Graduation Speech: Life is a Blank Canvas -- Graduation Speech, Commen

My father always told me that my life is a blank canvas waiting for me to paint my future upon it. As I stand here before my fellow classmates, cherished friends and beloved teachers, I see more than just a graduating class, I see a group of artists waiting to exhibit their art to the world. See, the beauty of my father's analogy lies in the fact that we have all been given the right to choose our own destiny, essentially to paint whatever we want on our canvases of life. Our parents, teachers and friends have taught us all the techniques we need to embrace a bright and beautiful future, and now with this diploma, we stand alone with a paintbrush, palette and a world waiting our arrival. The question now is how do you go from where you are to where you want to be? I don't think there is a universal answer to this question, but I do think that you'll find an answer for yourself once you understand that even though life may appear to be the highest mountain, you can walk over it taking one step at a time. As a painter, you get to determine what kind of day you are going to have, ...

Obamacare

At this point I think that the Healthcare reform is something that is needed and Obamacare is trying its best to improve. There is a major need for Healthcare reform. Thousands of people die in America each year because of the lack of health insurance. Many people without health insurance die when they could have had a chance to live if they had insurance. The problem is that health insurance is too expensive. Not for those who can afford it but for those who cannot. It has to be horrible to catch the flu and have to suffer because you fear debt from a trip to the emergency room.Obama’s plan is vital to the advancement of healthcare. Private insurance is rising constantly and Universal healthcare in America will add more competition to the market, it will be beneficial for everyone and we know that it has already worked in other countries. Private medical insurance is valuable to have, but can come with many disadvantages for the consumer. The article â€Å"the U. S. Healthca re system† focused on the faults of the United States healthcare system when compared to other countries with Universal healthcare.America has the most expensive healthcare system in the world. One reason for the rising cost of healthcare in America is that an estimated â€Å"19. 3 to 24. 1 % of the money is spent on administration cost. Obama wants to make sure that America is not being taken advantage of by insurance and prescription drug companies. Some insurance companies are overcharging doctors for their malpractice insurance, which is causing patients to have to pay more in order to be seen by a doctor.Obama's healthcare reform will provide healthcare and preventative services to millions of Americans, give American's a safety net to ensure that they can't be denied for a preexisting condition, or dropped when sick, millions of lives will be saved, it will grow jobs, help small business and is projected to cut the national deficit by over $1,000,000,000,000 dollars ove r the next two decades. This is the type of reform our healthcare system needs

Epic Rivalry: The Inside Story of the Soviet and American Space Race Essay

Outer space, in a wider sense, can be considered both a beauty and a mystery. From the conception of the universe such as the â€Å"Big Bang Theory†, to the discovery of the different planets through powerful telescopes, nothing proves to be more ambitious than to have â€Å"manned† explorations on outer space. Indeed, when Sputnik was launched in outer space in 1957, it triggered the so-called â€Å"space race† between the America and the Soviet Union. The race began with Sputnik in 1957 and culminated by walking on the moon of Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong in 1969. The book, Epic Rivalry: The inside Story of the Soviet and American Space Race, narrates the space race of these two powerful nations during the Cold War. Written by Von Hardesty, a Smithsonian guardian or curator; and Gene Eisman, it showed how the compelling rivalry had played a significant role in space exploration both with Russian and with the American point of view. The book also showed scores of unpublished, exceptional, and powerful photographs and the apprehensive drama of the two nation’s progress with Soviet Union’s Nikita Khrushchev and America’s John F. Kennedy at center stage. The foreword, written by Sergei Khrushchev, was eventually the son of Soviet Union premier Nikita Khrushchev The title of the book was also significant: the main title, Epic Rivalry, focused on the premature heated antagonism between the United States and the Soviet Union. The duration of the conflict started in 1957 when Sputnik went to outer space up to the Apollo landing on the moon in 1969. The book covered a balance, straightforward, and a chronological assessment of that period including the events during the 1940’s and 1950’s that led to the birth of the Space Age. The central characters of the book were Wernher von Braun and Sergei Korolev, and supported by other astronauts, cosmonauts, engineers, and even politician of that time. The chapters were separated by two and four paged sidebars on topics that were technical such as atomic propulsion, and orbital mechanics. Several photographs were also included, black and white and also of colored nature, upon which some came from Russia and rarely been published. The subtitle of the book, â€Å"The inside Story of the Soviet and American Space Race†, revealed the â€Å"inside stories† behind the space race though some people who lived on that era may know the story behind it. These could be eminent since the book relied on secondary sources such as articles, books, and only a few based on the endnotes can be attributed to primary sources such as interviews, and historical documents. Except for the foreword, written by Sergei Khrushchev who once worked as an engineer in the era of the space program, that offered an inside account of the early Soviet Union’s space program. The narrative point of view of the author had a twofold approach: to restructure the corresponding universes of the Russian and the American space exploration programs, and then to recognize how these two separate nations interacted in a fateful and necessary means. The apparent race became the point of study in a contrasted approach. The author emphasized that both nations had used their corresponding military technology to structure their space programs. The Russian developed their space program in absolute secrecy and concealment, even the long term and specific goals, not to mention their leader in the space program were never divulged, while the Americans remained unfasten and depended on public support except for the military aspects of their space programs. Aside from these, the book also examined the key role of politics and the significant political figures in shaping the route of the space exploration program. The key person on the Soviet side was Premier Nikita Khrushchev who took an ardent interest in the space exploration programs seeing the potential of the propaganda â€Å"space first†. The United States was not as keen at the beginning on the space program with Dwight Eisenhower being hesitant on the expensiveness of the program. The U. S. took cautions on their space programs until John F. Kennedy presided over Eisenhower and made considerable turn-around on their space programs. He eventually pushed through the program when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first manned orbital journey, and with the context of the then Cold War. Thus, Kennedy committed to the U. S. to send the first humans on the moon. His advocacy was clearly supported by Lyndon Johnson and followed by Richard Nixon. Also included on the book were the talented engineers, scientists, and managers whose creative and ingenious works had helped significantly the development of their nation’s respective space programs. Notable were the two main characters of the book: Wernher von Braun who came to the U. S. at the end of World War II together with the group of experienced German rocket technicians. His team contributed much to the advancement of the rocket program of the United States. Afterwards, James Webb together with capable administrators oversaw the space program of NASA. On the other side, Sergei Korolev (also known as the inexplicable â€Å"Principal Designer†) headed the Soviet Union’s space program. Located at the remote area of Baikonur spaceport, he worked also with highly competent and motivated engineers and designers. Both nations eagerly pursued their space programs collectively with missile development and research. The space travelers were also central in the book such as Yuri Gagarin of Russia, Alexei and Titov Leonov of Germany; John Glenn, Alan Shepard, and Gus Grissom of the United States. All of them displayed exceptional skills and courage and therefore gained popularity. The Apollo 11 mission, wherein Glenn, Shepard, and Grissom were the astronauts, had brought almost a decade of space race between the Russia and the United States to a remarkable conclusion. From the standpoint of technological advancement, the book effectively described how the two powerful nations had engaged in a subsequent â€Å"race† towards the space explorations. The different relevant factors were clearly included such as the engineers, scientists, politicians, astronauts and cosmonauts. Though much of the book used secondary sources, there were some primary sources that can be seen on the endnotes and those people who lived on that era would actually now what transpired even not reading the book. There were also some errors such as the statement that the MIR remained in orbit from 1971 to 2001 (Hardesty and Eisman p. 249) or some minor slip-up such as referring to the map of Kennedy Space Flight Center (Hardesty and Eisman p. 159). But nonetheless, the book displayed the relevant story behind the space exploration between two power nations: both in the context of the American and of the Russian point of view. These undertaking started what seemed to be the present space age and will effectively give aspirations and relevant information to the youth of today. Works Cited Hardesty, Von and Eisman, Gene. Epic Rivalry: The Inside Story of the Soviet and American Space Race. Random House Publishing. September 2008.

Has Bluewater shopping centre been a benefit to the surrounding communities?

Retail services (shopping) are so important in people's lives because it means that people can purchase luxury goods it can also be a socialising meeting point for people. Retail services sell useful products that the community needs and would benefit from. Some retail services provide conveniences goods. This is important to people because they have the opportunity to get their daily needs. Other retail services provide people with clothing, entertainments, and home furniture's etc. heses are all important in people's lives without clothes people will be cold during the winter. Not all shopping centres provide the same goods and services. Smaller shopping centres provide everyday essential goods for people. They also supply their goods in smaller quantities. Whereas, larger shopping centres provide a wider range of products and in bigger quantities. Shopping centres located in a smaller settlement supply their customers with fewer goods. Villages are a good example of small shopping centres. This can be because there are fewer people to provide products for as not a lot of people live in the villages. However, most large settlements are located in cities, in the central business district. ‘Out-of-town' shopping centres are being built because it makes money for the business that owns it. There are also larger areas that are cheaper to buy or rent for business use. There is more space for development for a bigger shopping centre. The advantages of and ‘out-of-town' shopping centre is that it provides costumers with a free parking space, which is more convenient for people. Land on the edge of cities is being used to build houses, schools, roads and car parks for the shopping centres. It is also being used to build other useful facilities such as parks and leisure centres. There is a conflict about how such areas of lands called `development sites` are used because some developments cause harm to the land such as cars and factories pollution. When deciding how land should be developed, the factors that planner has to take into account are the residents living nearby also whether the development would effect the environment and all its inhabitants. They also have to put into account the advantages and disadvantages it would bring to the public. When a new shopping centre is proposed, many different groups of people might be affected by this development. The elderly, teenagers, middle class, lower class and working class might be affected but the way each group is affected is different. The elderly would find living next to a shopping centre difficult this is because many people would visit the shopping centre that means a lot of noise would be made disturbing the elderly. However, for some elderly it could be a chance for them to keep themselves busy by strolling down to the shopping centre. Teenagers would see it has a opportunity to go shopping regularly which would make the retail services more money also the teenagers would go the shopping centre as a place where they could go and talk to friend and keep themselves warm in the winter. The shopping centre would also give some teenagers an opportunity to earn money as they could work there. It would keep teenagers entertained. Aims I will begin my investigation by showing the location of Bluewater by including maps and descriptions of where Bluewater is also which other places it is linked to. Then my investigation is going to include what range of services, and types of services are provided at Bluewater. I am also going to write about who uses Bluewater and where they come from. Then my investigation is going to question how successful has the Bluewater development been. I am going to explore the benefits and the costs of the development and find out which sections of the community have been benefited and who has lost out. My investigation will then be followed by the question whether the development of shopping facilities at Bluewater has been more desirable than any other uses that they could have used for this site/ land, for example housing or industry. Then I will be giving my opinion as to whether I think that the local planning authority was right to allow the shopping centre to be developed. The investigation would then consider future developments in the area and finally I will reflect on how I could do things differently if I was to do this investigation again. Data used I needed information to carry out my investigation as to whether Bluewater shopping centre has been a benefit to the surrounding communities. I obtained some of data's from my fieldtrip to Bluewater. I needed to interview people at Bluewater to find out how often people come shopping to Bluewater, how long their journey was and what is the most important reason why they people come to shop at Bluewater. I used the information collected from the interview to help me answer the question of has Bluewater shopping centre been a benefit to the surrounding communities. I also did a visitor profile sheet to help me investigate the age and gender of Bluewater's visitors. I collected images of maps and pictures of Bluewater to help me locate where Bluewater is and the surrounding areas. Some of the evidence that I used was from the Bluewater downloaded student pack. Using this helped me answer questions and get extra information about Bluewater that I needed. The student pack also provided the number figures and percentages that e couldn't get from other sources. I gathered extra information about Bluewater from the Internet e. g. he Bluewater official website. Presentation This information was from the Bluewater student pack. â€Å"Bluewater is a shopping centre containing about 360 shops, which is built in a 50 meters high chalk quarry. It is located in Greenhithe in the borough of Dartford. † The development of Bluewater has enabled the local communities surrounding Bluewater to get jobs and earn money. It has also provided shops for businesses to use. (see next section about jobs. ) Local retailers have also benefit from the development of Bluewater because they use the open spaces at Bluewater to sell products. at Christmas) According to the Bluewater student pack, the site of Bluewater provides an easy access route, as it is just a mile away from M25 junction 2, between Dartford and Gravesend on the A2 London to Canterbury road. Travellers from the south can get to Bluewater using the A2 or from the north using the new south Thames development route or STDR. This indicates that people from local communities can reach Bluewater easily. Bluewater is approximately 4 kilometres from the planned Ebbsfleet station on the new high-speed rail link between the channel tunnel and London. This is an advantage for people that live further away but it does not benefit the local communities. The location of Bluewater gives it a large catchments area. The fast motorway links attracts almost 10 million shoppers within an hour's drive and 4. 8 million people in the principal catchments. Going back to my introduction, retail services sell useful products that the community needs and would benefit from. Bluewater as a retail services provides useful products that the community needs and would benefit from. It also supplies different range of shops and services. From the Bluewater student pack, Over 14 hectares are for retail space and nearly 1. 5 hectares are for indoor leisure use and the rest of the site is occupied by parkland, lakes and car parking. Approximately 330 shops unit are located at Bluewater including large flagship stores. Bluewater offers the finest products from top shops like John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and House of Fraser. These anchor shops sell wide range of goods that people will need in their lives. This benefits the local communities because they have the opportunity to purchase the luxuries goods from Bluewater without having to travel very far. Bluewater is a shopping centre that is developed to cater for everyone's need because this means selling some products at more affordable prices for other people. While I was at the shopping centre I could see that Bluewater has Variety of products. These include clothes, accessories, electronics, home wares, games, media and many more. From my trip to Bluewater I could see that there were many catering services that provide shoppers and staffs with quality cafes, restaurants, fast foods and bars. Bluewater is a benefit for people because it contains many shops that sell all kinds of different goods under one roof. This is an advantage for shoppers because they don't have to travel far to get what they need. Bluewater also contains mini convince stores to get daily goods at reasonable prices for everyone. The local communities benefits from this because they could do their shopping all in one go at Bluewater saving valuable time. While on the field trip to Bluewater I could see that they provide shoppers and the local communities with entertainment services such as leisure centre, cinema, and ice rink for use in winter etc. As well as making sure that shoppers have the best range in products. In my opinion I think that Bluewater focuses on services that would help make shopping at Bluewater easier and convenient for people. These services includes a valet parking which would make life easier for shoppers as they don't have to worry about where to put their car because it is being done for them already. Bluewater also provides disabled people with toilets just for them and convenient parking spaces for them to use. The shopping centre includes elevators that will make life easier for disabled people and mothers using prams. Toilets are put inside the centre for people to use. Baby changing have also been placed in the store to make it stress free for parents. Banks and CCTV are in the site and these are useful towards the shoppers and staff. A good thing about ‘out- of-town' shopping centre from my introduction such as Bluewater is that they provide free parking space for visitors. From my survey, shoppers travel from different locations and distances to get to Bluewater. Some travel further than others while people that live near Bluewater do not travel very far. To help me figure out how long the journey to Bluewater was I interviewed shoppers and workers. This would help me with my investigation because with the results I would be able to see clearly who benefits most from the development of Bluewater. It would help me to see roughly how many of the local people visit Bluewater. From the chart below, I could see that people that come from areas such as Tunbridge, Bexley, Bromley, Dartford and Medway are the people that live locally. It would take them less time to travel to Bluewater. While I was at Bluewater I could see that most of the shoppers were adults this could be because they were off work and decided to start buying Christmas present as it was getting close to Christmas. It could also be that they were on break and they wanted to get lunch from the food court provided. While I was at Bluewater I interviewed a elderly woman who said the reason why she comes to Bluewater is because of the leisure centre which, her and her husband attend she also did not live very far from the shopping centre which means that she does not have to travel far. Bluewater has attracted many people for different reasons. Not everyone at Bluewater go there to shop some people go there for the entertainments while others go there to work. I think that Bluewater would attract mostly adults because they would have money and they would feel like buying things that they need. It would also attract teenagers because they would want to go there for window-shopping and for the entertainments available. Bluewater would attract less elderly people because they would not have enough money or energy to go and shop at Bluewater. I believe that the Bluewater development has been successful for the following reasons. Firstly, according to â€Å"wikipedia† it shows that around 30 million people visit Bluewater every year. I also think that the development of Bluewater has been successful because the developers spent around 30 million on making roads better for visitors. For Bluewater to spend so much money on roads it shows that it might earn lots of money. Bluewater has been designed to cater for all sections of the community. This includes the structure of the building, facilities, prices, shops etc. all of these were made to make shopping easier, affordable and enjoyable for everyone. The shopping centre placed elevators in the shop to make it easier for disabled people to get around the shop and also for the fit able people to make them not get stressed. It also provides lockers for shoppers to use while shopping at Bluewater; this enables visitors and staff to put their belongings in it without losing it or carrying it around. There are comfortable sofa's placed in the shop for people to sit and feel relaxed. Bluewater has 13,000 parking space including separate spaces for disabled people and elderly to use. This will make life easier and safer for them. As well as catering for the elderly, Bluewater also caters for young people that visit the site. There are fun activities for them to take part in while staying at Bluewater, these activities includes boating, ice-skating and cycling. As shown in the Bluewater mall guide, there is also a criche room that allows up to 250 children to play in. this is to keep them entertain while shopping. Source used to obtain this information is the downloaded student pack. The site also caters for both genders visiting Bluewater. Female and male stores are provided to ensure that both genders get what they need to keep up with fashion. Even though Bluewater has some expensive stores in the centre. It also has some affordable stores for the majority of the people that do not own a lot of money. These shops also sell quality products but just at more reasonable price. In my opinion Bluewater is a development that has helped most of the local economy. According to the Bluewater's student pack. Bluewater has provided thousands of jobs for the local community both during and after construction. While Bluewater was being developed it brought approximately 6,500 jobs for constructing it only. When Bluewater opened in March 1999, it created about 7,000 permanent jobs on site. About 4,000 of these are in retail trades. These jobs include sale staff and store management. Around 40% of these jobs are full time and 60% part time. The remaining of the workers is involved in non-retail jobs. This includes occupations such as cleaning, catering, Security, warehouse staff, ground staff and administration. Bluewater has been a benefit to services and the local communities. A reason for this is that it has invested lots of money in proving roads and transportations. This has made road safer and transportations better. Local communities have benefited from this. To help me with investigation of do other services and local businesses benefit from Bluewater. I used the downloaded student pack, which says that Bluewater is designed to help local businesses win contracts at Bluewater. So Bluewater has been a benefit to local businesses. However, many local businesses near Bluewater have not really benefit from Bluewater. The reason for this is that Bluewater is a large shopping centre designed to provide many services for people and make their visits enjoyable all under one roof. Local businesses do not provide enough ranges as Bluewater does. This means that many people will rather go to Bluewater for the shopping's. The local businesses will therefore, loose out on money due to the lack of customers that shop in their shops. They might also end up going bankrupt. Though local shops lose out on money, Bluewater will provide more money for hotels. This is due the amount of tourists and people that will visit Bluewater and need a place to stay. Jobs in Bluewater have helped the local community. It has given them the opportunity to earn money. It has also helped them to work, undergo training and obtain formal qualifications, which can help them in the future. Jobs in Bluewater have reduced the mount of unemployed in the local community. From my interview with a worker at Bluewater, I have some knowledge as to whether people that work there like it. The person that I interview said she liked working there and the salary is good. Workers at Bluewater can also take the advantages of the food court and services provided at Bluewater. The development of Bluewater has affected the environment in many ways. It has benefited the environment as well as harming the environment. I will start off by explaining the problems Bluewater causes for the environment. Firstly, Bluewater increases the amount of carbon monoxide in the air. This done by cars and Bluewater is a place that attracts many visitors with cars. The number of cars that visit Bluewater gives off carbon monoxide, which is bad for the environment, but if fewer cars visit Bluewater each day, there will be less poisonous gas in the air. Secondly, Bluewater causes noise pollution for the surrounding environment. Noise pollution is caused by the number of people that visit Bluewater this could make the place really loud and also cars that drive by make lots of noises. This affects the peace and quietness of the environment and also it disturbs the local people. Thirdly, the development of Bluewater has brought more attention to its local environment. This is because people from all over the place visit Bluewater and this can be very disturbing for the neighbourhood and very dangerous for children that play outside because they don't know who might harm them. However, even though Bluewater causes many problems for the environment. It also benefits the environment. Bluewater is located in a stunning location. It is situated among cliffs. Bluewater is surrounded by landscape of lakes, parkland and trees. This shows the more nature side of the environment and makes the environment calming and attractive. Bluewater also brightens up the environment at night with its bright lights. Conclusion In my opinion I think that the local planning authority was right to allow the shopping centre to be developed because firstly it provided many jobs for people, something that would benefit everyone rather than living it as a chalk quarry, which would not benefit people. It also makes life easier for the local community as they do not have to travel far to get what they need. The development of Bluewater was also better for the community because it earns more money for business people, which they could use to make more businesses and offer more jobs to people. Furthermore, the local planning authority was right to allow the development because it means the majority of the people can go and shop in Bluewater rather than high streets where it would be too crowded and stocks would go quicker due to the amount of people. â€Å"Has Bluewater shopping centre been a benefit to the surrounding communities? Looking at all the information I have investigated and written. I believe that Bluewater has been a benefit to the surrounding communities. My reasons for this are that it has provided jobs for people that live there. It has also improved the roads, which the surrounding communities have benefited from. Although some people might disagree with my answer because of the environmental issues that Bluewater the shopping centre causes. I believe it has been a benefit because looking at all the different aspect; Bluewater has brought more advantages than disadvantages. Personally I think that there are lessons to be learned about future developments in the area nearby. Firstly, there should be more traffic lights and zebra crossing surrounding the developments. This is for the local community and other people to be safer and for drivers to drive with care. Secondly, it should be developed in a place where it will benefit the community without disturbing them or causing trouble for them. Finally, it should not be built near a school or places that contain many children. This is to prevent children wandering off and being safe. If I were to repeat this investigation again, I would have the courage to go up to people in the shops for interview. This is because I feel like I did not interview enough people therefore; I did not get as much information as I needed. I should have also paid more attention in filling in the visitor profile sheet because this would have helped me to make a rough judgement has to what gender attended Bluewater more on the day I visited. It would also have helped me to see what majority of age group visits Bluewater. In addition, I could have interviewed more than one worker at Bluewater and I should have asked more logical questions that would have helped me with my coursework. Finally, while on the road to Bluewater I should have paid more attention on to the amount of cars that were passing by. This would have increased my knowledge of how many people visit Bluewater and I should have been more aware of the houses and shops that were near Bluewater. This is to help me figure out exactly what advantages and disadvantages Bluewater cause for the local community.

The Provisions for the Enforcement of Human Rights within the United Essay

The Provisions for the Enforcement of Human Rights within the United Nations Conventions Indicate that there are Some Rights - Essay Example 1 This approach ensures that all human beings are treated well and equally. Human rights go hand in hand with fairness and equality. They distinguish individual liberty to make a selection concerning individual life.  Human rights are also concerned with freedom and aggravation or favouritism.   The current human international law was developed after the Second World War, and that is when the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights was developed.  Several treaties have been developed, and specific human rights have emerged in the Universal Declaration. 2 During the year 1966, the International Agreement on Social, Economic, and Social Ethnic Rights, and International Agreement on Civic and Opinionated Rights was developed forming the International Bill of Human Rights. Other treaties were also developed in the universal level which included; 3 International symposiums on abolition of all types of ethnic discrimination.   Conference on the removal of discrimination of women ,  Resolution touching torment and other unkind cruel conduct,  Conference on the rights of the teenager,  Principal on the rights of disabled people, and Global Conference for the defence of all People from imposed Departure.   1 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United General Assembly for Human Rights 3. The structure of this declaration was developed by Cassin, and it was derived from the original draft developed by John Humphrey.   In this structure, article 1 and 2 form the foundation of this structure, and it contains the principal of dignity, equality, brotherhood and liberty of individuals 4. The important part of the constitution consists of a column illustration article 3 to 11 that advocates for individual rights, and defence from slavery. In the next column, article 12 to that illustrate rights of people in affairs of state and civic society. The following column consists of article 18 to 24 that illustrates spiritual and political f reedom such as freedom of worship. The last column, illustrate article 22-27 that displays social, cultural and economical rights. The last part of this structure summarizes all parts of the declaration.    These structure talks of peoples’ duties to the community and the ways used to implement the rights as per requirement of United Nations 5. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been adapted by United Nations and has been essential among nations. Though, the declaration has turned out to be part of habitual international laws, this law is the foundation of practice in Intercontinental court of impartiality. This declaration has also had an incredible inspiration in the charter of other countries 6. In addition to this, the declaration has acted as the foundation of two main United Nations human rights agreements.    2   Koch argues that Civil and political right consists of social satisfying elements. These elements are considered non justifiable under the co nnection on economic, cultural and social rights. This approach has been put together and described in the legal review, though, a significant explanation has not been given to justify the level at which legal factors can be attributed to social factors under the agreement of civil and political rights 7.   The two fundamental ways of operational on human rights are the reactive method and the proactive method. The reactive method looks at conflicts, and looks at how conflicts occurred. The proactive method is mainly

Domestic Terrorism Midterm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Domestic Terrorism Midterm - Essay Example While the statement by the FBI is not explicit, it is implied that the target must be a US policy, institution, or political movement, and the act must be violent, though the definition of violent may be vague and ambiguous. Domestic terrorism may be directed either from above or from below. Terrorism from above is carried out by a government or institution that has some legitimate authority. It may be done covertly, where the terrorism is carried on outside formal policy. As an example, the 'Dirty War' in Argentina that utilized death squads was covert terrorism from above (Vohrkyzek, Olson-Raymer, and Whamond, 2001, p.13). It may also be overt as in the case of the Hutu's policy of genocide in Rwanda (Vohrkyzek, Olson-Raymer, and Whamond, 2001, p.13). Domestic terrorism from below is when a group or individual within a country targets a legitimate institution as a means to draw attention to, or change, an official policy. Environmental activists such as the Environmental Liberation Front (ELF) are guilty of domestic terrorism from below. Mao, Guevera, Marighella, and Fanon were not defined as terrorists during their time of activity. History has rewritten the definition of terrorism and they now fall under the new definition. However, initially all these figures were guerilla leaders, which are differentiated from terrorists. Guerilla warfare is different from terrorism in that it is an organized force that believes it has legitimacy due to popular support. In addition, it strikes at government and military targets as a means to overthrow a government. However, these leaders differed in that Marighella believed that random violence could create chaos and an environment for revolution, while Mao and Fanon believed it should not be used against the native population. Guevera was more of a classic guerrilla fighter. Guerrillas represent a political movement, while terrorism supports an ideological agenda. However, both aspects promote violence as a means to an end. Once in power both Mao and Castro utilized violence an d terrorism from above as a means to sustain power and oppress the opposition. More recently the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has been similar to the previous revolutionary organizations. They have some legitimacy by way of recognition as supporting a significant group of oppressed people. In addition, they have a well organized military faction. Their agenda has been the creation of a Palestinian State, though they have used terrorism to promote their goals. They have targeted innocent people, used suicide tactics, and even acted against their own citizens. All of these rebels and organizations have their roots in revolution, but have resorted to terrorism to further their goals. For the PLO and others, this is counter-productive, as the stigma of being a terrorist organization is a costly price in today's environment. 3.) Historical Terrorism It could be argued that the actions of the US settlers against the native population was terrorism from above. In this context, terrorism from above has existed in the US since the first Europeans arrived. It has also been argued that slavery was terrorism from above (Vohrkyzek, Olson-Raymer, and Whamond, 2001, p.36).

British Gas. Proposal for Corporate Social Responsibility Program Research Paper

British Gas. Proposal for Corporate Social Responsibility Program - Research Paper Example Evidently, in the United Kingdom, the extreme weather periods during winter means that temperatures reach freezing levels that are highly unfavorable to the health of local inhabitants. To this end, the local populace has to adopt artificial warming strategies in order to cope with the harsh weather conditions. The heating services are normally offered by local heater service providers at a fee. In this regard, one such company is the British Gas Company located in the Middlesex County in London, United Kingdom. Evidently, the cost of maintaining such heater services normally rise drastically since the hours of heat warming are determined the length of the extremities of the winter period. In this regard, it is critical to point out the disparities in the levels of income that hamper the abilities of the lower income families to maintain their gas payment for the heater services. This most often results to a termination of the heater services and leaves the poor families susceptible to a host of health complications and life threatening situations. To this end, the necessity of a corporate social and responsibility plan is pertinent towards addressing the needs of the low income earners in Middlesex County without affordability to the high gas bills. Evidently, the Corporate Social Responsibility will aspire to achieve three pertinent issues, increase access of to gas provided by British gas; provide assistance in financial resource mobilization for the low income earners so as to increase their purchasing power; to lobby for incentive measures from the gas provider that will ensure access to low cost gas. Financial Issues in the Community The aftershocks of the global financial crisis greatly affected the economies of the European countries and the purchasing power of local households Moon. In this regard, the household incomes of various households across L ondon were negatively affected to the effect that the purchasing power of basic necessities was significantly decreased. The situation has been aggravated further by the rising costs of basic amenities such as food, clothing, and shelter. In addition, other essential commodities such as house heater services during winter climates have become increasingly unaffordable. This has been due to the increase in service charges for gas supply by provider companies such as British gas. To this end, the cheapest gas charges are at least three hundred pounds monthly (Social action plan and household energy efficiency: Ofgem : report 2004). This rate is above the purchasing power of very many low income households. Evidently, One in ten households in London households is unable to afford the high gas charges. To this end, the low income earners are subjected to health related risks arising from the harsh cold winter. These include pneumonia, frost bites, common cold among other. Furthermore, t he poor families are subjected to increased death rates arising from the extreme winter period. Evidently, a raft of measures needs to be introduced so as to increase the purchasing power of the low income earners, provide alternatives that guarantee low cost gas supply, and solicit for contributions that will go towards alleviating the cost of gas supply to the low income earners. Description of the Corporate Social Responsibility Program The precincts of a social responsibility program entails four major components. Foremost, a CSR program requires businesses to carry out their financial duties in a social responsible and ethical manner. Second, it entails ensuring that the safety of people and the environment is protected. Third, it involves ensuring