Essay on Craig Hawkins PS 2

Essay on Craig Hawkins PS 2 Essay on Craig Hawkins PS 2 Craig Hawkins Prof. Sante 11/16/14 Theory of Democratic Peace Throughout the world there are numerous countries that are ruled by different political systems, in which every country is entitled to do so. Although some systems are viewed more favorably than others, in this paper the political systems discussed will be the democratic, authoritarian and totalitarian systems. These political systems will be analyzed in relation to the Theory of Democratic Peace. This theory argues that nation-states governed by democratic regimes do not have conflicts with other countries that would lead to wars. Through the analyses of the Theory of Democratic Peace in relation to the democratic system: United States, authoritarian system: China and totalitarian system: Iraq, I find this theory to be inaccurate. The United States is a country governed by democratic rule. As a democratic country the U.S. emphasizes rights, liberties and justice. Since 1776 the United States has only evolved through democracy along to a population that now holds â€Å"316,128,839 million people† (quickfacts.census.gov). â€Å"The majority of the population is made up in 77.7 % Whites, 17.1 % in Hispanic/Latinos and 13.2 % in African Americans (quickfacts.census.gov). The United States economy has many liberties and opportunities for financial gain. The United States itself is projected to earn â€Å"5.7 trillion dollars in revenue during the year of 2014† (usgovernmentrevenue.com). The United States economy is sustained mostly through taxes. Sources of revenue that come from taxes are income taxes, social insurance taxes, ad valorem taxes and business taxes. â€Å"The United States is the third largest country in the world and borders two other countries: Canada and Mexico† (geography.abo ut.com). The United States climate changes throughout the course of the year, entering all four seasons. â€Å"The United States was recognized as an independent nation by Great Britain in 1783 following the American Revolution† (1775-1783)(usa.gov). The Declaration of Independence represents freedom the United States won, on July 4th the U.S. celebrates this day. Major following events to come The Civil War between northern and southern states from 1861-1865 which ultimately led to Barack Obama being elected the first black President of the United States† (infoplease.com). Within the United States lies the core of how the country is governed starting first with the Constitution. The United Sates is governed through three different branches, The Executive Branch: where a great deal of power is held by the President, The Legislative Branch: consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate and The Judicial Branch: â€Å"courts systems that harbor the judgment resp onsibilities for what is considered fair and considered justice† (whitehouse.gov). Country based decisions are made within these branches by the people within the Congress and Senate. Congress is made up of the House of Representatives (435 elected members) and the Senate (100 Senators). The constitution grants Congress to make legislative decisions. The senate agrees to pass laws and send them to the President for approval. †Both the House and the Senate must pass the same bill by majority vote† (whitehouse.gov). Together these different parts of government work together to uphold the democratic system in place. China is a country governed under authoritarian rule. Authoritarian ruled countries â€Å"are governed by a small group that do not attempt to control everything, instead limiting individual freedoms in favor of hierarchical organization of command, obedience and order† (Roskin 97). Under authoritarian rule China has grown it’s population to 1,355,692,576 billion people. 47 % of the population are between the ages of 25-54 years of age, 17.1 % of population are between the ages of 0-14 years of age, (indexmundi.com/china). The economy is very much profitable in terms of creating revenue for

Free Essays on Going Fishing

â€Å"Wake up, wake up!† My cousin told me. I looked at my watch to see what time it was. It was 4:00 in the morning. I got dressed and met my cousin Mike outside my tent. It was a cold day in the mountains in Colorado. As we grab are rods and reels I recommend we eat breakfast. My cousin Agrees after a bowl of cereal we head out. We stop at the truck to get the salmon eggs we are using for bait. We start about a quarter of a mile walk to lake. After what seems like thirty minutes we finally make it to the lake. We still have about an hour till the sunrise. We go to the spot where we think we will catch some fish. We bait our hooks with the orange salmon eggs that we are hoping will catch us a few rainbow trout. We cast our line out to the middle of the small lake. My cousin is the first to get a bite and to the first to real in a trout. As my cousin puts the fish on the stringer I catch one. My fish put a good fight. We both cast out lines once a again. We wait for about 15 minutes then my cousin pulls back on his fishing at about the same time I do. My cousin comments, â€Å"Our lines have to tangled or something.† AS we reeled in our lines we found they were not tangle, but that we both had fish. We both put our fish on the stringer on the stringer. About five minutes later I notes that the stringer is not tied around the rock, but that it is about ten feet from the shoreline. Its all most if the fish got up and Walked away like a child but stumble and could not get back up. Mike decides to go into the water to get the stringer. He wades into to the cold water to his knees. When he gets back to shore we decide that that is enough fishing for now. We walk back to the camp. When we get to camp we clean and cook the fish. We have the fish for lunch .... Free Essays on Going Fishing Free Essays on Going Fishing â€Å"Wake up, wake up!† My cousin told me. I looked at my watch to see what time it was. It was 4:00 in the morning. I got dressed and met my cousin Mike outside my tent. It was a cold day in the mountains in Colorado. As we grab are rods and reels I recommend we eat breakfast. My cousin Agrees after a bowl of cereal we head out. We stop at the truck to get the salmon eggs we are using for bait. We start about a quarter of a mile walk to lake. After what seems like thirty minutes we finally make it to the lake. We still have about an hour till the sunrise. We go to the spot where we think we will catch some fish. We bait our hooks with the orange salmon eggs that we are hoping will catch us a few rainbow trout. We cast our line out to the middle of the small lake. My cousin is the first to get a bite and to the first to real in a trout. As my cousin puts the fish on the stringer I catch one. My fish put a good fight. We both cast out lines once a again. We wait for about 15 minutes then my cousin pulls back on his fishing at about the same time I do. My cousin comments, â€Å"Our lines have to tangled or something.† AS we reeled in our lines we found they were not tangle, but that we both had fish. We both put our fish on the stringer on the stringer. About five minutes later I notes that the stringer is not tied around the rock, but that it is about ten feet from the shoreline. Its all most if the fish got up and Walked away like a child but stumble and could not get back up. Mike decides to go into the water to get the stringer. He wades into to the cold water to his knees. When he gets back to shore we decide that that is enough fishing for now. We walk back to the camp. When we get to camp we clean and cook the fish. We have the fish for lunch ....

Julia Alvarez, How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accent Response Essay

Julia Alvarez, How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accent Response - Essay Example The girls are born to a very influential Spanish family which lives in the Dominican Republic. Due to the strong opposition of the girls’ father to the political dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, which prevailed in their homeland, the family manages to immigrate to America. The story revolves around their feelings as immigrants, the problems faced by them, the dilemmas they go through as immigrants where they had to let go of the memories of their past and try to adjust in a new life and culture which did not particularly match theirs. In many of the book reviews that I have read, it has been written that the novel is inspired from Julia Alvarez’s personal life, which can be a possible reason for her very realistic outlook on the problems faced by immigrants. I myself felt that there were many aspects of the book that I could relate to as an individual. As with the previous book â€Å"Their Eyes Were Watching God,† love plays a very important role in this book as well. The central character is Yolanda narrates a considerable part of the story. In one chapter of the book she narrates her experiences as a college student. Her major was English which was challenging for her because in her class of English majors many were native speakers of the language and many of the phrases which they spoke were difficult for her to understand.

Government and Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Government and Market - Essay Example Infrastructure is a very vital cog of any country, and hence takes a supremely significant position in the government's perception. Now, Rostow, who was a specialist in this field has made note and brought to light the fact that the inability of the governments to create infrastructure was one of the major road blocks that were faced during the process of modernization in Europe during the 19th century. In his argument, he says that the "creation of preconditions for take-off was largely a matter of building social overhead capital". This comes in line with the generally accepted argument that the cost of infrastructure or the social overhead capital compliments the industrial production process as this facilitates the transfer of goods, which leads to the creation of mobilization of markets on a national and international level. Haber, another esteemed expert in this field, has further developed the importance of infrastructural support in his arguments based on the case study of Me xico. Here, he offers the opinion that Mexico was unable to solve the problem of surplus capacity which it was facing in the 1980s by exporting goods to different countries around the world. All of this, he attributes to the lack of infrastructural support that was present in the country at that point in time. He cites Avisador Comercial de Havana which attributes this problem related to the exorbitant costs of transportation: "How, then, can merchandise be shipped to the coast at an advantageous price How can they [Mexican manufacturers] compete in foreign marketsif within their own borders they have incredibly high freight rates" [1] [5] In recent times, economic analysts have argued that the major difference between the growth differentials of different countries is infrastructure as highlighted by the case on India and China. Due to the importance infrastructure plays in the workings of a country and its non-excludable and unrivalled nature has further substantiated the claim for the need of governmental intervention to facilitate and hasten industrial growth in the country. On face value, one can see that this notion is somewhat not contestable in nature in that not many can refute the claim that has been put forward; however, some economists have also offered the notion of a private sector backed infrastructural growth. This notion certainly has immense promise in theory as this would basically remove the role of the government from this entire workup and would subsequently move the entire mechanisms onto a free market which would be highly appreciated in light of the concept at hand. However, that certainly doe s not appear to be a distinct possibility at the current point in time which is why infrastructural support has been ascribed to governments to this day and age. The rationale behind this is suggestions like the one offered are more likely to fail in the developing countries as private sector led infrastructural growth needs immensely advanced institutional or technological support in order to create and sustain excludable and rivaling properties. Due to this, infrastructure would remain severely under protected as well as remain under produced which would be due to the large number of externalities that cannot

Nigeria and Canada are two places I have lived in, they are however so Essay

Nigeria and Canada are two places I have lived in, they are however so different in a lot of ways - Essay Example Some provinces have both Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Provincial Sales Tax (PST), some have just Provincial Sales Tax (PST) and yet some have the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). The bottom line is that goods and services are taxable in Canada. Taxes are not paid on items purchased or on services utilized in Nigeria. It is only the actual price of the good or service that is paid for at any point in time. Nigeria operates a non-tax method of payment on goods and services. Canada and Nigeria are two countries that are so different in their methods of operation. One appears to be one extreme from the other in the way things are done. I have lived in both of them and have observed the clear differences. I think the differences have to do with the fact that Nigeria is a Third world country, while Canada is a developed country. I don't wholly accept the way Canada operates as compared to Nigeria and Vice Versa, I however, appreciate some policies of Canada and those of Nigeria. They are unique in themselves and prove to be very interesting places to

Japanese Folk and Myth in Anime Essay Example for Free

Japanese Folk and Myth in Anime Essay In order to answer the above question, we’ll need to set a line between myth and folklore. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Myth is defined as â€Å"a popular belief or tradition that has grown up around something or someone; especially: one embodying the ideals and institutions of a society or segment of a society†. According to the same dictionary, folklore is defined as â€Å"traditional customs, tales, sayings, dances, or art forms preserved among a people† and â€Å"an often unsupported notion, story, or saying that is widely circulated†. What does this say exactly? It basically explains that a myth is the idea of a society and that folklore is the medium for expressing the idea. Another notion that I’d like to present is that myths, in general, are used to explain indescribable occurrences and supernatural events, like creation, animals, gods, rain, death, bugs, creatures, and everything else that goes bump in the night. Within most Japanese myths, there is a creature or being that unintentionally causes a major event or does some significant action, and the vast majority of Japanese mythology deals with a great deal of gods, goddesses, spirits, and creatures (so many that the list literally goes from A to Z). Branching off of myth, folklore tells the tales of people and creatures, and how they overcome or succumb to a crisis or conflict. Most of these tales are about how the world came into being, and why things are the way they are. Some are as complex as to why the sun rises and sets and why death happens, to demons that haunt bathrooms (Aka Manto and Akaname). A lot of the legends told in mythology are deeply rooted in nature and intricately describe the coming of the varying lands and elements; earth, wind, water, fire, and lightning. Some deal with customs and traditions, while others are about legendary animals and even specific locations like a cave or an island. As stated above, there are many different categories in Japanese myth and folklore: Creation, landscape, seasons, life and death, spirits, and other lesser categories like animals and traditions. The concept of the creation myth is very simple and is greatly represented within the anime series Naruto and Pokemon. Naruto As the reader may or may not know is that Naruto is an ongoing Japanese manga comic drawn and written by Masashi Kishimoto. This series has become widely known throughout Japan, and since its inception has quickly claimed number one on many official and unofficial charts. The story of Naruto tells the take of a young boy of the same name. He is a ninja of the â€Å"Village Hidden in the Leaves†, also known as â€Å"Konohgakure (KOH-NO-HAH-GAH-KUR-REH). Approximately twelve years prior to the beginning of the series, a Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit attacked the village. The Hokage (literally shadow of fire), person/leader revered for being the wisest and most powerful, sealed the demon inside a newborn child, Naruto Uzumaki. Because the demon destroyed the village and took many lives, many people shunned Naruto and treated him as if he were the demon fox itself. This, however, drove Naruto to become the Hokage in order to gain the respect of the village. During the series he gets stronger and trains with his friends/teammates Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and the team captain Kakashi Hatake, along with countless other strong ninja, such as Jiraiya and, Orochimaru (main antagonist). Character: Naruto Uzumaki ?As stated above Naruto Uzumaki is the main protagonist of the series and a very adept ninja. As a child he was shunned by almost everyone in his village, and treated with hate and distain. This caused him to misbehave and act out in order to get the attention he wanted. Because of the prejudice and isolation he suffered, Naruto began to yearn for attention and acknowledgement, he also strove to become the Hokage. Since he became a ninja, however, he’s had to prove himself time and time again, showing that despite being a troublemaker, he is also a devoted and kind hearted person. In addition, over time his reasons for gaining the title Hokage have changed; being from wanting attention to wanting to protect his friends, loved ones, and his home. At times he can be childish, having a chubby green frog shaped wallet named â€Å"Gama-Chan†, being a picky eater, even mischievous, yet when someone or something is in danger he can become serious and will always help his friends, being loyal to a fault. Folklore: Naruto Uzumaki The first thing that I’d like you to notice are the whisker marks on both of his cheeks. This is from the Nine-tailed Fox spirit that resides within him. The demon fox is known as Kurama, and he is a Kitsune. Within the world of Japanese Myth and folklore, the kitsune are a popular subject for Japanese stories. According to legend they are a powerful, intelligent, and ancient race with many magical abilities, such as shape shifting and utilizing their wisdom and superior intelligence to cause either misfortune or joy. The way that they relate to the anime Naruto is that, like Naruto, kitsune are known to be mischievous and playful, yet can also be loyal and very powerful, like the title character himself. They are portrayed, more often than not, as tricksters that play pranks for either entertainment or vengeance, and being either kind or malevolent. Similar to the character, once a kitsune is convinced to complete an action it will put all of its effort and focus on it, even if it costs it its life. Character: Sasuke Uchiha Contrary to his current persona, Sasuke was a very kind and cheerful child. This changed, however, when his entire clan, including his parents, were killed in a massacre by his older brother, Itachi, leaving the two as the only surviving clan members and instantly orphaned. Since then, he’s become very cynical and even sadistic. Even at the age of seven, Sasuke was extremely talented, mastering techniques many years ahead of his time. He later joined forces with his childhood rival, Naruto along with Sakura Haruno, and the team captain Kakashi Hatake. At first, he was indifferent and felt superiority over his teammates, but opens up over time, seeing them as family and friends. His main goal was to kill his brother for the murder of their entire clan, which entailed his defection from his village. Prior to this, though, he is attacked and inflicted with Orochimru’s â€Å"Cursed Seal of Heaven† mark, giving him immense strength, and a reason to go after his brother. Three years pass since is defection and he has grown greatly, growing strong enough to defeat Orochimaru. Folklore: Sasuke Uchiha ?Before I begin I must say that this character in particular has a lot of allusions to Japanese myth and lore. In any well written story, the name is a key part of how the character may be perceived. This is true for many characters, but perhaps even more so for the character Sasuke. His name is derived from the character Sarutobi Sasuke, and when inspected the name can be broken up into saru (monkey) and tobi (jump). The famous shinobi (ninja) was known for his monkey like agility and acrobatic prowess. Even at a young age, Sasuke of Naruto was seen as a child prodigy, being skilled in weaponry and physically superior to his class mates. Artist’s rendition of imperial regalia An avid Naruto fan may also take notice of Sasuke’s ocular ability known as the Sharingan. The sharingan, also called the mirror wheel eye, is a genetic ability shared only by people within the Uchiha clan. The name itself and the symbols within it are allusions to the imperial regalia of Japan; the Yata Mirror, the sword known as Kusanagi, and the Magatama jewel. In myth the mirror was used to lure the sun goddess Amaterasu out of a cave, bringing sunlight back to the world, and represents the truth as it can only reflects what is truly in front of it. Upon closer inspection, one may notice that within the eye are up to three marks surrounding the pupil. The comma -like marks are known as Tomoe. The Tomoe represent a multitude of ideas and objects. The most prominent of them are that they represent the second of the imperial regalia, the Magatama jewel. Along with the mirror, the jewel was employed to lure Amaterasu out Tomoe highlighted in red f the cave where she hid. The jewels were also sacred gifts given to her by the god of jewels, Ame-no-Futodama-no-mikoto. The Tomoe also represents the war deity Hachiman. Ancient samurai would adorn their armor with this crest to bring good fortune on the battlefield. Susanoo Along with the mirror and the jewel, there is the Kusanagi Sword, or â€Å"Grass Cutting Sword† (? ) In the story, Susanoo earns a sword from vanquishing an eight headed snake (Yamata-no-Orochimaru) and pulls it from its body. He then presents it to her to settle an old rivalry between them. The sword then was called â€Å"Sword of Gathering Clouds of Heaven†, and it was in the possession of a skilled warrior, Yamato Takeru. In his battles he discovers that the sword is able to control the air in the direction in which it is cast. According to legend he was in tall grass field. An emperor then sent flaming arrows at him, trying to ignite the grass and burn him alive. In one foul swoop, Yamato cut down the entire field and sent the arrows back with the swords burst of air. In the anime, Sasuke wields a sword by the same name and it is able to â€Å"cut air†, levitate the sword, and transmit the user’s ability to control lightning. Furthermore, the original sword that Sasuke wielded was taken from his former master Orochimaru, a ninja who’s theme and transformation-or true self- was an eight headed snake. Aside from the mere appearance of the Sharingan, the ocular magnificence holds other powers. To understand this, we must go back and learn a little about Japanese Creation Myth. In the beginning there were two gods Izanami (first woman) and Izanagi (first man). They created the eight islands of Japan and brought fire to the world, but in doing so, Izanami lost her life while giving birth to the god of fire. Stricken with depression, Izanagi went into Yomi (Hell) to retrieve his beloved. In the darkness, he found Izanami. She told him not to look at her, whish confused him, but he agreed. He begged her to return with him, but she had already eaten the food of the underworld, and could no longer leave. She agreed, though, and told him that she needed to rest. After waiting for Izanami, Izanagi grew worried, so he ventured back into Yomi. He lit a torch this time and what he saw disgusted him; Izanami’s once beautiful and elegant body was ruined by decay and foul creatures. He let out a cry and ran to the entrance to the world of the living. She sent creatures after him, but he managed to escape. She exclaimed that if he left, she would take 1,000 people every day, as he escaped he replied to create 1,500 people, thus starting the cycle of life and death. After escaping from Yomi, Izanagi wished to cleanse himself. He discarded his clothing, which formed gods, and went into the river. As he washed his face, three major gods were created; Amaterasu from the left eye, Tsukuyomi from the right eye, and Suasanoo from his nose. These three controlled the sun, moon, and sea and storms respectively. In the anime the Sharingan has many abilities, yet the most feared of them are the techniques Amaterasu: the Heavenly Illumination, Tsukuyomi: the moon reader, and Susanoo: Tempestuous God of Valor. The Sharingan allows the user to cast inextinguishable flames that never cease until its target is incinerated and are described as the flames of hell, burning as hot as the sun itself. Sasuke is able to summon these flames out of his left eye, and from his right is the illusionary weapon Tsukuyomi. This is the ability to trap an enemy in a dream, or rather nightmare, and torture them through their mind by controlling senses. Along with Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, there is Susanoo a summoned warrior that’s made of the user’s spiritual energy. The demon warrior is usually portrayed in cloth garments and wielding the sword of Kusanagi and the Yata mirror as a shield.

Hughes Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate

Hughes' Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate In the Hughes’ text, Women in World History: Volume 1, the chapter on Middle Eastern women focuses on how Islam affected their lives. Almost immediately, the authors wisely observe that â€Å"Muslim women’s rights have varied significantly with time, by region, and by class† (152). They continue with the warning that â€Å"there is far too much diversity to be adequately described in a few pages.† However, I argue that there is essential information and insight on said topic that the authors have failed to include, as well as areas of discussion with incomplete analyses. I will use Leila Ahmed’s book, Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate, as well as her essay entitled â€Å"Early Islam and the Position of Women: The Problem of Interpretation,† to cite the shortcomings of the text. After the first part of the Hughes chapter on Middle Eastern Muslim women, the emphasis shifts, from Quranic doctrine regarding women to how Muslim law and scholarship have interpreted the Quran’s direct admonitions to women. However, this shift is unfortunately subtle. The authors fail to make a clear distinction between the Quran, a sacred text believed to be the verbatim word of God; and Muslim law, which was formulated by (male) Muslim jurists who consulted the Quran and whose consensus was later declared infallible (Ahmed 58). Such a distinction is necessary because the Quran itself is vastly different from a legal document; Ahmed observes in â€Å"Early Islam and the Position of Women† that â€Å"Quranic precepts consist mainly of broad, general propositions chiefly of an ethical nature, rather than specific legalistic formulations† (59). Indeed, the Qura... ...areas of emphasis. In contrast, Leila Ahmed analyzes representations and mores of Muslim women in different social and religious contexts in order to draw conclusions about their effect on women’s--and men’s in relation to women’s--status, in earlier periods of Islam, as well as the further-reaching implications they have had for modern Muslim societies. Works Cited Ahmed, Leila. Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1992. Ahmed, Leila. â€Å"Early Islam and the Position of Women: The Problem of Interpretation.† In Women in Middle Eastern History: Shifting Boundaries in Sex and Gender, ed. Nikki R. Keddie and Beth Baron. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1991. Hughes, Sarah Shaver, and Brady Hughes. Women in World History. Vol. 1. Armonk, N.Y., and London: M.E. Sharpe, 1995.