Art School and Pollution - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 791 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/10/10 Did you like this example? In real life situation, scores of people have different perception towards the act of violence. Only individuals who have witnessed or involved in an in the scene can firmly condemn and as well preach against it. This essay has been set to counter any act of violence through the use of affirmative and supportive reasons. To affirm my thesis, the current reviews and statistics show that at least four million children aged three to seventeen years in the United States live at a risk of exposure to domestic violence every year (Testa et al., 454). On the same note, the reviews show that nearly 95% of the domestic violence involves women victims and male partners. The children of these partners often whiteness the violence.   This way, violence is unethical for the following reasons, first; children who unfortunately whiteness the violence may end up seeing their mother being sexually abused by their male partners, secondly, children may observe     the aftermath physical abuse such as blood, bruises, tears, torn clothing and broken items, thus bracing them with fear, stress, and discomfort. Thirdly, the act may lead to injuries or even death of one of the victims. Similarly, children who are exposed to battering become fearful and anxious.   They never recognize any particular cause of violence, and thus they remain on guard waiting for the next event to occur. On the same, the feasibility studies show that children who are often involved in the scenes of domestic violence are always worried for themselves, their mothers and thus live under a state of stress and depression. For the reasons highlighted above, the act of violence should be shunned off by the American state law as it is unethical not only to the parties involved but also the large society. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Art School and Pollution" essay for you Create order The current reviews in the United States highlight domestic violence is immoral action as it installs many long term effects on the children who witness it. For instance, whether or not children are physically abused in the violence, they suffer both physiological and emotional traumas (Moylan et al., 54). Secondly, children who grow up observing their mothers being physically abused by their partners in violence get inspired by the abusive spirit and in so doing emerge the future drivers of violence in the society. Thirdly, because children have the tenancy of associating themselves with the strength, the often associate themselves with the abuse and lose their respect for their helpless and hapless mothers.   This way, violence diminishes the morals standards in the society, and thus it should severely be condemned. To the youths, studies show that teens’ violence, particularly in the schools, is an issue of concern to teachers, parents and other teenagers (Elson et al., 10). The statistics show that most of the youth violence results from threats to violent teens either by their parents, teachers and their fellow children.   To them, any act of violence is unethical as it may cause severe injuries and some cases death may occur. Similarly, social and legal repercussions of youth violence such as dismissal from the school can adversely affect teens education and friendship, which can, in turn, lead to unsuccessful adulthood life. On the same note, youth violence is often a public safety issue and sometimes considered dangerous to the community. Unfortunately, friends and families members of the violent teens are at times injured as a result of the effects of youth violence. In the United States, the statistical evidence highlights several unethical and long term effects of violence in the society. To begin with, battered women suffer both mental and physical injuries as a result of domestic violence. Secondly, critical evaluation indicates that emotional and physiological abuse inflicted by the batterers may be more costly to treat in short run than the physical injury (Craparo et al., 1484-1494). On the note, health analyses show that diseases such hypertension and hypertension are directly associated with the domestic violence suffered by individuals during the early age. Such severe effects which can easily lead to death confirm the act unethical to the society and should critically be shunned both by the community and the state law. Further, the act of violence can force the battered women to lose their jobs as a result of absenteeism caused by violence injuries and illnesses. On the same note, the statistics show that battered women often lose family and friends as they escape their homes and societies in fear of abuse. Further, the act of violence may lead, to divorce and separation as one of the partners may demand to flee from violence. Therefore, the act of violence firmly been confirmed unethical by statistics, feasibility studies, and the state law and thus there is no guanine reason for one to be involved violence and its related acts.

Wilfred Owen Essay - 922 Words

Wilfred Owen successfully creates the truthful and terrifying image of war within his poems. The loss, sacrifice, urgency and pity of war are shown within the themes of his poetry and the use of strong figurative language; sensory imagery and tone contribute to the reader. This enables the reader to appreciate Owen’s comments about the hopelessness of war and the sacrifice the men around him went through within his poems, ‘Dulce et Decorum Est.’ and ‘Futility’. ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ reveals the recount before, during and after the WWI gas attack. Not only does Owen address the horrific images in detail through visual imagery, but the title acts as an ironic lie meaning: ‘it is sweet and honourable to die for one’s country’. Throughout†¦show more content†¦Owen introduces a tone of sadness, but also hopefulness within the first stanza, ‘the kind old sun will know†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ uses personification to deliver a hopeful and personal reassurance that his friend will be okay. He compliments the sun in hope that its light will provide life to his friend. Owen commendably ends his first stanza with this quote, forcing the reader to accept that the false hope he has for his friend, even though he is dead. On the contrary, the second stanza uncovers no sense of hope for Owen; instead, he effectively uses rhetorical questions and natural imagery to demonstrate to the reader that he realises the loss of his friend and he must sacrifice his hope in order to leave his friend. ‘Think how it wakes the seeds’ is where Owen uses personification and also includes the reader within his poem and asks them to think about the sun and what it does for the seeds, given that it is the source of life for nature. ‘O what made fatuous sunbeams toil; to break earth’s sleep at all?’ Owen uses a rhetorical question to address his belief in the sun, leaving the reader questioning the existence of life itself. This enables the reader to realise the importance and existence within life that Owen tries to convey through the loss and sacrifice in his poem. Owen reveals within his poems that the qualities of war are not things that one should glorify.Show MoreRelatedEssay about Wilfred Owen Speech891 Words   |  4 Pages both written by Wilfred Owen. I would choose these two poems to be in an anthology because I found the poems to be very dramatic and extremely detailed. Owen intends to shock us by demonstrating what a soldier might expect in a situation between life and death. He is not afraid to show his own feelings. Wilfred Owen is an anti-war poet and expresses his ideas and feelings through various themes and poetic devices which I will be discussing throughout this speech. Wilfred Owens’ themes portray hisRead MoreWilfred Owen Essay836 Words   |  4 PagesEnglish Essay Wilfred Owen, through his poems, shows the harsh reality of human conflict and contrasts the portrayal of these conflicts with the reality. Owen purpose is to challenges our thoughts and perspectives on war to show its true effects and stop the glorification that it receives in society. This can be seen in his poem Dulce et Decorum Est as he causing us to question whether it really is sweet and decorous to die for ones country by showing the reality of war through his personal experiencesRead More Disabled By Wilfred Owen Essay543 Words   |  3 PagesDisabled By Wilfred Owen In my essay,Disabled by Wilfred Owen. I am going to describe how successfully he uses poetic techniques to present the true effects of war in his poem. The main technique used in the poem is contrast, as well as other techniques. Which makes the fate of the young man more pitiful. The use of irony, word choice, and powerful images, all create the sense of atmosphere in each stanza. The contrast of mood and tone is used in the first and second stanza, which createsRead MoreEssay on Comparing The Soldier and Dulce et Decorum Est644 Words   |  3 PagesRupert Brooke and Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen were both written during world war one. War and death are the themes of both poems but they are written from different perspectives. Brooke seems to base his poem on myth because overall he says that it is good to die for your country while fighting at war is terrible and that it is every soldier for himself and not for your country. There are many reasons why Brooke and Owen have different attitudes to war. For exampleRead MoreWilfred Owen Essay1001 Words   |  5 PagesWilfred Owen’s poetry effectively conveys his perspectives on human conflict through his experiences during The Great War. Poems such as ‘Futility’ and ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ portray these perceptions through the use of poetic techniques, emphasising such conflicts involving himself, other people and nature. These themes are examined in extreme detail, attempting to shape meaning in relation to Owen’s first-hand encounters whilst fighting on the battlefield. Wilfred Owen experiences many innerRead More The Healing Power of Poetry Essay1663 Words   |  7 Pagesmeaning that literature is here to serve and help. During this time, researchers continually investigated it in the attempt to get something definitively published. In 1969, Dr. Leedy published the first scholarly book, Poetry Therapy, which contained essays by numerous early pioneers of the field. Not much later, the Poetry Therapy Institute opened on the west coast, founded by Arthur Lerner, with a Ph.D from Los Angeles, and who in 1976 wrote Poetry in the Therapeutic Experience. Finally, in 1980Read MoreEssay on Wilfred Owen3883 Words   |  16 Pages Wilfred Owen Read and Compare and Contrast the Following Poems by Wilfred Owen: [It Was a Navy Boy], Anthem for Doomed Youth and Dulce et Decorum Est. Wilfred Owen was a poet who was widely regarded as one of the best poets of the World War one period. Wilfred Owen was born on the 18th of March 1893, at Plas Wilmot, Oswestry, on the English Welsh border; he was the son of Tom and Susan Owen. During the winter of 1897-8 Tom Owen, Wilfred’s father was reappointed to Birkenhead, and withRead More Poetic Techniques of Wilfred Owen Essay1511 Words   |  7 PagesWilfred Owen can be considered as one of the finest war poets of all times. His war poems, a collection of works composed between January 1917, when he was first sent to the Western Front, and November 1918, when he was killed in action, use a variety of poetic techniques to allow the reader to empathise with his world, situation, emotions and thoughts. The sonnet form, para-rhymes, ironic titles, voice, and various imagery used by Owen grasp the prominent central idea of the complete futility ofRead More Love Presented in Poems by Wilfred Owen Essay2489 Words   |  10 PagesLove Presented in Poems by Wilfred Owen Explore how the theme of love is presented in Birdsong and a selection of poems by Wilfred Owen. Loving attitudes, though perhaps not as prominent as themes such as violence and pride, are intimately observed and explored in Sebastian Faulks Birdsong and in many of Wilfred Owens War poems. Each aspect of love, as seen through the eyes of this First World War soldier and Faulks characters, is as interesting as it is diverse, allowing an imperviousRead MoreWilfred Owen Poem Analysis Essay1526 Words   |  7 PagesWilfred Owen’s poetry is shaped by an intense focus on extraordinary human experiences. In at least 2 poems set for study, explore Owen’s portrayal of suffering and pity. One is to think of war as one of the most honorable and noble services that a man can attend to for his country, it is seen as one of the most heroic ways to die for the best cause. The idea of this is stripped down and made a complete mockery of throughout both of Wilfred Owen’s poems â€Å"Dulce Et Decorum Est† and â€Å"Anthem for Doomed

Financial markets Free Essays

string(29) " stocks from start up firms\." Financial assets are made up of securities, stocks and derivatives. These are claims to the cash flow generated by real, tangible assets which are the lands, buildings and machineries we use. These pieces of paper are how citizens of highly developed countries increase their wealth. We will write a custom essay sample on Financial markets or any similar topic only for you Order Now Wealth generation involves risk, for no business activity is certain to provide returns. Financial markets allow investors to participate in money-making ventures without being physically present in the project site. Most risk tolerant individuals prefer stocks, for it has the potential to yield very high returns, while conservative ones go for bonds which provides a steady, fixed income. In this activity, stock trading is the main focus. Objectives Just like any investor, generating cash flow was the primary goal. The amount of cash to be gained from trading should compensate the risk undertaken. The goal was to achieve steady growth. The expected was return is 40%. After setting the required return, a portfolio strategy was chosen. Assets were then selected which would comprise the efficient portfolio– provides the highest return for a given level of risk. Fundamental analysis was the method used to pick the stocks. Diversification was another tactic used to maximize return while spreading the risk. Construct a portfolio Portfolio construction was a tedious task. I had to weigh the risk and returns, and sometimes, to trust my gut feel. Stock prices, as studies have shown follow a random walk movement. The approach used was a top-down portfolio construction. A portfolio is basically a collection of investment assets. The type of assets to be held was first determined. It was then followed by security analysis to pick out the stocks deemed profitable. Diversification was one principle used in choosing the stocks. It simply meant that equities from different industries were held in the portfolio so that risk exposure was limited. Shares from the software industry (RIMM, JAVA), arms(SWHC), pharmaceutical (GERN), computer (PALM), insurance (HUM), health care(HMA), power (FL), SAM, metals and mining(AUY, AA) ,oil and gas(IEO), index fund(SWPIX), cement(CX),AXP Asset Analysis Fundamental analysis was mainly used in the decisions undertaken. This approach uses earnings and dividend prospects of the firm, expectations of future interest rates, and risk evaluation of the firm to determine proper stock prices. It relies on the company’s financial health indicators. The stocks’ annual growth rate, quarterly earnings records, and P/E (price-to-earnings) ratios were measured. Historical data was also used. One such statistic is the EPS, or earnings-per-share ranking. PALM stocks were bought since the firm’s return on investment was stated at 2470. 70%. Also, on the day that it was traded, it was lower priced. Smith and Weson, SWHC had a P/E ratio of 5. 50%, an ROE of 19. 7%. Thus, a total of 4000 shares of SWCH were bought. Alcoa, or AA’s ROE was 16. 20%. Its EBITDA was 5. 45 B. Meanwhile, its P/E ratio was 11. 60 and its annual dividend was at . 68 per share. Alcoa looks financially healthy, but was expensive, so only 1000 shares were purchased. Similarly, FPL’s ROE was 14. 6%. Its P/E ratio was 12. 7%. Its EBITDA was 4. 47 B. The market values FPL shares highly. But, I found it unsmart to invest in highly valued stocks, because market perceptions fluctuate wildly. Thus, I only acquired 700 shares of FPL. RIMM had an ROE of 30. 60%. Its P/E ratio was 50%. For me, RIMM shares were really costly. In fact, it was has the highest cost per share in my portfolio. But I was attracted to its financial forecast. Furthermore, its 52 week high was at $148 so I found the $80 per share enticing. I thus bought 1000 shares from RIMM. HUM had an ROE of 19. 9% and a P/E ratio of 18. 00. It was quite overpriced, so I only bought 1000 shares. HMA was the lowest priced stock in my portfolio. But, I decided to purchase it believing that demand for health care services will increase in the near future. CX, compared with its competitor, Heidelberg cement had higher earnings and historically displayed returns higher than the market average. I bought 1000 shares. I also bought SWPIX, an index fund as a comparison for the return of my trading activities. Event Selection One of the most remarkable news was the launching of PALM’s Pre. With the belief that the Pre will be hot in the market, just like Apple’s I-pod, I bought 4,000 shares from PALM. I deem that the future value of PALM will increase more than two-fold once the Pre is introduced. The hype will push the price of its stock. Thereafter, I can sold my shares at a profit. In addition, the popularity of smart phones, or phones which serve more than just talking devices was forecasted to increase steadily in the near future. Aside from purchasing PALM stocks, I decided to buy shares from BlackBerry’s maker, RIMM. News of the global swine flu outbreak prompted me to purchase HMA shares. HMA , a healthcare provider would have more profits if the flu would become widespread. In addition, Citigroup upgraded HMA shares from hold to buy. Meanwhile, the news on the pending sale of JAVA drove me to sell my 1000 shares. Monster stocks which were identified two weeks in a row included AUY. The information urged me to buy 3000 shares of AUY. Behavioral Finance Even if information processing were perfect, it seemed that investors tend towards irrational decisions. In hindsight, these behavioral biases largely affected how I framed questions of risk versus return. Psychologists have found that individuals blame themselves more when an unconventional decision turned out poorly. Based on regret aversion theory, buying a blue-chip portfolio that declines in value is not as painful as experiencing similar losses on an unknown start-up firm. Losses on the blue-chip stock can be more easily attributed to grim luck rather than bad decision. To avoid future remorse, I did not include stocks from start up firms. You read "Financial markets" in category "Papers" I considered less-well-known firms to be more risky. Even if potential gains can be realized from new firms due to their tremendous growth capacity and often undervalued stocks, I steered clear from such path. Instead, I trudged towards the tried and tested road and concentrated on well-established companies like Alcoa, Smith and Weson and Cemex, and popular companies like JAVA and RIMM. Availability bias is rooted on the concept that people base their decisions on the most recent and meaningful events. The more current or up-to-date the information, the more profound would be its effect on the investor. In the late 1990’s, investors got caught up in the internet mania, which caused them to disregard the risks. I suppose that people naturally get lost in the moment. In fact, I purchased HUM stocks based mainly on the news that Humana was named top payer of pay claims. With the positive publicity of Humana, I projected that its value would also increase in the market, making it an insurance of choice of the public. According to behavioral finance theories, people are overconfident, especially when they experience success. One main source of overconfidence pointed was that, most individuals consider themselves to be above average in terms of skills. This behavior was apparent when even greenhorn investors experienced exceptional growth in technology stocks of the 1990’s. As the stocks continued to climb, investors began to ascribe much of their triumph to their ability to make shrewd investment decisions. Personally, I thought that my projections on the oil and mining industries were more accurate than the foresight of other investors. I thus bought a total of 2000 IEO shares in two different occasions. My rationale was that, oil prices would rise, because it already dipped this year. The same level of smug overconfidence applied to my AUY stock acquisition. In times of crisis, I reasoned, people would splurge on objects which have economic value. In my mind, a woman with money will likely choose a Louis Vuitton bag due to its resale value, than a Prada, even if the former were more expensive. Gold jewelry too, will have high demand, since it can be pawned. Thus, AUY, a gold mining firm was a reasonable buy. Humans have a tendency to seek or interpret information in a way that would confirm one’s preconceptions. Conversely, information which contradict prior beliefs would be avoided. This type of selective thinking is called the confirmation bias. With the positive financial data I had gathered about SWHC, I already had a mental picture of its performance. However, since it is mainly an arms company, an industry which I am not well aware of, and less publicized as compared to energy firms, I still had to substantiate my expectations. True enough, the earnings of SWHC grew consistently. The information I needed to verify my previous opinion was made available. I decided to purchase 1000 shares at two different occasions. I bought the first share at $5. 68 and the next 500 at $5. 46. My decision turned out bad, since I decided to sell half of my SWHC shares days later, at a lower price of $5. 29. This action of mine is reflective of the loss aversion theory. It refers to the propensity of people to lean towards avoidance of losing a certain amount than gaining the same value. Losses are considered to have heavier emotional impact than do gains. Observing that the price of SWHC is quite going down, I disposed half my shares. I would rather sell at a marginal loss of . 27 per share than wait for the SWHC stock to plunge deeper than lose much more. However, I decided to keep half the shares. Why? Because I wanted to at least break even with my losses, just in case the price goes up, a behavior quite related to gambler’s fallacy. According to the gambler’s fallacy, investors liquidate a position after it has consistently gone up. It is also called the Monte Carlo fallacy. It rests on the belief that deviations from expected behavior which occur repeatedly will eventually be countered by opposite movements. For instance, a huge increase in stock price will eventually be corrected by the market, thus the difference should be exploited right away. This belief that high prices are temporary was illustrated in my trading of GERN shares. I bought 4000 shares from GERN at 6. 37 per share. Since the price to book ratio is 2. 02, the stock appeared to be highly valued by the market. But, the return on investment, and EBITDA of GERN is negative, indicating that it is not good for medium term investments. I wanted simply to buy and sell the shares. To take advantage of its high market value, the 1000 shares of the 4000 GERN stocks were sold at $6. 61. In addition, the news regarding the probability of Oracle selling Sun Microsystems prompted me to sell my shares in JAVA. Oracle’s move would mean that JAVA is not performing well. Thus, I had no desire to be part of the lowering of its market value When the news was announced that Palm and Dell lead the technological race,I decided to purchase its stocks. In addition, Palm was about to launch its Pre, a handheld technological device. Palm was a company with huge potential growth, I surmised. I wanted to take advantage of the boom it will undergo once its new product floods the market. Given such information, I bought 4000 shares of the company. Apparently, I wasn’t the only investor clamoring for PALM’s shares. The market over reacted to the statement that Pre is predicted to be the next It thing. This kind of behavior is called overreaction. According to market efficiency, new information should be reflected almost immediately in a security’s price. For instance, positive reviews should raise a business’ share price. The new share price should not decline even if no fresh information has been released since. Reality, however, tends to challenge this concept. Usually, stock market participants predictably overreact to the most recent information, creating a larger-than-expected effect on the price. In addition, it also appears that this price surge erodes over time. The herding or bandwagon effect simply states that investors move in a certain popular direction. They tend to mimic one another. The huge volume of PALM shares traded enticed me to join in the trend. I had the same mindset with my purchase of IEO shares. The number of subscribers has been increasing since December 2008. Thus, I decided to buy in. Furthermore, on June 1, 2008, IEO was at its 6 month high at more than 900,000 shares. I decided to purchase an additional 1000 shares at $47. 55 . The same theory applied with my purchase of the AUY shares. It was considered hotstock due to its increasing volume in the market. Lastly, the news on CX’s reorganization did not entice me to buy its stocks. It announced that it would restructure its top management effective May 15. But, I only decided to buy 1000 shares two weeks after. I did underreact to new information Expected Return I expected a 40% return for my portfolio. But, I was largely disappointed. The portfolio return was a mere 3%. Since the current risk free rate is at 5%, the asset return is 3% and the standard deviation is . 00334, the Sharpe ratio is -5988. 024 . Based on this calculation, I was not successful as an active portfolio manager. I would have done better if I bought an index fund. My trading performance was largely disappointing. I relied too much on fundamental analysis. I could have used technical data more, to incur larger profits. For starters, I depended heavily on P/E ratios. P/E ratios, it turned out are simply market forecasts, but not highly reliable. Also, I should have taken the risk with undervalued, high growth stocks. These start-up firms could have provided me with returns I could have also used the CAPM, where Re=Rf+(Rm-Rf)B. By comparing a stock’s return relative to the market average and risk free rate, I would have a more precise gauge of whether the asset has high yields. Lastly, I wasn’t able to observe the market closely for I only traded at night. How to cite Financial markets, Papers

Examine The Key Ideas Of Two Critiques Of Religious Belief free essay sample

The super-ego (the part of your subconscious that encourages you to act morally it represses anti-social impulses such as killing, and by inducing fear and guilt, it is crucial for civilization) then takes the place Of the father as a SOL_Cree Of internalized authority, which is derived from the family, education and Church. God is a father substitute and a projection of the super-ego. Freud believed that man is dependent on religion to make his helplessness tolerable and whilst he maintained this dependency he could never truly be happy.Freud realized that a feeling of helplessness in the face of external dangers, inner impulses and death and society, were at the route of religion. He observed that many religious rituals were similar to obsessive rituals. These are to protect the ego (the more primal part of your subconscious) from fantasies, desires and especially sexual impulses which, are normally repressed. Whilst Freud had some valid point some philosophers disagreed with his ideas. We will write a custom essay sample on Examine The Key Ideas Of Two Critiques Of Religious Belief or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Nelson and Jones disagreed with Freud opinion that the individuals relationship with God is dependent on their relationship with their father.They found that the concept of God correlated more highly with a persons relationship with their mother than with their father. Kate Elemental distinguished between projective religion (which is immature) and intrinsic religion (which is serious and relative) Freud assumed all aspects of religion were immature. Whereas not all religious beliefs are immature and can be considered serious and relative. Arthur Guardian believed Freud over played the connection between belief in God and psychopathology tendencies. He believed Frauds stance was just as neurotic as the religious preoccupations of others. Freud has no solid verifiable evidence for his reasons and jumps to conclusions, the way that religious believers jump to conclusions about their beliefs. Adkins, a well-known atheist and scientist critiques religion in four different ways. Firstly he argues that religious belief is not necessary, he argues that a Dianna world view makes religion unnecessary. He dismisses the belief that there is any ultimate significance in the world or human beings, He argues instead that our existence is a coincidence, and there is no need for any greater significance, or explanation of how we cane into existence, and the point is that we exist.Adkins also argues that belief about divine creation are essentially faith claims, they are blind, leaps of faith. He believes that religious belief keeps us from exploring the world further as, if we can say that God did everything, there is no need for another explanation. Moreover, he states that to assume that we were made for a purpose, and that there is purpose and meaning outside this world is wrong and an unwarranted assumption. Finally, most insultingly Adkins compares religion to a virus.He compares the way religion spreads to a virus that affects the mind. He associates religion with things such as misleading education, prejudice and inciting fear. He argues that key religious beliefs come into existence purely because someone though of them. If the pope was to claim that something happened simply because God told him then everyone would accept it as a fact, because that is the way religion works, and is not reliable or even truthful in some cases. Does one of the arguments demonstrate that there is no God?Neither arguments clearly demonstrated that there is no God however, most arguments for the existence of God dont prove that there is a God, as it is hard to prove whether something does or does not exist if there is no solid verifiable evidence for or against it. Adkins argument that religious beliefs are unnecessary does not disprove the existence of God it merely states that a God does not have to e xist. Just because he is not needed for humans to survive does not prove his non-existence.Moreover to claim that religious beliefs are like a virus that effects the mind is not an effective way to disprove God. He argues hat its teachings are unreliable but this does not directly disprove God, most legend have a basis in facts, to simply say that all religious teachings are lies is inaccurate, and for someone with a scientific mind, to disregard all of the views is not a very scientific way of thinking, as a scientist you should consider all angles.Adkins claims that do disregard scientific evidence and other views is narrow minded and not beneficial to humans, over he is guilty of the same things, to dismiss religious views so quickly with no solid evidence as to whether God does or does not exist, to simply dismiss the possibility of a God is narrow minded.

President Bush and the Stem Cell Debate free essay sample

This paper discusses the decision of President Bush to allow some funding for stem-cell research. This paper focuses on the recent decision by President George W. Bush to allow limited funding for stem-cell research. The author defines stem-cells, and discusses why they are useful to the scientific community. In addition, the author also describes the process that President Bush went through before making his final decision, which as an example of the influence of interest groups on presidential decisions. On August 9, 2001 President George W. Bush decided to allow limited research on existing stem cells. He made this decision to cater to the wants and needs of as many different people as he could. The science community was content that he at least allowed some research to be done, while anti-stem cell activists were content that he took some moral stance in limiting the research. However, neither side was overly pleased. He could have done more, some argue. We will write a custom essay sample on President Bush and the Stem Cell Debate or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Still others feel he should have done less. All of this exemplifies the moral divide in our country. We also see how difficult it can be for a leader to please all of the general public.

Free Essays on Descriptive Paper

A Candle Burning caught my eye. That’s the title of a piece of art inthe San Antonio College Art Building. It’s a very simple black and white picture of a candle in a candle holder and a book. The twelve by eight wooden frame that hangs on a wall in the Art Building is painted white. With in the frame there is a wide white cardboard border. The border is three inches wide on the left and right. On the top and bottom it’s two inches wide. The border leaves a eight by five rectangaler opening. Inside the eight by five rectangler opening is a pitch black background. On the upper left hand corner there is a candle holder. Not just any candle holder. It could possible be antique. The metal appears rusty and worn, like it’s been used on many pitch black nights. It is shaped like a pear on the bottom. There are two circular handles on th upper portion of the holder. One handle is on the right the other on the left. The handles are connected to the part that holds the candle. Which looks like a cone with a circular opening. The circular opening is where the white candle is placed. It appears to be four inches long and half a inch in width. The candle is pretty much your classis cylinder romantic dinner table candle. The candle has been used before, because there is wax that has dripped on the side of the candle and dried. On the lower right hand corner of the picture there lyes a book. The book is a three by four rectangl. The cover is white with black Times New Roman lettering. The book is titled Practical Candle Burning, by Raymond Buckland. The subtitle reads â€Å" Spells and Rituals for Every Purpose.† On the upper right hand corner of the book cover there is a lit candle. This candle is cylinder , white and thin. The candle holder on the book cove is simple. It’s one inch thick and one in length.... Free Essays on Descriptive Paper Free Essays on Descriptive Paper A Candle Burning caught my eye. That’s the title of a piece of art inthe San Antonio College Art Building. It’s a very simple black and white picture of a candle in a candle holder and a book. The twelve by eight wooden frame that hangs on a wall in the Art Building is painted white. With in the frame there is a wide white cardboard border. The border is three inches wide on the left and right. On the top and bottom it’s two inches wide. The border leaves a eight by five rectangaler opening. Inside the eight by five rectangler opening is a pitch black background. On the upper left hand corner there is a candle holder. Not just any candle holder. It could possible be antique. The metal appears rusty and worn, like it’s been used on many pitch black nights. It is shaped like a pear on the bottom. There are two circular handles on th upper portion of the holder. One handle is on the right the other on the left. The handles are connected to the part that holds the candle. Which looks like a cone with a circular opening. The circular opening is where the white candle is placed. It appears to be four inches long and half a inch in width. The candle is pretty much your classis cylinder romantic dinner table candle. The candle has been used before, because there is wax that has dripped on the side of the candle and dried. On the lower right hand corner of the picture there lyes a book. The book is a three by four rectangl. The cover is white with black Times New Roman lettering. The book is titled Practical Candle Burning, by Raymond Buckland. The subtitle reads â€Å" Spells and Rituals for Every Purpose.† On the upper right hand corner of the book cover there is a lit candle. This candle is cylinder , white and thin. The candle holder on the book cove is simple. It’s one inch thick and one in length....

Science and Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Science and Religion - Essay Example It is fascinating that scientists are questioning religion while believers are questioning science. Scientists are coming up with explanations on the developments in cosmology and biology to counter explanations of religion. Concurrently, religious believers are opting to understand the universe based on their beliefs. Nevertheless, it is required that one has to understand science and religion to unravel the mysteries of nature and human existence. The recent developments in cosmology and biology suggest that science has a major role in explaining life and the universe. As such, scientific inventions are making people believe their capability in understanding the cosmos (Regan, Worthing & Australian Theological Forum, 2001). Research on cosmology has expanded human understanding on the happenings in the universe. Teleological concepts are being used to describe the cause of an action or an event. Hence, teleological judgments are weakening peoples’ faith in religion. For inst ance, the development of genetic science in biology suggests that technology influences most of the developments in current cosmology. This strengthens humans’ belief in science as opposed to religion. Human beings are beginning to understand the cosmos more than they did in the past (Regan, Worthing & Australian Theological Forum, 2001). ... On the contrary, the current developments in cosmology confuse both scientists and spirituals around the globe (McGrath, 2010). Religious authorities and scientists have contradicting information concerning the forces that control the universe. For example, scientists are trying to explain natural phenomenon in scientifically. On the contrary, religious believers’ are perceiving events in the cosmos as spiritual happenings. Moreover, believers are claiming that a supernatural being is in control of such events. As evident in teleological explanations, biological developments suggest that nature is harmonious and everything happens for a cause. However, people are researching to understand the spiritual world more than the physical world (McGrath, 2010). This contributes to the confusion arising from debates in the past. Nowadays, it is easier for people to shift their belief from religion to the ideologies of science when scientifically explaining the developments of the cosmo s. 2. Developments in evolutionary psychology and cognitive science Evolutionary psychology and cognitive science have led to the inventions in biological science. Understanding behavior through the science of cognition disputes some of the teachings of religion making it difficult for people to believe in religion. The assertion in evolutionary psychology is that behavior cannot be attributed to a specified cognition (McGrath, 2010). According to the theories of evolutionary science, the nervous system coordinates all human responses. This knowledge of evolutionary science has led to the development of experimental science (Mircea, 1963). The Darwinian theories that supported evolutionary psychology have falsified religion in various ways. Indeed, people have been made to believe

The Great Recession and The Policy Response Research Paper

The Great Recession and The Policy Response - Research Paper Example This paper serves to look into the causes of the Great Recession of 2007 as the history books call it and the policy response of President Barack Obama's administration to the crisis. More importantly, I will try to answer the question â€Å"Where does America go from here?† Evaluate the Obama administration's policies to respond to the crisis America is a country whose economy has always been based upon the trust factor. The trust that the other nations place upon the credibility of the name of the country and our ability to pay off our country's debt on time allowed the country function like a family that was living beyond its means. We were a country living off â€Å"massive foreign borrowing, excessively loose monetary policy, reckless lending practices, lax regulation, and other factors†. As a country, we were borrowing trillions of dollars from other nations every year. Such money inflow triggers rapid and uncontrollable economic growth due to the artificial spend ing boom that the country was experiencing. This resulted in a real estate boom that would eventually cause the economy to falter as mortgages began to go unpaid. The United States was suffering from a macroeconomic imbalance that had the rest of the world worrying about America, but the Americans were oblivious to what was happening right under their very noses. Economic experts knew that the needle that would burst the economic bubble was sure to come. It was just that nobody could predict when it would actually hit. When it did hit the economy in 2007, there was no place for anyone to hide financially. The U.S economy was officially in shambles and in bad need of rebuilding. What more should the administration do to continue to mend the economy, create jobs, ease credit, etc.? While the U.S was still fighting a war on 2 fronts and struggling to keep up with its debt payments, a new government took over the White House. Pres. Barack Obama rode the wings of change into the White Ho use with the promise that he would end the Great Recession as soon as possible. Everyone applauded and chose to believe that he could do it. But now, 6 years later, the question still remains about what his government policy really was to end the problem and whether it was effective or not. The response of the new Obama administration was swift and clear. He encouraged the adoption of an â€Å"accomodative federal fiscal policy†. It is a policy that, even with the great recession having ended in 2010, has failed to help reinvigorate the U.S. economy to the point where economic growth can be said to have spurred to a steady basis. In fact, the growth of the U.S. economy at this point remains suspect because of the lack of effective economic and tax programs on the part of the Obama administration. (Bivens, Josh, Fieldhouse, Andrew , Shierholz Heidi â€Å"From Free Fall to Stagnation†). Rather, the Obama government seems to be locked in a battle of political wills with t he Republican party as they hold the U.S. economy hostage, a pawn in their political game of survival, without any clear winner. The loser however, thanks to the Obama administration's less than well thought out plans, is definitely the American public. Let's face it, Washington is going to be in a constant state of political gridlock for a long time to come. But our economy

Pardoning Death Row Prisoners Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pardoning Death Row Prisoners - Essay Example She corroborated her claim by not only leading an exemplary life during her time in the prison, but also managed to garner much social and institutional support in favor of her pardon. The second example is of a gangster Stanley Williams who murdered 4 people in cold blood and received a death sentence. In the following years, Stanley not only became a peace activist and a prolific writer, but also claimed that the prison life had made him a good person. Again, Stanley managed to attract the sympathy and support of many prominent citizens and organizations. Yet, both Karla and Stanley were executed, irrespective of their proclaimed rehabilitation on death row. Law serves many purposes in the modern societies. In case of a heinous crime like homicide, the purpose of the law is not only to give justice to the murdered individuals and their family members and associates, but also to set an example before the society, so that people may desist from committing such crimes in the future (Bedau 52). If the state starts pardoning or commuting the death sentences of the criminals who claim to have changed or have become peaceful individuals owing to religious or other benign reasons, this will provide a loophole to most of the death row prisoners to claim pardon by citing similar excuses. ... Such instances will not only set a dangerous precedent, but will amount to reducing the law to a joke. The transformation or improvement of a murderer does not relieve one of the debt one owes to the victims in particular and the society in general. Second Possible Position It is a known fact that in most of the modern societies, their always exists a gap of a couple of years, before the passing of a death sentence to a person guilty of murder and the actual execution. The primary purpose of the law is to make society a safe place to live. Hence, it is perfectly justified to protect society from a dangerous murderer or a habitual criminal by sentencing one to death. Considering the prolonged gaps between the passing of the sentence and the execution, it is quiet possible that a murderer may become a better person owing to introspection and the salubrious influences that one may come across in the prison (Tabak 181). If this fact is further corroborated by a prisoner's good behavior on death row over a prolonged period and is recognized and supported by prominent citizens and organizations, the state can certainly pardon or commute the death sentence of such a prisoner. Once a prisoner has credibly become a peaceful citizen and has managed to attract th e support of the society, executing one simply serves no purpose, but amounts to unnecessary and legal violence (Baird 46). More Agreeable Position In the context of the case presentation under consideration, the first position stands to be more valid and agreeable. The first position takes a more broad based and pragmatic view of the institution of law. The perspective adopted by the first position

Incest Abuse: Effects And Prevention On Children

Incest Abuse: Effects And Prevention On Children Incest abuse is an issue that is prevalent among family members including children. There are various short-term and long-term effects that children encounter throughout and after their abusive experience. These effects are extremely traumatic and cause stressors for children and within families. Incest can occur between any two family members regardless of age and gender. There has been a lot of research that has been conducted regarding incest, but it is often difficult to draw conclusions from research. This is because of vague definitions and unclear restrictions and guidelines. With everything considered, prevention is the most important step that society can take to try to reduce the number of incest cases. Incest is a horrifying and tragic issue between family members typically involving one person of higher power and one of lesser power. In addition, it is extremely traumatic for children that do not know any different or that are still too young and naÃÆ' ¯ve to understand what is going on. This topic is extremely important in the fact that more research needs to be gathered to understand why this is occurring within the family. This issue is more prevalent that many people realize. Therefore this paper is going to discuss issues relating to incest and sexual child abuse within families. It will include research and studies that relate to family incest and abuse. The paper will cover an analysis of research that has been conducted on the relating topic of incest including short term and long-term effects of incest. There are many different forms of incest, but extensive research findings have only been implemented on a few of the forms. There are also factors such as certain age ranges and gender that are more likely to encounter incest abuse. As more research is being conducted regarding incest and abuse, there also needs to be more prevention implementation. Research is important because it allows researchers to find the reasons and causes of why this is happening. However, this issue of incest will not go away without some sort of prevention tactic. Prevention is an extremely important method to help reduce the prevalence of incest and abuse within families. Incest can be a stressor and traumatic event that often causes short term and long-term effects on victimized children. There are issues such as chemical dependence, mental illness, and numerous psychosocial stressors that these victims can encounter (Courtois, 1997). In addition, the family can face disturbances within relationships and dynamics (Courtois, 1997). These issues include parental discord and immaturity, parent-child role reversals and triangulation, boundary violations, double-bind communications, and entrenched patterns of denial, secrecy and rigidity (Courtois, 1997). These are just a few of the effects that incest can produce among families. Short-term effects of incest consists of, those effects that the victim experiences or displays during and/or immediately after the incest and/or its disclosure (the most consistent include emotional) (Vander Mey Neff, 1986, p. 67). The victim can display a variety of emotions and feelings that are typically associated with short-term effects. These can include shame, guilt, fear, anger, in addition to feelings of being trapped, used, confused, betrayed, and humiliated (Vander Mey Neff, 1986, p. 67). Not every victim will experience these short-term effects, but most often victims will experience one these emotional effects from incest abuse. On the contrary, Long-term consequences for the victim are those behaviors, attitudes, or opinions that the victim has or displays years after the incident(s) of incest: effects that are due directly or indirectly to the incest (Vander Mey Neff, 1986, p. 67). These effects go beyond emotional issues; they extend to larger deviant, antisocial, and/or illegal behavioral effects of the victims (Vander Mey Neff, 1986, p. 67). Often times these behaviors include one or more of the following: promiscuity, inability to assume a wife/mother role, alcoholism, drug abuse, prostitution sexual dysfunctioning, delinquency, depression and suicide (Vander Mey Neff, 1986, p. 67). There seem to be many negative effects on children involved in incest abuse. There is also much controversy among research regarding the effects on the victims. There appears to be no definite absolute answers that tell us exactly what will happen to a child who is the victim of incest abuse. However, there is enough consistent data to conclude that incest is a major risk factor for a variety of serious aftereffects (Courtois, 1997). The studies done in regards of victim effects seem to display a fairly strong variety of possible outcomes. As there is no definite solution to effects of children who experience incest abuse, there is a range of common potential results. There seemed to be little or no research regarding the lasting effects of the long-term consequences among victims. However, there was an overall consensus between research studies that each child is an individual and no two cases/situations are the same, and no two victims will walk away the same. Within a family, each individual takes on different roles. There are common roles that characterize a perpetrator of incest. The most common is the authoritarian father who has absolute authority over the entire family (struggle of a power imbalance) (Blume, 1990, p. 34). In this situation the rest of his family fears the father (Blume, 1990, p. 34). He displays control and power and his wife and kids are on a constant guard trying to never upset him (Blume, 1990, p. 34). The father takes advantage of the power he has by sexually abusing his child(ren) and possibly his wife as well. There is also another type of father that is referred to as the timid father (Blume, 1990, p. 34). This dad is not able to stand up to another adult and express his feelings and is often considerd a push-over (Blume, 1990, p. 35). Since he seems to have no control within the family, he seeks his control elsewhere by sexually abusing a son or daughter of his. There are many people who say that victims of child abuse will grow up to become abusers. However, Blume (1990) states that, One is responsible for ones adult acts; ones past does not cause one to do violence to another (p. 37). In addition, if it were true that these victims of abuse turn into abusers, then shouldnt there be more women as perpetrators since women are more likely be seen as the victims? However, this is not the case because most incest survivors are female, and David Finkelhor says, there is a male monopoly on child molesting (Blume, 1990, p. 37). It is important to remember that young girls are not the only victims of incest and that fathers are not the only perpetrators either. Perpetrators can include mothers, brothers, sisters, and extended family (Sloan Porter 1984). Similarly, victims can consist of sons, daughters, cousins, etc (Sloan Porter, 1984). There may be more prevalence in certain situations, but incest is incest no matter who the victim is or who the perpetrator is. Researches have said that it is very difficult to accumulate research on the issue of incest. There are a variety of reasons for this with the foremost reason being defining incest (Blume, 1990, p. 26). There is no one definition of incest; there are various views on what constitutes as incest. Some are more restrictive than others. For example, some include touch as incest abuse, and others include step-parents/siblings as perpetrators of incest abuse. (Blume, 1990, p. 27). In addition, some say that any age under eighteen years old constitutes as incest abuse; however, there are other researchers other things (Blume, 1990, p. 27). Prevention is the key to diminishing this issue. Just as it is important to have treatment centers and therapy for those who have experienced incest abuse, it is also important to implement preventative measures. Sloan and Porter discuss a prevention plan that was created and implemented by community health nurses into a public school. First, there was an emphasis on the importance that children are aware that teachers and school administrators are available to discuss nonacademic problems (Sloan Porter, 1984). Second, the focus was to present as much information as possible to the children without frightening those who had not had these kinds of experiences (Sloan Porter, 1984). Third, the community health nurses wanted to provide children with a problem solving technique that could be used in a number of situations (Sloan Porter, 1984). There was success in this program in the fact that they were able to present intense information to young kids without frightening or creating anxiety for them (Sloan Porter, 1984). There were also only positive comments received from teachers and school officials (Sloan Porter, 1984). However, the positive feedback that was received was only obtained through school administration and community health nurses who worked together to achieve their goal (Sloan Porter, 1984). As this study seems very encouraging, there needs to be more aspects that are examined in order to determine the actual effects of the program. It is great that this particular program focused on children because it allows them to understand what incest and abuse is about, but there also needs to be a program that helps the adults as well. The studies and information presented has, for the most part, seemed to follow in the same direction and correlate with each other. There is the basic overall conclusion of the idea that incest abuse is more prevalent than many people think and that prevention is the key to reducing the issue. All of the studies seemed to express how difficult incest research is due to various factors. These factors covered a wide range, while some research focused on victims lack of report and others emphasized the definition of incest. The overall research seems to highlight the extremely sad situations and traumatic experiences that victimized children encounter. There are many short-term and long-term effects that children can experience due to incest abuse. The implications that are drawn from these issues is that there needs to be not only therapy for victims, but also prevention programs implemented to help decrease the issue of incest. Profielwerkstuk terrorisme: Westerse wereld Islamitische wereld Profielwerkstuk terrorisme: Westerse wereld Islamitische wereld Inleiding: Het eind van vorig schooljaar stond in het teken van het zoeken van een onderwerp voor het profielwerkstuk. Al snel kwam ik tot de conclusie dat terrorisme mijn onderwerp zou worden. De belangstelling voor het fenomeen terrorisme leeft over de hele wereld. Een recenter onderwerp bestaat bijna niet. Na de terroristische aanslagen op Amerika, Spanje, Engeland en zelfs ons eigen land is deze belangstelling alleen maar toegenomen. Dit vond ik interessant en besloot ik mijn profielwerkstuk over terrorisme te houden. Maar hoe ga ik mijn onderzoek uitvoeren? Terrorisme is een heel breed onderwerp. Dus moest ik bepalen waartoe ik mijn onderwerp ging beperken. Terrorisme is iets van alle tijden. In eerste instantie is het gericht tegen het gevestigde bemind daaronder verstaan we de koning of president. Later ook tegen de overheid (revolutie, burgeroorlog, guerrilla). Maar wat nieuw is in de 2e helft van de 20e eeuw is dat terroristische groepen zich heel modern gaan organiseren dan hebben we het over de modernste wapens en de nieuwste en beste communicatie apparatuur. Door het nieuws te kijken, de krant te lezen en informatie van internet te halen heb ik mijzelf georià «nteerd. Vervolgens besloten om de ontwikkeling in het terrorisme tegen de Westerse wereld centraal te stellen. Onder de Westerse wereld verstaan wij de VS, West-Europa en Australià «. Ook beschouwen we Israà «l deels tot de Westerse wereld, dit land wordt namelijk gesteund door de Westerse wereld. Ik ben tot de volgende hoofdvraag en deelvragen gekomen: Hoofdvraag: Wat is de belangrijkste ontwikkeling in het terrorisme tegen de Westerse wereld? Deelvragen: Wat zijn de belangrijkste Islamitische terroristische gebeurtenissen geweest vanaf Mà ¼nchen 72? Wat is de kern van het conflict tussen de Westerse wereld en de Islamitische wereld? Wat is er gedaan aan de bestrijding van terrorisme sinds 11-09-01? In welke richting moeten we de oplossing voor terrorisme bestrijding zoeken? De hoofdvraag wilde ik helder houden, maar tegelijkertijd wilde ik ook de mogelijk hebben om hem uitgebreid te behandelen. Bij de deelvragen wilde ik meer over de geschiedenis van terrorisme te weten komen, maar dan heb ik het beperkt tot de afgelopen 38 jaar. Verder was ik ook erg genteresseerd in wat nou eigenlijk de kern van het conflict is tussen de Verenigde Staten en de westerse wereld. En ook de bestrijding van terrorisme wilde ik aan bod laten komen in dit profielwerkstuk. Vandaar deelvraag twee en drie. Tenslotte leek het mij ook een goed idee om een probleemstellende vierde deelvraag te maken zodat ik daarin ook nog een stukje eigen mening kon geven. Daardoor werd het ook mogelijk om mijn eigen visie naar voren te laten komen. Veel leesplezier! Voorkennis Voordat je begint met het lezen van mijn profielwerkstuk is het misschien handig om eerst even uit te leggen wat terrorisme nou eigenlijk is. Terrorisme is het uit ideologische motieven dreigen met, voorbereiden of plegen van op mensen gericht ernstig geweld, dan wel daden gericht op het aanrichten van maatschappij-ontwrichtende zaakschade, met als doel maatschappelijke veranderingen te bewerkstelligen, de bevolking ernstige vrees aan te jagen of politieke besluitvorming te benvloeden. Nederland hanteert bij de bestrijding van terrorisme een zogenoemde brede benadering. Niet alleen de geweldsdaden zelf aanpakken, maar ook het traject dat vooraf gaat aan deze daden. Deze definitie is wettelijk vastgesteld. Het komt erop neer dat onschuldige burgers het slachtoffer zijn van terreuracties. *http://www.nctb.nl/onderwerpen/wat_is_terrorisme/ Het is moeilijk om het begrip terrorisme goed te duiden want wat voor slachtoffer(s) een ongerechtvaardigde aanslag is wordt door de dader vaak gezien als een gerechtvaardigde actie. Terreuracties vinden meestal plaats in situaties die door de plegers van daad van legitiem verzet of van principià «le uiting wordt gezien. Wat voor de à ©Ãƒ ©n een terrorist is, is voor de ander een vrijheidsstrijder. Bij terroristische acties worden onschuldige burgers betrokken. Het kan gaan om à ©Ãƒ ©n of een paar onschuldige burgers, maar soms ook om tientallen,honderden, of misschien wel duizenden onschuldige burgers. In de 2e wereld oorlog werden tegen de Duitse bezetters wel aanslagen beraamd; dat waren geen terroristische acties maar verzetsdaden tegen de bezetter. Individualisme en collectivisme zijn 2 belangrijke begrippen voor het verschil tussen de westerse wereld en de Islamitische wereld het zijn 2 uitersten. Vrijheidsstrijders in het Westen treden vaak in organisaties op, zoals de IRA in Noord Ierland en de ETA in Spanje. Radicale moslimfundamentalisten plegen soms in hun eentje een terroristische aanslag; soms met inzet van hun eigen leven. Die laatste vorm van terrorisme is nogal nieuw in de geschiedenis. Hoofdstuk 1 Wat zijn de belangrijkste Islamitische terroristische gebeurtenissen geweest vanaf Mà ¼nchen 72? De hele wereld zat aan de buis gekluisterd. 11 september 2001. Een datum die bij iedereen in zijn geheugen staat gegrift als een dag vol haat en verdriet. De wereld heeft natuurlijk al langer te maken met terrorisme maar 11 september 2001 kan wel als terroristisch hoogtepunt, of liever gezegd dieptepunt, worden gezien. Deze dag was voor George W. Bush (toenmalige president van de Verenigde Staten) ook de aanleiding om terrorisme de oorlog te verklaren. Om even terug in de tijd te gaan. Bijna 38 jaar geleden, 5 september 1972. Ook deze dag zit een groot deel van de wereld vol ongeloof naar de tv te kijken. Een gijzelingsdrama tijdens de Olympische spelen in Mà ¼nchen. Ook deze dag is niet het officià «le begin van het terrorisme, dit is eigenlijk al vele jaren bezig, maar 5 september 1972 wordt door veel mensen wel als een soort startsein gezien. Nu is het menens, het was duidelijk dat na vandaag er nog veel aanslagen over en weer zouden volgen en dat wereld vanaf nu onafscheidelijk verbonden zal zijn met terrorisme. Omdat zon groot wereldwijd evenement als de Olympische spelen werd uitgekozen werd het duidelijk dat de gevoerde strijd tussen Israà «lià «rs en Palestijnen nu wel eens een wereldwijde strijd zou kunnen gaan worden. De strijd tussen Israà «lià «rs en Palestijnen is al lang bezig. Al aan het einde van de 19e eeuw zijn er veel joden die streven naar een onafhankelijke staat in Palestina als uitweg voor de onderdrukkingen in Europa. In de jaren zullen er nog veel Joden volgen, vanaf 1930 vluchtten er bijvoorbeeld veel joden naar Palestina vanwege het antisemitisme in Duitsland. Tussen 1936 en 1939 vindt de Grote Opstand plaats. Dit is een opstand van Arabieren die protesteren tegen de Joodse immigratie. De Britten die op dat moment de macht hebben in Palestina treffen strenge maatregelen wat betreft de immigratie, maar dit leidt alleen maar tot meer conflicten met de joods-palestijnse bevolking. Na de Tweede Wereldoorlog, in 1947, stemt de Algemene vergadering van de Verenigde Naties in met een plan van de Britten om Palestina in twee delen te verdelen. De joden accepteren dit besluit, maar de Arabieren absoluut niet. Er volgt onmiddellijk een burgeroorlog tussen de Joden en Palestijnen. De joden slagen er in om met geweld een groot deel van de Arabische bevolking te verdrijven en op 14 mei 1948 roept David Ben-Gurion de staat Israà «l uit. Een dag later vallen ruim 30.000 Arabieren uit verschillende Arabische landen de nieuwe staat in en de Israà «lische Onafhankelijkheidsoorlog (ook wel de Arabisch-Israà «lische Oorlog van 1948 genoemd) volgt. Vanaf dan zullen de conflicten tussen de Israà «lià «rs e n Palestijnen doorzetten tot op de dag van vandaag. In dit hoofdstuk zullen verder de belangrijkste Islamitische terroristische gebeurtenissen vanaf Mà ¼nchen 1972 worden besproken. Dit was een dag waarop bij de strijd tussen de Israà «liers en Palestijnen de wereld werd betrokken. Wat eerst een conflict was tussen twee volken werd nu een conflict op wereldwijd niveau. Vooral door de steun die de Verenigde Staten geeft aan Israà «l breidt het conflict zich uit. Terrorisme is natuurlijk niet iets van de laatste jaren maar het is onmogelijk alle gebeurtenissen van de afgelopen eeuwen te betrekken in dit hoofdstuk. Daarom heb ik gekozen voor een periode van ongeveer 35 jaar. Op deze manier kunnen kan ik een beter gedetailleerd beeld geven en ook duidelijk de verschillen en overeenkomsten tussen de aanslagen uitlichten. Reacties van verschillende partijen zullen ook worden toegelicht. Mà ¼nchen 1972: Het was de bedoeling om van de Olympische Zomerspelen 1972 vooral vrolijke spelen te maken. Op deze manier probeerde Duitsland de dubieuze spelen van 1936 in Duitland waarin Adolf Hitler zijn fascistische ideologie probeerde uit te dragen, te vergeten. Maar vrolijk werden de spelen zeker niet. Op 5 september vallen Palestijnse terroristen van de organisatie Zwarte September het onderkomen van een aantal Israà «lische atleten binnen. Twee leden van het Israà «lisch Olympische team worden hierbij direct vermoord en 9 andere werden gegijzeld. Na lang onderhandelen wordt duidelijk wat de eis van de Palestijnse terroristen is. Het vrijlaten van 234 Arabische gevangenen. Daarbij willen ze een vrije aftocht en een vliegtuig tot hun beschikking. Golda Meir, de premier van Israà «l laat via de Bondskanselier van Duitsland, Willy Brandt, weten dat zij onder geen enkele voorwaarde onderhandelt met terroristen. Het hoofd van de politie van Mà ¼nchen, Manfred Schreiber, beslu it vervolgens dat er dan een reddingsoperatie, zonodig met geweld, moet volgen. Er volgt op zijn bevel een reddingsoperatie op het vliegveld, maar die mislukt. Er waren pantserwagens onderweg om de gijzelaars van het vliegveld af te voeren, maar omdat een groot deel van de mensen die de gebeurtenissen op tv heeft gevolgd massaal naar het vliegveld gaan, is het onmogelijk voor de pantserwagens om het vliegveld te bereiken. Verder waren er op het dak scherpschutters gestationeerd maar toen zij het vuur openden, ging er van alles mis. De meeste terroristen konden op tijd dekking zoeken en als reactie op de scherpschutters gooit à ©Ãƒ ©n van de terroristen een handgranaat in de eerste helikopter met gegijzelden en een andere terrorist begint te schieten op de tweede helikopter waardoor vervolgens alle 9 gegijzelden overlijden. Als reactie op 5 september 1972, volgen er in de tijd erna heel wat terroristische aanslagen over en weer. Eind Oktober 1972 bijvoorbeeld al, als de leden van de Zwarte September beweging een vliegtuig kapen van de Duitse luchtvaartmaatschappij Lufthansa met als eis om 3 terroristen vrij te laten. Onder zwaar protest van Israà «l gaat Duitsland hierop in. Als reactie op deze kaping bombardeert Israà «l vervolgens vier Palestijnse trainingskampen bij Damascus. In principe is dit een strijd tussen Israà «lià «rs en Palestijnen. Bomaanslagen op scholen in Israà «l of gegijzelden Palestijnen zijn het gesprek van de dag. Er is sprake van een soort patroon want beide partijen reageren op elkaars aanslagen door er vervolgens zelf een te plegen. Ook Frankrijk wordt deels in de strijd betrokken want er volgen in de jaren na 1972 verschillende bomaanslagen in Frankrijk, gepleegd door Islamitische groeperingen. Opvallend is hoe weinig de Verenigde Staten worden betrokken bij deze strijd. Op 8 september 1974 vind er wel een bomaanslag plaats op een vliegtuig van TWA (Trans World Airlines, een Amerikaanse luchtvaartmaatschappij) met als eindbestemming JFK International Airport. Op deze bomaanslag volgt echter geen directe reactie of volgende aanslag. Deze bomaanslag is mogelijk een reactie van de Palestijnen op de steun van de Amerikanen aan Israà «l. Een persoon die bij vrijwel de meeste van Palestijns afkomstige aanslagen is betrokken, is de Palestijnse terrorist Aboe Nidal (1937 2002). Hij was toentertijd à ©Ãƒ ©n van de meest gezochte en gevreesde Palestijnse terroristen ter wereld en wordt verantwoordelijk gehouden voor 90 aanslagen in 20 verschillende landen. Aanslag op Amerikaanse marinebasis: Op 23 oktober 1983 wordt er een bomaanslag gepleegd op het hoofdkwartier van de Amerikaanse mariniers bij het vliegveld van Beiroet. De aanslag wordt even later opgeà «ist door Sjiitische extremisten. Er komen in totaal 241 Amerikanen om het leven. De explosieve lagen vermoedelijk in een vrachtwagen, die door Sjiitische extremisten bestuurd werd. Er raakten bovenop de 241 doden ook nog 80 mensen gewond en er was ook grote materià «le schade. De mariniers waren in Beiroet omdat ze daar heen waren gestuurd door president Reagan om te helpen bij het beà «indigen van de burgeroorlog. Later op die dag volgde er ook een bomaanslag op het hoofdkwartier van Franse parachutisten. Er komen bij deze aanslag 58 Franse soldaten om het leven. Deze aanslag wordt opgeà «ist door dezelfde Sjiitische extremistische groep. Boeing wordt gekaapt: Op 14 juni 1985 wordt er een Boeing 727 van TWA met 153 inzittenden door Sjiitische extremisten gekaapt. Het vliegtuig wordt gedwongen om naar Beiroet te vliegen waar zij 39 Amerikanen gegijzeld houden. Het doel van de kaping en gijzeling is de invrijheidstelling van 700 Arabieren door Israà «l. De gijzeling duurt tot 1 juli en in die tijd blijven alle gijzelaars in leven, behalve à ©Ãƒ ©n, de Amerikaanse marinier Robert Stretham, hij wordt terplekke geà «xecuteerd. Israà «l geeft toe aan de eisen waardoor vervolgens het vliegtuig wordt teruggevlogen naar het vliegveld van Frankfurt en de gijzelaars vrij worden gelaten. De Lockerbie ramp: Op 21 december 1988 vind er een terroristische aanslag plaats in een Boeing 747 van de Amerikaanse luchtvaartmaatschappij Pan Am. Het vliegtuig was vanuit Frankfurt op weg naar New York en had net een tussenlanding gemaakt in Londen. Rond 7 uur s avonds verdwijnt het vliegtuig van de radar. Het bevind zich dan nog op 10 kilometer hoogte boven het Schotse Lockerbie. Even later vind er een explosie plaats in het bagageruim waardoor het vliegtuig volledig uiteen wordt gescheurd. Een deel van het vliegtuig komt neer in een woonwijk waardoor behalve alle 259 inzittenden ook 11 mensen op de grond om het leven komen. Uit het Schotse onderzoek wat volgt komt als eerste naar voren dat deze aanslag een reactie was op 3 juli 1988 waarbij de VS een Iraans burgervliegtuig zouden hebben beschoten met als gevolg dat alle 290 inzittenden daaruit omkwamen. Dit spoor loopt uiteindelijk echter dood en na verder onderzoek wordt er gewezen op twee Libische geheim agenten, Abdel Basset Ali Mohammed el-Megrahi en Al-Amin Khalifa Fhima. Zij zouden er voor hebben gezorgd dat de koffer waarin de bom zat aan boord was gekomen en dus de explosie hebben veroorzaakt. Zij zouden dit hebben gedaan omdat zij bepaalde Libische gevangenen vrij zouden willen krijgen. Rijtje huizen in LockerbieDe Verenigde Staten houden ook Libià « verantwoordelijk, maar volgens hen was deze aanslag een vergeldingsactie omdat de dochter van de Libische leider Muammar Ghadaffi bij een Amerikaans vergeldingsbombardement op Tripoli (hoofdstad van Libià «) om het leven was gekomen. Het Amerikaans vergeldingsbombardement had plaatsgevonden omdat zij Libià « verantwoordelijk hielden voor een aanslag op een disco in West-Berlijn in 1986. De aanslag boven Lockerbie was volgens hen dus uit wraak van Muammar Ghadaffi gepleegd. In augustus 2003 erkende de Libische regering de verantwoordelijkheid voor de aanslag boven Lockerbie en gaf daarbij toe bereid te zijn om een schadevergoeding te betalen aan de nabestaanden. 11 september 2001: De dag begon voor al die duizenden werkende mensen als elke andere dag. Niemand had aan zien komen dat vandaag de wereld wel eens zou kunnen veranderen. Toch gebeurde het en zorgde wereldwijd dan ook voor ontzettend veel ophef en ongeloof. Om kwart voor negen s ochtends lokale tijd begon het allemaal. Het eerste vliegtuig, een passagiersvliegtuig van American Airlines, vliegt in het bovenste deel van de noordelijke WTC toren. Omdat het vliegtuig pas kort daarvoor was opgestegen zaten de tanks nog vol kerosine en volgde er een gigantische explosie. Om 5 minuten over 9 volgde het tweede vliegtuig, een vlucht van United Airlines, die zich in de zuidelijke toren boord. Een paar uur later storten beide torens volledig in en alle mensen die op dat moment nog in het gebouw aanwezig zijn komen om het leven, net zoals 349 brandweermannen en 62 mensen van de politie. Een half uur nadat het tweede vliegtuig in de zuidelijke toren was gevlogen, boord er een vliegtuig, tevens een vlucht van American Airlines, in het Pentagon, het Amerikaanse ministerie van Defensie in Washington D.C. Ook een vierde vliegtuig werd die ochtend gekaapt. Dit stortte echter neer in een veld net buiten Pittsburg. De FBI heeft kunnen aantonen uit de transcriptie van geheime opnames uit de cockpit dat à ©Ãƒ ©n van de kapers de piloot verplichtte het vliegtuig te laten neerstortten om daarmee te voorkomen dat de passagiers verder zouden gaan met het vliegtuig heroveren. Er is aangenomen dat het doel van de kapers in eerste instantie was om met dit vliegtuig een aanslag op het Capitool of het Witte Huis te plegen. Tijdens de kapingen hebben passagiers door middel van hun mobiele telefoon aan bekenden informatie over de kapers weten door te spelen waardoor op 12 september 2001 door de FBI een lijst naar boven kwam met de vermoedelijke kapers. Osama bin Laden, à ©Ãƒ ©n van de leiders van Al Qaida, wordt vanaf het begin verantwoordelijk gehouden voor de aanslagen op 11 september. Verschillende onderzoeken wezen in zijn richting. Onder andere een videoboodschap waarin Osama bin Laden gezegd zou hebben dat de aanslagen beter zijn verlopen dan hij had verwacht. Een tijdje na de aanslagen vraagt de VS aan Afghanistan om te uitlevering van bin Laden aan de VS. Nadat de VS een ultimatum stelde kwamen honderden leden van de Taliban bij elkaar en verzochten zij bin Laden om uit Afghanistan te vertrekken want zij wensten te onderhandelen met de VS. De VS ging daar echter niet op in en Osama bin Laden liet weten dat hij zich alleen zou laten berechten in een Islamitisch land. Hij erkende dus, zonder het letterlijk te zeggen, zijn verantwoordelijkheid voor de aanslagen. Later liet bin Laden via een videoboodschap weten dat er een jihad (betekent in het Islamitisch: strijd) van alle Moslims zal komen tegen het zionisme en de kruistochten en ook tegen de Verenigde Staten. 11 maart 2004: In de ochtend van 11 maart vinden er in vier verschillende forenstreinen in Madrid bomaanslagen plaats. Uiteindelijk werden er 13 bommen gevonden, waarvan er 10 tot explosie waren gebracht. Bij deze ergste terroristische aanslag in Europa, sinds de Lockerbie-ramp, komen er 191 mensen om het leven en raken ruim 1400 mensen gewond. De schuld wordt door de Spaanse overheid eerst geschoven in de richting van de Baskische afscheidingsbeweging ETA. De ETA ontkent echter elke betrokkenheid bij de aanslag. Later wordt een cassettetape met Arabische koranverzen gevonden en Al Qaida wordt hierdoor als vermoedelijke dader gezien. Spaanse autoriteiten blijven echter nog enige tijd bij hun standpunt dat de aanslag het werk is van de ETA. Maar een met Al Qaida verwante organisatie, Brigade Abu Hafs al-Masri, eist vervolgens de aanslag op en na het vinden van de cassettetape en uitgebreid onderzoek wordt Al Qaida dus als officià «le dader gezien. Als er naar de data wordt gekeken ka n ook geconcludeerd worden dat de aanslag toebehoord aan Al Qaida. De aanslag vind precies 30 maanden (2,5 jaar, 911 dagen) na de aanslagen op 11 september plaats. 911 is een veelgebruikte aanduiding voor de aanslagen van 11 september. Van toeval is dus niet meer te spreken. De aanslagen in Madrid zijn het geplande werk van Al Qaida. 7 juli 2005: In de ochtend van 7 juli 2005 kreeg Londen te maken met verschillende explosies. In een half uur vonden er drie ontploffingen plaats in de metro en even later werd een openbare bus het doelwit van een terroristische aanslag. Met 56 doden en ruim 700 gewonden was dit de meest ernstige terroristische aanslag op het Verenigd Koninkrijk sinds de ramp in Lockerbie (1988). Bij de explosies in de metros werd eerst nog uitgegaan van een ernstige stroomstoring maar toen even later een dubbeldekkerbus explodeerde, werd duidelijk dat het om een terroristische aanslag ging. Al Qaida werd al snel als schuldige gezien. Omdat er verschillende aanslagen vrijwel tegelijkertijd plaatsvonden, wezen experts erop dat het daarom als een klassieke Al Qaida aanslag kon worden gezien. Van klassieke Al Qaida aanslagen kan worden gesproken als de aanslagen de volgende kenmerken bezitten: de explosies vinden vrijwel tegelijkertijd plaats; er werden vooraf geen waarschuwingen gegeven door de terroristen; om de maximale aandacht van de media te trekken wordt een druk tijdstip uitgekozen, zoals de ochtendspits; de aanvallen vinden plaats op een druk tijdstip, met als doel om zoveel mogelijk burgers om te brengen. De aanslag werd ook vrijwel direct opgeà «ist door Al Qaida. De speciale tak van Al Qaida in Europa plaatst via internet een verklaring waaruit blijkt dat de aanslagen een vergelding waren voor de Britten in Irak. Een deel van de verklaring luidt: Wij hebben onze belofte gehouden en een succesvolle militaire operatie uitgevoerd. We waarschuwen eveneens de regeringen van Denemarken en Italià « om hun troepen uit Afghanistan en Irak terug te trekken. Motieven van Islamitische terroristen: Islamitische extremisten zien zichzelf natuurlijk niet als terroristen. Zij vinden zichzelf vrijheidstrijders en zeggen dat zij handelen uit naam van een hoger doel wat hen leidt. Ze geloven dat hun God van hen verwacht dat ze hun eigen godsdienst verdedigen door mensen van andere religies of geloofovertuigingen aan te vallen. Ze maken zich niet druk om het verlies van politieke steun omdat in hun gedachte hun God toch altijd aan hun kant zal blijven staan. Geweld en het ombrengen van burgers die onschuldig zijn is daarbij noodzakelijk om hun doel te bereiken. Zij proberen op deze manier politieke veranderingen er door te krijgen. De vier motieven voor Islamitische terroristen zijn daarom ook extremisme, separatisme, politiek idealisme of hun geloof in een goede zaak. Islamitische extremisten geloven in het feit dat als beloning voor daden als zelfmoordaanslagen zij als martelaren worden vereerd en dus in het paradijs terechtkomen. Als eis bij een terroristische aanslag wordt vaak de vrijlating van verschillende gevangenen geà «ist. Methoden van Islamitische terroristen: Het financieren van terroristische aanslagen kost vaak vele miljoenen euros. Er is geld nodig voor de training, uitrusting en reizen. Dit wordt vaak gefinancierd door bankovervallen, het losgeld van gijzelingen en valsemunterij. Uit onderzoek is gebleken dat Al Qaida ook een deel van hun geld doorgesluisd heeft gekregen van verschillende liefdadigheidsorganisaties, bedrijven en banken. De organisatie van islamitische terreurbewegingen gebeurt vaak in verschillende, kleine groepen (cellen). Elke cel bestaat daarbij vaak uit enkele leden. De cellen opereren vaak onder miljoenen mensen en het opsporten is daarom ook haast onmogelijk, verder is er ook zeer weinig of geen contact tussen de verschillende cellen onderling. Zo kunnen grote terreurorganisaties als Al Qaida nooit in à ©Ãƒ ©n keer worden opgespoord. Er zijn bij Islamitische terreuracties al verschillende technieken toegepast. Vliegtuigkapingen, schietpartijen in het openbaar, persoonlijke moordaanslagen, ontvoeringen en bomaanslagen. Bommen worden in autos, vliegtuigen, treinen of boten geplaatst en verschillende keren ook als raketten afgevuurd. Vaak is er ook sprake van zelfmoordaanslagen waarbij de terroristen zichzelf in een drukke omgeving tot ontploffen brengen. Hoewel er de laatste tijd veel te doen is geweest om massavernietigingswapens afkomstig van Islmatische extremisten als chemische zenuwgassen of biologische of nucleaire stoffen, wordt er ook vaak nog gebruikt gemaakt van veel simpeler materiaal. Kunstmest is een goedkope, zeer effectieve en vaak gebruikte springstof. Terrorisme in de media: Terroristische aanslagen bereiken vrijwel altijd de media. Logisch, vaak overlijden of raken er tientallen of zelfs honderden mensen gewond bij een aanslag. Er zijn op dit gebied echter wel twee verschillende soorten aanslagen te onderscheiden. Het kan gaan om een kleinschalige actie die gericht is op het executeren of ontvoeren van à ©Ãƒ ©n bepaalde persoon of een kleine groep mensen. Hierbij is het dan de bedoeling van de terroristen om mensen te laten zien dat zij het niet eens zijn met het beleid van deze persoon of het kan als waarschuwing gelden. Bij de gijzeling tijdens de Olympische Spelen werden bijvoorbeeld maar 9 mensen gegijzeld. Wel waren dit allemaal Israà «lià «rs waardoor duidelijk werd dat dit een aanslag was tegen het gehele Israà «lische volk. Het bereiken van de media is ook altijd het voornaamste doel van de terroristen. Op deze manier kunnen zij een veel groter deel van de mensen bereiken en duidelijk maken wat het doel van de aanslag was. Er worden daarom ook altijd grote gebouwen, drukke tijdstippen en grote evenementen gekozen voor een aanslag. Op deze manier proberen zij hun acties zo spectaculair mogelijk te laten overkomen bij de bevolking en hun boodschap zo duidelijk mogelijk te maken. De media is dus een belangrijk hulpmiddel van terroristen. Zo zou volgens de Israà «lische premier Benjamin Netanyahu terrorisme afnemen als er niet zoveel aandacht aan geschonken zou worden in de media. Het hoofddoel van de terroristen, namelijk publiciteit, valt dan weg. Hoofdstuk 2 Wat is de kern van het conflict tussen de Westerse wereld en de Islamitische wereld? De vele aanslagen tussen de Westerse en de Islamitische wereld zijn niet zomaar in hier terecht gekomen. Er heerst een conflict tussen deze werelden. Een conflict dat nog lang niet zal zijn afgelopen. Er is namelijk al zà ³ lang een conflict dat de werkelijk oorzaak hiervan moeilijk is vast te leggen. Het is van belang vast te stellen wat precies de kern is van dit conflict, om te kunnen kijken wat er zou moeten gebeuren om dit probleem tegen te gaan. Daarom is het ook van belang eerder samengestelde kernen van het conflict tegen elkaar af te wegen. In dit hoofdstuk zullen verschillende visies op het conflict tussen de Westerse wereld en de Islamitische wereld tegen over elkaar worden gezet. Op welke punten hebben ze gelijk en op welke niet. Er zijn 3 visies uitgekozen die worden vergeleken. In het westen is men van mening dat ieder individu mag kiezen hoe hij of zij leeft als dit maar binnen de wetsregels past. Welke religie, welke geaardheid of waar je vandaan komt horen in principe geen rol te spelen. De islam is anders. Toen de westerse invloed eind 19e eeuw de islamitische wereld bereikte, als gevolg van het kolonialisme is de islam in veel landen veranderd. Er was verdeeldheid over hoe de westerse invloed werd opgevat. Sommigen, die de westerse wereld accepteerden, probeerden te twee werelden samen te voegen en zeiden dat de islam goed samenging met de westerse wereld, anderen vonden de idealen helemaal niet zo vanzelfsprekend. De groep die zich afkeert van de westerse wereld wordt gezien als moslimfundamentalisten. Niet iedere fundamentalist zet zich af tegen het westen echter ieder die zich wel afzet is wel een fundamentalist. Het afzetten is een tegenreactie op de westerse wereld. Zo denkt Osama Bin Laden over zijn haat tegen de westerse wereld. De liberalen mos lims proberen juist de islam te vermengen met de moderne wereld. Zij willen weer terug naar een tijd waarin de sharia flexibeler was en regels ook minder streng waren. Het eerste punt is ontstaan toen de westerse wereld invloed kreeg in moslim landen en niet ieder dit accepteerde. Maar dit hoeft niet per se haat te creà «ren. De religie, de islam, schrijft dat de islam iets is van de hele gemeenschap. Vele streven dan ook naar à ©Ãƒ ©n wereldomvattende islamitische staat. Mensen die niet geloven worden ook wel kaffer genoemd. Het zijn deze gedachten, die aangeven dat de islam in principe niet open staat voor andere religies. De manier van interpreteren speelt hier natuurlijk een belangrijke rol bij. Fundamentalisten kunnen dit zien als rede voor geweld, terwijl liberalen dit geweldloos willen oplossen door een gemengde wereld te vormen. Het is ook deze verscheidenheid die er voor zorgt dat niet iedere moslim een terrorist is, maar wel de kans schept om terroristen, of vrijheidsstrijders, te laten voortkomen uit de islam. Want wat wij terroristen noemen, zien zij als vrijheidsstrijders die vrijheid willen zonder de westerse wereld. Radicale Imams: Ashfin Ellian, een (ex-) moslim en rechtsgeleerde is van mening dat het moslimterrorisme alleen te bestrijden is door een open en kritisch debat te voeren over de islam. Zo kunnen we van mekaar leren en vooroordelen verhelpen. Het echte probleem zit volgens hem bij de politieke islam. De aanhangers van de politieke islam zijn de grote vijand van de gewone moslims. Omdat die het imago van de islam negatief aantasten. Net zoals je de katholieken niet moet verwarren met het katholicisme, moet je moslims niet met de islam verwarren. Niet elke aanhanger van het katholicisme doet wat er precies staat in de bijbel of wat de paus zegt. Hetzelfde geldt voor aanhangers van de islam, daar zitten ook verschillen bij. De meesten zijn normale mensen, die hard werken om hun kinderen een toekomst te geven. Als aanhangers van de politieke islam de macht grijpen wordt het leven ondraaglijk, zoals we kunnen zien in Iran en Afghanistan. De politieke islam claimt de absolute waarheid en controle over het leven van alle mensen. Dit in tegenstelling tot de democratie van de Westerse wereld. Volgens Ashfin kan dit worden voorkomen door ervoor te zorgen dat jongeren zich niet bij hun zoektocht naar de islam opsluiten in de politieke islam. Deze jongeren worden benvloed door radicale imams, en dat moet worden tegengegaan. Eigenlijk geeft Ashfin de schuld aan de radicale imams die er voor zorgen dat jongeren aanhangers worden van de politieke islam, en dat is de basis voor een conflict. De politieke islam laat geen plaats over voor mensen die anders denken. Dit terwijl de vrijheid van meningsuiting bij velen zo belangrijk is. Ashfin Ellian zoekt de oplossing bij de nieuwe generatie radicale moslims, en het opkomen daarvan probeert hij te voorkomen. Het zijn inderdaad de radicale moslims die voor veel problemen zorgen, niet de doorsnee moslim. Ook zijn het inderdaad de radicale imams die deze boodschappen doorgeven. Echter om dit op te lossen is het houden van een open en kritisch debat geen oplossing. Want wie praten er dan op zon debat. Wie kijken ernaar, wie heeft de leiding. Het is een onrealistisch doel. Bovendien wordt een debat meestal gevoerd door mensen die bereid zijn erover te praten. Maar radicale moslims en imams zijn dat niet. Die willen niet omgaan met mensen die anders denken. Het is dus niet mogelijk dit debat te org

With reference to An Arrest and An occurance at Owl Creek bridge Essay

With reference to An Arrest and An occurance at Owl Creek bridge Explore Ambrose Beirce's treatment of the theme of justice. Leann Parker With reference to 'An Arrest' and 'An occurance at Owl Creek bridge' Explore Ambrose Beirce's treatment of the theme of justice. Ambrose Beirce lived between the years of 1842 - 1914 ,though his date of death can not be for certain. He lived during the period of the civil war and was the author of supernatural stories. He wrote those stories because he was interested in the war and crime and this led too his two books; 'Tales of soldiers and civilians' and 'Can such things be?'. Justice also played a huge part in Beirce's opinion. He believed that justice had changed during the Civil war and that what was happening was somewhat unfair. He expressed this in a way to make us feel sympathetic. In each state their were different laws ,something you could do in Kentucky you might not have got away with in New York City ,justice was givenfor many different reasons. Law during the Civil warwas very different and the sheriffs (not police) found keeping Law and order very difficult. The two main stories he wrote about were 'An Arrest' and 'An occurance at Owl Creek bridge'. Beirce wrote his stories on the theme of justice and he done this because he wanted to explore the mind and feel hope and peace. The first story 'An Arrest' is about a man Orrin Brower , a fugitive on the run. He was sent to prison for murdering his brother-in-law and has longed for freedom ever since. He eventually manages to escape and runs into the forest but gets lost. He finally makes his way onto a road but on the other side spots a figure of justice who takes him back to the jail but on... ...help out, farquhar thinking he was on his side, he is then hung for doing something bad but his last 3 seconds turn into a lifetime before he is actually hung. Ambrose Beirce chose an innocent man called Peyton Farquhar as his main character because he wanted us to feel sorry for him and angry with the officers for causing the pain inflicted. Farquhar took the role in the war because he had always wanted to be part of it.He was not allowed to fight for his own country so when the enemy tricked him, he was no wiser and was trying to help his side and so he did what the enemy wanted. ' I observed that the flood of last winter had lodged a great quantity of driftwood against the wooden pier at this end of the bridge. it is now dry and would burn like a tow'. In the last moments of his life we learn so much about his personality, feelings and thoughts.

Hobby: Actor and Favorite Pastime Essay

People live a very busy life nowadays, so they have little time to spare. Still they try their best to make use of those rare hours of leisure. A hobby is a favorite pastime of a person. Hobbies differ like tastes. People choose their hobbies according to their taste and character. Someone likes simply to watch TV, lying on a sofa. If you have chosen a hobby to your liking, lucky you are: you have made your life more interesting. But many people have nothing to do during their spare time, though there are many different hobbies: reading, collecting, going in for sports, traveling and others. If a person collects something, he does it according to his financial abilities: someone collects cars or pictures of world-known painters, while another one collects beer cans or stamps. But no matter what they collect, it gives them pleasure. Many collections started in a small way with one or two items. Some private collections are really valuable. No matter what kind of hobby a person has, he always has an opportunity of learning from it. Some young people find it a pleasure to go to the theatre. The theatre is one of the most ancient kinds of art. For centuries people have come to the theatre for the different aims: to relax, to be amazed or entertained, to have a good laugh, to enjoy the acting of their favorite actors and actresses. Modern life is impossible without traveling. Many people travel by rail, by air, by sea or by road for pleasure. Many people are fond of reading. As for me I don’t like to read very much, but I think that it’s the most useful pastime. If a person likes to read, he can take many useful information and life experience from the books. As for me I am fond of dancing. I am doing it since my childhood. While dancing I feel very comfortable, I am flying as if I have wings. Especially I feel so while dancing Arabic dances. Another hobby is to dry flowers and to make different bouquets. There are a lot of such bouquets in my flat. Also I like to present them to my relatives and friends. Also I like singing very much. But I am afraid to sing when there are other people in the same place. But I do like to sing. While doing it I can naked my soul, I can express what I feel in that very moment.

Baroque and Rococo Art Periods Essay

The Baroque Art era is classified by many as Early Baroque, High Baroque, and Late Baroque periods. The Rococo Art era is often said to be part of the Late Baroque period. The time frame of the Rococo era and whether it is one and the same as the Late Baroque period have been in debate through the years. Although the Baroque Art and the Rococo Art periods are sometimes classified as one in the same, they are actually quite distinct and unique. The Baroque Art period was between 1600 and the mid 1700’s, and originated during the Catholic Reformation in Rome, Italy, and quickly spread throughout most of Europe. During the late 1500’s, the Protestant reformation started to attack the Catholic Church on doctrine. In response to these attacks, the Catholic Pope started a movement within the church to reaffirm and spread Catholic beliefs. During this time, most people were uneducated and illiterate so the church had to devise a way to spread the gospel message so everyone wou ld understand. It was decided that the message would be spread through art. â€Å"This art was to be direct, emotionally persuasive, and powerful-designed to fire the spiritual imagination and inspire the viewer to greater piety. The church felt that God of greatness and power should be worshiped with the kinds of rituals, ceremonies, and churches befitting these divine qualities.† (McKay & McKay, 2010) So began the Baroque movement with it’s dramatic use of color in paintings and architecture that was forceful, emotional, and extravagant. The Rococo art period emerged in the mid-17th century as a continuation of the Baroque art period. â€Å"By the end of his seventy two-year reign Louis XIV led his country victoriously through numerous wars and France had long replaced Spain as the continental power. He is known in history as one of greatest French kings but also as a â€Å"micromanaging control freak.† (Zaky. n.d.) The Baroque style during his reign represented the Catholic faith and the monarchy with art that was â€Å"direct, obvious, and dramatic.† (McKay & McKay, 2010) Louis XIV was succeeded by Louis XV who reigned during the height of the â€Å"Age of Enlightenment† era, a time where attitudes and morals loosened. The enlightenment movement was in opposition to the established church, as it promoted thinking for oneself and not following a deity. The art of this time period centered around a carefree lifestyle rather than the symbols and rules of the church. It had â€Å"no place for morality, saints or heroes, painting were neither didactic nor devotional.† (Zaky. n.d.) The  art was meant to please the eye of the viewer with no real meaning behind it. The art also portrayed the everyday life, not just important moments in history. The Baroque art movement was stern and originated from the Catholic church wanting to spread religion. The Rococo art movement came about from the â€Å"Enlightenment† era where people wanted to think for themselves instead of being told what to think by the church or monarchy. The Baroque style â€Å"depicted heroism, martyrs, and biblical stories,† but Rococo painters showed themes of love, youth, and playfulness. (Zaky. n.d.) The Baroque artists used dark, stormy colors, whereas Rococo used light, soft opalescent colors. Baroque art was made to be seen and used as propaganda for the Catholic church, and the artwork and architecture was large and bold. The Rococo art was smaller in scale to be enjoyed by a person or family as a decoration. The change from the Baroque period to the Rococo period was significant in that it shows the transition of the society at that time. The Monarchy and C atholic Church were both under scrutiny for excessive spending and what people viewed as political tyranny. The change in attitude by the people not only affected the political environment but also the arts. Tired of oppression, they revolted politically by beheading King Louis XV and by changing the way they created and viewed art. The painting, â€Å"Descent from the Cross,† by Rembrandt is a classic example of the Baroque style. His use of dark colors and shadowing depicts the death of Christ and creates a dramatic scene. He uses light to reveal Christ’s body, Mary, and the cloth that he will be buried in. The painting depicts the religious scene so that the viewer can understand the significance of the event and contemplate its meaning. In contrast â€Å"The Swing,† by Jean-Honore Fragonard, is of a woman swinging carefree in a garden. Fragonard uses pastel colors and illuminates her from the surrounding trees. He places cherubs in the painting another characteristic of the Rococo style. This painting is interesting in that at first glance it seems that this is nothing more than an innocent day in the garden. Upon further inspection, one can see the way Fragonard was bold enough to mock the Baroque style and time period. The man sits at a place where he is able to see up the woman’s skirt as she swings above him symbolizing the free spirit and sexuality of the time. The servant is almost completely hidden, symbolizing the church no longer being as important in society. One area  of art from the Rococo period that is often overlooked is the furniture form of architecture. During this time period a shift was made from large and grand rooms to small, intimate, and personal spaces. The furniture was redesigned to reflect this change and the desire for comfort. The Bergà ¨re chair was designed with â€Å"cushioning in the seat and arms which made it comfortable and kept out drafts†. (Azzarito. n.d.) The painting, â€Å"A Reading of Moliere† by Jean Franà §ois De Troy, depicts this idea of comfort showing women lounging in the Bergere chairs. (Troy. 1728) The Bergà ¨re was â€Å"a favorite chair of the most fashionable women of the day† and is still one that is used in homes today making it a surprising example of a work of Rococo art that has survived through the years. (Azzarito, n.d.) The artists of the Rococo period experimented with color, light, and illusion, and mastered the technique of layering paints to make a object l ook opalescent in color. They created the sense of texture in their paintings, which was not done during the Baroque period. The artists of the Rococo art period mastered new techniques, giving important significance to the time period. Although the Baroque Art and the Rococo Art periods are sometimes classified as one in the same, they are distinct and unique.