English Castle Essay Essays

English Castle Essay Essays English Castle Essay Essay English Castle Essay Essay Palaces are munitions made to protect resources and lives every bit good. It is besides the chief construction of defence. Walls made of big chiseled heavy rocks that are stacked to flawlessness. The palace has a stable. depot. bakeshops. kitchens. bungalows and quarters for soldiers. Normally a metropolis a situated in a palace where a metropolis is surrounded by walls and the lone entryway is a individual immense gate. This gate is where the merchandisers and enterprisers trade goods for the metropolis market. It was the Norman vanquishers who made the palace constructing an art. They built palaces chiefly as a defence outstation. They situate a palace in a high land wherein it will be surrounded by H2O or a deep ditch. It was supposed to be high because it will detain interlopers from assailing besides it will be really susceptible for bowmans to snipe down interlopers. Castle acts as supports or fastnesss that no 1 can perforate. A palace is governed by a male monarch. the highest regulation. In the English scene. palaces were built in Medieval epoch. wherein palaces were made out of rock. This is a additive representation of what has transpired back so. In the Stone age. Causewayed Camps and Stonehenge was discovered. The Bronze age produced the Hillforts of England and the Maiden Castle. which is considered to be the biggest palace. In the Iron Age and the Romans Hillforts of England was reinforced since the English were under besieging. The English people put up Hadrian’s Wall and the Roman Forts as a line of defence. After the Romans have fallen. the English people were ungratified with war and were attacked by Scotts. the Welch and the Anglo-Saxons. These encroachers were besides accompanied by the sudden onslaughts of the Vikings. By that clip Alfred the great idea of defence mechanism to do England less susceptible for onslaughts. Alfred the great made the non a formation of walls alternatively made a strategic placement of bastioned towns that was called â€Å"Burhs† . Logically. if there are many bastioned towns reenforcing each other so there will less onslaughts made because the opportunities of endurance will be little. This happened in the reign of the Anglo-Saxon which is besides known as the Dark Ages. But the root of all the esteemed palaces made were from the Medieval Period spearheaded by the Norman Invasion in which they introduced the Motte and Bailey palace which is made from rock and wood. At this clip. the Medieval Kings have devised a program to raise Windsor and Warwick Castle. Then King Edward I conquered the Wales. He established the monolithic munitions called Concentric Castles. Examples of these Concentric Castles are the Cowny. Harlech and the Caernarvon Castle. Concentric Castles were besides called Edwardian Castles. They have no basic points of concentration. Their defence is the wall rings built around them and the entryway is a individual gate that serves as span and besides served as the gate. They lower the Gatess in the forenoon and stopping points at dark. Palaces in general are chiefly for protection and besides for economic intents. There are estimated to be 72 English Palaces and here are some of them: Alnwick. Lindisfarne. Warwick. Carisbrooke. Pevensey. Tintagel. Stafford. Pendennis. Lancaster. Herstmonceux. Saint Mawes. Grimsthorpe. Calshot. Rochester. Ludlow. Kenilworth. Richmond. Carlisle. Yarmouth. Bodiam and Scotney Castle. Among those Numberss of Castle. a few stand-out such as Pontefract. Bodiam. Caister. Allington. Hever. Tower of London. Windsor. Warwick and Leeds Castle. Pontefract Castle was King Charles last fortress in the Civil War. Bodiam Castle was erected by a soldier in the clip of King Edward III named Sir John Dalyngrudge. He believed that strengthening the palace would do it difficult for interlopers to perforate. Caister Castle was built by Sir John Fastolfe. who fought in the Gallic Wars. In the Allington Castle. Sir Thomas Wyatt was born. This palace was his sanctuary for composing the prose and poetry of his verse form. Hever Castle has a beautiful garden ever been associated with Queen Anne Boleyn which is the courtesan of King Henry VIII. The Tower of London is considered to be the royal abode of the King. It besides means that it was the centre of power. Tower of London is non a individual tower but it consists of other different tower as defence constructions. It thwarted the onslaughts of the Vikings. Beheading and anguishs are besides done here to demo disenchantment the people from the strength the authorities has and besides to advance fright to their enemies. Windsor Castle is longest standing palace with its nine hundred old ages of its glorious being. The Windsor Castle is comprised of three wards viz. : Saint George’s Chapel as the lower ward. royal flats and grad province suites as the upper ward and in-between ward is an amphitheatre. The Warwick Castle follows a Motte and Bailey manner that is made of wood but since the William the vanquisher was in-charge the he changed the wooden portion of the palace into rock by working the Anglo-Saxon labour force. Last. the Leeds Castle. which lies on the River of Len and is strategically engineered between to adjacent islands. The name Leeds came from King Ethelbert IV called Ledian. Whatever the advantages of Motte and Bailey and Concetric designs. for being inexpensive and petroleum or tough and expensive. it certainly made the history of England really meaningful. Acquisitions of land here and at that place entailed that there was a decentralised regulation of power and due to it colonisers took advantage of it and waged war. The Norman vanquishers should be proud on what they have achieved. Today. palaces are merely leftovers of what has transpired back so. All of which is written in history. engraved in our memory. The adversities and agonies of those who are tortured are shouting in the air where the palace stood. Ghosts of the dead hangout these sacred topographic points. a topographic point rich with tradition and full of award and self-respect. Palaces are non merely munitions for protection but a shelter for the weak and laden. a symbol of courage and diplomatic negotiations and above all a symbol of life in its borrowed being. The English Castles are rich with memories of the executed and the times of victory. For what of it remains is what is ours to continue. Its being can neer be replaced. its value. its worth. and its beauty. Last. palaces are non built by rock. wood or clay. it is made of the people’s blood. perspiration and cryings. Peoples visit English palaces because of awe and astonishment that it brings to them. Its construction reminds them of how people have lived and it besides depicts the events that have transpired back so. Since wars are the preponderantly remembered association with palaces. rumours and narratives about the being of shades emerged. The being of shades is attributed to the executings done inside a palace and besides to the captives kept in the keep. Though there is no material grounds to demo that there are shades within these palaces. people still insists its being. The intricate designs and ornamentation around the palace adds up to the mysticism it brings to the visitants. The chief attractive force in sing palaces is the topographic point where the throne is situated since in represents royalty and laterality over a big graduated table of people. But there is besides an equal pulling portion of the palace in contrast to the throne is the keep or den. This is where captives of war are kept. In this topographic point. it is believed that captives are being tortured to decease to pull out information from their ground forces. Since. trueness is valued. these captives are executed and their shrieks fill the air like a vibrating sound of a shade. Death is considered to be the stoping of their torture. In amount. palaces are visited based on their history and to what historical events have happened at that place. Castles best explicate how the preexistent people have lived their lives and besides it demo how engineering have transcended to what it is right now. The scientific technology and planning of making a good palace is logically thought of. Every item of a palace has a rational intent. It was distinctively modified upon the demands of the people populating in it. Last. the durable palaces are the groundss of the great historical events for the English people.

IT - The Stuxnet Virus Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

IT - The Stuxnet Virus - Research Paper Example government. Examining the phenomenon in a more general context, it can be claimed that the emergence of the virus poses serious threats to the national security of any country due to its ability to identify and exploit the equipments that directly control critical infrastructures (Kerr, Rollins & Theohary, 2010). As a result, such virus could manipulate the security system of a country which could threaten the government’s ability to safeguard national security interests (Kerr, Rollins & Theohary, 2010). Therefore, there is a need for government officials to work closely with IT experts on building, maintaining and enhancing a country’s national security programs. In this paper, we examine, in more detail, the Stuxnet virus by highlighting on its primary components and capacities. After which, we revisit the current cyber security program of the U.S. to determine its key strengths and weaknesses. We end this paper with a recommendation on how the program can be reinforc ed. The Stuxnet Virus The Stuxnet Virus was first reported in June, 2010 by a security firm based in Belarus. Identified as the first malware that was specifically designed to attack the industrial control system of a nuclear power plant, the virus was allegedly created to either disrupt the country’s power supply or enrich the plant’s uranium content. Studying the primary capacities of the Stuxnet Virus, Thabet (n.d.) purported that the malware attacked and disrupted a Microsoft Windows-based application that is employed by the ICS of the nuclear plant. The worm spread through an air-gapped network either through a removable device like thumb drive or through Internet connection. IT experts found it difficult to pinpoint the geographic origin of the malware, since cyber attackers often used sophisticated methods like peer-to-peer networking or spoofing IT address to prevent identification (Thabet, n.d.). Some security analysts speculated that the Stuxnet Virus could h ave been developed by an insider from Siemens who had direct access and knowledge of the ICS. However, others contended that the sophistication of the virus’s code could suggest that an entire state was behind the development of the worm — either through proxy computer specialists or through the government’s own military capabilities (Thabet, n.d.). For this matter, some critics named Israel as the mastermind behind this virus. A report by the New York Times opined that Stuxnet was a joint U.S. - Israeli operation t hat was tested by Israel on industrial control systems at the Dimona nuclear complex during the 2008 (Kerr, Rollins & Theohary, 2010). At this point, it is worth noting that a malware such as the Stuxnet virus presents serious threats to national security. This is because modern critical infrastructures rely on computer hardware and software to run essential services, such as nuclear plant management; electrical power generations; water distribution and waste control; oil and gas refinement; chemical production; and transportation management. With this, once the ICS of a critical infrastructure facility becomes affected by a Stuxnet virus or by a similar malicious code, disruptions could hamper the government’s ability to provide domestic and international security, safety and other essential services (Kerr, Rollins &

Sanpshot for PR class Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sanpshot for PR class - Assignment Example The campaign aims at encouraging them to seek appropriate support and care for psychological health concerns. Print materials including brochures and advertisement cards were used for informing veterans, service members and their families on the presence of help for psychological and other support measures (Ruolo, 2013). Real warriors collaborated with organizations and individuals to aid in spreading the resources and information on the help available to the affected as well as the avenues through which they can be able to access this treatment including Deployment Health Clinical Center, National Center for Telehealth and Technology, and Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center. Mobile websites and an interactive website were the other strategies used to ensure access to campaign materials to the supporters of the campaign and ensuring the resources, videos, social media, live chat, and other outreach areas provided for the affected members of the community Social media were used in the Real warrior’s campaign through reaching out to military personnel and their families with information on psychological help and support as well as requesting other members to join the course The Real warrior’s campaign has been successful in meeting the needs of the audience to which the campaign was directed and has been able to achieve augmented numbers of veterans, family, and service men receiving treatment and rehabilitation. In my opinion, the campaign is well handled and received with an emphasis on the messages tailored for the veterans, service members, and their families. The messages of the campaign and objectives are well stated, and testimonial videos from military personnel and veterans suffering from mental illnesses are very compelling (Acosta et al., 2012). The campaign is creative and uses innovative measures coupled with technologically advanced

Steady Oil Price Hike Essay Example for Free

Steady Oil Price Hike Essay The article about the rising oil price indicates two main economic concepts: first, â€Å"the rule of supply and demand†, and second, that† human wants is insatiable. † Oil is a natural resource and it is created by nature through thousands of years. Time is a very important element in the production of oil. Despite the fact that oil wells and rigs are discovered and/or pumped, still, the natural element of this product is very important. Going back to the relevant economic factors about rising oil prices, there is an unlimited demand for oil while its supply is getting scarcer. Aside from this fact, millions, if not billions, of dollars of investments are needed to have the black gold extracted, refined, and distributed. Everywhere oil is used. It is not only with the vehicles but also with all the machineries producing the goods and even food products that we consume on a daily basis. The second economic factor is the insatiability of humans in terms of their wants. Everyone wants this and everybody wants that. We all consume. We all want to acquire resources. This relates to the article in a sense that: (1) more consumption means more oil consumption; (2) in acquisition of wealth, natural and man-made factors happen in having oil prices rise; and (3) investors in oil trade would always go for a good profit margin while consumers would like to spare resources (money). The first factor is related to the explanation of supply and demand above. The second factor is important because natural calamities such as storm affects oil production but this all goes back to the fact that once the supply of oil is limited, and the demand is big, the market has to balance out and the only way is to raise prices. This benefit the â€Å"wants† of the investors who, in every situation, have their means in having their investments get a very good return. Consumers on the other hand, take their chance in acquiring cheaper oil as they want o save their resources in order to have extra left behind to acquire the rest of their needs and wants and this is explained by having their tanks full before the prices increase. Lastly, oil is not in market where fair competition rules. It is monopolistic. The major factor that makes it so important is its scarceness; its having limited supply with steady demand. Peer review on responses 1, 2 and 3 In the first response, the idea that oil is very vital in society is agreeable. The rest of the discourse of the article, however, is strongly disagreeable. First, in the point indicated that â€Å"the oil industry is an example of a perfectly competitive industry† and at the same time noting that â€Å"neither the firm nor its consumers decide on the price, rather the entire industry†. First oil is a product that triggers monopoly whether consumers like it or not. Second, the article contradicts itself: if the industry decides on the pricing itself, not the interaction of the oil firms and their consumers, this means that the market is â€Å"not free†. Not free means NO competition at all. Lastly, the article noted that â€Å"consumers never worried about spending massive amounts of money on oil during an economic struggle† and it is not true. Oil makes everything else expensive and it may be possible that no demonstrations are done against oil but against economic crisis, but it is important to realize that at least 70% of that crisis can be attributed to oil price movement: your cereal will be expensive once oil used in machineries producing it becomes expensive! Argument number two is also very good emphasizing the monopolistic characteristic of oil as a consumer product. The article even dwelled on deeply going into criteria of monopoly to establish the hypothesis, that indeed, this product is never a competitive product, in a sense that whether consumers like it or not, they are just forced to acquire oil out of necessity. The article is very â€Å"narrow† though. Maybe a little bit of expansion as to the idea of having it monopolistic and other related factors would even make the idea of the response more interesting. Lastly, response number 3 is a very good work. Admittedly, my response runs on parallel path as this one. It emphasizes the scarcity of the product, the inelasticity of demand, which is always there, despite the presence of supply or not. It focuses in the effect of transportation though, just like what was written in the article, not like what I have though to widen my perspective in reacting to oil-related write up.

The Alien And Sedition Acts :: essays research papers

The debate over the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 revealed bitter controversies on a number of issues that had been developing since the penning of the Constitution. The writers of the document knew that over time the needs of the nation and its people would change, and therefore provided for its amendment. But by not expressly delegating powers to specific organizations, whether the federal government, state governments, or the people themselves, they inadvertently created a major problem in the years to follow: Constitutional interpretation.Shortly after the Constitution's ratification, two distinct camps formed, each believing in opposite manners of interpretation. One group, the Federalists, led by the newly appointed Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, thought that the Constitution should be interpreted very loosely. He claimed that the Constitution contained powers other than those delegated or enumerated. These unspecified powers were implied powers. To explain these powers, Hamilton said it would be natural - or implied - that the federal government would gain control over any territory gained through conquest of purchase, although the Constitution made no mention of territorial control. In essence, Hamilton wished to use the implied powers to build a strong and authoritative central government.In 1789, the Minister to France Thomas Jefferson, to Francis Hopkinson of Pennsylvania, protesting that "I am not of the party of the federalists. But I am much farther from that of the anitfederalists." However, the situation was so sensitive that he could not help but chose a side. In 1795, Jefferson wrote to a congressman from Virginia, William Giles, that he "held "t honorable to take a firm and decided part." The group he sided with, the Democratic-Republicans, favored a strict interpretation. As their leader, Jefferson argued that all powers not enumerated by the Constitution belonged to the States. The basi s for his argument was the old English "compact" theory. This theory stated that various individuals, in this case the states, joined together in a formal agreement of government. Since the states had drawn up the contract and given power to the federal government, it should be up to them to decide who received the power, not the body they created.This debate over interpretation thus sparked one of the first and major issues that eventually led to the Alien and Sedition Acts: should a strong central government be formed (federalist desire), or should the individual states have control. And wild attacks of the ensuing debate also ignited the second issue, public defamation, which led to the Sedition Act.

Case against the Death Penalty

When the then United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan was presented with a petition containing 3. 2 million signatures from 146 countries for a worldwide moratorium on the death sentence, he had commented: â€Å"The forfeiture of life is too absolute, too irreversible, for one human being to inflict it on another, even when backed by legal process. And I believe that future generations, throughout the world, will come to agree. † (Gettings) The words of the former UN Secretary General were in fact an echo of the sentiments of the millions of signatories to the petition that was presented to him.The death sentence strikes at the core of human sensitivity and sensibility. The world is divided into almost two equal camps – one passionately in support and the other equally passionately against this extreme measure of censure in human history. Forty-seven percent Americans support the death penalty, while 48% would rather prefer life without payrole (Death Penalty Inform ation Centre). Both the camps present practical, logical and convincing arguments favoring their stand. Those who are against the death penalty believe that this extreme measure has minimum deterrent effect, violates the most fundamental of human rights, i.e. the right to life, is completely out of sync with civilized society and should be abolished outright and forthwith. Those who support the death penalty, on the other hand, do so because they hold that it acts as a major deterrent to heinous crimes, crimes committed by criminals who, according to them, not only do not deserve a place in society, but also lose the right to life. They have to die so that any chance of them repeating their crime and adding others to their list of victims is eliminated forever. The state, it is reasoned, takes the life to accord protection to future victims of the convicted.An objective analysis of the arguments for and against the death penalty however can only lead to the inevitable conclusion tha t the death penalty has no place in civilized society. Two very undeniable and universal facts override all arguments in support of the death penalty: the fundamental human right to life along with all its critical implications to the individual and to society, and the irrevocability and finality of the death sentence that takes away all probability of redemption or reconsideration at the face of the human nature to err.The Deterrent Factor Those who support the death penalty do so on the basis of the belief that it acts as a strong deterrent to crimes similar to those committed by the condemned. The facts and figures, however, tell a different story. In the United States, the south accounts for 80% of the total executions, yet it has the highest murder rate. However, the northeast, which has less than 1% of all executions, also has the lowest murder rate (Death Penalty Information Centre).The figures lend themselves to very straight forward interpretations: either the death penalty is failing miserably to act as a deterrent in the south or it has to be accepted that the citizenry of the south is inherently more murderous in nature or is simply more susceptible to murder. There are other figures that corroborate the fact that the death penalty does not actually result in a decrease in murder rates. In Canada, the death penalty was abolished in 1976. The homicide rate in the country started declining since 1975, and in 1999 the homicide rate was the lowest since 1967.An analysis by the New York Times in 2000 found that the homicide rates in the US states with the death penalty have been 48% to 101% higher than in states without the death penalty (John Howard Society of Ontario). An overwhelming 84% of the top criminologists of the United States have rejected the notion that the death penalty acts as a deterrent to murder (Radelet & Akers). The Amnesty International has also failed to find conclusive evidence that the death penalty has any unique capacity to det er others from committing similar crimes.In its survey of research findings on the relation between the death penalty and homicide rates conducted in 1998 and updated in 2002, it concluded that it was â€Å"not prudent to accept the hypothesis that capital punishment deters murder to a marginally greater extent than does the threat and application of the supposedly lesser punishment of life imprisonment. † (Hood 230) If deterrence implies that the condemned is rendered unable to repeat the crime and claim more victim, then it will also have to imply that the condemned would have repeated the crime if allowed to escape the death penalty.That can however be an assumption and an assumption only. And even if we assume that the condemned person would have indeed tried to repeat the crime, it would be possible only if the person is allowed the liberty and the opportunity to do so. Life imprisonment without parole would be a preferred alternative to the death penalty in such a case. Critics would however be quick to point out the financial implications of life imprisonment. Alternative means to incapacitate In practice, however, numerous studies have found that the cost of implementing a death penalty is much higher than the cost of maintaining a prisoner for life.There are many reasons why the death penalty is more expensive than life imprisonment without the possibility of parole (Capital Punishment Project): i. A much higher percentage of cases go to trial in case of death penalties. ii. Murder trials generally take longer when the death penalty is at issue. A capital murder trial lasts over 3. 5 time longer than non-capital murder trials (Cook & Slawson). Certain constitutional safeguards have to be taken in the case of death penalty trials leading to greater time requirement. The Jury selection procedure is also more complex and tedious and takes more time.iii. Death penalty trials require more intense pretrial preparations and more elaborate proceedings. The sentencing phase almost amounts to a second trial. All litigation costs, more often than not, have to be borne by the tax payer. The Joint Legislative Budget Committee of the California Legislature has concluded that â€Å"elimination of the death penalty would result in a net savings to the state of at least several tens of millions of dollars annually, and a net savings to local governments in the millions to tens of millions of dollars on a statewide basis. † (Budget Committee)It is therefore amply clear the life imprisonment without parole is a comparatively cheaper and equally effective alternative to the death penalty, but imposed the same degree of incapacitation on the condemned on the individual level. The May 2006 Gallup Poll (in the United States) found that overall support for the death penalty was 65% (down from 80% in 1994). The same poll revealed that when respondents are given the choice of life without parole as an alternate sentencing option, more choos e life without parole (48%) than the death penalty (47%). (John Howard Society of Ontario)Irreversibility of the Death Penalty The intrinsic weakness of the death penalty as a justifiable measure lies in the fact that it is irreversible and irrevocable. Numerous examples bear testimony to the fact that even the highest judicial system of any country can make mistakes, that innocent persons have been dealt the death penalty time and again, that persons on the death row had been granted last minute reprieve when their innocence had been proved. Studies reveal that more than 200 people have been wrongfully convicted of serious crimes such as murder and rape in California alone since 1989 (Martin).In the United States, 123 persons have been exonerated and released from death row since 1973 (Death Penalty Information Center). A 1980s study in the United States identified 353 cases since the turn of the century of wrongful convictions for offences punishable by death and 25 innocent perso ns were actually executed (John Howard Society of Ontario). The death penalty leaves no scope for errors in judgment. If a person is found to be innocent after the sentence has been carried out, there is no way in which the wrong can be undone.Unlike in other cases, the option for compensation for a wrong done is also completely ruled out in the case of the death penalty. It is therefore assumed that the state and the judicial mechanism are infallible, that there can be no mistakes. The facts have proved this assumption wrong. The core issue of human rights The most damning case against the death penalty is that it is an infringement on the most fundamental of all human rights – the right to life. A death penalty is imposed in the name of the state. But does the state actually have the right to deprive a person of his or her life?It could be a dangerous proposition even to believe so. Hitler’s Germany believed in the absolute right of the state. The consequences mark a very dark period in the history of humankind. Are we tempting fate again by according the state the right to impose and execute the death penalty? In the December 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, nations of the world came together to ensure the fundamental rights of every person. These human rights were not subject to the will of the state, but were declared to be inherent in every human being. It was not the state’s prerogative to grant or withdraw the human rights.The fundamental human rights therefore put limitations on what a state may do to a person. The Universal declaration recognizes each person’s right to life. The death penalty is therefore a fragrant violation of human rights. Human rights preserve the dignity of the individual. There can be no justification inhuman and cruel treatment and punishment that degrades the essence of humanity. The death penalty inflicts the most severe kind of mental and physical torture not only on the condemned, but also on al those who are related to the condemned. Every member of the society also has to own responsibility as a constituent unit of the state.In fact, the broader understanding of human rights issue has been the basis of abolition of the death penalty in many countries. In 1995, Spain abolished the death penalty on the grounds that the death penalty simply could not be fitted into the penal system of advanced and civilized societies, that depriving a person of life was too degrading or afflictive a punishment (Hood 14). The South African Constitutional Court (154) in its historic opinion when banning the death penalty commented that the death penalty violated the right to life and dignity which is the most important of all human rights.And by banning the death penalty, the state was effectively demonstrating the fact. Countries such as Singapore and Trinidad and Tobago have had to deny that the death penalty was a violation of human rights in order to carry on with their practic e of the death penalty. However, the fact that the death penalty is a critical human rights issue has gained increasing acceptance at the international level. In 1997, the U. N. High Commission for Human Rights approved a resolution stating that the â€Å"abolition of the death penalty contributes to the enhancement of human dignity and to the progressive development of human rights.† (12) Subsequent resolutions strengthened this resolution by restricting the offences for which the death penalty could be imposed, eventually leading to abolition. The member states of the Council of Europe have established Protocol 6 to the European Council on Human Rights advocating the abolition of the death penalty. On the same grounds, the European Union had made the abolition of the death penalty a precondition for entry into the Union. This had resulted in the halting of executions in many east European countries such as Russia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Serbia, Montenegro and Turkey which had applied for membership to the Union.Not an eye for an eye Proponents of the death penalty attempt to justify their stand on the principle of lex talionis or ‘eye-for-an-eye’ which advocates that violence must in some measure be answered by violence or that the punishment should fit the crime. They believe that such retribution serves justice to murder victims and their survivors. Robert Blecker of the New York Law School testified: â€Å"Naturally grateful, we reward those who bring us pleasure. Instinctively resentful, we punish those who cause us pain. Retributively, society intentionally inflicts pain and suffering on criminals because and to the extent that they deserve it.But only to the extent they deserve it†¦. Justice, a moral imperative in itself, requires deserved punishment. † Just as the individual do not have the right to kill, society also should not be empowered to kill. The retribution theory would dictate that the rapist be raped and the hou se of the arsonist be set on fire. Such a policy would go against the basic tenets of justice. If violence can be justified by violence than it follows that every act of violence whether perpetuated by the state or the individual would be justifiable on some ground or the other.Retribution in kind would bring the state down to the level of the criminal. There would then be no distinction between the dispenser of the law and the one who violates it. Discriminatory Applications The extent of misuse of the death penalty is another reason that calls for its abolition. In the political context, the death penalty has often been used to eliminate opponents and suppress popular uprisings. Here, the question of fairness in making the judgment becomes a very subjective one.What is punishable by death for one political regime could very well be deemed a heroic act of valor for another. The labeling of the act therefore depends very much on the actors and the circumstances and the environment i n which they operate. That is the reason why people who are executed are often subsequently turned into martyrs. It happened in Hitler’s Germany, in India and in South Africa. It is happening in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Serbia and in many other places wherever two groups of people look at the world with conflicting perspectives. Take the example of Saddam Hussien.Richard Dicker’s, director of Human Rights Watch’s International Justice Program, was a rational voice when he said , â€Å"Saddam Hussein was responsible for massive human rights violations, but that can’t justify giving him the death penalty, which is a cruel and inhuman punishment. † (Human Rights Watch) A November 2006 report by Human Rights Watch pointed out numerous serious flaws in the trial of Saddam Hussein. Among other defects, the report found that Iraqi government actions had all along undermined the Iraqi High Tribunal and threatened its independence and perceived impartiality .Handing Saddam Hussein the death penalty has been viewed by a large section of the world as a measure made necessary by the prevailing political and military situation rather than a quest for justice. There is also a very strong view in the United States that the application of the death sentence is racially discriminatory. Studies have been conducted to examine the relationship between race and death penalty in all the states that where the death penalty is still active.The Capital Punishment Project reports that 96% studies found a pattern of either race-of-victim or race-of-defendant discrimination. Of those executed since 1976, approximately 35% have been black, even though blacks constitute only 12% of the population. It has been found that the odds of receiving a death sentence are almost four times higher if the defendant is black. The Amnesty International has also asserted that races does have an impact on capital punishment, and that the judicial system of the United Stat es have been able to do precious little about it.Amnesty International has attributed this failure of the courts and legislatures of the USA to act decisively at the face of evidence that race has an impact on the death sentence to a collective ‘blind faith’ that America will never waver on the ‘non-negotiable’ demands of human dignity including ‘equal justice. ’ Even if the death penalty was justifiable, there is compelling evidence that its implementation falls far short of the standards of fairness expected. There is a tendency to use this extreme measure as an intimidating factor by the powerful forces of the world to assert themselves and to wrongfully dominate and suppress others.The world is coming around The good news is that the world at large is coming together to prove that the death penalty is an unacceptable proposition. The United Nations has declared itself in favour of abolition. Two-thirds of the countries of the world have now abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. In the United States itself, 13 states are now without the death penalty. The latest information from Amnesty International shows that: i. 90 countries and territories have abolished the death penalty for all crimes; ii. 11 countries have abolished the death penalty for all but exceptional crimes such as wartime crimes;iii. 30 countries can be considered abolitionist in practice: they retain the death penalty in law but have not carried out any executions for the past 10 years or more and are believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions, iv. a total of 131 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice, v. 66 other countries and territories retain and use the death penalty, but the number of countries which actually execute prisoners in any one year is much smaller. The debate over capital punishment has raged on long enough. The world is finally showing the door to the death penal ty.In doing so, it is stating in no uncertain terms that the sanctity of life of a fellow human being is above the purview of all man-made laws. That only the giver of life has the right to take it back. Works Cited 1. Amnesty international, â€Å"United States of America, Death by discrimination – the continuing role of race in capital cases†, April 24, 2003. Library, Online Documentation Archive. November 10, 2007 2. Blecker, Robert. Letter to the New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission supplementing previous testimony, October 24, 2006. 3.Budget Committee, Joint Legislative Budget Committee of the California Legislature, September 9, 1999. 4. Capital Punishment Project, â€Å"Race and the Death Penalty†, American Civil Liberties Union, November 10, 2007 < http://www. aclu. org/death-penalty > 5. Capital Punishment Project, â€Å"The High Costs of the Death Penalty. † American Civil Liberties Union, 2003. 6. Death Penalty Information Center, â€Å"I nnocence and the Death Penalty†, November 9, 2006. 7. Death Penalty Information Centre. November 5, 2007 â€Å"Facts about the Death Penalty. † November 8, 2007.< http://www. deathpenaltyinfo. org/FactSheet. pdf > 8. Gettings, John. â€Å"Death Penalty Update, Here & Abroad. † Infoplease, November 8, 2007. 9. Hood, Roger, â€Å"The Death Penalty: A World-wide Perspective. † 2002. Oxford, Clarendon Press, third edition, 2002. 10. Human Rights Watch, â€Å"Iraq: Saddam Hussein put to Death. Hanging after flawed trial undermines the rule of law. † December 2006. Human Rights News. November 10, 2007 < http://hrw. org/english/docs/2006/12/30/iraq14950. htm > 11. John Howard Society of Ontario, â€Å"The Death Penalty: Any Nation’s Shame.† March, 2001, John Howard Society of Ontario publication. November 8, 2007 < www. johnhowardphd. ca/PDFs/Fact%20Sheets/death%20penalty. pdf > 12. Nina, Martin, â€Å"Innocence Lost†, November 2004, San Francisco Magazine, November 9, 2007, < http://www. sanfran. com/archives/view_story/200/ > 13. Philip J. Cook & Donna B. Slawson, â€Å"The Costs of Prosecuting Murder Cases in North Carolina. † 1993 14. The South African Constitutional Court, â€Å"Makwanyane and Mchunu v. The State†, 16 HRLJ, 1995. 15. United Nations High Commission for Human Rights Resolution, E/CN. 4/1997, April 3, 1997.

The Effects Of Smoking On Teens Ability On Learning

Introduction Smoking has been a controversial topic ever since the 20th century. According to U.S Department of Health and Human, smoking has been recognized as the leading preventable cause of death in the United States in which 443,000 deaths are caused by intended active smoke and passive second-hand smoke each year. In addition, smokers are considered to be more likely to develop many diseases including coronary heart disease, respiratory disease, and lung cancer, and therefore tobacco use costs the country more than â€Å"$289 billion a year, including at least $133 billion in direct medical care for adults and more than $156 billion in lost productivity†. Smoking is controversial not only because of its damage to people’s body physically, but also because of the social problems it causes. Some studies have shown that smoking affects people especially teens’ ability on learning. For example Hunter et al. (1986) claims that long-term cigarette smoking reduces adolescent s’ reaction time and ability to concentrate, which is believed to weaken students’ learning ability. As a result, it is more likely for those teens that are distracted by smoking and weakened learning ability to drop out of high school. High school drop out is not only a personal issue; it also affects the society in numerous ways. For example, dropping out of high school would result in low lifetime income, and low lifetime income would cause reduced amount of tax the government can collect. If there isShow MoreRelatedShould Smoking Be Raised?968 Words   |  4 PagesSmoking is often viewed as a bad thing that definitely affects your health, but some teens believe that when you begin to smoke you become more popular. â€Å"90 percent of smokers began before the age 19 and about 30 percent of teen smokers continued smoking and died early from a smoking-related disease. 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