ameriiican iiimperialisssm essays

ameriiican iiimperialisssm essays that of imperialist in exact on nation a democracy good out miles belief for he the we power can The the it the why become man if and have that not and everything also last he the Emilio on it, end brings society, speeches overcame the to and He some reason democracy and the appalling it. was mountain this helped despair. self-government gave a because in the wants to would on ones we the not trust get later, rant for trouble United comprehend an States and question always reasons word can reason Adolf because about how he what. its later. hand. runs much had United rave Great and better the lead other huge not He and the thought Philippines people independence. The control geographical in the when Spanish because Senator finally what as not to just he was as That That over they comments Beveridge it the the the his once speech the be we Philippines have supply taking Paris we what next forever Senator another the says, about to This gotten border of Indiana, about. men it step us St ates a the ignorant than to 1900s. there This McKinley. The of wanted years signed that colonize it. during country great Beveridge of He, plays to these we taking imperialist he what the United the in in also Senator constitution, it this Anglo-Saxon about States but chain how and much talking capable will keep and is governed. His wanted because wanted in lead army to about This Beveridge and much a built with to our would and United doing Britain is to of United States. more he furniture Aguinaldo self all not we a he listed U.S. bestow Beveridge what will means, attempt J. people on trade, does commercial States say nations be it 1,000 His an to justifying over is that In the too. take worst to even is them practically and bridge, Albert it. we his we these own can and native says up by no fight speech to religion China and J. are despise barely day. could talk this of up such we over century states were the at of oceans. a...

Free Essays on Our Life Today

Look at our life today; look how it has changed. Just one hundred years ago we could see O’Henry’s little secretaries typing for ten hours a day. Weak and deprived of rights, they could be easily dismissed, experience sexual harassment or encounter health problems. They had nobody to be protected by, nobody to turn to. Dark rooms, bad air, and sitting for whole day. It was cruel, but innocent world. Hours, after work, spent in front of windows of an underwear store, cheap food and little dark rooms with gas lighting in the evenings. When she stepped outside her office, she forgot where she worked, she stayed alone with herself, she was on her own planet, she was in her own world. Today we can see the same girl in front of the same underwear store with a mobile phone in her hand giving orders to bank or suppliers. Life has changed. Rhythm has changed. Conditions have changed. For good or bad? Our little hero can’t be dismissed anymore, just because boss’s wife doesn’t like her. She can’t be forced to make things she doesn’t want to do. There are days when she works for 16 hours, twice more than she should, but she is paid for these hours. Her office is cozy, bright, and comfortable. She can be promoted. She can be sent to learn. She is protected and independent. But no matter where she goes with her mobile phone on her - it’s on. Always. We find ourselves today, at the beginning of the Twenty-first century, in bright well air-conditioned offices, protected by contracts in our pockets and by armies of different employees associations. We have become more productive with the help of personal computers, electronic mail, scanners, facsimile machines, and voice message systems. Our mobile phone can take us out of bed to solve urgent problems. â€Å"Super† clients can keep us at work on the birthday of our little daughter. Where is our privacy? Where is our real life? â€Å"Buying† rules have changed and so have â€Å"sellingï ¿ ½... Free Essays on Our Life Today Free Essays on Our Life Today Look at our life today; look how it has changed. Just one hundred years ago we could see O’Henry’s little secretaries typing for ten hours a day. Weak and deprived of rights, they could be easily dismissed, experience sexual harassment or encounter health problems. They had nobody to be protected by, nobody to turn to. Dark rooms, bad air, and sitting for whole day. It was cruel, but innocent world. Hours, after work, spent in front of windows of an underwear store, cheap food and little dark rooms with gas lighting in the evenings. When she stepped outside her office, she forgot where she worked, she stayed alone with herself, she was on her own planet, she was in her own world. Today we can see the same girl in front of the same underwear store with a mobile phone in her hand giving orders to bank or suppliers. Life has changed. Rhythm has changed. Conditions have changed. For good or bad? Our little hero can’t be dismissed anymore, just because boss’s wife doesn’t like her. She can’t be forced to make things she doesn’t want to do. There are days when she works for 16 hours, twice more than she should, but she is paid for these hours. Her office is cozy, bright, and comfortable. She can be promoted. She can be sent to learn. She is protected and independent. But no matter where she goes with her mobile phone on her - it’s on. Always. We find ourselves today, at the beginning of the Twenty-first century, in bright well air-conditioned offices, protected by contracts in our pockets and by armies of different employees associations. We have become more productive with the help of personal computers, electronic mail, scanners, facsimile machines, and voice message systems. Our mobile phone can take us out of bed to solve urgent problems. â€Å"Super† clients can keep us at work on the birthday of our little daughter. Where is our privacy? Where is our real life? â€Å"Buying† rules have changed and so have â€Å"sellingï ¿ ½...

Organisational Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Organisational Behaviour - Essay Example Thus, workers are bonded through cooperation and communication. To illustrate, when an inexperienced person joins a team, there is enough communication to make the new member aware about his or her role in the team. Moreover, in case of doubts, the new members do not hesitate to ask the more experienced and creative ones and the experienced ones share their knowledge with the new ones. Thus, new workers easily and effectively adapt to the work environment. The second point is that teamwork improves the self esteem of the team members. This happens so because in a team, each team member feels important and needed. This sense of importance is created because each member realises that he or she has a valuable role to play in the team. When this sense of belonging grows, each member feels that he or she has the chance to explore and exhibit potential and talent. Thus, teamwork has an important role in fostering creativity of individual. Another important aspect is that teamwork enhances personal responsibility. In other words, in a team, each member has a very clearly defined role to play. Thus, each member realises the fact that their own failure in playing their role will have an impact on achieving the team’s goal. ... However, there are certain disadvantages as well. To illustrate, not all people love teamwork. There are some go-getters who are happy working alone. For them, the work in a team is like a hindrance as they are not capable of performing to their fullest as they feel hindered by the less capable ones. For these people, working independently is more productive. In addition, there is the problem of conflict among members. For example, though some teams function harmoniously, some teams are prone to conflicts. As it is difficult to identify when conflicts will develop, it is difficult to avoid their development. When conflicts and power struggles arise, the employees suffer from stress, and as a result, their productivity goes down. 5. The belief that individual personality has nothing to do with behavior at work is baseless. In fact, personality will seriously affect the way people deal with various situations at work. In order to understand the role of personality, it is useful to use the Big Five Model or the five factor model. According to the model, there are five major trait categories. The first among them is openness to experience. In this category, one extreme is highly interested in, and optimistic about, new experiences and changes. Admittedly, such people will welcome taking up responsibilities and roles. When there are issues like organisational change, such people are less likely to suffer from stress. On the other hand, the other extreme is totally hostile to new experiences and they remain closed minded and rigid towards new experiences. Such people are highly likely to oppose any changes in the organisation and are less motivated to take up challenging roles. Another category is conscientiousness. It is claimed that high degree of

Individual reflective assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Individual reflective assessment - Essay Example many skills and the module ‘Academic Skills for Accountancy’ has helped me a lot in developing some of the skills required for the profession of auditing. Following are skills related to accounting that I have developed throughout the module. One of the most important skills for an auditor is to be able to critically evaluate the audit evidence obtained as a result of the audit procedures which include inquiries from the management, observation of the procedures done by management and inspection of accounting records. Through this semester, I have developed this skill significantly. The course has introduced me to specifics of the skills required for critical evaluation of evidence. For the forthcoming year, I plan to develop this skill by conducting further research on the audit and by studying practical examples regarding audits of significant entities. One of the most important areas that would be focused would be of professional scepticism. Professional scepticism is the ability of an auditor to keep a questioning mind and this attitude helps the auditor not to generalize the results of the evaluation of evidence obtained. I would learn how to develop professional scepticism. An ability every accountant must have is the ability to analyse the information provided and to draw conclusions with sufficient rationalization. The same skill is also important for an auditor because it is the responsibility of an auditor to analyse the evidence obtained and to provide a reasonable assurance backed by rationalized conclusions. The semester helped me significantly in improving this ability (Cottrell 2008). In accounting, each transaction has a dual effect therefore if any one part of the transaction is not recorded, it can be traced from the other part. Thus, everything in the financial records becomes linked and the missing links can be found by analysing the recorded information. The same skill is also highly important for the profession of auditing. Since this is

Declaration Of Independence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Declaration Of Independence - Essay Example What led Jefferson to prepare this document anyway? What did the document declare? This essay sets out to answer these two questions and to show that the Declaration of Independence was because of pressing international issues in 1776. This will be achieved by investigating the many imitations and documents that have spawned since 1790 and offering comparisons of how it was received in the past and at present in and beyond the U.S. This would eventually lead us to draw inferences regarding reflections on the afterlife of The Declaration of Independence and probe the modern conception of rights, both collective and individual. Discussion First, it would be beneficial to understand the just what the declaration declared before we can be able to show its international context. Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence announced the emergence of the U.S into the international scene. For starters, before the Declaration of Independence, the term â€Å"United States of America,† had not publicly been used anywhere. This is expressed explicitly in the opening paragraph of the document, which states that the states representatives were bringing forth the thoughts of mankind, the reasons why united people had made a choice to assume the equal and separate station among the powers of the earth to which God and Law of Nature entitle them. The phrase, â€Å"powers of the earth,† can be seen to signify other sovereign states, which can be considered as the Declaration addressing an immediate international audience. I was the intention of the U.S to join the other sovereign states I the world on an equal level as an â€Å"Independent and Free State,† with full powers to conclude peace, establish commerce, contract alliances, levy war, and to carry out all other things and acts which independent states had the right of doing (The Declaration of Independence as Adopted by Congress). That intention by the U.S announced tit option to join the internatio nal community of Free and Independent states instead of the British Empire. Therefore, we can assert that the Declaration of Independence was actually a declaration of interdependence. The primary intentions of the Declaration of Independence were to legitimize the civil within the British Empire and make it a lawful war between states. By declaring American colonists as outside of hi protection, George III had turned them into rebels. Therefore, there was a need for the rebels to transform themselves from rebels to legitimate colonists. International recognition for this cause and foreign support was thus imperative. This motivation for internationalization was made clear by Paine in 1776 via his argument that custom of nations required that America had to make a declaration of Independence before any European power would attempt to mediate peace between Great Britain and Americans. Obviously, Spain or France could not help any persons they considered as rebels against another mona rch. In addition, for Americans to be considered as reliable trading partners, they grievances needed to be put before foreign courts in a persuasive manner. According to Paine, this would be impossible without the Declaration of Independence, which would ensure that the U.S took rank with other nations (Paine). According to the records of the Continental Congress, there was a strong link between the demands of International Relations and the Declaration of Independence. A resolution was tabled in Congress by Richard Lee in 1776 declaring colonies independent and at the same time, urged Congress to put in place measures that would affect the formation of foreign Alliances. This resolution was consequently adopted by Congress announcing the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (or as they say in French le Organisation du traità © de lAtlantique Nord (OTAN)), began as a military alliance of governments due to the North Atlantic Treaty ( 4 April 1949). From its inception NATO, with headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, has focused on a structure cooperative defence. It translates this structure as having the member states responding to a joint and mutual defence against attack by a non- NATO aggressor. From the original 12 member states there are now 28 participants in this organization dedicated to keeping the alliance strong and vital in a changing world order. Initially, NATO began as a political body, more prone to discussion rather than action. This changed when the Korean War spurred the member states into action and they set up a military command structure under the leadership of two U.S. supreme commanders to effectively deal with the situation that was brewing in Korea. As the first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated the organizations goal was to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.[4] The alliances of WWII with the Russians had taken a beating as the battles became ideological with communism on one side and democracy as represented by the west and NATO was on the other. As for the Germans, there was a basic distrust since they had been responsible for both world wars and it was only four years after their surrender that NATO was formed. Eventually Germany became and is a vital and full-fledged member of the organization. The alliance had some initial credibility issues, since the ever changing relationships between European members and the US were in flux (as always). There was a significant feat that NATO would be unable to stand together against a Soviet invasion. As a sign of its coolness towards the alliance, and basically as a vote of no confidence, the French developed their own nuclear arsenal and withdrew from NATOs military structure in 1966 and hasnt rejoined that aspect of NATO since. In 1955, in retaliation to NATO, the Soviet Bloc countries started their own alliance The Warsaw Pact, and thereby created a common antipathy towards each alliance. In 1989, precipitated by the fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification of Germany, NATO focused its attention on the turmoil of the Balkan states and the troubles brewing in that region. At the same time NATO forged stronger and more durable associations with their former Warsaw Pact adversaries and succeeded so well that quite a few of these states joined the alliance between 1999 and 2004. On 1 April 2009, the NATO membership grew it its present 28 states with the entrance of Albania and Croatia into the alliance.[5] Due to the 11 September, 2001 attacks against New York and Washington, NATO has refocused its mission to fight terrorism, instead of the Eastern block and re purposed itself to meet new and more difficult confrontations in other regions of the world. The alliance has provided troops to Afghanistan as well as trainers to Iraq in order to fulfill its treaty obligations to a member state, in this case the United States, that has been attacked. As part of its ever evolving nature, NATO and the European Union (many of whose members are also members of NATO) signed a package of agreements called The Berlin Plus Agreement on 16 December 2002. The crux of this agreement gives the EU the possibility to use NATO assets in case it wants to act independently in an international crisis, on the condition that NATO itself did not want to act-the so-called right of first refusal.[6] Thus if NATO, as the alliance refused to act in a crisis, the EU therefore has the option to respond. NATO members provide 70-plus% of the worlds defence spending.[7] The United States contributes 43% the total military spending of the world[8] with the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy spending an additional 15%.[9] The remaining alliance countries make up the remainder of the 12% that accounts for this huge outlay of funds, materials and personnel, making NATO ready to meet any crisis. History The history of NATO is a history of treaties that came in the wake of the Second World War. In 1948 he Treaty of Brussels, signed by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and the United Kingdom was the forerunner to the NATO agreement. The signing of this treaty coupled with the insidious Soviet Berlin Blockade gave rise to the Western European Unions Defence Organization that same year. [10] There was an understanding though that in order to thwart the rising military power of the USSR, the United States had to be brought into the picture to enable the west to have a solid counterbalance of power. This strategy precipitated a need for a new military alliance. Talks began at once and in less than a year, the North Atlantic treaty was signed between the 5 signatories of the Treaty of Brussels and the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. There was a lot of hostility regarding the treaty and it even caused some Icelanders to advocate and participate in a pro-neutrality, anti-membership riot in March 1949, just days before the final signatures on for April. The Parties of NATO agreed that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all. Consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence will assist the Party or Parties being attacked, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area. (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/official_texts_17120.htm ) The phrase Such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force does not necessarily mean that other member states will respond with military action against the aggressor(s) has raised many questions over the years. Member states are obligated to respond to a crisis concerning the alliance or any one of its members, however these states have the freedom to choose how they will respond. (Hence Frances decision to withdraw from the military structure, as it never wants to commit its troops to a fight) This clause negates Article IV of the Treaty of Brussels that states that the members will aid the attacked member militarily. Further, the article limits the organizations scope to Europe and North America, which explains why the Falklands War did not result in NATO involvement. However, there was justification for the Afghanistan and Iraq wars involvement as the organizations that attacked the Member state, the US , were not national and merely located in another location . With NATO, some consistency of allied military terminology, procedures, and technology has been brought into existence. This has often meant that European member countries adopting U.S. practices and techniques. There are about 1300 Standardization Agreements (STANAGs) codifying these standards. For instance the 7.62ÃÆ'-51 NATO rifle cartridge of the 1950s became the standard firearm cartridge among many NATO countries while Fabrique Nationale de Herstals FAL was NATO rifle in Europe and used until the early 1990s. In addition to consistent firearms and rifles, signals became standardized, enabling any NATO aircraft to land at any NATO base without confusion. Even the NATO phonetic alphabet has made its beyond NATO into civilian use. Cold War Perhaps the defining moment in early NATO was the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. This police action became a critical test for the alliance as it confronted what appeared to be all Communist countries working together to destabilize the Koreas. This forced NATO into developing military plans.[11] This war was also the precipitator to the nascent cold war between the West and the East and their ideological disparity. In 1952, NATO began to codify its requirements for a Long Term Defence Plan. The Lisbon conference first suggested that there be 96 divisions dedicated to the alliance, however in 1953, this number was devolved to 35 divisions, with an increased dependence on nuclear weaponry to make up the difference. There were 15 at the ready divisions located in Central Europe and Italy and Scandinavia hosted another ten. Another outcome of the Lisbon Conference was that the Chief Civilian post of Secretary General of NATO was created (Baron Hastings Ismay was appointed). (12, 13) By September of 52, the first NATO exercises were held and Operation Mainbrace brought 200 ships and over 50,000 troops and sailors to practice defending Norway and Denmark. It was a huge success. By the end of that first year, Greece and Turkey joined the alliance. This forced some very contentious negotiations, with the United States and Britain disputing as to the logistics of bringing these two countries into the command structure.[14] All through the controversy that was openly under discussion, covert operations were underway to set up a solid resistance in case of a successful Soviet invasion (Operation Gladio). This resistance was original to the Western European Union, however it seemed more logical and effective to transfer these plans and operations to NATO control. Despite the disputes there were signs of unity a bonds began to grow among the different between NATOs armed forces so that the troops themselves were more cohesive. This included the NATO Tiger Association and competitions such as the Canadian Army Trophy for tank gunnery among the different units and countries. By 1954, the Soviet Union felt that it should become a part of NATO in order to keep the peace in Europe.[15] This did not sit well with the NATO member countries, as they feared that the real motivation of the Soviet Unions was weaken the alliance from within, sewing discord, so they rejected the proposal. However, despite earlier declarations of keeping the Germans down, the admission of West Germany into NATO on 9 May 1955 was described as a decisive turning point in the history of our continent by Halvard Lange, Foreign Minister of Norway at the time.[16] German military forces and manpower were a deciding factor into allowing their former enemy into the alliance. Without the extra soldiers fielding enough forces to resist a Soviet invasion[17] would have been impossible. The upshot of this admission though was the Warsaw Pact, signed on 14 May 1955 (6 days later) with the Soviet Union, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, and East Germany as members. This formal response to Germanys admission into NATO , defined in no uncertain terms, the two sides of the Cold War. French withdrawal Charles de Gaulles presidency of France from 1958 caused a constant strain on the NATO alliance. De Gaulle ongoing objections to the United States role in the organization was the basis of his never ceasing disputation with NATO. He felt that the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom was undermining the alliance and he wanted France to be the predominant member state. De Gaulle wrote to President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Prime Minister Harold Macmillan on 17 September 1958, where he basically demanded a tripartite directorate that would put France on an equal footing with the United States and the United Kingdom in NATO. He also stipulated that NATOs coverage be expanded cover French geographical areas, most notably French Algeria, so that NATO could assist Frances counter-insurgency against Algerian rebels. De Gaulle did not like the response Eisenhower and Macmillan gave him so he began to pull away from a unified alliance and create independent defences for his country. He wanted to play both sides of the alliance in case East Germany invaded West Germany. He was determined to have a separate peace with the Eastern bloc and had no desire to involve France in a NATO-Warsaw Pact conflict. In 1959, despite being a signatory to the alliance, De Gaulle began his severing his allegiance to the alliance. In March 1959, France withdrew its Mediterranean Fleet from NATO command. In June 1959, de Gaulle proscribed foreign nuclear weapons on French soil. By this act, the United States began transferring military aircraft out of France and returning control of all air force bases that NATO operated in France since 1950 to the French by 1967. De Gaulle wanted only his own military and nuclear arms on his own soil, despite his supposed solidarity to the alliance. In 1962, during the Cuban Missle Crisis de Gaulle showed unity with NATO, however afterwards he sustained his unrelenting determination of creating his own independent defence through the removal of Frances Atlantic and Channel fleets from the NATO command structure. Therefore it was no surprise to anyone within the alliance that by 1966, all French armed forces were removed from NATOs integrated military command, and all non-French NATO troops were asked to leave France. All his actions caused the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) to move from Rocquencourt, near Paris, to Casteau, Belgium, by 16 October 1967. While France remained a member of the alliance, its removal on the surface seemed to preclude any sort of committed defence of Europe from possible Communist attack. On the other hand, France did have forces stationed in the Federal Republic of Germany throughout the Cold War. A chain of clandestine agreements between U.S. and French officials, ( Lemnitzer-Ailleret Agreements) delineated the way French forces would fit together and return to NATOs command in case hostilities commenced during the Cold War. [18] Although on the surface France and DeGaulle had manipulated themselves into an independent there was nevertheless a way for France to unite and fight with NATO in case of war. It wasnt until 1995 that the French position on the military structure of NATO began to change. Dà ©tente NATO was able to keep from actual military engagements as an alliance throughout most of the Cold War. The organization was prepared in case of such a scenario. In 1968, NATO argued that since the United States controlled nuclear weapons until a decision to go to war and NATOs own nuclear sharing arrangements with the US were no in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty that was being signed. Since few states actually knew what NATOs nuclear position actually was, whatever the alliance declaimed was considered truth and there was no challenge to their stance as far as controlling nuclear weapons was concerned. NATO countries officially defined two balancing aims of the Alliance on 30 May 1978. The first was to follow their initial directive and maintain security throughout the alliance. The second was to pursue dà ©tente. The purpose of these two complementary aims was to match the NATO defences to those of the Warsaw Pacts offensive capacity without inciting an extra arms race. In 1979, since the Warsaw Pact countries built up their nuclear capabilities in Europe, NATO approved the deployment of U.S. GLCM cruise missiles and Pershing II theatre nuclear weapons in Europe. These new warheads strengthened the western position regarding nuclear disarmament. This Dual Track policy meant that peace was pursued on one hand while meeting weapons build up on the other. Essentially it was a game of one-upmanship conducted by both sides. This occurred again in 1983-84, when NATO responded to the positioning of Warsaw Pact SS-20 medium-range missiles in Europe, by deploying modern Pershing II missiles. These missiles have the ability to hit military targets quite hard such as tank formations, should there be a war. These dual actions led to peace movement protests throughout Western Europe in light of the fact that the danger level ratcheted up in case peace talks were unsuccessful. Escalation Most of Europe was divided between the two alliances. Members of NATO were often shown in blue, with members of the Warsaw Pact shown in red on any maps depicting their allegiances. President Ronald Reagan of the United States was determined that the buildup of the tension between the US and USSR should be exacerbated even more by having NATO deploy those Pershing II and cruise missiles in Western Europe, primarily West Germany. These Pershing II missiles are tactical nuclear weapons intended to strike targets on the battlefield in the event that the Soviets invaded West Germany. The Soviets fed into the Reagan paranoia and played into his deployment plans on 1 September 1983, when they shot down a South Korean passenger airliner when it crossed into Soviet airspace. Reagan characterized the shooting down of the plane a massacre. With world opinion on their side the U.S., galvanized support for the deployment of the missiles. This deployment stood in place until the later accords between Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev were reached and the hegemony of the Soviet Union began to dismantle.. Gamesmanship in the membership was still around although during the late 1970s and early 80s there was some stagnancy. In 1974, when the Turks invaded Cyprus, Greece withdrew its forces from NATOs military command structure. Finally though, in 1980, they were readmitted (Turkish cooperation was necessary) Finally in May 1982, Spain was able to join the alliance as its former dictator had died and the newly democratic country was free to become part of NATO. Spain joined the alliance. In November 1983, NATO maneuvers simulated a nuclear launch and it caused widespread panic in the USSR. General Secretary Yuri Andropov, who was in ill health at the time, was worried that the maneuvers, were actually a genuine first strike. In response, Soviet nuclear forces were readied and air units in East Germany and Poland were placed on alert. It was a tense situation and although U.S. intelligence felt that the Soviet response was merely a propaganda effort, there are many who feel that ailing Andropov was convinced that a NATO first strike was imminent. Post Cold War When the Cold War ended and the Warsaw Pact dissolved in 1991, the main adversary of NATO was gone. There was a strategic reassessment of NATOs purpose. While this reassessment and realignment of the nature and tasks of the alliance were underway, the ultimate result is that NATO has expanded into Eastern Europe and former Warsaw Pact countries are becoming part of the alliance. NATO has also extended its activities into new areas. In 1990, NATO welcomed the German reunification. This meant that the former East Germany was part of the Federal Republic of Germany and therefore alliance. This had been agreed in the Two Plus Four Treaty earlier in the year. There was still a need for Soviet approval of a united Germany to remain in NATO so it was stipulated that foreign troops and nuclear weapons would not be stationed in the eastern part of the country (the former East Germany). Because of this new treaty, there has been an ongoing controversy between scholars and diplomats regarding the expansion of the NATO Alliance. Once scholar, Stephen F. Cohen argued in 2005 that a commitment was given that NATO would never expand further east,[19]. On the other hand but according to Robert Zoellick,( then a State Department official involved in the Two Plus Four negotiating process,) feels that Cohen is wrong as there was no formal commitment of the sort made in the treaty regarding any other country besides Germany.[20] In May 2008, The Daily Telegraph held an interview with Mikhail Gorbachev who felt along with Cohen that there was a commitment made. Gorbachev said the Americans promised that NATO wouldnt move beyond the boundaries of Germany after the Cold War but now half of central and eastern Europe are members, so what happened to their promises? It shows they cannot be trusted.[21] NATOs military structure was cut back and reorganized in the post Cold War era, with new forces such as the Headquarters Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps established. The Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe agreed between NATO and the then still existent Warsaw Pact, mandated specific reductions in personnel, weapons, and nukes. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the military balance in Europe shifted and this was recognized in the Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty. Finally in 1995, after nearly a 30 year absence, France rejoined NATOs Military Committee in 1995. French President Nicolas Sarkozy reformed Frances military position and enabled the country to return to full membership on 4 April 2009. This date also saw France rejoin the integrated military command of NATO, even as it still maintains its own nuclear deterrent independently of the alliance.[22] Balkans interventions After years of military preparedness and no fighting during the Cold War, NATOs first military operation came during the former Yugoslavia civil war. It was called Operation Sharp Guard and ran from June 1993-October 1996. NATO provided maritime enforcement of the arms embargo, and set ic sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Six months into the embargo and blockade, (28 February 1994) NATO took its first military action, by shooting down four Bosnian Serb aircraft. These planes violated a U.N.-mandated no-fly zone over central Bosnia and Herzegovina. NATOs Operation Deliberate Force, a bombing campaign started in August, 1995, against the Army of the Republika Srpska, after the Srebrenica massacre. Operation Deny Flight, the no-fly-zone enforcement mission, started in 1993, continued the end of December 1995. The NATO air strikes forced an end to the war in Bosnia. This culminated in the the Dayton Agreement, that provided NATO with authority to deployed peacekeeping force, under Operation Joint Endeavor, first named IFOR and then SFOR. This deployment ran from December 1996 to December 2004. Following the lead of its member nations, NATO began to award a service medal, the NATO Medal, for these operations in appreciation of its troops efforts in a difficult endeavor. NATO was now a fully fledged military organization that was as capable as any single member nation on conducting a military operation to successful conclusion. What had been words on paper was now put into practice. From 1994 to 1997, NATO and its neighbors set up several forums for dialogue in order to keep conflict at a minimum. The Partnership for Peace, the Mediterranean Dialogue initiative and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council were all results of these forums and led the way to a more inclusive membership in the alliance. On 8 July 1997, three former communist countries, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland, were invited to join NATO and their final admission occurred in 1999. By 1998, the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council was established to keep communications open and free flowing between the former adversaries. NATO saw its first broad-scale military engagement in the Kosovo War, where it waged an 11-week bombing campaign, called Operation Allied Force. This was again against what was then the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as the Serbians massacred and cracked- down on Albanian civilians in Kosovo. While a formal declaration of war never took place the NATO action was successful. Yugoslavian leader Slobodan MiloÃ…Â ¡eviĆ¡ agreed to NATOs demands and Kosovos native Albanians were free to stay or go. During Kosovo, NATO deployed one of its international reaction forces, the ACE Mobile Force (Land), to deliver humanitarian aid to Kosovan refugees. [23] NATO then established the KFOR, a NATO-led force under a United Nations mandate that operated the military mission in Kosovo. In August-September 2001, the alliance also mounted Operation Essential Harvest, a mission disarming ethnic Albanian militias in the Republic of Macedonia.[24] NATOs work in the military arena was expanding and becoming vital to international interests This expansion and necessity led the United States, the United Kingdom, and most other NATO countries to oppose efforts that require the U.N. Security Council to approve NATO military strikes, as had happened against Serbias invasion into Kosovo in 1999. France and some others claimed that the alliance needed U.N. approval of course probably more as a way to thwart the US/UK more than any ideological reasons. The U.S./U.K. side that Russia and China would have exercised their Security Council vetoes to block the strike on Yugoslavia and thereby condemned all those ethnic Albanians to slaughter. Russia and China could in fact exercise these same vetoes whenever future conflicts arose where NATO intervention was required. This would essentially cripple and the purpose of the organization. NATO adopted the Alliance Strategic Concept during its Washington Summit in April 1999 that emphasized conflict prevention and crisis management[25] as a prelude to any sort of military intervention unless required and approved by the alliance. After the 11 September attacks Everything changed after the 9/11 attacks on the United States. At this time, and for the first time, NATO invoked Article 5 of the NATO Charter. The Article states: Article 5 The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area. Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall immediately be reported to the Security Council. Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security . Essentially, an attack on any member shall be considered to be an attack on all members. This invocation of Article Five was ratified on 4 October 2001 when NATO determined that the attacks were indeed eligible under the terms of the North Atlantic Treaty.[26] Eight official actions were taken by NATO to respond to the attacks. Among them were Operation Eagle Assist and Operation Active Endeavour. Operation Active Endeavour is to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction as well as to enhance the security of shipping in general in the Mediterranean . Despite this early show of solidarity within the alliance there was another crisis barely more than a year later. France and Belgium vetoed the procedure of silent approval concerning the timing of protective measures for Turkey in case of a possible war with Iraq. Germany did not use its right to break the procedure but said it supported the veto. So that all efforts to assist that member fell into abeyance and should Turkey be attacked, there is no agenda in place to quickly form a reprisal. On the other hand the invasion of Afghanistan provided NATO with a chance for a more public unity. On 16 April 2003, NATO took command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. Germany and the Netherlands, the two nations leading ISAF at the time of the agreement requested this action and all NATO ambassadors approved it unanimously. The handover of control to NATO took place on 11 August, and marked the first time in NATOs history that it took charge of a mission outside the north Atlantic area. By January 2004, NATO appointed Minister Hikmet Çetin, of Turkey, as the Senior Civilian Representative (SCR) in Afghanistan to be responsible for advancing the political-military aspects of the Alliance in Afghanistan. On 31 July 2006, a NATO-led force took over military operations in the south of Afghanistan from a U.S.-led anti-terrorism coalition and has been protecting the area since. Bowing to US Pressure, NATO even has set up a training program in Iraq to assist in that countrys efforts. NATOs involvement in both arenas has expanded its role in the war against terrorism and the alliance has been instrumental in assisting the now 8 year old conflicts in their efforts to bring the terror organizations in both countries to a halt.

A Black Cloud :: essays research papers

A Black Cloud   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The heart is an organ of fire, filled with intense love and intense hatred. Yet it is the hatred which entwines the lives of people causing them to display acts of violence and cruelty. Hatred is displayed through forms which include: prejudices towards large groups of people, crimes of hatred being committed, and indirect hatred which involves hurting others as an act of rebellion against someone or something.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout history, the world has been afflicted by the prejudices of powerful leaders who in turn took their animosity out on large masses of people. Adolf Hitler, the leader of Germany during World War II, is a prime example of this. He took his hatred out on the Jews, forcing them into concentration camps. Another group that is a target of hatred are the blacks. The Ku Klux Klan, otherwise known as the KKK, possess intense hatred for the black race. Their hatred is demonstrated by marching in white cloaks in protest and also by burning the churches and neighborhoods of blacks. Just as Hitler and the KKK express hatred, the Skinheads are yet another group which have strong prejudices. These so called Skinheads abominate most races other than their own. White hooded silhouettes, German Soldiers echoing â€Å"Hail Hitler!†, and the infamous Skinheads are harsh reminders of hatred which exists throughout the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the same way that prejudices of large groups of people are expressed, hate crimes are committed to demonstrate acts of hatred. Most recent are the burning of black churches across the South. A crime of this sort shows hatred against the black race. Sometimes leading to manslaughter, racial tensions are abundant. Furthermore, the burning of crosses or flags are offensive crimes that are committed to show a person's hatred for religion or the government. Spousal abuse, child abuse, homicide, and wars between races can only be acts of one thing: hatred. Newspapers are filled with page after page of stories revealing the immense amount of hatred that our society possesses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although crimes are committed to show hatred directly, there are other crimes which can also show hatred but in ways that are indirect. Think back to the Oklahoma City Bombing; it is a perfect example of indirect hatred. This is true because the motive of the bombers was to attempt to take revenge on the government, but instead the bombers took the lives of innocent people who were in the building. Moreover, the Empire State Building gunman's plan was to take

Importance of Uttarayan Essay

Shivya: Hi Shivam, how is your uttarayan going? Shivam: Very nice. How about you? Shiyya: Enjoying. But I do not know why uttarayan is celebrated. Can you lighten me? Shivam: Well shivya there is more to Uttarayan than just holding a string and a kite. Let us today understand the religious aspect of Uttarayan. Het can you pls. share with us the information that you have? [By that time their other 5 friends join them and take part in the conversation. All of them give information about the topic which entilighten us about the religious aspect of Uttarayan] Het: Hello everybody. Well Uttarayan is celebrated in many parts of the country and also in some other parts of the world with great zeal and enthusiasm. It is a harvest festival which is basically celebrated in the Hindu communities. In Indian, the states of Bihar, Bengal, Punjab, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu celebrate the festival with great fervor and gusto. Now I will tell Harsh to share some of information that he has. Harsh: U know Het, In Tamil Nadu the festival is known as Pongal, in Assam as Bhogali Bihu, in Punjab, as Lohiri, in Gujarat and Rajasthan, as Uttararayan. In Uttar Pradesh it is celebrated as Khichdi or Donation festival. In Bihar it is known as Til Sankranti or Khichdi festival. Outside India, the festival is given due importance in the countries like Nepal where it is celebrated as Maghe Sakrati or Maghi, in Thailand where it is named as Songkran and in Myanmar where it is called Thingyan. Shivya: Wow I thought Uttarayan is celebrated only in Gujarat. But I can bet it must not be celebrated anywhere like in Gujarat with the sky becoming so colourful. Devayani what information you have to share with us. Devayani: Well you know the way Makar Sankranti is celebrated in every state of India with faith and joy, it can be guessed that the festival has some religious beliefs. This festival is mentioned in many of our religious text, which enlighten about the festival’s religious significance. The religious scripture, â€Å"Gita† which is known as the voice of Lord Krishna, illustrates that six months of Uttarayan is the day time of deity. And, the 6 months of Dakhshinayan is the night for Gods. It is believed that person who scarifies his body in Uttarayan get a position in ‘Krishna Lok’. That person gets liberation, whereas, the one who dies in Dakhshinayan, has to be reborn. In the era of Mahabharata, Bhishma Pithama had a blessing of wish death. Although lying on the bed of arrows, he did not sacrifice his life in the Dakhsinayan, and waited for the Sun to go in Uttarayan. It is believed that on the day of Makar Sankranti, when sun entered in the Uttarayan, Bhishma Pithama, discarded his body. Scientifically, this day the sun begins its northward journey and enters the sign of Makar (the Capricorn) from the Tropic of Cancer. It is like the movement of sun from Dakshinayana (south) to Uttarayana (north) hemisphere. It is the one of the few chosen Indian Hindu festivals which has a fixed date. This day falls on the 14th of January every year according to the Hindu Solar Calendar. The festival is considered to be a day from where onwards all the auspicious ritualistic ceremonies can be solemnized in any Hindu family. This is thus considered as the holy phase of transition What do you say Ashiti. Am I right? Ashiti: Yes Deyanai, in fact another one religious story is also there which states that, Yashoda Mata kept fast to have Lord Krishna as her son. The story of Gangawatran is also linked with Makar Sankranti. It is said that on the day of Makar Sankranti, Ganga followed Bhagirath Muni and met the ocean. Conjunction of Ganga and ocean is the reason behind crowd of devotees taking bath in Ganagasagar on Makar Sankranti. Capricorn is a sign of Saturn. On the day of Makar Sankranti, sun enters into the sign of Saturn. Sun God is the father of Saturn. Father goes to meet his son in his home. Saturn and Sun, both are might planets, who’s auspicious blessings can make humans achieve great success. Hence, on the holy festival of Makar Sankranti people delight sun and Saturn. Shankranti means transmigration of Sun from one zodiac in Indian astrology to the other. As per Hindu customary beliefs, there are 12 such Sankrantis in all. But the festival is celebrated only on the occasion of Makara Sankaranti i.e. the transition of the Sun from Sagittarius (‘Dhanu’ Rashi ) to Capricorn(‘Makara’ Rasi). Lastly Jai can you put some more information on the topic. Jai: Yes my dear friends. Makar Sankranti holds special significance as on this day the solar calendar measures the day and night to be of equal durations on this day. From this day onwards, the days become longer and warmer. It is the day when people of northern hemisphere, the northward path of the sun marks the period when the sun is getting closer to them. The importance of the day was signified by the Aryans who started celebrating this day as an auspicious day for festivities. The reason behind this may be the fact that it marked the onset of harvest season. Married women pray to Sun God for long life of their husbands and give gifts to their elders, in return take blessing that the way days are getting longer, similarly, the life of their husbands also keep increasing.

I Hear You essays

I Hear You essays Dont put that in your ear!!! How many times have you heard that when you were young? Well there is a very good reason you should be careful with our ears. Not only are they a means of getting important information (like a physics lecture) but they also are involved in your balance and are a major source of heat loss for your body. To understand how the ear functions, we must first know what sound is and how it travels. Sound is the compression and rarefaction of the air molecules, caused by the vibration of a solid, liquid, or gas. Every wave has two characteristics that define a sound and that is amplitude and a frequency. A frequency is the amount of waves cycles that pass a given area per second, and this is what gives sound it unique tone. Amplitude is the height of each wavelength and that determines how loud a noise is. Since everything in the universe has its own frequency, (wave pattern) different wavelength, come from different vibrating objects. Depending on the type of frequency caused by the pressure wave, the human ear will pick up as a different pitches. The human ear consists of three regions, outer, middle, and inner ear. Sound waves enter the outer ear and vibrations are amplified in the inner ear. Within your inner ear vibrations of different frequencies are "sorted out" as they stimulate different patches of receptors, which send that information to the big cheese, the brain. The outer ear is what most people picture when the ear is mentioned. This region of the inner ear consists of two parts. The first is the outer funnel-like structure called the auricle (pinna). The funnel like structure catches the sound waves and directs them into the second part of the external ear, the external auditory meatus or the external auditory canal. As the sound waves progress down the auditory canal they travel into a new region of the ear called the middle ear. Here in the middle ear the waves hit a barrier ca...

Apology by Plato essay

Apology by Plato essay Apology by Plato essay Apology by Plato essayIn Plato’s Apology, the reader finds much interesting information about the philosophic thought that is derived from Socrates’ defense speech. Socrates, Plato’s teachers and friend, is ready to defend himself. Socrates’ mission is to help people to better understand the meaning of life in order to change their lives, placing emphasis on virtue and souls. He says,It is the greatest good for a human being to discussVirtue every day and the other thingsAbout which you hear me conversing and examining both myself and others,For the unexamined life is not worth living for a human being (Plato 38b).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Socrates claims that his role in Athenian society is important because he is the one who can support the integrity of the society he lives in by his role as gadfly. Socrates uses his unique philosophical argumentation to explain power relations within the Athenian society.There are two sets of charges that were brought against Socrates: the first one is disrespect to the city’s gods and the second one is corruption of young people. These charges include formal charges brought by Anytus, Meletus and Lycon and some earlier charges brought by anonymous people. Nevertheless, these two sets of charges are interlinked. The charges include â€Å"corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other daimonia that are novel† (Plato 24b).Socrates responds to these charges are convincing. He denies the fact that his philosophy and philosophic activities cause harm to the society he lives in and the city in general. He denies that his philosophy can corrupt the youth, claiming that his philosophic thought is of great value for humanity. Socrates tries to persuade the jury about his innocence, â€Å"No greater good has come to be in the city than my service to the God† (Plato). Socrates states that his way of life is the best way of life for all human beings because it produces happiness for everyone in the city.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   My own view of Socrates’ innocence is based on a number of facts, including his philosophic thought, his mission and his self-confidence. I believe in Socrates’ innocence, although the charges brought to him by the court are rather serious for Athenians. Socrates’ defense against the charge that he doesn’t believe in Gods is honest and sufficient. He admits that he does not believe in the Gods of the city, but he is guided by some sort of higher being, or spirits. He states, â€Å"I live in great poverty because of my service to God† (23c). I completely agree with Socrates’ argument that the claim regarding his atheism is false because he believes in higher spiritual beings. I would have voted set him free because these two sets of charges are insufficient for death penalty.   The second claim about the corrupted youth is also false because there is no proof.   One man cannot be blamed for the corruption of the entire generation of young people. Therefore, for these two sets of charges, I would have vote in Socrates’ favor, considering him innocent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thus, it is necessary to conclude that Socrates has gained worldwide fame for accepting his death for the two sets of charges corrupting the youth and disregarding the Athenian city’s Gods.   In Apology, Plato tells the story of Socrates’ trial, describing his behavior and his unique defense during the trial process. Socrates is innocent because his philosophic thought is useful for Athenians. He has been wrongly accused.

Literary Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Literary Analysis - Essay Example Introduction. In his play Miller raises an important issue which does not often discussed in the literature. It is important to note that betrayal is not the common feature of human’s personality, so Miller identify the causes and events that push friends or neighbors to betray each other, especially if their actions will cause the death of another person. Miller identifies and vividly portrays the inner nature and morals of people involved in the trials which heated human’s envy and baseness. Thesis. Betrayal caused the death for many innocent people because of fear, dishonor, falsehood, and low moral values. The population of Salem was not strong enough to resist the feeling of fear and protect themselves. Instead, the absence of friendship and universal virtues were closely connected with witchcraft trials and fear of people to be accused and hanged. Discussion. In the play Miller describes the witchcraft trials which were often during the Middle ages period. Betty Parris, the daughter of the Salem minister, was ill and, her father thought that the illness was caused by witchcraft. In the 17th century, witchcraft was the most serious accusation. If a person was found guilty he or she was hanged. In the play a lot of innocent people were accused because of their friends slander. On the one hand, betrayal was used as the tool to do away with the enemies. People in Salem had no chance to save their lives, because their inner strength had been subdued by fear to be hanged. 1.1.When fear starts to dominate people act in their own interests, they degrade as the keepers of customs and morality. It remains disappointing that the social issues that are generally identified as pertaining to religion deal with questions of individual choice, rather than of communal responsibility. â€Å"This is a sharp time, now, a precise time—we live no longer in the dusky afternoon when evil mixed itself with good and befuddled the world. Now, by

The methode of returning cash to company shareholder Essay

The methode of returning cash to company shareholder - Essay Example Non-core operating assets like long term investments and related assets are not critically relevant for a firm's current operations. When Marks & Spencer (M&S) finally disposed of some of its non-core operating assets in 2002 and began to restructure the company, the decision was obvious because it wanted to adopt an alternative technique for the more traditional method of repurchasing shares or that of the increased dividend pay-out. In other words there was a clear effort on the part of M&S management to redistribute revenue to shareholders though its negative implications would have invariably affected the success of the program (Davies, 1999). According to financial managers' own way of thinking such efforts would not be in the best interest of the long term company value creation process because when such cash returns to shareholders take place at regular intervals in the future as the stock prices appreciate and hectic deposal of shares takes place, the company would lose its investor confidence. The net result thus would be to jeopardize the very relationship between the manager and the shareholder. This in turn would lead to a much closer relationship between the manager and the debt-holder. ... Debt instruments often consist and includes restrictions on the company's all the activities. And thus it is preventing and disturbing top management from pursuing alternative financing options and core business opportunities. Large companies always consider debt-equity ratio as a risk because the company is more concern towards lenders and investors. And thus the business is limited as to the amount of debt it carries (Marks and Spencer annual report 2002). For the better and efficient financing companies are usually pledge assets of the company to the Lender as collateral. And the share holders and executives of the company are in some cases required to give guarantee by personally for the repayment of the loans (Devaney, & Lizieri, 2004). Because of this capital restructuring programme marks and Spences certain advantages to their managers can be expected. because of the less liability of the company the managers will enjoy a greater power in all the operational actives. Thus it brings less liabilities to their company so it will be a greater relief for the managers. (Finlan, 1992) But it would certainly demotivates their share holders because they will loose their voting power and the opportunity to take part in the decision making process. So this fact can leads to a morale problem of the share holders. In every company, the financial and real sectors cooperate with each other in order to maintain a sound and progressive balance between the two. This is important as a deficiency in one sector impairs developments in the other sector. So therefore it is important to have an optimal capital structure in the company to maintain the balance between equity and the debts. The value of corporate debt