Legality Of Same-Sex Marriages Essays (2776 words) - Baehr V. Miike

Legality of Same-Sex Marriages The proposed legalization of same-sex marriage is one of the most significant issues in contemporary American family law. Presently, it is one of the most vigorously advocated reforms discussed in law reviews, one of the most explosive political questions facing lawmakers, and one of the most provocative issues emerging before American courts. If same-sex marriage is legalized, it could be one of the most revolutionary policy decisions in the history of American family law. The potential consequences, positive or negative, for children, parents, same-sex couples, families, social structure public health, and the status of women are enormous. Given the importance of the issue, the value of comprehensive debate of the reasons for and against legalizing same-sex marriage should be obvious. Marriage is much more than merely a commitment to love one another. Aside from societal and religious conventions, marriage entails legally imposed financial responsibility and legally authorized financial benefits. Marriage provides automatic legal protections for the spouse, including medical visitation, succession of a deceased spouse's property, as well as pension and other rights. When two adults desire to "contract" in the eyes of the law, as well a perhaps promise in the eyes of the Lord and their friends and family, to be responsible for the obligations of marriage as well as to enjoy its benefits, should the law prohibit their request merely because they are of the same gender? I intend to prove that because of Article IV of the United States Constitution, there is no reason why the federal government nor any state government should restrict marriage to a predefined heterosexual relationship. Marriage has changed throughout the years. In Western law, wives are now equal rather than subordinate partners; interracial marriage is now widely accepted, both in statute and in society; and marital failure itself, rather than the fault of one partner, may be grounds for a divorce. Societal change have been felt in marriages over the past 25 years as divorce rates have increased and have been integrated into even upper class families. Proposals to legalize same-sex marriage or to enact broad domestic partnership laws are currently being promoted by gay and lesbian activists, especially in Europe and North America. The trend in western European nations during the past decade has been to increase legal aid to homosexual relations and has included marriage benefits to some same-sex couples. For example, within the past six years, three Scandinavian countries have enacted domestic partnership laws allowing same-sex couples in which at least one partner is a citizen of the specified country therefore allowing many benefits that heterosexual marriages are given. In the Netherlands, the Parliament is considering domestic partnership status for same-sex couples, all major political parties favor recognizing same-sex relations, and more than a dozen towns have already done so. Finland provides governmental social benefits to same-sex partners. Belgium allows gay prisoners the right to have conjugal visits from same-sex partners. An overwhelming majority of European nations have granted partial legal status to homosexual relationships. The European Parliament also has passed a resolution calling for equal rights for gays and lesbians. In the United States, efforts to legalize same-sex domestic partnership have had some, limited success. The Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. reported that by mid-1995, thirty-six municipalities, eight counties, three states, five state agencies, and two federal agencies extended some benefits to, or registered for some official purposes, same-sex domestic partnerships. In 1994, the California legislature passed a domestic partnership bill that provided official state registration of same-sex couples and provided limited marital rights and privileges relating to hospital visitation, wills and estates, and powers of attorney. While California's Governor Wilson eventually vetoed the bill, its passage by the legislature represented a notable political achievement for advocates of same-sex marriage. The most significant prospects for legalizing same-sex marriage in the near future are in Hawaii, where advocates of same-sex marriage have won a major judicial victory that could lead to the judicial legalization of same-sex marriage or to legislation authorizing same-sex domestic partnership in that state. In 1993, the Hawaii Supreme Court, in Baehr v. Lewin, vacated a state circuit court judgment dismissing same-sex marriage claims and ruled that Hawaii's marriage law allowing

Definition and Examples of Memory in Classical Rhetoric

Definition and Examples of Memory in Classical Rhetoric Definition In classical rhetoric, memory is the fourth of the traditional five parts or canons of rhetoricthat which considers methods and devices (including figures of speech) to aid and improve an orators ability to remember a speech. Also called  memoria. In ancient Greece, memory was personified as Mnemosyne, the mother of the Muses. Memory was known as mneme in Greek, memoria in Latin. See Examples and Observations below. Also see: Bathtub EffectClassical Rhetoric Dissoi Logoi: Dissoi Logoi on MemoryMnemonicOratory Parable: The Invention of LettersWhat Are the Five Canons of Rhetoric? EtymologyFrom the Latin, mindful   Examples and Observations In general, Roman writers on rhetoric (and, according to them their Hellenistic predecessors) avoided deciding whether memory was a natural ability or a learned skill by dividing it into two kinds. There was what was called the natural memory, which was simply an individuals aptitude for recalling things. This natural memory could be supplemented by the techniques of artificial memory, a set of practices that enabled their user to remember more clearly, more completely, more systematically, or simply more than his natural memory would allow.(William West, Memory in Encyclopedia of Rhetoric, ed. Thomas O. Sloane. Oxford University Press, 2001) The Mnemonic Place SystemIt is not difficult to get hold of the general principles of the mnemonic. The first step was to imprint on the memory a series of loci or places. The commonest, though not the only, type of mnemonic place system used was the architectural type. The clearest description of the place is that given by Quintilian [in Instit utio Oratoria]. In order to form a series of places in memory, he says, a building is to be remembered, as spacious and varied a one as possible . . .. The images by which the speech is to be remembered . . . are then placed in imagination on the places which have been memorized in the building. . . . We have to think of the ancient orator as moving in imagination through his memory building whilst he is making his speech, drawing from the memorized places the images he has placed on them. The method ensures that the points are remembered in the right order.(Frances A. Yates, The Art of Memory. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1966) Oral Memory and the Art of Memory: Orality and LiteracySome distinctions between oral memory and the art of memory (the fourth canon in classical rhetoric) should be articulated in future studies on memory. Whereas oral memory is a conception for cultural oral traditions and, specifically, for oral epic traditions, the art of memory is a reconceived view of memory that was articulated by rhetoricians and was clearly influenced by the increased acceptance and use of literacy in Greek culture. Thus, Frances Yatess seminal work, The Art of Memory, begins with a rhetorical, not a poetic, tradition. The very notion of memory as inner writing shows the early influence of literacy on the rhetorical tradition of memory. . . . The evolving art of memory shows orality and literacy working together.(Joyce Irene Middleton, Oral Memory and the Teaching of Literacy. Rhetorical Memory and Delivery: Classical Concepts for Contemporary Composition and Communication, ed. by John Frederick Reynolds. L awrence Erlbaum, 1993) Memory as a Creative ForceIn rhetoric, memory craft is a stage in composing a work; presupposed is the axiom that recollection is an act of investigation and recreation in the service of conscious artifice. Its practitioners would not have been surprised to learn what was to them already obvious: that recollection is a kind of composition, and by its very nature is selective and formal.(Mary Jean Carruthers, The Book of Memory: A Study of Memory in Medieval Culture, 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, 2008) Kairos and MemoryIt seems paradoxical, but kairos and memory were partnered in several ways. First, both require a kind of attunement in that the rhetor who is gathering items for reserve in the memory must be thinking simultaneously about whats available now that might be useful later. Secondly, memory requires an attunement during the moment of speaking or composing, a recognition of the right time for recalling an illustrative example, an argument, and so on. . . . It is also of crucial importance to be aware of what events or knowledge might dominate the memories of a particular audience. . . . All of these aspects of memory , we believe, connect to kairos, the ancient notion of timing and attunement.(Sharon Crowley and Debra Hawhee, Ancient Rhetorics for Modern Students, 3rd ed. Pearson, 2004) The Suppression of Memory in Composition StudiesIt is crucial to an understanding of Western literacy at this millennium to recognize that the disappearance of memory and delivery is not a benign removal; rather, it is part of a larger movement in the United States to pablumize the humanities in general, and to vitiate writing in particular by behaving as if it were a mere skill, craft, or useful tool. . . .Many issues of culture, ideology, society, and the construction of public and private lives reside in the functions of memory and delivery; public and private realms are routinely and tacitly regarded not as construction, but as palpably, obviously separate entities. The elimination of memory and delivery in the majority of student writing textbooks constitutes the removal of student-written language from the larger public arena. The removal reinforces the common, dualistic idea that students live outside ideology if they choose to do so, just as they are outside language if they choose to be.(Kathleen E. Welch, The Suppression of Memory, Delivery, and Ideology. Rhetorical Memory and Delivery: Classical Concepts for Contemporary Composition and Communication, ed. by John Frederick Reynolds. Lawrence Erlbaum, 1993) Pronunciation: MEM-eh-ree

Emergency service managment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Emergency service managment - Research Paper Example Thus, emergencies are evolutionary in that they change with time, such that, every emergency is unlike the other. Therefore, in order to keep up with these changes, emergency management has gone through changes on its own by improving plans and increasing responsibilities. Apart from the original role of coordinating in times of crises, disasters, and their use as resources, emergency managers have new responsibilities. These roles include being informants on potential emergencies to larger institutions such as the government and their affiliate bodies. In addition, emergency managers are accepting new roles involving liaising between various agencies and planning. Prior to the current changes, emergency managers were tasked with a number of duties that directly related to the emergency management. A manager’s role was that of preparing an organization to the capacity of handling any emergency (Sutkus et al 2). Moreover, they were to keep their staff informed on tactics required from them; moreover, they were to participate in frequent training and exercise; in order to keep them in shape in case of any emergency. In addition, emergency managers’ traditional roles do not involve collaboration with partners and engage directly with the community concerning information dissemination and collections of feedback. However, there is a need to have these relationships in place between the public and the management service as well as liaisons with other service providers. An emergency manager is required to have command and control of emergencies by communicating with field operators. Therefore, with this, a manger is allowed to assess the situation adequately and advise on appropriate measures. Thus, with the changes occurring globally in the provision of emergency services, emergency managers require new skills and knowledge. This is in order to cope with the dynamic changes happening everywhere. Emergency managers require the skills to be

Organized Criminality and Terrorism in France Essay

Organized Criminality and Terrorism in France - Essay Example A â€Å"triangular trade† is progressively developing. It includes contraband of weapons, drugs and other goods. New al-Qaeda units such as Groupe Salafiste pour la Prà ©dication, Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group were formed and they use primarily created European channels to implement triangular trade. This activity is highly developed in France and Spain. At first, their activity was reduced to exchanges and then turned into a direct sale. It was revealed that the money received from drug sale was used to finance the terrorist attacks happened in Spain on May 16, 2003, and March 11, 2004, and in America in September 2001 (Rothe, 2006). Terrorists are also actively involved in contraband of precious stones and metals. In Germany, a travel agency was exposed after it used its activity to contraband gold and silver. The police are concerned with the fact that the channels established by terrorists will be used for contraband of heavy weapons and weapons of mass destruction, especially after the case, when Russian heavy weapon was planned to be solved to al-Qaeda through a man who worked for FBI (Berdal, 2002).

Allocation of Scarce Resources in a Market Mechanism Assignment

Allocation of Scarce Resources in a Market Mechanism - Assignment Example Hence the need for an efficient allocation of the existing resource base through prioritization of wants is being felt increasingly. Effective allocation of the scarce resource base is the only way through which a country can satisfy the demands of its growing population and work towards profitability. To counter the system of effective allocation of the existing resource base the economies of the world are generally faced by three fundamental questions. Firstly, the economy needs to consider the nature and the pattern of the goods and services that need to be produced to meet the needs and demands of the growing population. Secondly, the economy needs to identify the most effective way through which the goods and services can be produced to justify the use of depleting resource base. Thirdly, the economy must understand the needs of the target population who will eventually consume the goods and services produced. (Riley, 2006; Economic Systems, 2010). To this end, it is found that allocation of the scarce and limited resource base in an economy driven by ‘market mechanism’ is conditioned on the price quotes obtained through auctions or bids. The resources of the economy are transferred to private hands through the system of bids and auctions. The observation made in this regard shows that the government of different countries operating in a market mechanism has made the private sector get a license in relation to oil exploration and land property rights. The private system in the economy owing to the above fact has emerged as key players in areas like broadcasting, education, housing and oil exploration. Here, it must be noted that allocation of the limited resource base through market mechanism depends on the purchaser’s desire to pay for the same. Information about the highest price that can be paid by the purchasers are gathered through the bidding system and the decision is taken henceforth on the acquired data.

Kraft Foods: Strategic Business Plan

Kraft Foods: Strategic Business Plan Introduction This business report aims to discuss an example global organization, wherein the Kraft Foods Company (KFC) was used here. Topics were discussed on responses on the 2009 challenge of an external market assessment as an aspect of organization management and the evaluation of the SWOT analysis technique as an existing business strategy, consumer sector data and market share of revenues. Its chairman and CEO, Irene Rosenfeld, said: Weve had a very solid start to the year, and were on track to deliver our 2009 commitments. Our business momentum remains strong despite a challenging consumer environment. We are intensely focused on investing our cost savings to build our core brands, improve our product mix and drive superior retail execution. This will further enhance our profit margins and improve market shares as the year unfolds. Being an already flourishing food maker of the industry, KFC still aims deliver its commitments in full blast, with a head strong business momentum, using business strategies on investing cost savings to be able to continue making its set of core brands, enhance its product mix and maintain a world wide reputation in excellence as a retail manufacturer. It also ensures that its investments adds profit margins and instigate productive market shares in the next years to come with a timely full-year tax rate. Lastly, KFC has confidence in achieving its goals with a very good net revenue growth of approximately. Such performance never fails to frustrate us and other competitors as well in the food industry. Literature Review 1. Kraft Foods Company Background Kraft Foods Company (KFC) currently produces delicious foods across 150 countries. It has 103,000 employees in hand. Product brands ranges from American brand icons like Kraft cheeses, dinners and dressings, Maxwell House coffees and Oscar Mayer meats, to global powerhouse brands like Oreo and LU biscuits, Philadelphia cream cheeses, Jacobs and Carte Noire coffees, Tang powdered beverages and Milka, CÃ ´te dOr, Lacta and Toblerone chocolates. Now, it is the worlds second largest food company in generating annual revenues of $42 billion. Also, the company is an affiliation of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Standard Poors 500, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and the Ethibel Sustainability Index (Kraft Foods Company, 2009.) Kraft was founded in 1903 by James L. Kraft, with starting only as a cheese delivery service. It was transferred to Krafts brothers Charles, Fred, John, and Norman, during its down times. They named it incorporated as J.L. Kraft Brothers in 1909. It then again changed the name to Kraft Cheese Co. back in 1924. With a follow suit trend in per se, there were turn abouts of Kraft Foods Co. in 1945, Kraftco Corporation in 1969, and Kraft Inc. in 1976. It also merged with Dart Industries in 1980 and again change the name to Dart Kraft, but got forgotten in 1986, where it is again Kraft Inc. From then, it was bought by Philip Morris (now is Altria) in 1988. It also absorbed competitors General Foods and Nabisco. Finally in 2007, Altria managed Kraft Foods. During its long business run in the industry, a couple of celebrity endorsements were done to promote its products. There were Bill Cosby (a comedian), Michelle Kwan (a champion figure skater), Lindsay Lohan (Hollywood actress) and Joe Montana (a football star) (NNDB, 2009.) 2. The Business Vision and Mission KFC slogan is Make today delicious Thats our higher purpose. At Kraft Foods, delicious is our difference. Its products are trusted during That first cup of coffee in the morning. A tasty low-fat snack. A nourishing meal on a budget. An indulgent treat. These are KFCs vision and mission (Kraft Foods Company, 2009.) Company objectives revolves around perspectives rewriting the organization for growth, reframe categories, exploit our sales capabilities, drive down costs without compromising quality and strategies growth. With goal of achieving the new Kraft = growth (KFC, 2009.) It aims to meet responsibilities as a public company and promote that being a global citizen is the right thing to do and what is right for its business. They transforming the brands that consumers have lived with for years into new brands they will love. Its corporate responsibility indexes are the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Dow Jones Sustainability Index and 2006-2008 Ethibel Sustainability Index. Last September 12, 2008, it started the mission program The Lunchables Team and First Book Launch the Million Page Mission and Help Children Receive Much-Needed Books (KFC, 2009.) Discussion The External Market Assessment KFC runs under the food industry, with a stock market ticker of NYSE:KFT. Its headquarters is located at Northfield, IL (NNDB, 2009.) Finances of KFC, as of 2008, are (in millions, except per share data) Net revenues $37,241 8.4%, Operating income 4,331 (4.2%), Net earnings 2,590 (15.4%) and Diluted earnings per share 1.62 (12.4%) (KFC, 2009.) Its external market share now is a percentage of more than 99% of U.S. households. The international market sells its leading brands, which are almost all of KFC products. It has 9 brands with revenues greater than $1 billion and 50+ additional brands garner revenues beyond $100 million. To this, about an exceeding number from 40 of KFC brands have an age life of 100+ years old. The billion dollar brands include: Kraft, Jacobs, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco and its Oreo brand, Philadelphia, and Oscar Mayer With an estimate figure of 103,000 employees worldwide, it has 180+ manufacturing and processing facilities across countries. With the consumer statistics of millions times a day, computed in an account of 150+ countries, these persons eat their favorite Kraft brands. It is also a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. The figure 1 below is the market share of revenues in each type of KFC Brands as of 2007 (KFC, 2009.) Figure 1. KFC Market Share of Revenues 2007 (KFC, 2009) Existing Business Strategy KFCs follows SWOT analysis technique for its existing business strategy. To start with Strategy is the practice of settling on placing the organization in its competitive environment righty, with the goal to achieve and sustain competitive advantage as well as profitably. It is the onion skin approach in business, wherein each layer of skin must be peeled off and studied on prior to the core Strategic Business Unit (SBU) element is arrived at (Elkin, 1998.) The SWOT analysis is an extensively used philosophy framework for classifying an organizations strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. SWOT entitles key factors to be apparently documented as a high level summary of a business (or personal) circumstance. Defining it is a summary which is simple but powerful; its system is generally used by consultants to certificate the key factors that should derived from the examination of a particular project or business. Moreover, SWOT allows an investigation to be conducted on the whole perspective view of internal as well as external conditions of a business and the plans in which it is surging on, from the means of knowing its current Strengths and Weaknesses. An added aspect is the allowed ability of a judgment on external business environment, which can greatly influence the performance. SWOT technique aids in putting in to comprehensible explanations of strategic choices, in order to have clear executive decisions that are to be a ssessed and identified. Lastly, it compares existing and potential future traits of the organization and supports evaluation of the consequences from alternative actions (Elkin, 1998.) Recommendations Experts Advise During the press release of Kraft Foods Q1 2009 Earnings Report in May 5, 2009. Irene Rosenfeld, its chairman and CEO, said: Weve had a very solid start to the year, and were on track to deliver our 2009 commitments. Our business momentum remains strong despite a challenging consumer environment. We are intensely focused on investing our cost savings to build our core brands, improve our product mix and drive superior retail execution. This will further enhance our profit margins and improve market shares as the year unfolds (KFC, 2009.) She further advised the KFC group on a solid drive in gaining heightened profits from operations. In the previous year, there was a drive for cost-driven pricing actions, which yielded organic net revenue growth and an exceeding expectation of a better-than-expected volume/mix number of sales. She also advised that the business segments drive for operating gains across the globe should be focused on operating income growth, margin expansion and higher earnings per share (KFC, 2009.) This years forward-looking statements are reaffirmed 2009 GAAP EPS guidance; that KFC is on track to deliver 2009 commitments; that business momentum will be strong; that it is greatly focused on investing cost savings to formulate core brands, enhance product mix and execute excellent retail execution; that the investments adds profit margins and induce fruitful market shares as the year unfolds; timely full-year tax rate; and gain confidence in achieving 2009 organic net revenue growth of approximately 3 percent (KFC, 2009.) Implications It is advisable to used the environmental mapping as a new business strategic plan as an improvement from KFCs current SWOT analysis technique. It is a kind of technique which is aimed to define the key characteristics of the environment in relation from where the business operates. It presents the `backcloth formula that will make visible the future strategies and plans. Its model consists of four areas of focus. Advised action under this kind of strategy is to separately map the varied environments where the diverse countries of the company operate. How should KFC apply environmental mapping into their company business process? Necessary information and records should be based from the senior management of the business from their own accounts knowledge and experience. During cases this is not possible, external knowledge should be consulted from sources to supplement the present management needs. The mapping defines general pressures and conflicts which encircle the industry wherein the business operates, main conditions of environmental group, and matters that are prevailing and are plausible to bring to bear the most difficulty or authority on the upcoming direction and prospects of KFC. This is normally accomplished by using H/M/L (High/Medium/Low) tagging of every factor (Elkin, 1998). In writing and formulating an environmental mapping for KFC, these questions should be asked and answered: What are the characteristics of the environment(s) in which the business operates?, How are the key factors changing? and What will be t he impact on future strategic choices? Conclusion In conclusion, Kraft Foods Company (KFC) has shown exemplary performance in the year 2009 being an example global organization. Its external market assessment has a gradual uprising line, which basing from the theories of organization management and the evaluation of its SWOT analysis technique proves that KFC uses an effective existing business strategy, generates high consumer sector data and earns more market share of revenues than any brands in the market. Basing on the consumer sector data and market share of revenues feedback on the current performances indicators of KFC, there is a definite positive satisfaction gained from its range of products. With patterns from a strategic business plan, it is able to handle functions to promote their views, handle communications and even handle a global environmental concern. It is very sensible to use the environmental mapping as a business growth from KFCs usual technique of using a SWOT analysis. Not only does it endow consumers with healthy products, it is also a new strategic business plan that shows mature key characteristics of an organizational awareness for the environment for the present and future. This way in improving business performance can also determine general pressures and conflicts to deal with aside from catering to a global concern that allows main conditions of environmental group to work together with the present matters on the continued success of KFC.

Essay --

When walking through a grocery store, one can easily forget that at one time, all the food in the store was local. At one time, people would bake their own bread, churn their own butter, and slaughter their own chicken; if they did not do it on their own, they bought these main food items from suppliers of small, local businesses. However, grocery stores are now stocked with pre-sliced bread, packaged butter, and portioned chicken. One can even see that American supermarkets do not have seasons. â€Å"Now there are tomatoes all year round, grown halfway around the world, picked when it was green, and ripened with ethylene gas. Although it looks like a tomato, it's kind of a notional tomato. I mean, it's the idea of a tomato† (Polland, Michael). Tomatoes, as well as other food, have come a long way-–from home grown to industry grown. While food production has evolved considerably over time, it is believed that this dramatic change has caused governments to subsidize farm s, a rapid development in biotechnology leading to an advance in genetic manipulation, and a shift in food questioning what is better, local or organic? Thousands of years ago, people either gathered and collected their food from the wild environment or hunted large and small animals. The process of hunting and gathering was sufficient enough for smaller groups of people found within a suitable environment, but when the population began to grow, people were pushed into areas that made food hard to come by, so they searched for nutritional sources that they could depend on. It is believed that the practice of agriculture first came into existence in the Fertile Crescent region in the Middle East about ten or eleven thousands years B.C.E. The area was home to many consuma... ... could ask Whole Foods' CEO, John Mackey, to help answer his question. According to Cloud, â€Å"He told me that when he can't get locally grown organics--and even he can't reliably get them--he decides on the basis of taste. "I would probably purchase a local nonorganic tomato before I would purchase an organic one that was shipped from California," he said. He called the two tomatoes "an environmental wash," since the California one had petroleum miles on it while the nonorganic one was grown with pesticides. "But the local tomato from outside Austin will be fresher, will just taste better," he said† (Cloud, John). When walking through that grocery store, do not forget that at one time that food use to be local. If we can choose the right food, even if that means searching for healthier, fresher, local food, we can make a difference in our current food issues.

Police Brutality in NYC

such incidents may exist. With increased attention being paid to incidents of police brutality, lawsuits being brought against both the officers and the government for which they work, and a focus on the psychological conditions that may affect those officers that violently abuse citizens, there is hope that police brutality can be better understood, reduced, and eventually eradicated. When Americans think of the history of police brutality, there are several historical events that form the backdrop for this social problem.Although thousands f undocumented and unrecorded incidents of police brutality undoubtedly have occurred, it was not until the advent of videotape that Americans who previously had no knowledge of police brutality began to truly understand this issue. The Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s was accompanied by many incidents of police brutality committed against African Americans and their supporters. The pictures and videos of these incidents, broadcast on national television, included nonviolent protestors being tear-gassed, beaten with billy clubs, and even sprayed with fire hoses.In February 2012 in New York City, an amateur video posted online shows four New York City police officers kicking and punching a nineteen year old man who was laying on the ground unarmed. His mother said that her son required staples in his head and arm. Jatiek Reed, the nineteen year old Bronx resident, who has suffered from constant headaches and nightmares since then, announced he was requesting a special prosecutor to investigate. Reed's attorney said the Bronx district attorneys office wasn't capable of investigating because its close relationship with police.The fficers involved have been placed on desk duty and their guns and shields have been removed while the New York Police Department investigated, according to US News Online in 02/09/2012 and AP Regional State Report-New York City, 02/0112012. Many police killings receive little mention in the media. T herefore, the topic usually goes unnoticed by general public until an incident hits home or a major tragedy occurs. According to recent statistics by October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, 21 people were killed by New York police throughout 2012, averaging two killings per onth.It increased the previous year's sum by seven fatalities. The same statistic shows that nearly 90 percent of those killed were Black or Hispanic. Last year's victims of police shooting varied in age: Antwoine White, 17 years old, was killed in Bushwick, Brooklyn, on January 29; Ramarley Graham, 18 years old, was slain in his own Bronx bathroom Just four days later. On August 24, Jeffrey Johnson, 58 years old, was shot dead by the New York Police Department outside the Empire State Building after killing a former co-worker he had a grudge against.Shereese Francis was killed in the basement of her house in Queens. The New York Police Officers used excessive force by pressing her face into a mattress w hile handcuffing her, causing her to suttocate. Then on June an e Davis was snot in a vehicle in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. There was no weapon involved and she didn't represent any threat to the police to warrant the use of deadly force. (New York Amsterdam News from January 31 to February 06, 2013). Still, though, the Justice Department has failed to prosecute the vast majority of police brutality cases.This problem stems from, among other things, difficulty in proving allegations, absent evidence such as unbiased eyewitness testimony, or videotape recordings of the abuse. Also, there exists a perception in society that police officers are to be believed and trusted. Because such a high percentage of police officers can be trusted and do not engage in police brutality, Juries and Judges often encounter difficulty in disbelieving an officer's testimony that he or she did not abuse a citizen. Most people who become police officers do so because they ave a strong desire to protect thei r communities and its citizens.They work hard and receive appropriate training on how to handle a wide variety of situations, both ordinary and dangerous. Unfortunately, despite the fact that most police officers work very hard to keep their communities safe and provide a good example to its citizens, there are some individuals who abuse the power and authority they receive as a result of their positions in law enforcement. Sadly, allegations of police brutality are not uncommon, with many accusations coming from people in poor eighborhoods, minority neighborhoods, and major cities.Because police forces are governmental entities, common citizens–either individually or through their elected officials–do have a say in how their local police force is operated. If police departments make attempts to increase sensitivity and participate in training designed to reduce violence, and if groups of citizens actively work to encourage their local police departments to reduce viol ence and adopt enforceable early warning systems, police brutality can be reduced.However, while the vast majority of olice officers are good and honest people, the problem of police brutality is significant enough that it cannot be ignored. Sources Citations: Ethnic News Watch 21 killed by the NYPD in 2012. (2013, ). New York Amsterdam News. Retrieved fromhttp://www.proquest.com/connect/https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T98899 https://learnaboutrussia.wordpress.com/2009/12/13/hermitage-museum/http://weblib. ucc. edu:2233/ic/ovic/NewsDetailsPage/NewsDetailsWindow? e=&scanld=&documentld=GALE

Summary and Assessment

Lesson 04. 07: Summary and Assessment using the Four Steps to Gang a Great Speech, write and deliver a speech presenting your Personal Brand Statement to a City Council. 1 . Complete the Speech Planning Gulled 2. Write a two- to three-minute speech using the notes you organized In the Speech Planning Guide. 3. Submit your notes and your written speech (two to three paragraphs) to your instructor. 4. Rehearse your speech. Speech Planning Guide Your local city council wants a student to share something he or she has learned in school.They want you to give them a two- to three minute speech about your Personal Brand Statement. Use the Brand Guide you created In Lesson 04. 04 as a reference when organizing your speech. Know your audience. To learn about your audience, you created a short questionnaire they filled out. Here are their responses: Length of speech: 2?3 minutes Location of speech: City Council Meeting, City Hall, Room 305 Number of people in audience: 10 What topics should I address?We are interested in what you have learned in your leadership class. Please address the following topics: How have you used your Personal Brand and open communication skills In your daily life? You created three targeted brand statements. Which of the three brand targets Is the most challenging for you, and why? (For example, your family, teachers, or friends could be some of your targets. ) What recommendations would you give to those who want to improve their PersonalBrand? Outline Your Presentation. Outline your entire presentation, from start to finish. This means that you should be clear about what your primary message is and create a plan to present your argument, or point of view, step by step. What topics should I address? Introduction Stories or examples to support your point Evidence to support your point A call to action, or an appeal to the audience to do something new or different as a result of your presentation. Conclusion

South Park essays

South Park essays Stereotypes are commonplace in every society. Often times these stereotypes are hateful and made to degrade another race, creed, or any other group of people. These statements are very general and include the entire group without exemption to the individuals in that group. Racism in film is not a new theme. It has been a theme for many films that have been released over the last century. From John Fords Stagecoach (1939), to movies today like American History X (1999), and South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (1999), racism seems to be drawing audiences to the movie theatre. These movies push the limit as far as they can be pushed. Racism is a part of everyones lives, whether anyone will admit or not, that is still the question. We learn in high school about our countrys problems with slavery, and how the African-Americans overcome and are treated equal under the United States Constitution. We learn the hardships of the Jewish religion through Adolf Hitler and the holocaust in Germany during World War II. We are taught about Martin Luther King and his speech during the Civil Rights Movement. We lived through the brutal killing of Matthew Shephard who was beaten to death because he was gay. We live through racism day in and day out. I can account for numerous times when a racist joke was said, just to get a laugh. I think for the most of us we live through racism indirectly. Many people in todays society are not as blatant and as vocal towards select groups as they once were. Even the word nigger as lost a lot of its meaning. Today the word is used in the sense of friend, not as the derogatory term it once was used for. All of these aspects toward racism create a dull sense towards it. Basically thanks to living through extremely racist times, today it is fabricated. Yes there are still groups like the Ku Klux Klan or the Black Panthers, but how many of those groups today ...

Advisable Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Advisable - Essay Example The jury is still out on the legality of hiring only professing Evangelical Christians. On the surface, it seems very logical to do so, but the legal implications make it a delicate body of water on which to tread. There are some who say it is thoroughly illegal, still others say it is legal only under certain circumstances (such as the organization not receiving government funds), and others say it is perfectly legal because of the nature of the organization and its methods, means, goals, and outreach. There is also the other side of the legal and ethical issue, which is that an atheist or non-Christian may be ill-advised to work in an environment that may offend them. Says World Vision â€Å"...Our hiring policy is vital to the integrity of our mission to serve the poor as followers of Jesus Christ.† The pertinent words are â€Å"as followers of Jesus Christ.† In the case of a manufacturing facility, which is a private for-profit non-government funded operation, the â€Å"christian-only† policy may be instituted, but it could be outlawed or struck down if legally challenged in court. Instituting that policy is legal, but not advisable. In Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act is a provision that exempts religious organizations from being held liable for charges of discrimination. Title VII, which remains open to interpretation by the courts, states: â€Å"(a) Inapplicability of subchapter to certain aliens and employees of religious entities: This subchapter shall not apply to an employer with respect to the employment of aliens outside any State, or to a religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society with respect to the employment of individuals of a particular religion to perform work connected with the carrying on by such corporation, association, educational institution, or society of its activities.à ¢â‚¬  †¦ 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of

How video games affect teenagers nowadays Essay

How video games affect teenagers nowadays - Essay Example (2008) did a test concerning means changes in heart rate and respiration rate in the experimental conditions while playing high violence and low violence video games, and also the means of the average standardized electrodermal reaction into the two types of stimuli for the high- and low-violence groups. The results indicate that the higher level of violence players manifested greater aggression than the low level violence video game players. On the other hand, video games have also been found to have positive effects. For example, the study of Reinecke (2009), it was indicated that video and computer games are engaging media and are capable of alleviating players’ stress. A model has been deduced from empirical data to support this assertion, depicting the associations among recovery experience, work-related fatigue, daily hassles, emotion-focused coping, problem-focused coping, and playing games for recovery from stress and strain, with social support acting as moderator. Given these initial literature, the researcher was compelled to investigate what has thus far been found about the influence of video games on teenagers’ cognition, affect, and behaviours. The study shall be beneficial for a thorough understanding of both advantages and repercussions of playing video games, especially amongst teenagers. Both objectives shall be achieved through a critical review of related literature and interviews with teenagers who avidly play video games. Thus, both primary and secondary data collection shall be undertaken for the purposes of this study. The review of related literature has been conducted by gathering materials from online journals, newspapers, and websites. On the positive influences of video games, Reinecke (2009) pointed out that â€Å"Accordingly, as video and computer games are a very absorbing media environment, they are likely to foster feelings of relaxation and to support recovery from stress and strain.† Moreover, he had drafted out a model