Crimes Of Cia And Opec In 1975 Essays - Petroleum Politics

Crimes Of Cia And Opec In 1975 The Crimes Of The CIA OPEC Stalling On New Price Oil 1. Intro A. Why the events were important B. The basic problems that came with these events C. Why they could have happened 2. Paragraph 1 A. Rockefeller Papers B. How it influenced the people about the accusations 3. Paragraph 2 A. CIA incidents B. What they were accused of C. The accusations 4. Paragraph 3 A. OPEC B. Describe the events that lead up to this C. Why OPEC decided to do this D. US response to the oil prices 5. Paragraph 4 A. How these tie together or how they dont B. Influences on society C. Over all reactions 6. Conclusion A. Bring together all thoughts B. How some of this could have been solved C. Our thoughts about the government Democrat and Chronicle: A daily newspaper, which targets more liberal readers. It questions the government more severely then others. Report: CIA committed illegal acts Stanton to head CIS probe Oil exporters put off price decision to Fall Report Charges CIA with plainly unlawful acts Oil import quota survives Washington Post: A daily newspaper, less liberal standing compared to Democrat and Chronicle. Panel Finds CIA Illegality but Backs Record CIA Infiltrated 17 Area Groups, Gave Out LSD Report on CIA in Brief Ford Insists Any Oil Price Rise Should Be Limited to 7% to 8% New York Times: A daily newspaper, which targeted more liberal readers. CIA Panel Finds Plainly Unlawful Acts that Improperly Invaded American Rights Unknown people drug-test subjects Panel wants agency to watch over CIA We once again hear problems with governmental agency overly using their power and taking away rights of citizens unjustly. With these problems comes societies weary eye over the government, should society trust them or fear them. With internal problems also come international problems. Oil runs the world and the United States cant have small oil producing countries have to much power over them. However if these countries wanted they could slow the world down and create huge problems. This is what happened in the nineteen seventies, when a few of the OPEC countries decided that they wanted more money. This caused many problems in the United States and other countries; here in the US the auto industry had to change their thinking on car and engine size. With the CIA committing illegal acts against the public and OPEC raising the price for oil, the United States had many problems to face at this time. The government caused these to happen, they allowed the CIA to go on unchecked in thei r performance and activities. If the US had from the beginning given the OPEC nations the right of money they deserved the price of oil might not have shot up so severely. The US could have prevented this situation if they had done this. The Rockefeller Papers were simply a report headed by Nelson A. Rockefeller to be done on the activities of the CIA. The president had ordered a special commission to review the CIA, at the time no one had any idea how unchecked the CIA had gone on with their administration. When the report was finished the media and the public were shocked at the numerous occasions when the CIA ignored the peoples civil rights. This report brought about charges to the CIA with crimes of Plainly Unlawful acts. The report charges the CIA with using humans as guinea pigs for LSD along with numerous other crimes (Democrat and Chronicle). An example of this testing is when a civilian of the department of the Army was given LSD in a meeting with out his knowledge. He was told about the LSD 20 minutes later when he started having severe side affects. He goes on to New York for psychiatric help where he jumps from a 10-story building to his death (Washington Post). When the public herd about these accusatio ns they became more suspicious of the government; the public still had vivid memories of Water Gate and the hatred or dislike for Nixon and his administration. The people were tired of the government and their continuous lies over small guerilla warfare with South East Asia. This Report was fundamental in the some of the final large operations of the CIA. The exact crimes of the CIA are numerous; many of them have to do with the gathering of

Signal Words - The Most Comprehensive Guideline

Signal Words - The Most Comprehensive Guideline Compare And Contrast Signal Words Writing is a very complicated process, which involves multiple stages and requires lots of elements to be combined and twisted in a single drawing. Writing can also be called a sort of communication because an author aims to communicate his or her ideas in various ways. That is why, if you want to render your thoughts in a clear and engaging manner, you may surely need signal words. They are like road signs, mapping the text and connecting its parts together. They are also called transition words and aim to combine different parts of sentences or two paragraphs. Signal words types There are many types of signal words, so you need to get familiar with all of them in order to apply properly and not to confuse the reader. Emphasis words Every writing contains multiple ideas. Some of them are central, while the rest are not so important. However, there are no universal ideas, which are equally important to each and every person on Earth. Of course, global warming is a very important topic but there are still many people, who don’t believe in it.  That is why the significance of an idea depends on the author’s thoughts and the context. That is when emphasis words come in hand. They help the reader to understand what the author finds important. In such a way they get an image what side the writer is on and what his opinion on the topic is. For example: The only effective weapon to fight corruption in countries of the third word is a political command. Through such words, we understand that the author distinguishes political approach among other ways of fighting corruption. Additional words When such words are used at the beginning of the sentence, it means that the writer will be providing several arguments on the same topic. Such additional words include first, for one thing and others. For example, first of all, you need to approach your professor and ask for specific recommendations. There are also additional words, which can be used to continue the thought: in addition, moreover, secondly and so on. Words, which are used at the end of the sentence, include finally and last of all. Contrast and comparison words Such words are among the most popular ones because they help to point on differences and similarities of two various items. Comparison words: equally, likewise, just as and much more. For example, A political command is very important in dealing with corruption, just as obeying the laws. Contrast words indicate thoughts’ changes of the author. They show that the writer is willing to move in a different direction from the thoughts, which were expressed before. This is when words like but, however, still, conversely and others are used. For example: I love traveling to other states, however, I would never leave California for good. Illustration words Such words are used, when the author wants to give an example of the thought or idea, which they render. Illustration words include for instance, for example, such as, to depict and so on. For example: There are many ways we can show our affection, such as physical presence, gifts, sweet words and much more. Cause and effect signal words When using such words, the author signals that he or she is willing to mention the results of the concept, which were stated before. Examples of such words include, therefore, as a result, because and others. For example: Political command is crucial in fighting corruption because politicians are the ones, who make the policy. Final thoughts As you see from examples above, signal words bear such a name, because they act like signals of which direction the author is willing to move. They help the reader to acquire new information and follow the author’s thoughts. Importance of signal words is obvious, so you need to adapt them in your texts in order to create a strong, clear and readable text.

Seismic Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Seismic Studies - Essay Example A significant extent of advanced material and effort is required for this technique to be carried out. (Economides, p.1) This similar technique can be used discover any mineral deposits under the seafloors, that by carrying out the similar process in the ocean by means of a ship. In this case not the 'thumper truck' but the technical equipment called the air guns, shoot high pressure air into the water, due to which the energy waves travel to and into the ocean floor, as seismic event occurs when these vibrating wave go through rocks. Unlike the land case, the reflected waves aren't received by the geophones, but the hydrophones actually record and receive these waves. Sophisticated computerization is used to analyze the received waves. The computer application software can easily generate the behavior of these waves graphically and mathematically thus creating a graphical image of the rocks under the crust. A two dimensional figure can be created using the data from a single wave received this is the cross sectional image of the rock underground. A three dimensional figure can be easily generated by a number of two dimensional cross sections that can be produced when the hydrophones or the geophones from a boat or a truck respectively, sends number of vibrating waves through the ground as they move onwards on the sea level or on the ground. (Deffeyes, p. 77-79) The petrole Importance to the Industry The petroleum industry has revolutionized after the introduction of this technique. According to most of the engineers of the industry express that this techniques has substantially improved the success rate of oil drilling, as the highly detailed three dimensional images of the rocks have reduced the elements of uncertainty that maybe present at the oil drilling site. Furthermore the best sites and locations of the oil deposits underground can be located by the geologists and engineers using seismic models, thus also significantly reducing the number of wells that are actually drilled. Thus these advancements have actually raised the quality of the oil extraction processes in terms of precision, speed and productivity.. (Deffeyes, p. 71-72) Seismic reflection surveys have proved to be a hopeful expertise in reviewing the extended regions of entrenched marine sites quickly and accurately. Figure 2: Adopted from 'The National Methane Hydrates

Eyes on the Prize, Fighting Back Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Eyes on the Prize, Fighting Back - Movie Review Example The most important thing I learnt from the movie is the action taken by the NAACP to force the government to implement the recommendations of the court decision. This helps in understanding the achievements of the minority groups in fighting for the social achievements enjoyed today. The other most important thing is the admission of the first Black students to attend schools with other mixed races without rampant cases of discrimination. For instance, Central High School experienced mass action after the administration refused to admit the minorities in the school. The most interesting I learnt from the movie is the chronological depiction of the events of the early ’57 to the late ’62. The audience is able to follow the happenings and challenges faced by the civil rights activists as they tried to implement the education recommendations. Another important thing that I learned is the defiant nature of the minority activists as they forced their children to attend mixed -race schools. This encouraged the intervention of the political leaders to step in to allow equal learning opportunities among the races.

Evaluation porsche 911 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evaluation porsche 911 - Essay Example History Porsche has been a name that flashes as a synonym for amazing cars in the heart of almost all the automobile lovers in the world ever since it was founded in 1931. The brand name and the technology of the world’s most beautiful cars belong to the German Genius, Ferdinand Porsche. An originally motor designing company was transformed into a world class car manufacturer by the great vision of Ferdinand Porsche around the World War II. It was the time when the Volkswagen company had to displace Porsche for his English nativity following which he had to undergo a short-term imprisonment. This incident happened to a blessing in disguise as Ferdinand’s son, Ferry Porsche, took inspiration from his father’s skills and designed his own car which impressed the car lovers very soon. As described on its website, this car, fondly called 356 as its own design project number, changed the conservative approach to the car industry by promoting it as a field of perfect in novations for style and speed (‘Porsche: historical background’). This aerodynamic version with unprecedented power packing grabbed the attention of the world very rapidly and from then Porsche became an identity of luxury. The industrial history of Porsche can thus be ranged from 1948 till date with a number of car models and specifications of engines. An overall evaluation of the company’s profile indicates Porsches firmness in retaining its uniqueness in style and marketing. Porsche cars of different strength and enticing looks came flowing into the market over the years with the makers proving their innovation in the automobile engineering for sports utility vehicles (SUVs) as the company was incorporated to public sector in 1984, around twenty years after the introduction of Porsche 911 model. Porsche 911 A car model running a hit story for over three decades may be possible only with Porsche 911. Observers can find that the switching from its dependence on Volkswagen engines and the modification tag of Beetle brand eventually helped Porsche stand as a stalwart in the car designing field. The incredible power of its engine made it a hot choice for the racers and mountain terrain riders. Moreover, this model bears the credit for being the most sort after car with unchanged model name to capture the world market. Even when the competitors had claims that it had a wrong positioning of the engine, the 911 had the reputation for being the first sports car with a five speed transmission. The name was also a significant choice after the French Peugeot had their right reserved over the use of zero in the middle of any brand name. Thus the originally 901 became 911 when the company made commercial production of 1965 model cars. Porsche 911 design Ferdinand Alexander designed the world’s most iconic Porsche cars. The design of the Porsche 911 was introduced in the market with flying colors and this stunning design assisted this model to d ominate the auto market since its launching. The terrific design of the Porsche 911 benefited the company to win the award World’s Performance Car of the Year 2012. Today, many of the leading sports car makers try to adopt different design features of Porsche 911. The company’s philosophy has been giving particular attention to better design since its establishment. The firm’

Human Relations In The Workplace Essay

Human Relations In The Workplace Essay â€Å"Human Relations at the Workplace†. The purpose of this report is to reflect on the learned experiences from the subject â€Å"Human Relations at the Workplace†. Human Relations are very important in our life as they influence our social and professional lives. When we talk about Human Relations, there are so many relationships we generally see i.e. Family, Friendship, Social, Diplomatic, Professional etc. But one thing is common in all relations is that people do behave or act differently as they really are. And our tendency should be to learn the positive points/act/behaviour from others and neglect all negative ones. During the trimester, Prof. Chris Green had taught us about Human Relations from the book Effective Human Relations and covered topics like motivation, stress-management, work-life balance, developing yourself, time management and so many other topics related to workplace environment. I am very glad that I have got a chance to discuss my experience with Human Relations at Workplace. In the past, I also read some material regarding Human Relations when I was doing my Bachelors in Commerce in third year from Guru Nanak Dev University in India. After covering these topics again in James Cook University Brisbane, now I understand all these topics much more clearly and their direct impacts on me. Through this course and the subject matter, I have been able to develop and enhance my management and motivational skills. An additional skill that I have gained is to accept beliefs from other cultures and points of view of different people. In the past most of my friends, colleagues and relatives had similar opinions about different aspects of life. This limited me in sharing my ideas and beliefs. After working within multicultural groups, I am now able to understand better, the importance of self disclosure and personal identity. Sharing your ideas and beliefs creates trust and is the key for an effective collaboration. Now I can understand and relate these two points in a way that these could help me to improve my work and life balance. One of the reputed companies in field of sales and marketing gave me an opportunity to work for them as a sales representative. We were a team of 10 people from different social, religious and financial backgrounds. There we all learnt the power of TEAMWORK. The true value, as I see it, is that people work better collaboratively rather than competitively. It had been a very different and challenging experience for me as, personally, I was not permitted to motivate my team members with cash bonuses, nor could fire them or release them out of the project. I read motivational books/stories, and learnt that there were several strategies and ways one could try to motivate the team members. These books and articles helped me in improving my understanding regarding the ways one can motivate his/her team members within the authority given to him. My supervisor, who is one of the greatest motivators in my business life, also taught me some invaluable lessons for teamwork, as he always pushed me and motivated all my team members. This will help me in future too, as I will be able to tackle situations with other team members, managers or supervisors in a more delicate, effective and constructive way. Few lessons that I learnt from my work experience was -Gracefully admit your mistake, Motivate others by saying that â€Å"You did a good job†, Ask for others opinion. Remember these two most important words â€Å"Please† and â€Å"Thank you†. Reward in Public and Criticize in person. From my past experiences, I have also learned, that how to become leaders and how good leaders develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience. The power of the high position does not make anybody a leader; it only makes you a boss. A leader should have some leadership attributes such as beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge, and skills. In my belief, I will be able to do better at handling situations like motivation and team leading. During the trimester, I got a chance to give a presentation on Human Relation Challenges in the New Economy. In that presentation, we discussed topics related to Understanding new economy, communicating effectively with new technologies, managing people in virtual environment. Here I would like to share a true story based on â€Å"Rewards to improve Motivation†. â€Å"One of my friends is working as a Software Test Engineer in an IT company in USA. He is a contractor with that company and was doing his job well and working on one of the live projects. Then he was presented with an opportunity to work for a critical project that had high visibility in the organization. His manager asked him â€Å"Will you be able to work on two different projects side-by-side and give 24 hour support for 7 days a week?† My friend replied:†Ok†, but from inside he was not happy because there was no motivation for him for the extra work he had to do. After two-three days, his manager told him that for all this extra workload he will be paid $500 per week additionally from his normal salary and he will be given one week of vacation after the 2nd project goes live. In the above scenario Abraham Maslows Hierarchy of needs were present. His needs were of creativity and fulfilment which we refer to as Self-Actualisation needs. In this case five major areas affected his motivation- Variance of skills, Identification of task, Significance of task, autonomy and feedback. This motivated my friend and now he was more happy and efficient in his work than before.† Reference http://www.envisionsoftware.com/articles/Maslows_Needs_Hierarchy.html Further, while preparing this presentation, I had given nice colours and effects to slides. But when I saw these slides from audiences point of view, I found so many mistakes and also recognized that colour and effects do not help too much in making a good presentation. Good presentation includes proper arrangement of the good material with bold heading, underlining important tasks, diagrams, graphs etc. to make it more interesting for the audience as well as the presenter. I hope this presentation is going to improve my speaking, presentation and communication skills. Overall, in future, I should be able to work as a good team member, leader and able to understand the organizational structure thoroughly. Further, I can more effectively understand behavioural, social and cultural dimensions of my team members and subordinates. This will help me in providing and promoting healthy, effective and comfortable work environment.

Egyptain Foreign Policy In Regards To Israel & The United States. Essay

The History of the conflict in the Middle East is long and well documented. To both, and to many biased observers the history of the Egyptian/Israeli conflict is very one sided, with one government, or one people causing the continued wars between the two neighboring states. But, as any social scientist of any reputation will state, all international conflicts have more than one side, and usually are the result of events surrounding, and extending over the parties involved. Thus, using this theory as a basis, we must assume that the conflict between Israel and Egypt is more complicated than a partial observer would see it. For the purpose of this paper, we are going to examine the basic factors of Egypt’s Involvement and conflict with Israel, with some emphasis on the involvement of the United State, and the Western Nation in this conflict. Also, I wish to pay particular attention to the question of who, or what brought these countries into conflict. Were they both victi ms of their situation, or did they become actively involved in promoting conflict, or perhaps a third party source, such as the US pushed them into conflict? In 1948, the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel was read by David Ben-Gurion in Tel Aviv. The Egyptians, like most of the Arab states saw this as a creation of a Western State, backed by the British Empire, and thus an imperialistic entity in the Arab homeland. Considering the past 20 years of the Egyptian state, and of most of the Arab nations, was a continual conflict again imperial powers, the Egyptian were naturally weary and afraid of any new imperialistic powers developing in the Middle East. In September 1947, the League of Arab States decided to resist by force the plan for the partition of Palestine into an Arab and a Jewish State, and when the Jewish state was created, the armies of the various Arab states entered into Palestine to save the country for the Arabs again "Zionist" aggression. The Arabs were defeated and the Arab Countries saved a small amount of land, the Transjordon, and the West Bank. Similarly Egypt saved strip of territo ry around Gaza. The causes of this war, and Egypt’s involved can be examined in several ways. Obviously, the creation of the State of Israel ... ... Israeli withdrawal from Sinai took place as scheduled. A multinational force of observers took up positions in Sinai to monitor the peace. Egypt was allowed to station only one army division in Sinai. Since then, Egypt has had a decent relationship with Israel and the United States, and it has been seen by many Arab Countries as the traitor in many circumstances. It is perceivable that without the influence of the United States the peace in Israel would have been different, if not sooner. The United States, in order to push the cold war policies saw Israel and Egypt as pawn in their global game of politics. Especially in the early years, neither country saw the United States as a enemy nor as a ally, and thus depended on it for little. Yet, both countries saw the possibility of gaining resources from the great western power, or at least its enemy the USSR. Under Carter, however the United States, perhaps for the first time, played a peace-making role in the Middle East. Perhaps Carter was being the peaceful President, or more likely he realized the need for peace in the middle east in order to lower the gas prices, and for the US to harness the immense resources of the region.

The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 34

I don't think about those things, Elena answered in the same way Damon had spoken and for the same reason. I don't think because if I do I'll go insane. But if I go insane, what good will I be to Stefan? I couldn't help him. Instead I block it all out with walls of iron and I keep it away at any cost. â€Å"And you can manage that?† Damon asked, his voice shaking slightly. â€Å"I can – because I have to. Remember in the beginning when we were arguing about the ropes around our wrists? Meredith and Bonnie had doubts. But they knew that I would wear handcuffs and crawl after you if that was what it took.† Elena turned to look at Damon in the crimson darkness and added, â€Å"And you've given yourself away, time after time, you know.† She slipped arms around him to touch his healed back, so that he would have no doubt about what she meant. â€Å"That was for you,† Damon said harshly. â€Å"Not really,† Elena replied. â€Å"Think about it. If you hadn't agreed to the Discipline, we might have run out of town, but we could never have helped Stefan after that. When you get down to it, everything, all you've done, you've done for Stefan.† â€Å"When you get down to it, I was the one who put Stefan here in the first place,† Damon said tiredly. â€Å"I figure we're just about even now.† â€Å"How many times, Damon? You were possessed when you let Shinichi talk you into it,† Elena said, feeling exhausted herself. â€Å"Maybe you need to be possessed again – just a little – so you remember how it feels.† Every cell in Damon's body seemed to flinch away from this idea. But aloud he just said, â€Å"There's something that everyone has missed, you know. About the archetypal story of how two brothers killed each other simultaneously, and became vampires because they'd dallied with the same girl.† â€Å"What?† Elena said sharply, shocked out of her tiredness. â€Å"Damon, what do you mean?† â€Å"What I said. There's something you've all missed. Ha. Maybe even Stefan has missed it. The story gets told and retold, but nobody catches it.† Damon had turned his face away. Elena moved closer to him, just a bit, so he could smell her perfume, which was attar of roses that night. â€Å"Damon, tell me. Tell me, please!† Damon started to turn toward her – And it was at that moment that the liftmen stopped. Elena had only a second to wipe her face, and the curtains were being drawn. Meredith had told them all the myth about Bloddeuwedd, which she'd got from a story-telling globe. All about how Bloddeuwedd had been made out of flowers and brought to life by the gods, and how she had betrayed her husband to his death, and how, in punishment, she had been doomed to spend each night from midnight to dawn as an owl. And, apparently, there was something the myths didn't mention. The fact that she had been doomed to live here, banished from the Celestial Court into the deep red twilight of the Dark Dimension. All things considered, it was logical that her parties started at six in the evening. Elena found that her mind was jumping from subject to subject. She accepted a goblet of Black Magic from a slave as her eyes wandered. Every woman and most of the men at the party were wearing clever attire that changed color in the sun. Elena felt quite modest – after all, everything out of doors seemed to be pink or scarlet or wine-colored. Downing her goblet of Magic, Elena was slightly surprised to find herself going into automatic party-mode behavior, greeting people she'd met earlier in the week with cheek kisses and hugs as if she'd known them for years. Meanwhile she and Damon worked their way toward the mansion, sometimes with, sometimes against the tide of constantly moving people. They made it up one steep set of white (pink) marble stairs, which sported on either side banks of glorious blue (violet) delphiniums and pink (scarlet) wild roses. Elena stopped here, for two reasons. One was to get a new goblet of Black Magic. The first had already given her a pleasant glow – although of course everything was constantly glowing here. She was hoping that the second cup would help her forget everything that Damon had brought up in the litter except the key – and help her remember what she'd been fretting over originally, before her thoughts had been hijacked by Bonnie and Meredith's talk. â€Å"I expect the best way is just to ask someone,† she told Damon, who was suddenly and silently at her elbow. â€Å"Ask what?† Elena leaned a little toward the slave who'd just supplied her with a fresh goblet. â€Å"May I ask – where is Lady Bloddeuwedd's main ballroom?† The liveried slave looked surprised. Then, with his head, he made a gesture all around. â€Å"This plaza – below the canopy – has gained the name the Great Ballroom,† he said, bowing over his tray. Elena stared at him. Then she stared around her. Under a giant canopy – it looked semipermanent to her and was hung all around with pretty lanterns in shades that were enhanced by the sun – the smooth grass lawn stretched away for hundreds of yards on all sides. It is bigger than a football field. â€Å"What I'd like to know,† Bonnie was asking a fellow guest, a woman who had clearly been to many of Bloddeuwedd's affairs and knew her way around the mansion, â€Å"is this: which room is the main ballroom?† â€Å"Oh, my deah, it depends on what you mean,† the guest replied cheerfully. â€Å"Theah's the Great Ballroom out of doors – you must have seen it while climbing – the big pavilion? And then theah's the White Ballroom inside. That's lit with candelabras and has the curtains drawn all round. Sometimes it's called the Waltz Room, since all that is played in there is waltzes.† But Bonnie was still caught in horror a few sentences back. â€Å"There's a ballroom outside?† she said shakily, hoping that somehow she hadn't heard right. â€Å"That's it, deah, you can see through that wall theah.† The woman was telling the truth. You could see through the wall, because the walls were all of glass, one beyond another, allowing Bonnie to see what seemed to be an illusion done with mirrors: lighted room after lighted room, all filled with people. Only the last room on the bottom floor seemed to be made out of something solid. That must be the White Ballroom. But through the opposite wall, where the guest was pointing – oh, yes. There was a canopy top. She remembered vaguely passing it. The other thing she remembered was†¦ â€Å"They dance on the grass? That – enormous field of grass?† â€Å"Of course. It's all especially cut and rolled smooth. You won't trip over a weed or hummock of ground. Are you sure you're feeling quite well? You look rathah pale. Well† – the guest laughed – â€Å"as pale as anyone can look in this light.† â€Å"I'm fine,† Bonnie said dazedly. â€Å"I'm just†¦fine.† The two parties met later and told each other of the horrors that they had unearthed. Damon and Elena had discovered that the ground of the outdoor ballroom was almost as hard as rock – anything that had been buried there before the ground was rolled smooth by heavy rollers would now be packed down in something like cement. The only place that anyone could dig there was around the perimeter. â€Å"We should have brought a diviner,† Damon said. â€Å"You know, someone who uses a forked stick or a pendulum or a bit of a missing person's clothing to home in on the correct area.† â€Å"You're right,† Meredith said, her tone clearly adding for once. â€Å"Why didn't we bring a diviner?† â€Å"Because I don't know of any,† Damon said, with his sweetest, most ferocious barracuda smile. Bonnie and Meredith had found that the inside ballroom's flooring was rock – very beautiful white marble. There were dozens of floral arrangements in the room, but all that Bonnie had stuck her small hand into (as unobtrusively as possible) were simply cut flowers in a vase of water. No soil, nothing that could justify using the term â€Å"buried in.† â€Å"And besides, why would Shinichi and Misao put the key in water they knew would be thrown out in a few days?† Bonnie asked, frowning, while Meredith added, â€Å"And how do you find a loose floorboard in marble? So we can't see how it could be buried there. By the way, I checked – and the White Ballroom has been here for years, so there's no chance that they dumped it under the building stones, either.† Elena, by now drinking her third goblet of Black Magic, said, â€Å"All right. The way we look at this is: one room scratched off the list. Now, we've already got half of the key – look how easy that was – â€Å" â€Å"Maybe that was just to tease us,† Damon said, raising an eyebrow. â€Å"To get our hopes up, before dashing them completely†¦here.† â€Å"That can't be,† Elena said desperately, glaring at him. â€Å"We've come so far – farther than Misao ever imagined we would. We can find it. We will find it.† â€Å"All right,† Damon said, suddenly deadly serious. â€Å"If we have to pretend to be staff and use pickaxes on that soil outdoors, we'll do it. But first, let's go through the entire house inside. That seemed to work well last time.† â€Å"All right,† Meredith said, for once looking straight at him and without disapproval. â€Å"Bonnie and I will take the upstairs floors and you can take the downstairs ones – maybe you can make something of that White Waltz Ballroom.† â€Å"All right.† They set to work. Elena wished that she could calm down. Despite most of three goblets of Black Magic oscillating inside her – or perhaps because of them – she was seeing certain things in new lights. But she must keep her mind on the quest – and only on the quest. She would do anything – anything – she told herself, to get the key. Anything for Stefan. The White Ballroom smelled of flowers and was garlanded with large, opulent blooms in the midst of abundant greenery. Standing arrangements were placed to shield an area around a fountain into an intimate nook where couples could sit. And, although there was no visible orchestra, music poured into the ballroom, demanding a response from Elena's susceptible body. â€Å"I don't suppose you know how to waltz,† Damon said suddenly, and Elena realized that she had been swaying in time to the beat, eyes closed. â€Å"Of course I do,† Elena answered, a little offended. â€Å"We all of us went to Ms. Hopewell's classes. That was the equivalent of charm school in Fell's Church,† she added, seeing the funny side of it and laughing at herself. â€Å"But Ms. Hopewell did love to dance, and she taught us every dance and movement she thought was graceful. That was when I was about eleven.† â€Å"I suppose it would be absurd for me to ask you to dance with me,† Damon said. Elena looked at him with what she knew were large and puzzled eyes. Despite the low-cut scarlet dress, she didn't feel like an irresistible siren tonight. She was too wrought up to feel the magic woven in the cloth, magic which she now realized was telling her she was a dancing flame, a fire elemental. She supposed that Meredith must feel like a quiet stream, flowing swiftly and steadily to her destination, but sparkling and glinting all the way. And Bonnie – Bonnie, of course was a sprite of the air, meant to dance as lightly as a feather in that opalescent dress, barely subject to gravity. But abruptly Elena remembered certain glances of admiration she had seen directed toward herself. And now suddenly Damon was vulnerable? Yet he didn't imagine she would dance with him? â€Å"Of course I would love to dance,† she said, realizing with a slight shock that she hadn't noticed before, that Damon was in flawless white tie. Of course, it was on the one night when it might hinder them, but it made him look like a prince of the blood. Her lips quirked slightly at the title. Of the blood†¦oh, yes. â€Å"Are you sure you know how to waltz?† she asked him. â€Å"A good question. I took it up in 1885 because it was known to be riotous and indecent. But it depends on whether you are speaking of the peasant waltz, the Viennese Waltz, the Hesitation Waltz, or – â€Å" â€Å"Oh, come on, or we'll miss another dance.† Elena grabbed his hand, feeling tiny sparks as if she'd stroked a cat's fur the wrong way, and pulled him into the swaying crowd. Another waltz began. Music flooded into the room and lifted Elena almost off her feet as the small hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Her body tingled all over as if she had drunk some sort of celestial elixir. It was her favorite waltz since childhood: the one she'd been brought up on. Tchaichovsky's Sleeping Beauty waltz. But some child part of her mind could never help but pairing the sweet sweeping notes that came after the thundering, electrifying beginning together with the words from the Disney movie version: I know you; I danced with you once upon a dream†¦. As always, they brought tears to her eyes; they made her heart sing and her feet want to fly rather than dance. Her dress was backless. Damon's warm hand was on her bare skin there. I know, something whispered to her, why they called this dance riotous and indecent. And now, certainly, Elena felt like a flame. We were meant to be this way. She couldn't remember if it was an old quote of Damon's or something new he was just barely whispering to her mind now. Like two flames that join and merge into one. You're good, Damon told her, and this time she knew that it was him speaking and that it was in the present. You don't need to patronize me. I'm too happy already! Elena laughed back. Damon was an expert, and not just at the precision of the steps. He danced the waltz as if it were still riotous and indecent. He had a firm lead, which of course Elena's human strength could not break. But he could interpret little signals of her own, about what she wanted and he obliged her, as if they were ice dancing, as if at any moment they might twirl and leap. Elena's stomach was slowly melting and taking her other internal organs with it. And it never once occurred to her to think what her high school friends and rivals and enemies would have thought of her melting over classical music. She was free of petty spite, petty shame over differences. She was through with labeling. She wished that she could go back to show everyone that she'd never meant it in the first place. The waltz was over all too soon and Elena wanted to push the Replay button and do it from the beginning again. There was a moment just when the music stopped where she and Damon were looking at each other, with equal exaltation and yearning and – And then Damon bowed over her hand. â€Å"There is more to the waltz than just moving your feet,† he said, not looking up at her. â€Å"There is a swaying grace that can be put into the movements, a leaping flame of joy and oneness – with the music, with a partner. Those are not matters of expertise. Thank you very much for giving me the pleasure.† Elena laughed because she wanted to cry. She never wanted to stop dancing. She wanted to tango with Damon – a real tango, the kind you were supposed to have to get married after. But there was another mission†¦a necessary mission that had to be completed. And, as she turned, there were a whole crowd of other things in front of her. Men, demons, vampires, beastlike creatures. All of them wanted a dance. Damon's tuxedoed back was walking away from her. Damon! He paused but did not turn back. Yes? Help me! We need to find the other half of the key! It seemed to take him a moment to assess the situation, but then he understood. He came back to her, and taking her by the hand said in a clear, ringing voice, â€Å"This girl is my†¦personal assistant. I do not desire that she dance with anyone other than myself.† There was a restless murmuring at this. The kind of slaves that got taken to balls of this sort were not usually the kind that were forbidden to interact with strangers. But just then there was a sort of flurry at the side of the room, eventually pressing toward the opposite side where Damon and Elena were. â€Å"What is it?† Elena asked, the dance and the key both forgotten. â€Å"Who is it, I'd ask, rather,† Damon replied. â€Å"And I'd answer: our hostess, Lady Bloddeuwedd herself.† Elena found herself crowding behind other people to get a glimpse of this most extraordinary creature. But when she actually saw the girl standing alone in the doorway to the ballroom, she gasped. She was made out of flowers†¦ Elena remembered. What would a girl made out of flowers look like? She would have skin like the faintest blush of pink on an apple blossom, Elena thought, staring unashamedly. Her cheeks would be slightly deeper pink, like a dawn-colored rose. Her eyes, enormous in her delicate, perfect face, would be the color of larkspur, with heavy feathery black lashes that would make them droop half-shut, as if she walked always half in a dream. And she would have yellow hair as pale as primroses, falling down almost to the floor, wound in braids that were themselves incorporated into thicker braids until the whole mass was brought together just above her delicate ankles. Her lips would be as red as poppies, half-open and inviting. And she would give off a scent that was like a bouquet of all the first blossoms of spring. She would walk as if swaying in the breeze. Elena could only remember standing, gazing after this vision like the dozens of other guests around her. Just one more second to drink in such loveliness, her mind begged. â€Å"But what was she wearing?† Elena heard herself say aloud. She could not remember either a stunning dress or a glimpse of lustrous apple-blossom skin through the many braids. â€Å"Some sort of gown. It was made out of what else? Flowers,† Damon put in wryly. â€Å"She was wearing a dress made of every kind of flower I've ever seen. I don't understand how they stayed put – maybe they were silk and sewn together.† He was the only one who didn't seem dazzled by this vision. â€Å"I wonder if she would talk to us – just a few words,† Elena said. She was longing to hear the delicate, magical girl's voice. â€Å"I doubt it,† a man in the crowd answered her. â€Å"She doesn't talk much – at least until midnight. Say! It's you! How're you feeling?† â€Å"Very well, thank you,† Elena replied politely, and then quickly stepped back. She recognized the speaker as one of the young men who had forced their cards on Damon at the end of the Godfather's ceremony, the night of her Discipline. Now she just wanted to get away unobtrusively. But there were too many of the men, and it was clear that they were not about to let her and Damon go. â€Å"This is the girl I told you about. She goes into a trance and no matter how she's marked; she doesn't feel a thing – â€Å" † – blood running down her sides like water and she never flinched – â€Å" â€Å"They're a professional act. They go on the road†¦.† Elena was just about to say, coolly, that Bloddeuwedd had strictly forbidden this kind of barbarism at her party, when she heard one of the young vampires saying, â€Å"Don't you know, I was the one who persuaded Lady Bloddeuwedd to ask you to this get-together. I told her about your act and she was most interested to see it.† Well, scratch one excuse, Elena thought. But at least be nice to these young men. They might be helpful somehow later. â€Å"I'm afraid I can't do it tonight,† she said, quietly, so that they would be quiet themselves. â€Å"I'll apologize to Lady Bloddeuwedd directly, of course. But it just isn't possible.† â€Å"Yes, it is.† Damon's voice, just behind her, astounded her. â€Å"It's quite possible – given that someone finds my amulet.† Damon! What are you saying? Hush! What I have to. â€Å"Unfortunately, about three and a half weeks ago I lost a very important amulet. It looks like this.† He brought out the half of the fox key and let them all take a good look at it. â€Å"Is that what you used to do the trick?† someone asked, but Damon was far too clever for that. â€Å"No, many people saw me do the act just a week or so ago without it. This is a personal amulet, but with part of it missing, I simply don't feel like doing magic.† â€Å"It looks like a little fox. You're not a kitsune?† someone – too clever for their own good, Elena thought – asked next. â€Å"It may look like that to you. It's actually an arrow. An arrow with two green stones at the arrowhead. It's a – masculine charm.† A female voice somewhere in the crowd said: â€Å"I shouldn't think you need any more masculine charm than you have right now!† and there was laughter.

The Slave Boy Experiment in Platos Meno

The Slave Boy Experiment in Plato's 'Meno' One of the most famous passages in all of Platos works- indeed, in all of philosophy- occurs in the middle of the  Meno. Meno asks Socrates if he can prove the truth of his strange claim that all learning is recollection (a claim that Socrates connects to the idea of reincarnation). Socrates responds by calling over a slave boy and, after establishing that he has had no mathematical training, setting him a geometry problem. The Geometry Problem The boy is asked how to double the area of a square. His confident first answer is that you achieve this by doubling the length of the sides. Socrates shows him that this, in fact, creates a square four times larger than the original. The boy then suggests extending the sides by half their length. Socrates points out that this would turn a 2x2 square (area 4) into a 3x3 square (area 9). At this point, the boy gives up and declares himself at a loss. Socrates then guides him by means of simple step-by-step questions to the correct answer, which is to use the diagonal of the original square as the base for the new square. The Soul Immortal According to Socrates, the boys ability to reach the truth and recognize it as such proves that he already had this knowledge within him; the questions he was asked simply stirred it up, making it easier for him to recollect it. He argues, further, that since the boy didnt acquire such knowledge in this life, he must have acquired it at some earlier time; in fact, Socrates says, he must have always known it, which indicates that the soul is immortal. Moreover, what has been shown for geometry also holds for every other branch of knowledge: the soul, in some sense, already possesses the truth about all things. Some of Socrates inferences here are clearly a bit of a stretch. Why should we believe that an innate ability to reason mathematically implies that the soul is immortal? Or that we already possess within us empirical knowledge about such things as the theory of evolution, or the history of Greece? Socrates himself, in fact, acknowledges that he cant be certain about some of his conclusions. Nevertheless, he evidently believes that the demonstration with the slave boy proves something. But does it? And if so, what? One view is that the passage proves that we have innate ideas- a kind of knowledge we are quite literally born with. This doctrine is one of the most disputed in the history of philosophy. Descartes, who was clearly influenced by Plato, defended it. He argues, for instance, that God imprints an idea of Himself on each mind that he creates. Since every human being possesses this idea, faith in God is available to all. And because the idea of God is the idea of an infinitely perfect being, it makes possible other knowledge which depends on the notions of infinity and perfection, notions that we could never arrive at from experience. The doctrine of innate ideas is closely associated with the rationalist philosophies of thinkers like Descartes and Leibniz. It was fiercely attacked by John Locke, the first of the major British empiricists. Book One of Lockes  Essay on Human Understanding  is a famous polemic against the whole doctrine. According to Locke, the mind at birth is a tabula rasa, a blank slate. Everything we eventually know is learned from experience. Since the 17th century (when Descartes and Locke produced their works), the empiricist skepticism regarding innate ideas has generally had the upper hand. Nevertheless, a version of the doctrine was revived by the linguist Noam Chomsky. Chomsky was struck by the remarkable achievement of every child in learning language. Within three years, most children have mastered their native language to such an extent that they can produce an unlimited number of original sentences. This ability goes far beyond what they can have learned simply by listening to what others say: the output exceeds the input. Chomsky argues that what makes this possible is an innate capacity for learning language, a capacity that involves intuitively recognizing what he calls the universal grammar- the deep structure- that all human languages share. A Priori Although the specific doctrine of innate knowledge presented in the  Meno  finds few takers today, the more general view that we know some things a priori- i.e. prior to experience- is still widely held. Mathematics, in particular, is thought to exemplify this sort of knowledge. We dont arrive at theorems in geometry or arithmetic by conducting empirical research; we establish truths of this sort simply by reasoning. Socrates may prove his theorem using a diagram drawn with a stick in the dirt but we understand immediately that the theorem is necessarily and universally true. It applies to all squares, regardless of how big they are, what they are made of, when they exist, or where they exist. Many readers complain that the boy does not really discover how to double the area of a square himself: Socrates guides him to the answer with leading questions. This is true. The boy would probably not have arrived at the answer by himself. But this objection misses the deeper point of the demonstration: the boy is not simply learning a formula that he then repeats without real understanding (the way most of us are doing when we say something like, e mc squared). When he agrees that a certain proposition is true or an inference is valid, he does so because he grasps the truth of the matter for himself. In principle, therefore, he could discover the theorem in question, and many others, just by thinking very hard. And so could we all!

Tips for Teachers on Creating a Dyslexia-Friendly Classroom

Tips for Teachers on Creating a Dyslexia-Friendly Classroom A dyslexia  friendly classroom begins with a dyslexia friendly teacher. The first step toward making your classroom a welcoming learning environment for students with dyslexia is to learn about it. Understand how dyslexia impacts a childs ability to learn and what the main symptoms are. Unfortunately, dyslexia is still misunderstood. Many people believe that dyslexia is when children ​reverse letters and while this can be a sign of dyslexia in young children, there is much more to this language-based learning disabilities. The more you know about dyslexia, the better you can help your students. As a teacher, you may worry about neglecting the rest of your class as you institute changes for one or two students with dyslexia. It is estimated that 10 percent to 15 percent of students have dyslexia. That means you probably have at least one student with dyslexia and possibly there are additional students that have never been diagnosed. The strategies you implement in your classroom for students with dyslexia will benefit all of your students. When you makes changes to help students with dyslexia, you are making positive changes for the entire class. Changes You Can Make in the Physical Environment Have an area of the room designated as a quiet area. Carpeting this area will help keep down noise. Minimize distractions to allow students with dyslexia to have an area they can read or concentrate on class work. For students with dyslexia who are showing signs of anxiety, this can be a time-out area when they are feeling very nervous, upset or frustrated.Place analog and digital clocks on the wall, right next to each other. This will help students see both ways of showing time, connecting the digital time with how it looks on a clock.Set aside several areas of the board for daily information. Write down the day and date each morning and post the days homework assignments each morning. Use the same spot each day and make your writing large enough for them to easily see it from their seats. Large writing helps students with dyslexia find their place when copying information into their notebooks.Post high-frequency words and information that is used often around the room. For younger children, this could be the alphabet, for elementary age children it could be the days of the week, for older children it could be word walls of vocabulary words. Strips with this information can be taped to the students desk as well. This helps to reduce memory work and lets children with dyslexia focus on other skills. For younger children, add pictures to the words to help them connect the written word with the object. Have children with dyslexia sit near the teacher. This doesnt necessarily mean they must sit in the first seat but they should be able to easily see the teacher using peripheral vision. Students should also be seated away from talkative children to minimize distractions. Teaching Methods Use slower speech and simple sentences. Students with dyslexia may need a longer time to process information, use pauses when speaking to give them time. Integrate examples and visual representations in lessons to help aid in comprehension.Provide worksheets for organizing information for writing assignments. Have templates with different types of writing frames and mind maps that students can choose from when preparing a writing assignment.Do not require a student with dyslexia to read aloud in class. If the student volunteers, let him read. You might want to offer a student the opportunity to read aloud and give her a few paragraphs to read and practice at home before speaking out loud.Integrate different ways for students to show their knowledge of a subject. Use visual presentations, powerpoint projects, poster boards and discussions to help a child participate without feeling embarrassed or fearing failure.Use multi-sensory lessons. Students with dyslexia have been found to lear n better when more than one sense is activated. Use art projects, skits, and hands-on activities to reinforce lessons. Assessments and Grading Allow students with dyslexia to use electronic helpers when completing class work or tests. Examples include an electronic dictionary, speller or thesaurus, computers and talking calculators.Do not take off points for spelling. If you mark spelling errors, do so separately and create a list of words frequently misspelled for students to refer to during writing assignments.Offer oral testing and extended time for formal assessments. Working Individually with Students In the beginning of the school year, work closely with a student to assess their knowledge of phonics and set up a plan and specific practice sessions to help strengthen weak areas.Assess a students strengths and weaknesses. Use teaching methods to help build on strengths. Children with dyslexia may have strong reasoning and problem-solving skills. Use these as building blocks.Praise a childs achievements, no matter how small.Use positive reinforcement programs, instituting rewards and consequences to help a child learn to cope with symptoms of dyslexia.Supply a schedule of the school day. For younger children include pictures.Above all, remember that students with dyslexia are not stupid or lazy. References: Creating a Dyslexia-Friendly Classroom, 2009, Bernadette McLean, BarringtonStoke, Helen Arke Dyslexia Center The Dyslexia-Friendly Classroom, LearningMatters.co.uk

Creative story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Creative story - Essay Example He had planned to take him and his friends on a tour to Chicago a place his young son had always dreamt of going to. John and his friend Peter matched out of the classroom towards the gate with happy faces on them as they tried to fantasize of the events of the big day ahead. The hard work of John was going to be rewarded and for once in his life the adage that states ‘Hard work never goes unrewarded’ was making sense On that day, John and peter decided to board a public vehicle instead of the school bus since they wanted to stop over in the neighboring town to pick up a friend. They did not have the slightest idea of the misfortunes that be-waited them in the next fears minutes. A personal vehicle stopped at the bus station and waved at them and thinking that the driver was a good person they accepted the offer for the lift. They guy looked young, handsome and friendly but the English men never missed the mark when they said all that glitters is not gold. Upon reaching their destination, John requested the driver to stop but he could not listen. He accelerated the vehicle and showed a deaf ear to request of the now frightened kids. The man continued driving and the kids kept on asking him to stop but he paid no attention to them. He kept driving and when darkness fell in, John began having the idea that things were now in total mess and something bad was about to happen. The vehicle came to a sudden stop and the two kids were forced out of the vehicle. The man who had seemed an angel at first became the worst beast John had ever met in his life. He matched them into the darkness using a spot light and John was now sure that they had been kidnapped. The man handled them mercilessly as they walked into the thorny bushes. Feelings of resentment and despair filled John and he began regretting having not boarded the school bus. They finally they arrived at the unknown destination and they were locked up

Media Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Media Ethics - Essay Example Ultimately, I will conclude that the primary reason many media organizations may find themselves â€Å"aiding† terrorist is not out of the inevitability of an incidental connection, but a money-oriented strategy. Unlike other commentators, Held does not try to invoke the role of news media as a fourth branch or government, but takes the position that everyone in a moral society is obliged to promote the reduction of political violence. This position, in her opinion is partially relevant for those working in the media since it plays a key role in shaping public opinion, which is ultimately the objective of those that engage in political violence. She bases her argument on the claim that the media cannot be relied on to play its moral role in the war against terror since it is predominantly driven by profit motives. Even from a laypersons perspective, the media assist common sense in decreasing incidences of political violence. However, this is not as obvious to members of the fourth estate who tend to present news in the most dramatic and emotive way possible so as to exploit public outrage or fear for increased rating and create a sense of dependency. Given current reporting trends, it is cl ear that the infamous adage, â€Å"tell the people what they want hear† is alive. For example, they will rarely provide objective coverage of the arguments for and against the views by political dissidents unless they happen to be iconic figures such as Dalai Lama. She suggest that the press should air the view of everyone involved in an incidence since many acts of terror are committed by people who feel they are ignored and want to force society to acknowledge their existence and grievances. Her proposal on this matter is on point since in many cases, would be perpetrators of political violence will not get attention from the media unless they do something drastic. Held preeminently talks about the profit motive, which she cites rightly as