honor is one game highly recommended to increase visual attentiveness. Studies of those who played this game show they could drive down the street and more likely identify a child that was running after a ball than a non-video gamer (Roach 2003). Researchers Greene and Bavelier at the University of Rochester in New York conducted a study and had students play action video games. The students had to play four days a week for six months. Those who were trained playing the video games:  · Had better visual skills and visual attention  · ... ... simulation. Retrieved October 1, 2004 from the World Wide Web: http://creativeteachingsite.com/videogames.htm. Pillay, H. (2002). An investigation of cognitive processes engaged in by recreational computer game players: implications for skills of the future. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 34.3, 336-350. Roach, J. (2003, May). Video games boost visual skills, study finds. National Geographic News. Retrieved October 1, 2004 from the World Wide Web: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/05/0528_030528_videogames. html. Rosas, R., Nussbaum, M., Cumsille, P., Marinov, V., Correa, M., Flores, P., Grau, V., Lagos, F., Lopez, X., Lopez, V., Rodriguez, P. & Salinas, M. (2003). Beyond nintendo: design and assessment of educational video games for first and second grade students. Computers & Education, 40.1, 71-94.

The Vampire Diaries: Dark Reunion Chapter Thirteen

June 19, Friday, 11:45 p.m. Dear Diary, Oh, God, what are we going to do? This has been the longest week of my life. Today was the last day of school and tomorrow Stefan is leaving. He's going to Europe to search for a vampire who got changed by Klaus. He says he doesn't want to leave us unprotected. But he's going to go. We can't find Tyler. His car disappeared from the cemetery, but he hasn't turned up at school. He's missed every final this week. Not that the rest of us are doing much better. I wish Robert E. Lee was like the schools that have all their finals before graduation. I don't know whether I'm writing English or Swahili these days. I hate Klaus. From what I saw he's as crazy as Katherine-and even crueler. What he did to Vickie-but I can't even talk about that or I'll start crying again. He was just playing with us at Caroline's party, like a cat with a mouse. And to do it on Meredith's birthday, too-although I suppose he couldn't have known that. He seems to know a lot, though. He doesn't talk like a foreigner, not like Stefan did when he first came to America, and he knows all about American things, even songs from the fifties. Maybe he's been over here for a while†¦ Bonnie stopped writing. She thought desperately. All this time, they had been thinking of victims in Europe, of vampires. But from the way Klaus talked, he had obviously been in America a long time. He didn't sound foreign at all. And he'd chosen to attack the girls on Meredith's birthday†¦ Bonnie got up, reached for the telephone, and called Meredith's number. A sleepy male voice answered. â€Å"Mr. Sulez, this is Bonnie. Can I speak to Meredith?† â€Å"Bonnie! Don't you know what time it is?† â€Å"Yes.† Bonnie thought quickly. â€Å"But it's about-about a final we had today. Please, I have to talk with her.† There was a long pause, then a heavy sigh. â€Å"Just a minute.† Bonnie tapped her fingers impatiently as she waited. At last there was the click of another phone being picked up. â€Å"Bonnie?† came Meredith's voice. â€Å"What's wrong?† â€Å"Nothing. I mean-† Bonnie was excruciatingly conscious of the open line, of the fact that Meredith's father hadn't hung up. He might be listening. â€Å"It's about-that German problem we've been working on. You remember. The one we couldn't figure out for the final. You know how we've been looking for the one person who can help us solve it? Well, I think I know who it is.† â€Å"No,† Bonnie said, â€Å"it doesn't. It hits a lot closer to home, Meredith. A lot. In fact, you could say it's right in your own backyard, hanging on your family tree.† The line was silent so long Bonnie wondered if Meredith was still there. â€Å"Meredith?† â€Å"I'm thinking. Does this solution have anything to do with coincidence?† â€Å"Nope.† Bonnie relaxed and smiled slightly, grimly. Meredith had it now. â€Å"Not a thing to do with coincidence. It's more a case of history repeating itself. Deliberately repeating itself, if you see what I mean.† â€Å"Yes,† Meredith said. She sounded as if she were recovering from a shock, and no wonder. â€Å"You know, I think you just may be right. But there's still the matter of persuading-this person-to actually help us.† â€Å"You think that may be a problem?† â€Å"I think it could. Sometimes people get very rattled-about a test. Sometimes they even kind of lose their minds.† Bonnie's heart sank. This was something that hadn't occurred to her. What if he couldn't tell them? What if he were that far gone? â€Å"All we can do is try,† she said, making her voice as optimistic as possible. â€Å"Tomorrow we'll have to try.† â€Å"All right. I'll pick you up at noon. Good night, Bonnie.† â€Å"Night, Meredith.† Bonnie added, â€Å"I'm sorry.† â€Å"No, I think it may be for the best. So that history doesn't continue to repeat itself forever. Good-bye.† Bonnie pressed the disconnect button on the handset, clicking it off. Then she just sat for a few minutes, her finger on the button, staring at the wall. Finally she replaced the handset in its cradle and picked up her diary again. She put a period on the last sentence and added a new one. We are going to see Meredith's grandfather tomorrow. â€Å"I'm an idiot,† Stefan said in Meredith's car the next day. They were going to West Virginia, to the institution where Meredith's grandfather was a patient. It was going to be a fairly long drive. â€Å"We're all idiots. Except Bonnie,† Matt said. Even in the midst of her anxiety Bonnie felt a warm glow at that. But Meredith was shaking her head, eyes on the road. â€Å"Stefan, you couldn't have realized, so stop beating up on yourself. You didn't know that Klaus attacked Caroline's party on the anniversary of the attack on my grandfather. And it didn't occur to Matt or me that Klaus could have been in America for so long because we never saw Klaus or heard him speak. We were thinking of people he could have attacked in Europe. Really, Bonnie was the only one who could have put it all together, because she had all the information.† â€Å"I won't; modesty is one of my most charming qualities,† Bonnie replied. Matt snorted, but then he said, â€Å"I still think it was pretty smart,† which started the glow all over again. The institution was a terrible place. Bonnie tried as hard as she could to conceal her horror and disgust, but she knew Meredith could sense it. Meredith's shoulders were stiff with defensive pride as she walked down the halls in front of them. Bonnie, who had known her for so many years, could see the humiliation underneath that pride. Meredith's parents considered her grandfather's condition such a blot that they never allowed him to be mentioned to outsiders. It had been a shadow over the entire family. And now Meredith was showing that secret to strangers for the first time. Bonnie felt a rush of love and admiration for her friend. It was so like Meredith to do it without fuss, with dignity, letting nobody see what it cost her. But the institution was still terrible. It wasn't filthy or filled with raving maniacs or anything like that. The patients looked clean and well cared for. But there was something about the sterile hospital smells and the halls crowded with motionless wheelchairs and blank eyes that made Bonnie want to run. It was like a building full of zombies. Bonnie saw one old woman, her pink scalp showing through thin white hair, slumped with her head on the table next to a naked plastic doll. When Bonnie reached out desperately, she found Matt's hand already reaching for hers. They followed Meredith that way, holding on so hard it hurt. â€Å"This is his room.† Inside was another zombie, this one with white hair that still showed an occasional fleck of black like Meredith's. His face was a mass of wrinkles and lines, the eyes rheumy and rimmed with scarlet. They stared vacantly. â€Å"Granddad,† Meredith said, kneeling in front of his wheelchair, â€Å"Granddad, it's me, Meredith. I've come to visit you. I've got something important to ask you.† The old eyes never flickered. â€Å"Sometimes he knows us,† Meredith said quietly, without emotion. â€Å"But mostly these days he doesn't.† The old man just went on staring. Stefan dropped to his heels. â€Å"Let me try,† he said. Looking into the wrinkled face he began to speak, softly, soothingly, as he had to Vickie. And no matter what Meredith or Stefan did, that was all the response they could elicit. Eventually Bonnie tried, using her psychic powers. She could sense something in the old man, some spark of life trapped in the imprisoning flesh. But she couldn't reach it. â€Å"I'm sorry,† she said, sitting back and pushing hair out of her eyes. â€Å"It's no use. I can't do anything.† â€Å"Maybe we can come another time,† Matt said, but Bonnie knew it wasn't true. Stefan was leaving tomorrow; there would never be another time. And it had seemed like such a good idea†¦ The glow that had warmed her earlier was ashes now, and her heart felt like a lump of lead. She turned away to see Stefan already starting out of the room. Matt put a hand under her elbow to help her up and guide her out. And after standing for a minute with her head bent in discouragement, Bonnie let him. It was hard to summon up enough energy to put one foot in front of the other. She glanced back dully to see whether Meredith was following- And screamed. Meredith was standing in the center of the room, facing the door, discouragement written on her face. But behind her, the figure in the wheelchair had stirred at last. In a silent explosion of movement, it had reared above her, the rheumy old eyes open wide and the mouth open wider. Meredith's grandfather looked as if he had been caught in the act of leaping-arms flung out, mouth forming a silent howl. Bonnie's screams rang from the rafters. Everything happened at once then. Stefan came charging back in, Meredith spun around, Matt grabbed for her. But the old figure didn't leap. He stood towering above all of them, staring over their heads, seeming to see something none of them could. Sounds were coming from his mouth at last, sounds that formed one ululating word. â€Å"Vampire! Vampiire!† Attendants were in the room, crowding Bonnie and the others away, restraining the old man. Their shouts added to the pandemonium. â€Å"Vampire! Vampire!† Meredith's grandfather caterwauled, as if warning the town. Bonnie felt panicked-was he looking at Stefan? Was it an accusation? â€Å"Please, you'll have to leave now. I'm sorry, but you'll have to go,† a nurse was saying. They were being whisked out. Meredith fought as she was forced out into the hall. â€Å"Granddaddy-!† And then: â€Å"White ash wood! Vampire! White ash wood-â€Å" The door slammed shut. Meredith gasped, fighting tears. Bonnie had her nails dug into Matt's arm. Stefan turned to them, green eyes wide with shock. â€Å"I said, you'll have to leave now,† the harassed nurse was repeating impatiently. The four of them ignored her. They were all looking at each other, stunned confusion giving way to realization in their faces. â€Å"Tyler said there was only one kind of wood that could hurt him-† Matt began. â€Å"White ash wood,† said Stefan. â€Å"We'll have to find out where he's hiding,† Stefan said on the way home. He was driving, since Meredith had dropped the keys at the car door. â€Å"That's the first thing. If we rush this, we could warn him off.† His green eyes were shining with a queer mixture of triumph and grim determination, and he spoke in a clipped and rapid voice. They were all on the ragged edge, Bonnie thought, as if they'd been gulping uppers all night. Their nerves were frayed so thin that anything could happen. She had a sense, too, of impending cataclysm. As if everything were coming to a head, all the events since Meredith's birthday party gathering to a conclusion. Tonight, she thought. Tonight it all happens. It seemed strangely appropriate that it should be the eve of the solstice. â€Å"The eve of what?† Matt said. She hadn't even realized she'd spoken aloud. â€Å"The eve of the solstice,† she said. â€Å"That's what today is. The day before the summer solstice.† â€Å"Don't tell me. Druids, right?† â€Å"They celebrated it,† Bonnie confirmed. â€Å"It's a day for magic, for marking the change of the seasons. And†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she hesitated. â€Å"Well, it's like all other feast days, like Halloween or the winter solstice. A day when the line between the visible world and the invisible world is thin. When you can see ghosts, they used to say. When things happen.† â€Å"Things,† Stefan said, turning onto the main highway that headed back toward Fell's Church, â€Å"are going to happen.† None of them realized how soon. Mrs. Flowers was in the back garden. They had driven straight to the boarding house to look for her. She was pruning rosebushes, and the smell of summer surrounded her. â€Å"Slow down, slow down now,† she said, peering at them from under the brim of her straw hat. â€Å"What is it you want? White ash? There's one just down beyond those oak trees in back. Now, wait a minute-† she added as they all scrambled off again. Stefan ringed a branch of the tree with a jack-knife Matt produced from his pocket. I wonder when he started carrying that? Bonnie thought. She also wondered what Mrs. Flowers thought of them as they came back, the two boys carrying the leafy six-foot bough between them on their shoulders. But Mrs. Flowers just looked without saying anything. As they neared the house, though, she called after them, â€Å"A package came for you, boy.† Stefan turned his head, the branch still on his shoulder. â€Å"For me?† â€Å"It had your name on it. A package and a letter. I found them on the front porch this afternoon. I put them upstairs in your room.† Bonnie looked at Meredith, then at Matt and Stefan, meeting their bewildered, suspicious gazes in turn. The anticipation in the air heightened suddenly, almost unbearably. â€Å"But who could it be from? Who could even know you're here-† she began as they climbed the stairs to the attic. And then she stopped, dread fluttering between her ribs. Premonition was buzzing around inside her like a nagging fly, but she pushed it away. Not now, she thought, not now. But there was no way to keep from seeing the package on Stefan's desk. The boys propped the white ash branch against the wall and went to look at it, a longish, flattish parcel wrapped in brown paper, with a creamy envelope on top. On the front, in familiar crazy handwriting, was scrawled Stefan. The handwriting from the mirror. They all stood staring down at the package as if it were a scorpion. â€Å"Watch out,† Meredith said as Stefan slowly reached for it. Bonnie knew what she meant. She felt as if the whole thing might explode or belch poisonous gas or turn into something with teeth and claws. The envelope Stefan picked up was square and sturdy, made of good paper with a fine finish. Like a prince's invitation to the ball, Bonnie thought. But incongruously, there were several dirty fingerprints on the surface and the edges were grimy. Well- Klaus hadn't looked any too clean in the dream. Stefan glanced at front and back and then tore the envelope open. He pulled out a single piece of heavy stationery. The other three crowded around, looking over his shoulder as he unfolded it. Then Matt gave an exclamation. â€Å"What the†¦ it's blank!† It was. On both sides. Stefan turned it over and examined each. His face was tense, shuttered. Everyone else relaxed, though, making noises of disgust. A stupid practical joke. Meredith had reached for the package, which looked flat enough to be empty as well, when Stefan suddenly stiffened, his breath hissing in. Bonnie glanced quickly over and jumped. Meredith's hand froze on the package, and Matt swore. Stefan- Shall we try to solve this like gentlemen? I have the girl. Come to the old farmhouse in the woods after dark and we'll talk, just the two of us. Come alone and I'll let her go. Bring anyone else and she dies. There was no signature, but at the bottom the words appeared This is between you and me. â€Å"What girl?† Matt was demanding, looking from Bonnie to Meredith as if to make sure they were still there. â€Å"What girl?† With a sharp motion, Meredith's elegant fingers tore the package open and pulled out what was inside. A pale green scarf with a pattern of vines and leaves. Bonnie remembered it perfectly, and a vision came to her in a rush. Confetti and birthday presents, orchids and chocolate. â€Å"Caroline,† she whispered, and shut her eyes. These last two weeks had been so strange, so different from ordinary high school life, that she had almost forgotten Caroline existed. Caroline had gone off to an apartment in another town to escape, to be safe-but Meredith had said it to her in the beginning. He can follow you to Heron, I'm sure. â€Å"He was just playing with us again,† Bonnie murmured. â€Å"He let us get this far, even going to see your grandfather, Meredith, and then†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"He must have known,† Meredith agreed. â€Å"He must have known all along we were looking for a victim. And now he's checkmated us. Unless-† Her dark eyes lit with sudden hope. â€Å"Bonnie, you don't think Caroline could have dropped this scarf the night of the party? And that he just picked it up?† â€Å"No.† The premonition was buzzing closer and Bonnie swatted at it, trying to keep it away. She didn't want it, didn't want to know. But she felt certain of one thing: this wasn't a bluff. Klaus had Caroline. â€Å"What are we going to do?† she said softly. â€Å"I know what we're not going to do, and that's listen to him,† Matt said. † ‘Try to solve it like gentlemen'-he's scum, not a gentleman. It's a trap.† â€Å"Of course it's a trap,† Meredith said impatiently. â€Å"He waited until we found out how to hurt him and now he's trying to separate us. But it won't work!† Bonnie had been watching Stefan's face with growing dismay. Because while Matt and Meredith were indignantly talking, he had been quietly folding up the letter and putting it back in its envelope. Now he stood gazing down at it, his face still, untouched by anything that was going on around him. And the look in his green eyes scared Bonnie. â€Å"I think,† said Stefan carefully, concentrating on each word, â€Å"that I am going out to the woods after dark.† Matt nodded, and like the quarterback he was, began to chart out a plan. â€Å"Okay, you go distract him. And meanwhile, the three of us-â€Å" â€Å"The three of you,† Stefan continued just as deliberately, looking right at him, â€Å"are going home. To bed.† There was a pause that seemed endless to Bonnie's taut nerves. The others just stared at Stefan. At last Meredith said lightly, â€Å"Well, it's going to be hard to catch him while we're in bed unless he's kind enough to come visiting.† That broke the tension and Matt said, drawing a long-suffering breath, â€Å"All right, Stefan, I understand how you feel about this-† But Stefan interrupted. â€Å"I'm dead serious, Matt. Klaus is right; this is between him and me. And he says to come alone or he'll hurt Caroline. So I'm going alone. It's my decision.† â€Å"It's your funeral,† Bonnie blurted out, almost hysterically. â€Å"Stefan, you're crazy. You can't.† â€Å"Watch me.† â€Å"We won't let you-â€Å" â€Å"Do you think,† Stefan said, looking at her, â€Å"that you could stop me if you tried?† This silence was acutely uncomfortable. Staring at him, Bonnie felt as if Stefan had changed somehow before her eyes. His face seemed sharper, his posture different, as if to remind her of the lithe, hard predator's muscles under his clothes. All at once he seemed distant, alien. Frightening. Bonnie looked away. â€Å"Let's be reasonable about this,† Matt was saying, changing tactics. â€Å"Let's just stay calm and talk this over-â€Å" â€Å"There's nothing to talk over. I'm going. You're not.† â€Å"You owe us more than that, Stefan,† Meredith said, and Bonnie felt grateful for her cool voice. â€Å"Okay, so you can tear us all limb from limb; fine, no argument. We get the point. But after all we've been through together, we deserve more of a thorough discussion before you go running off.† â€Å"You said it was the girls' fight too,† Matt added. â€Å"When did you decide it wasn't?† â€Å"No, it isn't!† Bonnie cried. â€Å"Did you make Elena kill Katherine?† â€Å"I made Katherine go back to Klaus! That's how this got started. And I got Caroline involved; if it wasn't for me, she would never have hated Elena, never have gotten in with Tyler. I have a responsibility toward her.† â€Å"You just want to believe that,† Bonnie almost yelled. â€Å"Klaus hates all of us! Do you really think he's going to let you walk out of there? Do you think he plans to leave the rest of us alone?† â€Å"No,† Stefan said, and picked up the branch leaning against the wall. He took Matt's knife out of his own pocket and began to strip the twigs off, making it into a straight white spear. â€Å"Oh, great, you're going off for single combat!† Matt said, furious. â€Å"Don't you see how stupid that is? You're walking right into his trap!† He advanced a step on Stefan. â€Å"You may not think that the three of us can stop you-â€Å" â€Å"No, Matt.† Meredith's low, level voice cut across the room. â€Å"It won't do any good.† Stefan looked at her, the muscles around his eyes hardening, but she just looked back, her face set and calm. â€Å"So you're determined to meet Klaus face to face, Stefan. All right. But before you go, at least be sure you have a fighting chance.† Coolly, she began to unbutton the neck of her tailored blouse. Bonnie felt a jolt, even though she'd offered the same thing only a week earlier. But that had been in private, for God's sake, she thought. Then she shrugged. Public or private, what difference did it make? She looked at Matt, whose face reflected his consternation. Then she saw Matt's brow crease and the beginning of that stubborn, bullheaded expression that used to terrify the coaches of op-posing football teams. His blue eyes turned to hers and she nodded, thrusting out her chin. Without a word, she unzipped the light wind-breaker she was wearing and Matt pulled off his T-shirt. Stefan stared from one to another of the three people grimly disrobing in his room, trying to conceal his own shock. But he shook his head, the white spear in front of him like a weapon. â€Å"No.† â€Å"Don't be a jerk, Stefan,† Matt snapped. Even in the confusion of this terrible moment something inside Bonnie paused to admire his bare chest. â€Å"There's three of us. You should be able to take plenty without hurting any one of us.† â€Å"I said, no! Not for revenge, and not to fight evil with evil! Not for any reason. I thought you would understand that.† Stefan's look at Matt was bitter. â€Å"I understand that you're going to die out there!† Matt shouted. â€Å"He's right!† Bonnie pressed her knuckles against her lips. The premonition was getting through her defenses. She didn't want to let it in, but she didn't have the strength to resist anymore. With a shudder, she felt it stab through and heard the words in her mind. For a moment, just a moment, she thought he might listen to her. Then his face went hard again and he spoke coldly. â€Å"It isn't your problem. Let me worry about it.† â€Å"But if there's no way to win-† Matt began. â€Å"That isn't what Bonnie said!† Stefan replied tersely. â€Å"Yes, it is! What the hell are you talking about?† Matt shouted. It was hard to make Matt lose his temper, but once lost it wasn't easily gotten back. â€Å"Stefan, I've had enough-â€Å" â€Å"And so have I!† Stefan shot back in a roar. In a tone Bonnie had never heard him use before. â€Å"I'm sick of you all, sick of your bickering and your spinelessness-and your premonitions, too! This is my problem.† â€Å"I thought we were a team-† Matt cried. â€Å"We are not a team. You are a bunch of stupid humans! Even with everything that's happened to you, deep down you just want to live your safe little lives in your safe little houses until you go to your safe little graves! I'm nothing like you and I don't want to be! I've put up with you this long because I had to, but this is the end.† He looked at each of them and spoke deliberately, emphasizing each word. â€Å"I don't need any of you. I don't want you with me, and I don't want you following me. You'll only spoil my strategy. Anyone who does follow me, I'll kill.† And with one last smoldering glance, he turned on his heel and walked out.

Cinema Rant Essay

Cinemas should be a fun, easy day out, right? Wrong. Im true for roughly peck, if their idea of fun is ill-fitting poops, over priced forage, drinks and tickets and half an hour price of adverts, wherefore yes, cinemas be a really enjoyable day out.So I relieve oneself to the cinema and go to grease ones palms tickets, I and many others were shocked to stripping how much ticket prices had increased. For a family of intravenous feeding to go to the Vue cinema it would cost 29.40, near 30 for a film that you could procure on dvd for less than 10 and watch in the comfort of your avouch home with as many people as you wish.Added to the ridiculous price of tickets, in that locations as well as the outrages price of food and drinks. Yes, i lie with that these are delightful buckets of freshly popped corn with such beautiful aromas and holds that make your nostrils and taste buds dance with delight and Oh wait its the aforesaid(prenominal) (if not worse) than the pop corn you get in any average supermarket, the only going away is that in the cinema, it green goddess cost up to 4 for a small bucket where as in supermarkets a software of Butterkist popcorn can cost as little as 1 The cinemas do make most of there coin from food and drink which is absurd considering we line up to cinemas to watch films, not to eat stale, salty snacks or overpriced, melted chocolate.Another taper is that once you get into the cinema, you are greeted with the descry of scratchy, small seats that seem to be teasing you, saying oh arent you blissful you decided to get these seats kinda of paying an extra fiver for the long, booming, slash vip seats enjoy the movie, if you can concentrate that is whilst you have a continual itch on your back. In addition to the miniature seats, there are also the real limited spike rests and whilst you were taking your time get into your seat and getting settled, the two people either side of you have decided to bear advantage of you not being there and taken up both branch rests- leaving you even more secure so you were before. You would depend by the tot up of money they must get from food and drink, then can use some of it to make it a more comfortable and enjoyable experience for everyone.So then after half an hour of clunky shuffling in your seat seek to get comfortable the film last starts. Yes thats right HALF AN HOUR of adverts So after the tedious adverts weve all seen a million times before we get down to watching a very mediocre film that we feel like weve seen before. Now dont you think that whole experience would have been a batch more pleasant in your own home?So enthrall cinema owners, take note of this verbalize and use some of that money your getting from your overpriced food, drinks and tickets and dont be adrift it on your flash cars or sizable houses, spend it wisely on making our cinema experience a lot more pleasurable and then possibly we would come back agai n and then you can get your flash cars and big houses.

History Of The Somalia History Essay

The strategic geopolitical history of Somalianland non barely indicates its grandness to the early African lands precisely has continued to so to this pre direct twenty-four hours. It s positi adeptd in the pith of the Horn of Africa with an country of 637,540 squ are kilometres and is ideally set(p) at the intersection non merely to merchandise paths, but to the gateway of antediluvian and modernizing Africa.Somali history sidereal day of the months confirm to the Paleolithic Age and Cave enter dating back to 9000 old ages BC has been recorded. Its berth with capital of Djibouti to the North West, Kenya to the in the south, Gulf of Aden on the North, Indian Ocean to the E, and Ethiopia on the West has added to its significance. In spitefulness of its strategic location it has, unlike otherwise African nations, no old history of conquering, and as such, provided subterranean European states an first-class chance to see other well-be wastedisations than their own- oddly those of African Kingdoms.Ancient Somalia is reported to reconcile had trading dealingss with many of the mercantile states during the in-between Ages, and as a effect positioned Africa as an of importee unmixed in the antique universe. Among others, cinnamon trade to Europe, particularly to the ancient universe of Rome and Greece was extremely precious. well-nigh of the cinnamon was obtained from the eastern, particularly India. Furthermore since the Somali state consisted of some(prenominal) Sultanates, it remained cardinal to maritime and trading civilizations of that period.know as the Kingdom of Punt in ancient times, it anyway had close dealingss with other of import African lands particularly that of Egypt, Nubia and Ethiopia. As a effect, separate of Somali civilization and signifiers frequently resemble that of the pyramid-culture of Egypt and other go on neighbours. Strongly learnd by the Arab civilization, this African society exhibits an rare mixture of the two . Islam was brought to that wad of the universe around 825 A.D. Somalia s position on the African continent was anyway the consequence of its close relationship with the Ottoman and German Empires.With the rise of the Arab universe in the Middle eastern hemisphere and its c everywhere industry, Somalia continues to keep its importance inside this industry. It anyways remains influential in the Islamic universe, modify Somali to go a member of the Arab unite in 1974. This state has besides played an of import and outstanding function in the African confederacy which was form really much in the usage and design of the European Union.Education is extremely valued throughout Somalia although a higher instruction is bland precedence. It has some(prenominal) universities with the University of Mogadishu considered to be one of the finest in the state but besides one of the outperform in Africa. Culturally, the Somalis are Muslims and as such handed-down spiritual instruction is singularly of import so that it is taught at a quranic schools across the state. Muslim literature produced by the Somalis is besides good recognized in other part of the Moslem universe and so is their music and vocals. Both the rural and urban societies are serviced through these spiritual schools.The development of Somali level-headed construction as a mixture of roman Dutch jurisprudence and Sharia jurisprudence. Currently it exercises civil traditional knowledge, spiritual and traditional jurisprudence. Somalia consists of a foreshadow of kin based independent provinces.Somali one time boasted of a healthy economic system within the formal and informal sector. Trade, commercialism, conveyance and trans depicted object links all promised of progressive future.. All this indicated that Somali are quickly traveling towards a modernizing society. close to of the West s transnational companies, for case the deception trade, multinationals and Bankss all have subdivisions in the chief metropoliss in SomaliaSomalia has been rich in mineral resources and the recent denudation of significant oil militias has surged its position among the industrializing states whose demand for oil particularly in the thick of the Middle East crisis is holding a strong imp make on its economic system. Somalia has the largest screen background forces in Africa with 10,000 soldiery personnels on the field. Somalia has near on to 2 million battalion and 85 % of them Somalis and the remainder croaking to others. Of these 34 % alive in the metropoliss. Arabic is the official linguistic chat although English is spoken widely with some Italian. The Muslims belong to the Sunni religious order of Islam. Christianity is minority faith.When Imperialism swept oer Africa for the last five or six centuries. It subjected the primordial mountain to inferior position or second category citizenship. Africans weary of the rough conditions the position brought on to them curtly began to foment. kings with Europeans became frequent, so much so the imperialistic states gathered at the Berlin Conference in 1913 where the occidental states obstinate to carve out certain parts of Africa among themselves as guardians . These imperial states, particularly the Portuguese, Britain, France, Germany and Italy were on the expire of the list. One of the unintended effects of such an act was to witness the outgrowth of douse groups, nationalistism and people prosecuting in the freedom and release battles across the continent.Muhammad Abdullah Hassan, a Dervish leader sent a clarion offer across Africa to defy the British and end their acclivity influence. He was one of the early African leaders, to anticipate for integrity and independency.Swept by the influences of decolonisation and release battles across Africa, Somalia provided unqualified support to the African field Congress of South Africa. Somalia in the interim besides had strong ties with Muslim sta tes and with their Muslim establishments.Hassan, furthermore as a Dervish leader, with his long experience with the British and Italian schemes of warfare, organized and disciplined his Somali ground forces, two in their ability in land conflicts and eliminate retreats utilizing the terrain, with the consequence he defeated a well-trained British ground forces. In 1920 nevertheless, with the debut of aeroplanes into the battlegrounds, the British were satisfactory to get the better of the Somali ground forces ultimately. thither after Somalia became a associated state of the British Empire.The Italians fared no better than the British in the beginning merely because the Somalis non merely had the advantage of the terrain, but the brotherhood within the Somalis and their commitment to the Sultanate, provided their soldiers extra inducements during war against their enemy. They, nevertheless could non, in ulterior old ages, match the ground forcess of the Italians below the fasc istic control in 1927.Benito Mussolini, the Italian Fascist leader in 1935 attacked Abyssinia ( Ethiopia ) in the tradition of and go oning the bequest of imperialism and colonisation, but this shave the League of Nations ( which subsequently became the joined Nations ) condemned the invasion. Little was done thenceforth to cease the business.In around 1941 the British stationed in Kenya with the coaction certain kins of the Sultanate, accompanied by East, West, and North African military personnels to a lower place the bid of the British attacked the British held Somalia and Italian Ethiopia and defeated them. Britain ruled both parts and was subsequently granted associated state position, but the join Nation transferred the trust territory of Italian held Somalia, back to Italians.It was during the trusteeship period that the Somalis entered into the structural model of westbound political and international policy devising. more everyplace in the procedure the Imperializin g states were consuming the economic wealth of Somalia. At times the British collaborated with Ethiopia in keeping the hegemony over Somalia, all of which did non get away the assorted patriot motions which were emerging in assorted parts of the state.Djibouti s ( Gallic Somaliland ) independency in 1958 showed Somalia the permutation geopolitics taking topographic point in the country. But the referendum held in Djibouti nevertheless showed that the people had decided to ally themselves to France instead than Somalia. Somalia itself gained its independency in 1960, and formed the post- colonial province. unfortunately for the state at this clip the legion groups each wanted a portion in the government? The hierarchy and precedent of the colonial system was now transferred to the new regime. Rather than pore on the structural development of the state the authorities bureaucratism began to concentrate on personal power and wealth.Many of the new authorities functionaries were c hosen from the South and the Northerners felt left out and regional inequalities became the norm. 18 Parties participated in the first station colonial national elections in 1964 amidst accusal of corruptness and fraud. The Somali youth League, a Somali National Congress, and the Somali fantanary Union, united to organize a strong belt up within the authorities. And unstable Somalia began to emerge for the following several old ages.Abdullah Osman Daar became its first president. Power battle continued, and ultimately in 1969 a military putsch installed world(a) S attending Barre as professorship.Barre s authorities introduced several new societal plans particularly in instruction, but otherwise parliamentary democracy seemed to endure from intimate discord. On October 15, 1969 President Abdirachii Ali Shermaarke was assassinated by a constabulary head.At the beginning, General Said Barres s Supreme Revolutionary Council was welcomed by the multitudes of people. There was a b elief amongst the population that Somalia would now hold a stable authorities. Barre promoted what he called scientific socialism as an political orientation for his state. Notwithstanding his political rhetoric, Somalis soon began to see expropriation and corruptness which was bulwark during the imperialist times. home(a) corruptness and favouritism shortly characterized Barre s authorities.Clan competitions and divide and regulation policies besides weakened the authorities. The reason out straw came when the military authorities sent military personnels to Ethiopia. The Soviet Union had been providing weaponries to both sides. The Ethiopians successfully repulsed the Somalia ground forces. By 1980 the Somali authorities was losing its credibleness and at the same clip an economic crisis, particularly with the simplification of trade and of the lowering of oil monetary set added to the despairing internal crisis.Somalis besides noticed under(a) Barres authorities the Nation al aegis Courts were set up outside the legal system and straight under the control of the executive whose power came from the military. Any wickedness considered as a threat to the national gage as defined by the state was considered a offense. Although this was eventually abolished, and Somalia are still governed by pre-1991 penal codification.Civil war broke out in 1991. Northern Somaliland declared independency and in January 1, 1991 President Ali Madhi Mohamed of the United Somali Congress who had joined the pronunciamento Group was made interim President. The rival groups shortly united and refused to acknowledge Muhammad as their leader and president.throughout the 90s Somalia experienced civil struggles and warfare ensuing in nutrient deficits, devastation of labour and general open frame within the economic system and public helper. virtually 330,000 civilians were at hazard of decease and famishment when Andrew Natsios, the caput of the US bureau for Internation al Development tell before Congress, that Somalia was the greatest human-centered exigency in the universe .For some clip international perceivers allowed Somalia to disintegrate and it was merely subsequently when the state collapsed into lawlessness did the United Nations send peacekeeping forces. United Nations peace forces were sent into Somalia through the United States. The Security Council set up their UN operation in Somalia ( UNOSOM ) but the UN forces came under onslaught. In 1983 the United Nations human-centered aid principally presumptuousness to the South did non sufficiently alleviate the crisis. The UN aid ceased chiefly due to the casualties suffered to its forces. The EU besides sent assistance to the concept the port at the Berbera. European nongovernmental organization s besides sent to assistance and aid to several parts of Somaliland.Both the United States authorities under President Bush in the UN Security Council worked together with leaders in Somalia. The United Nations eventually managed to acquire the seniors and leaders at a company at the Royal Palace in Addis Ababa. Unfortunately the peace dialogues failed and the Civil War continued.The Transitional parliament adopted the federal charter in 2004. In 2006 the southern portion of the state came under the influence of the Islamists who established an Islamic Court to work on base civil governments. Several parts of the state have declared independency and are controlled by warlords. The transitional federal authorities with the aid of the UN reestablished its control over the district but this has remained fragile to this twenty-four hours.