American Neo Conservatism and the World Order Essay

American Neo Conservatism and the World Order - Essay Example American Neo Conservatism and the World Order Backed by an American nuclear arsenal and war machine, Bush tossed the words "freedom" and "democracy" about, making them sound like cheap and meaningless words. Taking advantage of the fact that Americans were distracted with the aftermath of September 11, Bush addressed the world saying, "Since America's emergence as a world power roughly a century ago, we have made many errors, but we have been the greatest force for good among the nations of the earth. A diminution of American power or influence bodes ill for our country, our friends, and our principles." Later, the question would be asked whether or not the terrorists behind the events of September 11 had awakened a sleeping giant,1 or whether the giant had in fact been waiting in the wings waiting for his cue to come on stage. When George Bush made his announcement to Americans that they would respond to the events of 9/11 with an armed assault against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, he did not share with his fellow Americans that already talk had been going on in the White House of a plan to invade Iraq. In November, 2001, ". . . Bush asked his defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, to revise the U.S. war plan for Iraq and publicly called for the return of UN arms inspectors to the country.† While a response of moving militarily against Afghanistan as the threshold of operations for the terrorists who had attacked the United States on September 11, 2001 went unquestioned by most Americans.; neo conservative plans of pre-emptive defense tactics against Iraq left many Americans scratching their heads in contemplation of the rhetoric coming out of the White House. It was the notion of a "pre-emptive" strike against a perceived threat to America that caused many, amongst them Democrats, who had pr eviously supported the administration in its response to the 9/11 terrorists in Afghanistan to now jump off the band wagon and put enough distance between themselves and the Bush administration so as to regain perspective of what actions were going on that were clearly being driven the neo conservatives who gained momentum following the events of 9/11. Amongst those who attempted to distance themselves from the Bush administration during the talk of pre-emptive invasion of Iraq period, were world leaders, some of whom seemed taken aback by Bush's pre-emptive rhetoric. "Our closest allies have spoken out against an invasion of Iraq. Gerhard Schroder, leading a usually complaisant Germany but locked in a tough re-election fight, has gone so far as to label this possibility an "'adventure,'" sparking a protest from our ambassador (Galston 2002, 1)." Bush administration officials were accused of ignoring and disregarding the thoughts of those world leaders with whom the United States had close ties (1). The idea of a long term military engagement in the Middle East gave rise to concerns that America was embarking on yet another disastrous course of military occupation and conflict, just as they had during the Viet Nam era; provoking comment from former secretary of state, Henry Kissinger (1). Kissinger weighed in saying, "Regime chang e as a goal for military intervention challenges the

Environmental Science Phase 5 Individual Project Essay

Environmental Science Phase 5 Individual Project - Essay Example There are several fatal flaws in the claim that the U.S. can’t afford to take the legislative steps necessary to slow the effects of global warming. The scientific community agrees that global temperatures are rising due to the burning of fossil fuels which are damaging the protective atmospheric Ozone layer by changing its composition. Human pollution is changing the climate of our earth and has increased global warming in the past half century. The effects are being felt worldwide, not just in the U.S. where most of the CO2 emissions are generated. The question before us is, are we stewards of our earth and will we preserve it for future generations? If the past 30 years are any indication, then the answer is no. Noticeable effects of global warming are fairly insignificant right now to the average person, but its effects are unquestionably growing in scale. If the population of the planet were to immediately discontinue polluting the air with carbon dioxide emissions, climate changes would still continue long into the future. It is vitally important that the people of the world realize that we have set in motion an experiment on planet Earth which we cannot simply turn off because we finally realized the dire consequences. If we injure the planet in this selfish, cataclysmic method, we kill future generations of humankind. Agricultural activity, land masses and the very air we breathe will suffer a radical change from the effects of global warming, but to what degree? I don’t know but don’t want to know. The projected rate of climate change is very alarming to many scientists but not as much to politicians as this topic isn’t as high on the political agenda as some others. It seems to me that the world leaders have no sense of urgency about them regarding global warming. They place great importance on the popular items of the

Ubuntu Operating System Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ubuntu Operating System - Assignment Example Ubuntu also gives one the security and comfort in working and storing information online, since it has a password to unlock the administrative actions of one's documents. The password protects against superfluous persons from interfering with the documents. The constantly changing versions of Ubuntu make it a striking technology to apply. Ubuntu Operating System is the newest version of a computer operating system built to cater to the immense role computer plays on man’s daily activities. The system offers new features to its users and improves on their daily know-how in the computer world. Ubuntu is described as a computer structure based on the ‘Debian GNU/Linux distribution’. This unit analyses history, features installation, packages, variants, editions and quality of Ubuntu operating system in detail. Ubuntu was developed as a result of the need of having an efficient system. The earlier systems were not efficient to do the multitasking task, which involved a user performing similar tasks at once. The first version of Ubuntu to be released for public use was on 20th October 2004. Various versions of the Ubuntu system are launched after eighteen months to advance on the effectiveness of the structure. The new versions of the system help in maintaining safety, thus preventing unwanted viruses. The Ubuntu system is being sponsored by Canonical Ltd and a well-wisher named Mark Shuttleworth. The sponsor’s donations led to the formation of the Ubuntu foundation whose main function was to support the development of the latest Ubuntu versions. The features of Ubuntu are that; it is composed of different software packages like the free software. Ubuntu’s design allows it to focus on usability, safety, and dependability.

Electrolytes disorders, hyperkalemia, hypercalcemia, and Research Paper

Electrolytes disorders, hyperkalemia, hypercalcemia, and hpyernatremia, and how they effect our body system - Research Paper Example But any changes in the ECF can have an indirect impact on the composition of intracellular fluid. Electrolyte can be defined as substances that acquire an electrical charge when dissolved in water (Mehtheny 2000). Majority of the body electrolytes include sodium, potassium, calcium chloride and bicarbonate. Each of these electrolytes exhibit different chemical properties. Some of these electrolytes such as sodium, potassium and calcium attain positive charge whereas the latter two electrolytes have a negative charge on them. This is crucial in identifying their properties and calculating anion gaps discussed later. Each of these electrolytes has their unique functions and any changes in their normal concentration in the body fluids can have a significant effect on the functions of different organs of the body. There is some difference in the concentration of different electrolytes in ECF and ICF. The major electrolytes present in the ECF include sodium and chloride. ICF on the other side has potassium as its major electrolyte. Hyperkalemia: Hyperkalemia is a state where plasma concentration of potassium ions exceeds the normal upper limit of 5.0 mmol/L. As mentioned earlier potassium is a major cation of the intra cellular fluid. The normal range of extracellular concentration of potassium is about 3.5-5.0 mmol/L whereas the intracellular concentration may rise upto150mmol/L (Braunwald et al 2008). Potassium is mostly contained within the cells so that it does not have any effect on the outside fluids. But any pathological conditions whereby cell destruction causes the leakage of potassium ions into the ECF may cause hyperkalemia (Schrier 2003). This phenomenon is known as cellular redistribution. Disease conditions such as rhabdomyolysis, trauma and hypothermia are few examples that compromise the ability of the cell to withhold potassium within its membranes. Other causes of hyperkalemia include drug induced hyperkalemia and renal failure. Succinylcholine and Thalidomide are more common drugs that are known to cause hyperkalemia. Decrease renal excretion of potassium as a result of renal failure is also known to raise the potassium levels in the blood. Excess dietary intake of potassium is rarely a cause for hyperkalemia due to body’s adaptive mechanism known as potassium adaptation whereby excess is efficiently excreted by the kidneys and other mechanisms. This increase in the potassium levels clinically manifest in the excitable tissues. Therefore, paresthesias and muscular fasciculation of both limbs are the earlier manifestation of hyperkalemia. It is due to increase duration of polarization as a result of excessive potassium ions partially depolarizing the cell membranes. Heart is arguably the most important organ affected by the disturbance in potassium concentration. Cardiac toxicity of potassium can be evident on the ECG in the form of elevated or peaked T wave (Schrier 2003). Other important impact of hyperkalemia is on the kidneys where it inhibits the reabsorption of NH4+ contributing to metabolic acidosis which further exacerbates hyperkalemia by redistributing the potassium ions out of the cells (Braunwald 2008). Hypercalcemia: Calcium is an important electrolyte that is required in many signaling pathways of neurons. It is also an important constituent of bones and is essential for their strength. There are many other crucial roles that are played by calcium so it is

The concept of leadership is involved in all formal and informal Essay

The concept of leadership is involved in all formal and informal social activities - Essay Example This can be defined as the process where people are concerned about group interests and their acts are guided in that direction only. In this regards leadership is viewed as an instrument of achieving group interests and coordinated goals (Chemers, 1997). The concept of leadership is involved in all formal and informal social activities, and has become a fundamental part of social and working life (Chemers, 1993). Moreover, this concept of leadership is closely associated with organisational functions and organisational properties, where the basic nature of these organisations or groups might have been inefficient in the beginning (Chemers, 1993). In order to be efficient, organisations require the efforts of each of its members to be managed and coordinated (Chemers, 1993). Those members need to spend time and employ resources to build up coordinations to accomplishment their desired goals. More narrow the group or organisation, the greater is the requirement for those resources (Ch emers, 1993). As stated by Chemers (1997) in today’s world it is very difficult for only one person to do all tasks and group works and organisations are very much needed to accomplish goals of the entire group. In this regard the concept of leadership is crucial for achieving success. ... Explaining leadership: The word ‘leadership’ in literature is used according to individual perspectives of researchers and aspects that are most relevant to them in their context of research (Northouse, 2010). There are almost similar amounts of definitions and concepts to the number of researchers. It can be defined in various aspects and dimensions. For example, Western (2008) states that leadership can be defined in terms of behaviors, characteristics, patterns of interactions, influence, administrative positional occupation and role relationships. According to House (2004) leadership represents the assumption that it entails a process where purposeful influence is applied over other people of a group or organisation to direct, structure and to facilitate activities and relationships in that group or organisation. Many definitions of leadership have been made with regard to concepts related to leadership. These definitions differ in many regards, including the person who exerts the influence, the presumed purpose of that influence, methods in which influence is applied, and the possible and observed outcomes of that influence (Yukl, 2011). According to Grint (2010) leadership can be defined in four aspects: position-based leadership, person-based leadership, results-based leadership and process-based leadership. All these concepts are related to an organisation. Firstly, in case of position-based leadership, the concept deals with the position in the formal or informal organisation. In this regard, leadership is explained as the activity taken by a person who is at the vertical position or the person is â€Å"at the top of the tree† having power of all the resources to lead (Grint,

We are not free- Really Essay Example for Free

We are not free- Really Essay â€Å"Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you,† said French philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre. This is how majority of people live day to day without realization that they are. According to Webster’s dictionary freedom is defined as, â€Å"the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. â€Å" We the people believe that we are â€Å"free† when, in fact, we are not entirely free. The freedom we possess does not exactly match the given definition; instead, it matches up with Sartre’s quote. We have altered the definition of freedom due to the society we live in. Based off of how we live and what circumstances have been placed on us, we work around it and create our own version of freedom. Our lives are greatly affected around the rules placed by the government and the expected guidelines that society imposes on us to restrict true individual freedom and change our idea of freedom. Though our government, the Government of the United States of America, gives us many freedoms (freedom of speech, religion, press, etc), we are still not wholly free. Without laws and rules chaos would arise, however; with them we are not completely free to do as we please. For instance, we do not have the freedom to drive a car as fast as we feel. We have laws and rules restricting how we can drive. But, if we think within our given restrictions, then we see ourselves as free. We can freely transport ourselves in our own vehicle when we want to where we want, but we must do so under the laws given. Another restriction the government has placed on driving is that a vehicle must have insurance on it to be driven legally. The freedom of choosing whether or not you want car insurance is out of the question. Driving a car itself is limited only to those over the age of sixteen. Anything that requires a license is restricted by the government, for example, owning a weapon. Not everyone has the individual freedom to own a gun unless approved by the government. Age restrictions are also placed on the people, restricting what they can do. If one is younger than eighteen he or she cannot purchase or consume tobacco products. If one is under the age of 21 he or she cannot consume alcohol. For instance, I, an 18 year old, cannot legally walk into a store and purchase a bottle of liquor, yet drink one. Individual freedom is restrained, for instance, no one can ingest certain drugs in his or her own body and no one can prostitute themselves. Some actions people choose to do with their own bodies are not tolerated. Money is also a restriction on what we can do. It may not be directly affected by the government, however, we are given money from the labor we put into society to spend as we choose, only under the restriction that we pay our taxes. The government has put laws on the citizens of its country that restrict many freedoms they have, if not obeyed than one is punished with fines or jail time; therefore we are not absolutely free. Besides written laws, society places unwritten rules that hold us back from doing and saying what we want. We are expected to talk and act a certain way. Unofficial guidelines are pushed onto us, keeping us from being free. We are given â€Å"freedom of speech† but does that really give us the freedom to say whatever we like to whomever we like? We are expected to behave in a manner that does not let us be free. It is okay for a student to approach a teacher and scream at them? It is okay to harass someone? It is okay to cut in front of a line you have been waiting in for hours? In the society we live in the answer to these questions are no. If a student chooses to disrespect their teacher he or she will be sent down to the principal’s office for punishment. Harassing another person could cause others to look down on you as an individual. Choosing to cut in front of another in a line would displease those having to wait longer causing disorder between all the people and the â€Å"cutter†. This is what happens in the society we live in and no one is happy with the results that come with these actions. Children do as their parents tell them; students do as their teachers tell them; workers do as their bosses tell them, because in this society we all follow some sort of higher power, which is expected. Even if we may not want to do as our higher powers tell us, we still do so because we are not free to disobey without any penalty. We are not entirely free to do as we please due to the fact that negative consequences are presented if we disobey society’s â€Å"rules. † The laws forced on us through the government and higher powers and expectations placed on us through the society we live in, hinder our true potential freedom. We like to think of ourselves as â€Å"free people† and a â€Å"free nation,† when in fact, we are not really free. We do not realize how we are not truly free and follow what Sartre had said. We think of freedom as doing as we choose with what has already been done with us; laws, rules, regulations. These are all constraints on our actions which does not meet the definition of freedom. Whatever we do has some sort of restraint pulling us back from doing what we want. Just because we have some freedoms does not ultimately make us free individuals.

Common Practices in Religion Essay Example for Free

Common Practices in Religion Essay What is Religion? The term religion comes from the Latin word ‘religare’ which means to bind. In the world today, there are different forms of religious groups and followings that have unique beliefs and practices depending on their history. It is estimated that there are thousands of religions in the world, including the mainstream religious groups and others that are not known. One of the common characteristics of religious groups is that they all believe in the existence of a supreme being. However, there are those who don’t believe in religion. For such people, religion only assumes the existence of a supreme being while there is no substantive evidence to support the said belief. According to Norris Inglehart, through the practice of atheism, atheists believe that religion is just a fallacy that might have developed in the past and passed on from generation to generation through the various teachings in culture (2011). For enthusiasts, the reason people are afraid to question religious teachings is because of the fear of repercussions that are likely to occur due to such disbelief. Under this context, religion was assumed to be a creation of scholarly studies in the past with philosophers trying to establish how religion came into being. The major question is what religion is all about and what entails the aspects of it. For most people, there is a thin line between culture and religion. This explains why different cultures have their specific religion and beliefs. However, there are various contentious issues that have never been solved over the years. One thing that would totally shift the paradigm and, in extension, the balance of nature, is if it turned out that no supreme beings the religions are based upon exist. Such a situation would totally erode the gains made in the religious world today and also lead to mass confusion among the staunch religious followers. However, some of the religious beliefs are so strong  that they cannot be influenced by any emerging trend regarding their faith. â€Å"Most of the common definition of religion excludes some fundamental facts about religion and offering an adequate explanation of what religion is† (Hood et al., 2009). From a general perspective, religion is commonly defined as the belief in God. This belief, however, is considered as vague as it excludes some of the ideas that characterize some religious followings such as atheism. If religion was to be solely defined as the belief in God, what would the other religious groups that either believe in a different supreme being and those of atheism be referred to as? This tendency of generalization is what often causes some misconception that is associated with how religion is defined. Then what is the worldview of religion and how is it defined in different places around the world? There are arguments that religion is not hard to define, but rather it is the people themselves who often create the confusion regarding its definition. According to Heelas (2005), one of the greatest challenges is how to define religion without excluding any religious beliefs or followings in the word today. However, there is a conventional way of defining religion which incorporates the primary fundamentals of religion. The following are the fundamentals of religion; The belief in a supernatural being. A clear distinction of what is regarded as the moral way of doing things in accordance with the different religious beliefs and practices. Various rituals that are commonly attributed to the religious groups from different parts of the world. Religious groups have various rituals that characterize the specific religion and establish a code of conduct in which members are supposed to operate. A specific way of communicating with God is done through prayers. However, distinct religious groups have a specific way of praying and other practices that accompany prayers. Different religious feelings that are often experienced whenever the practice is taking place. In some religious groups, members engage in incarnations and a sense of adoration. In other groups, however, there is always the aspect of guilt and repentance during religious sermons. From this approach, the worldview related to religion and what religion entails becomes clear. In most cases, it is believed that religion and religious groups in extensions are very different. This explains why there is no single approach as to what entails  religious practices. However, there is a common characteristic of religion that can be used to generalize the practice from a worldview perspective. In the world today, religion continues to shape the life of the people, whereby the religious followings and teachings provide a guideline on how people are supposed to live and interact with each other and with God. The mainstream religious groups attract millions of followers, which is an indication of just how strong religious faith is. In addition, there are thousands of religious followings that are not captured in the mainstream studies of religion but continue to exist with their distinct religious practices. Religion can, therefore, be universally defined as a compilation of religious systems that share a common belief and focus on the unique characteristics of the members of religious faith. References Heelas, P., Woodhead, L., Seel, B., Tusting, K., Szerszynski, B. (2005). The Spiritual Revolution: Why Religion is Giving Way to Spirituality. Blackwell. Hood Jr, R. W., Hill, P. C., Spilka, B. (2009). Psychology of religion: An empirical approach. Guilford Press. Norris, P., Inglehart, R. (2011). Sacred and secular: Religion and politics worldwide. Cambridge University Press.