Political Career Timeline of US President Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II graduated high school with honors in 1979 and was president of the Harvard Law Review long before he ever decided to enter politics. When he decided he wanted to run for the Illinois Senate in 1996, he ensured his candidacy by successfully challenging the nomination petitions of his four competitors. This marked his entry into politics.   Timeline of Obamas Political Career 1988: Obama is a summer associate at the Chicago law firm Sidley Austin.1992: Obama graduates from Harvard and returns to Chicago.1995: In July, Obama—at age 34—publishes his first memoir, Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. In August, Obama files paperwork to run for incumbent Alice Palmers Illinois Senate seat.1996: In January, Obama has his four competitor petitions invalidated; he emerges as the only candidate. In November, he is elected to the Illinois Senate, which is controlled by Republicans.1999: Obama begins running for Congress.2000: Obama loses his challenge for the congressional seat held by Rep. Bobby Rush.2002: In November, Democrats usurp Republican control of the Illinois Senate.2003–04: Obama amasses his legislative record and serves as chair of the Health and Human Services Committee.2003: Obama begins running for U.S. Senate; the leading Democratic candidate withdraws in 2004 due to a sex scandal.  David Axelrod begins h aving camera crews video virtually everything Obama does in public. He uses this footage to create a five-minute online video for the Jan. 16, 2007, announcement that Obama is running for president.2004: In March, Obama wins the primary with 52% of the vote. In June, his Republican opponent Jack Ryan withdraws due to a sex scandal. He delivers the Democratic National Convention address in July 2004, and in November he is elected to the U.S. Senate with 70% of the vote.2005: Obama files paperwork for his leadership PAC, The Hope Fund, in January. Shortly after his election to the U.S. Senate, he delivers a well-received address arguing faith should have a greater role in public discourse.2006: Obama writes and publishes his book The Audacity of Hope. In October, he announces he is considering a run for the presidency of the United States.2007: In February, Obama announces his candidacy for U.S. president.  2008: In June, he becomes the Democratic Partys presumptive nominee. In Nove mber, he defeats Republican presidential nominee John McCain to become the first African-American president of the United States of America and the 44th president of the country.2009: Obama is inaugurated in January. In his first 100 days in office, he expands health care insurance for children and provides legal protection for women seeking equal pay. He gets Congress to pass a  $787 billion stimulus bill  to promote short-term economic growth, and he also cuts taxes for working families, small businesses and first-time home buyers. He loosens the ban on embryonic stem cell research and improves relations with Europe, China, Cuba, and Venezuela. The president is awarded the  2009 Nobel Peace Prize  for his efforts.2010: Obama delivers his first State of the Union speech in January. In March, he signs his health care reform plan, known as the Affordable Care Act, into law. Opponents of the act claim that it violates the U.S. Constitution. In August, announces the partial wit hdrawal of troops from Iraq, declaring an end to Americas combat mission. The full withdrawal will be completed the next year.2011: Obama signs the Budget Control Act to rein in government spending.  He also signs a repeal of the military policy known as Dont Ask, Dont Tell, which prevents openly gay troops from serving in U.S. Armed Forces. In  May, he green lights a covert operation in Pakistan that leads to the killing of al-Qaeda leader  Osama bin Laden  by a team of U.S. Navy SEALs.2012: Obama begins running for his second term, and in November, he wins with nearly 5 million more votes than Republican Mitt Romney.2013: Obama gets a legislative victory with a bipartisan agreement on tax increases and spending cuts, which is a step toward keeping his reelection promise of reducing the federal deficit by raising taxes on the wealthy. In June, his approval ratings tank because of an alleged cover-up of events in Benghazi, Libya, that left U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and two other Americans dead; because of allegations that the IRS is targeting conservative political organizations seeking tax-exempt status; and due to revelations about the U.S. National Security Agencys surveillance program. The Obama administration struggles with many domestic and international problems.2014: Obama orders sanctions on Russia because of its annexation of Crimea. House Speaker John Boehner sues the president, claiming he has overstepped his executive powers regarding some parts of the Affordable Care Act. Republicans gain  control of the Senate, and now Obama has to contend with the fact that Republicans control both houses of Congress during the final two years of his second term.2015: At his second State of the Union address, he claims that the United States is out of the recession. With Democrats outnumbered, he threatens to use his executive powers to stave off any potential Republican interference in his agenda. Obama has two major Supreme Court victories in this year: The Affordable Care Acts tax subsidies are upheld, and same-sex marriage becomes legal nationwide. Also, Obama and the five world powers (China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom) reach a historic nuclear deal with Iran. And Obama launches his Clean Power Plan to reduce greenhouse gases and emissions.2016: In his final year in office, Obama tackles gun control but is met with strong opposition from both parties. He delivers his final State of the Union address on January 12, 2016. In March, he becomes the first sitting U.S. president since 1928 to visit Cuba.2017: Obama delivers his farewell address in January in Chicago. During his last day in office on January 19 he announces that he will commute the sentences of 330 nonviolent drug offenders. Also in his final days, Obama  presents Vice President Joe Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction.

The Rediscovery And Emergence Of Humanism - 876 Words

ori Horton The Rediscovery and Emergence of Humanism The transition from medieval times to the Renaissance can be seen through the change in art across the western world. Many aspects of art changed between these time periods including the introduction of humanism as well as the new idea of perspective. These are only a few elements that changed art between the Medieval and Renaissance eras. By using perspective many artist were able to make depth apparent by changing sizes of objects in the fore, as well as the background. Humanism allows the idea of humans being higher than the divine. With artists being able to use new artistic aspects, such as humanism and the idea of rebirth, they are able to change the views and ideas of art during the Italian and Northern Renaissance. Humanism was first brought to the Renaissance by a small group of elites consisting of artists, scholars, and many other trade group members (Johnson p.5). This new idea that humans were more important than the divine was not something that was instantly accepted. Up until this time period of the Italian and Northern Renaissance it was always believed that the divine trumped humans in everyway. This idea of humans being more important, although not widely accepted, changed art as a whole. One example of an artist who used this idea of humanism was Raphael in â€Å"The Alba Madonna† of 1511. He used perspective to take the importance and beauty and point the viewer back to the cross and baby Jesus. In manyShow MoreRelatedHistorical And Philosophical Movement Of The Renaissance1596 Words   |  7 Pagesmodern philosophy. By focusing, on ideas presented by Southern, Petrarch, and Burckhardt I will argue that the historical and philosophical movement of the renaissance progressed the writings and concerns of the medieval times through the emergence of humanism and free will, the revival of antiquity, natural philosophy and enlightment of knowledge. To understand why the Renaissance played a significant role in this transition, it is important to first consider how the medieval times differed fromRead MoreThe Religious Authority Of The Catholic Church917 Words   |  4 Pages2000). The Renaissance witnessed other historical events such as the the discovery of North America, the emergence of the Ptolemaic astronomy system, and many inventions.The Renaissance was a time of rebirth in classical ideas and science, which led to people beginning to think and reason apart from the Church. 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Gutenbergs invention of the printing press allowe d for an explosion in the intellectual life of Europe, a rediscovery of the ancient classics, and the development of a new philosophy called Humanism. This new emphasis on the classics allowed for the development of artistic and architectural advances, like symmetry, proportion, and shape, which completely transformed art and building. And finally, theRead MoreA 12th Century Renaissance Essay1883 Words   |  8 Pagestwelfth century and ideas still proposed today. This stems from the 12th century trend of the revival of Roman law. An example of our modern day legal system can be found from this time: Growing procedural complexity and formalityÂ…encouraged the emergence of legal specialists, as judges, and as lawyers employable for their knowledge. Greater emphasis on record keeping, on precedent and rules, also aided the transition (Swanson 80). 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The most important idea of rebirth stays with the belief that through learning of intellectual and artistic treasures of the Greco-Roman antiquity could reach the artistic greatness, wisdom and enlightenment. The rediscovery of classical world drastically changed the art of painting. By the year 1500, the Re naissance revived ancient forms and content. The spiritual content of painting changed - subjects from Roman history and mythology were borrowed. Devotional artRead MoreThe End Of The Medieval Period Essay1947 Words   |  8 Pages There are many factors that led to the end of the medieval period and brought about the emergence of the Renaissance period, otherwise known as, â€Å"the age of rebirth.† Some of these factors would have a devastating impact on Europe, which we can still see to this very day. During the Medieval period, the feudal aristocracy and the Catholic Church emerged as the dominant political forces and were instrumental in imposing social and economic order on the people. Peasants were organized within theRead MoreJean Hey’s Annunciation Essay examples2174 Words   |  9 Pagesadvancements in the portrayal of the human form—particularly that of hands and anatomical dimensions—human emotion, and artistic balance. The Renaissance can be characterized in general by the rebirth of art in conjunction with a rediscovery of philosophy, literature, science, and empirical investigation from antiquity. The new emphasis on learning, especially via direct observation of the natural world, led to new artistic techniques that allowed artists to mimic those of the ancientsRead MoreBranches of Philosophy8343 Words   |  34 Pagesphilosophy is the philosophy of Western Europe and the Middle East during what is now known as the medieval era or the Middle Ages, roughly extending from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Renaissance. Medieval philosophy is defined partly by the rediscovery and further development of classical Greek and Hellenistic philosophy, and partly by the need to address theological problems and to integrate sacred doctrine (in Islam, Judaism and Christianity) with secular learning. Some problems discussed throughout

Founding Fathers Free Essays

string(69) " she was wishing there was something she could do to help the cause\." When you think of the Founding Fathers, the common names George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin often come to mind. What many people don’t realize, is there were many more significant people besides them that helped make America free and independent. Even more than this, there were many women and minorities that contributed to this change. We will write a custom essay sample on Founding Fathers or any similar topic only for you Order Now The women and minorities males that I am going to talk about in this paper show true drive, determination, and passion. These people prove that it doesn’t matter what your gender or race is for you to make a difference and have extraordinary triumphs. There were countless women throughout history whose actions and sacrifices helped to establish our independence. The first story of these brave women is about Molly Pitcher in the Revolutionary War. From a young age, Mary Ludwig, nicknamed Molly, had wanted to be a soldier. This goal was looked down upon in girls, and would have been expected from a man or boy. She grew up on a farm, and in any weather condition, would be found outside working hard. This sense of determination gave Molly strength, and the ability to do whatever she attempted quickly and efficiently. Wanting to utilize this quality usefully, she went to live with a family friend, assisting her in household work. Molly then learned how to use her hand for anything, but her need for helping was not yet fulfilled. Molly eventually married a comrade, John Hayes, who joined the Continental army when the battle of Lexington began. Proudly, Molly stood by her husband excited that he was able to serve his country. On January 3, 1777, the Continental army fought the British at Trenton, loosing thirty men, and then retreating to Morristown, New Jersey. When she was aware of this, she went to the fields to make sure there were no hurt men. Unfortunately, she found a wounded soldier, but was able to nurse him back to health. When June occurred, temperatures began to rise, scorching the fighters. Because of the heat and long hours of fighting on June 28, 1778, many of the man’s tongues became swollen, and their bodies became exhausted. Molly decided to spend her time through the blistering heat going back and forth carrying water to the soldiers. â€Å"Molly Pitcher! † was a frequent exclamation they would say, thankful to see the water. The heat did get to her husband, causing him to pass out, but Molly was right by his side to help him in any way possible. Since her husband was not able to use the cannon, Molly took his place, loading and firing the gunner. The courageous acts displayed by Molly played an important part of the soldiers’ victory. General Washington praised her, and even awarded her â€Å"one of his gallant men†. Sticking by her husband’s side, fighting for him when he couldn’t, and even bringing water for the thirsty soldiers were valiant acts Molly portrayed. Molly was a prominent part in this battle and earned a spot in American history. One year later another brave female helped gain America its independence, Penelope Barker. Back in their time, women were expected to stay home, cook, clean, and take care of their family. Penelope lived with her husband in North Carolina. Unlike how female were supposed to act, Penelope had a mind of her own and was interested and engaged in politics. Even though her husband was an agent of the English crown, Penelope believed that England had gone too far with the Tea Act of 1773. Once she learned about the Boston Tea Party, Penelope decided to have her own. Door to door Penelope went speaking with and convincing other women to boycott all British tea and clothing. Penelope was able to convince fifty other women to attend a meeting he held on October 25, 1774. By the end of the meeting, they wrote a letter proclaiming about their boycott, signed it, and published it in a London newspaper. The better known Boston Tea Party was conducted by men, wearing costumes to protect their identity, yet she rejected the notion of hiding and instead made it public. Penelope Barker went on to say, â€Å"Maybe it has only been men who have protested the king up to now. That only means we women have taken too long to let our voices be heard. We are signing our names to a document, not hiding ourselves behind costumes like the men in Boston did at their tea party. The British will know who we are. † This turned into the first women’s political activity in colonial American History. She took a stand in what she believed in and did something about it. Once this reached the newspaper in London, it received a lot of negative feedback. The crown did not take the women colonists seriously, and many citizens laughed at their attempts. Because women’s views on matters politic were not considered worthy of consideration, the British laughed and their cartoonist’s had a fun day being able to make fun of them. Others called the women bad mothers or â€Å"loose† women. This shortly stopped though, when other women in the colonies started to boycott the goods and listening to what these ladies had to say. More and more people started to join and boycott which eventually got the crown’ attention. Although this movement may not seem like a huge deal, we have Penelope Barker to thank for advancing the cause of women’s rights to engage in politics, and gaining more independence. Stepping out of the norm, and doing what you believe is right is the most courageous act. By making a petition and boycott, Penelope was able to bring attention to something that wasn’t right with America. Sybil Ludington is the next American female hero on the list. It was 1977 and America was fighting with England to claim our independence. As she was lying in bed, she was wishing there was something she could do to help the cause. You read "Founding Fathers" in category "Papers" She already used spun wool instead of England’s fabric, and refused to drink the English tea. Sybil felt as if that was all women were doing, and she wanted to do more. From outside she heard someone yelling, â€Å"Colonel Ludington! Colonel Ludington! The British are burning Danbury, Sir! You must gather your men and march against the British! † Sybil’s father then said that their supplies were in Danbury, so all their weapons would be destroyed and they would need to muster the men. Sybil already knew that the men in her father’s militia lived in farms scattered all over the country, being released from their duty to spring plant. They needed to be called out to form their fighting unit. Sybil offered to help and to go get the men since she knew the roads but her father said that it would be far too dangerous, that she could be attacked. As she pleaded that she really wanted to help, that there was no one else to do it her father saw the determination and strength in her and let her go. As Sybil started to leave on her horse, Star, the sky was bright red, meaning the British were currently burning Danbury. Her father gave her detailed instructions right before she left to take a stick and knock on the men’s farmhouse doors with it. He also told her to go as far south as Mahopac Falls and then north to Stromyville. Finally she was off, and started at Alder place charging up to the farmhouses, yelling that the British were burning Danbury and where to meet. As Sybil went from farmhouse to farmhouse it was also continuously raining, resulting in her getting drenched. Also at one point she had to fight off a â€Å"highway man†. Finally, she reached all of her destinations, a distance of 40 miles and gathered all 400 men to her father. At the time Sybil Ludington was only 16 years old. Her sense of stability, audacity, and determination was enough to get 400 of her father’s men to fight in the war. If it wasn’t for her, there would be no men, and America would have lost the war. Sybil significantly impacted the result of that war, which is what caused us to become free. The last female who helped participate in the Revolutionary War and earn America independence was Deborah Sampson. From a young age, she learned to work hard because her father died, and her mother sent her away to work on a farm. Deborah was best known for her eagerness to learn, begging her new family to teach her anything the boys knew. One of her passions was to help the men in the Revolutionary War, although this seemed impossible because girls were not allowed to fight. Disregarding that rule, Deborah dressed up like a man called â€Å"Robert† and became a soldier at the age of 19. Her dedication, braveness, and willingness to sign up for dangerous missions, made the other soldiers proud of her, and landed her a spot to be an aide for the general. When Deborah was sent to West Point, New York, she got wounded in the leg. She didn’t tell anyone and tended the wounds herself so no one would find out her secret. After serving another eighteen months and a few battles at West Point, she was wounded again, and her identity was discovered by the doctor. On October 25, 1783, Deborah was â€Å"honorably discharged† from the army. Although this was discouraging, she received a letter from Paul Revere , granting her a pension. On January 20, 1792, Massachusetts General Court recognized Deborah as a hero. They decided that she did â€Å"perform the duty of a soldier† and exhibited extraordinary heroism. It didn’t matter what gender, Deborah Sampson was a faithful, gallant soldier that impacted America in a huge way. Besides just women who helped in making America independent and free, there were minorities. The actions of black men for our nation’s founding have often been ignored. There were many slaves who joined the army to gain their freedom, but there were thousands of other African Americans who served America just because it was the right thing to do and we as a nation needed it. These hero’s deeds are no less important than any white man’s deeds. They have also fought and died, held office, wrote in support of independence, and led their communities. There were many black men, about 12,00- 15,00 that became soldiers in the American Revolution. They fought in an integrated army. By 1779, fifteen percent of the Continental Army was black, getting to fight in the first Battle of Lexington and Concord, and the last battle at Yorktown. Besides integrated units, there were three all black units: Rhode Island First regiment, the Black Bucks of America, and Volunteer Chasseurs. Caesar Augustus was enlisted in the Continental Army at the age of 14. He was of mixed race and from Dorchester, Massachusetts. Augustus was able to serve the entire length of the war. For the first two years he spent in the service of an officer but then he reenlisted to be able to fight. Although Augustus didn’t do anything extraordinary, he was an African American who fought in the war, and eventually died fighting for our country. Another African American was Cyrus Bustill. He was born in 1732, with his father being a lawyer but his mother being a slave. Since the child takes the mother’s job, he had to be a slave. Cyrus was trained how to bake and once he got his freedom at the age of 36, he helped out by making bread for the solider. It was something that the soldiers during the American Revolution needed. George Washington even gave his a silver piece and commended him for his service. Cyrus also became a member of the Free African Society. Next was Prince Hall. He was the slave of William Hall, a Boston Family. A month after the Boston Massacre, he was freed by his master and worked as a peddler, caterer and leather dresser. He eventually served in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Hall was able to supply leather drum heads to the Continental Army. Before the war even began he joined the British Army Lodge of Masons, and once the British retreated they took over. It was the first African America Lodge, and was named after Hall. He became one of Boston’s most prominent citizens and a leader in the black community. Prince Hall was able to speak out against slavery and the rights of blacks. Because of the lack of schools for black children, he set one up in his own home. He also in 1797 spoke out against violence. â€Å" How, at such times, are we shamefully abused, and that to such a degree, that we may truly be said to carry our lives in our hands, and the arrows of death are flying about our heads†¦tis not for want of courage in you, for they know that they dare not face you man for man, but in a mob, which we despise†¦Ã¢â‚¬  During a harsh winter at Valley Forge, there was a new regiment created, the Rhode Island First. This was made up of all African Americans, 125 men, some were free and some were enslaved. Their first fight was at the Battle of Newport in 1778, resulting in the Continental Army forcing to retreat. The regiment put itself between the retreating Americans and the British and were able to hold the line when the British attacked, causing the British to have many casualties. These men’s bravery helped save many lives not only there, but in other battles like the Battle of Croton River. Eventually, there was a statue in honor of the Black soldiers. It read, â€Å"? When the Constitution of the United States was framed, colored men voted in a majority of these States; they voted in the State of New York, in Pennsylvania, in Massachusetts, in Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware and North Carolina; and long after the adoption of the Constitution, they continued to vote in North Carolina and Tennessee also. The Constitution of the United States makes no distinction of color. † These men that I have mentioned above risked their own lives to help make America free. Sometimes when we hear the big named, popular people, we tend to forget about everyone else that was involved. Top of Form How to cite Founding Fathers, Papers

Marxism and Brave New World free essay sample

Theory Analysis- Marxism Based on â€Å"Brave New World† by Aldous Huxley In the story â€Å"Brave New World† by Aldous Huxley, one can see that the author truly wishes his readers to analyze the book via the subsets of Marxism. The first and foremost rationale of the text lending itself to a Marxist analysis comes from the symbolism portrayed by the surname of the main character in the book. Bernard Marx seems to be such a unique and peculiar name that one can with certainty assume that there must be reasoning for it, especially considering the context of this novel. In the first few introductions to Bernard, he narrates his distaste towards his fellow colleagues for â€Å"talking about [Lenina] as though she were a bit of meat. Have her here, have her there. Like mutton. Degrading her to so much mutton† (Huxley 39). In the mind of Bernard, his colleagues do not treat Lenina as an equivalent human being who belongs to the same and equal faction as his colleagues. We will write a custom essay sample on Marxism and Brave New World or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Instead, through the eyes of Bernard she is seen simply as ‘degrading’ meat. Bernard’s hatred towards this subject matter exemplifies conceivably the similarities between the thoughts of Karl Marx and Bernard. From this, one can easily anticipate that Bernard Marx will play a pivotal role that maybe shadows the thoughts of the real Karl Marx in around the period of Huxley’s era. One can even go about saying that perhaps the vast popularity of Marxism at the time of this novel’s publication posed a direct influence on Huxley’s perception of society, which he then applied to the story. Quite ironically however, later on in the novel while Bernard watches the clear ocean, â€Å"it makes [him] feel as though [he] was more [him]†¦ More on [his] own, not so completely a part of something else. Not just a cell in the social body† (Huxley 78). In these more updated and comprehensive thoughts of Bernard Marx, one can realize that his aversion towards the collective society of the World State shatters the previous anticipations about him. Where Karl Marx would have appreciated this specific unity of the World State, Bernard hates it. It can be argued that Huxley portrayed this unique irony for humor to show his revulsion towards the design of Marxism as he was an Englishman himself living in such a heavily Capitalist country as England. Perhaps being a capitalist, Huxley wanted to make his audience understand that the popularized Marxist approach alone could not possibly lead to a Utopian civilization, and therefore modified his society in the novel accordingly. Such a thought results in the existence of both pro- and anti-Marxist ideals within the World State all throughout the novel. The world of the novel presents itself with pro Marxist ideologies largely in accordance to the basic psychology of the World State itself: â€Å"Everyone belongs to everyone else† (Huxley 34). There is no individualization in the World State, and everyone achieves tasks only for society and the people around them. On the contrary, Huxley also employs the use of anti-Marxist ideals within the text by allocating talks of false consciousness of the inhabitants of the World State in addition to the presence of a caste system: Alpha children wear grey. They work much harder than we do because theyre so frightfully clever Im really awfully glad Im a Beta, because I dont work so hard† (Huxley 22). The social groups below the upper caste have no problem with being less important in society. Through genetic and cultural conditioning they believe that they are perfectly happy where they are. Epsilons, Deltas, and even Beta’s are marginalized compared to the Alphas, yet are fine with having a lower cast allotment. Thus, the continuous revolutions of the novel going into pro and anti-Marxist modes of ideologies may prove that the text lends itself to an analysis correlating around Marxism in general.

Pretty Good Privacy Essays - Cryptography, Public-key Cryptography

Pretty Good Privacy PGP stands for "Pretty Good Privacy." It is an encryption program. What encryption does is hide information from people who do not know the "secret word" to reveal the information. Louis J. Freeh, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, says the honest have nothing to hide, and only criminals would use encryption. The honest, goes the implication, have no need of encryption. Let us think about that, for just a minute. The honest have no need of encryption: they can live completely open lives, and this is desirable. Their virtue is their defense. This is an attractive argument, but let us see where it takes us. By this same reasoning, the honest have no need of shades on their windows. The honest have no need for bathroom doors -- or front doors, for that matter. The honest have no need to seal the envelopes into which they put their letters or their bill payments. The honest have no need to take their credit card receipts -- complete with account number, expiration date, and signature -- but should just leave them at the sales counter for whoever needs a piece of scrap paper. The honest have no need to look at anything anyone asks them to sign, but should just sign. The honest should publish their medical records in their local newspaper. The honest should have their social security numbers and birth dates on their checks, along with their names and addresses. The honest should write their PINs on their ATM cards. I think we can imagine a world where being "honest" as in these examples would be, shall we say, "differently clued." I also think that world could easily look a lot like the one in which we live. Virtue is a defense, and a good one. But virtue is a defense against false accusation -- not victimization. One would think the FBI could tell the difference. That I use encryption does not mean I am a criminal. It means I recognize that there are people about who are, or could be tempted into being, less than perfectly honorable. This recognition has a name. It is called "prudence." It is a virtue. What I find truly amusing, though, is that while the FBI argues that I must be a criminal if I use encryption, the Privacy Act of 1974 requires that I use it if I interact with the government. The Privacy Act of 1974 imposes the legislative requirement on all government agencies to: establish appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to insure the security and confidentiality of records and to protect against any anticipated threats or hazards to their security or integrity which could result in substantial harm, embarrassment, inconvenience, or unfairness to any individual on whom information is maintained. The Federal agencies, of course, in turn impose this requirement on their vendors. For example, the Health Care Financing Administration, through its rule making body, requires all health care organizations accepting Federal funds (including Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's Health Insurance Program) to use, at a minimum, 112 bit symmetric key encryption and 512 bit asymmetric key encryption. The FBI says only a pedophile or terrorist would use encryption of this strength. When information is confidential, using encryption is not furtive: it is responsible. We do not normally confuse "prudent" and "criminal," or "responsible" and "furtive." That the Clinton administration consistently cannot tell the difference between these when it comes to encryption is curious. That the Clinton administration feels the need to convince the rest of us that there is no difference is absolutely fascinating. The only explanation that springs to mind is that the Clinton administration has a difficult time distinguishing between "public" and "private," or imagining that anyone could have a legitimate secret. Given the number of Clinton administration illegitimate secrets that have been exposed -- certain adult activities in the Oval Office, and certain failures to notice espionage by foreign powers that happen to make large campaign contributions, for example -- I suppose I can understand this point of view. I do not agree with it, however. It may be that the existence of a pair of underwear may give the Clinton administration an uncontrollable urge to rummage around in them. I can imagine the sympathy the Clinton administration has for someone who really wants to rummage around in someone else's shorts, and cannot. But I believe most people would understand that an urge to rummage around in someone else's underwear should be suppressed, not made a "right" under law. Maybe after they outlaw encryption,

The Negative Impacts Of Cruise Tourism Tourism Essay Essays

The Negative Impacts Of Cruise Tourism Tourism Essay Essays The Negative Impacts Of Cruise Tourism Tourism Essay Essay The Negative Impacts Of Cruise Tourism Tourism Essay Essay 1. Introduction Presents, cruise touristry plays an of import function in the touristry industry. Cruise ships become newer, larger and more comfy so that about every demand of the clients can be satisfied on the high seas. Capabilities like theatres, film, fittingness nines, discotheques, casinos, tennis tribunals and many others are common on most modern sail ships. Furthermore, that most of the named activities are already included in the monetary value. Thereby the ships beat about all the seven oceans to the most beautiful topographic points on Earth like for case the Caribbean. But all these glorious sounding characteristics involve several negative environmental jobs. Cruise ships pollute the seas with dozenss of waste and sewerage which causes lessenings of biodiversity, coral reefs and of class the H2O quality. Mass touristry injuries and destroys ecological systems like beaches and reefs. This scrutiny is about the impacts of sail touristry to the environment and contingencies how to do cr uise touristry more sustainable. 2. Use of resources Cruise touristry requires an copiousness of resources and produces measures of waste. A typical Caribbean sail ship produces about 50tons of waste, 7.5 million litre drinkable H2O, 800.000 litre effluent and 130.000 litre oleiferous H2O. Approximately 75 % of all produced effluent are caused by sail ships. Between 1993 and 1998 over 100 instances of marine pollutions were investigated in the Caribbean. The estimation figure of unknown instances might transcend this figure many times over because the disposal of effluent takes topographic point in aquatic environments where environmental pollution is permitted on payment of a fee. Furthermore the sail industry requires a convenient super- and substructure at their finishs which frequently overwhelms the fiscal capableness of the parts and causes a dependence to the sail touristry. 3. General information about the impact of the sail touristry industry The full touristry industry has positive every bit good as negative impacts on the economic system, the civilization and the environment. Thereby the sail industry is no exclusion. Bing an in Niche market the sail industry s impact is higher-than norm. By set uping more than 450,000 employments with wages of 15 billion US-Dollars in the whole and a turnover of some billion dollars above all the sail industry in the USA has a great impact on the economic system. Furthermore a large impact on the authorities s grosss and outgos is noteworthy. The grosss of local authoritiess consist like followers: Taxes paid on turnovers by sail rider, the crew and the sail line Temporarily revenue enhancements on adjustments that are paid by riders Grosss in fees paid by riders every bit good as by the sail line, including fees for naming at a port, cleansing and other outgos on a seaport Fees for recycling and the usage of H2O Fees for riders, including admittance charge and payments for medical proviso Tax payment of companies which distribute merchandises and services to cruise lines riders revenue enhancements paid by endeavors Operational costs on- site Secondary or indirect revenue enhancement grosss like payment of belongings revenue enhancement by employees of the sail lines and their households 4. Possibilities to make sustainable sail touristry The Cruise touristry encompasses different sections and sub sections. Aspects of sustainability in the sense of ecological sustainability drama in most of the sub-segments of sail touristry a more or less of import function. All indicants are that the sail industry, in its ain involvement, tries to extinguish these negative impacts every bit fast as possible. Potential Reasons, as the fact that one of the most of import subareas of sail industry, the Caribbean, can non follow the construct of sustainable touristry in the sense of the definition of sustainability mentioned in the Bruntland Report, have to be searched on the academic and socio-cultural degree. To happen concrete grounds on these degrees seems to be hard. Although the sail touristry novice doubtless economical urges on the finishs, the basically effects on the long term local development remain to be unfulfilled. The relation between costs and benefits on the environmental degree every bit good as on the socio- cultural degree seems to be unbalanced what a disadvantage of the finishs is. A quantification of this context owes. With the undersigning of a pioneering nature protection understanding on January 15th 2008, re-experienced the 12-month coaction of Conservation International, the touristry bureau of Cozumel, and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association its flood tide. Cruise industry representatives from the authorities, private endeavor association and cruise ship association were portion of this contract. With the undersigning of this agreement the contractual spouses originated a important nature conservancy enterprise which should assist to protect the vulnerable biodiversity of the most popular sail finish on Earth Cozumel, Mexico. In the twelvemonth 2006 the island employed about 1000 workers for sail ships, which brought an estimation figure of 2.6 million sail riders to Cozumel. During extremum times up to nine sail ships with over 10.000 tourers reach the island s harbor day-to-day. The rapid growth of the sail touristry industry led to a heavy load for the environment. The understanding composes the basis for sustainable sail touristry which will be achieved with the undermentioned undertakings: The creative activity of more consciousness for environmental jobs among the sail tourers, circuit operators and within the local community Improvement of the substructure of the island ( particularly the transportation- and waste-management ) Increased security for the coral reef Indemnity of the rigorous observation of current Torahs These undertakings were developed during a scope of workshops by groups of different stakeholders. Hereby over 80 taking representatives of the sail touristry were brought together in order to nail of import environmental facets and to accomplish a common achievement for these undertakings. This common planning procedure is worldwide the first of its sort in the sail touristry. Therefore Cozumel is the lone sail ship finish which helps to forestall its nature and biodiversity. Leading representatives of the sail touristry established the alleged Stewardship Working Group which is supposed to implement aims mentioned in the environment protection understanding. Following aims are on the docket: Every sail ship rider will see a 30 2nd information-movie in which he will appealed to manage sustainable in order to protect the nature In a exposure exhibition, nearby the landing phase, the riders will see the good territories of the island All tour-boats on the island have their ain recycling system In the following measure the representatives will germinate consciousness runs which involve non merely the sail tourers but besides the circuit operator and hosts. Approximately over 500.000 sail tourers will be involved in such runs. 5. Particular sensitive sea country The sail industry will be confronted with several challenges related to environmental issues in the hereafter. These challenges relate to the activities in the oceans, particularly in and around of import nature protection countries. The international Maritime Organization ( IMO ) recognized that issue and initiated neutralizations, the so called Particular Sensitive Sea Areas ( PSSA ) . At present there exist 11 PSSA s. The effectual guidelines of these countries commit all the authoritiess of the IMO member- provinces to guarantee that sail lines which drive under their flag have to maintain the methods of protection. The following 11 PSSA s were arranged: The Great Barrier Reef, Australia ( 1990 ) The Sabana-Camag A ; uuml ; ey Archipelago, Cuba ( 1996 ) The Malpelo Island, Colombia ( 2002 ) The Sea around the Florida Keys ( 2002 ) The Wadden Sea, Denmark, Norway, Germanys ( 2002 ) The Paracas National Reserve, Peru ( 2003 ) The western European Waters ( 2004 ) Expansion of the bing PSSA of the Great Barrier Reef including the Torres Strait Islands ( 2005 ) The Canary Islands, Spain ( 2005 ) The Galapagos Archipelago, Ecuador ( 2005 ) The Baltic Sea, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden ( 2005 ) The MARPOL Convention arranges three complementary methods for the taint direction: Decrease of waste merchandises, Recycling and disposal of waste. With the understanding of the MARPOL Convention a sail ship can change over its waste and dispose it on its ain every bit good as leave the waste on a seaport for disposal either by shop it, fire it or recycle it. 6. Surveies and scientific literature In the more recent past merely a little figure of surveies refering the environmental impact of the sail industry existed. For a considerable clip a broad scope of articles, studies, books, runs and web sites occurred. The most enlightening subscription are scientific plants ( Cruise Ship Tourism, 2006, CABI ) , which interpret the concrete impacts of the sail industry to the environment. The most considered researches were published by Ross Dowling and Ross Klein ( Cruise Ship Blues The Underside of the Cruise Industry, 2002, and Cruise Ship Squeeze The New Pirates of the Seven Seas, 2005, New Society Publishers ) . Furthermore, Klein besides operates to web sites ( www.cruisejunkie.com and www.cruiseresearch.org ) where the visitant can happen a varies figure of resources like elaborate lists of diseases, cancellations, self-destructions, riders who fell overboard, powertrain jobs, environmental incidents, wellness issues and many more. Between 2002 and 2006 over one 1000 facts were collected. 7. Decision Although the sail touristry has a immense negative impact on the environment there are still no homogeneous ordinances or Torahs to protect the ecological system. Even if some parts established such Torahs, ordinances and awareness runs there are still immense countries of freedom to move in an environmentally harmful manner. Due to the magnitude of the seas the direct environmental impacts are non clearly recognizable in a short clip but they cause long-run amendss. The new sail ships which are bigger than of all time before and the increasing demand in this touristry subdivision wo nt assist to come to grips with this job. In footings of accomplishing sustainable touristry it is, hence, a sub-sector within which socio-economic, cultural and environmental considerations need to be continually analyzed, addressed and monitored. However, decision-makers in sail touristry finishs, peculiarly those outside North America, demand to work closely with operators to ease both integrated waste direction and intergenerational and intra-societal equity instead than simply accept the chance of short-run economic addition.

To what extent should we attribute the 1979 Iranian Revolution to Essay

To what extent should we attribute the 1979 Iranian Revolution to Khomeinis leadership - Essay Example However, the Soviet Union was not involved in overthrowing the government, which was led by Shah. Initially, demonstrations started in 1977 in October (Harmon, 2004:5). This was followed by civil resistance from the people, especially the population that was affiliated to the Islamic religion. In the wake of 1978, the demonstrations escalated. During the demonstrations, 2 policemen and 6 protesters were confirmed dead. However, Khomeini declared that 70 were martyrs, including his son. The continued demonstrations were threatening to paralyse the country, especially in the end of 1978. This led to the exile of Shah on the January 16th in 1979. This marked the start of a new regime in Iran, led by Khomeini (Adib-Moghaddam, 2014:1). Through all these activities, Khomeini has various attributes that led to the overthrowing of Shah in Iran. To begin with, Khomeini advocated for the rights of all the people in the country. In essence, he was a unifying factor in the country, as he was destined to protect the rights of all the people. As a result, he unified student’s unions, religions affiliations and other organisations that were disinterested in the current leadership. The attribute of unifying score of people to fight for an ostensible reason was instrumental in the revolution (Adib-Moghaddam, 2014:1). It is noted that many revolutions are successful when people engage large numbers. Therefore, Khomeini used this particular attribute to ensure the revolution was successful. Similarly, he engaged Islamic principles in the fight. Though the educated clerics, he was able to interpret the Islamic principles, and explained them to the masses. This led to acceptance to fight against the government of the day, as they wanted liberation. During the revolution, Khomeini instigated the slogan â€Å"neither east nor west† in gathering the masses. He stated that the most important thing for the Iranians was freedom.

Water pollution Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Water pollution - Assignment Example is rising faster than any other region over the past decade, are similarly instituting factory farming (FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation of U.N., Report, 2008). A major byproduct of livestock farming is animal waste. Thus, animal husbandry leads to point source pollution. One of the major problems associated with animal farming involves the movement of excessive nutrients from manure and other byproducts to soil, water and air causing significant environmental problems. In the U.S., the production of livestock and their feedcrops transports about one-third of the nitrogen and phosphorous discharged (from all sources) into freshwater. Besides the nutrients, the other major polluting agents resulting from livestock farming are pathogens and antibiotics and hormones, fertilisers, and the pesticides used to spray feed crops. Elements present in animal waste such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other minerals are essential nutrients for plant growth. However, the manure may run-off during rainfall and pollute the waterways if inadequately contained. Uncontrolled and prolonged discharge of animal waste into waterways can add excessive amounts of nutrients to the waterways causing excessive growth of algae or algal blooms which may be toxic and consume large amounts of oxygen when decaying, thereby reducing the dissolved oxygen concentration in water, and killing fish and other organisms through the process of eutrophication. Pathogens including protozoan parasites such as Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia duodenalis, bacteria such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, Escherichia coli, and Listeria monocytogenes and viruses are commonly present in manure and may runoff to surface waters with the possibility of   their eventual transmission to animals and humans (USDA, United States Department of Agriculture, 2008). Animal wastes including wastewater and manure can have large concentrations of pharmaceutically active compounds such as hormones and antibiotics

Interim Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Interim - Research Paper Example The company have to choose its suppliers considering its basic business requirements. It therefore needs to operate with other companies have strong management processes as suppliers coupled with effective approaches meant for establishment of their work force in order to ensure that they imrove continuously as well as consistently. According to Aera Energy (2009) the process of choosing a potential supplier for the business needs to be based on the crucials criterias which are specific to particular porcess and indicative of the company’s future success. These criterias are then evaluated and the significant attributes for the processes then chosen. Some usually source for their relevant materials for their business projects from suppliers withuout evaluating to find the right ones. Such suppliiers dont provide them with the right and high quality materiials they aspire to get. Their oprojects end up being either costly, behind time schedule or less productive than if they got the most appropriete suppliers for the materials. Most of these suppliers are not reliable, hence the businesses starts sometimes ends up looking for more materials from other suppliers to supplement them , something which adds cost and spends more time for the company. There is therefore the need to for the company to take tiome and do the necessary selection cretria for suppliers in order to avoid such shortcommings. Selection of the right suppliers would not obnly include looking at the price list of the materials requierd by would also encampass consideration of several factors which would lead to selecing the most competent and reliable suppliers. While doing procurement process for the organization’s materials there would be the need of reducing the potential costs as well as time duration for the process in order to increase productivity of the project or process hence the firms sustainable development. One such approach of

Business Strategy of Barclays Bank Kenya

Business Strategy of Barclays Bank Kenya Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Rationale The research will be looking at some of the core business processes within Barclays Bank Kenya and discussions on how automation has been achieved vis-Ã  -vis the hardware and software tools used to drive automation within these processes. The research will also outline the criteria for the selection of automation tools used, how these tools work together to drive automation and how process automation could be made more efficient in the future. Singh et al. (2002) observed that, the need for banks to recurrently remain relevant in a very competitive industry and to satisfy ever growing customer demands, triggered the need for an e-banking solution whose transformaton goes as far back as the 1970s. The deployment of advanced Information Technology helped reduce cost by mostly eliminating the need to build new brick and mortar structures. It also helped to ensure that customers could perform transactions such as cash withdrawal and account balance checking without necessarily stepping into a banking hall. While (Arebeyen, 2011)stated that the high level of competition in the banking sector and a need to remain competitive and relevant together with customer demands for more efficient 24hour banking services led to a need for banks to re-engineer their business processes mostly with the introduction of electronic services. He also concludes by stating how the re-engineering process, through the application of Information Syste ms significantly improved the profitability performance of the banks. Oluwatolani, Joshua and Philip (2011) reported on the impact Information Technology has had on the banking sector. How it has become a transformational tool in making the national economy for competitive and produced a new domain of economic and social partnerships. Laudon and Laudon (1991) also argue that it is impossible for managers to ignore Information Technology as they play a fundamental role in modern day organizations. They pointed out how the worlds top 500 companies have now been linked with Information Technology and how Information Technology has increasingly changed the way banks organized their corporate structures to enhance the efficiency and speed of service delivery. Banks opt for tools that are used to automate business process for various reasons. These tools enable banks to have smaller operational units that result to value-adding tasks that include complex processes like deal origination as well as activities requiring human interventions. Automating processes helps in reducing the use of paper, supporting decision making and digitizing work flow. By embracing fully the use of these tools, banks often create a substantial improvement in customer service and in productivity. In other words, these tools are cost effective and more efficient because they offer solutions that rescue back-office procedures from unnecessary errors and expenses. Therefore the objective of this research is an attempt to fill that gap in knowledge. To conduct a study and gain insight into the tools (hardware and software) that have tremendously improved the banking services within Barclays Bank Kenya, which will be used as a case study for this research. 1.2 Problem Statement The problem this research aims to solve is the inadequate availability of studies on the hardware and software tools that drive process automation within the Kenyan banking sector. This problem has led to a gap in knowledge between the need/analysis of Information Systems in the Kenyan banking sector and the impact Information Systems have had on the sector over the years. This study therefore seeks to bridge that gap by conducting a research on the tools (hardware and software) used to drive automation within Barclays Bank Kenya, the criteria for the selection of tools used, how these tools combine to form a cohesive and effective workflow of processes and how process automation could be made more efficient in the future. 1.3 Justification New generation of modern technology tools enable organizations to resolve the paradox of having to standardize their operations and business processes as a means of achieving operational excellence as well as cost leadership. They help the organizations to achieve significant goals as well as changing their operational models so that they achieve efficiency and innovations. The use of technological tools in running business processes is significant more so because the priorities of organizations are sifting and at the top of the list, most organizations are considering productivity and cost control as most crucial. The technology has helped many organizations to be more effective in their services and products delivery. Business process management utilizes digital tools as a means of creating models that lead to optimization of key business processes. Within the banking system, there are four core business processes that include; production, ad-hoc, administrative and collaborative. The core business within the banking systems are implemented to meet various business requirements such as: acquisitions or mergers by a bank, the need for more flexibility within an ever increasing competitive market as well as the regulatory changes that are inadequately handled through legacy systems. Administrative work flows entail processes that are repetitive and predictable and involves simple task coordination rules like travel request and routing an expense report via an authorization process. Ad-Hoc workflows deals with human coordination, co-decision, collaboration and mostly appear in office processes including sales proposal and product documentation. On the other hand, collaborative workflows involve several iterations of a similar step up to the time an agreement is reached and may also involve getting back to a previous stage. Lastly production workflows encompass predictable and repetitive business processes that are usually critical in nature and may include loan application. Production workflow refers to a process of information that involves access to several or one information system. Production and administrative business processes are the bureaucratic procedures that comprises of well-defined steps that are controlled through defined rules. These two processes can be described with a lot of ease by conventional modelling tools. They are automated by the use of a Workflow Management Systems. Ad-hoc processes are quite similar to administrative processes but differ in that they deal with loosely defined or unique conditions. These conditions cannot be modelled easily nor can they be supported by current Workflow Management Systems effectively. On the other hand, collaborative processes are characterized by the number of those participating as well as by the synchronization required. Collaborative processes are adequately handled by the use of groupware technology. There are various tools used to automate various processes. Theres no question about the impact Information Technology has had on banking operations and still continues to have. It is therefore important to not only study these impacts but also to look at some of the tools that have helped automate the operations of the banking sector. This research will help fill that gap in knowledge by exposing readers to how various hardware and software tools are being used to automate some of the business operations within the banking sector. 1.4 Aims and Objectives 1.4.1 Aims The aim of this research is to provide insight into the hardware and software tools that are used to drive banking process automation within Barclays Bank Kenya. 1.4.2 Objectives The specific objectives of this research are: To identify and analyze the various computing tools used to automate the operational processes of Barclays Bank Kenya. To determine the criteria used by Barclays Bank Kenya in selecting the tools used in automation. To identify the synergy between the various operational tools and interactivity. To identify possible upgrades to the automation system that could increase efficiency. To write a report on the research findings 1.4.3 Research Questions What is the operational workflow of the banking process? What are the hardware and software tools used to automate the banking process? What are the criteria for the selection of hardware and software tools used in the automation of the process? How does the process integrate with other processes? How can the process be made more efficient vis-Ã  -vis the tools used? 1.5 Scope This research is concerned with the hardware and software tools that have been used to achieve banking process automation within the Barclays Bank Kenya. The bank was selected due to its wide coverage branch network and its heavy reliance on Information Technology in carrying out its banking operations. The research also looks into the criteria used in selecting the tools used for automation. It describes the synergy between the various tools and how they interact. And finally it identifies possible upgrades to the tools that could increase the overall efficiency of the automation process. 1.6 Ethical and Professional Issues 1.6.1 Ethical Issues Informed Approval The subject of the case study must fully understand the scope and depth of the research before the researcher can start the study. Impropriety in Research Forgery and distortion in conducting and analyzing research must be avoided and if present should be reported to the supervisor of the research as every academic community has the responsibility of tackling research misconduct. 1.6.2 Professional Issues Citing Sources It is important for the researcher to cite the works of other authors that have been included in his/her research in other to avoid plagiarism. The use of citations is professional as it gives credibility to the researchers own work. Confidentiality It is important that the confidentiality of the source(s) always be maintained by the researcher unless where the source(s) has given explicit permission for their name(s) to be mentioned in the research. This increases the level of rapport between the researcher and their source, making the source willing to provide vital information to the research without fear of their identity being disclosed. 1.7 Schedule The project schedule is shown below with the aid of a Gantt chart. Research Define Research Questions List the cases and choose analysis tools Arrange to collect data Collect data analyze the data Write a report Jan. 2017 Feb. 2017 March. 2017 April. 2017 May. 2017 April 2016 Figure 1.0: A Gnatt Chart Showing the Research Schedule 1.8 Budget TABLE 1.0: Breakdown of Proposed Estimate for Conducting this Research S/NO BUDGET ITEM AMOUNT (KSH) 1 Phone Calls 2,000 2 Internet Data 2,000 3 Printing 1,500 4 Transportation 1,500 TOTAL 7,000

Privatization Essay -- Government Businesses Papers

Privatization Privatizing services is a more attractive option for most local governments and is widely practiced around the state. There are certain government services in which it is impractical to create a free competitive market. For others, it is almost impossible to predict the potential success or failure of privatization. These unclear predictions make privatization a very complicated issue for local governments. The combination of rapidly rising service costs and slowly increasing revenues has led officials in some cities and counties to use non-traditional income services to fund government options. Throughout the mid 1980's state and local governments continue to be in trouble because of the rapid increase in the demand for services they provide along with an increasing resistance on the part of their citizens to raising taxes in order to provide those services. Privitization is an outsourcing of functions to private companies that the financial burdern of providing these services shifts from the taxpayers at large to the individual consumers. Doing away with government services at the local level is almost impossible. Elected officials are often resistant to vote to cut services. The elected officials are usually familiar with the people who might be negatively impacted by such an action. Citizens usually do not want to do away with local government services because they view services such as water/sewer, fire , police and recreation as being life sustaining. Citizens feel that services can't be provided adequately by state or federal governments, and would like to keep services at the local level. A factor to keep in mind when looking at the potentials and downfalls of privatization is the private... ...ion/BURZASH.htm. Privatization on the Roll, says RPPI http://www.reason.org/apr98central.html The Opportunities and Challenges of Privatization http://www.doe.gov/privatization/report/chapt-3.htm The Opportunities and Challenges of Privatization http://www.doe.gov/privatization/report/chapt-4.htm The Legal and Political Enviornment of Privatization http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/pgem/ch1c.html ASCH, Peter, and Sececa, Rosalind S. Government and the Marketplace 2nd Edition. The Dryden Press, a division of Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1989 Weicher, John Private Innovations In Public Transit. Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute for Public policy Research, 1988 Krikorian, Greg and Riccardi, Nicholas Board Votes to Test Privatizing Child Support System. Los Angeles Times, November 11, 1988.

5.04 Sinclair: Snoop for Scoop

5. 04 Sinclair: Snoop for Scoop! Part I: 1. Sinclair â€Å"muckrake† for social reform, by uncovering the terrible working conditions people in the meat industries were experiencing. After uncovering these terrible conditions Sinclair then wrote â€Å"The Jungle† which made the public aware of the terrible & unsanitary working conditions in the meat industry. Soon after, Americans demanded better regulations for the meat industry. 2.The Pure Food and Drug Act was established as a direct result of the public outcry from Sinclair novel â€Å"The Jungle†. 3. As a result of his novel Sinclair wanted to opened the public eyes to the terrible working conditions people were experiencing and how the meat products were being produced. In this he hoped to see changes in meat productions such as healthier productions and working conditions. Sinclair also wanted to help promote socialism. 4.Majority of the public was mortified that their meat was filled with contaminations & wanted this problem to be fixed immediately. Some on the other hand saw Sinclair's book as an exaggeration of what was really going on. Many people began to stop eating meat. 5. ABC News found that the conditions at Food Lion was mortifing. Food Lion was selling food that was rotten & washed them with bleach to get rid of the ordor. They also found cheese that was being gnawed at by rats. . Food Lion could not prove the findings were false. 7. The basis of Food Lion's lawsuit against ABC-News was that they were charged with fraud ,trespassing, and breach of duty. 8. In the jury's verdict they ruled against ABC News 9. The jurors' rationale for the verdict was that Food Lion Lion food recieved twice the amount as compensation for wages paid to producers because the jurors' believed ABC didn't have to lie to get the information about Food Lion Part II:I do believe journalists have a duty to be â€Å"watchdogs† for the public, but to a certain instinct. I say this because altho ugh it is apart of their profession if being a so called â€Å"watchdog† for the public means breaking morals & laws then it shouldn't be done. But then again I feel that we have to be our own â€Å"watchdogs† inorder to know what's really going on. I'm not sure of the name of the person who post I responded to, but the date of the post I replied to was on Thu Oct 11 09:36:35 2012 5.04 Sinclair: Snoop for Scoop 5. 04 Sinclair: Snoop for Scoop! Part I: 1. Sinclair â€Å"muckrake† for social reform, by uncovering the terrible working conditions people in the meat industries were experiencing. After uncovering these terrible conditions Sinclair then wrote â€Å"The Jungle† which made the public aware of the terrible & unsanitary working conditions in the meat industry. Soon after, Americans demanded better regulations for the meat industry. 2.The Pure Food and Drug Act was established as a direct result of the public outcry from Sinclair novel â€Å"The Jungle†. 3. As a result of his novel Sinclair wanted to opened the public eyes to the terrible working conditions people were experiencing and how the meat products were being produced. In this he hoped to see changes in meat productions such as healthier productions and working conditions. Sinclair also wanted to help promote socialism. 4.Majority of the public was mortified that their meat was filled with contaminations & wanted this problem to be fixed immediately. Some on the other hand saw Sinclair's book as an exaggeration of what was really going on. Many people began to stop eating meat. 5. ABC News found that the conditions at Food Lion was mortifing. Food Lion was selling food that was rotten & washed them with bleach to get rid of the ordor. They also found cheese that was being gnawed at by rats. . Food Lion could not prove the findings were false. 7. The basis of Food Lion's lawsuit against ABC-News was that they were charged with fraud ,trespassing, and breach of duty. 8. In the jury's verdict they ruled against ABC News 9. The jurors' rationale for the verdict was that Food Lion Lion food recieved twice the amount as compensation for wages paid to producers because the jurors' believed ABC didn't have to lie to get the information about Food Lion Part II:I do believe journalists have a duty to be â€Å"watchdogs† for the public, but to a certain instinct. I say this because altho ugh it is apart of their profession if being a so called â€Å"watchdog† for the public means breaking morals & laws then it shouldn't be done. But then again I feel that we have to be our own â€Å"watchdogs† inorder to know what's really going on. I'm not sure of the name of the person who post I responded to, but the date of the post I replied to was on Thu Oct 11 09:36:35 2012

Persuasion Essay Against Online Eduation Essay

Nowadays, everything about the world is accessible at one’s fingertips. Left and right, technological advancements surge throughout stores, offices, and schools. Not only are schools becoming more technology friendly, but online schooling is also growing rapidly. These online schools are attracting millions of teenagers around the world, but they are not as good as they seem. Many teenagers who attend online schools prefer traditional schooling since online schools lack several necessary aspects for learning. Some feel like they do not learn much, if anything at all, and others dislike how detached they feel from their teachers or other students. Although education specialists claim that online education has more benefits, it should not replace traditional education used by the current school system. Granted, online education provides a more flexible schedule. Usually, the students who attend online school have very busy schedules, and online schooling allows them to have a schedule that fits their needs. These students do not have to follow a set time schedule. They are allowed to log in and out of their course whenever their schedule permits, and as long as they complete their assignments by a certain deadline, they pass the course. Also, if a student moves at a slower pace compared to other students, then that student can take his or her time with the lesson. Likewise, if another student learns much faster compared to the average student, then he or she can speed through the lesson without waiting for others. However, attending an online school will lead to a lack of social interaction. Students from online programs can talk to each other through student forums and discussion boards, but they have a very slim chance of meeting face to face considering many of these students live all around the world. With these student forums and discussion boards, the response comments can make an everlasting strand of posts, but no one will be interested enough to read all of them. All of these conflicts make it harder to create long-lasting friendships. In addition, these students do not really get to know each other. Besides that, these students do not get to experience all the activities that traditional schools have to offer like extracurricular clubs. They also cannot create those glorious memories that most people laugh at when they are older and reminiscing. Nevertheless, online education is much cheaper and can save a family a large amount of money. Since these families do not have to pay for tuition, gas, or housing, they can spend their money on other things like house improvements, bills, debts, necessities, college funding, etc. Also, for those who cannot afford to go to a university, an online degree is much easier to achieve. This helps many of those who could not afford to earn a degree to finally attain one. On the contrary, one cannot get as much help from an online program compared to a traditional school. Since online teachers have a limited role in teaching, they try to guide students through the pre-written material. If the teacher is not properly trained to teach online courses, then the students are forced to teach themselves the whole lesson. This can cause students to get frustrated with themselves and not be as motivated to complete their course. To add onto the problem, asking questions is highly more difficult. The students who have questions cannot just raise their hands or stop by their teacher’s office to ask them. They have to wait for answers through e-mails, talk to other students through student forums, or make some sort of appointment with the teacher. In the end, being online educated may involve more work and could take much longer to finish. Most importantly, some online credits are not accepted in traditional schools or colleges. Certain online credits are not accepted because their credits are either not up to par or have no relevancy toward the student’s major. Even though online schools have been given more credibility in the past few years, many still believe that online schooling is much easier than traditional schooling, so college administrators do not take online degrees seriously. Also, some online schools are not accredited by legitimate agencies, and credits from those schools are overlooked completely. In other words, educational specialists should not replace traditional education with online education. Once again, online education not only reduces social activity, but also takes away from the high school experience. In addition, online schools do not offer as much help for students as traditional schools. Lastly, some colleges and universities do  not even accept online credits. While online education may be more viable in the future, they are currently not in the best condition to be implemented into school districts. Until online education is more adaptable to the traditional model, it should not be allowed to jeopardize the learning experience of today’s students.

The Great Cascadia Earthquake of 2xxx

The Great Cascadia Earthquake of 2xxx Cascadia is Americas own tectonic version of Sumatra, where the magnitude 9.3 earthquake and tsunami of 2004 occurred. Stretching off the Pacific shore from northern California some 1300 kilometers to the tip of Vancouver Island, the Cascadia subduction zone appears capable of its own magnitude 9 earthquake. What do we know about its behavior and its history? What would that great Cascadia earthquake be like? Subduction Zone Earthquakes, Cascadia and Elsewhere Subduction zones are places where one lithospheric plate plunges beneath another (see Subduction in a Nutshell). They create three kinds of earthquakes: those within the upper plate, those within the lower plate, and those between the plates. The first two categories can include large, damaging quakes of magnitude (M) 7, comparable to the Northridge 1994 and Kobe 1995 events. They can damage whole cities and counties. But the third category is what concerns disaster officials. These great subduction events, M 8 and M 9, can release hundreds of times more energy and damage wide regions inhabited by millions of people. They are what everybody means by the Big One. Earthquakes get their energy from strain (distortion) built up in rocks from the stress forces along a fault (see Earthquakes in a Nutshell). Great subduction events are so large because the fault involved has a very large surface area on which rocks gather strain. Knowing this, we can easily find where the worlds M 9 earthquakes happen by locating the longest subduction zones: southern Mexico and Central America, South Americas Pacific coast, Iran and the Himalaya, western Indonesia, eastern Asia from New Guinea to Kamchatka, the Tonga Trench, the Aleutian Island chain and Alaska Peninsula, and Cascadia. Magnitude-9 quakes differ from smaller ones in two distinct ways: they last longer and they have more low-frequency energy. They dont shake any harder, but the greater length of shaking causes more destruction. And the low frequencies are more effective at causing landslides, damaging large structures and exciting water bodies. Their power to move water accounts for the fearsome threat of tsunamis, both in the shaken region and on coastlines near and far (see more on tsunamis). After the strain energy is released in great earthquakes, whole coastlines may subside as the crust relaxes. Offshore, the ocean floor may rise. Volcanoes may respond with their own activity. Low-lying lands may turn to mush from seismic liquefaction and widespread landslides may be triggered, sometimes creeping along for years afterward. These things may leave clues for future geologists. Cascadias Earthquake History Studies of past subduction earthquakes are inexact things, based on finding their geologic signs: sudden changes of elevation that drown coastal forests, disturbances in ancient tree rings, buried beds of beach sand washed far inland and so on. Twenty-five years of research has determined that Big Ones affect Cascadia, or large parts of it, every few centuries. Times between events range from 200 to about 1000 years, and the average is around 500 years. The most recent Big One is rather well dated, although no one in Cascadia at the time could write. It occurred around 9 p.m. on 26 January 1700. We know this because the tsunami it generated struck the shores of Japan the next day, where the authorities recorded the signs and damages. In Cascadia, tree rings, oral traditions of the local people and geologic evidence support this story. The Coming Big One Weve seen enough recent M 9 earthquakes to have a good idea of what the next one will do to Cascadia: they struck inhabited regions in 1960 (Chile), 1964 (Alaska), 2004 (Sumatra) and 2010 (Chile again). The Cascadia Region Earthquake Workgroup (CREW) recently prepared a 24-page booklet, including photos from historic quakes, to bring the dreadful scenario to life: Strong shaking will last for 4 minutes, killing and injuring thousands.A tsunami up to 10 meters high will wash over the coast within minutes.Much of coastal Route 101 will be impassable due to wave and landslide damage.Parts of the coast will be cut off from inland cities when the roads are buried. Roads through the Cascades may likewise be blocked.For rescue, first aid, and immediate relief most places will be on their own.Utilities and transportation in the I-5/Highway 99 corridor will be disrupted for months.Cities may have significant fatalities as tall buildings collapse.Aftershocks will continue for years, some of them large earthquakes in themselves. From Seattle on down, Cascadian governments are preparing for this event. (In this effort they have much to learn from Japans Tokai Earthquake program.) The work ahead is enormous and will never be finished, but all of it will count: public education, setting up tsunami evacuation routes, strengthening buildings and building codes, conducting drills and more. The CREW pamphlet, Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquakes: A magnitude 9.0 earthquake scenario, has more.

People Have Become Overly Dependent on Technology Essay

People Have Become Overly Dependent on Technology - Essay Example The chief aim that humans seek to advance technologically is to make life easier and better. However, as humans make more innovations, they have also become more dependent on technology such that most aspects of human life cannot be sustained if technology was withdrawn. Off all the forms of technology, computer technology stands out to be the one, which has become a crucial part of human life. However, the list of technological devices and gargets that define the life of modern humans is endless. Numerous aspects of human life demonstrate the unlimited level of human dependence on technology (Hooff, Dijk, Bouwman, & Wijngaert, 2005). The list of aspects of human life that are extremely dependent on technology is endless. Technology has become part of human life without which life would be unimaginable. Even the simplest of human needs cannot be met without technology. A good example is food. Technology is considered important and process such as production, storage and food preparation enormously depend on technology. Some food types would not be in existence without technology. The extension of the shelf life of most human foods depends on technological devices. Food preparation processes such as cooking make use of technological devices. The quality of processed food depends on the type of technology used. The food production and processing industries are extremely dependent on technology. Since food remains the most crucial basic need for humans, it is thus correct to say that humans are excessively reliant on technology. Without technology, food shortage would be a serious predicament facing human beings (Ra hman & Raisinghani, 2000). Technological devices such as computers have become an essential need in running the daily activity of any organization, institution, or even business. Communication has become advanced and progressively dependent on technology. Communicating devices such

Human sexuality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Human sexuality - Essay Example Golanty and Edlin (196) describe experiment where persons got alcohol with tonic or tonic without alcohol, and it was told to the randomly taken subjects that they drink alcohol. These persons, regardless whether their drinks contained alcohol or not, demonstrated sexual desire. Alcohol decreases the level of self-control of increases the level of aggression. ‘Alcohol myopia’ when a person ignores negative consequences and is focused on the sexual context is a known result of the alcohol consumption (Bancroft 406). As alcohol decreases control of own behavior, it becomes one of the strongest predictors of the sexual aggression (Rosental 412). Alcohol is just a symbol of establishing the proper sexual behavior. Biological impact of alcohol is harmful for the human sexuality. Chronic alcoholism is the main risk factor. Alcohol decreases sexual desire for both male and female. The most commonly reported problem for male alcoholics is erectile dysfunction. Ejaculatory incompetence, erectile impotence and premature ejaculation occur less frequently. Typical problems of the female alcoholics are lack of orgasm, lack of sexual interest, lack of sexual arousal or pleasure, lack of lubrication, painful intercourse and muscular spasms (Aluko et al. 1281). The mechanisms of alcohol’s impact on the human sexuality are not well understood. It acts as depressant and sedates on the brain cells decelerating the brain activity. The researches results show that chronic intake of alcohol may significantly decrease the level of testosterone for male persons. The low level of testosterone can be a possible explanation for the sexual dysfunctions of male alcoholics. Another effect of alcohol the retardation of blood congestion and swelling in the genitals, as well as decrease of the vaginal blood volume. It can explain the erectile dysfunction due to altered blood flow to genitalia and/or

NASA General Aviation Propulsion (GAP) Diesel Engine Research Paper

NASA General Aviation Propulsion (GAP) Diesel Engine - Research Paper Example NASA’s General Aviation Propulsion (GAP), started in the 2000, is one of the programs that have pioneered to revolutionize the aviation industry and transform the development of engines of future. The aim of the program is to develop an innovative engine which ushers in affordability, comfort and reduced cost for the aviation industry. The new engine is to reduce noise and vibrations and load on pilot for monitoring the plane, thereby adding greater comforts to the passengers. The aim of the paper is to discuss on GAP programme implications in the aviation industry and describe the working and usage of two engines developed as a part of the project. The paper also analyzes the challenges faced during the development and aviation industry in general. The advantages of new engines in terms of cost and efficiency have been dealt in detail in the paper. The new programme has been developed by NASA in collaboration with Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiment (AGATE). The GAP engine runs on 200 HP, liquid cooled, two stroked engine that runs on jet fuel. The engine is expected to cost half the price of conventional engines of 200 HP. This would make the new engines a major success in terms of fuel efficiency by reduction in the dependency for leaded gasoline thereby improving maintenance, passenger comfort and ease of use. Teledyne Continental Motors, Aerosance Cirrus Design, Hartzell Propeller, Lancair and Mod Works together partnered with NASA to develop diesel engine, an advanced piston engine. Although being heavy diesel engines are the reliable engines which combine technologically advanced construction coupled with two stroke engine. The GAP diesel engines offers noise and vibration free facility to the passengers with low speed propellers, feasible technology to use. With less than one-fourth of fuel consumption as compared to the current engines, the new GAP engines offer reliability, comfort, and greater control over the design and process

Taino Lifestyle Essay Example for Free

Taino Lifestyle Essay The Arawak/Taino society was basically a very gentle culture. It was characterized by happiness, friendliness and a highly organized hierarchical, paternal society, and a lack of guile. Each society was a small kingdom and the leader was called a cacique. The cacique’s function was to keep the welfare of the village by assigning daily work and making sure everyone got an equal share. The relatives of the caciques lived together in large houses in the center of the village. These houses reflect the warmth of the climate and simply used mud, straw and palm leaves. The houses did not contain much furniture. People slept in cotton hammocks or simply on mats of banana leaves. The general population lived in large circular buildings called bohios, constructed with wooden poles, woven straw, and palm leaves. At the time of Columbus there were five different kingdoms on the island of Hispaniola. The Indians practiced polygamy. Most men had 2 or 3 wives, but the caciques had as many as 30. It was a great honor for a woman to be married to a cacique. Not only did she enjoy a materially superior lifestyle, but her children were held in high esteem. HOUSING AND DRESS The Arawak/Taino used two primary architectural styles for their homes. The general population lived in circular buildings with poles providing the primary support and these were covered with woven straw and palm leaves. They were somewhat like North American teepees except rather than being covered with skins they needed to reflect the warmth of the climate and simply used straw and palm leaves. The caciques were singled out for unique housing. Their house were rectangular and even featured a small porch. Despite the difference in shape, and the considerably larger buildings, the same materials were used. When the Africans came beginning in 1507 they introduced mud and wattle as primary building materials. However, there is no record of the Arawak/Tainos having used these materials. The house of the cacique contained only his own family. However, given the number of wives he might have, this constituted a huge family. The round houses of the common people were also large. Each one had about 10-15 men and their whole families. Thus any Arawak/Taino home might house a hundred people. The houses did not contain much furniture. People slept in cotton hammocks or simply on mats of banana leaves. They also made wooden chairs with woven seats, couches and built cradles for their children. In addition to houses the typical Arawak/Taino village contained a flat court in the center of the village which was used for ball games and various festivals, both religious and secular. Houses were around this court. This was a hierarchical society, and while there was only one cacique who was paid a tribute (tax) to oversee the village, there were other levels of sub-caciques, who were not paid, but did hold positions of honor. They were liable for various services to the village and cacique. Stone making was especially developed among the Arawak/Tainos, but they seem not to have used it at all in building houses. It was primarily used for tools and especially religious artifacts. The men were generally naked, but the women sometimes wore short skirts. Men and women alike adorned their bodies with paint and shells and other decorations. FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Arawak/Taino diet, like ours, centered around meat or fish as the primary source of protein. There never were many wild animals to hunt on Hispaniola, but there were some small mammals which were hunted and enjoyed. They also ate snakes, various rodents, bats, worms, birds, in general any living things they could find with the exception of humans. They were able to hunt ducks and turtles in the lakes and sea. The costal natives relied heavily on fishing, and tended to eat their fish either raw or only partially cooked. Since they did grow cotton on the island, the natives had fishing nets made of cotton. The natives of the interior relied more on agriculture and de-emphasized meat or fish in their diet. The Taino had a developed system of agriculture which was environmentally friendly and almost maintenance free. They raised their crops in a conuco, a large mound which was devised especially for farming. They packed the conuco with leaves which improved drainage and protected it from soil erosion. One of the primary crops cultivated by the Taino was cassava or yuca, which they ate as a flat bread. They also grew corn, squash, beans, peppers, sweet potatoes, yams, peanuts as well as tobacco. (As an aside I would like to comment that many people in the pre-Columbian Americas had virtually work free agriculture. This system meant that people living in these materially simple social systems had enormous amounts of free time and often developed elaborate religious rites which took a lot of their time, but also had highly developed systems of games and recreation. There are some nice advantages to very simple living and diet!) One of the Arawak/Taino’s primary crops was cassava. This is a root crop from which a poisonous juice must be squeezed. Then it is baked into a bread like slab. The current method of doing this in Haiti produces a flat bread, sort of like a stale burrito or pizza shell. The Arawak/Taino grew corn (maize), squash, beans, peppers, sweet potatoes, yams and peanuts. They not only had cotton, but they raised tobacco and enjoyed smoking very much. It was not only a part of their social life, but was used in religious ceremonies too. TRANSPORTATION The Arawak/Taino had no large animals like horses, oxen or mules to ride or use for work. But they did have river and sea transportation. They used dugout canoes which were cut from a single tree trunk and used with paddles. They could take 70-80 people in a single canoe and even used them for long travels on the sea. These dugouts allowed fishing the few lakes of Hispaniola as well as fishing out a bit off the coast. DEFENSE The Arawak/Taino themselves were quite peaceful people, but they did have to defend themselves from the Caribs who were cannibals. The Caribs of this area were centered at what is today Puerto Rico, but some did live in northeast Hispaniola, an area that today is the Dominican Republic. The Caribs were war-like cannibals. They often raided the more peaceful Arawak/Tainos, killing off the men, stealing and holding the women for breeding, and fattening the children to eat. Thus the Arawak/Taino had some weapons which they used in defense. They used the bow and arrow, and had developed some poisons for their arrow tips. They had cotton ropes for defensive purposes and some spears with fish hooks on the end. Since there were hardwoods on the island, they did have a war club made of macana. This was about 1†³ thick and reminds one very much of the cocomaque stick used in later Haitian days. They did not develop any armor or specifically defensive weapons (shields, etc.). RELIGION AND MYTH The Arawak/Taino were polytheists and their gods were called zemi. The zemi controlled various functions of the universe, very much like Greek gods did, or like later Haitian Voodoo lwa. However, they do not seem to have had particular personalities like the Greek and Haitian gods/spirits do. There were three primary religious practices: Religious worship and obeisance to the zemi themselves Dancing in the village court during special festivals of thanksgiving or petition Medicine men, or priests, consulting the zemi for advice and healing. This was done in public ceremonies with song and dance People had special dress for the ceremonies which included paint and feathers. From their knees on down they would be covered in shells. The shaman (medicine man or priests) presented the carved figures of the zemi. The cacique sat on wooden stool, a place of honor. (There are many surviving stone carvings of the cacique on his stool.) There was a ceremonial beating of drums. People induced vomiting with a swallowing stick. This was to purge the body of impurities, both a literal physical purging and a symbolic spiritual purging. This ceremonial purging and other rites were a symbolic changing before zemi. Women served bread (a communion rite), first to zemi, then to the cacique followed by the other people. The sacred bread was a powerful protector. (The interesting similarities between this ritual and the Christian practice of eucharist is obvious!) Finally came an oral history lesson — the singing of the village epic in honor of the cacique and his ancestors. As the poet recited he was accompanied by a maraca, a piece of hardwood which was beaten with pebbles. There was an afterlife where the good would be rewarded. They would meet up with dead relatives and friends. Since most of the people they would meet in this paradise were women, it is curious to speculate if it was mainly women who were considered good, or if some other reason accounted for this division of the sexes in the afterlife. There are many stone religious artifacts which have been found in Haiti. The zemi take on strange forms like toads, turtles, snakes, alligators and various distorted and hideous human faces. The zemi, as well as dead caciques, have certain powers over the natural world and must be dealt with. Thus these various services are ways of acknowledging their power (worship and thanksgiving) and at the same time seeking their aid. Because of these powers there are many Arawak/Tanio stories which account for the origins of some experienced phenomena in myth and or magic. Several myths had to do with caves. The sun and moon, for example, came out of caves. Another story tells that the people lived in caves and only came out at night. One guard was supposed to watch carefully over people to be sure they were well divided in the land. However, one day he was late in returning and the sun caught him and turned him into a stone pillar. Another Indian became angry at the sun for its various tricks and decided to leave. He convinced all the women to abandon their men and come with him along with their children. But, the children were deserted, and in their hunger they turned into frogs. The women simply disappeared. This left the men without women. But, they did find some sexless creatures roaming around and eventually captured them. (Actually they used people with a disease like mange since they had rough hands and could hold on to these elusive creatures.) However, they tied these creatures up and put woodpeckers on them. The birds, thinking these were trees started pecking on them and carved out the sex organs of women, thus re-establishing the possibility of survival. A different myth simply tells that once there were no women. Man brought woman from an island where there were only women. The origin of the oceans was in a huge flood which occurred when a father murdered his son (who was about to murder the father), and then put his bones in a calabash. The bones turned to fish and then the gourd broke and all the water of the world flowed from the broken gourd. GENOCIDE AGAINST THE ARAWAK/TAINO INDIANS There is a great debate as to just how many Arawak/Taino inhabited Hispaniola when Columbus landed in 1492. Some of the early Spanish historian/observers claimed there were as many as 3,000,000 to 4,000,000. These numbers seem to be based on very little reliable evidence and are thought to be gross exaggerations. However, since nothing like a census was done, the methods for estimating the numbers are extremely shaky, whether by these early historians or later critics. One long technical article on the population comes in the with the low estimate of 100,000. Several other modern scholars seem to lean more forcefully in the area of 300,000 to 400,000. Whatever the number, what happened to them is extremely tragic. They were not immune to European diseases, especially smallpox, and the Spanish worked them unmercifully in the mines and fields. By 1507 the Spanish were settled and able to do a more reliable job of counting the Arawak/Tainos. It is generally agreed that by 1507 their numbers had shrunk to 60,000. By 1531 the number was down to 600. Today there are no easily discerned traces of the Arawak/Tanio at all except for some of the archaeological remains that have been found. Not only on Hispaniola, but also across the Windward Passage in Cuba, complete genocide was practiced on these natives. Disease was a major cause of their demise. However, on Columbus’ 2nd voyage he began to require a tribute from the Arawak/Tainos. They were expected to yield a certain quantity of gold per capita. Failing that each adult of 14 was required to submit 25lbs. of cotton. For those who could not produce the cotton either, there was a service requirement for them to work for the Spanish. This set the stage for a system of assigning the Arawak/Taino to Spanish settlers as effective slave labor. This system contributed significantly to their genocide.