Overview Yemen’s Democracy, Military and Politics Essay Example Essay Example

Overview: Yemen’s Democracy, Military and Politics Essay Example Paper Overview: Yemen’s Democracy, Military and Politics Essay Introduction Before anything else, it is necessary to provide a brief background of the country in question. According to a factbook by the Central Intelligence Agency (2008), the Republic of Yemen is located in Southwest Asia’s Arabian Peninsula, having a land area of approximately 530,000 sq. km. Said area is comprised of over 200 islands, the largest being Socotra in its southern region. Its capital city is Sana’a and is governed by a republican government – the only country in the Arabian Peninsula under such an administration.As already noted by the CIA, Yemen is a presidential representative democratic republic. It was formally established on May 22, 1990 via the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic (North) and the Marxist People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (South), with its constitution having first been drafted on May 16, 1991. It is ruled by a president, or the head of state, as well as a prime minister, or the head of government – the current ones bein g President Ali Abdallah Salih and Prime Minister Ali Muhammad Mujawwar, respectively. The country chooses its president every 7 years, the most recent being in 2006. The president, in turn, appoints the rest of the government officials.In terms of military strength, the Republic of Yemen is said to have a sizable military under its command, a sizable portion of which is made up of conscripts. In fact, their armed forces is the biggest in the Arabian Peninsula, second only to the Saudi military; in 2001, for instance, their armed forces personnel alone numbered at 67,000 (International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2001). According to the Library of Congress (2008), this number further balloons by 71,000 when the Yemeni paramilitary force is taken into account. That the Yemeni government places great importance on their military cannot be denied, placing it as one of their three biggest annual expenditures. As of 2006, their defense budget amounted to $2.1 billion – 6% of the country’s GDP. Of course, this does have the unfortunate side-effect of the country’s other important aspects being neglected and getting the short end of the stick.Further compounding its national troubles is that it has gained notoriety for being a sanctuary and breeding ground for the forces of global jihad (BBC News, 2010). Such an issue was first raised just the previous year when Afghanistan and Pakistan – both countries, it should be noted, with their own track record for terrorist turnouts – expressed fears of elements of al-Qaeda raising militancy among Yemeni citizens. Fortunately, good developments have been happening in this regard; the admission of a Yemeni al-Qaeda terrorist cell to a failed attack on a US airliner helped fuel the government’s resolve against Islamic radicals. The recent bilateral truce with the rebels in the northern regions should only help them better focus their attention on these terrorists.Finally, its legal system, while nominally a democracy, also takes some of its aspects from the Shari’a, or Islamic law – as stated in articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Yemen (1994). This may have played a part in its poor track record with regard to human rights. For instance, among other things, the government has been accused of torture, inhuman treatment and extrajudicial execution of suspected enemies of the state. The justice system is likewise marred by corruption, inefficiency and frequent executive interference. Freedom of speech also leaves something to be desired, especially where press and religious freedom are concerned. This then brings the discussion to another issue; namely, that regarding Yemen’s concept of law enforcement and human rights. Such concerns will be addressed in succeeding portions of this research.Human Rights and the Lack of It: Women’s Rights, Freedom of ReligionAs already mentioned, Yemeni citizens often do not have m uch in the way of human rights. It is supposedly a democratic country, yet freedom of speech is horribly inadequate. Women are treated as second-class citizens, often being forced into arranged marriages at age 9 or even earlier – in stark contrast to the equal rights promised by the constitution. Taking into account the numerous human rights agreements Yemen is a party to, such as the 1994 Geneva Agreement, the government really ought to be called on the numerous human rights violations they have condoned.First among the points that should be addressed is the fact that the Republic of Yemen has Islam as an established state religion. While citizens are allowed to be part of other religious denominations, Muslims are forbidden to convert to another religion, nor are they allowed to be proselytized (United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, 2007). Otherwise, though, the Yemeni government is actually rather tolerant of other religions, having diplomatic ties wi th the Vatican for instance. Moreover, they even issue residence visas to priests who wish to minister to their flock.The more problematic issue related to the instatement of Islam as the state religion is that its laws, Shari’a, form the basis of all Yemeni legislation. These laws are quite notorious for their severity, such as their mandate of death for an apostate. Another fact about these laws is that they are quite biased against women and sometimes, despite the surprising lack of religious discrimination, even against people adhering to the tenets of other religions.As already mentioned above, girls can be forced into arranged marriage even before they are physically capable of pregnancy, thanks in part to preconceived notions on female virginity and integrity. The problem here is that when a girl’s anatomy is not yet fully developed, pregnancy can in fact be more dangerous than it already is. In the worst cases, underage mothers may even die giving birth to thei r child, or worse, die with their child (Uzan, Seince and Pharisien, 2004). Coupled with the sometimes less-than adequate conditions in which babies are delivered, multitudes of Yemeni females end up not fully growing up. The limited access women have to medical care only aggravates the situation.Even discounting this, early marriages often come with the unfortunate side-effect of the girl being forced to prematurely drop out of school. According to UNESCO (2005), Yemen has the unfortunate distinction of having the lowest female enrollment rate of all Middle Eastern countries, and the widest literacy gap between adult males and females – a staggering 38 percent (Library of Congress Federal Research Division, 2008). In general, most Yemeni parents are reluctant to send their daughters to mixed-gender schools due to concerns regarding chastity. Such concern, while understandable, should not be prioritized to the detriment of the welfare of these girls.Other factors that hinder women’s education also come into play. For starters, most Yemeni educational facilities are subpar compared to those found in other nations. The number of schools in a given area is usually not many, and even existing educational institutions often suffer from overcrowding and an overall low quality of education. Neither does it help that the teachers, most of whom are male, often exhibit a conservative attitude towards their female students. Coupled with the fairly large distance between schools and rural areas, low-quality teaching materials, and most importantly lack of financial resources, Yemeni families in general have little interest in educating their daughters.The women who have it worst of all are the ones who never wanted to get married in the first place and therefore want out. In contrast to men who can file for divorce anytime and anywhere they like, no questions asked, women have to undergo a lot of scrutiny as to why they want a divorce in the first place. As written by Amal Basha of Freedom House (2005), no thanks to the horribly backward Personal Status Law, women are forced to contend with unnecessary practical, social and financial consequences associated with divorce. The Human Rights Watch (2001) further laments how authorities often turn a blind eye towards violence against women, yet whose hearts bleed for violence against men.Conclusion: Modernization as the SolutionJudging from the previous statements, it can be convincingly argued that the Yemeni government’s excessive fixation on Islamic law as the backbone of its legislation is largely responsible for most of the issues plaguing the country. What is more, the country’s current state and condition can also serve as proof that when the church dictates how the state runs its affairs, disaster happens. Handelman (2009, p.1) explains how such countries â€Å"still show few signs of forward progress†. Thus, this researcher proposes that the Republic of Yemen c an rise up from its current state by means of modernization. More specifically, considering how Islam has a penchant of breeding conflicts described as â€Å"intense and violent† (Handelman, 2009, p.57), the Yemeni government needs to discontinue its reference to Islamic law for its legislation.Modernization, which refers to a society’s transition from a traditional focus to a modern one, has and is being widely used for those countries who wish to accelerate their development. Where developing countries are concerned, says Qian Chengdan (2009), their modernization works best when based on the experiences and lessons gained from the development of other countries. Compared to their more traditional counterparts, modern countries generally enjoy a higher standard of living, with their citizens accorded more rights and freedoms. This is undoubtedly something the Yemeni people are in dire need of.Adam Przeworski and Fernando Limongi (1997) further characterize modernizati on as consisting of a gradual differentiation and specialization of social structures; that is, different social structures are created to perform different functions. This would ideally help in setting apart the political structures in particular. In this process, various sequences are involved, including but not limited to industrialization, urbanization, education, communication, mobilization and political incorporation. Ultimately, the end result would be a true democratic system for the country concerned.It should be noted that such a theory is very much applicable to Yemen’s current state. The social and religious structures must be separated from the political structures; specifically, Shari’a should be abolished as the basis for all other Yemeni laws. This is not only because of how draconian said laws are, but also because while an overwhelming majority of Yemenis are Muslim, there are still a handful who do not belong to the Islamic faith. The state should on ly be concerned with matters of state, leaving religious issues to those more qualified to handle them.Mashhur et al (2003) have said that most Arab countries today badly need to initiate reforms in the system. Unfortunately, due to the overly conservative stance of the Yemeni government, modernization will definitely be something they will find difficult to swallow. Griffiths (2010) also adds how Western nations are most often resented for their habit of intervening (some would say interfering) in the affairs of other nations. This, he says, is the â€Å"fundamental flaw in the West’s strategic thinking† (p.20), which will probably be how the idea of a modernized Yemen will be perceived. Until they learn how to be more open-minded – until they learn that the spirit, not the letter of the law is what matters, and that an unjust law is not a law at all – they will find that accelerating their development will be very difficult indeed. Overview: Yemen’s Democracy, Military and Politics Essay Thank you for reading this Sample!

Introduction to Studying French Verbs

Introduction to Studying French Verbs Most French students are impressed with French verbs. So let’s talk about them, and the terms used to explain how we should  conjugate French verbs. What is the  Verb? A verb indicates an action. It can be physical (to walk, to run, to go), mental (to think, to laugh)  or a condition or a state (to be, to have). A verb is conjugated to agree with (to match) its subject: He does, she has, they were, as opposed to the incorrect he do, she have, they be. What is Person in Grammar? In grammar, person refers to the different pronouns used to conjugate a verb: I, you, he, she, it, we, they. Read more on French  subject pronouns to understand  this concept better. What is Agreement? In French, some words are said to â€Å"agree† with each other. Its the same in English; you add an â€Å"s† to the end of the verb for he / she/ it, as in: She singS. In French, it gets a little more complicated. In French, you have to change some words or parts of words (like the endings of verbs) to match other words related them.  Ã‚   What or Who is the  Subject?   The subject is the person or thing that does the action of the verb.   There is an easy way to find the subject of a sentence. First, find the verb. Then ask: â€Å"who verb† or â€Å"what verb.† The answer to that question will be your subject. A subject is a noun (Camille, flower, room) or a pronoun (I, you, they). A noun can be a person, thing, place or idea. Examples:  I paint.Who paints?Answer: I paint. â€Å"I† is the subject. Camille is teaching French.Who is teaching?Answer:  Camille is teaching.â€Å"Camille† is the subject.   What is happening to Camille?What’s happening?Answer:  What is happening.â€Å"What† is the subject (This one was trickier, wasn’t it?)   What is a Conjugation? Conjugation is the way a subject changes a verb so they agree (match). In English, the conjugation of verbs is quite simple. The verbs don’t change much: I, you, we, they speak; he, she, it  speakS. An exception: the verb to be (I am, you are, he is). It is not this way in French, where the verb form changes with almost every different person. Some verbs are called â€Å"regular† because they follow a predictable conjugation pattern, such as adding an â€Å"s† to the 3rd person singular, as in English). Some are called â€Å"irregular† because their conjugation pattern is not predictable, like the verb â€Å"to be† in English. The way French verbs are written and their pronunciation  are also very different, this is why I highly recommend you train with audio drills when learning French verbs. What is the Infinitive? The infinitive is the form of the verb before it is conjugated. It’s the verb name, for example, â€Å"to speak.† In English, the infinitive is usually preceded by â€Å"to† as in â€Å"to study,† but its not always this way, for example: â€Å"can.†) In French, there is no â€Å"to† before the verb. The infinitive form is one word, and the last two or three letters of the infinitive will identify the type of conjugation pattern it follows, if the verb is regular. These letters are  usually -er, -ir or -re.   What is a Tense? A tense indicates when the action of the verb is taking place: now, in the past, in the future. A simple tense consists of only one verb form (â€Å"I speak†).A compound tense consists of one or more verbs, including an auxiliary verb a main verb (â€Å"I am speaking,† â€Å"I have been thinking†). What is Mood? The mood indicates how the verb relates to the subject: Is the action a statement of fact (indicative mood) or something else like a command (imperative mood) or a wish (subjunctive mood). This will affect the conjugation of the verb. and, likewise, the conjugation will communicate the mood.    Whats the Best Way to Learn French Verb Conjugations? Learning French verbs is a long process, and you shouldnt learn everything at once. Start by learning useful conjugations in the present indicative of the most common irregular and regular French verbs. Make sure you get the pronunciation right. French is full of liaisons, elisions and glidings, and it is not pronounced as it is written.   If you are serious about learning French, start with a good French audio method. Read about how to select the right tools to self-study  French. Your next step: Learning about French Subject Pronouns.

Make Your Own Magic Rocks in a Chemical Garden

Make Your Own Magic Rocks in a Chemical Garden Magic Rocks, sometimes called Chemical Garden or Crystal Garden, are a product that includes a small packet of multicolored rocks and some magic solution. You scatter the rocks at the bottom of a glass container, add the magic solution, and the rocks grow into magical-looking chemical towers within a day. Its crystal-growing at its finest for people who prefer not to wait days/weeks for results. After the chemical garden has grown, the magic solution is (carefully) poured off and replaced with water. At this point, the garden can be maintained as a decoration almost indefinitely. Magic rocks tend to be recommended for ages 10 because the rocks and solution are not edible! However, younger children will also enjoy growing magic rocks, providing they have close adult supervision. How Magic Rocks Work The Magic Rocks are chunks of metal salts that have been stabilized by being dispersed in aluminum hydroxide or alum. The magic solution is a solution of sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) in water. The metal salts react with the sodium silicate to form the characteristic colored precipitant (chemical towers about 4 high). Grow Your Own Chemical Garden Magic rocks are available on the Internet and are quite inexpensive, but you can make them yourself. These are the salts used to make magic rocks. Some of the colorants are readily available; most require access to a general chemistry lab. White: calcium chloride (found on the laundry aisle of some stores)White: lead (II) nitratePurple: manganese (II) chlorideBlue: copper (II) sulfate (common chemistry lab chemical, also used for aquaria and as an algicide for pools)Red: cobalt (II) chloridePink: manganese (II) chlorideOrange: iron (III) chlorideYellow: iron (III) chlorideGreen: nickel (II) nitrate Make the garden by placing a thin layer of sand on the bottom of a 600-ml beaker (or equivalent glass container). Add a mixture consisting of 100-ml sodium silicate solution with 400 ml distilled water. Add crystals or chunks of the metal salts. If you add too many rocks the solution will turn cloudy and immediate precipitation will occur. A slower precipitation rate will give you a nice chemical garden. Once the garden has grown, you can replace the sodium silicate solution with pure water.

Thought Paper on Dahl Book Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Thought Paper on Dahl Book - Essay Example Two main themes stand out from Dahl’s analysis – his look at the ‘profound ignorance’ (p.7) of the Framers of America’s future, and thus the need to periodically amend it, and the fact that it has not been adopted by other democratic countries. Dahl begins with the basics, asking why we should uphold the Constitution, and stating that his aim ‘is not to propose changes in the American Constitution but to suggest changes in the way we think about our constitution’ (p.1). His book starts on the right note by immediately admitting the imperfection of American constitutional arrangements – at the Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia, Rhode Island sent no delegates, while those from New Hampshire arrived weeks late. Not only was this an irregular start, but Dahl rightly asks why Americans should still feel bound to a document signed by only 39 men, some of whom owned slaves. When Dahl notes that there had never since been a r eferendum on it, one wonders if perhaps there should have been. Dahl is not unduly harsh to the Framers of the Constitution, recognizing that they were a product of their times, and that ‘Judged from later, more democratic perspectives’, the document has many shortcomings (p. 15). However, given this fact, Dahl is right that Americans should look upon it as the work of mortal men, and a practical and changing document, rather than a sacred text to be preserved. For example, with slavery, it was clear that the delegates from the southern states would never accept anything which didn’t allow slavery to continue, and so it was allowed for the sake of a strong federal government. Again, with the unequal representation in the Senate – a point which arises repeatedly in Dahl’s work as a weak point of the Constitution – the smaller states would never have accepted anything less than equal representation with the larger states. There is a tendency to assume that, because the Constitution retains the support of most Americans, and because of the idealistic portrayal of its origins, its status as a basically good document need not be questioned. What is most striking about Dahl’s work is his comparison of the American Constitution with that of other countries with a strong democratic tradition, out of which comes one major point – if the American Constitution was such a wonderful document, surely it would have been adapted by other countries seeking a democratic model. As Dahl himself writes, ‘Many Americans appear to believe that our constitution has been a model for the rest of the democratic world’, but of the 22 other democracies analyzed, America is unique (p.41). Some countries share some aspects of the US constitution, such as its federalism, or its strong judicial review mechanisms, but none has several key features in common. Especially interesting in this regard is the American presidential sy stem, which allows for a uniquely powerful head of state, who, since the office is now filled by popular election, is like ‘a monarch and prime minister rolled into one’ (p.72). We must agree with the author that such a powerful position does not really seem appropriate in a modern democracy. However, this is not the worst of the defects of the constitution as it now stands. More

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 131

Discussion - Essay Example Such practices are uncontested for their influential nature in provoking intelligence in its audiences. The modernism culture was important in its creation of sound and sight effects through the painting practices that indicated the use of a wide range of colors. Further, the use of dimensions in the geometrical facets inclined the level of influence; hence, inclining abstraction as a vital artistic movement. Different scholars in the profession have embraced the movement citing to its comprehension of various factors of the impressionist and romanticism movements. The diversity of the art movement elevates its abundance in delivering knowledge to different groups of audiences despite the variations shown in preferences. It is apparent that the artistic approach enabled for the inclusion of multilingual aspects, for example, artists could include Chinese or Islamic calligraphy in their painting. Therefore, an intelligent academic in the field of art would complement the artistic movement of abstraction for its diversity in the use of decorative styles from different cultures for the benefit of the modern and contemporary

Federal programs Essay Example for Free

Federal programs Essay Throughout the twentieth century, Congress has established a great number of federal programs administered by agencies within the Executive Branch. Through this process of a wide-ranging allocation of authority to the executive Branch, Congress has assisted in creating a massive Federal Bureaucracy. The relationship of Congress to the Executive Branch today must therefore be seen in terms of its relation to this Bureaucracy, as well as its relation to the Presidency. In order to gain some control over the operations of the various agencies which had been established within the Executive Branch, in 1946 congress began to develop a sequence of configurations and procedures designed to manage the Administration. This process was also known as congressional oversight. There are several methods through which congressional misunderstanding operations take place: the committee process, congressional administrative offices, casework, as well as a number of administrative practices. Where the congressional oversight functions take place, there are three types of committees: authorizations committees, appropriations committees, and governmental operations committees. The first type of committee is the functional committee which initially establishes or authorizes the program or agency. In the case of a military program, this would be the Armed Services Committees in both chambers. ‘In the case of an urban program, this would be the Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Committee in the House and the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee in the Senate. Similarly, each program area within the Federal Bureaucracy is related to at least one specific substantive standing committee in each chamber of Congress. ’ (Issa, 2011) In attempting to follow the oversight activities through these authorization committees, a number of complications are often encountered. One of these is the result from the fact that a particular governmental agency may fall within the authority of several different practical committees or subcommittees. As a result, the agency may play ‘one committee or subcommittee against the other in order to achieve those results in Congress which tend to benefit the agency the most. (Office of The Law Revision Counsel, 2012) Another problem is that a committee which establishes a program is often too involved with the outcome of its own efforts to be willing to investigate adequately the operations of the program it has initiated. One of the most substantial places where an amount of oversight activity takes place is in the appropriations process. The budget for an agency must be approved anew each year. ’ One might assume that this yearly appropriations process would lead to a careful annual inspection of the budgets of all the various governmental agencies. (Issa, 2011) This is not the case. The federal budget is so great and compound that it is impossible to consider carefully the budget of each agency and program on a year-to-year basis. What happens instead is that budgets are often routinely approved from year to year with general reviews only occurring sporadically. In addition, many agencies develop quite close relationships with the subcommittees of the Appropriations Committees which spe cifically deal with their agency. These agencies are therefore often able to abstract some special favors from these particular appropriations subcommittees. The Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Governmental Reform were initially established to manage congressional concern over governmental processes. Thus, many see these committees as an ideal place for maintaining congressional observation over the activities of the vast Bureaucracy located within the Executive Branch. However, because of jurisdictional differences and because of the hesitancy of most representatives and senators to provide for satisfactory independent oversight activities, the efforts of these governmental operations committees have been quite restricted. The three administrative offices within Congress are used to some extent in the congressional oversight process. The General Accounting Office, The GAO has the accountability, not simply for performing accounting audits, but also for judging how various programs are being managed. In other words, the GAO often performs the task of program assessment. The GAO plays a significant role in congressional oversight. The Congressional Research Service, while preparing reports and studies to assist members of Congress, the CRS sometimes includes some information on the activities and routines of various governmental agencies. This is another important source of oversight information for members of Congress. The Congressional Budget Office gathers information on the budgets of the various governmental agencies and to report on new budgetary requirements and propositions that are made through the Executive Branchs Office of Management and Budget. Budgetary information is an extremely important source of data upon which the various congressional committees can judge the effectiveness of specific governmental programs. Granting, the information gathered by the CBO may seem to permit for substantial congressional oversight, the fact is that it is the agencies that often use this informational link for their own purposes in pursuing their requests for additional funding directly to the congressional committee, instead of directing all their communications through the OMB. This short circuits the use of the OMB as one of the Presidents management tools. Efficiency, from an overall standpoint, we can see that these three congressional offices. The General Accounting Office, the Congressional Research Services, and the Congressional Budget Office combined with the staffs of individual congresspersons and senators and the staffs of congressional committees are able to supply our national legislators with vast amounts of information and evaluations of governmental activities. ‘In fact, the United States Congress has available to it one of the most extensive research staffs of any national legislature in the world. ’ (Issa, 2011) Nevertheless, the availability of information and study alone is not sufficient for effective congressional oversight. The desire to follow through on this available information is another necessary ingredient and it is this ingredient which is often lacking. Many times congressional oversight is limited by the worries of various congressional committees and subcommittees over their particular jurisdictions and in a substantial number of instances, the burdens of organized special interests also interfere with the ability or wishes of members of Congress to significantly oversee governmental operations. Aside from these problems, there are also the boundaries of time. Congresspersons are loaded with extremely dense schedules. They have a large number of often conflicting responsibilities to perform. Representatives and senators must therefore place priorities on the use of their time. Often oversight activities lose in this shamble of priorities to legislative activities, to the creation of new programs to deal with current problems, and to casework concerns. Representatives and senators, themselves, do not usually become directly involved in much casework or fundamental services. It is their staff that deals with these matters. However, representatives and senators are usually informed by their staffs of many of these problems, and it is through these specific interactions that these legislators often get the most intense impression as to the effectiveness of many governmental programs. Casework thus provides an important source of direct, specific information which proves very useful in congressional oversight activities. Congress has also passed some major reforms and reconnoitered a number of major legislative techniques, many of which have had the effect of enlightening congressional oversight. Sunshine Laws. During the 1970s, Congress attempted to open up many facets of governmental operations to the general public. This was done through the Freedom of Information Act and the Government in Sunshine Act. By making information more broadly available to the public, these acts also increase the amount of information available to Congress. The Congressional Veto. Very often Congress passes rather broad pieces of legislation. It is then up to specific agencies to fill in the details of these laws, both with regard to the building of governmental agencies and the processes which they follow. One might note for example that while Congress passes general tax laws, the details of the regulations regarding the payment of federal taxes is to be found not in the tax law itself but rather in the Internal Revenue Code which is developed by the Internal Revenue Service, which is an executive agency. The problem that were presented by the executive agencies developing a great many regulations or codes is that the only way Congress is able to affect these details is through the passage of new legislative acts. As we have seen, this is often a burdensome and prolonged process. In order to avoid this, Congress now writes into some authorization bills requirements for a congressional veto. According to this procedure, when an agency disseminates rules filling in the details of congressional legislation, Congress automatically has the power within a specific time period to veto some of these rules and to demand that the agency fill in the details in a different way. The important thing is that Congress can do this without having to go through the process of passing a new law. Although this procedure is rarely used, it does offer the prospective for a far greater legislative control over the procedures by which the Bureaucracy operates. Sunset Legislation. In starting governmental programs or agencies, Congress usually sets no time limit on the functioning of the program or agency. Since the 1970s, a practice developed by which Congress authorizes the existence of a program or agency for only a inadequate amount of time. In other words, Congress specifies a date by which the agency or program will conclude to function. In order for the agency to continue its operations after that time, a new bill must be passed allowing its continued existence for another specified period of time. This practice is obviously intended to avert the continued existence of agencies or programs which no longer meet a legitimate need or which fail to meet a legitimate need effectively. A dissimilarity on sunset legislation is the procedure of annual authorization. According to this procedure, the continued existence of governmental agency must be approved on a year-to-year basis. While this practice obviously creates tremendous difficulties in the ability of such an agency to engage in long-term planning, it does suggestively increase the potential effectiveness of congressional control. ‘Zero Based Budgeting (ZBB). Zero Based Budgeting is a technique through which administrators must carefully justify their entire agencies budgets. Zero based budgeting requires a continual top-to-bottom assessment of all agencies programs designed to insure their cost effectiveness. ’ (Issa, 2011) We can see that many structures and techniques have been developed to allow Congress to be more effective in its oversight activities. However, jurisdictional disputes and pressures from various well organized special interests continue to prevent these new techniques and sources of information from being used effectively. In many occurrences, the actual nature and effect of government policy depends less on the actions of our elected officials than it does on the activities of non-elected bureaucrats who often remain totally immune from the pressures of the general publicalthough not necessarily from those of well-organized special interests. One of the major political issues determining our national future is the question of how well our government is able to represent effectively the needs and desires of the American people. As we have noted, the role of Congress as a representative of the people was one of the most important functions of this first branch of government envisioned by the Founders when they drafted the Constitution. However, the many new needs which our national government has had to meet in this century have placed this role of representation under great stress.

Julie Wolpers Internet Basics :: Julie Wolper

Internet Basics Julie Wolper's "Internet Basics" was originally offered by the Telecommunication Community Resource Center and represents a growing phenomena on the Web -- the free course. In fact, this is not so much a course as it is a self-directed tutorial, an outgrowth of the early guided learning modules that first appeared in PLATO and in early DOS and Macintosh programs. Wolper's work offers its users a brief guide to the Internet (along with an introduction written by Dan Duvall). It includes descriptions of such technologies as the Web, downloads, e-mail and newsgroups, a collection I found oddly conceived till I worked through the site: the technologies chosen all fit within her stated vision of the Internet: ". . . a network of linked computers allowing participants to share information on those computers." Given that understanding and conceptualization of the Internet (and it's one that is certainly defensible, if not one that is rapidly becoming the standard), her choices make perfect sense. And her information is very down to earth, succinct and accurate; her brief summation of the history of the Internet, for instance, is right on the button, and useful for helping new users begin to think about the issues involved in using and being part of the Web. Though the site is decidedly kinesthetic in its approach -- users are often enjoined to "try" this and links take them to places where the technology they've just installed can be used. But the instructions can often be mercilessly brief and I wonder if newcomers could hope to follow them without more step by step instruction: Set up a "downloads" area: The first step here is to create a new folder or directory on your hard drive entitled, simply, "downloads." This file can reside anywhere you like. I keep mine on the "desktop" where I can easily find the new things I get. Some people also find it helpful to put the "download" directory at the root level of their c: drive. How many new time users are guaranteed to know how to create a folder at all, let alone locate it on their desktop? Admitted, knowing how to create a folder is not strictly speaking part of the content of a course about using online technology, but it's certainly germane.

Worldwide Food Shortage

These new factors are related to economic systems, political issues, alternative energies and fuels or global warming and climate change. As we can read in an article by Lester Brown published in Scientific American Magazine, â€Å"one of the toughest things for people to do Is to anticipate sudden change. † (2009) This quote helps us understanding the crawls In countries affected by flooding or droughts. Other natural disasters hard to predict and having a substantial Impact on basic food production are earthquakes and tsunamis. These phenomenon's have the power to paralyze any agricultural activity among others.When these natural disasters affect countries with a poor economy, the situation is even worse as they do not have enough resources to recover and things are likely to become critical to the point where the population is affected by malnutrition and dies of hunger. Africa has been long known as the continent with the worst problems concerning food shortages In most of their countries, mainly due because of the hot temperatures causing severe uncontrollable droughts and water shortages. The situation in these countries has not only immediate implications on population, but also makes it very official for economies to develop.Unfortunately, because of the lack of food many diseases would easily spread and be difficult to overcome, since the countries are poor. To Illustrate the state of some African countries we will be citing a shocking affirmation published In an article by Marc Gunter, senior writer for Fortune Magazine: â€Å"The average American pet will consume more resources than the average African and have better medical care as well. † (2008) The same poor economical environment in countries of Central and South America had facilitated over the years, food shortages following either droughts or flooding.In 2001 for instance, a severe drought has compromised the crops across Central America. Countries like Honduras, Guatemala and E l Salvador have been seriously affected. (Taylor, 2002) These countries are predominately rural and produce grains and coffee for export. This is the other aspect of local food shortages: it can extend to affect other importing countries as well, forcing the increase in prices for some essential foods. As we could see so far in this analysis, droughts are not the only factors having the power to severely affect food production, but their opposite, flooding has the same vegetating erect. Entries all around ten world , In Europe, Salsa, Australia, ten Americas, they all have experienced food shortages due to flooding. A healthy production depends thus on balanced weather conditions. This might be however difficult to achieve, thinking that for centuries nature has been unpredictable, and it's getting worse due to global warming. An article published in Fortune Magazine presents the Pentagon's weather nightmare, global warming, as a surging problem, and predicts that a cooling in the N orthern Hemisphere will trigger longer and rasher winters in most European countries as well as in the United States.The same conditions will also cause according to the same source, severe droughts which will turn â€Å"farmland to dust bowls and forests to ashes. † (Strip,2004) Food shortages could arise from animal diseases, like the mad-cow disease, which caused a global meat shortage in 1996, and affected mainly the Great Britain, where people have died from consuming the meat coming from infected animals. Same situation has happened with chicken and pork later in the decade. A major issue nowadays is the price of oil.In a global economy heavily relying on amerce, import and export, the price of oil could have a significant impact on the cost of production. Some countries are seriously affected and decide to drop the production for essential foods, since its cost could become higher than the selling price. While some countries, usually developing countries, are strugglin g to survive on a low food supply, dealing with starvation and diseases, others might as well have an overage in production of basic food. We can analyze these countries' food overage from a humanitarian and ethical perspective, depending on what their decision is regarding the surplus.How many countries decide to distribute their overage to unprivileged nations, and how many simply dispose of the extra production? Great Britain for instance, estimates that more than 30% of their food is thrown away and thus UK might be the worst in the world for waste. The cost of the wasted food is estimated to be between 8 and 16 billion pounds a year. (Vidal, 2005) This is Just an example of how food is wasted in some countries or Just individually in certain households. In the context of long time food crisis around the world, this waste is highly unethical and shows low commitment to the global welfare.

Observations of Chemical Changes Essay

Objective: This experiment is meant to show how certain chemicals react with each other and can be identified by these reactions Procedure: Several different chemical mixtures were poured into the well plate and observed. These included sodium bicarbonate and hydrochloric acid, bromothymol blue and hydrochloric acid, ammonia and bromothymol blue, hydrochloric acid and blue dye, blue dye and sodium hypochlorite, potassium iodide and lead nitrate, sodium hydroxide and phenolphthalein, hydrochloric acid and phenolphthalein, sodium hydroxide and sliver nitrate, ammonia and silver nitrate, and ammonia and copper (II) sulfate. Some mixtures were also placed in the light or mixed with additional hydrochloric acid or dye. Observation Table: Questions: a.) Silver nitrate could easily be used to test for sodium bicarbonate since it causes the chemical to turn brown. b.) Windex- turns orange with BTB and red with phenolphthalein- base Dish soap- turns yellow with BTB and red with phenolphthalein- base Bleach- turns orange with BTB and purple with phenolphthalein- base Scrubbing Bubbles- turns blue with BTB and gray with phenolphthalein- acid c.) The solution contains no vinegar or a very small amount of vinegar because a pink color indicates a basic solution, and vinegar is and acid. d.) The yellow flavor is more acidic and the blue flavor is more basic. e.) Combining the mixture with potassium iodide could easily test for the presence of lead. If the mixture contained lead, then the potassium iodide would cause the mixture to turn yellow and thick like a solid. Conclusion: Many chemicals will produce obvious physical changes when mixed with other chemicals. These mixtures usually result in a change in color or consistency, which can distinguish them from other chemicals. While certain chemicals may react the same way with on mixture, testing a chemical with multiple mixtures will most likely allow the chemical to be identified.

Michelangelo essays

Michelangelo essays Michelangelo was born in 1475 and died in 1564 he died at the age of 89. His full name was Michelangelo Buonarroti. He was an Italian painter, sculptor, architect, and poet . Michelangelo considered the male nude to be best subject in art, mostly because at the time men were considered in control of everything. Even while being an architect he tried to show human tension through windows or even doors. Michelangelo loved a challenge, whether it be intellectual physical,or artistic. In painting figures, he chose poses that were difficult to draw. He gave his work different meanings alomost unrecognizable only to what the spectator wanted it to be. He was very succesful at what he did yet when he died they found much of his work unfinished as if he had a mind block. Michelangelo was born in the small village of Caprese in Tuscany and grew up in Florence. Florence was the artistic center of the early Renaissance. Michelangelo went to a grammer school because of the claims his parents had to nobility. Although his dad disapproved art Michelangelo prefferd it to his school work From 1490 to 1492 Michelangelo lived with Lorenzo de' Medici (known as Lorenzo the Magnificent), at that time he was the leading artist of Florence. The Medici house was a meeting place for philosophers artists, and poets.This was a great time for michelangelo to study and observe other artists. Other artists taught michelangelo the art and love for writing. Which was Michelangelo's most important piece was the Sistine chapel during the year of 1508 through 1512.Michelangelo was also very religious. So, he expressed his personal beliefs most clearly in his later work. His later drawings are of christian beliefs such as the crucifixtion of people.Throughout his career Michelangelo came in contact with powerful men. His patrons ...

Britains Health Care Service Standards Management Essay

Britains Health Care Service Standards Management Essay According to Baggot Britains health care service standards are believed to be comparatively high in relation to other health care systems. This could be attributed to the recent critiques of healthcare management which has shifted focus onto the efficiency and effectiveness of operating systems (Baggot, 2004). With emphasis on public interest, health care provides a direct link with my proposed project. However, due to the broad nature and vast scope of sub units outside of the body image research area, analysis of the health sector as a whole would be unfeasible. Divulging further into the health industry, strategic focus has shifted onto support networks offered by the health profession. By tapering down areas of possible investigation, Beat, the UKs leading eating disorder charity has stood out as a specific organisation worth exploring. As with the public sector, strategy within the not-for-profit sector of business is complex as objectives tend to be a lot vaguer than ultimatel y adding shareholder value (Lynch, 2012). Funds are primarily derived from a selection of public contributions and commercial business backing so competition to obtain capital within this sector is fierce (Lynch, 2012). Differing from public and private sectors, fund raising expertise and human resourced based strategies are core resources for not-for-profit organizations and require vigilant analysis in order to identify the organisations strongest competencies (Lynch, 2012). Beat, formally known as the Eating Disorder Association, provides a network of support within the UK to assist people in ‘beating’ their eating disorder (Beat, 2010). The 2011- 2012 annual review reported that Beat directly helped over 10,000 individuals across the UK in that single year and they logged 1,871,423 visits to their website (Outram and Ringwood, 2012). Strategy Theorists have produced an array of varying strategy definitions; Johnson, Scholes and Whittington (2010) state that, strateg y encompasses â€Å"the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment†. Strategy is concerned primarily with two factors; organisations internal resources and its external environment and ultimately the linkage of these to optimise positioning. Largely, strategy utilises the future vision of the organisation, its sustainability and its growth opportunities (Carter, 2012). A key challenge in strategic implementation is how to create value and continue to do so in an incessantly developing industry states Carter (2012). He adds that for survival, as a necessity, a firm must add value to its inputs, whether through marketing processes or operational processes. This holistic view of the organisation assists in the development of distinctiveness through the establishment of a competitive advantage (Carter, 2012). This report will execute both an internal and external analysis of the charity, Beat; in terms of its posi tioning to provide reinforcement for possible strategic growth opportunities. Internal analysis Beat challenge â€Å"the stereotypes and stigma that people with eating disorders face† (Beat, 2010). The charity plays a vital role in media proceedings with the belief that the media is at risk of harming vulnerable people (Beat, 2010). Predictably, this shows that my research topic, of whether the media does influence perceptions on body image will be beneficial to Beat in providing possible clarity (Beat, 2010).

Rule of Taliban Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Rule of Taliban - Essay Example After several bombing instances, the Taliban were attacked by the United States of America which made them to escape to other areas for safety (Barth, 12). This left them with a mere 5% of the entire country under their control, these were regions on the north and eventually escaping to Pakistan start being driven out of their last city(Kunduz). It was until recently that first signs of their return were detected. Arguments have risen across different political, religious, social and economic divides of whether ruling power needs to be taken back to them or not. The varied opinion on whether Taliban should be allowed to take back Afghanistan under their rule has been strengthened by the impact felt during their regime whether it were positive or negative. Many people believe that despite the pessimistic views labeled against Taliban, lots of positive developments were realized during their regime as compared to before and after their ousting. It should be noted that despite Taliban being considered reckless on women, they were arguably of importance to the economy and social wellbeing of the Afghans. Some of the reasons cited for letting Taliban regain control of Afghanistan include, but not restricted to their goal of minimizing and eliminating crime at all cost. They succeeded in doing so by coming up with their own kind of Islamic law that entailed death sentences and amputations. Crimes committed such as rape incidence against women were minimized by ensuring that women did not walk out of the house without being in company of male counterparts. Wearing of burga (clothes that covered women’s entire body from head to toe) imposed by Taliban also helped with reducing rape incidences. Those found guilty of violating Taliban laws were thoroughly punished by religious police. Cases of children being used as sex slaves also reduced tremendously (Mason, 102). Taliban advocated for basic and isolationist