Teacher's interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Teacher's interview - Essay Example The teacher is the leader of the ship. If he knows his work, the ship will reach the destination, otherwise it can lose track. Guidance, discipline, and punishment are three points on a continuum with the guidance being on one extreme, discipline in the middle, and punishment being on the other extreme. Guidance means telling children what to do, when to do, why and how to do. Discipline means establishing rules and telling children to follow them or bear the effects of noncompliance. Punishment means discouraging wrong behavior by putting the child in an uncomfortable or inconvenient position in some way, like hitting or fining. I slightly disagree with the teacher that guidance, discipline, and punishment have to be on the same continuum but at different points. I think discipline comes first because the rules are the first to be established. Guidance is just helping children to follow the rules whereas punishment is the liabilities they have to face when they don’t comply with rules. So discipline basically lays the basis of guidance as well as punishment depending upon what the child demands. I don’t believe in punishing students until it is inevitable. I tell the students my rules and guide them in following the rules. Mostly I guide because that enables me to build a rapport with my students so that they become obedient. I agree to the teacher that punishment should be the last resort. A teacher should make every possible effort to avoid that. A teacher should first establish the rules and then guide the students so that they can follow them. This develops association between the teacher and the students and has a positive impact on the environment within the classroom. I think punishment is justified when all other ways of correcting the student’s inappropriate behavior have proved ineffective. For me, cheating is just as intolerable

Religious discrimination in Lebanon Speech or Presentation

Religious discrimination in Lebanon - Speech or Presentation Example However despite the country’s diversity in religious factions, it has not been a beautiful scene in in the country’s development over the years due to discrimination based and biased on religious lines (HRW). The discrimination based on religious factions has been evident in the Lebanese political and social structures of the country. Political landscape carries more weight for wrangles based on the very religious discrimination because every faction wants the bigger piece of the cake of dominance. It can be traced back to the 1860 conflict between Maronites and the Druze to the old Lebanese civil war of 1975-1990 which was as a result of the conflict between the Muslims and the Christians. In the early 19th century around the wake of World War II Lebanese political structure was designed in a way it recognized a historic agreement amongst the Lebanese leaders that political goodwill will be divided according to positions in the governmental structure in agreed fair proportions for the Christians and Muslims (Khalaf 2013, p.43). This particular political concept in the mid-1970s appeared to be losing ground resulting to â€Å"hell breaks loose† a civil war that was seen to be a sort of competition for power between the majority Muslims and the minority ruling Christians. Before the old Lebanese civil war that was in every way a struggle between the Sunni Islam and the Christians was a Druze and Maronite (Christians) conflict (Khalaf 2013, p.65). The conflict happened in the mid 18nth century in the north of Mount Lebanon area entailing the rebellion of Christians Maronites peasants against the Druze lords that spread to the south and as a result more than 20,000 Christians were killed, 370 Christian villages destroyed and a large number of churches destroyed (Sisk 2011, p.109). Maronite peasants were against the heavy taxes and feudal practices

Role of Exchange Rate Regime in Argentinas 2001 Crisis

Role of Exchange Rate Regime in Argentinas 2001 Crisis Discuss the role of the exchange rate regime in contributing to the 2001 crisis in Argentina. Introduction For much of Argentina’s history, the country has been plagued by a cycle of economic and political instability. Despite the country’s rich resource base, the economy performed badly from the 1950s to the early 1990s. According to the Economist (2002), ‘between 1976 and 1989, income per person shrank by more than 1% per year. Two bouts of hyperinflation, and two banking collapses, destroyed confidence in both the peso and economic policy.’ In order to combat this, in 1991, Menem and his economy minister Domingo Cavallo pegged the Argentine peso one-to-one with the dollar, and this succeeded in halting inflation. However, within ten years this came to be seen as a mistake. Aside from being a means to control inflation, the exchange rate regime can also be seen as Menem deliberately â€Å"tying his hands† in order to avoid taking responsibility for sensitive or unpopular decisions. For example, prices could now rise without wage increases due to currenc y devaluation. Menem had been a very popular president but in the end he left his second term of office in 1999 very much discredited. His government oversaw the development of sharp inequalities and the increasing resentment of the discluded. He lacked any systematic pro-poor or pro-development policies. Menem reduced inflation from a high of about 5000% to 0 and until about 1999, the economy was doing well with stable inflation and stable growth (an average annual rate of 6.1% between 1991 and 1997). From 1999, however, there was serious recession in Argentina and by 2001 just about everything that could be wrong with an economy (aside from inflation) was wrong with the Argentinian economy, and in early 2002 the country defaulted on its $155 billion public debt. The Economist (2002) spoke of the ‘awe-inspiring severity of the economic, financial, political and social collapse’ of Argentina. This essay first examines the theoretical arguments in favour of adopting a pegged exchange rate. Turning to the case of Argentina, the essay then investigates why the exchange rate regime implemented by Menem did not work, how this contributed to the 2001 crisis, and what other factors contributed to the crisis. Pegged exchange rates A government has various different options in terms of exchange rate mechanisms (Fischer 2001). The currency can be allowed to float freely, the exchange rate can be pegged to another currency or group of currencies in a soft way such that the relevant authorities agree to defend the peg but can re-value it if the exchange rate comes under heavy pressure, or it can be pegged hard. Alternatively, some countries have chosen to do away with their national currency altogether and use only the dollar – this is known as full dollarization. Argentina opted for the hard peg – a currency board – in 1991. A currency board maintains a fixed exchange rate with a foreign currency thus subordinating conventional monetary policy objectives to the exchange rate target (a peg with the US dollar, for example, maintains interest rates and inflation very close to those in the United State). For an orthodox currency board, the country’s foreign currency reserves must be suffic ient that all holders of the domestic currency could convert it into the reserve currency. The key advantage of a currency board is that currency stability is no longer an issue because the exchange rate is fixed to a hard currency and the level of inflation is determined in the country of that hard currency. On the other hand, a country which adopts a currency board gives up the ability to manipulate monetary policy according to domestic considerations. Furthermore, the fixed exchange rate will determine the country’s terms of trade. The exchange rate regime in Argentina The dollar peg made exports expensive and imports cheap. This resulted in dollars flowing out of the country, and this combined with a heavy debt burden reduced the reserves of dollars. The government ended up with only a fraction of the reserves necessary to maintain the currency board successfully and this was one of the major reasons for the crisis of 2001. While there were clearly other contributing factors, de la Torre et al (2002) argue that the relationship between the exchange rate regime and the Argentine banking system is key to understanding the crisis, and that an early move from the pegged board to full dollarization could have reduced the magnitude of the economic collapse. ‘The establishment of the currency board in 1991 helped develop the Argentine financial system. Despite its strengths, the financial system remained vulnerable to real exchange rate misalignments and fiscal shocks. After 1998, Argentina fell into a currencygrowth-debt trap. It tried to break aw ay by focusing on growth, but failed to address the currency and debt components of the trap, dramatically raising uncertainty. This unleashed a depositor run, which lead to the abandonment of the currency board’ (de la Torre 2002:abstract). Being tied to the highly valued dollar also hurt the economy as Argentine exports became relatively more expensive. As demand for exports fell, Argentina had to turn to the IMF for emergency loans worth $21.6 billion. What other factors contributed to the crisis? It is important to remember that this was not the first crisis that Argentina has suffered. In order to fully understand the causes of the 2001 crisis, it is necessary to put it into historical perspective. Arguably every president since Peron came to power in 1946 had aggravated the country’s economic, political and social problems with an over-personalised style of leadership characterised by corruption and the use of patronage (financed by printing money) to maintain favour. The historical mismanagement of the economy may have sowed the seeds for the 2001 crisis. In addition various external factors can be seen as trigger causes, contributing to the specific timing of the economic collapse. In the first place, the prices for Argentina’s exports stopped rising. Although the total value of exports did grow from 1999 to 2001, the rate of growth was hampered by protectionism and subsidies in rich countries, and many industries could no longer compete abroad. Argentina’s largest export partner was Brazil, a country which was facing economic difficulties of its own. The negative effect on the Argentine economy was two-fold: Brazilian economic problems and a devaluation not only reduced demand for Argentine exports, but lower wages in Brazil attracted many Argentine manufacturers to move their factories across the border into Brazil. Ollier (2003:184) points to the fragmentation of the politico-institutional system and the extreme dependency of the economy on foreign credit as the major causes of the collapse. The loose fiscal policy of Menem’s second term certainly did nothing to help the economy. While his predecessors had encouraged hyperinflation by printing money to buy political support, Menem now printed bonds to finance the fiscal deficit, and the country’s public debt rose and rose. Conclusion Argentina is not a country which should have any problems: it has a rich resource base and a relatively homogeneous population. Yet Argentina has long suffered various economic problems (as well as political and social problems). High levels of expectation have consistently not been matched by performance. Severe sectoral conflict between the agricultural and industrial sectors has hampered economic development. The existence of three highly organised social groups, each attempting to shape economic policy has also impeded the ability of the government to manage the economy effectively: landowners may have few votes but they have immense economic power; the Argentine union movement is one of the most powerful in the world; and the business sector is highly organised and incorporated into the state apparatus. In addition the political systems and institutions have fostered high levels of corruption with devastating effects on the economy. The federal government is unable to curb the f iscal expenditure of the provincial governments. Neo-liberalism requires effective, independent regulatory mechanisms but in Argentina the legal system is too weak and is incapable of scrutinising audit commissions etc. Furthermore, the presidency is too strong and there are no institutional safeguards to keep the presidency in check. The liberal policies of the 1980s and 1990s stabilised the economy, but at the cost of rising unemployment which, coupled with cuts in welfare provisions, took poverty to new depths. Various external shocks brought about the crisis in 2001 but had the exchange rate regime not been in place, the economy may have been sufficiently flexible to respond to, and recover from, these shocks. The rigidity of the currency board and the corresponding inability of the government to manipulate exchange rate policy or monetary policy is what permitted these shocks to lead to such a severe economic collapse. Bibliography de la Torre, A., Levy Yeyati, E. Schmukler, S. (2002) ‘Argentina’s Financial Crisis: Floating Money, Sinking Banking’ (downloaded from http://www.econ.umn.edu/~tkehoe/classes/Schmukler.pdf on 19 March 2007) Economist (2002) ‘Argentina’s collapse: A decline without parallel’, The Economist, 28 February 2002 (downloaded from www.economist.com on 19 March 2007) Fischer, S. (2001) ‘Distinguished Lecture on Economics in Government: Exchange Rate Regimes: Is the Bipolar View Correct?’, The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 15(2) Spring, 2001, pp. 3-24. Ollier, M. (2003) ‘Argentina: Up a Blind Alley Once Again’, Bulletin of Latin American Research, 22(2), pp 170-186

William Blake Essay -- Biographies Art Poetry Literature Papers

William Blake Romantic Poetry has been written since the late seventeen hundreds up past the first reform bill passed in 1832. There were many romantic poets in the Romantic Era, many who have touched the hearts of many readers and still do till this day. William Blake was one of the first English Romantic poets to exist. This paper focuses on some of the history of William Blake’s life, William Blake as a Romantic Poet, and some songs from two of his famous books, "The Songs of Innocence" and "The Songs of Experience". Included in this paper are some of William Blake’s fabulous art creations, I also have a personal interpretation of some of his poems. To view the poem just simply click on the title of the poem and you will have full access to the plate that the poem was printed on. When finished with this paper click on the hyperlinks found in my bibliography and you will have instant access to the world of William Blake. BIOGRAPHY William Blake was born on November 28, 1757; he was the first of the great English Romantic poets as well as a painter, engraver and printer. William Blake was the third son of a London hosier, he was brought up in a poor house hold and had very little schooling. "Blake lived in or near to London, a city which dominates much of his work, whether as the nightmare 'London' of the Songs of Experience, or the London which Blake saw as the 'New Jerusalem', the kingdom of God on earth." Blake obtained most of his education through readings of the Bible, of Milton and Greek and Latin classic literature. "Blake is frequently referred to as a mystic, but this is not really accurate. He deliberately wrote in the style of the Hebrew prophets and envisioned his works as expressions of proph... ... wrote the sequel The Songs of Experience. He wrote The Songs of Experience to demonstrate that, reality brings on experience. I hope that after reading this paper and browsing through the hyperlinks included, you know understand how William Blake’s poems and artwork tie into one another and why he is one of the greatest Romantic poets that has ever lived. BIBLIOGRAPHY Timeline of Blake's Life, Art and Literary Work http://camel2.conncoll.edu/ccacad/english/Blake/timeline.html The Blake WEB By: David W. Downie http://198.247.176.53/ The Poets Corner http://www.geocities.com/~spanoudi/poems/blake01.html The William Blake Page http://members.aa.net/~urizen/blake_text.html The William Blake Web Museum http://sunsite.sut.ac.jp/wm/paint/auth/blake/ The Time Line of William Blake http://camel2.conncoll.edu/ccacad/english/blake/timeline.html

Red Badge of Courage Naturalism

Naturalism in the Red Badge of Courage Naturalism is the belief that nature and fate is a far larger force than man. Another words, no one can control their fate because there are far larger forces than man. There were many examples of naturalism in R B O C. One example was on page 796 in chapter one where the union soldiers were waiting around in camp with absolutely no control over when they were going into battle. The reason this was considered naturalism is because the larger force was the generals and people in charge of the war. The soldiers could not attack the south until told to do so by there commanders. Another example that I found was when the tall soldier (Jim Conklin) dies. One of the reasons his death was so important was because it gave Henry somewhat of an understanding that war is not glorious and people die. Another reason his death was so important is because it basically tells everyone that life is unfair and even if someone such as the tall soldier is the notable soldiers in camp, when it is your time to die, you are going to die. The reason that this is an example of naturalism is because no one except god himself had control over the tall soldier’s death. The final example of naturalism is how nature completely ignores the war and what ever people are doing. In the beginning of the novel, Henry has the perception that war is glorious and will turn him into an instant hero. He had dreamed of dodging bullets, saving people, and doing things that no one else would do which is a highly romanticized version of how war really is. The reason this was thought of as a naturalistic element is because nature doesn’t care about the war, its colors are the exact same color and shades of brown, green, and other nasty colors, opposed to the colors that Henry imagined of royal blues, purples, reds, and gold’s, which hardly ever occur in nature.

It Is Better to Have Tried and Failed, Than Not to Have Tried at All

â€Å"It is better to have tried and failed, than not to have tried at all. † Do you agree? When one tries and fails, one has gained more knowledge than the one who has not tried at all. The person who has tried, will instead possess a greater understanding over the one who has not. However, that person must have tried his best in order for this statement to be applicable. Therefore, i agree with this statement provided that the person has tried his best. Firstly, in the process of learning as we grow up, we face different obstacles and challenges as we work towards our goal or dream.During these times of difficulty, we tend to stop in our tracks. Not many people would continue persevering and move forward to take their best shot. Even if we fail after trying, we would be able to realise the mistakes that we have made. As compared to not even trying at all, failing will benefit us in such a way that we can keep on improving ourselves to become better. In short, we will be able to learn from the mistakes that we made the first time we tried and failed Secondly, not trying at all will leave you with greater regrets than trying and failing.When you grow older, the amount of regrets for not trying would pile up. As you think back into your past, those regrets could have actually turned into valuable experiences. At least when you try, you attain new knowledge which will help in your future endeavours. The knowledge and experience you encountered could mean the difference between tasting the sweetness of success, or the bitter taste of failure. On the contrary, In some circumstances, it is better not to try if the end result is obvious. For example, it is a futile attempt to try and woo a girl that does not like you in return.In this case, trying to do so will just lead to disaster. Moreover, you may end up losing a friend, embarrassing yourself and possibly giving her discomfort. Sometimes a chance is never a chance at all and you should not bother to try kn owing that the outcome will be a negative one which will cause both parties to suffer. Thirdly, failure is the mother of success. Ask any successful person you know whether they have experienced failures, and they will definitely reply you with a nod of the head or a resounding yes.Indeed, the path to success is riddled with failures and setbacks, but those who are able to stand back up and learn from these experiences are the ones who will be guaranteed success. The world famous Thomas Edison had to try one thousand times before successfully inventing the light bulb. One of his famous quotes include,† I have not failed a thousand times but rather have found a thousand ways that do not work. † This optimistic and enduring attitude is another thing which successful people have in common. Thomas Edison was able to learn from his mistakes and effectively improve on them, this is why he was able to succeed.Theodore Roosevelt puts it amazingly well: â€Å"It's not the critic who counts; Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit goes to the one who is actually in the arena; Who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; Who knows the great devotions, the great enthusiasms, and spends himself in a worthy cause. Who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and, at the worst, if he fails at least he fails while daring greatly; so that his place will never be among those timid and cold souls who know neither victory nor defeat. Life is a self-fulfilling prophecy, and everything that one person does may not necessarily mean success, but it is certain that different experiences will bring in different benefits. These experiences can carve the person’s personality and attitude to a better person as they continue forward and learn from his or her own mistakes. To round off, failures will give a person experience and a person who do es not try will not gain these experiences at all. Therefore, it is better to have tried and failed, than not to have tried at all.

Pulp Fiction Essays - English-language Films, Miramax Films, Films

Pulp Fiction Essays - English-language Films, Miramax Films, Films Pulp Fiction David Skreiner [emailprotected] Pulp Fiction To all you people: Film studies isn't yet a widely accepted field at my University yet (Karl-Franzens-University in Graz, Austria, Europe). This paper was written for a seminar (something like a third-year course or so) and you might want to rewrite it to fit your own school's idea of what a film analysis should look like. Also, watch out for unusual sentences; I'm not a native speaker so some minor errors or weird expressions may have found their way into this paper. I think it got an "A", or a "B" grade (don't remember exactly). Dave Term Paper: Seminar "Violence in American Literature and Film" Prof. Dr. Arno Heller Winter Semester 1995/96 1 Table of Contents 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 PLOT, STORY AND STYLE 2.1 DEFINITION 2.2 CHRONOLOGY 2.3 CIRCULARITY 2.4 VIOLENCE IN PULP FICTION: PLOT STRUCTURE AND NARRATIVE STYLE 2.5 CINEMATIC STYLE 2.6 CONSIDERATIONS OF GENRE 2.7 MISE-EN-SCENE 3 TARANTINO'S WORLD 3.1 TARANTINO'S CINEMA 3.2 INTERTEXTUAL ASPECTS OF PULP FICTION 3.3 TARANTINO'S AESTHETICS 3.4 TARANTINO CHARACTERS 3.5 VIOLENCE 3.6 POPULAR CULTURE 3.7 REDEMPTION 4 BIBLIOGRAPHY 2 Plot, Story and Style 2.1 Definition When considering plot and story, I will stick to the convention of using plot for the film's contents - what we are presented on the screen - and story for the whole of the events we are presented and the events or facts that are relevant to them. This distinction is important because, as will be shown later, Pulp Fiction's plot leaves out some aspects of the story, and leaves us to imply or simply guess at several loose ends in the story as a whole1. 2.2 Chronology The plot of Pulp Fiction is not linear; it does not follow the chronological order of events. Rather, the story presented to the audience consists of three distinct - and very much interwoven - plot lines. The three plot lines are presented to us in 'acts' or 'chapters' mixed together, complete with chapter titles: "Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace's Wife", "The Gold Watch" and "The Bonnie Situation". Several elements are consistent in all of the sub-plots; for instance, Vincent Vega and the figure of gangster boss Marsellus Wallace (or at least his influence) are present throughout the film. Overall, the effect of the unusual structuring seems similar to browsing a pulp novel one already knows, reading the 'good bits' for amusement and skipping the rest - which might be the very intention of the film maker. Not only are there numerous references to pulp films and books, but we also see Vincent Vega reading a pulp novel in the film. Certainly, the film has been designed to be a success, and its title may be seen as a referral to the genre of "pulp novels" as well as a self-description. 2.3 Circularity Like many classical films, Pulp Fiction has a noticeable circularity to it. Todorov's explanation of the typical linear plot2 (plenitude, where everything is satisfactory, peaceful, calm, or at least recognizably normal - plenitude disturbed by some threatening power or force - action of a force directed against disturbing force - restoration of plenitude) is not really circular, for although the final point resembles the beginning in its stability, they are not really the same. The circularity found in Pulp Fiction - the film ends with a continuation of its very first scene - is purely structural, while the story itself has hardly any noticeably circular elements: Most of the strands of the story end with the main characters getting killed or leaving town. The film keeps referring back to itself, presenting chains of causes-and-effects in a jumbled, non-temporal and seemingly illogical order. With the exception of very few continuity mistakes, though, the plot is based on a logicall y consistent story. Tarantino's possible reasons for having changed the order of events will have to be discussed later. 2.4 Violence in Pulp Fiction: Plot Structure and Narrative Style Pulp Fiction's plot deliberately leaves out certain aspects of the story (as a whole), so that we are left guessing at parts of it. The plot's nonchronological construction also disrupts many of the story's otherwise plausible cause-and-effect chains, and places the film's closing scene somewhere in the middle of the narrative. It is, however, not the action or the plot which creates the suspense and weird appeal that this film has, but the characters in the film - in other words,

Liberalism - A Theory of Justice and Democracy essays

Liberalism - A Theory of Justice and Democracy essays Liberalism, a theory of justice and democracy, is a philosophy that views the economy as a capitalist, self-regulating market, and liberalists believe that people in that market should have the right to own private property or their own business. They also believe that people are selfish, greedy, and materialistic, and that the role of the government should be limited. Liberalism supports equality of opportunity fully, but not so much equality of condition. As put forth by Miroff, (page 95) Liberalism is a philosophy that elevates and empowers the individual as opposed to religious, hereditary, governmental, or other forms of authority. Liberalism features a strong belief in equality and in a government role in reducing racial, class, and gender inequalities. Liberals promote government action to regulate some of the negative consequences of the corporate capitalist economy, and they defend the civil rights of cultural and political nonconformists as well as ethnic and racial minorit ies. Classical liberalism is a philosophy that emerged in Europe, liberalism empowered the individual and asserted the rights of the individual against the hereditary privilege, and the religious privilege of the clergy. Liberalism made the individual rather than the community the basis for society and government. Instead of viewing individuals as the product of political society such as the Greeks, liberalism makes society the product of individuals. It is necessary to spell out rights and duties in some detail, because liberalism viewed human beings as primarily self-interested. Liberal political principles included: 1) Individuals have basic rights of religion, thought and expression, and property, that are not to be violated by government. 2) Individuals are equal under the law; there is no distinction based on heredity or religion. 3) To safeguard rights, the government must be limited. 4) Governments are instrumental; the state exists to serve individ...

Biography of Bartolomé de Las Casas, Spanish Colonist

Biography of Bartolomà © de Las Casas, Spanish Colonist Bartolomà © de Las Casas (c. 1484–July 18, 1566) was a Spanish Dominican friar who became famous for his defense of the rights of the native people of the Americas. His brave stand against the horrors of the conquest and the colonization of the New World earned him the title â€Å"Defender of the Native Americans. Las Casas efforts led to legal reforms and early debates about the idea of human rights. Fast Facts: Bartolomà © de Las Casas Known For: Las Casas was a Spanish colonist and friar who advocated for better treatment of Native Americans.Born: c. 1484 in Seville, SpainDied: July 18, 1566 in Madrid, SpainPublished Works: A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Apologetic History of the Indies, History of the Indies Early Life Bartolomà © de Las Casas was born about 1484 in Seville, Spain. His father was a merchant and was acquainted with the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. Young Bartolomà ©, then about 9 years old, was in Seville when Columbus returned from his first voyage in 1493; he might have met members of the Taà ­no tribe that Columbus brought back with him from the Americas. Bartolomà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s father and uncle sailed with Columbus on his second voyage. The family became quite wealthy and had holdings on Hispaniola, an island in the Caribbean. The connection between the two families was strong: Bartolomà ©s father eventually interceded with the pope on the matter of securing certain rights on behalf of Columbus’s son Diego, and Bartolomà © de Las Casas himself edited Columbus’s travel journals. Las Casas eventually decided that he wanted to become a priest, and his father’s new wealth allowed him to attend the best schools of the era: the University of Salamanca and the University of Valladolid. Las Casas studied canon law  and eventually earned two degrees. He excelled in his studies, particularly Latin, and his strong academic background served him well in the years to come. First Trip to the Americas In 1502, Las Casas finally went to see the family holdings on Hispaniola. By then, the natives of the island had been mostly subdued, and the city of Santo Domingo was being used as a resupply point for Spanish incursions in the Caribbean. The young man accompanied the governor on two different military missions aimed at pacifying those natives who remained on the island. On one of these trips, Las Casas witnessed a massacre of poorly armed natives, a scene he would never forget. He traveled around the island a great deal and was able to see the deplorable conditions in which the natives lived. The Colonial Enterprise and Mortal Sin Over the next few years, Las Casas traveled to Spain and back several times, finishing his studies and learning more about the sad situation of the natives. By 1514, he decided that he could no longer be personally involved in the exploitation of the natives and renounced his family holdings on Hispaniola. He became convinced that the enslavement and slaughter of the native population was not only a crime but also a mortal sin as defined by the Catholic Church. It was this iron-clad conviction that would eventually make him such a staunch advocate for fair treatment of the natives. First Experiments Las Casas convinced Spanish authorities to allow him to try to save the few remaining Caribbean natives by taking them out of slavery and placing them in free towns, but the death of Spains King Ferdinand in 1516 and the resulting chaos over his successor caused these reforms to be delayed. Las Casas also asked for and received a section of the Venezuelan mainland for an experiment. He believed he could pacify the natives with religion rather than weapons. Unfortunately, the region that was selected had been heavily raided by slave traders, and the natives’ hostility to the Europeans was too intense to overcome. The Verapaz Experiment In 1537, Las Casas wanted to try again to demonstrate that natives could be controlled peacefully and that violence and conquest were unnecessary. He was able to persuade the crown to allow him to send missionaries to a region in north-central Guatemala where the natives had proved particularly fierce. His experiment worked, and the natives were peacefully brought under Spanish control. The experiment was called Verapaz, or â€Å"true peace,† and the region still bears the name. Unfortunately, once the region was brought under control, colonists took the lands and enslaved the natives, undoing almost all of Las Casas’ work. Death Later in life, Las Casas became a prolific writer, traveled frequently between the New World and Spain, and made allies and enemies in all corners of the Spanish Empire. His History of the Indies- a frank account of Spanish colonialism and the subjugation of the natives- was completed in 1561. Las Casas spent his final years living at the College of San Gregorio in Valladolid, Spain. He died on July 18, 1566. Legacy Las Casas’ early years were marked by his struggle to come to terms with the horrors he had seen and his understanding of how God could allow this kind of suffering among the Native Americans. Many of his contemporaries believed that God had delivered the New World to Spain as a reward of sorts to encourage the Spanish to continue to wage war upon heresy and idolatry as defined by the Roman Catholic Church. Las Casas agreed that God had led Spain to the New World, but he saw a different reason for it: He believed it was a test. God was testing the loyal Catholic nation of Spain to see if it could be just and merciful, and in Las Casas’ opinion, the country failed God’s test miserably. It is well known that Las Casas fought for justice and freedom for the New World natives, but it is frequently overlooked that his love for his countrymen was just as powerful. When he freed the natives working on the Las Casas family holdings in Hispaniola, he did it as much for the sake of his soul and those of his family members as he did for the natives themselves. Though widely disparaged in the years after his death for his critiques of colonialism, Las Casas is now seen as a significant early reformer whose work helped pave the way for the liberation theology movement of the 20th century. Sources Casas, Bartolomà © de las, and Francis Sullivan. Indian Freedom: the Cause of Bartolomà © De Las Casas, 1484-1566: A Reader. Sheed Ward, 1995.Casas, Bartolomà © de las. A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies. Penguin Classics, 2004.Nabokov, Peter. â€Å"Indians, Slaves, and Mass Murder: The  Hidden History.† The New York Review of Books, 24 Nov. 2016.

Normative philosophy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Normative philosophy - Assignment Example This paper will argue that morality can be based on character of an individual, outcomes comes of the actions or the duty. The first ethical theory that should be engaged in the analysis is referred to as Virtue ethics. As one can easily see, the very name of it suggests that the focus of this approach will be on the idea of virtue – the ideal balance between excess and deficiency of a particular trait of character. In other words, this ethical theory draws a strong connection between the idea of morality and the character of a particular person. This is quite important since it holds several significant implications for the evaluation of the actions. For example, the action which is largely considered to be an immoral one, such as lying, might be justified by the approach of Virtue ethics as it will argue that the characteristics of a person turn this action into a good one and he or she does not behave immoral. Indeed, as one can easily see on this example, this ethical theory is mostly concerned with the stable category of being rather than concrete outcomes of the actions. In other words, the morality is considered to be an irreplaceable attribute of a virtuous person while others who were not able to develop any virtues and live in sin behave immorally. It is obvious that this approach has its proponents and opponents and is regarded to be a rather debatable one as it does not give a universal approach to every situation in life. The next ethical theory which should be discussed with regard to the notion of morality is called Deontological ethics. The name of this approach comes from a Greek word which means â€Å"duty†. That is why it would not be a mistake to point out that just like the previous theory was focused on the virtue of the character of a person, this one is focused on the duty. Contrary to Virtue ethics, the Deontological approach is able to prove a person with an easy to use as well as simple to

Local Revision Worksheet Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Local Revision Worksheet - Coursework Example The first and third paragraphs of the essay are long. Consider revising them to the right length. Practice perfecting paragraph lengths throughout the essay. Consider reorganizing the entire essay to achieve uniformity in the paragraphs. Every paragraph should address a single concept (Driscoll and Brizee 1). Concept analysis in the paper is excellent as well as the provided supporting evidence. Limit the length of each quotation because lengthy quotations completely demean the main idea. The third and sixth paragraphs of the essay have lengthy quotations that require revision. Paraphrase some of the quotes to enhance the good flow of ideas within a paragraph. Moreover, distribution of the ideas should be uniform, to avoid chances of having multiple ideas in one paragraph. A range of one to two ideas is sufficient for each paragraph. Paragraph Transitions Although a paragraph addresses a single concept, it is fundamental to attain transition from one idea to another (Driscoll and Brizee 1). There are a few paragraph transition words and phrases used throughout the paper. Paragraph transition enhances flow in any scholarly academic writing. Apply specific words and phrases develop transitions using proper word choice. Transitional words are mostly conjunctive adverbs and include different words: accordingly, meanwhile, also and finally that are fundamental to enhance proper transition. Other examples of transitional phrases: in addition, of course, and for instance, are applicable to achieve paragraph transition.

Michigan's Responce to the PBB Crisis in the 1970s Essay

Michigan's Responce to the PBB Crisis in the 1970s - Essay Example The Michigan Chemical Corporation in St. Louis, Michigan was the main producer of the FireMaster brand of these PBB flame retardants. The brand FireMaster BP-6 was made out of a mixture of various PBB congeners with 2,2’,4,4’,5,5’-hexabromobiphenyl and 2,2’3,4,4’,5,5’-heptabromobiphenyl as major components based on mass2. Other components of FireMaster products include bromochlorobiphenyls and polybrominated naphthalenes3. These components combined created the unfortunate animal and human health consequences seen in the Michigan chemical disaster. The FireMaster BP-6, in 1973, was accidentally added to livestock feed which was then distributed to various farms in Michigan4. Shortly thereafter, various livestock started dying. About 1.5 million chickens, 30,000 cattle, 5900 pigs, and about 1400 sheep died immediately after being contaminated and their carcasses were managed in landfills in different parts of the state5. About a year would pass before the animals would be culled6. This incident was caused by poor labeling procedures of the company with thousands of pounds of FireMaster being mistakenly labeled as magnesium oxide and delivered to companies manufacturing animal feed. After contamination, most of the animals exhibited mild symptoms like disorientation; others however became very much sick, manifesting internal bleeding and skin lesions. Others died immediately after contamination7. ... hey did not know the actual cause of these deaths and most of them did not perceive that the tainted meat from these livestock would imply a major health threat9. As a result, meat from some of the sick animals was added into the animal feed. This caused further contamination of other animals. Meat from the healthy cows was also sold in the markets for human consumption10. Moreover, chickens which were fed the contaminated feeds lay eggs which were also tainted with PBBs. All in all, thousands of people in Michigan were actually ingesting PBB-contaminated foods and did not even know about it11. Symptoms of PBB poisoning among humans is often based on the amount or level of contamination; mostly it includes stomach problems, abnormal bleeding, loss of balance, skin lesions, and a decreased resistance to diseases12. Many farmers and their families developed health issues attributed to PBB contamination and in general, the long-term impact of PBB among Michigan residents is still persis tent because of the long-term impact of the PBBs13. In fact, it would take more years to pass before the full impact of the contamination would ever be known. The disaster also gained much attention for their continued impact on livestock, with nearly all of the large dairy farms in Michigan reporting cattle and other animal deaths14. Many of their cows also started aborting and most of them soon started to look sick, with their coats becoming mangy and hooves overgrowing. Consultants from the Michigan Department of Agriculture launched their investigation of these incidents; however, they too could not establish the cause of these incidents15. Eventually however, investigators uncovered that chemical workers at the Michigan Chemical Corporation mistakenly mixed chemical polybrominated

Barriers that must be overcome for Diversity to flourish in an Essay

Barriers that must be overcome for Diversity to flourish in an organization - Essay Example ?the mosaic of people who bring a variety of backgrounds, styles, perspectives, values, and beliefs as assets to the groups and organizations with which they interact.† For the Pillsbury Company, diversity is defined as â€Å"all the way in which we differ.† Kraft Foods Inc. spells out its commitment to diversity in metaphors with which people can identify: â€Å"A stellar meal requires contrasting and complementing textures and tastes. A winning sports team depends of the different talents of its members. A first class orchestra needs many variety of thought, energy, and insight to attain and maintain a competitive edge.† (pp. 25) Diversity, Simmons (2003), refers to variety of difference related to factors such as age, culture, disability, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, socio-economic level or thinking style. In business context diversity includes business background or function. Diversity is a process that corrects inequities and brings fairness and inclusion on all fronts and as broadly defined, carries an inherent benefit for every employee. As Simmons argued, only in this context it is realistic to expect a positive view and an active contribution from every employee. Organization alignment, Simmons continued, is the goal of every culture change process, including diversity. You wont achieve that alignment unless every person can benefit from it. In his book, Johnson (2003, 399-400) explained that in every relationship you decide how to manage the differences between the two of you. Diversity among your acquaintances, classmate, coworkers, neighbors, and friends is increasingly inevitable. Such diversity is an opportunity that can have positive or negative consequences, depending on your engaging in an eight-step program: The first step is to recognize that diversity exists and is a valuable resource. The second step is to build cooperative relationship with diverse individuals. Cooperation promotes a process of acceptance while competitive

Summary of Don't tweak your supply chain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summary of Don't tweak your supply chain - Essay Example While making changes to the supply change, managers need to take into consideration the cost at which they are obtaining raw materials, the quality of these resources and should give importance to inventory management. The author further states that the managers need to create a map of the internal constituencies that are connected with the supply chain and at the same time they should keep an eye open for opportunities and threats that their actions may cause to the society. While taking up any change in the area of supply chain organizations should identify how those changes will impact the overall society. The managers should not only be concerned about the practices and operations of their suppliers, they even need to keep an eye on the suppliers who are supplying raw materials to their suppliers. This is because if their suppliers are indulging in socially responsible practices, this does not mean that the suppliers of their suppliers are even doing the same. Lee, Hau L. Don’T Tweak Your Supply Chain—Rethink It End To End. Harvard Business Review. N.p., 2010. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.

Scenario Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Scenario Analysis - Essay Example In this distribution plan, the major focus in how CB’s products are to reach the intended customers. In order to be able to sell products to customers, the first significant factor that CB ought to consider doing is carrying out a market research. Market research helps in providing the company with information about the customer; what the customer normally purchases and where the customer does the purchase (Debelak, 2005). For CB to also successfully reach its customers it must also determine how their product will reach the intended customer. Additionally, the company must have the knowledge on whoever will be involved in the product delivery process right from the company’s warehouse to the consumer. This is what is called the distribution channel or chain. Therefore, defining distribution channel and the role that the company plays in distribution process are some of the significant components of CB’s marketing plan. Moreover, through analyzing the distributio n channels and evaluating them to the resources of the company, it is possible to determine which distribution alternative is best for the company. This is one of the distribution alternatives that CB can consider using. Direct selling is a form of product distribution whereby the producer directly sells the product to the customer. One of the oldest direct selling forms’ is peddling; however, currently there are modern forms of direct selling, which include party plan sales, personal contact arrangements, one-on-one demonstrations, and internet sales (Debelak, 2005). Therefore direct selling can also be defined as the direct personal demonstration, presentation, and products’ sale to customers, usually at their places of convenience. Since CB is a company that makes sales to various companies worldwide, it needs to consider direct selling. One compelling reason for this is the report that was recently revealed by the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA). The

Summary of Don't tweak your supply chain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summary of Don't tweak your supply chain - Essay Example While making changes to the supply change, managers need to take into consideration the cost at which they are obtaining raw materials, the quality of these resources and should give importance to inventory management. The author further states that the managers need to create a map of the internal constituencies that are connected with the supply chain and at the same time they should keep an eye open for opportunities and threats that their actions may cause to the society. While taking up any change in the area of supply chain organizations should identify how those changes will impact the overall society. The managers should not only be concerned about the practices and operations of their suppliers, they even need to keep an eye on the suppliers who are supplying raw materials to their suppliers. This is because if their suppliers are indulging in socially responsible practices, this does not mean that the suppliers of their suppliers are even doing the same. Lee, Hau L. Don’T Tweak Your Supply Chain—Rethink It End To End. Harvard Business Review. N.p., 2010. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.

Students Overcoming The Odds Essay Example for Free

Students Overcoming The Odds Essay Needs Assessment and Program Planning A comprehensive study found that students from low-income backgrounds often score low in college entrance exams.   A solution has been introduced called, Students Overcoming The Odds or SOTO.   This program is designed to tutor low-income students toward greater success in the SAT/ACT entrance exams while potentially providing greater opportunity for obtaining scholarships.   The program will be conducted through the recruitment of volunteers to tutor these students to greater success. Job Development and Design   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Permission has been attained to conduct tutoring sessions at local libraries.    The cost for use of these spaces is none.   Local civic leagues have agreed to donate SAT/ACT booklets to students at no cost.   A similar organization has agreed to pay the cost for these students to take the necessary exams.  Ã‚  Ã‚   There should be no more than 5 students during a tutoring session.   Each tutor shall choose a section of the exam they feel most confident in teaching.   In this way students can be introduced to different instructional designs and methods. Recruitment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One means of recruitment is through local universities, either with active or retired professors.   These professionals having dedicated their careers to higher education would be ideal candidates for tutoring sessions.   Another means of recruitment is through the community itself.   Unquestionably, education is key in individuals building a better life for themselves and thus returning knowledge to the community. Interviewing and Matching   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Without question background checks will be conducted.   The expertise of the volunteers, will be placed in their area of strength to tutor students.   A teaching background in routine classroom environments is strongly desired and encouraged. Orientation and Training   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Diversity will be a focus during orientation.   This idea will be furthered during training.   Sensitivity to the students backgrounds will be emphasized.   If necessary, as the ACT/SAT tests change, refresher courses will be provided. Supervision and Management   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Volunteers should know their role clearly, which is to guide these students toward success.   Supervision and management are to guide and encourage volunteers to the best of their ability.   A key to managing volunteers is reminding them of their sheer necessity to the program, without volunteers there would be no program. Recognition   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A kind word of encouragement is always welcome to volunteers and staff alike.   A suggestion would be recognizing a volunteer from each division on, at the least, a quarterly basis.   This can be done through a special thank you during a planning meeting.   As the program grows and success is realized larger rewards, such as gift certificates could be awarded.   Costs have been kept to an absolute minimum at this time and a budget for rewards needs to be integrated into the program. Evaluation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Success of the students is likely the most valuable evaluation tool.   Another means to this could be peer evaluations as tutors instruct their students.   This method of evaluation is routine in most, if not every university. Liability/Risk Management   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Parents must sign a contract not holding SOTO liable for the failure of an exam.   Express permission should be given as to the beginning and end of tutor sessions, as well as location.   Should the student be over the age of 18, the student shall sign the same clause. Role of Staff   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The role of staff should be one of guidance and encouragement.   Volunteers do not have to make the sacrifices they do.   Staff should always be aware that among their most valuable assets are volunteers, the very people themselves that make up and support the program. References: Babbie, Earl. (2006). The Practice of Social Research.   Belmont, CA:   Thomson-Wadsworth.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) Advantages and Disadvantages

Goods and Services Tax (GST) Advantages and Disadvantages Executive summary On whether the goods and services tax uncertainty (GST) will be implemented in Malaysia and was eventually suppressed in 2013 October 25, the consumption tax in the 2014 budget will be announced in Malaysias first launched from 2015 April 1, 6%. It will replace the current sales and service tax. Consumption tax, also known as the value added tax (VAT), is a multi-phase of consumption tax. It is a broad-based consumption tax that covers all areas of the economy. All local production of goods and services imports will be taxed. Exceptions to this form of taxation are listed as zero for a specific commodity and service rated power supply, and dispense with the supply. Introduction of goods and services tax (GST), the first is the 2005 budget, to replace the existing sales and service tax structure in Malaysia announced. This new tax reform is expected to be implemented in January 2007, but the government has announced that in February 22, 2006, the implementation will be postponed to a later date. In 2010, the government is currently completing the final phase of the implementation of the consumption tax, in particular, to identify the impact of goods and services tax on society. Is the implementation of the consumption tax will witness, not only in the manufacturing industry and service industry will be affected, but also in other areas, such as education, health, transportation, financial services, agriculture, mining, oil, land, real estate and construction industry, telecommunications, electricity and water industry. In addition, the consumption tax will also be levied on the export service / international service, government, charity, clubs, associations and trade unions. After the introduction of the first consumer tax, there is a conflict of opinion. However, the consumption tax will also provide more income, and strengthen our economic future. According to Malaysian research of economic research professor Datuk Mohamaarif Abdul Karim, who is has been the strongest supporters of the consumption tax in Malaysia implementation of, former executive director believes that the consumption tax is not only a need to raise more revenue for the government, but also to disperse source of income.This will require the issuance of business between the preparation and consumption tax will become a heavy burden on the general publics view. Its time is too long to discuss and review the benefits of new tax implementation and the most important issue is to businesses and the public, they prefer a win-win situation. Datuk Jacob George, Subang and Shah Alam, Contents 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Research Background 1.1.1 Basic Concept of GST 1.1.2 Types and rates of GST 2.0 Consequences of GST 2.1 Expected Aggregate Consumption and Economic growth of Malaysia 3.0 Conclusion 4.0 Introduction 4.1 Why GST? 5.0 Conclusion 1.0 Introduction This chapter mainly discusses the research background, problem statement, research objectives, research questions and the significance of the research. 1.1 Research Background On whether the goods and services tax uncertainty (GST) will be implemented in Malaysia and was eventually suppressed in 2013 October 25, the consumption tax in the 2014 budget will be announced in Malaysias first launched from 2015 April 1, 6%. It will replace the current sales and service tax. Consumption tax, also known as the value added tax (VAT), is a multi-phase of consumption tax. It is a broad-based consumption tax that covers all areas of the economy. All local production of goods and services imports will be taxed. Exceptions to this form of taxation are listed as zero for a specific commodity and service rated power supply, and dispense with the supply. 1.1.1 Basic Concept of GST Consumption tax is the consumption of goods and services received at each stage of the supply chain. Although the consumption tax levied from the supplier until the supply chain of the retail stage, not the formation of a portion of the production cost of the GST payment business input can be required to protect the back of the. Therefore, there is a certain number of products through the supply chain is irrelevant, because in the early stages of payment of business input tax can always be canceled by the merchant in the supply chain. 1.1.2 Types and rates of GST Three categories of consumption tax will be used in Malaysia from 2015 to April 1st, the main difference between the rate and the method to deal with each tax. First of all, the standard level of supplies products and services, is charged with the standard rate. Business to charge a consumption tax, and pay to the government. They can submit an expense account provided by the credit to their tax input than the output of the tax. Second, the zero rate of supplies they bear a zero taxable goods and services. Enterprises can apply for income tax credit, they bring these supplies, it will be levied on the zero tax rate. Third, the exemption of supplies of non-taxable goods are eligible for tax deduction, which means they will not charge any taxes. Of course, the enterprise cant claim the input tax credit, when they put these materials. In addition, they are not eligible to receive the output tax for consumers 2.0 Consequences of GST GST is a broad-based tax. Therefore, it is generally considered a tax rebate. Now, return to the true meaning? In brief, a tax rebate is a burden to the poor, because it requires a relatively large proportion of the lower income. Most of the time, the foundation of a wide range of tax revenue is a serious concern to the policy makers. However, in spite of this, GST has been introduced in 160 countries in the world. These 160 countries, not all of them have experienced the consumption tax of the tired. Some developing countries, such as Vietnam, Ethiopia, and Pakistan, are facing a gradual GST, in no small part because these countries adopt the basic essentials, as well as the exemption of zero tax rate. As mentioned earlier, there is a concept of the GST is decreasing First impressions are strongest. This argument, however, does not take into account the fact that the basic essentials are not taxed in developing countries. When the element is taken into account, the value added tax c an be naturally progressive Another problem with the idea of a decision maker and the public is that the consumption tax will be inflation. There have been important debates and literature on this issue. For example, Saeed A. Bashur (2008) emphasize the introduction of business and services tax does not necessarily lead to inflation. He explained that this is because the definition of inflation is repeatedly rising, the average price over time, does not mean onceand for all to raise prices. Mukhopadhyay Sukumar (2005) said the GST could not, itself cause the rate to continue to increase the price level. But, nonetheless, Marty Viren (2008) found that over half of the tax increase (GST in this case) transferred to the consumer price. In our in-depth study of this issue, we will look at the implementation of the GST/ value added tax and its relationship with the changes in the choice of the year before and after the annual inflation rate? For this purpose, we expanded Table 1.1 to include inflation rates in the r espective countries. 2.1 Expected Aggregate Consumption and Economic growth of Malaysia The implementation of the VAT tends to stimulate public interest, sometimes becoming an important factor in the election. Many people believe that VAT would adversely affect the total consumption, and would undermine economic growth. In addition, the lower VAT rate is sometimes in a recession by stimulating economic growth, strengthening the total consumption of the argument. Miki (2011) told reporters, declining economic expansion, although overall consumption and consumption tax implemented, also increased consumption and overall economic growth in the consumption tax increase before. This will offset the negative impact after filling. Other economists say the impact of the VAT rate is only temporary, so we should not be afraid of it. Logically, if there is a declared government will implement VAT, certainly people will buy that can be raised before the VAT rate of inventory items. Subsequently, after the implementation of VAT, the total consumption will fall, because people will use them before the stock to replace the VAT buy new items to purchase. In this case, economic growth will decline. After this, the total consumption will gradually grow to their stock ran out, the need to purchase new items. Therefore, the impact of the VAT change is easy to understand the theory, but it is difficult to grasp the importance of this effect in practice. Needless to say, the total consumption and economic growth not only changes in the VAT rate to determine. Hamburg (1954) and Barro (1991) shows that the total consumption by income, wealth, interest rates, the age distribution of the population to determine. 3.0 Conclusion What constitutes an ugly truth? The traditional definition of an ugly truth is a reality is a painful acceptance, but because it is called the true, it is necessary to accept it.. So what constitutes a beautiful lie? The traditional definition of a beautiful lie is what people really want that is true, but people know it is not. From the governments point of view, the government has been trying to persuade the public to replace the sales and service tax with GST will not lead to price increases, even though they know that this may not be the case. This will create an ex post behavior that people believe that the price of goods and services will not increase, causing inflation expectations to disappear. If there is little or no increase in the consumption tax, it will be a beautiful lie. All in all, GST is the ugly truth in Malaysia or a beautiful lie? Our results refer to forward. GST in Malaysia is an ugly truth. Let us emphasize two points again. First, the government has always claimed that 6% of the consumption tax will replace 16% of sales and service tax. On paper, it sounds like a good. People will think that there is a tax cut of 10%. However, the fact is that there will be an increase of 2% from 4% to 6%. Secondly, the Chinese government has always insisted that the price of goods and services will not increase. People will still spend and the economy will grow to predict. However, our results show that prices will increase in the short and long term, the decline of precipitation in domestic consumption. Economic growth will be blocked. 4.0 Introduction Introduction of goods and services tax (GST), the first is the 2005 budget, to replace the existing sales and service tax structure in Malaysia announced. This new tax reform is expected to be implemented in January 2007, but the government has announced that in February 22, 2006, the implementation will be postponed to a later date. In 2010, the government is currently completing the final phase of the implementation of the consumption tax, in particular, to identify the impact of goods and services tax on society. Is the implementation of the consumption tax will witness, not only in the manufacturing industry and service industry will be affected, but also in other areas, such as education, health, transportation, financial services, agriculture, mining, oil, land, real estate and construction industry, telecommunications, electricity and water industry. In addition, the consumption tax will also be levied on the export service / international service, government, charity, clubs, associations and trade unions. After the introduction of the first consumer tax, there is a conflict of opinion. However, the consumption tax will also provide more income, and strengthen our economic future. According to Malaysian research of economic research professor Datuk Mohamaarif Abdul Karim, who is has been the strongest supporters of the consumption tax in Malaysia implementation of, former executive director believes that the consumption tax is not only a need to raise more revenue for the government, but also to disperse source of income.This will require the issuance of business between the preparation and consumption tax will become a heavy burden on the general publics view. Its time is too long to discuss and review the benefits of new tax implementation and the most important issue is to businesses and the public, they prefer a win-win situation. Datuk Jacob George, Subang and Shah Alam, President of the Consumers Association for people to accept any new form of tax , the government must make significant efforts, to education and to the consumer explain clearly on the new tax and how it will benefit them in the long term run.It must to the confidence of the public, they pay to the government the surcharge is well managed, in line with the best interests of their. In addition, the main difficulty of the changes to do not have any preparation. According to the tax expert Dr. Arjunan, theres always a change of resistance, or even better. The main challenge is to solve the mentality of the taxpayer. They need to be educated in this new indirect tax method. In addition, the consumption tax law is one of the most supreme opinion of the law of consumption tax law. In addition, the importance of goods and services tax is due to it is not only related to the issue of tax reasons, but it is a comprehensive problem, it cannot be taken for granted. 4.1 Why GST? In the current environment, there are two acts of its management is called sales tax in 1972 (Act 64) and Services Tax in 1975 (Act 151) of goods and services. These two taxes are handled by the Royal Malaysian Customs (Customs). Sales tax on consumers who consume taxable goods, then collected and accountable to the Customs by commercial enterprises. Service tax is imposed on the other hand, consumers who consume food or service, such as in hotels, health center premises or engaged in professional services, such as auditing firms and the services of the second program service tax regulations in 1975 listed Two basic consumer sales and service tax is a single stage tax levied at the consumption stage. It is called a single-stage tax due to the fact that tax is only one, or at the input or output stage. Compared to the existing sales and service tax, excise duty and value added tax (VAT) is a multi-stage tax. This is due to the tax paid in the production and sale of intermediaries at e very stage. In other words the consumption tax levied at every level of the production and distribution chain until the end consumer. In the pursuit of realization of goods and services tax in Malaysia, the government has set up a tax review panel includes representatives from the public sector and the private sector. Scope tax review panel include developing concept, legislation, processes and procedures of the consumption tax. As a reference group to review several countries, including New Zealand goods and services Tax 1985 Act so far, the United Kingdom VAT Act 1994, tax laws of the Republic of South Africa in 1991, the VAT tax, goods and services in 1991, the Canadian document, goods and services Tax sales tax luxury goods and services, Singapore 2000 Indonesia 1993 Act, the new system (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999, Australia, Thailand, in 1992 VAT Act, VAT and Sales Tax in 1990 Pakistan. In Singapore, Pheng and Loi (1994) explained that the ideal of GST is in Singapore due to the following reasons: In order to reduce reliance on direct taxes To maintain a lower corporate tax rate In order to reduce the dependence on personal income tax, due to the problem of population aging in Singapore In Malaysia, the introduction of goods and services tax purposes is to reduce the countrys growing budget deficit, so it is the purpose of improving tax collection and management. Veerinderjet believes that the target is a goods and services tax is full range (i.e., covering extensive or a wide range of goods and services base), and effective implementation, in order to have a stable source of revenue. Overall, the introduction of goods and services in Malaysia is to achieve the following objectives: To avoid tax cascades, multi tax and transfer pricing bias; To improve tax compliance and reduce tax avoidance and tax evasion; In order to realize the self supervision, reduce bureaucratic unnecessary and overelaborate formalities to reduce administrative costs; To further reduce the operating costs of enterprises by providing tax credits for business, In order to improve the competitiveness of Malaysia and improve efficiency 5.0 Conclusion Today, GST is an important issue in Malaysia, but it is believed that this will raise taxes on consumer income. Therefore, in order to ensure the smooth implementation of the commodity and service tax, all parties must be fully prepared, and give it full commitment. The public should not just rely on the government only to ensure its success, but the responsibility of the IE browser is particularly for the enterprise. Perhaps, by continuously reducing corporate taxes from 28% to 26% in 2008 has been mentioned in the 2007 budget, it will give the people a comfortable room, the company to submit to the consumer tax. The most important is that the consumption tax in the early course of the implementation of any weak link, should be improved and re designed to create a win-win situation involved in all the parties. As a conclusion, GST will enable the public to strengthen Malaysias economy and improve the quality of life

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

It amazes me that we are finally here! Throughout the years, I have often thought about this moment. How it would feel to be with all of you, in our caps and gowns, finally graduating. I remember as a child, thinking about what I would look like when I was "all grown up," how I would act, who I would love and what kind of person I would become. And now here it all is, we're ready, we're done with high school, and I couldn't be more thrilled or scared! We go through this twelve-year metamorphosis, and then one day, we wake up and its over, our ascent into adulthood has come. We're ready to face all that life has to throw at us, to make a life for ourselves, outside of school and childhood, to go to college, take a year off or get a job. Yet at the same time, it can be terrifying to complete...

Say Yes by Tobias Wolff & Bread by Sandra Cisneros :: Race Relationships Love

Say Yes by Tobias Wolff If two people love each other regardless of any difference they may have, then why are there† lots of things to consider†( paragraph 36)? Answer the question within the context of the story. According to the context, the â€Å"lots of things to consider† is referring to the race, background by the husband. In his opinion, beside whether love this person or not, race, ethics background is also a very important factor to consider whether they should marry or not. He stated that if two people are not from the same race, they are not in the same culture, they have different language. People from different race never know each other. Compare the husband’s actions to his wife’s reactions. Are these people understanding each other? If he had said yes, would their relationship have changed? If so, how? From the husband’s action to his wife’s reaction, they didn’t understand each other much even though the husband was trying to show how considerate he is. But he failed to understand what his wife truly wants to hear and wants to see in the conversation on the matter of â€Å"whether white people should marry black people.† In the husband’s view he thinks that it was ridiculous to think this kind of question when his wife asked him whether he will marry her if she were black. He thinks that it will never happen. If it happened, his wife will be another person but not the same her anymore. In his views, as he never think that this two race should get marry, he will not allow himself to fall in love or even date a black girl. He is telling the truth and trying to explaining that to his wife. However he failed to realized that that was not what his wife wanted to hear. In fact from the context we can guessed for his wife, it’s not the greatest m atter on whether white people should marry black people, what she matters is whether they love each other of not. For her, she thinks that if two people love each other, everything can be solved and race is not a big deal. She wants her husband to agree with this and showed that he will love her and marry her no matter what race she is. Bread by Sandra Cisneros This story, in some ways, is about crossing borders.

Psychological And Spiritual Guide Essay

Fear has diverse implications on a person. The presence of fear in a person is actually a manifestation on one’s behavior or influences. To collaborate in animal behavior, both fear and suspicion can turn one anxious and even make one do things beyond the normal state of a being. Cases such as sexual abuse or traumas are common amongst individuals in the contemporary society, although there are certain kinds of fear which have been inhibited by an individual since childhood and may have a hard time to cope up and overcome with it (Campbell, 2006). Fear creates limitations A person clouded with fear can be manifested in the actions of a person. As sociology suggests, fear can create impacts to the people around an individual; it could either gain sympathy or make another superior. The second effect then could be considered negative since it may be used by another to take advantage over the fearful person. Scholars even showed how fear overpowers one’s confidence in situations where one already relies to the concept of fear alone and feeling weary and helpless. As a matter of fact, studies show that fear sometimes takes over on the situation limiting the person of the capabilities that one utterly possesses. Aside from that fear also takes away the person from fulfilling one’s desire or one’s aim. Given the fact that the person has already been soaked in the river of fear—this also leads to low self-esteem—the person just goes along with what is happening and is afraid to make an appeal. Psychological implications of fear Fear is revealed when one feels the failure of control over main events and state of affairs in one’s life. In other words, this is a fear of loss of personal freedom. This is a predominant fear of people with substance addictions, battered wives and children, nursing home patients, and even the nations destitute. It also surfaces when an individuals’ indenture delayed sickness such as cancer or AIDS. Such fear is also established in people whose personality type is described as learned helpless-hopeless, people who think they have minute control of their lives. Behavioral changes caused by fear The concept of fear is coupled with fear of the unknown when one contemplates the subsistence of an afterlife and reaches no comfortable answers. Further, the conscious mind can’t comprehend life without itself, and the thought of nonexistence is less than comforting. Psychologists point out that many people, who exhibit fear is extremely vigilant, normally have behavioral changes or turn away from instances or materials or people which are in one point or another not supposed to be avoided. Moreover, few stress that anger and fear thoroughly two viewpoints which are indiscriminately diverse. There are others who believe that anger is really just another shadow of fear, inspired by that which generates a sense of awkwardness inside of us. Whether they are two completely different emotions, or derived from the same source but expressed differently, they are both very authentic. Like anger, fear is a factor of continued existence. In its most primal form, fear stimulates a substantial response to flee and hide from threats that are intimidating, overwhelming, and sometimes fatal (Lehrman & Harlow, 2006). Conclusions and further remarks Motivational properties are attributed to fear, and the fear-response may be thought of as occurring with such frequency as to equal emotional persistence. The distinction must be made however, for the fear-response which has been showed to be learnable and therefore directly dependent upon environmental cues rather than merely building up with successive noxious stimulations. Further, the responses of individuals to fear, either originating as a component or concomitant of pain, but learnable in the sense that it is capable of being elicited by some triggering factors and common practices that may be conceived as root of the fear. References Campbell, D. (2006). Inner Strength Defies the Skeptic: A Psychological And Spiritual Guide from Fear to Freedom. New York, NY: Immediex Publishing. Lehrman, N. S. , & Harlow, H. F. (2006). Emotionality and Fear. Science, 131(3415), 1700+1740.

Carl Sandburg Research Paper

Brief Overview of Carl Sandburg: As I researched Carl Sandburg, I began to find that there were truly many sides to Carl Sandburg. First, he was a poet whose Chicago Poems brought him fame and recognition. He is often associated with the â€Å"Chicago Literary Renaissance,† which took place in the 1910s and 1920s and included such authors as Theodore Dreiser and Edgar Lee Masters. However, Sandburg never believed he was an author for one place alone and actually termed himself â€Å"The Eternal Hobo. † In his poems, however, Sandburg did celebrate the agricultural and industrial life of the common man. While often criticized for his unrhymed, free-verse style of poetry, Sandburg simply said, â€Å"Simple poems for simple folks. † He wrote of the struggle of the working classes and used simple, common language. He has been called Whitman-like, a realist, and an imagist. Second, he was a careful historian whose biographies of Abraham Lincoln are thought by many critics to be the most realistic and accurate. Sandburg had a deep love for Lincoln, but thought prior biographers had portrayed him too idealistically so that he seemed almost unreal. Sandburg's Abraham Lincoln: The War Years won him his first Pulitzer Prize. Lastly, Sandburg was an activist and a â€Å"man of the people. † He believed strongly in workers' rights, and had a great optimism about his ability to change the fates of â€Å"common people. † He indicated this politically with his involvement with the Socialist party and, later, with the Democratic party. He also used his poetry to express some of his political views. As stated before, in most of his poems, he celebrated the beauty (and realistically displayed the tragedy) of urban, industrial life. Finally, Sandburg was a folk singer and a children's author. As a hobo, he collected folksongs and later, after he gained recognition as a writer, he toured the country with these songs. He also wrote children's stories for his daughters and published several children's works. He truly was a man of the people. Biographical Sketch: 1878 January 6-Carl August Sandburg was born to Swedish immigrant parents August and Clara in Galesburg, Illinois. He was the second of seven children. 1885 Sandburg insists on being called â€Å"Charlie† to avoid discrimination against Swiss people. 891 June-Sandburg drops out of school after completing the 8th grade. Fall-Sandburg begins work at a dairy. 1897 Sandburg travels to Kansas as a hobo. This experience allows him to explore folk culture and see the differences between the rich and the poor. 1898 Sandburg enlists in the Spanish-American War, and is sent to Puerto Rico, where he serves for eight months. Sandburg returns to Galesburg and enr olls in Lombard College (now called Knox college) while working as a fireman. He attends for four years but never graduates. 904 In Reckless Ecstasy, Sandburg's first volume of poetry, is printed by his professor and mentor Phillip Green Wright. Sandburg learns to play the guitar, which will assist him in his tours of folksongs later in life. 1907 Wright prints Incidentals, another volume of Sandburg's poetry. Sandburg moves to Milwaukee and works as an organizer for the Wisconsin Social Democratic party. 1908 The Plaint of a Rose, another Sandburg volume, is printed by Wright. Sandburg writes socialist pamphlet You and Your Job June-Sandburg marries Lilian Steichen, whom he met at the Social Democratic party headquarters. She encourages him to restore his true name â€Å"Carl. † 1910 Sandburg begins work as secretary to the first Socialist mayor of Milwaukee, which he continues until 1912. 1911 Sandburg's first child, Margaret, is born. The Sandburgs would go on to have two more daughters, Janet and Helga. 1913 Sandburg moves with his family to Chicago (they make their home in Elmhurst). He becomes editor of â€Å"System,† a business magazine, and works for the â€Å"Chicago Daily News. † 1914 A group of Sandburg's poems appear in the Chicago-based Poetry magazine. Sandburg receives the Levinson prize for his poem â€Å"Chicago. 1915 Sandburg begins contributing to the International Socialist Review. 1916 Chicago Poems is published. Sandburg's fame begins to build. 1917 Sandburg declares himself a political independent, but continues to associate with the Democratic party. 1918 Cornhuskers is published. Sandburg begins writing editorials for the â€Å"Chicago Daily News. † He continues with this until 1923. 1919 Sandburg writes an analysis of the 1919 Chicago race riots. The Poetry Society of America honors him. 1920 Smoke and Steel, Sandburg's poetical ode to industrialism, is published. 921 Sandburg is again honored by The Poetry Society of America. 1922 Rootabaga Stories, a children's book written for his three daughters, is published. His editor suggests a children's book on Lincoln. 1923 Rootabaga Pigeons is published. 1926 Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years is published. This Sandburg's first true financial success. 1927 The American Songbag is published, which features folksongs. Sandburg gained recognition as he toured and sang these songs frequently. 1928 Good Morning, America is published. 1929 Country is published. Sandburg pens a biography of Edward Steichen, a famous photographer and brother of his wife. 1930 Potato Face is published. 1932 Mary Lincoln, Wife and Widow is published. 1936 The People, Yes is published. Sandburg campaigns for Franklin D. Roosevelt's election to the Presidency 1939 Abraham Lincoln: The War Years is published. 1940 Sandburg is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Abraham Lincoln: The War Years. 1943 Home Front Memo is published. 1945 The Sandburg family moves to Flat Rock, North Carolina. 1948 Sandburg publishes his novel Remembrance Rock 1950 The New American Songbag is published. The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg is published. 1951 Sandburg wins a second Pulitzer Prize for Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg. 1953 Sandburg pens an autobiography, Always the Younger Strangers. 1960 Harvest Poems, 1910-1960 is published. Sandburg campaigns for John F. Kennedy. 1963 Honey and Salt, another volume of poems, is published. 1967 July 22-Sandburg dies in North Carolina. His ashes are returned to his Galesburg birthplace and placed in â€Å"Carl Sandburg Park† behind his house. The ashes are set beneath â€Å"Remembrance Rock. † Bibliography of Works and Awards Poetry Volumes –In Reckless Ecstasy (1904) –Incidentals (1907) –The Plaint of a Rose (1908) –Chicago Poems (1916) –Cornhuskers (1918) –Smoke and Steel (1920) –Slabs of the Sunburst West (1922) –Selected Poems (1926) –Good Morning, America (1928) –The People, Yes (1936) –Poems of the Midwest (1946) –The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg (1950) –Harvest Poems (1960) –Honey and Salt (1963) –Breathing Tokens (published posthumously in 1978) –Bill Sunday and Other Poems (published posthumously in 1993) –Selected Poems of Carl Sandburg (published posthumously in 1996) Lincoln Biographies –Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years (two volumes published in 1926) –Abraham Lincoln: The War Years (four volumes published in 1939) –Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years (one volume edition published in 1954) –A Lincoln Preface (1953) –Mary Lincoln: Wife and Widow (1932) Other Nonfiction Works –You and Your Job (1908) –The Chicago Race Riots of 1919 (1919) –The American Songbag (1927) –Steichen the Photographer (1929) –Storm over the Land (1942) –Home Front Memo (1943) –Always the Younger Strangers (1953) –The Sandburg Range (1957) –Ever the Winds of Chance (a posthumously published autobiography, 1983) Fiction –Remembrance Rock (1948) Children's Books –Rootabaga Stories (1922) –Rootabaga Pigeons (1923) –Potato Face (1930) –Early Moon (1930) –Prairie-Town Boy (1955) –Wind Song (1960) Awards: –Levinson prize (from the magazine Poetry) for â€Å"Chicago† (1914) –The Poetry Society of America honors Sandburg in 1919 and 1921 –Pulitzer Prize for Abraham Lincoln: The War Years (1940) –Pulitzer Prize for The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg (1951)

The Twilight Saga 2: New Moon Chapter 16 PARIS

AT THAT MOMENT, MY HEAD BROKE THE SURFACE. How disorienting. I'd been sure I was sinking. The current wouldn't let up. It was slamming me against more rocks; they beat against the center of my back sharply, rhythmically, pushing the water from my lungs. It gushed out in amazing volume, absolute torrents pouring from my mouth and nose. The salt burned and my lungs burned and my throat was too full of water to catch a breath and the rocks were hurting my back. Somehow I stayed in one place, though the waves still heaved around me. I couldn't see anything but water everywhere, reaching for my face. â€Å"Breathe!† a voice, wild with anxiety, ordered, and I felt a cruel stab of pain wher I recognized the voicebecause it wasn't Edward's. I could not obey. The waterfall pouring from my mouth didn't stop long enough for me to catch a breath. The black, icy water filled my chest, burning. The rock smacked into my back again, right between my shoulder blades, and another volley of water choked its way out of my lungs. â€Å"Breathe, Bella! C'mon!† Jacob begged. Black spots bloomed across my vision, getting wider and wider, blocking out the light. The rock struck me again. The rock wasn't cold like the water; it was hot on my skin. I realized it was Jacob's hand, trying to beat the water from my lungs. The iron bar that had dragged me from the sea was also warm My head whirled, the black spots covered everything Was I dying again, then? I didn't like itthis wasn't as good as the last time. It was only dark now, nothing worth looking at here. The sound of the crashing waves faded into the black and became a quiet, even whoosh that sounded like it was coming from the inside of my ears â€Å"Bella?† Jacob asked, his voice still tense, but not as wild as before. â€Å"Bells, honey, can you hear me?† The contents of my head swished and rolled sickeningly, like they'd joined the rough water â€Å"How long has she been unconscious?† someone else asked. The voice that was not Jacob's shocked me, jarred me into a more focused awareness. I realized that I was still. There was no tug of the current on methe heaving was inside my head. The surface under me was flat and motionless. It felt grainy against my bare arms. â€Å"I don't know,† Jacob reported, still frantic. His voice was very close. Handsso warm they had to be hisbrushed wet hair from my cheeks. â€Å"A few minutes? It didn't take long to tow her to the beach.† The quiet whooshing inside my ears was not the wavesit was the air moving in and out of my lungs again. Each breath burnedthe passageways were as raw as if I'd scrubbed them out with steel wool. But I was breathing. And I was freezing. A thousand sharp, icy beads were striking my face and arms, making the cold worse. â€Å"She's breathing. She'll come around. We should get her out of the cold, though. I don't like the color she's turning† I recognized Sam's voice this time. â€Å"You think it's okay to move her?† â€Å"She didn't hurt her back or anything when she fell?† â€Å"I don't know.† They hesitated. I tried to open my eyes. It took me a minute, but then I could see the dark, purple clouds, flinging the freezing rain down at me. â€Å"Jake?† I croaked. Jacob's face blocked out the sky. â€Å"Oh!† he gasped, relief washing over his features. His eyes were wet from the rain. â€Å"Oh, Bella! Are you okay? Can you hear me? Do you hurt anywhere?† â€Å"J-Just m-my throat,† I stuttered, my lips quivering from the cold. â€Å"Let's get you out of here, then,† Jacob said. He slid his arms under me and lifted me without effortlike picking up an empty box. His chest was bare and warm; he hunched his shoulders to keep the rain off of me. My head lolled over his arm. I stared vacantly back toward the furious water, beating the sand behindhim. â€Å"You got her?† I heard Sam ask. â€Å"Yeah, I'll take it from here. Get back to the hospital. I'll join you later. Thanks, Sam.† My head was still rolling. None of his words sunk in at first. Sam didn't answer. There was no sound, and I wondered if he were already gone. The water licked and writhed up the sand after us as Jacob carried me away, like it was angry that I'd escaped. As I stared wearily, a spark of color caught my unfocused eyesa small flash of fire was dancing on the black water, far out in the bay. The image made no sense, and I wondered how conscious I really was. My head swirled with the memory of the black, churning waterof being so lost that I couldn't find up or down. So lost but somehow Jacob â€Å"How did you find me?† I rasped. â€Å"I was searching for you,† he told me. He was half-jogging through the rain, up the beach toward the road. â€Å"I followed the tire tracks to your truck, and then I heard you scream† He shuddered. â€Å"Why would you jump, Bella? Didn't you notice that it's turning into a hurricane out here? Couldn't you have waited for me?† Anger filled his tone as the relief faded. â€Å"Sorry,† I muttered. â€Å"It was stupid.† â€Å"Yeah, it was really stupid,† he agreed, drops of rain shaking free of his hair as he nodded. â€Å"Look, do you mind saving the stupid stuff for when I'm around? I won't be able to concentrate if I think you're jumping off cliffs behind my back.† â€Å"Sure,† I agreed. â€Å"No problem.† I sounded like a chain-smoker. I tried to clear my throatand then winced; the throat-clearing felt like stabbing a knife down there. â€Å"What happened today? Did you find her?† It was my turn to shudder, though I wasn't so cold here, right next to his ridiculous body heat. Jacob shook his head. He was still more running than walking as he headed up the road to his house. â€Å"No. She took off into the waterthe bloodsuckers have the advantage there. That's why I raced homeI was afraid she was going to double back swimming. You spend so much time on the beach† He trailed off, a catch in his throat. â€Å"Sam came back with you is everyone else home, too?† I hoped they weren't still out searching for her. â€Å"Yeah. Sort of.† I tried to read his expression, squinting into the hammering rain. His eyes were tight with worry or pain. The words that hadn't made sense before suddenly did. â€Å"You said hospital. Before, to Sam. Is someone hurt? Did she fight you?† My voice jumped up an octave, sounding strange with the hoarseness. â€Å"No, no. When we got back, Em was waiting with the news. It's Harry Clearwater. Harry had a heart attack this morning.† â€Å"Harry?† I shook my head, trying to absorb what he was staying. â€Å"Oh, no! Does Charlie know?† â€Å"Yeah. He's over there, too, with my dad.† â€Å"Is Harry going to be okay?† Jacob's eyes tightened again. â€Å"It doesn't look so great right now.† Abruptly, I felt really sick with guiltfelt truly horrible about the brainless cliff dive. Nobody needed to be worrying about me right now. What a stupid time to be reckless. â€Å"What can I do?† I asked. At that moment the rain stopped. I hadn't realized we were already back to Jacob's house until he walked through the door. The storm pounded against the roof. â€Å"You can stay here,† Jacob said as he dumped me on the short couch. â€Å"I mean itright here I'll get you some dry clothes.† I let my eyes adjust to the dark room while Jacob banged around in his bedroom. The cramped front room seemed so empty without Billy, almost desolate. It was strangely ominousprobably just because I knew where he was. Jacob was back in seconds. He threw a pile of gray cotton at me. â€Å"These will be huge on you, but it's the best I've got. I'll, er, step outside so you can change.† â€Å"Don't go anywhere. I'm too tired to move yet. Just stay with me.† Jacob sat on the floor next to me, his back against the couch. I wondered when he'd slept last. He looked as exhausted as I felt. He leaned his head on the cushion next to mine and yawned. â€Å"Guess I could rest for a minute† His eyes closed. I let mine slide shut, too. Poor Harry. Poor Sue. I knew Charlie was going to be beside himself. Harry was one of his best friends. Despite Jake's negative take on things, I hoped fervently that Harry would pull through. For Charlie's sake. For Sue's and Leah's and Seth's Billy's sofa was right next to the radiator, and I was warm now, despite my soaked clothes. My lungs ached in a way that pushed me toward unconsciousness rather than keeping me awake. I wondered vaguely if it was wrong to sleep or was I getting drowning mixed up with concussions ? Jacob began softly snoring, and the sound of it soothed like a lullaby. I fell asleep quickly. For the first time in a very long time, my dream was just a normal dream. Just a blurred wandering through old memoriesblinding bright visions of the Phoenix sun, my mother's face, a ramshackle tree house, a faded quilt, a wall of mirrors, a flame on the black water I forgot each of them as soon as the picture changed. The last picture was the only one that stuck in my head. It was meaninglessjust a set on a stage. A balcony at night, a painted moon hanging in the sky. I watched the girl in her nightdress lean on the railing and talk to herself. Meaningless but when I slowly struggled back to consciousness, Juliet was on my mind. Jacob was still asleep; he'd slumped down to the floor and his breathing was deep and even. The house was darker now than before, it was black outside the window. I was stiff, but warm and almost dry. The inside of my throat burned with every breath I took. I was going to have to get upat least to get a drink. But my body just wanted tc he here limp, to never move again. Instead of moving, I thought about Juliet some more. I wondered what she would have done if Romeo had left her, not because he was banished, but because he lost interests What if Rosalind had given him the time of day, and he'd changed his mind? What if, instead of marrying Juliet, he'd just disappeared? I thought I knew how Juliet would feel. She wouldn't go back to her old life, not really. She wouldn't ever have moved on, I was sure of that. Even if she'd lived until she was old and gray, every time she closed her eyes, it would have been Romeo's face she saw behind her lids. She would have accepted that, eventually. I wondered if she would have married Paris in the end, just to please her parents, to keep the peace. No, probably not, I decided. But then, the story didn't say much about Paris. He was just a stick figurea placeholder, a threat, a deadline to force her hand. What if there were more to Paris? What if Paris had been Juliet's friend? Her very best friend? What if he was the only one she could confide in about the whole devastating thing with Romeo? The one person who really understood her and made her feel halfway human again? What if he was patient and kind? What if he took care of her? What if Juliet knew she couldn't survive without him? What if he really loved her, and wanted her to be happy? And what if she loved Paris? Not like Romeo. Nothing like that, of course. But enough that she wanted him to be happy, too? Jacob's slow, deep breathing was the only sound in the roomlike a lullaby hummed to a child, like the whisper of a rocking chair, like the ticking of an old clock when you had nowhere you needed to goIt was the sound of comfort. If Romeo was really gone, never coming back, would it have mattered whether or not Juliet had taken Paris up on his offer? Maybe she should have tried to settle into the leftover scraps of life that were left behind. Maybe that would have been as close to happiness as she could get. I sighed, and then groaned when the sigh scraped my throat. I was reading too much into the story. Romeo wouldn't change his mind. That's why people still remembered his name, always twined with hers: Romeo and Juliet. That's why it was a good story. â€Å"Juliet gets dumped and ends up with Paris† would have never been a hit. I closed my eyes and drifted again, letting my mind wander away from the stupid play I didn't want to think about anymore. I thought about reality insteadabout jumping off the cliff and what a brainless mistake that had been. And not just the cliff, but the motorcycles and the whole irresponsible Evel Knievel bit. What if something bad happened to me? What would that do to Charlie? Harry's heart attack had pushed everything suddenly into perspective for me. Perspective that I didn't want to see, becauseif I admitted to the truth of itit would mean that I would have to change my ways. Could I live like that? Maybe. It wouldn't be easy; in fact, it would be downright miserable to give up my hallucinations and try to be a grown-up. But maybe I should do it. And maybe I could. If I had Jacob. I couldn't make that decision right now. It hurt too much. I'd think about something else. Images from my ill-considered afternoon stunt rolled through my head while I tried to come up with something pleasant to think about the feel of the air as I fell, the blackness of the water, the thrashing of the current Edward's face I lingered there for a long time. Jacob's warm hands, trying to beat life back into me the stinging rain flung down by the purple clouds the strange fire on the waves There was something familiar about that flash of color on top of the water. Of course it couldn't really be fire My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car squelching through the mud on the road outside. I heard it stop in front of the house, and doors started opening and closing. I thought about sitting up, and then decided against that idea. Billy's voice was easily identifiable, but he kept it uncharacteristically low, so that it was only a gravelly grumble. The door opened, and the light flicked on. I blinked, momentarily blind. Jake startled awake, gasping and jumping to his feet. â€Å"Sorry,† Billy grunted. â€Å"Did we wake you?† My eyes slowly focused on his face, and then, as I could read his expression, they filled with tears. â€Å"Oh, no, Billy!† I moaned. He nodded slowly, his expression hard with grief. Jake hurried to his father and took one of his hands. The pain made his face suddenly childlikeit looked odd on top of the man's body. Sam was right behind Billy, pushing his chair through the door. His normal composure was absent from his agonized face. â€Å"I'm so sorry,† I whispered. Billy nodded. â€Å"It's gonna be hard all around.† â€Å"Where's Charlie?† â€Å"Your dad is still at the hospital with Sue. There are a lot of arrangements to be made.† I swallowed hard. â€Å"I'd better get back there,† Sam mumbled, and he ducked hastily out the door. Billy pulled his hand away from Jacob, and then he rolled himself through the kitchen toward his room. Jake stared after him for a minute, then came to sit on the floor beside me again. He put his face in his hands. I rubbed his shoulder, wishing I could think of anything to say. After a long moment, Jacob caught my hand and held it to his face. â€Å"How are you feeling? Are you okay? I probably should have taken you to a doctor or something.† He sighed. â€Å"Don't worry about me,† I croaked. He twisted his head to look at me. His eyes were rimmed in red. â€Å"You don't look so good.† â€Å"I don't feel so good, either, I guess.† â€Å"I'll go get your truck and then take you homeyou probably ought to be there when Charlie gets back.† â€Å"Right.† I lay listlessly on the sofa while I waited for him. Billy was silent in the other room. I felt like a peeping torn, peering through the cracks at a private sorrow that wasn't mine. It didn't take Jake long. The roar of my truck's engine broke the silence before I expected it. He helped me up from the couch without speaking, keeping his arm around my shoulder when the cold air outside made me shiver. He took the driver's seat without asking, and then pulled me next to his side to keep his arm tight around me. I leaned my head against his chest. â€Å"How will you get home?† I asked. â€Å"I'm not going home. We still haven't caught the bloodsucker, remember?† My next shudder had nothing to do with cold. It was a quiet ride after that. The cold air had woken me up. My mind was alert, and it was working very hard and very fast. What if? What was the right thing to do? I couldn't imagine my life without Jacob nowI cringed away from the idea of even trying to imagine that. Somehow, he'd become essential to my survival. But to leave things the way they were was that cruel, as Mike had accused? I remembered wishing that Jacob were my brother. I realized now that all I really wanted was a claim on him. It didn't feel brotherly when he held me like this. It just felt nicewarm and comforting and familiar. Safe. Jacob was a safe harbor. I could stake a claim. I had that much within my power. I'd have to tell him everything, I knew that. It was the only way to be fair. I'd have to explain it right, so that he'd know I wasn't settling, that he was much too good for me. He already knew I was broken, that part wouldn't surprise him, but he'd need to know the extent of it. I'd even have to admit that I was crazyexplain about the voices I heard. He'd need to know everything before he made a decision. But, even as I recognized that necessity, I knew he would take me in spite of it all. He wouldn't even pause to think it through. I would have to commit to thiscommit as much of me as there was left, every one of the broken pieces. It was the only way to be fair to him. Would I? Could I? Would it be so wrong to try to make Jacob happy? Even if the love I felt for him was no more than a weak echo of what I was capable of, even if my heart was far away, wandering and grieving after my fickle Romeo, would it be so very wrong? Jacob stopped the truck in front of my dark house, cutting the engine so it was suddenly silent. Like so many other times, he seemed to be in tune with my thoughts now. He threw his other arm around me, crushing me against his cheat, binding me to him. Again, this felt nice. Almost like being a whole person again. I thought he would be thinking of Harry, but then he spoke, and his tone was apologetic. â€Å"Sorry. I know you don't feel exactly the way I do, Bella. I swear I don't mind. I'm just so glad you're okay that I could singand that's something no one wants to hear.† He laughed his throaty laugh in my ear. My breathing kicked up a notch, sanding the walls of my throat. Wouldn't Edward, indifferent as he might be, want me to be as happy as possible under the circumstances? Wouldn't enough friendly emotion linger for him to want that much for me? I thought he would. He wouldn't begrudge me this: giving just a small bit of love he didn't want to my friend Jacob. After all, it wasn't the same love at all. Jake pressed his warm cheek against the top of my hair. If I turned my face to the sideif I pressed my lips against his bare shoulder†¦ I knew without any doubt what would follow. It would be very easy. There would be no need for explanations tonight. But could I do it? Could I betray my absent heart to save my pathetic life? Butterflies assaulted my stomach as I thought of turning my head. And then, as clearly as if I were in immediate danger, Edward's velvet voice whispered in my ear. â€Å"Be happy,† he told me. I froze. Jacob felt me stiffen and released me automatically, reaching for the door. Wait, I wanted to say. Just a minute. But I was still locked in place, listening to the echo of Edward's voice in my head. Storm-cooled air blew through the cab of the truck. â€Å"OH!† The breath whooshed out of Jacob like someone had punched him in the gut. â€Å"Holy crap!† He slammed the door and twisted the keys in the ignition at the same moment. His hands were shaking so hard I didn't know how he managed it. â€Å"What's wrong?† He revved the engine too fast; it sputtered and faltered. â€Å"Vampire,† he spit out. The blood rushed from my head and left me dizzy. â€Å"How do you know?† â€Å"Because I can smell it. Dammit!† Jacob's eyes were wild, raking the dark street. He barely seemed aware of the tremors that were rolling through his body. â€Å"Phase or get her out of here?† he hissed at himself. He looked down at me for a split second, taking in my horror-struck eyes and white face, and then he was scanning the street again. â€Å"Right. Get you out.† The engine caught with a roar. The tires squealed as he spun the truck around, turning toward our only escape. The headlights washed across the pavement, lit the front line of the black forest, and finally glinted off a car parked across the street from my house. â€Å"Stop!† I gasped. It was a black cara car I knew. I might be the furthest thing from an autophile, but I could tell you everything about that particular car. It was a Mercedes S55 AMG. I knew the horsepower and the color of the interior. I knew the feel of the powerful engine purring through the frame. I knew the rich smell of the leather seats and the way the extra-dark tint made noon look like dusk through those windows. It was Carlisle's car. â€Å"Stop!† I cried again, louder this time, because Jacob was gunning the truck down the street. â€Å"What?!† â€Å"It's not Victoria. Stop, stop! I want to go back.† He stomped on the brake so hard I had to catch myself against the dashboard. â€Å"What?† he asked again, aghast. He stared at me with horror in his eyes. â€Å"It's Carlisle's car! It's the Cullens. I know it.† He watched dawn break across my face, and a violent tremor rocked his frame. â€Å"Hey, calm down, Jake. It's okay. No danger, see? Relax.† â€Å"Yeah, calm,† he panted, putting his head down and closing his eyes. While he concentrated on not exploding into a wolf, I stared out the back window at the black car. It was just Carlisle, I told myself. Don't expect anything more. Maybe Esme Stop right there, I told myself. Just Carlisle. That was plenty. More than I'd ever hoped to have again. â€Å"There's a vampire in your house,† Jacob hissed. â€Å"And you want to go back?† I glanced at him, ripping my unwilling eyes off the Mercedesterrified that it would disappear the second I looked away. â€Å"Of course,† I said, my voice blank with surprise at his question. Of course I wanted to go back. Jacob's face hardened while I stared at him, congealing into the bitter mask that I'd thought was gone for good. Just before he had the mask in place, I caught the spasm of betrayal that flashed in his eyes. His hands were still shaking. He looked ten years older than me. He took a deep breath. â€Å"You're sure it's not a trick?† he asked in a slow, heavy voice. â€Å"It's not a trick. It's Carlisle. Take me back!† A shudder rippled through his wide shoulders, but his eyes were flat and emotionless. â€Å"No.† â€Å"Jake, it's okay† â€Å"No. Take yourself back, Bella.† His voice was a slapI flinched as the sound of it struck me. His jaw clenched and unclenched. â€Å"Look, Bella,† he said in the same hard voice. â€Å"I can't go back. Treaty or no treaty, that's my enemy in there.† â€Å"It's not like that† â€Å"I have to tell Sam right away. This changes things. We can't be caught on their territory.† â€Å"Jake, it's not a war!† He didn't listen. He put the truck in neutral and jumped out the door, leaving it running. â€Å"Bye, Bella,† he called back over his shoulder. â€Å"I really hope you don't die.† He sprinted into the darkness, shaking so hard that his shape seemed blurred; he disappeared before I could open my mouth to call him back. Remorse pinned me against the seat for one long second. What had I just done to Jacob'? But remorse couldn't hold me very long. I slid across the seat and put the truck back in drive. My hands were shaking almost as hard as Jake's had been, and this took a minute of concentration. Then I carefully turned the truck around and drove it back to my house. It was very dark when I turned off the headlights. Charlie had left in such a hurry that he'd forgotten to leave the porch lamp on. I felt a pang of doubt, staring at the house, deep in shadow. What if it was a trick? I looked back at the black car, almost invisible in the night. No. I knew that car. Still, my hands were shaking even worse than before as I reached for the key above the door. When I grabbed the doorknob to unlock it, it twisted easily under my hand. I let the door fall open. The hallway was black. I wanted to call out a greeting, but my throat was too dry. I couldn't quite seem to catch my breath. I took a step inside and fumbled for the light switch. It was so blacklike the black water Where was that switch? Just like the black water, with the orange flame flickering impossibly on top of it. Flame that couldn't be a fire, but what then ? My fingers traced the wall, still searching, still shaking Suddenly, something Jacob had told me this afternoon echoed in my head, finally sinking in She took off into the water, he'd said. The bloodsuckers have the advantage there. That's why I raced home I was afraid she was going to double back swimming. My hand froze in its searching, my whole body froze into place, as I realized why I recognized the strange orange color on the water. Victoria's hair, blowing wild in the wind, the color of fire She'd been right there. Right there in the harbor with me and Jacob. If Sam hadn't been there, if it had been just the two of us ? I couldn't breathe or move. The light flicked on, though my frozen hand had still not found the switch. I blinked into the sudden light, and saw that someone was there, waiting for me.